Levein - what now?

[DH1986]

1 hour ago, Hearts1975 said:

I see what you are saying with your post but the question that burns through my mind is whether if we continue with Craig is this going to lead us to have any consistency with performances - with someone else at the helm we will still lose games but maybe someone else will have us playing more progressive, expansive football, good to watch and with us on the front foot most of the time 

 

here’s another point - Craig and Ann came in and the first thing that they both did was remove Gary Locke from his post - lockie is every bit as much a diehard like Levein and of course as supporters these guys will always be legends to us 

 

I could say right now that lockie wasn’t given a chance at all and was judged on possibly the hardest season with circumstances a hearts manager has had before he was removed from his post by the very same person we are debating should either stay on or leave his post -

 

why then was lockie given no time and sacked immediately but Craig is given years and seems protected at all costs 

 

we have had ample time with Craig at the helm and so many players signed to be able to make a subjective opinion on whether he is the man to take us forward - each one of us individually

 

I wanted him to progress us on the pitch but he hasn’t for me. Craig going now would be silly, him going upstairs would be even sillier as the problem then would be even if it wasn’t the case whoever gets the gig wouldn’t be made accountable under that structure and Craig would be blamed which could sour any future thoughts about him

 

he should always be a hero in the eyes of the club as he does genuinely love the club (this is the bit everyone has to respect) thus him stepping aside in the summer and someone else being given a chance along with being his own man, for me, is the right thing and best thing for the club as we aren’t progressing on field (for me) - saying we have reached a semi and cup final only papers over the cracks in the league performances when you look at the teams we had to play to get there 

 

the club matters more to me than anyone who has attachment to it or not and I would hope that those who are attached to the club and who have influence on the pitch where it matters also realise when they are flogging a dead horse - it takes a bigger man to walk away rather than progress with something that isn’t working 

 

Gary Locke wasn’t sacked.

[Enzo Chiefo]

50 minutes ago, i wish jj was my dad said:

I'm really not. We dominated the game other than a short window in the second half. You made your mind up that you didn't like Levein and there is nothing that will change your mind. 

 

I think you will get your wish and he will be gone in the summer. Hopefully, you will get behind 'your club' after that rather than focusing your attention on Craig. 

Again,  that is your opinion. Others would disagree. Although I don't place a lot of emphasis on posession or kms covered , the fact that Hibs had 52% overall posession would suggest we didn't "dominate" the game. They certainly had more pace and creativity imo.  I'm not going to apologise for not liking Levein. It was a botched managerial search and a retrograde appointment from AB, one that was always going to divide the support.

[Hearts1975]

41 minutes ago, DH1986 said:

 

Gary Locke wasn’t sacked.

Gary Locke was sacked and relieved of his duties by Levein

the decision to do this was made prior to Lebrun taking over with AB 

suggest you check your facts 

[Hearts1975]

46 minutes ago, Mr Elwood P said:

 

punctuation

/pʌŋ(k)tʃʊˈeɪʃ(ə)n/

noun

 

1. 1. 

   the marks, such as full stop, comma, and brackets, used in writing to separate sentences and their elements and to clarify meaning.

   "you will notice that no punctuation is used"

   synonyms:

   punctuation marks, points

2. 2. 

   BIOLOGY

   rapid or sudden speciation, as suggested by the theory of punctuated equilibrium.

    

    

   I think this may help you to make your point in a more coherent and convincing manner! I'm not sure if writing all of that without even a hint of a full stop or comparing the managerial ability of Levein to Locke is more ridiculous.

Putting the grammar and full stops to one side I think my posts pretty clear  

 

You probably don’t follow it well because of your own denial against anything anyone says which doesn’t allude to what you actually think. 

 

[Mr Elwood P]

15 minutes ago, Hearts1975 said:

Putting the grammar and full stops to one side I think my posts pretty clear  

 

You probably don’t follow it well because of your own denial against anything anyone says which doesn’t allude to what you actually think. 

 

 

Is English your first language?

 

I actually think I’ve got a pretty balanced and objective view of the situation. We’ve had some very good and some very bad this season. The anti Levein crowd will diminish any good results we have had by blaming the standard of opposition etc. I on the other hand will accept that all the performances against Rangers, the loss to Livingston and loss to Dundee were pathetic. However we’ve beaten Aberdeen twice, gone unbeaten and Easter Road, won twice away at Kilmarnock and done well overall in both cup competitions. My view is that the two successful cup runs, the ferocious start we made to the league campaign and the mitigation of injuries justify Levein getting one more season, or at the very least the League Cup / Europa League games and the first phase of Premiership games.

[JamboAl]

3 hours ago, Hearts1975 said:

I see what you are saying with your post but the question that burns through my mind is whether if we continue with Craig is this going to lead us to have any consistency with performances - with someone else at the helm we will still lose games but maybe someone else will have us playing more progressive, expansive football, good to watch and with us on the front foot most of the time 

 

 

 

 

The question that burns through my mind is that if we replace him will that lead to consistency of performance bearing in mind the almost inevitable process of that manager bringing in his own staff and players - and the cost.

Do you have in mind the name of someone who can provide you with the consistency of performances or would that be a hit and a hope?

Edited May 2, 2019 by JamboAl

[Bazzas right boot]

51 minutes ago, Hearts1975 said:

Gary Locke was sacked and relieved of his duties by Levein

the decision to do this was made prior to Lebrun taking over with AB 

suggest you check your facts 

 

Technically contract not renewed. 

 

 

[Hearts1975]

Just now, Mr Elwood P said:

 

Is English your first language?

 

I actually think I’ve got a pretty balanced and objective view of the situation. We’ve had some very good and some very bad this season. The anti Levein crowd will diminish any good results we have had by blaming the standard of opposition etc. I on the other hand will accept that all the performances against Rangers, the loss to Livingston and loss to Dundee were pathetic. However we’ve beaten Aberdeen twice, gone unbeaten and Easter Road, won twice away at Kilmarnock and done well overall in both cup competitions. My view is that the two successful cup runs, the ferocious start we made to the league campaign and the mitigation of injuries justify Levein getting one more season, or at the very least the League Cup / Europa League games and the first phase of Premiership games.

Don’t be a sanctimonious prick 

 

Having the anonymity of your wee user name and keyboard keeping you safe whilst throwing personal insults at someone you haven’t even met is cowardly in my estimation 

 

Especially when that same person would knock your lights in if u were brave enough to say it to their face ?

 

 

[Mr Elwood P]

1 minute ago, Hearts1975 said:

Don’t be a sanctimonious prick 

 

Having the anonymity of your wee user name and keyboard keeping you safe whilst throwing personal insults at someone you haven’t even met is cowardly in my estimation 

 

Especially when that same person would knock your lights in if u were brave enough to say it to their face ?

 

 

 

Just asked a question, think you’ve answered it. Obviously some kind of severe learning difficulty. Feel bad for you son.

[Hearts1975]

1 minute ago, Mr Elwood P said:

 

Just asked a question, think you’ve answered it. Obviously some kind of severe learning difficulty. Feel bad for you son.

Don’t feel bad for me son 

 

your the brave man posting personal insults in your posts rather than just debating the post itself

 

that’s what cowards do I suppose 

 

 

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

This thread is bringing out the worse in kickback. We are split over Craig Levein's future and his performance so far but the personal abuse between some posters is not called for!

Come on folks. 

[Hearts1975]

30 minutes ago, Olly Lee's left boot said:

 

Technically contract not renewed. 

 

 

I didn’t know that the contract was up for renewal but I think he was relieved of his duties as Hearts Manager by Craig, and the Neilson appointment was planned a long time before this happened 

 

Either way I’m just saying that a  decision was made to discontinue with Locke

 

 

 

[jambos are go!]

2 hours ago, fabienleclerq said:

He goes to hit it across the box, slips and hits it off his other foot! 

 

It's a good bit of movement and turned gray and another defender but he doesn't mean to pass it where it went. 

That is your opinion and I respect that. However, mine I suggest is more valid given that Uche was unmarked in the box .

[Mr Elwood P]

17 minutes ago, Hearts1975 said:

Don’t feel bad for me son 

 

your the brave man posting personal insults in your posts rather than just debating the post itself

 

that’s what cowards do I suppose 

 

 

 

I didn’t throw out a personal insult, I asked if English was your first language and was actually going to apologise if it wasn’t. You then responded by threatening me with violence. That reaction combined with the grammar / punctuation suggests a learning difficulty. Quite often folk that can’t express themselves properly lash out when they feel, incorrectly in this instance, that they are under attack. A good example is Alfredo Morelos, he comes from a very very poor background and his poor education has stunted his emotional development. This translates into his inability to control himself when he’s being wound up by Brown.

[Hearts1975]

45 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

The question that burns through my mind is that if we replace him will that lead to consistency of performance bearing in mind the almost inevitable process of that manager bringing in his own staff and players - and the cost.

Do you have in mind the name of someone who can provide you with the consistency of performances or would that be a hit and a hope?

Yes - 1st paragraph, no question there will be a cost and more turnaround of players. When you change Manager someone new will always target different players and change existing players 

 

but is that the only reason to not do anything?. I mean, if it is then no manager would ever be sacked or asked to step aside in the history of the game 

 

Your second point - just to be clear I don’t have anyone specifically in mind 

 

what I do know is that if the Hearts job was advertised and the manager was allowed sole control of running the club with no above interference then I am sure we would have some real attractive candidates come through 

 

for me, I think it would be fool hardy Craig going back to DOF and running with this system. 

 

Whether craig would accept it or not is a different story but where I think he has a skill set is with the youth players and running the academy. 

 

I wouldn’t be adverse at all to him being handed full control of the youth system, develop and bring on young talent but allow another manager to have a go in the dugout where they have full control over first team affairs 

 

i just think this is the best move for us as a club moving forward.

 

I’m not “anti levein” - I just think a change is required and that isn’t me having a go at him for saying that. I respect him - as I said in my previous post - he loves the same club I love and he was a fantastic player for us. No Disrespect toward him whatsoever but like I said, I just think as a club the change would be a positive move 

[JamboAl]

3 minutes ago, Hearts1975 said:

Yes - 1st paragraph, no question there will be a cost and more turnaround of players. When you change Manager someone new will always target different players and change existing players 

 

but is that the only reason to not do anything?. I mean, if it is then no manager would ever be sacked or asked to step aside in the history of the game 

 

Your second point - just to be clear I don’t have anyone specifically in mind 

 

what I do know is that if the Hearts job was advertised and the manager was allowed sole control of running the club with no above interference then I am sure we would have some real attractive candidates come through 

 

for me, I think it would be fool hardy Craig going back to DOF and running with this system. 

 

Whether craig would accept it or not is a different story but where I think he has a skill set is with the youth players and running the academy. 

 

I wouldn’t be adverse at all to him being handed full control of the youth system, develop and bring on young talent but allow another manager to have a go in the dugout where they have full control over first team affairs 

 

i just think this is the best move for us as a club moving forward.

 

I’m not “anti levein” - I just think a change is required and that isn’t me having a go at him for saying that. I respect him - as I said in my previous post - he loves the same club I love and he was a fantastic player for us. No Disrespect toward him whatsoever but like I said, I just think as a club the change would be a positive move 

So, let's just ignore the cost and take a hopeful punt.  Eh?

You have no one in mind.  Again let's take a punt and hope for the best.

Advertise.  We did that before and all sorts of demands were made by the most likely candidates eg Davis, while Freedman decides there are bigger fish in the sea.  A summer of upheaval and uncertainty!

I am not exactly pro Levein, despite what some may think, but if we "sack" CL, it is essential we have someone better in mind and you obviously don't have such a name.

Please remember a good burglar always leaves himself a clear way out, not a hit and a hope.  If CL goes for any reason we must be prepared with an able replacement and that will cost money and a big gamble.

[Hearts1975]

7 minutes ago, Mr Elwood P said:

 

I didn’t throw out a personal insult, I asked if English was your first language and was actually going to apologise if it wasn’t. You then responded by threatening me with violence. That reaction combined with the grammar / punctuation suggests a learning difficulty. Quite often folk that can’t express themselves properly lash out when they feel, incorrectly in this instance, that they are under attack. A good example is Alfredo Morelos, he comes from a very very poor background and his poor education has stunted his emotional development. This translates into his inability to control himself when he’s being wound up by Brown.

I was posting from my phone and not really concentrating on grammar as I wasn’t at my work or submitting correspondence which I thought would be subject to a full grammatical review. 

 

You responded by cutting and pasting guidance back to me on grammar and full stops. It may have not been your intention to offend but it did. 

 

Secondly, when I responded to your first post you then assumed that English wasn’t my first language and then added that I may have a learning difficulty - read your own posts back and if I had said that to you how would you have felt ?

 

Yes, the violence piece was a reaction and for what it’s worth I’m sorry for that 

 

I have seen you responding to posts before from other posters where the grammar may have not been great but I haven’t yet seen you pull anyone else up for it 

 

Hence the fact I reacted. The one thing I don’t do on this board is get personal with other posters even if I don’t agree with them. I thought in this case you were having a go at me rather than debating my post 

 

like I said, not proud of my reaction so an apology is being given to you 

[Mr Elwood P]

1 minute ago, Hearts1975 said:

I was posting from my phone and not really concentrating on grammar as I wasn’t at my work or submitting correspondence which I thought would be subject to a full grammatical review. 

 

You responded by cutting and pasting guidance back to me on grammar and full stops. It may have not been your intention to offend but it did. 

 

Secondly, when I responded to your first post you then assumed that English wasn’t my first language and then added that I may have a learning difficulty - read your own posts back and if I had said that to you how would you have felt ?

 

Yes, the violence piece was a reaction and for what it’s worth I’m sorry for that 

 

I have seen you responding to posts before from other posters where the grammar may have not been great but I haven’t yet seen you pull anyone else up for it 

 

Hence the fact I reacted. The one thing I don’t do on this board is get personal with other posters even if I don’t agree with them. I thought in this case you were having a go at me rather than debating my post 

 

like I said, not proud of my reaction so an apology is being given to you 

 

Fair enough mate, I apologise if I wound you up. If you have a look through my posts you will see that I have pulled up a number of other posters for incorrect grammar, spelling and the perpetual battle between 'your' and 'you're' or 'there' and 'their'. Usually when they've attempted to correct me on a point and made a dick of it by using the wrong word in their reply. We move on.

 

[Hearts1975]

2 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

So, let's just ignore the cost and take a hopeful punt.  Eh?

You have no one in mind.  Again let's take a punt and hope for the best.

Advertise.  We did that before and all sorts of demands were made by the most likely candidates eg Davis, while Freedman decides there are bigger fish in the sea.  A summer of upheaval and uncertainty!

I am not exactly pro Levein, despite what some may think, but if we "sack" CL, it is essential we have someone better in mind and you obviously don't have such a name.

Please remember a good burglar always leaves himself a clear way out, not a hit and a hope.  If CL goes for any reason we must be prepared with an able replacement and that will cost money and a big gamble.

Can you honestly say the last time that a potential candidate would have not have been put off from being under the DOF structure 

 

I’m not criticising the club. You need to understand. I just feel that if we advertised out with the pretence of working under a DOF structure that we would have more candidates and different candidates. It’s a long time since we last advertised the position. Who knows, there may be 1 or 2 real candidates who could move us forward 

 

let’s be honest, now, with the way the club is run off the pitch, the extra revenue being generated - the fact that we are one of the best clubs for training facilities and the appeal for players coming to the most atmospheric stadium in Scotland (it will be again) - this is a huge appeal to managers out there. I genuinely believe that we would get some real names and attractive prospects in the hat but without doing this we will never know 

 

yup the alternative staying with the status quo is less risky and certainly far less upheaval 

 

the question I would say to anyone right now is the same question I ask myself. Will we be better off staying with Craig or trying something different

 

like I said I still think giving Craig a role and full control and autonomy in running the academy but allowing an opportunity for someone else running the first team is the right way to go 

 

I agree with you this would have to be planned properly but I disagree that if we stay as we are we will be in the best position (on the park not off it) moving forward 

[Hearts1975]

8 minutes ago, Mr Elwood P said:

 

Fair enough mate, I apologise if I wound you up. If you have a look through my posts you will see that I have pulled up a number of other posters for incorrect grammar, spelling and the perpetual battle between 'your' and 'you're' or 'there' and 'their'. Usually when they've attempted to correct me on a point and made a dick of it by using the wrong word in their reply. We move on.

 

Apology accepted. Like I said I was completely out of order with my response so I hope you can accept mine. 

[The Old Tolbooth]

What a car crash of a thread this has become

[JamboAl]

4 minutes ago, Hearts1975 said:

Can you honestly say the last time that a potential candidate would have not have been put off from being under the DOF structure 

 

I’m not criticising the club. You need to understand. I just feel that if we advertised out with the pretence of working under a DOF structure that we would have more candidates and different candidates. It’s a long time since we last advertised the position. Who knows, there may be 1 or 2 real candidates who could move us forward 

 

let’s be honest, now, with the way the club is run off the pitch, the extra revenue being generated - the fact that we are one of the best clubs for training facilities and the appeal for players coming to the most atmospheric stadium in Scotland (it will be again) - this is a huge appeal to managers out there. I genuinely believe that we would get some real names and attractive prospects in the hat but without doing this we will never know 

 

yup the alternative staying with the status quo is less risky and certainly far less upheaval 

 

the question I would say to anyone right now is the same question I ask myself. Will we be better off staying with Craig or trying something different

 

like I said I still think giving Craig a role and full control and autonomy in running the academy but allowing an opportunity for someone else running the first team is the right way to go 

 

I agree with you this would have to be planned properly but I disagree that if we stay as we are we will be in the best position (on the park not off it) moving forward 

I understand the points you are making but your suggestions are laced with uncertainty as indeed is the status quo.

 

Whether we like it or not, much of our current problems have stemmed from a difficult injury period where even now we are operating without 2 of our most influential players (Naismith and Haring, not to mention Garruccio, Morrison and Keena) and the consequential performances are understandably upsetting people.  We must be careful however not to succumb to knee-jerk reactions as they seldom work and if we were to make a bad change (of manager) it would set us back further than ever.

 

CL is not a quick fix merchant.  His strategy is a slow build-up of a club and now we are starting to see the emergence of some youth talent in the shape of McDonald, C Smith, Irving, Cochrane etc.  Add these to the current backbone of contracted players like Souttar, Uche, Berra, Smith, Haring and hopefully Naisy as well as the 4/5 "better" players he is looking for and we have a strong squad for next season.  I accept all of this may not work out but it offers more certainty and stability than a leap in the dark.

 

[Mr Elwood P]

21 minutes ago, Hearts1975 said:

Apology accepted. Like I said I was completely out of order with my response so I hope you can accept mine. 

 

Apology accepted also.

[Hearts1975]

2 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

I understand the points you are making but your suggestions are laced with uncertainty as indeed is the status quo.

 

Whether we like it or not, much of our current problems have stemmed from a difficult injury period where even now we are operating without 2 of our most influential players (Naismith and Haring, not to mention Garruccio, Morrison and Keena) and the consequential performances are understandably upsetting people.  We must be careful however not to succumb to knee-jerk reactions as they seldom work and if we were to make a bad change (of manager) it would set us back further than ever.

 

CL is not a quick fix merchant.  His strategy is a slow build-up of a club and now we are starting to see the emergence of some youth talent in the shape of McDonald, C Smith, Irving, Cochrane etc.  Add these to the current backbone of contracted players like Souttar, Uche, Berra, Smith, Haring and hopefully Naisy as well as the 4/5 "better" players he is looking for and we have a strong squad for next season.  I accept all of this may not work out but it offers more certainty and stability than a leap in the dark.

 

Last paragraph and I well remember what happened in his first period at the club. I also remember some of the fantastic players we signed back then and Craig plucked them from obscurity - I would say without doubt and in my opinion fuller was probably one of the finest signings we ever made. Putting aside de vries, Valois etc 

 

your last paragraph is exactly the same reason I wanted Craig to get the full season as I knew it wouldn’t happen immediately but with time it could come good. I wasn’t in favour of the DOF initially but when he stepped in the dugout I thought that we could progress 

 

Look, this may be way of the mark but Craig has coaches in play and I wonder if these guys are some of the best coaches that we could have. They also have to take responsibility 

 

would it be such a bad thing letting Levein run the youth system? - this is where his strength is and where he can impact positively at the club for years to come. Someone just has to convince him if he hasn’t already convinced himself 

 

i dont necessarily think Craig should leave the club as there are certain areas where he could be a real asset and have a real impact such as the academy. Just not the first team for me 

 

 

[Boab]

6 minutes ago, Hearts1975 said:

Last paragraph and I well remember what happened in his first period at the club. I also remember some of the fantastic players we signed back then and Craig plucked them from obscurity - I would say without doubt and in my opinion fuller was probably one of the finest signings we ever made. Putting aside de vries, Valois etc 

 

your last paragraph is exactly the same reason I wanted Craig to get the full season as I knew it wouldn’t happen immediately but with time it could come good. I wasn’t in favour of the DOF initially but when he stepped in the dugout I thought that we could progress 

 

Look, this may be way of the mark but Craig has coaches in play and I wonder if these guys are some of the best coaches that we could have. They also have to take responsibility 

 

would it be such a bad thing letting Levein run the youth system? - this is where his strength is and where he can impact positively at the club for years to come. Someone just has to convince him if he hasn’t already convinced himself 

 

i dont necessarily think Craig should leave the club as there are certain areas where he could be a real asset and have a real impact such as the academy. Just not the first team for me 

 

 

 

I don’t think this issue will go away any time soon. If he does jump back upstairs, I think it’s fairly certain one of his coaches will take over. Even a joint appointment possibly.

It means this saga will rumble on and no great improvement will just increase the dissent.

Of course, Cup or no, he might decide to see out his last year. 

This place will be fun !

[WageThief]

17 minutes ago, Hearts1975 said:

let’s be honest, now, with the way the club is run off the pitch, the extra revenue being generated - the fact that we are one of the best clubs for training facilities and the appeal for players coming to the most atmospheric stadium in Scotland (it will be again) - this is a huge appeal to managers out there. I genuinely believe that we would get some real names and attractive prospects in the hat but without doing this we will never know 

 

I don't know if the job is that attractive really.  You basically get a budget in between Hibs and Aberdeen and are expected to compete with the latter NOW.  The new boss needs to rebuild the squad and use youngsters with instant success.  Another 6th place finish will buy him another year, 5th place is progress but means nothing and 4th isn't good enough long-term.

 

If the new manager gets 3rd place, he'll then be plagued with complaints about the style of football, performance in cup competitions, one-off derby defeats, results in Glasgow, and rumours that he doesn't pick the team.

 

Successful signings will be largely forgotten or used a stick to beat the new manager for over-relying on them while any poor signings will be remembered forever and added to 'the list' that will be used to prove how awful our recruitment has been.

 

For a Steve Clarke, there is much greater scope for success at a club like Kilmarnock or Motherwell.  For Clarke to achieve the same reputation he currently has as Hearts boss, he would need to split the bigot brothers.  Heckingbottom could finish 5th or 6th next season and be safe too.

[mitch41]

On advertising a job for being a Hearts Manager can you see why a potential manager wouldn't want anything to do with the job when you are told 

"You must have Austin McPhee as Asst. Manager, you must keep Jon Daly as 1st team coach ect ect".

These are all Levein's men, his Bootroom that he is obsessed with. 

[JamboAl]

23 minutes ago, Hearts1975 said:

Last paragraph and I well remember what happened in his first period at the club. I also remember some of the fantastic players we signed back then and Craig plucked them from obscurity - I would say without doubt and in my opinion fuller was probably one of the finest signings we ever made. Putting aside de vries, Valois etc 

 

your last paragraph is exactly the same reason I wanted Craig to get the full season as I knew it wouldn’t happen immediately but with time it could come good. I wasn’t in favour of the DOF initially but when he stepped in the dugout I thought that we could progress 

 

Look, this may be way of the mark but Craig has coaches in play and I wonder if these guys are some of the best coaches that we could have. They also have to take responsibility 

 

would it be such a bad thing letting Levein run the youth system? - this is where his strength is and where he can impact positively at the club for years to come. Someone just has to convince him if he hasn’t already convinced himself 

 

i dont necessarily think Craig should leave the club as there are certain areas where he could be a real asset and have a real impact such as the academy. Just not the first team for me 

 

 

Fair comment and I too wonder about the calibre of our coaches.

I think Fuller was just a loan signing but, yes, he got you off your seat.

[DH1986]

3 hours ago, Hearts1975 said:

Gary Locke was sacked and relieved of his duties by Levein

the decision to do this was made prior to Lebrun taking over with AB 

suggest you check your facts 

 

His contract simply wasn’t renewed.....

 

So I suggest you check your facts.

[Enzo Chiefo]

14 hours ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

And then Levein switched it back into our favour with his subs. Assuming we're talking about the last derby.

 

In both derbies we've started really well though so he set up the team better at the start than Heckingbottom.

Yes, we are chasing the game and he makes the change. MacLean has an assist and we ended up getting a point so, of course, he deserves credit for that.  However, my gripe is that Levein's changes are usually reactive as opposed to proactive and his speed of thought and ability to read games are lacking. He previously stated that "i know what it takes to get points in this league". I'm paraphrasing him but, given our consecutive 6th place finishes, other managers are better at it than him.

Edited May 2, 2019 by Enzo Chiefo

[JamboAl]

52 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Yes, we are chasing the game and he makes the change. MacLean has an assist and we ended up getting a point so, of course, he deserves credit for that.  However, my gripe is that Levein's changes are usually reactive as opposed to proactive and his speed of thought and ability to read games are lacking. He previously stated that "i know what it takes to get points in this league". I'm paraphrasing him but, given our consecutive 6th place finishes, other managers are better at it than him.

What selection would you make for Saturday so that we are not chasing the game and making reactive substitutions?

[Hearts1975]

1 hour ago, DH1986 said:

 

His contract simply wasn’t renewed.....

 

So I suggest you check your facts.

A decision was made not to continue with his services - ultimately there was a change in management as a result 

[Hearts1975]

1 hour ago, Boab said:

 

I don’t think this issue will go away any time soon. If he does jump back upstairs, I think it’s fairly certain one of his coaches will take over. Even a joint appointment possibly.

It means this saga will rumble on and no great improvement will just increase the dissent.

Of course, Cup or no, he might decide to see out his last year. 

This place will be fun !

Too true 

[DH1986]

28 minutes ago, Hearts1975 said:

A decision was made not to continue with his services - ultimately there was a change in management as a result 

 

Still wasn’t sacked though.

[Enzo Chiefo]

36 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

What selection would you make for Saturday so that we are not chasing the game and making reactive substitutions?

That is not MY job. Just to summarise:  you want to deflect criticism from a guy who is in charge of the entire footballing dept, from signings to tactics to team selection -  a guy who is hoovering a lot of money from the club by way of remuneration - by putting the onus on ME to outline my thoughts. Take a hike pal.

[Hearts1975]

2 hours ago, WageThief said:

 

I don't know if the job is that attractive really.  You basically get a budget in between Hibs and Aberdeen and are expected to compete with the latter NOW.  The new boss needs to rebuild the squad and use youngsters with instant success.  Another 6th place finish will buy him another year, 5th place is progress but means nothing and 4th isn't good enough long-term.

 

If the new manager gets 3rd place, he'll then be plagued with complaints about the style of football, performance in cup competitions, one-off derby defeats, results in Glasgow, and rumours that he doesn't pick the team.

 

Successful signings will be largely forgotten or used a stick to beat the new manager for over-relying on them while any poor signings will be remembered forever and added to 'the list' that will be used to prove how awful our recruitment has been.

 

For a Steve Clarke, there is much greater scope for success at a club like Kilmarnock or Motherwell.  For Clarke to achieve the same reputation he currently has as Hearts boss, he would need to split the bigot brothers.  Heckingbottom could finish 5th or 6th next season and be safe too.

We are 5 years in to the new era and nowhere near competing with Aberdeen 

[Hearts1975]

6 minutes ago, DH1986 said:

 

Still wasn’t sacked though.

Wasn’t allowed to continue as manager either 

 

[JamboAl]

5 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

That is not MY job. Just to summarise:  you want to deflect criticism from a guy who is in charge of the entire footballing dept, from signings to tactics to team selection -  a guy who is hoovering a lot of money from the club by way of remuneration - by putting the onus on ME to outline my thoughts. Take a hike pal.

I'm not trying to deflect criticism at all.

You seem to know all the answers about what is done wrong and I just think the club should tap into your knowledge so that we can get it right.

Anyone can criticise with hindsight after a defeat - that's child's play.

[DH1986]

4 minutes ago, Hearts1975 said:

Wasn’t allowed to continue as manager either 

 

 

Quite rightly so tbh.

 

 

[Enzo Chiefo]

Just now, JamboAl said:

I'm not trying to deflect criticism at all.

You seem to know all the answers about what is done wrong and I just think the club should tap into your knowledge so that we can get it right.

Anyone can criticise with hindsight after a defeat - that's child's play.

You are trying to deflect criticism. I am not advocating taking over as manager but I am pushing for the removal of a well remunerated manager and a replacement installed. Someone who CAN read a game and make proactive substitutions. Someone who doesn't just rely on height, strength, endeavour, set pieces and long throw ins to get goals. Soneone who doean't "struggle to come up with ideas to create chances" when a couple of his Plan A players are injured. 

[Taffin]

If we hadn't got the injuries there's a good chance we'd have challenged for the league.

 

It's not Levein's fault the squad is so unbalanced it couldn't cope.

 

It's best we give him another window and at least the first round of fixtures next season

 

That way if it still isn't working at least we'll have wasted another season in finding out for certain.

[soonbe110]

2 hours ago, mitch41 said:

On advertising a job for being a Hearts Manager can you see why a potential manager wouldn't want anything to do with the job when you are told 

"You must have Austin McPhee as Asst. Manager, you must keep Jon Daly as 1st team coach ect ect".

These are all Levein's men, his Bootroom that he is obsessed with. 

Has this scenario ever played out or is it just a figment of your imagination? 

[soonbe110]

1 hour ago, JamboAl said:

What selection would you make for Saturday so that we are not chasing the game and making reactive substitutions?

Enzo won’t answer that. Only criticises, never has a possible alternative solution or suggestion. Likes to criticise but when it comes to suggesting what should be done it’s splinters in the bottom time. 

[soonbe110]

32 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

That is not MY job. Just to summarise:  you want to deflect criticism from a guy who is in charge of the entire footballing dept, from signings to tactics to team selection -  a guy who is hoovering a lot of money from the club by way of remuneration - by putting the onus on ME to outline my thoughts. Take a hike pal.

Surprise, surprise I was right. 

[soonbe110]

30 minutes ago, Hearts1975 said:

We are 5 years in to the new era and nowhere near competing with Aberdeen 

Sorry, but you are out of touch. 

[Agentjambo]

5 minutes ago, soonbe110 said:

Sorry, but you are out of touch. 

In what way?

[BOBTHEBRUCE]

How can Derek McInnes go to Ibrox and win twice but Craig Levein can't even make the game competitive?

Is that no just a shite manager?

 

Trying to keep things simple here. 

 

 

Edited May 2, 2019 by BOBTHEBRUCE

[soonbe110]

13 minutes ago, Agentjambo said:

In what way?

Last few seasons we have beaten Aberdeen regularly. They are only a few points ahead of us this season despite our horrendous injuries and recent form. We are certainly competing with them. I’d expect us to finish above them next season. 

[soonbe110]

12 minutes ago, BOBTHEBRUCE said:

How can Derek McInnes go to Ibrox and win twice but Craig Levein can't even make the game competitive?

Is that no just a shite manager?

 

Trying to keep things simple here. 

 

 

How can Craig Levein keep beating Derek McInnes in head to heads. Is that no just a shite manager especially when he keeps winning in Glasgow but he can’t win in Gorgie. 

 

Edited May 2, 2019 by soonbe110

[Enzo Chiefo]

10 minutes ago, soonbe110 said:

Enzo won’t answer that. Only criticises, never has a possible alternative solution or suggestion. Likes to criticise but when it comes to suggesting what should be done it’s splinters in the bottom time. 

I can pick my team any time. It doesn't seem to be resonating with Levein's apologists though - why is the response to criticising Levein met with the question : what would YOU do?  I tell you what I would do though, as a non-experienced manager, I would have them practicising off the ball movement,  quick passing etc etc. I would leave one player on the centre circle when we defend corners,  i would ask the wingers to hit the byeline rather than cut inside. I would vary the throw ins so that we don't just give the ball to Michael Smith for yet another "dry and launch" routine every single time. Anyway ...back to Levein