Lord Beni of Gorgie Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Give him a month off following Wednesday. Lost his confidence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jambopilms Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Berra has been poor, Naismith has seemed out of sorts lately as well. Something going on behind the scenes ?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hearts00 Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 (edited) This is why I have some sympathy for Levein. He has goal keepers throwing the ball in the net. Full backs out injured and now players like Berra and Naismith massively off form. But frankly there is blame everywhere for our current predicament. Edited February 23, 2019 by hearts00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambo85 Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 1 hour ago, tartofmidlothian said: Was Dikamona injured? It looked to me like he was changing the formation. Yup. He was hobbling about all over the place and asked the dugout to come off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambo85 Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 1 hour ago, StevenNaismith said: You forgetting about Souttar? Not at all. He was atrocious today but this thread is scout Berrra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robbo-Jambo Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 5 minutes ago, jambopilms said: Berra has been poor, Naismith has seemed out of sorts lately as well. Something going on behind the scenes ?? Naismith is coming back so deep it's unbelievable, in order to try and take the ball and start something. Can see he is really pissed off and frustrated. Starting to affect his own performances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80bob Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 18 minutes ago, Robbo-Jambo said: Thought that as well. Seems to have lost his passion at the moment. He was the same at Motherwell in the warm up. Just looked uninterested .. head down and shoulders slumped ..his whole demeanor is worrying as captain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jambogaza Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 3 minutes ago, 80bob said: He was the same at Motherwell in the warm up. Just looked uninterested .. head down and shoulders slumped ..his whole demeanor is worrying as captain He's not the only one either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gashauskis9 Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Celtic will target him on Wed night, I have no doubt. He looked good in the handful of games before the break, but post-break he looks like a junior player. I wouldn’t play him, I’d take pace/urgency/fitness over experience right now. He’s as much of a risk as Hughes. He clearly doesn’t like playing with Mulraney on that side either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smith&Weston Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Berra has been extremely poor since the January break. Not sure if that injury is still bothering him as he seems to have lost a yard and noticed that other teams are letting him have the ball because he can’t pass it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartsfc_fan Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 I think he was rushed back. He is still a very good defender and a top player. On current form we should be playing Dikamona and Souttar and benching Berra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZEUS Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 2 hours ago, hearts00 said: This is why I have some sympathy for Levein. He has goal keepers throwing the ball in the net. Full backs out injured and now players like Berra and Naismith massively off form. But frankly there is blame everywhere for our current predicament. Sympathy ? Who signed the keepers ? We have other full backs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portobellojambo1 Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 52 minutes ago, heartsfc_fan said: I think he was rushed back. He is still a very good defender and a top player. On current form we should be playing Dikamona and Souttar and benching Berra. I agree with that, only because of what we are seeing now. I've watched the replay a few times of his original injury and it looked as if he damaged his knee cap when he went down. He still looks totally confident just now when he is going for balls in the air, but he is struggling a bit when the ball is on the deck, which could indicate that whatever problem he originally ended up with either hasn't had enough rest time or is now something he will just have to live with as it is never going to get back to 100%. I don't think it helps much either when we play with a back three and he often becomes an outlet for the keeper or the other defenders and is therefore playing the ball on the ground a lot more. At this stage in the season it will be of no help that Michael Smith is out for a wee while as he is probably having to play regularly with little scope for some time off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomaso Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 Berra needs dropped or rested Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hearts00 Posted February 23, 2019 Share Posted February 23, 2019 2 hours ago, heartsfc_fan said: I think he was rushed back. He is still a very good defender and a top player. On current form we should be playing Dikamona and Souttar and benching Berra. He’s a very good defender and he may be a good captain, although I’m not so sure with what’s going on at the moment. One thing he is not is a top player. He is very poor on the ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambof3tornado Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 10 hours ago, heartsfc_fan said: I think he was rushed back. He is still a very good defender and a top player. On current form we should be playing Dikamona and Souttar and benching Berra. Hopefully being rushed back is all that was wrong. He just doesnt look the same player. Never seen him position himself so badly so many times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambo85 Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 (edited) Did anyone else notice his lack of celebration at out goal? While the rest of the team were celebrating with Dikamona in the St Mirren half, Berra just hobbled back to our half to take his position. Edited February 24, 2019 by Lambo85 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davieholt Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 14 hours ago, Uncle Buck said: We did play a back 4. Jake spent most of his time on the half way line and he is not a full back. It was a three Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Merse Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 His form is seriously worrying. Can only hope it’s still injury related and he can recover because this current version of Berra shouldn’t be in the team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boag1874 Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 He was definitely rushed back too soon, doesn’t look sharp at all. Needs dropped on current form tbh even if he is the captain. We badly need him to sort himself out for Wednesday or it could be a very painful watch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maroonblood22 Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 Without trying to over analyse it too much, his apparent quietness or lack of passion as some have said could simply be stemming from his own poor performances and lack of confidence in himself. He probably feels less like screaming orders at others knowing full well that he's having a mare. He's not required to be the best 'baller, but he is supposed to be leading by example on the basics so there's every chance his frustration at his own performances is holding him back from being his usual commanding self. Absolutely love big Christophe, but he needs to time out of the team to have any chance of getting back to the leader we know he is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deevers Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 He’s not been the same player since he came back from his injury. I don’t think playing three at the back suits him as it exposes his lack of pace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bull's-eye Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 Unfortunately for Berra he set himself very high standards and is nowhere near living up to them. He is costing us valuable points now and it's time he sat out for a while. Yesterday's game would have been a perfect opportunity, I'm sure his apparent pishy attitude is just frustration at his performances, he will know how poor he's playing just as much as the rest of us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Buck Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 43 minutes ago, davieholt said: Jake spent most of his time on the half way line and he is not a full back. It was a three No it wasn’t. Mulraney was left back, Souttar was right back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gashauskis9 Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 37 minutes ago, Maroonblood22 said: Without trying to over analyse it too much, his apparent quietness or lack of passion as some have said could simply be stemming from his own poor performances and lack of confidence in himself. He probably feels less like screaming orders at others knowing full well that he's having a mare. He's not required to be the best 'baller, but he is supposed to be leading by example on the basics so there's every chance his frustration at his own performances is holding him back from being his usual commanding self. I thought that myself at first, however after every mistake he made yesterday, he was looking round with his hands in the air for someone to blame. Mulraney is the one getting it tight from him the most, even when it’s not his fault. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMuir94 Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 (edited) playing berra on the left of a back three means that when hearts are in possession he gets plenty of the ball. That has never been his game and he is not comfortable or capable of playing there. Also, when defending he is often left exposed with the space in behind him and often is reluctant to close down wingers due to this and has allowed them the run on him. Move him back in one where he can just focus on defending. Edited February 24, 2019 by JMuir94 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seymour M Hersh Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 Berra is clearly not trusting his hamstring 100% and it's affected his performances. This, imo, has led to him playing poorly (by his standards) and losing confidence which is further affecting his game. I don't believe for 1 second that he can't be bothered but for me his head's not right at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pasquale for King Posted February 24, 2019 Share Posted February 24, 2019 On 23/02/2019 at 20:13, Gashauskis9 said: Celtic will target him on Wed night, I have no doubt. He looked good in the handful of games before the break, but post-break he looks like a junior player. I wouldn’t play him, I’d take pace/urgency/fitness over experience right now. He’s as much of a risk as Hughes. He clearly doesn’t like playing with Mulraney on that side either. He didn’t look too clever at Livi. Mulraney isn’t up to it and will need a lot more coaching before he ever is. Our Captain is really struggling but it’s not that obvious what the actual problem is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Buck Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 14 hours ago, JMuir94 said: playing berra on the left of a back three means that when hearts are in possession he gets plenty of the ball. That has never been his game and he is not comfortable or capable of playing there. Also, when defending he is often left exposed with the space in behind him and often is reluctant to close down wingers due to this and has allowed them the run on him. Move him back in one where he can just focus on defending. He wasn’t playing left of a back 3. Do folk actually watch the game? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pasquale for King Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 10 hours ago, Uncle Buck said: He wasn’t playing left of a back 3. Do folk actually watch the game? At the game it looked like a four, with Souttar at RB and Clare at times in front of him, John was up and down the wing a fair few times when we had the ball which he normally isn’t when in a three. Mulraney was playing a bit further forward than the other three too. The highlights make it look like a three at times too, most journalists said it was a three too. Souttar and Clare were tucking in when they had the ball. We’ve played this system a few times this season and,me included, have all argued about it afterwards. It might be the reason St Mirren seemed to have players in space as our players like to interchange, usually without having any real success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inch Hearts Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 He's definitely lost a yard or 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lambo85 Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 I am wondering if its more a mental thing with him. He is constantly misplacing passes and shanking the ball out of play. Pains me to say that he looks like a big huddy at the minute. He needs a couple of weeks off to not only get his fitness levels up but to refocus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morgan Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 Just watch - he’ll probably score a couple versus Celtic on Wednesday! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Dan Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 58 minutes ago, Inch Hearts said: He's definitely lost a yard or 2. Yep. If he’s exposed on Wednesday Celtic will exploit him no end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chester copperpot Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 Thought he was excellent last night. He's finished though aye? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
i wish jj was my dad Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 Outstanding from the big man. Did what he does best in a back four defending. He isn't comfortable in possesssion or when he has to contribute to us going forward. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilnunb Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 He was really struggling to move last 10mins. Hopefully we deal with Partick on Monday but after that I'd be tempted to rest him for a game or two. I'd like to think our next 2 league games are winnable (even if they are away) without him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudi5kaceldream1ng Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 On 24/02/2019 at 00:20, hearts00 said: He’s a very good defender and he may be a good captain, although I’m not so sure with what’s going on at the moment. One thing he is not is a top player. He is very poor on the ball. This. Berra is a good defender but a limited ability footballer. His technique on the ball and passing would be laughed at in Italy but horses for courses-Pressley was the same. He hasn’t performed well since returning from injury and his weaknesses have been highlighted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chester copperpot Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 49 minutes ago, Rudi5kaceldream1ng said: This. Berra is a good defender but a limited ability footballer. His technique on the ball and passing would be laughed at in Italy but horses for courses-Pressley was the same. He hasn’t performed well since returning from injury and his weaknesses have been highlighted. Apart from last night you mean? Levein needs to recognise that other teams have highlighted one of our main weaknesses as they let Berra play the ball from the back all the time and tend to press Souttar when he has it on the other side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1971fozzy Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 1 hour ago, chester copperpot said: Thought he was excellent last night. He's finished though aye? Agreed. He was absolutely brilliant. All the doom merchants / haters will be absolutely gutted about that. They’ll need to move on to the next target now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1971fozzy Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 56 minutes ago, Rudi5kaceldream1ng said: This. Berra is a good defender but a limited ability footballer. His technique on the ball and passing would be laughed at in Italy but horses for courses-Pressley was the same. He hasn’t performed well since returning from injury and his weaknesses have been highlighted. Post of the year. For comedy value. And I use the term comedy in a sarcastic way. Talking about Italy wtf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevenNaismith Posted February 28, 2019 Author Share Posted February 28, 2019 I thought he was terrific last night. Looked to be struggling last 10/15 mins though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selkirkhmfc1874 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 Looked more like himself last night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambof3tornado Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 30 minutes ago, 1971fozzy said: Agreed. He was absolutely brilliant. All the doom merchants / haters will be absolutely gutted about that. They’ll need to move on to the next target now He was much improved last night. Haring covers back to help out well too. Did still just launch the ball a bit though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jammy T Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 (edited) I know he is old Skool defensively but I still get a bit hacked offf that his first instinct generally when the ball comes to him is to shank the ball towards the moon. I think if we play him every week until the end of the season we’ll ruin him. Personally I’d manage him through the rest of the season - play him in cup games and top 6 games only. Edited February 28, 2019 by Jammy T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SectionDJambo Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 Berra loves a battle, like last night. What he doesn’t like is being exposed to fast counter attacking when we play teams who sit in, especially when we play a back3. We need to keep playing a solid back 4 to get the best out of him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Treasurer Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 His distribution is questionable at times but last night proved he is much more comfortable in a back four than a three. His commitment and passion for the club is never in doubt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tartofmidlothian Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 2 hours ago, chester copperpot said: Thought he was excellent last night. He's finished though aye? Don't know where he found it but he had it all back last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamhammer Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 2 hours ago, 1971fozzy said: Agreed. He was absolutely brilliant. All the doom merchants / haters will be absolutely gutted about that. They’ll need to move on to the next target now Olly Lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamhammer Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 1 hour ago, SectionDJambo said: Berra loves a battle, like last night. What he doesn’t like is being exposed to fast counter attacking when we play teams who sit in, especially when we play a back3. We need to keep playing a solid back 4 to get the best out of him. I'm on this bus. Back to his imperious best last night. Not the world's greatest passer of a ball but solid as the old castle rock in a four. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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