Wighton signs pre-contract and goes on loan to Dunfermline then moans then scores 2 (title updated)

[Riccarton3]

11 minutes ago, OTT said:

 

Something that has been grating on me about that. Wighton was getting called Shiteton and everything else because his lack of confidence was obvious and not something that was likely to go away. I've saw him described multiple times as a player that will always need an arm round him. Okay, so we can conclude he's mentally not a tough player? So why the **** was he taking not only a penalty in a cup final, but the final penalty?! Halkett had captained Livi and IIRC he was one of their penalty takers, likewise, Haring has a decent shot on him. We had 2 players with the mental character to take them and let Wighton who is a shitebag take them? Its bafflingly poor. We had 1 hand on the cup and totally ****ed it. 

 

So why, pray tell, did we allow a player who obviously has confidence issues to take the most important penalty in a cup final when there quite literally couldn't have been anymore pressure on him? I know he had scored other penalties, but those were zero pressure penalties by comparison. Not something Robbie should have allowed IMO. 

I wouldn't want to see that pen again but he could not have telegraphed it more. I doubt Cruyff could have put it left from that body shape and run up.

 

Frankly, Wighton's continual soor puss which I can only assume is an attempt to look egnigmatic was too much. Enjoy your fitba Craig.

[Bongo 1874]

2 hours ago, StevenNaismith said:

I’d recall him from his loan and put him on gardening leave until the summer.

Or he could become an expert in the medical department 😉. 

[18Jambo_dave74]

People have had a go at Neilson for not getting enough out of certain players. In Wighton's case, I'd say Neilson has done very well.

 

Wighton had shown absolutely nothing for Hearts prior to this season. Neilson inherited him as part of an underperforming squad, made use of him and got a few goals out of him as well as some decent performances. 

 

If we want to be aiming for a top 3/4 finish in the premiership next season then IMO Wighton is clearly not capable of performing to that level. Since the start of the season I believed that we would win the league comfortably and my opinion has not changed - loaning Wighton out to Dunfermline now will not change that. It may be that by doing this we have now got the wages to put towards a right back on loan. 

 

I think Craig Wighton should be extremely grateful that he was given an opportunity to play for a club the size of Hearts and I suspect that he was given a decent wage (and signing on fee?) for doing so. Despite being largely unimpressive for Hearts he has also been given the opportunity to play in 2 Scottish Cup finals and a league cup semi final. 

 

 

[Brick Tamland]

“I thought I had done enough in the games I played, maybe not enough to earn a contract beyond the summer, but enough to at least be in the plans until the end of the season."

 

FFS that's a terrible attitude, he should have been doing everything possible to get a new contract not just enough to play a few games until the end of the season.

[Riccarton3]

4 minutes ago, Brick Tamland said:

“I thought I had done enough in the games I played, maybe not enough to earn a contract beyond the summer, but enough to at least be in the plans until the end of the season."

 

FFS that's a terrible attitude, he should have been doing everything possible to get a new contract not just enough to play a few games until the end of the season.

Yeah, what the **** difference does it make if you have no belief you will be around next year. You might as well be at Dunfermline, Craig

[kila]

Thought he did enough to at least see out the season with some contributions.

 

Was weird seeing Robbie go 'oh for **** sake' when Wighton completed his hat trick. Clearly didn't want to have to play him.

 

 

[colinmaroon]

I think, in a nutshell, we are seeing his problem - attitude.

 

Allowing for any journalistic licence, he does come across poorly.

 

 

[chrystaf]

1 hour ago, weehammy said:

Kingsley’s no run-up abomination was the real killer!

(How on earth did we end up with Wighton taking a crucial pen anyway!)

 

Agree. (**** knows).

[chrystaf]

44 minutes ago, OTT said:

 

Something that has been grating on me about that. Wighton was getting called Shiteton and everything else because his lack of confidence was obvious and not something that was likely to go away. I've saw him described multiple times as a player that will always need an arm round him. Okay, so we can conclude he's mentally not a tough player? So why the **** was he taking not only a penalty in a cup final, but the final penalty?! Halkett had captained Livi and IIRC he was one of their penalty takers, likewise, Haring has a decent shot on him. We had 2 players with the mental character to take them and let Wighton who is a shitebag take them? Its bafflingly poor. We had 1 hand on the cup and totally ****ed it. 

 

So why, pray tell, did we allow a player who obviously has confidence issues to take the most important penalty in a cup final when there quite literally couldn't have been anymore pressure on him? I know he had scored other penalties, but those were zero pressure penalties by comparison. Not something Robbie should have allowed IMO. 

Spot on.  It will always rankle.  Robbie has to take the can for that.

[chrystaf]

3 minutes ago, kila said:

Thought he did enough to at least see out the season with some contributions.

 

Was weird seeing Robbie go 'oh for **** sake' when Wighton completed his hat trick. Clearly didn't want to have to play him.

 

 

A perceptive observation that might just have some truth in it.

[GinRummy]

5 minutes ago, kila said:

Thought he did enough to at least see out the season with some contributions.

 

Was weird seeing Robbie go 'oh for **** sake' when Wighton completed his hat trick. Clearly didn't want to have to play him.

 

 

Was quite surprised myself that he fell out of favour so quickly. Shame for him but he won’t be missed, or at least not much and not for long. 

[Riccarton3]

29 minutes ago, Bongo 1874 said:

Or he could become an expert in the medical department 😉. 

I'd want someone to cheer me up if I was laid up

[davemclaren]

21 minutes ago, GinRummy said:

Was quite surprised myself that he fell out of favour so quickly. Shame for him but he won’t be missed, or at least not much and not for long. 

Who? 

[OTT]

59 minutes ago, Debut 4 said:

I’m not angling for a argument with anyone but a shrewd manager with his finger on the pulse and who knows his players , would’ve exerted authority.
 

If Wighton stuck his hand up while others didn’t, then fair enough.  

 

Yeah, I'm not trying to make a major point, its done. Fairplay to the laddie for sacking up and putting himself forward, but like you say, a manager should know their players and Craig Wighton isn't a player you ever want to count on in a decisive moment. Halkett would have been my pick. Not the best, but he's mentally tough enough to see that through and give a Mikey Smith style penalty, which is exactly what you want in that situation. 

 

It just wrangles with me a bit that someone who was so obviously lacks confidence in decisive moments was counted on in a huge moment. Had we won that game it would have been spoke about as one of our greatest cup finals in our history and it was left up to him to see us over the line? 

 

I've still not been able to watch anymore to do with it. We should have won that...

[GinRummy]

5 minutes ago, davemclaren said:

Who? 

👌😂

[BackOfTheNet]

This is actually a non-story. Player not happy about being left out of the plans, and people simultaneously have a go at his lack of ambition for not expecting his contract to be renewed.

 

It didn’t work out. He’s not bad mouthing us, he’s simply giving his version of events. He’s not our player anymore so there’s no real interest unless he says something that unearths some deep lying issue within the club, which he hasn’t.

 

Anyone getting wound up by this - and there’s pages on this thread to say there’s a lot of you - are extremely over sensitive.

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

1 hour ago, colinmaroon said:

I think, in a nutshell, we are seeing his problem - attitude.

 

Allowing for any journalistic licence, he does come across poorly.

 

 

Naturally journalists will do that.

 

File as don't give a **** 

[colinmaroon]

1 hour ago, GinRummy said:

Was quite surprised myself that he fell out of favour so quickly. Shame for him but he won’t be missed, or at least not much and not for long. 

 

Shades of Danny Paton, Tommy White, much, much better players but who left after missing sitters in crucial games.

 

 

[GinRummy]

3 minutes ago, colinmaroon said:

 

Shades of Danny Paton, Tommy White, much, much better players but who left after missing sitters in crucial games.

 

 

Take your word for it Colin. As a very youthful 50 year old it’s before my time. 👍

[132goals1958]

16 minutes ago, colinmaroon said:

 

Shades of Danny Paton, Tommy White, much, much better players but who left after missing sitters in crucial games.

 

 

 

Much more predominant and still etched forever in my mind was that miss by Alan Gordon which in the circumstances would have guaranteed us the league title.

[GinRummy]

Just saw the title update. Kudos. 

[Fraggle]

2 hours ago, Brick Tamland said:

“I thought I had done enough in the games I played, maybe not enough to earn a contract beyond the summer, but enough to at least be in the plans until the end of the season."

 

FFS that's a terrible attitude, he should have been doing everything possible to get a new contract not just enough to play a few games until the end of the season.

The bit before that was equally as bad, and a proper insight into his mentality. He'll relapse into his shell again when crowds are back. 

Edited February 18, 2021 by Fraggle

[Alan_R]

A loser. Need more winning mentality about the club. Best shipped out. Don't wish the guy any ill will but should never have been near a hearts shirt.

[Papa]

My heart sank when I saw Wighton walk up to take the fifth penalty. I can’t blame him for volunteering. Presumably Halkett bottled it which is more disgraceful (or if Halkett did come forward then Neilson is to blame for choosing wrongly). The bottom line is that Levein has to take responsibility for wasting good money on a chicken-hearted player who has rarely looked the part in a maroon shirt.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Craig Wighton - the Scottish David Witteveen.

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

3 hours ago, Brick Tamland said:

“I thought I had done enough in the games I played, maybe not enough to earn a contract beyond the summer, but enough to at least be in the plans until the end of the season."

 

FFS that's a terrible attitude, he should have been doing everything possible to get a new contract not just enough to play a few games until the end of the season.

Tbf he was at a club with zero ambition or aspirations so maybe he was just trying to fit in.

[StevenNaismith]

3 hours ago, Bongo 1874 said:

Or he could become an expert in the medical department 😉. 

That’s went over my head Bongo 🤷🏼‍♂️

[soonbe110]

3 hours ago, Debut 4 said:

I’m not angling for a argument with anyone but a shrewd manager with his finger on the pulse and who knows his players , would’ve exerted authority.
 

If Wighton stuck his hand up while others didn’t, then fair enough.  

That’s what happened 

[JTJ]

Boyce is our 1st choice penalty taker but Wighton took them pre-season when Boyce was off the pitch. Wighton also scored all the ones he took before the fateful one at Hampden - including two in the same league cup game against Raith.

 

With Boyce off injured in the final it was no surprise to see him take "Boyce's" kick. Halkett strangely seems excluded from free kicks around the box which he took for Livingston as well as penalties. I thought he'd be ahead of Kingsley but I was wrong. The one player I was not surprised about taking a good one was Olly Lee, whose penalty was excellent.

 

All water under the bridge now. Wighton wanted security from a contract for next season so jumped at the Pars offer - unless they come up, I see him as a Championship striker (which he'd already proved last season on loan at Arbroath).

[Regal Kingston]

Kingsley scores and Wighton could have had the opportunity to win the cup with the final penalty and into Hearts folklore. Especially after opening the scoring in the semi. 
 

6 weeks later he’s papped to Dunfermline. 
 

Football is a funny old game. 
 

No problem with the complaining. Neilson has done him a disservice and he’s entitled to speak out. 
 

Personally I don’t think Wighton and Neilson are good enough for Hearts. 

Edited February 18, 2021 by Regal Kingston

[colinmaroon]

4 hours ago, 132goals1958 said:

 

Much more predominant and still etched forever in my mind was that miss by Alan Gordon which in the circumstances would have guaranteed us the league title.

 

 

Hard to believe but I had three players and, in a senior moment did an Alan Gordon, and forgot (in his case to score).

 

I can still see him mishitting the ball into the ground and giving Ferguson the chance to save.  A clean hit and -  but that's not the Hearts way.  Still say that losing 6 goals to St Mirren back in August and worse, losing 7 to Dundee at home just after beating Morton in the Cup replay, were the biggest "misses."

[Thomaso]

4 hours ago, 132goals1958 said:

 

Much more predominant and still etched forever in my mind was that miss by Alan Gordon which in the circumstances would have guaranteed us the league title.

TBF it was a fantastic save by Bobby Ferguson.

[Saint Jambo]

3 hours ago, JTJ said:

Boyce is our 1st choice penalty taker but Wighton took them pre-season when Boyce was off the pitch. Wighton also scored all the ones he took before the fateful one at Hampden - including two in the same league cup game against Raith.

 

With Boyce off injured in the final it was no surprise to see him take "Boyce's" kick. Halkett strangely seems excluded from free kicks around the box which he took for Livingston as well as penalties. I thought he'd be ahead of Kingsley but I was wrong. The one player I was not surprised about taking a good one was Olly Lee, whose penalty was excellent.

 

Yes. Nothing surprising about the decision. If Halkett had taken the penalty instead of Wighton and missed, the same posters would probably have been saying it was crazy that we had two defenders take and miss penalties with a striker not taking one, and if the manager didn't trust a striker to score a penalty why are they on the pitch. Just add it to the long lost of bizarre that posters on jkb have used to have a go at Neilson.

 

[132goals1958]

41 minutes ago, colinmaroon said:

 

 

Hard to believe but I had three players and, in a senior moment did an Alan Gordon, and forgot (in his case to score).

 

I can still see him mishitting the ball into the ground and giving Ferguson the chance to save.  A clean hit and -  but that's not the Hearts way.  Still say that losing 6 goals to St Mirren back in August and worse, losing 7 to Dundee at home just after beating Morton in the Cup replay, were the biggest "misses."

 

37 minutes ago, Thomaso said:

TBF it was a fantastic save by Bobby Ferguson.

 

In the final analysis if there was a team that would lose the league on goal average by a fraction of a goal despite having a far better goal difference you just know it would be us. 

[Zico]

So, this thread...no balls and a wee dong. 

[1971fozzy]

Don’t see what is wrong with what he said tbf.  Probably asked for his take on it and was just giving his side. 
I didn’t rate him but will forever be grateful for his semi goal. As far as the final went, Kingsleys pen was the game changer. It was awful and the resultant pressure on Wighton took its toll.  We have missed so many penalty’s in recent years though.

No hard feelings towards him from me. It just went wrong and not a good fit.

[Jambo61]

Thank goodness he is a 1 off and there have been no other imitation footballers given a place in the squad by an imitation manager! What would an imitation Chairman say?

[Jambo61]

1 hour ago, 132goals1958 said:

 

 

In the final analysis if there was a team that would lose the league on goal average by a fraction of a goal despite having a far better goal difference you just know it would be us. 

Only if no other team could score!

[Kyle1874]

Wighton never good enough simple as  

[ri Alban]

Bye everyone

 

 

 

Bye Craig. 

[spacerjoe]

16 hours ago, OTT said:

 

Something that has been grating on me about that. Wighton was getting called Shiteton and everything else because his lack of confidence was obvious and not something that was likely to go away. I've saw him described multiple times as a player that will always need an arm round him. Okay, so we can conclude he's mentally not a tough player? So why the **** was he taking not only a penalty in a cup final, but the final penalty?! Halkett had captained Livi and IIRC he was one of their penalty takers, likewise, Haring has a decent shot on him. We had 2 players with the mental character to take them and let Wighton who is a shitebag take them? Its bafflingly poor. We had 1 hand on the cup and totally ****ed it. 

 

So why, pray tell, did we allow a player who obviously has confidence issues to take the most important penalty in a cup final when there quite literally couldn't have been anymore pressure on him? I know he had scored other penalties, but those were zero pressure penalties by comparison. Not something Robbie should have allowed IMO. 

 

Lots of players far better and more confident than Craig Wighton have missed penalties.

 

Even in that game alone, Ryan Christie, a player probably worth more than our entire squad, missed one.

 

Giving someone grief for having the bottle to stand up and take one is poor form. 

[Harry Potter]

1 hour ago, ri Alban said:

Bye everyone

 

 

 

Bye Craig. 

Time to move on, good luck Craig.

[Pans Jambo]

14 hours ago, Alan_R said:

A loser. Need more winning mentality about the club. Best shipped out. Don't wish the guy any ill will but should never have been near a hearts shirt.

This.

Not good enough.

[Des Lynam]

Wish him all the best. Decent player just doesn’t believe in himself enough. It’s a pity we didn’t have some of the real men on here taking that penalty? Makes you wonder why none of them are playing for Hearts. 

[OTT]

37 minutes ago, spacerjoe said:

 

Lots of players far better and more confident than Craig Wighton have missed penalties.

 

Even in that game alone, Ryan Christie, a player probably worth more than our entire squad, missed one.

 

Giving someone grief for having the bottle to stand up and take one is poor form. 

 

I'm not, I'm querying why a player who we all know has confidence issues was allowed to in the first place. Wighton has not handled pressure well his entire Hearts career, on that basis alone, its baffling why our management team thought putting the cup in his hands was a good idea.

 

You're absolutely correct though, he deserves some degree of credit for sacking up to take one. It was brave and I'm sure plenty players shirk away in those moments. My understanding is that more wanted to take penalties than the 5 that volunteered. So Robbie could have shot him down and given it to Halkett or basically anyone else. Poster above said a manager should know his players, and anyone who's watched Wighton since he came here should agree that letting him take the decisive penalty in a cup final was extremely naïve. 

[colinmaroon]

10 hours ago, Jambo61 said:

Thank goodness he is a 1 off and there have been no other imitation footballers given a place in the squad by an imitation manager! What would an imitation Chairman say?

 

 

Let the imitation Hearts fan answer his own question.

 

 

[colinmaroon]

2 hours ago, spacerjoe said:

 

Lots of players far better and more confident than Craig Wighton have missed penalties.

 

Even in that game alone, Ryan Christie, a player probably worth more than our entire squad, missed one.

 

Giving someone grief for having the bottle to stand up and take one is poor form. 

 

 

Christie's penalty was actually a good hit and well placed, high to Keeper's right and not far inside the post.

 

Craig had done his homework and guessed spot on (pardon the pun) where the left-footer would place it.  It was more a brilliant save than a poor kick.  BOTH our missed penalties were woeful.

 

 

[spacerjoe]

2 hours ago, OTT said:

 

I'm not, I'm querying why a player who we all know has confidence issues was allowed to in the first place. Wighton has not handled pressure well his entire Hearts career, on that basis alone, its baffling why our management team thought putting the cup in his hands was a good idea.

 

You're absolutely correct though, he deserves some degree of credit for sacking up to take one. It was brave and I'm sure plenty players shirk away in those moments. My understanding is that more wanted to take penalties than the 5 that volunteered. So Robbie could have shot him down and given it to Halkett or basically anyone else. Poster above said a manager should know his players, and anyone who's watched Wighton since he came here should agree that letting him take the decisive penalty in a cup final was extremely naïve. 

 

I'd say during that run of games he looked confident. He'd scored in the match, was on a great run of form. He won't have given off any indication that he was going to shy away from it.

 

Why wouldn't you pick him in this situation? Form should always count more in these situations and especially if he is a 'confidence player'.

 

He was no doubt exactly in the right frame of mind to be that guy. He just hit a shit pen. It happens.

 

 

 

[Jambo61]

55 minutes ago, colinmaroon said:

 

 

Let the imitation Hearts fan answer his own question.

 

 

Wrong girlie!

[spacerjoe]

50 minutes ago, colinmaroon said:

 

 

Christie's penalty was actually a good hit and well placed, high to Keeper's right and not far inside the post.

 

Craig had done his homework and guessed spot on (pardon the pun) where the left-footer would place it.  It was more a brilliant save than a poor kick.  BOTH our missed penalties were woeful.

 

 

I disagree. It was, as the cliche goes 'at a nice height for the keeper'. Not taking anything away from the save, but it was still very saveable.

 

Teams lose shootouts because one or two players will hit a sh*t pen.

 

I've never in all my life ever heard a commentator or pundit say after a cup final shootout 'he's picked the wrong guys'. Ever. Even the most critical. Ever.

 

There is barely anything objective in these Neilson arguments any more.