End of season Craig Levein poll

[Nookie Bear]

1 hour ago, Pasquale for King said:

We were out on our feet in the top six again. The purpose of training is to work on what we want to do on the pitch, do you think that was a success?

 

Sorry, i was really just talking about our overall fitness levels which, to me, look on a par with other teams in the league.

 

The quality of the team and the effectiveness of the way we play is a completely different issue.

[Enzo Chiefo]

18 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

I asked an Aberdeen fan and he said it’s true, they’re wage bill is just over £8m. I’m still struggling to actually believe it ?.

I couldn't believe it either. I tried to find a link to it but only found an article from The Sun back in 2017 where it seemed that his salary was due to treble with a new contract.

[Pasquale for King]

Just now, Nookie Bear said:

 

Sorry, i was really just talking about our overall fitness levels which, to me, look on a par with other teams in the league.

 

The quality of the team and the effectiveness of the way we play is a completely different issue.

Yeah definitely. I think it’s linked though, if we want to press teams for example we need a higher level of fitness. It really shouldn’t be that much to ask for really. Look at how much praise Edwards is receiving for his effort, and goal in the final. 

[Pasquale for King]

1 minute ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

I couldn't believe it either. I tried to find a link to it but only found an article from The Sun back in 2017 where it seemed that his salary was due to treble with a new contract.

I think that was if he moved to Sunderland. Can they really be paying him a tenth of their total wage bill? No wonder he’s still there if it’s true.

[davemclaren]

43 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

750k is more than you and I earn, put together!

And a few others. ?

[Bring Back Paulo Sergio]

1 hour ago, Pasquale for King said:

Yeah definitely. I think it’s linked though, if we want to press teams for example we need a higher level of fitness. It really shouldn’t be that much to ask for really. Look at how much praise Edwards is receiving for his effort, and goal in the final. 

What we do is have Uche charge everything down in the the opposition's half while the rest of our players sit back.

 

The result is a knackered striker that doesn't have the energy to get on the end of crosses or put away chances. Horrendous game plan from our master tactician.

[Inch Hearts]

5 minutes ago, Bring Back Paulo Sergio said:

What we do is have Uche charge everything down in the the opposition's half while the rest of our players sit back.

 

The result is a knackered striker that doesn't have the energy to get on the end of crosses or put away chances. Horrendous game plan from our master tactician.

 

In the final we kind of did similar with Maclean which lead to nobody being in the box for crosses at times. 

[Pasquale for King]

5 minutes ago, Bring Back Paulo Sergio said:

What we do is have Uche charge everything down in the the opposition's half while the rest of our players sit back.

 

The result is a knackered striker that doesn't have the energy to get on the end of crosses or put away chances. Horrendous game plan from our master tactician.

Pretty much. His fitness could do with a bit of work, less muscle and a bit more energy let’s say. There’s a balance to be had. He needs to be more mobile if we want to press in games.

[Bring Back Paulo Sergio]

1 minute ago, Pasquale for King said:

Pretty much. His fitness could do with a bit of work, less muscle and a bit more energy let’s say. There’s a balance to be had. He needs to be more mobile if we want to press in games.

I agree and have already said he would benefit from losing some mass. My point being is when we press we need to do it as a team. There's no point having Uche pressing on his own. The management have allowed it to happen countless times so bizarrely they don't see the pointlessness of it.

[Pasquale for King]

1 minute ago, Bring Back Paulo Sergio said:

I agree and have already said he would benefit from losing some mass. My point being is when we press we need to do it as a team. There's no point having Uche pressing on his own. The management have allowed it to happen countless times so bizarrely they don't see the pointlessness of it.

Indeed, it’s one thing Djoum is excellent at and Naismith of course. It doesn’t have to be every time but when one player presses that should trigger everyone to do so. 

[jambogemz]

7 hours ago, Pasquale for King said:

Tommy MacLean was sacked after one season where he finished 6th.

.....and only avoided relegation on the last day against Motherwell. 

[Pasquale for King]

3 minutes ago, jambogemz said:

.....and only avoided relegation on the last day against Motherwell. 

Yet amazingly finished 6th ??‍♂️ 

[jambogemz]

15 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Yet amazingly finished 6th ??‍♂️ 

I wouldn't say "amazingly"  TBH. 10 team league in those days and only 2 points between 6th and 9th.

[Kiwidoug]

Much as I agree with many of the targets suggested on here  for me it is just as important that we are a consistently attacking and entertaining side.

 

So many of the media match reports and comments on here have just been depressing for years now.  We simply must do a great deal better.

[Pasquale for King]

27 minutes ago, jambogemz said:

I wouldn't say "amazingly"  TBH. 10 team league in those days and only 2 points between 6th and 9th.

So four teams escaped relegation that day then.

[Pasquale for King]

18 minutes ago, Kiwidoug said:

Much as I agree with many of the targets suggested on here  for me it is just as important that we are a consistently attacking and entertaining side.

 

So many of the media match reports and comments on here have just been depressing for years now.  We simply must do a great deal better.

If the calibre of player we are looking at is Curtis Main I have my doubts.

[redjambo]

Craig's reaction on seeing the latest poll results:

 

 

[jambogemz]

31 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

So four teams escaped relegation that day then.

No. Aberdeen went to a relegation play-off.

[JamboGraham]

34 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

So four teams escaped relegation that day then.

 

No, only Aberdeen or Dundee United could have been relegated on the final day. At worst we could have been in the play off. Partick and Killie had already done enough by then but could be (and were) caught by us.

Edited June 5, 2019 by JamboGraham

[redjambo]

5 minutes ago, JamboGraham said:

 

No, only Aberdeen or Dundee United could have been relegated on the final day. At worst we could have been in the play off. Partick and Killie had already done enough by then but could be (and were) caught by us.

 

You have a good memory, JG.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994–95_Scottish_Premier_Division

[JamboGraham]

16 minutes ago, redjambo said:

 

You have a good memory, JG.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1994–95_Scottish_Premier_Division

 

London Hearts help me have an amazing memory!!!!

[i wish jj was my dad]

58 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

If the calibre of player we are looking at is Curtis Main I have my doubts.

Were we seriously in for him?

 

I'd rather prefer to believe that Bryson is the calibre of player Craig is talking about

[Pasquale for King]

54 minutes ago, JamboGraham said:

 

No, only Aberdeen or Dundee United could have been relegated on the final day. At worst we could have been in the play off. Partick and Killie had already done enough by then but could be (and were) caught by us.

Good stuff, I think I must’ve blocked that period out my memory. I get PTSD flashbacks of Brian Hamilton and Craig Nelson from time to time ??.

[Pasquale for King]

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

Were we seriously in for him?

 

I'd rather prefer to believe that Bryson is the calibre of player Craig is talking about

Allegedly, payback for us beating them to Sammon I hope.

Bryson would be a great signing, staying in that division probably worked against us though as they’ve offered him a new deal on much more than we can afford.

[Jammy T]

10 hours ago, Pasquale for King said:

You’re wrong . . . . it’s Tuesday 9th ?, so I was wrong. Sorry Jammy T ?. You can sign players that are out of contract though as the likes of Aberdeen and Hibs did yesterday, I can’t imagine we will paying transfer fees for players though? I also thought the transfer window was on set dates, every day is a school day.

 

No probs - a lot of players won’t be out of contract until end of June.

 

#justsayin’

Edited June 5, 2019 by Jammy T

[i wish jj was my dad]

13 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Allegedly, payback for us beating them to Sammon I hope.

Bryson would be a great signing, staying in that division probably worked against us though as they’ve offered him a new deal on much more than we can afford.

Ok, fair enough. My point is that it is all speculation though.

 CL says he wants to add 3 or 4 quality players. That's more likely to be the calibre of Bryson than Main unless you are a very glass half empty type.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Bring Back Paulo Sergio said:

I agree and have already said he would benefit from losing some mass. My point being is when we press we need to do it as a team. There's no point having Uche pressing on his own. The management have allowed it to happen countless times so bizarrely they don't see the pointlessness of it.

 

We've played a very good team pressing game against Celtic a number of times, including the last two games. I think against Hibs one win as well. We seem to focus on that tactic against teams we know like to play it on the deck or who don't have a target man type up front, which is really only Celtic on a consistent basis. Every other team if we press that way we risk leaving huge gaps and they just punt it long leaving us chasing back.

Edited June 5, 2019 by Guest

[Guest]

9 hours ago, Artful Dodger said:

Back in the real world.

 

I've been saying for months Mr Levein wouldn't be going anywhere, he's not. That's been obvious to see for 6 months or as soon as the mouthbreathers started howling for mass sackings etc.....

 

The only thing that was below par LAST season was the league finish and the pounds shillings and pence that go with it. The cup run will probably have offset that loss anyway. The CLUB as a whole is progressing quite marvellously and every Hearts supporter should be extremely happy with the progress made.

 

Can't wait for the new season to start tbh and really looking forward to seeing this squad of players coming together. 

I'm predicting good things this coming season.

 

 

 

 

 

I don't believe anyone, especially any Hearts fan would bet against us doing a fair bit better in the league. Even if you don't think Levein is capable of repeating the start to last season and keeping it going, or of repeating what he did with us before in getting two thirds in a row, we could move up simply because other teams will be worse. Killie will undoubtably be weaker. Hibs will be a big unknown as they're facing a huge squad revamp, but they were no great shakes last year with, on paper, a better manager than Heckinbottom. Tommy Wright seems to have lost his mojo and Motherwell don't seem like a team capable of breaking into the top 6.

 

Aberdeen are becoming a Land of the Giants team. It's hoofball for them and I think McInnes has one eye on the exit door. They also face more competition from us and others for signings, which means they'll pay more for the likes of Curtis Main than in previous seasons. Milne is now focused on the stadium and he'll put up with some below par seasons to pay for it, citing the relatively successful period Aberdeen have had the last few years. 

 

It should be another good battle for 3rd and 4th and hopefully we'll be in the mix for it.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Pasquale for King said:

If the calibre of player we are looking at is Curtis Main I have my doubts.

 

If true, the fact we didn't push the boat out for him suggests we have better targets in mind. Also nice to think our interest could have meant Aberdeen having to pay him more. McInnes can't have it his own way when signing players anymore.

[Thomaso]

3 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

If true, the fact we didn't push the boat out for him suggests we have better targets in mind. Also nice to think our interest could have meant Aberdeen having to pay him more. McInnes can't have it his own way when signing players anymore.

 

We’ve learned from Sammon then.....

[Pasquale for King]

48 minutes ago, Jammy T said:

 

No probs - a lot of players won’t be out of contract until end of June.

 

#justsayin’

I thought I had edited that, was half asleep. Yeah there will be loads of players that are on holiday just now that are out of contract.

[Pasquale for King]

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

Ok, fair enough. My point is that it is all speculation though.

 CL says he wants to add 3 or 4 quality players. That's more likely to be the calibre of Bryson than Main unless you are a very glass half empty type.

My glass is lying on the ground in pieces to be honest. Hopefully the quality signings will enthuse us all.

[Pasquale for King]

34 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

If true, the fact we didn't push the boat out for him suggests we have better targets in mind. Also nice to think our interest could have meant Aberdeen having to pay him more. McInnes can't have it his own way when signing players anymore.

Let’s hope so.

[It should have been ten]

10 hours ago, Artful Dodger said:

Back in the real world.

 

I've been saying for months Mr Levein wouldn't be going anywhere, he's not. That's been obvious to see for 6 months or as soon as the mouthbreathers started howling for mass sackings etc.....

 

The only thing that was below par LAST season was the league finish and the pounds shillings and pence that go with it. The cup run will probably have offset that loss anyway. The CLUB as a whole is progressing quite marvellously and every Hearts supporter should be extremely happy with the progress made.

 

Can't wait for the new season to start tbh and really looking forward to seeing this squad of players coming together. 

I'm predicting good things this coming season.

 

 

 

 

 

This! 

 

[Bazzas right boot]

11 hours ago, mitch41 said:

I want it all. Go for the treble and go unbeaten right through the season.

Now what will i accept this season coming: 

1. Minimun of finishing 3rd in the SPL.

2. League Cup finalists.

3. Scottish Cup Semi Finals.

4. Winning at least once at Celtic Park.

5. Winning at least once at Ibrox.

6. Being unbeaten by Hibs.

 

Now that should  be an achievable season for a Hearts manager.

 

 

Achievable... 

 

If our team is good enough to have won at celtic Park, Ibrox and unbeaten v hibs it will likely means we are champions or very close to being so. 

 

Achievable - yes, Likley - no. 

 

 

 

 

[Bazzas right boot]

9 hours ago, Pasquale for King said:

I asked an Aberdeen fan and he said it’s true, they’re wage bill is just over £8m. I’m still struggling to actually believe it ?.

 

 

Turnover around £15m, so £8m is around the 60% mark that clubs try to stay under. 

 

Makes sense. 

[Bazzas right boot]

3 hours ago, JamboGraham said:

 

No, only Aberdeen or Dundee United could have been relegated on the final day. At worst we could have been in the play off. Partick and Killie had already done enough by then but could be (and were) caught by us.

 

 

We were in deep shit. 

Brian Hamilton to the rescue. 

£200k signing proving his worth ?

 

Fans were on the pitch after that. 

 

3 years later.... Who'd have funk it? 

 

Football turns so quickly. 

[Mr Elwood P]

11 hours ago, mitch41 said:

I want it all. Go for the treble and go unbeaten right through the season.

Now what will i accept this season coming: 

1. Minimun of finishing 3rd in the SPL.

2. League Cup finalists.

3. Scottish Cup Semi Finals.

4. Winning at least once at Celtic Park.

5. Winning at least once at Ibrox.

6. Being unbeaten by Hibs.

 

Now that should  be an achievable season for a Hearts manager.

 

 

1. Aberdeen have a significant advantage budget wise to ourselves and Hibs aren't that far behind us. A third place finish would be very good indeed, not merely acceptable. Minimum of achieving 3rd when we have finished 2nd twice in the last 30 years is not a fair minimum expectation. If we finished 2nd or 3rd it would be an incredible achievement, especially now that Rangers have sorted themselves out.

 

4. Celtic have lost one domestic game at Parkhead in three or four seasons and it directly led to Rangers missing out on 2nd place. Rangers, having spent £11m last summer didn't get a sniff of a win at Parkhead. Why would you expect us to win there at all? 

 

5. Rangers have lost one domestic match at Ibrox since March 2018. They comfortably disposed of Celtic in both Old Firm games. We have less than a quarter of their budget. Why would you expect Hearts to win 50% of our matches there?

 

I admire you enthusiasm but it is wholly unrealistic to hold a manager to these standards. Finishing 4th as a minimum, having two successful cup runs and coming out on top in the Edinburgh derby would be more realistic. 

[i wish jj was my dad]

1 hour ago, Pasquale for King said:

My glass is lying on the ground in pieces to be honest. Hopefully the quality signings will enthuse us all.

Try not to infect the rest of us with your miserableness then. There is a good chap.

 

Yes, it has been shite but ifyou are a Jambo you need to man up and accept that kicks in the balls are part of the deal. 

We can all want better but realistically 140 years of history suggests it happens rarely. Craig and Ann are trying to change that long term.

[JamboAl]

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

Try not to infect the rest of us with your miserableness then. There is a good chap.

 

Yes, it has been shite but ifyou are a Jambo you need to man up and accept that kicks in the balls are part of the deal. 

We can all want better but realistically 140 years of history suggests it happens rarely. Craig and Ann are trying to change that long term.

1

?

[Pasquale for King]

2 hours ago, i wish jj was my dad said:

Try not to infect the rest of us with your miserableness then. There is a good chap.

 

Yes, it has been shite but ifyou are a Jambo you need to man up and accept that kicks in the balls are part of the deal. 

We can all want better but realistically 140 years of history suggests it happens rarely. Craig and Ann are trying to change that long term.

Don’t tell me what to do old chap, if you can’t handle negativity maybe it’s you that needs to man up or put me on ignore.

 

I’ve been following Hearts since 1972 so I’ve had mostly rough with rare moments of smooth. That’s what makes me demand the best from my club, and not put up with the mediocrity we’ve suffered recently.

 

Nobody’s saying they’re not trying, it’s whether they’re capable of succeeding that’s being debated.

 

 

[Pasquale for King]

3 hours ago, Olly Lee's left boot said:

 

 

Turnover around £15m, so £8m is around the 60% mark that clubs try to stay under. 

 

Makes sense. 

I think it was 56.7% in 2018, still struggling to believe he’s on as much as nearly 10% of their total wage bill.

[Pasquale for King]

3 hours ago, Mr Elwood P said:

 

 

1. Aberdeen have a significant advantage budget wise to ourselves and Hibs aren't that far behind us. A third place finish would be very good indeed, not merely acceptable. Minimum of achieving 3rd when we have finished 2nd twice in the last 30 years is not a fair minimum expectation. If we finished 2nd or 3rd it would be an incredible achievement, especially now that Rangers have sorted themselves out.

 

4. Celtic have lost one domestic game at Parkhead in three or four seasons and it directly led to Rangers missing out on 2nd place. Rangers, having spent £11m last summer didn't get a sniff of a win at Parkhead. Why would you expect us to win there at all? 

 

5. Rangers have lost one domestic match at Ibrox since March 2018. They comfortably disposed of Celtic in both Old Firm games. We have less than a quarter of their budget. Why would you expect Hearts to win 50% of our matches there?

 

I admire you enthusiasm but it is wholly unrealistic to hold a manager to these standards. Finishing 4th as a minimum, having two successful cup runs and coming out on top in the Edinburgh derby would be more realistic. 

Rangers lost both games at Celtic by one goal, and were unlucky not to win the 2nd game with ten men.

 

They were beaten by Aberdeen at Ibrox on 5th December 1 nil, and on 5th of March 2 nil also at Ibrox. Aberdeen also beat them at Hampden in the league cup for a decent hat trick whilst showing it can be done. Two defeats in 24 games is ok, I think we had a better record at Tynecastle from November 2017 until December 2018.

 

Aberdeens playing budget will drop as the cost of the new stadium kicks in.

 

I don’t think Celtic will be as formidable next season under Lennon.

 

Nothing wrong with setting the bar high, with a hint of sarcasm thrown in for good luck ?.

Edited June 6, 2019 by Pasquale for King

[Bridge of Djoum]

15 hours ago, Roland Rat said:

Quite happy to have a break from it for a month or so tbh as the football in recent months was dire. That said, hope springs eternal and like you I hope we have a good season ahead of us 

 

Surely you can see that finishing 6th back to back isn't considered good enough by many?

52 posts and quite the familiar posting style. 

 

Welcome back, whomever you were.

 

[Bridge of Djoum]

15 hours ago, mitch41 said:

I want it all. Go for the treble and go unbeaten right through the season.

Now what will i accept this season coming: 

1. Minimun of finishing 3rd in the SPL.

2. League Cup finalists.

3. Scottish Cup Semi Finals.

4. Winning at least once at Celtic Park.

5. Winning at least once at Ibrox.

6. Being unbeaten by Hibs.

 

Now that should  be an achievable season for a Hearts manager.

And if you don't get it I'm sure you'll have even more fun telling us all about it on here. 

 

What joy.

 

''What I will accept''?

 

 

You'll get what you're given. 

[ri Alban]

2 hours ago, Bridge of Djoum said:

And if you don't get it I'm sure you'll have even more fun telling us all about it on here. 

 

What joy.

 

''What I will accept''?

 

 

You'll get what you're given. 

I'd  like to see more of Craig's attacking mentality. We're some team when he's in this mood. But for some reason he loses confidence in his team at times. Only an opinion, BoD.

 

I don't really have any limits, other than effort.  Ok, I know fans don't have the ability of the players, but I do know, we would be exhausted after every game. That's all I really look for.  And if we're beaten by the better team, well... Shite happens.

 

 

Anyway, looking forward to next season.

 

 

C'mon Hearts! C'mon CL!

Edited June 6, 2019 by ri Alban

[i wish jj was my dad]

5 hours ago, Pasquale for King said:

Don’t tell me what to do old chap, if you can’t handle negativity maybe it’s you that needs to man up or put me on ignore.

 

I’ve been following Hearts since 1972 so I’ve had mostly rough with rare moments of smooth. That’s what makes me demand the best from my club, and not put up with the mediocrity we’ve suffered recently.

 

Nobody’s saying they’re not trying, it’s whether they’re capable of succeeding that’s being debated.

 

 

So if you are familiar with more rough than smooth why the endless negativity? 

We all agree that performances and results are below what we should expect but there are mitigating factors that can't be ignored. This regime is the first one in living memory that is building for the long term. Shirley that deserves credit?

[busby1985]

I’d like to see: 

 

A settled formation. 

 

A consistent starting 11. 

 

Development of the youth players. 

 

A clear style of play, similar to what we seen in the cup final. Playing 3511/352 without a press is stupid, using Uche as a target man is also stupid. 

 

Improvement in our home form. 

 

A clear plan B if Plan A gets ruined by injuries or red cards. 

 

Less like for like subs. 

 

An end to the long throw ceremony. 

[JamboAl]

22 minutes ago, busby1985 said:

I’d like to see: 

 

A settled formation. 

 

A consistent starting 11. 

 

Development of the youth players. 

 

A clear style of play, similar to what we seen in the cup final. Playing 3511/352 without a press is stupid, using Uche as a target man is also stupid. 

 

Improvement in our home form. 

 

A clear plan B if Plan A gets ruined by injuries or red cards. 

 

Less like for like subs. 

 

An end to the long throw ceremony. 

Taking your 1st 2 points as a starter, how are we going to achieve this if Naisy, Haring, Berra, and Uche all get injured around the same time and others occasionally?

[busby1985]

17 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

Taking your 1st 2 points as a starter, how are we going to achieve this if Naisy, Haring, Berra, and Uche all get injured around the same time and others occasionally?

Ah the old injury conundrum. Funny that you want me to answer that but don’t seem to be to bothered that our manager hasn’t had an answer for it ??‍♂️. Few times you’ve dug me out on it. Am not the manager, am not paid by hearts to over come such obstacles but I’d maybe ditch the scatter gun recruitment policy and recruit potential problem areas as a starter. To be fair to the manager he seems to be taking that approach this year, Halkett coming in instead of relying on loan players like Dunne/Smith Brown/Leeds guy etc is a sensible solution. It sounds like we are also looking to recruit a keeper, another striker and a replacement for Djoum, which will help. He’s somehow managed to have stumbled onto a solution to our long standing left back problem with Hickey. He’s also stumbled onto Edwards giving us that energy to play the press he played at the start of the season, mental to think that he only got a game when the games meant nothing and managed to work his way into the cup final side. So I’d be surprised to see huge numbers come into the club, which is a good thing. Instead of using the injury problems we faced last season, along with every other club, as an excuse I’d be more concerned that it was allowed to derail us so dramatically and my point was that I hope this season we have a better plan.  But again, am not the manager and am certainly not paid to make those decisions. The only actual injury we didn’t have a like for like replacement for at the club is Naismith and it’s embarrassing how much it affected us. Rangers lost Kent, Morelos, Arfield, Goldson etc and still managed to perform. Celtic lost Christie, Ntcham, Eduaord, Rogic, Boyata, Tierney etc and still won the treble. Hibs, Aberdeen, Killie etc all had injuries and managed to survive. Like I’ve said, we should’ve handled it better. That’s not to say it didn’t effect us as it clearly did, my point is I hope this coming season we handle it better and don’t allow it to become an excuse for another shambles of a season.