Mikey Stewart again.......

[amadjambo]

Our form has undoubtedly been awful for months, and our luck even worse.

 

Crippled by injuries to key players.

Continually handicapped by atrocious refereeing decisions.

 

Stewart only focuses on the form and doesn’t give it any perspective. I’m not saying our form is acceptable, far from it, but there have been some mitigating factors.

 

On the bright side, it is said refereeing decisions even themselves out over a season. Given that didn’t happen with us this year I look forward to next season when we are given lots of dodgy penalties, and opposition goals disallowed for phantom infringements. Aye right.

[132goals1958]

2 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

The bitter Poundshop pundit speaks.

Never managed in his life, assesses matches in hindsight with the aid of technology and yet poses as some sort of football genius.

Best ignored.

Stewart should look at the pure shite he, Sutherland and Thompson serve up on a weekly basis before he starts criticising other professionals.

 

 

Now that is a valid observation.

[Marvin]

1 hour ago, Homme said:

The thing is with MS, his personal agenda against Craig overrides anything factual he has to say.

 

It's sad and its desperate.

 

I'd back our manager 100 times over before this sad sac.

 

MS hates Levein, that much is evident when you watch him on BT Sport. Even Sutton has better things to say about our manager.

[mitch41]

1 hour ago, Clerry Jambo said:

https://www.footballscotland.co.uk/spfl/scottish-premiership/michael-stewart-condemns-craig-leveins-16340375

 

 

footballscotland.co.uk

 

Michael Stewart condemns Craig Levein's man-management and 'Cathroesque' form

Adam Miller

5-6 minutes

---

Michael Stewart has called out Craig Levein for the "continual regression" that has taken place at Hearts since Robbie Neilson departed in 2016.

The former Hearts midfielder has also questioned owner Ann Budge, and said that rather than a fan ownership club "it feels more like a dictator".

It's not the first time Stewart has spoken strongly about Levein, and this latest assessment of events at Tynecastle is unlikely to endear him to the Hearts boss.

Speaking on BBC Sportsound, Stewart said: "I unfortunately think that Hearts are stuck in mid-table mediocrity with what they have, and I've said it on a number of occasions since Saturday that a lot of credit goes to the manager because I think he came up with a gameplan that almost paid off and the players played it out to a tee and it was effective.

"But I also said on Saturday that one swallow does not make a summer and when you look at the bigger picture, two sixth place finishes, a turnover of players which is astronomical, a lot of money spent. The return on that is not evident.

"It's not there, and I think the potential of the club is huge, but they're underachieving massively.

"Unfortunately though as well, it was meant to be a fan ownership club but it feels more like a dictator at the moment.

 

Michael Stewart with Craig Levein as he signs for Hearts in July 2004 (Image: SNS Group)

"The fans will be buoyed by the cup final performance, but as I said when you look at the bigger picture the evidence is not particularly great.

"It's a Cathroesque run of form, and it's not to suggest that Craig Levein is of that ilk because he's clearly a better manager than Ian Cathro, but the point is Ian Cathro got his jotters for a run of form which was similar to this but Craig Levein's in absolutely no danger.

"He has complete control of that club, which I think is unhealthy. He sits on the board."

When host Jonathan Sutherland referred to owner Ann Budge's suggestion that Levein isn't "bombproof", Stewart replied: "I know she did, but words are cheap.

"My retort to that would be what would it take for Craig Levein to be removed from his post, because Ann Budge said when Robbie Neilson was there in November 2016, that anything less than last year's third place finish is not very good.

"If we got into Europe in fourth place that could be alright.

 

"Well she's had two sixth place finishes under Craig Levein. As I said before he's brought in a cast of thousands and the turnover of players is through the roof.

"Yet, Craig Levein is always a manager who is always on the cusp of something. It's always a five-year rolling project on the horizon.

"It never arrives. It's always just round the corner.

"It's always on the horizon. It never arrives. It's always continually evolving."

After Scott McDonald suggested that Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen will be looking to finish third, Stewart responded: "So they budget for fourth, but they finish sixth the last two years.

"I mean if that's not underachievement, I go back to saying what is?

"If you continually finish sixth...Hearts have the potential in my opinion to go and challenge right at the top.

"Aberdeen under Derek McInnes have finished second for four years in a row and they've finished fourth this year. Tell me how Aberdeen can do that and Hearts can't.

"Craig Levein's been there from the get-go with Ann Budge for five years, and there has been a continual regression since Robbie Neilson finished third in the top flight. Continually regressed.

"We were talking about Vaněček and I said this on Saturday as well, Uche Ikpeazu couldn't start the game because he wasn't fit enough. Here's a guy, Vaněček, who they were desperate to get in.

"He comes in in January. He assesses him in training but doesn't realise he's not fit enough. Chucks him into the first game for 90 minutes, you could see he wasn't fit enough but it looked like he had some touches, and then plays him for half an hour in the next game and hauls him off.

"Paints a big target on his back and says that he was hopeless, and then I see quotes from him in the last few weeks saying that 'his fitness is getting better, he's up to speed now, but I'm concerned that it looks like he's low on confidence'. I wonder why he's low on confidence.

"I mean, we said it at the time that this was horrendous man-management and he took exception to it. Well I'm sorry, the proof is in the pudding."

 

 

Most of what Stewart has said in this interview is spot on. Never mind what Stewart thinks about Levein personally his points cannot be disputed. Hearts are way behind where they should be on the pitch. All we hear is excuses from people who just haven’t a clue about football. This SPL isn’t a hard league to win games in but when you have a management who lose games to Dundee, Livingston, St Mirren, Motherwell, Hamilton ect  you have to question what is going on behind the scenes with our players. These bottom 6 teams could say they did well to beat Hearts because Hearts pay better wages it’s just a pity we can’t compare doing well against Rangers and Celtic.

[kila]

MS comes across desperate to make a point, getting quite boring now

[jambonian]

Anyone know if any of the players or management team read kickback comments? Just curious as the "Locky" post made me wonder if it was oor Gary lol

[mitch41]

2 minutes ago, Marvin said:

 

MS hates Levein, that much is evident when you watch him on BT Sport. Even Sutton has better things to say about our manager.

Ok he doesn’t like CL but read what he says because he’s mostly right.

[Marvin]

1 minute ago, mitch41 said:

Ok he doesn’t like CL but read what he says because he’s mostly right.

 

Point taken. Tbh I just posted before digesting his comments. I will read it now.

[jambonian]

5 minutes ago, Marvin said:

 

MS hates Levein, that much is evident when you watch him on BT Sport. Even Sutton has better things to say about our manager.

Dislikes or not, the comments are quite valid in fairness.

As for Sutton....oh that droning voice on co-commentary! I can't be bothered with him, always trying to cause friction with the other pundits. Loved his bicker with the former Motherwell defender a season or two back, like a dog with a bone, not for giving it up.

 

[Walter Bishop]

1 hour ago, avhudtheteeshirt said:

Think Stewart forgets that all the other teams in the league are after spots 3-6 every year!

10 into 4 places does not go so some have to lose out!

His bitterness always seems to shine through when talking anything Levein!!!

He does make some valid points, but that's to try and mask his abhorrence to Levein!!!!!

Why?

[Haken]

So, the point has already been made that you can't take Stewart seriously when it comes to commenting on Levein.  However, a couple of the points that can't be ignored is that we have finished 6th two seasons running, and the Vanacek signing and subsequent handling seems questionale at this point in time.

 

It looks as though Levein is going to be in charge for another season at least.  He'll get my backing (I'm sure he'll be relived to hear that) but we have to improve.  We need a wee bit more than a gutsy performance in the SC final.

[old school tie]

Well said, Mikey Stewart.

[Finlay James]

Failed footballer and a very poor pundit with a weird obsession with Craig Levein.

 

That about sums up Michael Stewart.

[The Mercer Takeover]

Loving the faux rage from those who are accepting of Levein's record. Many here simply don't realise that they are doing the exact same thing to Stewart, that he himself is supposed to be doing to Levein.

 

Reading what Stewart has apparently said, I have to say, it's a pretty accurate reflection of where we are and where we are going. On the football park we have been nothing short of embarrassing, with yet another 6th place finish. What part of this utter mediocrity do some on here not understand. For those here who actually attend games, some must have really short memories. The team was being booed of the park almost on a weekly basis and many of our supporters were leaving at half-time, it was so bad.     

 

"But what about all the young guys coming through" seems to be the latest "get out of jail free" thrown about for our manager to retain his job, irrespective of our actual league finish. On this there needs to be some clarity. Every time Levein senses he is about to be sacked, he throws kids into the team. He has done this time and time again. The actual results may confirm he is a dreadful manager but he is not stupid when it comes to supporter gullibility. He knows full well, our support will not criticise kids. If a 16 year old is the best left back at the club just now, what does it say about our signing policy. How many years has left back been an issue under Levein?  Hickey might have had rave reviews at the weekend, primarily as he was 16, but he's years away from being ready. Hopefully he will progress better than all the others we have seen in recent years but I won't hold my breath.

 

A key thing that matters to me now, is maintaining and hopefully growing our supporter base to make our club bigger. Hopefully everyone here would think that full stands every week would be something to strive for. It is simply not going to happen under Levein as he has "lost" a huge percentage of our support and whet he serves up week in week out in the league is dreadful, We took about 350 supporters up to Aberdeen a few weeks a go, it was embarrassing and the lowest I can remember in my lifetime. If we had 100 supporters at Celtic park a couple of weeks ago, we would be doing well - One hundred.....

 

If we lose a couple of thousand season ticket holders due to Levein, who cares, seems to be the cry from many here, they are only part-time or glory chasing supporters.

 

Michael Stewart and most other pundits now are right on Levein. He has had a good innings, but it is time for improvement and a new direction     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 28, 2019 by The Mercer Takeover

[Jamhammer]

16 minutes ago, Haken said:

So, the point has already been made that you can't take Stewart seriously when it comes to commenting on Levein.  However, a couple of the points that can't be ignored is that we have finished 6th two seasons running, and the Vanacek signing and subsequent handling seems questionale at this point in time.

 

It looks as though Levein is going to be in charge for another season at least.  He'll get my backing (I'm sure he'll be relived to hear that) but we have to improve.  We need a wee bit more than a gutsy performance in the SC final.

Pretty much where I'm at. Results and performances need to improve. Higher league finish must be achieved. The question is, what happens if these things don't happen?

It wouldn't break my heart of CL moved on or upstairs. It won't break my heart if he doesn't but we MUST improve

Edited May 28, 2019 by Jamhammer

[Brave Hearts]

 

“ Stewart replied: "I know she did, but words are cheap.“ “

 

Yup Stewart you just also summed up your position, in that all you do, and have done in your career, is spout words.

 

So, in your terms, your words are also cheap.

 

In fact so cheap, I wouldn’t give you a penny for your thoughts or words.............

 

As a player you were lazy, lacked any discipline, terrible attitude, showed no commitment or desire, were a disruptive influence and you couldn’t care less about you team or teammates let alone anyone trying to manage you.

 

At least folk like Levein take action and at least try to do things in football.

 

You never achieved anything in football (apart from an inflated bank balance) nor have you demonstrated any positive behaviours. 

 

All you do now is spout about this and that with your vindictive negatively on a sport that you were a disservice to.

 

That’s my pennies worth .......

 

 

[Selkirkhmfc1874]

Michael Stewart the benefit of hindsight manager ! Reason he's never went into management is because he's not got the bottle.

Craig levein is a man who's gave countless years to Heart Of Midlothian as player , manager and dof aswell as suffering a heart attack for the cause so I'd be backing Craig levein over Michael Stewart every day of the week

[Pasquale for King]

2 hours ago, Clerry Jambo said:

https://www.footballscotland.co.uk/spfl/scottish-premiership/michael-stewart-condemns-craig-leveins-16340375

 

 

footballscotland.co.uk

 

Michael Stewart condemns Craig Levein's man-management and 'Cathroesque' form

Adam Miller

5-6 minutes

---

Michael Stewart has called out Craig Levein for the "continual regression" that has taken place at Hearts since Robbie Neilson departed in 2016.

The former Hearts midfielder has also questioned owner Ann Budge, and said that rather than a fan ownership club "it feels more like a dictator".

It's not the first time Stewart has spoken strongly about Levein, and this latest assessment of events at Tynecastle is unlikely to endear him to the Hearts boss.

Speaking on BBC Sportsound, Stewart said: "I unfortunately think that Hearts are stuck in mid-table mediocrity with what they have, and I've said it on a number of occasions since Saturday that a lot of credit goes to the manager because I think he came up with a gameplan that almost paid off and the players played it out to a tee and it was effective.

"But I also said on Saturday that one swallow does not make a summer and when you look at the bigger picture, two sixth place finishes, a turnover of players which is astronomical, a lot of money spent. The return on that is not evident.

"It's not there, and I think the potential of the club is huge, but they're underachieving massively.

"Unfortunately though as well, it was meant to be a fan ownership club but it feels more like a dictator at the moment.

 

Michael Stewart with Craig Levein as he signs for Hearts in July 2004 (Image: SNS Group)

"The fans will be buoyed by the cup final performance, but as I said when you look at the bigger picture the evidence is not particularly great.

"It's a Cathroesque run of form, and it's not to suggest that Craig Levein is of that ilk because he's clearly a better manager than Ian Cathro, but the point is Ian Cathro got his jotters for a run of form which was similar to this but Craig Levein's in absolutely no danger.

"He has complete control of that club, which I think is unhealthy. He sits on the board."

When host Jonathan Sutherland referred to owner Ann Budge's suggestion that Levein isn't "bombproof", Stewart replied: "I know she did, but words are cheap.

"My retort to that would be what would it take for Craig Levein to be removed from his post, because Ann Budge said when Robbie Neilson was there in November 2016, that anything less than last year's third place finish is not very good.

"If we got into Europe in fourth place that could be alright.

 

"Well she's had two sixth place finishes under Craig Levein. As I said before he's brought in a cast of thousands and the turnover of players is through the roof.

"Yet, Craig Levein is always a manager who is always on the cusp of something. It's always a five-year rolling project on the horizon.

"It never arrives. It's always just round the corner.

"It's always on the horizon. It never arrives. It's always continually evolving."

After Scott McDonald suggested that Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen will be looking to finish third, Stewart responded: "So they budget for fourth, but they finish sixth the last two years.

"I mean if that's not underachievement, I go back to saying what is?

"If you continually finish sixth...Hearts have the potential in my opinion to go and challenge right at the top.

"Aberdeen under Derek McInnes have finished second for four years in a row and they've finished fourth this year. Tell me how Aberdeen can do that and Hearts can't.

"Craig Levein's been there from the get-go with Ann Budge for five years, and there has been a continual regression since Robbie Neilson finished third in the top flight. Continually regressed.

"We were talking about Vaněček and I said this on Saturday as well, Uche Ikpeazu couldn't start the game because he wasn't fit enough. Here's a guy, Vaněček, who they were desperate to get in.

"He comes in in January. He assesses him in training but doesn't realise he's not fit enough. Chucks him into the first game for 90 minutes, you could see he wasn't fit enough but it looked like he had some touches, and then plays him for half an hour in the next game and hauls him off.

"Paints a big target on his back and says that he was hopeless, and then I see quotes from him in the last few weeks saying that 'his fitness is getting better, he's up to speed now, but I'm concerned that it looks like he's low on confidence'. I wonder why he's low on confidence.

"I mean, we said it at the time that this was horrendous man-management and he took exception to it. Well I'm sorry, the proof is in the pudding."

 

 

He’s extremely biased against Levein, the feeling is mutual. The BBC once again allowing someone with an agenda a platform, why not just let Thompson talk about Hearts or tell Stewart to cool it. They don’t because it suits them to slag Hearts. 

I don’t disagree with Stewart but he shouldn’t be allowed to do this on national tv.

[Pasquale for King]

23 minutes ago, The Mercer Takeover said:

Loving the faux rage from those who are accepting of Levein's record. Many here simply don't realise that they are doing the exact same thing to Stewart, that he himself is supposed to be doing to Levein.

 

Reading what Stewart has apparently said, I have to say, it's a pretty accurate reflection of where we are and where we are going. On the football park we have been nothing short of embarrassing, with yet another 6th place finish. What part of this utter mediocrity do some on here not understand. For those here who actually attend games, some must have really short memories. The team was being booed of the park almost on a weekly basis and many of our supporters were leaving at half-time, it was so bad.     

 

"But what about all the young guys coming through" seems to be the latest "get out of jail free" thrown about for our manager to retain his job, irrespective of our actual league finish. On this there needs to be some clarity. Every time Levein senses he is about to be sacked, he throws kids into the team. He has done this time and time again. The actual results may confirm he is a dreadful manager but he is not stupid when it comes to supporter gullibility. He knows full well, our support will not criticise kids. If a 16 year old is the best left back at the club just now, what does it say about our signing policy. How many years has left back been an issue under Levein?  Hickey might have had rave reviews at the weekend, primarily as he was 16, but he's years away from being ready. Hopefully he will progress better than all the others we have seen in recent years but I won't hold my breath.

 

A key thing that matters to me now, is maintaining and hopefully growing our supporter base to make our club bigger. Hopefully everyone here would think that full stands every week would be something to strive for. It is simply not going to happen under Levein as he has "lost" a huge percentage of our support and whet he serves up week in week out in the league is dreadful, We took about 350 supporters up to Aberdeen a few weeks a go, it was embarrassing and the lowest I can remember in my lifetime. If we had 100 supporters at Celtic park a couple of weeks ago, we would be doing well - One hundred.....

 

If we lose a couple of thousand season ticket holders due to Levein, who cares, seems to be the cry from many here, they are only part-time or glory chasing supporters.

 

Michael Stewart and most other pundits now are right on Levein. He has had a good innings, but it is time for improvement and a new direction     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Good post.

Edited May 28, 2019 by Pasquale for King

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

He’s basically right but I really wish the BBC or whoever else would stop using him when his relationship with Levein is so bitter and personal 

[manaliveits105]

If he was criticising Lennon or Gerard he would be unemployed

Time Ann stood up for the club and banned this cretin from Tynecastle

[Sid]

Vanecek. 

The biggest kept secret. 

Not a single “ITK” on this but so many on here are 100% sure Levein is to blame :  

1. For signing a huddy. 

2.  For miss-managing him. 

 

If you think about it, you can’t be guilty of both. If he’s a huddy, no amount of management will get him to perform on the park. The best comment I’ve read on KB is someone confirming he was a huddy and still berating Levein for not paying the extra ransom the club were demanding to get him in early!!  

 

So you need to pick your side. Bought a bad player or turned a good player bad. 

 

If you think bad Purchase, we didn’t pay anything for him.  Valued at £675k on Transfer Market (not saying that’s accurate but does say he has some value). 26 goals in 80 games for a team not towards the top of the league. Not that bad for a free transfer. No-one appears to know if we physically watched him but usual speculation is that we didn’t. Therefore Levein at fault. 

 

If you think turned a player bad.  The only fact anyone seems to have produced is he put on over a stone prior to arriving with us in the short Christmas break. That means he has definitely been unprofessional. There is no evidence to support the fact Levein has acted to the player’s detriment except, possibly, publically stating he had let himself down professionally. Everything else is speculation. 

 

So until there is any evidence against Levein on this, I don’t think it is appropriate to hammer him and we can only assume the player is at fault. 

 

Await usual Levein sympathiser comments and zero facts to counter my stance. 

 

[grumpyespana]

Here we go again Stewart is like a stuck record its always the fault of Levein with him its getting boring now.

[Absolute Scenes]

9 minutes ago, Sid said:

Vanecek. 

The biggest kept secret. 

Not a single “ITK” on this but so many on here are 100% sure Levein is to blame :  

1. For signing a huddy. 

2.  For miss-managing him. 

 

If you think about it, you can’t be guilty of both. If he’s a huddy, no amount of management will get him to perform on the park. The best comment I’ve read on KB is someone confirming he was a huddy and still berating Levein for not paying the extra ransom the club were demanding to get him in early!!  

 

So you need to pick your side. Bought a bad player or turned a good player bad. 

 

If you think bad Purchase, we didn’t pay anything for him.  Valued at £675k on Transfer Market (not saying that’s accurate but does say he has some value). 26 goals in 80 games for a team not towards the top of the league. Not that bad for a free transfer. No-one appears to know if we physically watched him but usual speculation is that we didn’t. Therefore Levein at fault. 

 

If you think turned a player bad.  The only fact anyone seems to have produced is he put on over a stone prior to arriving with us in the short Christmas break. That means he has definitely been unprofessional. There is no evidence to support the fact Levein has acted to the player’s detriment except, possibly, publically stating he had let himself down professionally. Everything else is speculation. 

 

So until there is any evidence against Levein on this, I don’t think it is appropriate to hammer him and we can only assume the player is at fault. 

 

Await usual Levein sympathiser comments and zero facts to counter my stance. 

 

 

Great post

[jambonian]

5 minutes ago, Sid said:

Vanecek. 

The biggest kept secret. 

Not a single “ITK” on this but so many on here are 100% sure Levein is to blame :  

1. For signing a huddy. 

2.  For miss-managing him. 

 

If you think about it, you can’t be guilty of both. If he’s a huddy, no amount of management will get him to perform on the park. The best comment I’ve read on KB is someone confirming he was a huddy and still berating Levein for not paying the extra ransom the club were demanding to get him in early!!  

 

So you need to pick your side. Bought a bad player or turned a good player bad. 

 

If you think bad Purchase, we didn’t pay anything for him.  Valued at £675k on Transfer Market (not saying that’s accurate but does say he has some value). 26 goals in 80 games for a team not towards the top of the league. Not that bad for a free transfer. No-one appears to know if we physically watched him but usual speculation is that we didn’t. Therefore Levein at fault. 

 

If you think turned a player bad.  The only fact anyone seems to have produced is he put on over a stone prior to arriving with us in the short Christmas break. That means he has definitely been unprofessional. There is no evidence to support the fact Levein has acted to the player’s detriment except, possibly, publically stating he had let himself down professionally. Everything else is speculation. 

 

So until there is any evidence against Levein on this, I don’t think it is appropriate to hammer him and we can only assume the player is at fault. 

 

Await usual Levein sympathiser comments and zero facts to counter my stance. 

 

Not many will know for sure why is hasn't worked out for Vanacek up until now. Questions that will regularly come out is....did Levein or indeed, any of the other coaches go and check him out prior to signing? Have they been too reliant on scouts to make a judgement of their own? Was Vanacek so overweight when he arrived the problem and if so, why would it take 5 months to lose that weight if he's been trained and regulated properly? That could be seen as the coaches' fault. As a professional player you'd think he'd keep himself in (at least) decent shape to make an impact when he arrives at a new club. That would not be the coaching teams fault.

Is he having trouble adapting to life in Scotland, homesick maybe? Or does he have some private and personal issues he needs to sort out to clear his head?

One way or another, it needs sorted during the close season. There's no point in giving yet another player a long contract if he's not going to make much, if any impact. It would free up a wage for someone else. If he's fighting fit and raring to go come late July when the League Cup group games come around then all's good, let's see what he's all about. Ultimately though, it's down to him to have the correct attitude.

[Haken]

21 minutes ago, Sid said:

Vanecek. 

The biggest kept secret. 

Not a single “ITK” on this but so many on here are 100% sure Levein is to blame :  

1. For signing a huddy. 

2.  For miss-managing him. 

 

If you think about it, you can’t be guilty of both. If he’s a huddy, no amount of management will get him to perform on the park. The best comment I’ve read on KB is someone confirming he was a huddy and still berating Levein for not paying the extra ransom the club were demanding to get him in early!!  

 

So you need to pick your side. Bought a bad player or turned a good player bad. 

 

If you think bad Purchase, we didn’t pay anything for him.  Valued at £675k on Transfer Market (not saying that’s accurate but does say he has some value). 26 goals in 80 games for a team not towards the top of the league. Not that bad for a free transfer. No-one appears to know if we physically watched him but usual speculation is that we didn’t. Therefore Levein at fault. 

 

If you think turned a player bad.  The only fact anyone seems to have produced is he put on over a stone prior to arriving with us in the short Christmas break. That means he has definitely been unprofessional. There is no evidence to support the fact Levein has acted to the player’s detriment except, possibly, publically stating he had let himself down professionally. Everything else is speculation. 

 

So until there is any evidence against Levein on this, I don’t think it is appropriate to hammer him and we can only assume the player is at fault. 

 

Await usual Levein sympathiser comments and zero facts to counter my stance. 

 

Well, speculating is what we do.  Isn't that one of the main points of a fans' site?

 

You're correct that we don't know all the facts, and nor probably should we.  But what we do know is that we ('we' being the club) identified the player, convinced him to come here, got him here and now don't use him.  We also know that in the pecking order, he comes behind an unfit Ikpeazu. 

 

If the player was unfit (and he was and must still be) then we had ample opportunity to suss that and not play the guy only to haul him off and then publicly criticise him.  I recognise, though, if he'd come in and not been played, we would no doubt be blaimg Levein for not playing him and demanding to know why.  So, was playing him Levein's way of showing us the evidence of an unfit player?

 

None of this detracts from the point that Stewart's a diddy.

Edited May 28, 2019 by Haken

[SpruceBringsteen]

I'll skip this one and read next week's which will be exactly the same as the 400 other times he's written it.

 

Stewart's obsession with the guy is alarming, and if I was Levein I'd be sleeping with a 5 iron beside my bed.

[The rat catcher]

How well did his beloved hubz get on in the cup?

 

Talk me through it Michael Stewpid.

[Bridge of Djoum]

''Mikey'' Stewart.

 

A player who turned up when he felt like it, even then the results of his efforts were average at best, questions other professionals and their commitment and faults.

 

**** off Mikey, son. You are an utter irrelevance. Craig made an absolute **** of you and you're floundering wildly in an attempt to undermine him. 

[doctor jambo]

Just now, Bridge of Djoum said:

''Mikey'' Stewart.

 

A player who turned up when he felt like it, even then the results of his efforts were average at best, questions other professionals and their commitment and faults.

 

**** off Mikey, son. You are an utter irrelevance. Craig made an absolute **** of you and you're floundering wildly in an attempt to undermine him. 

One of the fans at the Halloween derby should have kept his pound and thrown Mikey Stewart at Lennon instead.

same value, bigger impact

[Bridge of Djoum]

2 minutes ago, doctor jambo said:

One of the fans at the Halloween derby should have kept his pound and thrown Mikey Stewart at Lennon instead.

same value, bigger impact

Once played in a foursome behind ''Mikey'' and a couple of his mates at Biggar. The pathetic clown shanked a couple of drives and lost his shit by the 5th hole. Could hear him almost crying in front of us. He'd ****** off by the 9th hole. Boy is an absolute weapon. He obviously has issues. Craig's ''quid'' comment tipped the bawbag over the edge. He's never recovered. 

 

''Mikey'' does look in here from time to time. Mikey, that day at Biggar I shot an 81, I think you'd made that score by the time you walked off in a huff. Seek help you complete no-mark.

[Wardlaw67]

2 hours ago, old school tie said:

Well said, Mikey Stewart.

 

[JamboAl]

2 hours ago, Haken said:

So, the point has already been made that you can't take Stewart seriously when it comes to commenting on Levein.  However, a couple of the points that can't be ignored is that we have finished 6th two seasons running, and the Vanacek signing and subsequent handling seems questionale at this point in time.

 

It looks as though Levein is going to be in charge for another season at least.  He'll get my backing (I'm sure he'll be relived to hear that) but we have to improve.  We need a wee bit more than a gutsy performance in the SC final.

3

Are you saying CL made a mistake with the Vanecek signing?  Although there is time yet it does look that way right now.

I think however he made a bigger mistake when he spent a pound on Stewart.

Edited May 28, 2019 by JamboAl

[Bridge of Djoum]

Whether ''Mikey'' is correct in his observation or not, any Hearts fan backing this ringpiece over Mr Levein is every bit as bad as him. His comments do not come from a position of balanced criticism, he has no interest in fair comment or debate. He refuses to use context and struggles to say anything positive about CL, even when it's richly deserved. Added to that, anyone who knows or has met the quid kid will tell you he is a complete welt.

 

 

[JAYEL]

He is just doing what he is told to do by his West coast masters

[Sid]

3 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

Are you saying CL made a mistake with the Vanecek signing?  Although there is time yet it does look that way right now.

I think however he made a bigger mistake when he spent a pound on Stewart.

 

I think we are further agreeing that nobody knows but still happy to blame Levein. 

[Robbo-Jambo]

4 hours ago, jambonian said:

To be fair, he hasn't said anything that the majority of fans haven't. He gave credit to Levein on the way he set up against Celtic in the Cup Final.

Looking at his points individually....two sixth place finishes are correctly not good enough, especially as we're not far behind on what Aberdeen pay their players' regarding salaries and we're still ahead of what Hibs pay. You need only look at Kilmarnock to see how they've progressed in the last 18 months on nowhere near the wage-bill of Hearts.

We have regressed since Neilson left, even if we finished 6th when he left, you'd expect a place or two higher three years later surely? Not too much to ask?

We have over-spent on too many players not good enough for Hearts as well as signing too many "projects", never has been's or never will be's. I've lost count on the amount of foreign players brought in and only a very few have been worth it. We have signed some good players of course but the bad outweigh the good unfortunately.  Vanacek is the latest in a long line. If his fitness or anything else was an issue then surely he shouldn't have been signed? Does the management/coaching team actually watch players before they sign? These are all relevant questions. Are they relying on scouts' assessments too much? Are they just watching videos of  players they want to sign without checking them out in reality?

Whether Stewart has a personal vendetta or not is really quite irrelevant as some of the points he's made are there for all to see. If it isn't him saying it, it'd be someone else. The only difference is that he has the media profile to hand and regular fans like us don't.

Yes, Stewart was a bit if a dick as a player but the reality is, he hasn't said anything there that hasn't been said by fans on social media, in the pub, at home or anywhere else. Not sticking up for him but just pointing out that what he's said is the reality of the situation we find ourselves in almost three years since Neilson left.

 

4 hours ago, jambonian said:

To be fair, he hasn't said anything that the majority of fans haven't. He gave credit to Levein on the way he set up against Celtic in the Cup Final.

Looking at his points individually....two sixth place finishes are correctly not good enough, especially as we're not far behind on what Aberdeen pay their players' regarding salaries and we're still ahead of what Hibs pay. You need only look at Kilmarnock to see how they've progressed in the last 18 months on nowhere near the wage-bill of Hearts.

We have regressed since Neilson left, even if we finished 6th when he left, you'd expect a place or two higher three years later surely? Not too much to ask?

We have over-spent on too many players not good enough for Hearts as well as signing too many "projects", never has been's or never will be's. I've lost count on the amount of foreign players brought in and only a very few have been worth it. We have signed some good players of course but the bad outweigh the good unfortunately.  Vanacek is the latest in a long line. If his fitness or anything else was an issue then surely he shouldn't have been signed? Does the management/coaching team actually watch players before they sign? These are all relevant questions. Are they relying on scouts' assessments too much? Are they just watching videos of  players they want to sign without checking them out in reality?

Whether Stewart has a personal vendetta or not is really quite irrelevant as some of the points he's made are there for all to see. If it isn't him saying it, it'd be someone else. The only difference is that he has the media profile to hand and regular fans like us don't.

Yes, Stewart was a bit if a dick as a player but the reality is, he hasn't said anything there that hasn't been said by fans on social media, in the pub, at home or anywhere else. Not sticking up for him but just pointing out that what he's said is the reality of the situation we find ourselves in almost three years since Neilson left.

Tbh Stewart is a bit of a dick and the feud with Levein is a bit embarrassing but like it or not a lot of what he says is true as is the above post.

 

We are stagnant, we are going nowhere fast even after the cup final when we did do extremely well.

 

That's one game though, look at our run of results since Christmas. It is woeful, no getting away from that or the fact we have finished 6th place two years in a row.

 

As for Vanacek you would need Columbo to find out what the **** is going on since the arrival of that guy and the 5 months after it.

Edited May 28, 2019 by Robbo-Jambo

[mitch41]

3 hours ago, Finlay James said:

Failed footballer and a very poor pundit with a weird obsession with Craig Levein.

 

That about sums up Michael Stewart.

Never mind the personal stuff try taking in what he says.

[Bridge of Djoum]

6 minutes ago, mitch41 said:

Never mind the personal stuff try taking in what he says.

 

Are you for real??

 

''Never mind the personal stuff''. EVERYTHING he says about Mr Levein comes from a bitter hatred for the man. It's nothing but personal! 

 

Take a day off, Mitch eh? 

[mitch41]

40 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

Are you saying CL made a mistake with the Vanecek signing?  Although there is time yet it does look that way right now.

I think however he made a bigger mistake when he spent a pound on Stewart.

Yes there is time how about giving him a 5 year contract. We waited half a season on Vanecek and we are told he's a class striker well I wonder if this is another one of a Budge/Levein 5 year project.

Maybe we'll manage to get better results than Cathro & Leveins over the past few years.

 

[mitch41]

1 minute ago, Bridge of Djoum said:

 

Are you for real??

 

''Never mind the personal stuff''. EVERYTHING he says about Mr Levein comes from a bitter hatred for the man. It's nothing but personal! 

 

Take a day off, Mitch eh? 

Take your blinkers off and try to understand where Hearts are going wrong. It's not just Stewart who thinks Hearts should be a much better team.

[jambogaza]

Stewart undoubtedly doesn't like levein, which triggers a lot of these rants about him. However it is hard to disagree with much of what he says. A lot of it is factual.

[grumpyespana]

Through gritted teeth Stewart is saying what all supporters are thinking and even Craig in his own way but some of us have short memories  we were all on a high when we were flying at the top of the league then we were hit with key players getting serious injuries and we never recovered fact.

[Morph]

Agree entirely, apart from the bit about Budge being a dictator and we're meant to be fan run.

[Bridge of Djoum]

1 minute ago, mitch41 said:

Take your blinkers off and try to understand where Hearts are going wrong. It's not just Stewart who thinks Hearts should be a much better team.

No blinkers here pal. I see our issues. And pretty much everyone thinks Hearts should be doing better.  You're attempting to shift the goalposts in quite a fashion here. Stewart's tirades against Mr Levein are personal. There is no argument there. To deny it is blinkered. Just like your views on CL. Those are also personal. You don't like him. That's plain to see,

 

Please, stop with the sanctimonious bollocks. Everything MS says about CL is personal, Your view on CL is personal. We also see his faults but most of us don't add vitriol to our posts about him, unlike you. Unlike the Quid Kid. 

[Finlay James]

25 minutes ago, mitch41 said:

Never mind the personal stuff try taking in what he says.

 

Sorry Mrs Stewart

[OTT]

Mikey Stewart...

 

I always welcome critcism, especially when its constructive. Thats just not. Pure criticism born from an utter blind hatred of any and all things Levein.

[Bridge of Djoum]

As per, Mitch bolts when faced with facts and reason to counter his obvious lack of any real knowledge.

 

Don't worry though, folks. He'll appear on any other thread soon with his valuable, refreshing and original views on Mr Levein.

[i wish jj was my dad]

How many accounts on here does that sad prick have? 

[Graham Thomson]

Michael Stewart = rubbish player

                              = rubbish pundit

     

Never coached or managed a football club,and if ever did he most most likely be ........................= rubbish

 

Obnoxious man