Levein In!

[Guest]

54 minutes ago, Phil Dunphy said:

 

How much time do you give a manager these days? 

 

Two seasons? Three seasons? Four seasons?

 

72 league games in charge, 26 wins. 36% win, 41% loss.

 

How about don’t change the manager unless you absolutely have to. It’s riskier than doing the alternative at our level. There’s plenty of evidence for that.

 

Levein had a poor season. Some are willing to factor in injuries others not so much, but he’s nowhere near McLean or Cathro when they absolutely had to go

[karipidis]

7 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

How about don’t change the manager unless you absolutely have to. It’s riskier than doing the alternative at our level. There’s plenty of evidence for that.

 

Levein had a poor season. Some are willing to factor in injuries others not so much, but he’s nowhere near McLean or Cathro when they absolutely had to go

The league form is very similar to Cathros when he was sacked. A cup run against lower league opposition his saving grace? 

[Enzo Chiefo]

1 hour ago, Phil Dunphy said:

 

You're right.

 

We should stick with Levein until he's ready to walk away, because football isn't about taking any kind of risks. Playing it safe always pays dividends when trying to be a success in football.

Ironically, the philosophy of Levein himself. Stop the opposition playing, don't take any risks, play it safe, everyone get back to defend corners etc . He's now managed to hypnotise an element of our support into thinking the same way. Any other Hearts manager , with a budget our size, presiding over successive 6th place finishes, 15 points behind Killie again, would be booted out the door and up McLeod Street

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, karipidis said:

The league form is very similar to Cathros when he was sacked. A cup run against lower league opposition his saving grace? 

 

I’m all ears if theres a good candidate out there and I’m sure Budge is too. If Robbo wanted to come I’d be good with that. I liked the sound of Dougie Freedman and if Michael ONeil left NI I’d be all over that, or maybe an up and coming German coach, but non of the names being put up strike me as less risky than giving Levein another year.

Edited May 27, 2019 by Guest

[Phil Dunphy]

12 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

Levein had two poor seasons.

 

I've FTFY.

 

36% win rate over 72 league games. Some might be happy to settle for mediocrity, but I'd quite fancy Hearts to do better.

[Morph]

14 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

How about don’t change the manager unless you absolutely have to. It’s riskier than doing the alternative at our level. There’s plenty of evidence for that.

 

Levein had a poor season. Some are willing to factor in injuries others not so much, but he’s nowhere near McLean or Cathro when they absolutely had to go

What about the risk of losing the fans turning up?  Some are already saying they're not bothering because he's in charge and won't be buying season tickets until he's gone.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Ironically, the philosophy of Levein himself. Stop the opposition playing, don't take any risks, play it safe, everyone get back to defend corners etc . He's now managed to hypnotise an element of our support into thinking the same way. Any other Hearts manager , with a budget our size, presiding over successive 6th place finishes, 15 points behind Killie again, would be booted out the door and up McLeod Street

 

That’s not how he played in the biggest game of his managerial career on Saturday.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Phil Dunphy said:

 

I've FTFY.

 

36% win rate over 72 league games. Some might be happy to settle for mediocrity, but I'd quite fancy Hearts to do better.

 

Me too. Who?

[Pasquale for King]

19 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

They chose dougie freedman.

 

Look, folk thinking a final Levein season to continue building a spine and bringing youth through, and allowing for a thorough search for the next guy, is less risky than changing everything now is really not a very controversial viewpoint. 

He took the job at Palace before we offered it to him.

Less risky, two 6 place finishes and some of the worst football and results for years make a change worth taking.

[Finlay James]

4 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Ironically, the philosophy of Levein himself. Stop the opposition playing, don't take any risks, play it safe, everyone get back to defend corners etc . He's now managed to hypnotise an element of our support into thinking the same way. Any other Hearts manager , with a budget our size, presiding over successive 6th place finishes, 15 points behind Killie again, would be booted out the door and up McLeod Street

 

Celtic had everyone back defending corners at the weekend and they've just won the treble treble.  

[Pasquale for King]

Just now, ToqueJambo said:

 

That’s not how he played in the biggest game of his managerial career on Saturday.

How do you think we played, we pressed them high up the pitch to stop them from playing, we didn’t attack much or throw caution to the wind until the last five minutes.

[Guest]

Just now, Morph said:

What about the risk of losing the fans turning up?  Some are already saying they're not bothering because he's in charge and won't be buying season tickets until he's gone.

 

Not real supporters. I suspect there’s a generational divide here - certainly with jambos I know. People who lived through the 80s watching Hearts can put up with lean spells and maybe cope with crushing disappointment better than younger fans. We also know that managers can come good after a couple of seasons.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

He took the job at Palace before we offered it to him.

Less risky, two 6 place finishes and some of the worst football and results for years make a change worth taking.

 

Did you watch us scrap around for a couple of years in the 80s before Doddie hit on the right formula. Imagine we’d got rid of him.

[Pasquale for King]

Just now, Finlay James said:

 

Celtic had everyone back defending corners at the weekend and they've just won the treble treble.  

Probably because they only have three tall guys to cover our attackers. Lennon is a defensive manager too, Celtic fans don’t even want him.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Pasquale for King said:

How do you think we played, we pressed them high up the pitch to stop them from playing, we didn’t attack much or throw caution to the wind until the last five minutes.

 

We all saw how we played and we didn’t play the way that guy described.

[Pasquale for King]

1 minute ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

Not real supporters. I suspect there’s a generational divide here - certainly with jambos I know. People who lived through the 80s watching Hearts can put up with lean spells and maybe cope with crushing disappointment better than younger fans. We also know that managers can come good after a couple of seasons.

Absolute nonsense, all the old guys i know want him out.

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

He took the job at Palace before we offered it to him.

Less risky, two 6 place finishes and some of the worst football and results for years make a change worth taking.

 

Yes less risky. Let him finish the main job Budge gave him which was to get the club on a solid foundation for the next guy.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Pasquale for King said:

Absolute nonsense, all the old guys i know want him out.

 

Moaning *******s. Folk have wanted Levein out for years for some weird reason known only to them.

Edited May 27, 2019 by Guest

[Pasquale for King]

Just now, ToqueJambo said:

 

We all saw how we played and we didn’t play the way that guy described.

We need to play that way in every game, especially at home.

[Pasquale for King]

3 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

Yes less risky. Let him finish the main job Budge gave him which was to get the club on a solid foundation for the next guy.

6th two seasons running, the foundations are anything but stable with a squad full of injury prone imposters who only show up when they feel like it.

Edited May 27, 2019 by Pasquale for King

[i wish jj was my dad]

14 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Ironically, the philosophy of Levein himself. Stop the opposition playing, don't take any risks, play it safe, everyone get back to defend corners etc . He's now managed to hypnotise an element of our support into thinking the same way. Any other Hearts manager , with a budget our size, presiding over successive 6th place finishes, 15 points behind Killie again, would be booted out the door and up McLeod Street

Did you watch on Saturday or were you still boycotting?  

[Guest]

Just now, Pasquale for King said:

We need to play that way in every game, especially at home.

 

Yeah and Messi has the talent to score in every game. He doesn’t because there are two teams on the pitch. Sometimes our tactics work and sometimes they don’t. The other teams have a say in things.

 

For what it’s worth Levein is too

cautious a manager at times for me but I think he brings other qualities and the start to the season and the way he turned around our fortunes in both cups and the derby give me encouragement he has a great season in him.

[Pasquale for King]

3 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

Moaning *******s. Folk have wanted Levein out for years for some weird reason known only to them.

As opposed to happy clappers like you, nothing weird about it the guys just not got it.

[Phil Dunphy]

5 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

Me too. Who?

 

Like I've said repeatedly, I don't know who would be interested in the Hearts job. No-one would know that unless managers started publicly stating they'd want a crack at it.

 

"Who'd get us winning things?" is like asking me for the lottery numbers for next week. You want a guess? I'll give you one. But I can quite clearly see that it's not working with our current manager. 7 league wins since November. We won the same number of games as two clubs who barely avoided relegation.

 

19 players brought in this season and we managed to finish sixth. Again.

 

3 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

Not real supporters. 

 

Don't be that guy.

 

Keeping faith with a manager who oversaw 7 wins out of his last 27 matches doesn't make you a better supporter than those who don't want to spend upwards of £300 to see the same thing all over again.

 

2 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

Did you watch us scrap around for a couple of years in the 80s before Doddie hit on the right formula. Imagine we’d got rid of him.

 

Because 1983 is relevant to football in 2019, right enough.

 

Football has moved on. It's a results business and guess what. He's not producing results.

[Guest]

Just now, Pasquale for King said:

As opposed to happy clappers like you, nothing weird about it the guys just not got it.

 

You can back the team or boo it, up to you. Levein is obviously staying as of now. How about you try to get behind him? Crazy I know!

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Phil Dunphy said:

 

Like I've said repeatedly, I don't know who would be interested in the Hearts job. No-one would know that unless managers started publicly stating they'd want a crack at it.

 

"Who'd get us winning things?" is like asking me for the lottery numbers for next week. You want a guess? I'll give you one. But I can quite clearly see that it's not working with our current manager. 7 league wins since November. We won the same number of games as two clubs who barely avoided relegation.

 

19 players brought in this season and we managed to finish sixth. Again.

 

 

Don't be that guy.

 

Keeping faith with a manager who oversaw 7 wins out of his last 27 matches doesn't make you a better supporter than those who don't want to spend upwards of £300 to see the same thing all over again.

 

 

Because 1983 is relevant to football in 2019, right enough.

 

Football has moved on. It's a results business and guess what. He's not producing results.

 

As I said it’s very easy to come up with names. We won’t pay major compensation, don’t pay a massive salary, have a fairly small budget, demand someone who will focus on youth and are in a league we can’t win with some of the moaniest fans around. It’s a limited pool as Budge found out last time.

 

As I said we know levein is away at the end of this season so can spend a year scouring the globe instead of a panicked summer. Just my preference.

Edited May 27, 2019 by Guest

[sadj]

21 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Ironically, the philosophy of Levein himself. Stop the opposition playing, don't take any risks, play it safe, everyone get back to defend corners etc . He's now managed to hypnotise an element of our support into thinking the same way. Any other Hearts manager , with a budget our size, presiding over successive 6th place finishes, 15 points behind Killie again, would be booted out the door and up McLeod Street

Would it not be down McLeod Street

[Pasquale for King]

2 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

Yeah and Messi has the talent to score in every game. He doesn’t because there are two teams on the pitch. Sometimes our tactics work and sometimes they don’t. The other teams have a say in things.

 

For what it’s worth Levein is too

cautious a manager at times for me but I think he brings other qualities and the start to the season and the way he turned around our fortunes in both cups and the derby give me encouragement he has a great season in him.

Yeah and then it fell apart when teams got used to us, inevitably injuries came and he couldn’t stop the rot. 

Teams like Man City and Liverpool press teams no matter who they’re playing. They have players who can adapt to different styles if required, we don’t and the ones we do clearly suit playing in the way did on Saturday. We’ve shown how well we can do it against the best team in the country and if the defence hadn’t made two bad mistakes we would still be drunk.

[Morph]

13 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

Not real supporters. I suspect there’s a generational divide here - certainly with jambos I know. People who lived through the 80s watching Hearts can put up with lean spells and maybe cope with crushing disappointment better than younger fans. We also know that managers can come good after a couple of seasons.

Not real supporters

 

No point in even getting into it then.

[Pasquale for King]

3 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

You can back the team or boo it, up to you. Levein is obviously staying as of now. How about you try to get behind him? Crazy I know!

I back the team in every game, if they deserve to be booed at the end then so be it.

[Vlad Magic]

Why replace a manager who has finished top 6 twice and taken their team to a semi final and a final in the last 12 months?

 

If the “sack them” criteria was based on not achieving the above the managerial roundabout would never stop!

 

 

[Guest]

Just now, Morph said:

Not real supporters

 

No point in even getting into it then.

 

Key word “support”. Levein’s clearly not going anywhere. Moan on the internet all you want but back your team ffs.

[Phil Dunphy]

1 minute ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

As I said it’s very easy to come up with names. We won’t pay major compensation, don’t pay a massive salary, have a fairly small budget, demand someone who will focus on youth and are in a league we can’t win with some of the moaniest fans around. It’s a limited pool as Budge found out last time.

 

A limited pool? Feel free to correct me, but we were apparently inundated with applicants in 2017.

 

Whether you would like to admit it or not, Hearts would be an attractive proposition for a manager.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Pasquale for King said:

I back the team in every game, if they deserve to be booed at the end then so be it.

 At the end fine. It’s the during the game eejits that need a word.

[Pasquale for King]

1 minute ago, Vlad Magic said:

Why replace a manager who has finished top 6 twice and taken their team to a semi final and a final in the last 12 months?

 

If the “sack them” criteria was based on not achieving the above the managerial roundabout would never stop!

 

 

Maybe because we have a much bigger budget than Killie for example, two lucky runs don’t hide the fact it’s not been good enough for two years.

[Guest]

Just now, Phil Dunphy said:

 

A limited pool? Feel free to correct me, but we were apparently inundated with applicants in 2017.

 

Whether you would like to admit it or not, Hearts would be an attractive proposition for a manager.

 

Who though? Which currently unemployed youngish manager with a record for attractive, winning football and for bringing youth through would you say should be top of the list? Should be easy to find.

[Morph]

3 minutes ago, Vlad Magic said:

Why replace a manager who has finished top 6 twice and taken their team to a semi final and a final in the last 12 months?

 

If the “sack them” criteria was based on not achieving the above the managerial roundabout would never stop!

 

 

Top 6 isn't an achievement for hearts.

[Phil Dunphy]

3 minutes ago, Vlad Magic said:

Why replace a manager who has finished top 6 twice and taken their team to a semi final and a final in the last 12 months?

 

If the “sack them” criteria was based on not achieving the above the managerial roundabout would never stop!

 

 

 

Because he's losing more games than he's winning.

 

It's a fairly simple concept to grasp.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Maybe because we have a much bigger budget than Killie for example, two lucky runs don’t hide the fact it’s not been good enough for two years.

 

Should mcinnes go to? An even bigger budget than Killie. And no cup final.

[Phil Dunphy]

Just now, ToqueJambo said:

 

Who though? Which currently unemployed youngish manager with a record for attractive, winning football and for bringing youth through would you say should be top of the list? Should be easy to find.

 

Darren Moore.

 

[Phil Dunphy]

Just now, ToqueJambo said:

 

Should mcinnes go to? An even bigger budget than Killie. And no cup final.

 

Derek McInnes won a League Cup with Aberdeen in less than a year.

[Vlad Magic]

5 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Maybe because we have a much bigger budget than Killie for example, two lucky runs don’t hide the fact it’s not been good enough for two years.

 

Much bigger budget? 

 

I hear this a lot and I don’t buy it.

 

Bigger budgets when dealing on the level we are dealing with is irrelevant. We scrape through the bargain basement. Rarely pay any sort of fee. Wages minimal. Killie working to the exact same levels. 

 

The difference between clubs like us Hibs, Killie, Aberdeen etc and then say Rangers and Celtic is night and day. We get lucky now and again when we find a gem but the vast majority of our signings are punts.

 

The sooner we admit we are sifting through shit for a nugget the better.

 

 

Edited May 27, 2019 by Vlad Magic

[busby1985]

35 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Ironically, the philosophy of Levein himself. Stop the opposition playing, don't take any risks, play it safe, everyone get back to defend corners etc . He's now managed to hypnotise an element of our support into thinking the same way. Any other Hearts manager , with a budget our size, presiding over successive 6th place finishes, 15 points behind Killie again, would be booted out the door and up McLeod Street

This. 

 

He’s somehow managed to hypnotise them into taking pride in losing to a Celtic side many openly discuss as being bang average. I have been slaughtered for it since the cup final, maybe bad timing on my part but he’s waaaaaaaaaaay beyond his sell by date. If you take our love for Hearts out the equation, it could be argued, his subs on Saturday took us out the game. Haring going off killed us, we just went straight like for like and dropped the control of the midfield. His decision to bring on Wighton is something that will never make sense to me. Take the season as a whole and I can’t believe he’s lasted as long as he has. We solved our left back problems on the last day of the season with a player that’s been at the club all season. Our goal scorer on Saturday spent the first half of the season on loan at St Mirren and only came into the team squad to cover injuries on the build up to the cup final. It’s his comments in the press that bug me the most. The worst thing about Saturday is we played a high press, something we haven’t done since the first few games of the season. Everything in between has been cautious, pedestrian nonsense. Where was the high press in November? 

 

I like Levein as a hearts man, he’s one of us, that isn’t up for discussion. He is however now causing us damage and needs to either go back upstairs or he risks severing his tie with the club completely. 

Edited May 27, 2019 by busby1985

[Alex Kintner]

Foundations are there and I’m excited for next season. Looking forward to a fully fit Naismith, Uche and Haring back in the team

and seeing how the likes of Cochrane, MacDonald, Keena, Hickey and Smith develop

[Vlad Magic]

5 minutes ago, Phil Dunphy said:

 

Because he's losing more games than he's winning.

 

It's a fairly simple concept to grasp.

 

He’s not unique in that situation. Does every club in world football suddenly reach for the “sack him” button when that happens?

[Phil Dunphy]

1 minute ago, Vlad Magic said:

 

Much bigger budget? 

 

I hear this a lot and I don’t buy it.

 

Bigger budgets when dealing on the level we are dealing with is irrelevant. We scrape through the bargain basement. Rarely pay any sort of fee. Wages minimal. Killie working to the exact same levels. 

 

The difference between clubs like us Hibs, Killie, Aberdeen etc and then say Rangers and Celtic is night and day. We get lucky now and again when we find a gem but the vast majority of our signings are punts.

 

The sooner we admit we are sifting through shit for a nugget the better.

 

 

 

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15686552.survey-reveals-stark-financial-gap-between-celtics-wage-budget-and-the-rest-of-scottish-premiership/

 

Kilmarnock reportedly paying £40,000 a week less than Hearts on wages.

[Mr Elwood P]

1 minute ago, busby1985 said:

This. 

 

He’s somehow managed to hypnotise them into taken pride in losing to a Celtic side many openly discuss as being bang average. I have been slaughtered for it since the cup final, maybe bad timing on my part but he’s waaaaaaaaaaay beyond his sell by date. If you take our love for Hearts out the equation, it could be argued, his subs on Saturday took us out the game. Haring going off killed us, we just went straight like for like and dropped the control of the midfield. His decision to bring on Wighton is something that will never make sense to me. Take the season as a whole and I can’t believe he’s lasted as long as he has. We solved our left back problems on the last day of the season with a player that’s been at the club all season. Our goal scorer on Saturday spent the first half of the season on loan at St Mirren and only came into the team squad to cover injuries on the build up to the cup final. It’s his comments in the press that bug me the most. The worst thing about Saturday is we played a high press, something we haven’t done since the first few games of the season. Everything in between has been cautious, pedestrian nonsense. Where was the high press in November? 

 

I like Levein as a hearts man, he’s one of us, that isn’t up for discussion. He is however now causing us damage and needs to either go back upstairs or he risks severing his tie with the club completely. 

 

A bang average Celtic team that are the most successful in Scottish Football history? Think about what you are saying. They have won everything for years and needed a dodgy pen and a defensive mistake to beat us. It was a fantastic effort and it’s beyond idiotic to suggest otherwise.

[Phil Dunphy]

Just now, Vlad Magic said:

 

He’s not unique in that situation. Does every club in world football suddenly reach for the “sack him” button when that happens?

 

Yes. When a team shows a lack of form, resembling Hearts since November, they usually do shift the manager on.

 

Do you even pay attention to football outside of Edinburgh?

[Phil Dunphy]

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Phil Dunphy said:

 

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15686552.survey-reveals-stark-financial-gap-between-celtics-wage-budget-and-the-rest-of-scottish-premiership/

 

Kilmarnock reportedly paying £40,000 a week less than Hearts on wages.

 

Mcinnes should surely be sacked for finishing behind them!

 

Killie got a good manager who clicked with the club and got them overachieving for a couple of years. He’s now gone. It happens periodically in Scotland. Levein is right, we’ll be back as a regular top 4 club soon.