Levein’s plans for next season

[Enzo Chiefo]

4 minutes ago, Rudolf said:

But you’re saying Levein will be away and given your predictions are always spot on, you won’t be paying. 

 

A great opportunity for you to increase the amount given to one of your specific charities at no cost to you. 

 

Win win?

I don't need to explain my decisions about charity donations to you. End of.

[Kaptin Kirk]

10 hours ago, Ari Gold said:

I’m sure Levein said last summer we only needed 6 or 7 players, we then signed 16 or so.

 

i wouldn’t pay too much to what’s said in the media.

That’s only because we didn’t keep McLaughlin Adao and milinkovic etc. So we need replacements.  

[Alex Kintner]

13 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

I'm sure I'm serious. I give to specific charities of my choosing each year. So, no thanks.

 

Very generous of you. Surprised someone so philanthropic doesn’t want to raise even more for charity then, especially a charity so close to our beloved club ?

[William H. Bonney]

1 hour ago, Dusk_Till_Dawn said:

The reality is that I’ll roll with whatever the club decide. It’s not like I’d stop attending games or that. But Levein needs to go at the end of the season.

 

My thoughts too. 

[Enzo Chiefo]

5 minutes ago, To Be Frank said:

 

Very generous of you. Surprised someone so philanthropic doesn’t want to raise even more for charity then, especially a charity so close to our beloved club ?

You do realise that you drag sarcasm and snidey comments to a new nadir. Whatever floats your boat I s'pose.

[Enzo Chiefo]

5 minutes ago, To Be Frank said:

 

Very generous of you. Surprised someone so philanthropic doesn’t want to raise even more for charity then, especially a charity so close to our beloved club ?

You do realise that you drag sarcasm and snidey comments to a new nadir. Whatever floats your boat I s'pose.

[kimosavi]

37 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

And I'm only saying you're criticising for the sake of it.  You don't know what you're talking about, just making negative guesses.

In addition to Adam, it seems we are eyeing up Craig Bryson and, who knows, there may be many others.

Give it a rest.

On your say so i am  afraid not Al

 

if i want to voice my opinion here or anywhere else for that matter I'll do it when and as freely as i like. There's an ignore button i highly suggest you use it ?

[kimosavi]

2 hours ago, frankblack said:

 

Yeah.  Our struggle against relegation and poor cup runs have been absolutely shocking.

 

I would much rather achieve nothing but at least do it with flair. ?

Me too Frank its all about entertainment value for the fans I'm glad you agree

[Alex Kintner]

7 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

You do realise that you drag sarcasm and snidey comments to a new nadir. Whatever floats your boat I s'pose.

 

Word of the day toilet paper?

 

[Alex Kintner]

14 minutes ago, kimosavi said:

Me too Frank its all about entertainment value for the fans I'm glad you agree

 

Exhibit A: wanted Hearts to lose a derby

 

Exhibit B: happy to lose as long as the team plays with flair

 

Wouldn’t need a top drawer lawyer to suggest the obvious conclusion here

?

 

Edited March 16, 2019 by To Be Frank

[JamboAl]

3 minutes ago, kimosavi said:

On your say so i am  afraid not Al

 

if i want to voice my opinion here or anywhere else for that matter I'll do it when and as freely as i like. There's an ignore button i highly suggest you use it ?

You're quite right to voice your opinion and no one should try to stop you but at least make an effort to have a bit substance behind it.   

[sadj]

27 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

I'm sure I'm serious. I give to specific charities of my choosing each year. So, no thanks.

Collection tin on the bar in Diggers? ?

 

Enzo i can’t be assed wi how negative you are about all things Hearts at times , Other times you make very reasonable points. You do the same thing that you accuse the positive people of doing and focus solely on one thing and repeat and repeat and repeat ad nauseam. 

 

So rather than having a back and forth just giving people abuse when a debate should be a discussion of opposing views. You could ask the positive people what would it take to change your view , so with that in mind i’m asking you these questions? 

 

You said you haven’t missed your season ticket this year , Have you been to any games and if Levein was still in charge next season what would it take for you to buy a season ticket again. (In a world where it is ? Levein next year) 

 

 

Does the rebuild of the club from the roots up and the new stand not give you optimism for the future or does it again come down to you just want Levein out even it meant that collapsing and having to rebuild again as we move to FoH ownership? 

[Nookie Bear]

29 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

You do realise that you drag sarcasm and snidey comments to a new nadir. Whatever floats your boat I s'pose.

 

This is what happens when the organ grinder lets the monkey go solo on a thread. 

[sadj]

33 minutes ago, Kaptin Kirk said:

That’s only because we didn’t keep McLaughlin Adao and milinkovic etc. So we need replacements.  

Milinkovic is a funny one , I wasn’t his biggest fan but I’m in the give ? opinion when it comes to players. Can’t be assed with molly coddled players with a suspect temperament or attitude. Adao was fine then after his concussion was shockingly bad. Have we downgraded tjose three

 

Milinkovic - Mulraney - different styles but overall yes.

 

McLaughlin - Zlamal - yes no argument

 

Adao - Haring - No vast upgrade based on sample size.

 

Mulraney has grown as a player and improved this year and although a different style of wide player to Milinkovic he is not as good.

 

Were we lucky to have McLaughlin and Milinkovic last year - No our need suited their need to showcase themselves so we got them for values below their worth. Its very hard to do that each season. 

 

We are building a good spine , if you think back to our best teams they have had a consistent if sometimes unspectacular spine. Hopefully having that will allow us to take a bigger risk out wide without compromising our ability to be competitive in games and we see the benefits fully next year.

[cheetah]

3 minutes ago, Nookie Bear said:

 

This is what happens when the organ grinder lets the monkey go solo on a thread. 

 

 

 

[Alex Kintner]

1 minute ago, sadj said:

Milinkovic is a funny one , I wasn’t his biggest fan but I’m in the give ? opinion when it comes to players. Can’t be assed with molly coddled players with a suspect temperament or attitude. Adao was fine then after his concussion was shockingly bad. Have we downgraded tjose three

 

Milinkovic - Mulraney - different styles but overall yes.

 

McLaughlin - Zlamal - yes no argument

 

Adao - Haring - No vast upgrade based on sample size.

 

Mulraney has grown as a player and improved this year and although a different style of wide player to Milinkovic he is not as good.

 

Were we lucky to have McLaughlin and Milinkovic last year - No our need suited their need to showcase themselves so we got them for values below their worth. Its very hard to do that each season. 

 

We are building a good spine , if you think back to our best teams they have had a consistent if sometimes unspectacular spine. Hopefully having that will allow us to take a bigger risk out wide without compromising our ability to be competitive in games and we see the benefits fully next year.

 

I think Milinkovic would be exactly the sort of player Levein is lookong for. Pace, creativity and flair but also worked like a trojan for the team ??

[Alex Kintner]

3 minutes ago, Nookie Bear said:

 

This is what happens when the organ grinder lets the monkey go solo on a thread. 

 

Still seething after being mocked for your ludicrous lunchtime semi-final kickoff comment?

 

 

 

[johnthomas]

5 minutes ago, sadj said:

Milinkovic is a funny one , I wasn’t his biggest fan but I’m in the give ? opinion when it comes to players. Can’t be assed with molly coddled players with a suspect temperament or attitude. Adao was fine then after his concussion was shockingly bad. Have we downgraded tjose three

 

Milinkovic - Mulraney - different styles but overall yes.

 

McLaughlin - Zlamal - yes no argument

 

Adao - Haring - No vast upgrade based on sample size.

 

Mulraney has grown as a player and improved this year and although a different style of wide player to Milinkovic he is not as good.

 

Were we lucky to have McLaughlin and Milinkovic last year - No our need suited their need to showcase themselves so we got them for values below their worth. Its very hard to do that each season. 

 

We are building a good spine , if you think back to our best teams they have had a consistent if sometimes unspectacular spine. Hopefully having that will allow us to take a bigger risk out wide without compromising our ability to be competitive in games and we see the benefits fully next year.

This , and previous post , are far too reasonable for here . 

Don't disagree with you but Mulraney does work hard and has shown a fair bit of skill . I remain optimistic 

[WageThief]

26 minutes ago, sadj said:

McLaughlin - Zlamal - yes no argument

 

Adao - Haring - No vast upgrade based on sample size.

 

Not sure if I am misreading this but I think Adao and Haring are about as comparable as McLaughlin and Zlamal.  Haring is way way better than Adao, even the Adao that played well.

[Enzo Chiefo]

10 minutes ago, sadj said:

Collection tin on the bar in Diggers? ?

 

Enzo i can’t be assed wi how negative you are about all things Hearts at times , Other times you make very reasonable points. You do the same thing that you accuse the positive people of doing and focus solely on one thing and repeat and repeat and repeat ad nauseam. 

 

So rather than having a back and forth just giving people abuse when a debate should be a discussion of opposing views. You could ask the positive people what would it take to change your view , so with that in mind i’m asking you these questions? 

 

You said you haven’t missed your season ticket this year , Have you been to any games and if Levein was still in charge next season what would it take for you to buy a season ticket again. (In a world where it is ? Levein next year) 

 

 

Does the rebuild of the club from the roots up and the new stand not give you optimism for the future or does it again come down to you just want Levein out even it meant that collapsing and having to rebuild again as we move to FoH ownership? 

Every time I go to the bar Sadj. Once a season?.

You've made some reasonable points although I do want to correct you on one thing. I argue my case without abusing any posters, unlike many on this board. If someone makes a smart arse comment then they will get it back. In short, I treat posters as they treat me.

Anyway, back to your points. I've been to St Mirren (4-1), Hibs (0-0) and St J (2-0) this term. I won't be buying a ST next season if Levein is the manager. I'm not going to go over the reasons because I've probably covered them before.?.

Yes, of course, the club had to be rebuilt from top to bottom and I'm grateful to AB for that. She took on the challenge and saved the club. I'm positive about the future as far as the finances go. I don't think we'll ever get into the mess we were in before. I wouldn"t want that, regardless of who the manager was.

I feel the new stand was a missed opportunity.  Yes, it looks great and the facilities are of course an upgrade on the old stand. However, I feel the project was botched in some aspects.  It's basically a replica of the Wheatfield which isn't geared up to having corporate facilities. Having spoken to one or two people with ST's in the lounge, although the food and service is great, having to walk across the concourse and up into the stand is a flawed concept.  The seating , at the same level as AB ,guarantees a soaking on nights like Tuesday. The press box being flooded on Tuesday and the corp having to be relocated , for safety reasons, isn't a good look. Apparently the Skyline was shelved because of lack of demand amongst the business community. Again, I appreciate funding and timing issues were probably the main drivers but I feel we missed a chance to widen the pitch, move out for a year or whatever and build a 2 tier stand with corporate pitch facing boxes.

AB of course has done a lot of good things as has CL with the academy and worldwide partnership agreements etc. We made a mistake project managing the stand ourselves imo. Finally, I'm not positive about the corporate governance and with CL in charge of all things football related.  Again, the reasons for that have been covered many times 

[kimosavi]

47 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

You're quite right to voice your opinion and no one should try to stop you but at least make an effort to have a bit substance behind it.   

Thought i had Al  ?

[kimosavi]

37 minutes ago, cheetah said:

 

 

 

Belter eh i burst out laughing too

 

well said Nookie Bear ????

[RDSK]

1 hour ago, To Be Frank said:

 

Exhibit A: wanted Hearts to lose a derby

 

Exhibit B: happy to lose as long as the team plays with flair

 

Wouldn’t need a top drawer lawyer to suggest the obvious conclusion here

?

 

 

Exhibit B is a hibsesque comment if I’ve ever seen one. The precise reason why they’ve been humpty for years.

[Enzo Chiefo]

50 minutes ago, Nookie Bear said:

 

This is what happens when the organ grinder lets the monkey go solo on a thread. 

?

[Alex Kintner]

27 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Every time I go to the bar Sadj. Once a season?.

You've made some reasonable points although I do want to correct you on one thing. I argue my case without abusing any posters, unlike many on this board. If someone makes a smart arse comment then they will get it back. In short, I treat posters as they treat me.

Anyway, back to your points. I've been to St Mirren (4-1), Hibs (0-0) and St J (2-0) this term. I won't be buying a ST next season if Levein is the manager. I'm not going to go over the reasons because I've probably covered them before.?.

Yes, of course, the club had to be rebuilt from top to bottom and I'm grateful to AB for that. She took on the challenge and saved the club. I'm positive about the future as far as the finances go. I don't think we'll ever get into the mess we were in before. I wouldn"t want that, regardless of who the manager was.

I feel the new stand was a missed opportunity.  Yes, it looks great and the facilities are of course an upgrade on the old stand. However, I feel the project was botched in some aspects.  It's basically a replica of the Wheatfield which isn't geared up to having corporate facilities. Having spoken to one or two people with ST's in the lounge, although the food and service is great, having to walk across the concourse and up into the stand is a flawed concept.  The seating , at the same level as AB ,guarantees a soaking on nights like Tuesday. The press box being flooded on Tuesday and the corp having to be relocated , for safety reasons, isn't a good look. Apparently the Skyline was shelved because of lack of demand amongst the business community. Again, I appreciate funding and timing issues were probably the main drivers but I feel we missed a chance to widen the pitch, move out for a year or whatever and build a 2 tier stand with corporate pitch facing boxes.

AB of course has done a lot of good things as has CL with the academy and worldwide partnership agreements etc. We made a mistake project managing the stand ourselves imo. Finally, I'm not positive about the corporate governance and with CL in charge of all things football related.  Again, the reasons for that have been covered many times 

 

Am I right in summarising then that you were a regular ST-holder prior to this season but after our positive start to the season were enticed enough to attend a few matches during the first quarter but none since?

[kimosavi]

34 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Every time I go to the bar Sadj. Once a season?.

You've made some reasonable points although I do want to correct you on one thing. I argue my case without abusing any posters, unlike many on this board. If someone makes a smart arse comment then they will get it back. In short, I treat posters as they treat me.

Anyway, back to your points. I've been to St Mirren (4-1), Hibs (0-0) and St J (2-0) this term. I won't be buying a ST next season if Levein is the manager. I'm not going to go over the reasons because I've probably covered them before.?.

Yes, of course, the club had to be rebuilt from top to bottom and I'm grateful to AB for that. She took on the challenge and saved the club. I'm positive about the future as far as the finances go. I don't think we'll ever get into the mess we were in before. I wouldn"t want that, regardless of who the manager was.

I feel the new stand was a missed opportunity.  Yes, it looks great and the facilities are of course an upgrade on the old stand. However, I feel the project was botched in some aspects.  It's basically a replica of the Wheatfield which isn't geared up to having corporate facilities. Having spoken to one or two people with ST's in the lounge, although the food and service is great, having to walk across the concourse and up into the stand is a flawed concept.  The seating , at the same level as AB ,guarantees a soaking on nights like Tuesday. The press box being flooded on Tuesday and the corp having to be relocated , for safety reasons, isn't a good look. Apparently the Skyline was shelved because of lack of demand amongst the business community. Again, I appreciate funding and timing issues were probably the main drivers but I feel we missed a chance to widen the pitch, move out for a year or whatever and build a 2 tier stand with corporate pitch facing boxes.

AB of course has done a lot of good things as has CL with the academy and worldwide partnership agreements etc. We made a mistake project managing the stand ourselves imo. Finally, I'm not positive about the corporate governance and with CL in charge of all things football related.  Again, the reasons for that have been covered many times 

Good Post 

[frankblack]

1 hour ago, kimosavi said:

Me too Frank its all about entertainment value for the fans I'm glad you agree

 

I think you missed the sarcasm of my post.

 

Football is a results business and entertainment can be worked on later.

[Enzo Chiefo]

2 minutes ago, To Be Frank said:

 

Am I right in summarising then that you were a regular ST-holder prior to this season but after our positive start to the season were enticed enough to attend a few matches during the first quarter but none since?

No, you are wrong.  The games I picked were random. More to catch up with the mates for a beer pre match than the game itself.  I might try and catch one more game before the end of the season but tbh I don't see £36 as being value for money, given the football on display.

[Calebs Grandad]

Obviously we all share a love of HMFC but have differing opinions on many things related to the club. I see us as basically a team that can become the second force within our top league but no side will overtake Celtic as number one given the finances available to whoever is in charge. Rangers are the club that ourselves and Aberdeen are competing with each season for second spot but things at Ibrox are just not happening given the level of investments that Gerrard has received. Craig Levein is in my opinion more than capable of building a squad that can become the challengers to Celtic and they Way the club has developed off the pitch means we have absolutely no financial worries to hinder the on field progress. Every player signed by every club is trial and error as to whether they will fit in with what’s planned by the man in charge. Levein showed early season that he is capable of putting a side together that can win games and with the right signings and a bit of luck then next season could well be the one where we lay down our marker as Scotland’s main challenger to Celtics dominance. As I said it’s all about opinions but for me Levein is who we need at the helm. 

[Bull's-eye]

The best thing for Hearts is Craig Levein, I'm really struggling to grasp how people can't see that.

He's now planning for next season, surely people see that a good thing.

He's getting the best players signed up on longer deals, surely people see that as a good thing.

There isn't any glaringly obvious manager in the country that you'd want, surely people see that as a good thing.

 

If Craig was to leave Hearts at this moment in time or the near future it would be catastrophic for the club. The players obviously love working for him, why would anybody want to rock the place to the core and destroy the club's reputation and set us back years. 

 

To want Craig removed from his post because you don't like him is howling at moon lunacy and would be looked on by the outside world as such.

 

Levein is the best man for the job by a country mile.

 

[Selkirkhmfc1874]

1 minute ago, frankblack said:

 

I think you missed the sarcasm of my post.

 

Football is a results business and entertainment can be worked on later.

There's a balance needs to be struck Frank in my opinion! You're spot on it's a results driven business but there has to be entertainment aswell at least sometimes which I'm sure we'll see next season when Craig levein adds bit more flair to the squad , this season was always going to be get as many points as possible in anyway possible after basically building a totally new squad 

[Bull's-eye]

5 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

No, you are wrong.  The games I picked were random. More to catch up with the mates for a beer pre match than the game itself.  I might try and catch one more game before the end of the season but tbh I don't see £36 as being value for money, given the football on display.

[Finlay James]

43 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Every time I go to the bar Sadj. Once a season?.

You've made some reasonable points although I do want to correct you on one thing. I argue my case without abusing any posters, unlike many on this board. If someone makes a smart arse comment then they will get it back. In short, I treat posters as they treat me.

Anyway, back to your points. I've been to St Mirren (4-1), Hibs (0-0) and St J (2-0) this term. I won't be buying a ST next season if Levein is the manager. I'm not going to go over the reasons because I've probably covered them before.?.

Yes, of course, the club had to be rebuilt from top to bottom and I'm grateful to AB for that. She took on the challenge and saved the club. I'm positive about the future as far as the finances go. I don't think we'll ever get into the mess we were in before. I wouldn"t want that, regardless of who the manager was.

I feel the new stand was a missed opportunity.  Yes, it looks great and the facilities are of course an upgrade on the old stand. However, I feel the project was botched in some aspects.  It's basically a replica of the Wheatfield which isn't geared up to having corporate facilities. Having spoken to one or two people with ST's in the lounge, although the food and service is great, having to walk across the concourse and up into the stand is a flawed concept.  The seating , at the same level as AB ,guarantees a soaking on nights like Tuesday. The press box being flooded on Tuesday and the corp having to be relocated , for safety reasons, isn't a good look. Apparently the Skyline was shelved because of lack of demand amongst the business community. Again, I appreciate funding and timing issues were probably the main drivers but I feel we missed a chance to widen the pitch, move out for a year or whatever and build a 2 tier stand with corporate pitch facing boxes.

AB of course has done a lot of good things as has CL with the academy and worldwide partnership agreements etc. We made a mistake project managing the stand ourselves imo. Finally, I'm not positive about the corporate governance and with CL in charge of all things football related.  Again, the reasons for that have been covered many times 

 

Some decent points but it's all flawed as you're clear that your issues are personal towards craig Levein.  Therefore, as suspected, you're unable to be objective.

 

Im fully on the Levein supporters bus, in my opinion, he's done a good job but we could have done better in many areas.  He is accountable like any other manager in the league and will fall in his sword if we go backwards.  However, as it stands, he is taking us forward and improving us.  My point is that it's possible to criticize or support whilst retaking some measure and balance.

[kimosavi]

10 minutes ago, frankblack said:

 

I think you missed the sarcasm of my post.

 

Football is a results business and entertainment can be worked on later.

No i did catch it mate, i just chose to ignore it 

 

Opinions differ granted, theres already too many people on here arguing over stuff like this

 

I respect your opinion Frank 

[Enzo Chiefo]

2 minutes ago, Finlay James said:

 

Some decent points but it's all flawed as you're clear that your issues are personal towards craig Levein.  Therefore, as suspected, you're unable to be objective.

 

Im fully on the Levein supporters bus, in my opinion, he's done a good job but we could have done better in many areas.  He is accountable like any other manager in the league and will fall in his sword if we go backwards.  However, as it stands, he is taking us forward and improving us.  My point is that it's possible to criticize or support whilst retaking some measure and balance.

Finlay, I appreciate what you are saying but my thoughts on any manager are "personal" . What other option is there? You judge the manager's abilities, football philosophy,  tactics, signings, comments and attitude.  I don't think he is the right man to take us forward.  You do. It's all about opinions.

[kimosavi]

4 minutes ago, Finlay James said:

 

Some decent points but it's all flawed as you're clear that your issues are personal towards craig Levein.  Therefore, as suspected, you're unable to be objective.

 

Im fully on the Levein supporters bus, in my opinion, he's done a good job but we could have done better in many areas.  He is accountable like any other manager in the league and will fall in his sword if we go backwards.  However, as it stands, he is taking us forward and improving us.  My point is that it's possible to criticize or support whilst retaking some measure and balance.

Fair points there Finlay I'm very much in the get Levein out camp but this struck a cord with me certainly in regards too being Objective 

 

[jambonian]

I still believe we need a new approach regards training and new ideas. We are still not direct enough during games. There's been a few recently where we have had only a couple of decent chances and we need to be more creative. Said that since Neilson left and even he wasn't creative in a lot of games, wanting to take attackers off and flood the defence. The problem with the way Hearts are coached is that opposition managers know just to let us have possession, side to side, back to keeper then repeat, zzzzz! and when we do attack, their teams are ready to position themselves to defend which in turn reduces attacking options and chances. Yes, you'll get the odd game here and there where we can get forward, Auchinleck is a good example but then they are hardly the level we need to do that to. We have had loads of players come in and loads leaving again deemed not good enough, we don't actually know if half of them are good enough or not as they don't get enough 1st team time to show it. Ryan Edwards is a recent perfect example, he'll end up leaving and be classed as a complete failure even though he hasn't had opportunities. We sign too many similar players in midfield, Hibs for example sign attack-minded players like Allen, McGinn, Mallan, McGeogh, Boyle and others who contribute.

On another point, I don't believe Hearts can sustain themselves if and when Ann decides to leave. There is no way we can rely on contributions from fans forever more. People's lives change. Unemployment, death, marriage, families, mortgages, retirement and everything else will contribute to people investing less and less in the next decade and more. They will have to rely on new fans stumping up which won't be easy. She needs to leave the club with solid investors in place to work with fans contributing. We also need to bring more money in for better players or else we'll be exactly where we are in 5 years time as we are now. That's why we need some investment, Ann can't do it.

On the main stand....could've been better designed. Press box too near the front, no glassed-off sponsor and corporate facilities, players tunnel still coming from Wheatfield, not even a large screen within the ground, police box still in the corner where fans can't see parts of the pitch, the stand should've been built out a few feet further to widen the pitch. All seems to be costing millions and millions with too many flaws. Still better than before of course but for me, some badly thought out issues.

Edited March 16, 2019 by jambonian

[OTT]

1 hour ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Every time I go to the bar Sadj. Once a season?.

You've made some reasonable points although I do want to correct you on one thing. I argue my case without abusing any posters, unlike many on this board. If someone makes a smart arse comment then they will get it back. In short, I treat posters as they treat me.

Anyway, back to your points. I've been to St Mirren (4-1), Hibs (0-0) and St J (2-0) this term. I won't be buying a ST next season if Levein is the manager. I'm not going to go over the reasons because I've probably covered them before.?.

Yes, of course, the club had to be rebuilt from top to bottom and I'm grateful to AB for that. She took on the challenge and saved the club. I'm positive about the future as far as the finances go. I don't think we'll ever get into the mess we were in before. I wouldn"t want that, regardless of who the manager was.

I feel the new stand was a missed opportunity.  Yes, it looks great and the facilities are of course an upgrade on the old stand. However, I feel the project was botched in some aspects.  It's basically a replica of the Wheatfield which isn't geared up to having corporate facilities. Having spoken to one or two people with ST's in the lounge, although the food and service is great, having to walk across the concourse and up into the stand is a flawed concept.  The seating , at the same level as AB ,guarantees a soaking on nights like Tuesday. The press box being flooded on Tuesday and the corp having to be relocated , for safety reasons, isn't a good look. Apparently the Skyline was shelved because of lack of demand amongst the business community. Again, I appreciate funding and timing issues were probably the main drivers but I feel we missed a chance to widen the pitch, move out for a year or whatever and build a 2 tier stand with corporate pitch facing boxes.

AB of course has done a lot of good things as has CL with the academy and worldwide partnership agreements etc. We made a mistake project managing the stand ourselves imo. Finally, I'm not positive about the corporate governance and with CL in charge of all things football related.  Again, the reasons for that have been covered many times 

 

Tbf I was left a bit underwhelmed that it wasn't two tiered. I suppose though, we can all agree the old main stand needed to go and despite everything we are further forward off the pitch as a result.

 

Perhaps in years to come some sort of restructure can be looked at. 

[Enzo Chiefo]

8 minutes ago, jambonian said:

I still believe we need a new approach regards training and new ideas. We are still not direct enough during games. There's been a few recently where we have had only a couple of decent chances and we need to be more creative. Said that since Neilson left and even he wasn't creative in a lot of games, wanting to take attackers off and flood the defence. The problem with the way Hearts are coached is that opposition managers know just to let us have possession, side to side, back to keeper then repeat, zzzzz! and when we do attack, their teams are ready to position themselves to defend which in turn reduces attacking options and chances. Yes, you'll get the odd game here and there where we can get forward, Auchinleck is a good example but then they are hardly the level we need to do that to. We have had loads of players come in and loads leaving again deemed not good enough, we don't actually know if half of them are good enough or not as they don't get enough 1st team time to show it. Ryan Edwards is a recent perfect example, he'll end up leaving and be classed as a complete failure even though he hasn't had opportunities. We sign too many similar players in midfield, Hibs for example sign attack-minded players like Allen, McGinn, Mallan, McGeogh, Boyle and others who contribute.

On another point, I don't believe Hearts can sustain themselves if and when Ann decides to leave. There is no way we can rely on contributions from fans forever more. People's lives change. Unemployment, death, marriage, families, mortgages, retirement and everything else will contribute to people investing less and less in the next decade and more. They will have to rely on new fans stumping up which won't be easy. She needs to leave the club with solid investors in place to work with fans contributing. We also need to bring more money in for better players or else we'll be exactly where we are in 5 years time as we are now. That's why we need some investment, Ann can't do it.

On the main stand....could've been better designed. Press box too near the front, no glassed-off sponsor and corporate facilities, players tunnel still coming from Wheatfield, not even a large screen within the ground, police box still in the corner where fans can't see parts of the pitch, the stand should've been built out a few feet further to widen the pitch. All seems to be costing millions and millions with too many flaws. Still better than before of course but for me, some badly thought out issues.

Great post. 

[sadj]

1 hour ago, WageThief said:

 

Not sure if I am misreading this but I think Adao and Haring are about as comparable as McLaughlin and Zlamal.  Haring is way way better than Adao, even the Adao that played well.

Thats what i was saying Haring is a massive upgrade , incomparable but essentially played the same position hence the comparison. Sorry if it didn’t come across clearly.

[Rudolf]

31 minutes ago, kimosavi said:

Fair points there Finlay I'm very much in the get Levein out camp but this struck a cord with me certainly in regards too being Objective 

 

What’s your view on Naismith’s comments regarding his relationship with Levein and if we emptied Levein, would that negatively influence his decision whether or not to stay? 

[sadj]

1 hour ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Every time I go to the bar Sadj. Once a season?.

You've made some reasonable points although I do want to correct you on one thing. I argue my case without abusing any posters, unlike many on this board. If someone makes a smart arse comment then they will get it back. In short, I treat posters as they treat me.

Anyway, back to your points. I've been to St Mirren (4-1), Hibs (0-0) and St J (2-0) this term. I won't be buying a ST next season if Levein is the manager. I'm not going to go over the reasons because I've probably covered them before.?.

Yes, of course, the club had to be rebuilt from top to bottom and I'm grateful to AB for that. She took on the challenge and saved the club. I'm positive about the future as far as the finances go. I don't think we'll ever get into the mess we were in before. I wouldn"t want that, regardless of who the manager was.

I feel the new stand was a missed opportunity.  Yes, it looks great and the facilities are of course an upgrade on the old stand. However, I feel the project was botched in some aspects.  It's basically a replica of the Wheatfield which isn't geared up to having corporate facilities. Having spoken to one or two people with ST's in the lounge, although the food and service is great, having to walk across the concourse and up into the stand is a flawed concept.  The seating , at the same level as AB ,guarantees a soaking on nights like Tuesday. The press box being flooded on Tuesday and the corp having to be relocated , for safety reasons, isn't a good look. Apparently the Skyline was shelved because of lack of demand amongst the business community. Again, I appreciate funding and timing issues were probably the main drivers but I feel we missed a chance to widen the pitch, move out for a year or whatever and build a 2 tier stand with corporate pitch facing boxes.

AB of course has done a lot of good things as has CL with the academy and worldwide partnership agreements etc. We made a mistake project managing the stand ourselves imo. Finally, I'm not positive about the corporate governance and with CL in charge of all things football related.  Again, the reasons for that have been covered many times 

Thats a fair and reasoned response I think. Iv made my opinions known many times but thats kind of how it works here round and round in circles and occasional banging your head off a wall. I also think we missed a trick with the main stand possibly the many times we’ve thought it will happen and then its gone tits has put the club in a place where it was slightly rushed. Balancing not having revenue from match days due to rental of another stadium and getting it done quicker may well be the main reason behind that. Corporate facilities are fundamental in the long term financial success if scottish football ever catches up with the nauseating tedium of the epl supports etc. Right now i think a balance between that and what we have would have been a better plan but we are where we are and revenue streams will undoubtably improve. Hopefully as time goes on we can move facilities for press though if Willie Miller and pals get soaked thats success. Laurie and Jimmy I feel sorry for ? 

 

Off the field progress will lead to on field success thats where many people are torn. Yes the football can be awful to watch but has a modicum of success. However one thing people throw out all the time is scouting. We rebuilt our scouting network and that had to be down the line it couldn’t be first. Balancing all the bits is an incredibly difficult task and I think this has been managed well by AB and CL. However it now needs to translate on the pitch. FoH ownership is two fold to me , I wonder how many people will have a hissy fit because they pay in but can’t make the decisions. It may take a couple of years to settle. However we have funds there that hopefully will allow that to happen without any major ups and downs off the field.

 

My only concern with CL is how much he is having to do you can restructure and you can deligate as much as you want but a project the size of the football department plus managing the side has to be draining and exceptionally difficult. That is therefore the only question in my mind. Is it time for him to go back upstairs and let JD or AM take over or should he finish the job in the summer and do next season then move upstairs. 

[johnthomas]

19 minutes ago, sadj said:

Thats what i was saying Haring is a massive upgrade , incomparable but essentially played the same position hence the comparison. Sorry if it didn’t come across clearly.

Comma missing .

[Alex Kintner]

1 hour ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

No, you are wrong.  The games I picked were random. More to catch up with the mates for a beer pre match than the game itself.  I might try and catch one more game before the end of the season but tbh I don't see £36 as being value for money, given the football on display.

 

So you gave up your ST due to becoming disillusioned with Levein yet despite us sitting top of the table you weren’t bursting to get back to Tynecastle? The excitement of reaching a cup semi-final hasn’t made you want to attend either match? And you’ve already decided you won’t be back next season even if we finish 3rd and win the cup?

 

I can’t imagine hating a Hearts manager that much that I let it affect me in that way.

Edited March 16, 2019 by To Be Frank

[sadj]

25 minutes ago, OTT said:

 

Tbf I was left a bit underwhelmed that it wasn't two tiered. I suppose though, we can all agree the old main stand needed to go and despite everything we are further forward off the pitch as a result.

 

Perhaps in years to come some sort of restructure can be looked at. 

??

[Swanny17]

35 minutes ago, jambonian said:

I still believe we need a new approach regards training and new ideas. We are still not direct enough during games. There's been a few recently where we have had only a couple of decent chances and we need to be more creative. Said that since Neilson left and even he wasn't creative in a lot of games, wanting to take attackers off and flood the defence. The problem with the way Hearts are coached is that opposition managers know just to let us have possession, side to side, back to keeper then repeat, zzzzz! and when we do attack, their teams are ready to position themselves to defend which in turn reduces attacking options and chances. Yes, you'll get the odd game here and there where we can get forward, Auchinleck is a good example but then they are hardly the level we need to do that to. We have had loads of players come in and loads leaving again deemed not good enough, we don't actually know if half of them are good enough or not as they don't get enough 1st team time to show it. Ryan Edwards is a recent perfect example, he'll end up leaving and be classed as a complete failure even though he hasn't had opportunities. We sign too many similar players in midfield, Hibs for example sign attack-minded players like Allen, McGinn, Mallan, McGeogh, Boyle and others who contribute.

On another point, I don't believe Hearts can sustain themselves if and when Ann decides to leave. There is no way we can rely on contributions from fans forever more. People's lives change. Unemployment, death, marriage, families, mortgages, retirement and everything else will contribute to people investing less and less in the next decade and more. They will have to rely on new fans stumping up which won't be easy. She needs to leave the club with solid investors in place to work with fans contributing. We also need to bring more money in for better players or else we'll be exactly where we are in 5 years time as we are now. That's why we need some investment, Ann can't do it.

On the main stand....could've been better designed. Press box too near the front, no glassed-off sponsor and corporate facilities, players tunnel still coming from Wheatfield, not even a large screen within the ground, police box still in the corner where fans can't see parts of the pitch, the stand should've been built out a few feet further to widen the pitch. All seems to be costing millions and millions with too many flaws. Still better than before of course but for me, some badly thought out issues.

 

to so much of that post. Sniff sniff indeed. 

[merseyjambo]

As a person, I have nothing against Craig Levein,  don’t know him. As a player, he was one of my favourites while I was growing up. His partnership with Sandy Jardine was the best centre back pairing I’ve seen in maroon,in my opinion. I had no problems with him first time as manager and when Ann Budge appointed him as DoF again no real problems. 

 

My issues with CL started when he spoke about his boot room philosophy. I get the concept but surely you employ the best man for the job not the next person in line internally, you wouldn’t do that in business so why should a football club be any different. His appointment of Cathro was folly and shows the danger of appointing someone with no experience. The whole note passing thing was just embarrassing for everyone concerned. His vanity in not getting rid of Cathro sooner was his inability to say he was wrong. Even then when Ann B was going on about the quality of candidates for the job, a short list was drawn up by CL of 2 ex Hearts players with average managerial careers, a bloke who’s an ass and hasn’t managed for years and a candidate going down the same route as Cathro. These are all little things that when I add them up means my attitude towards CL has changed over a period of time.

 

The type of football we play is industrial and for the most part this season has relied on one man. He’s not recruited a winger despite the fact he played along side one of the best in JC so he knows the value of a man who can beat a player and deliver a cross, especially when we have a lump like Uche in the middle who can get across a man and is built like a brick crap house.

 

His ideas of settling things down are great, a bit of continuity. However bringing in squad fillers does nothing for the futures of lads like Cochrane or McDonald. 

 

Halkett woukd definately improve us, and we all hope Naismith will sign. Djoum I think is a lost cause and won’t be back. 

 

If if he is to stay beyond the end of the season, he needs to find us an outlet ball the way Hibs use Boyle’s pace, Killlie use Brophy or Aberdeen use McGinn. We need that plan B and to be a bit more direct by attacking with pace. 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2019 by merseyjambo

[jambonian]

13 minutes ago, Cygnet said:

 

to so much of that post. Sniff sniff indeed. 

Excellent contribution. At least some on here are open to discussion while others have (it seems) not a lot to say. Enjoy your afternoon.

[Alex Kintner]

5 minutes ago, merseyjambo said:

As a person, I have nothing against Craig Levein,  don’t know him. As a player, he was one of my favourites while I was growing up. His partnership with Sandy Jardine was the best centre back pairing I’ve seen in maroon,in my opinion. I had no problems with him first time as manager and when Ann Budge appointed him as DoF again no real problems. 

 

My issues with CL started when he spoke about his bottom philosophy. I get the concept but surely you employ the best man for the job not the next person in line internally, you wouldn’t do that in business so why should a football club be any different. His appointment of Cathro was folly and shows the danger of appointing someone with no experience. The whole note passing thing was just embarrassing for everyone concerned. His vanity in not getting rid of Cathro sooner was his inability to say he was wrong. Even then when Ann B was going on about the quality of candidates for the job, a short list was drawn up by CL of 2 ex Hearts players with average managerial careers, a bloke who’s an ass and hasn’t managed for years and a candidate going down the same route as Cathro. These are all little things that when I add them up means my attitude towards CL has changed over a period of time.

 

The type of football we play is industrial and for the most part this season has relied on one man. He’s not recruited a winger despite the fact he played along side one of the best in JC so he knows the value of a man who can beat a player and deliver a cross, especially when we have a lump like Uche in the middle who can get across a man and is built like a brick crap house.

 

His ideas of settling things down are great, a bit of continuity. However bringing in squad fillers does nothing for the futures of lads like Cochrane or McDonald. 

 

Halkett woukd definately improve us, and we all hope Naismith will sign. Djoum I think is a lost cause and won’t be back. 

 

If if he is to stay beyond the end of the season, he needs to find us an outlet ball the way Hibs use Boyle’s pace, Killlie use Brophy or Aberdeen use McGinn. We need that plan B and to be @ bit more direct by attacking with pace. 

 

 

 

I can understand a lot of the frustrations you have there but disagree with a couple of them. Overall though I’m glad that despite having those reservations about Levein it hasn’t stopped you going and supporting the team ??

[Bazzas right boot]

13 hours ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Strapped in? I bailed out this season and haven't missed not having a ST one bit. He won't be in charge next season.

 

 

A poster who has complained about the team lacking fight has given up. 

???

Great stuff. 

 

Almost feels like you just post on here just to wind up fans that do go to the games. 

 

If you've bailed out, wind yer neck in.