Budge Speaks

[Maple Leaf]

14 minutes ago, Lone Striker said:

 

In reply to @Maple Leaf ........

 

My reading of that announcement is that Ann wants to shape the board responsibilities differently from what it's been up till now.    Chairperson and CEO split into 2.    She's preparing the club  for life after Budge.

 

Since there's a new  Sporting Director, the CEO isn't directly involved in player recruitment or contracts.    I think the CEO will however be involved in reviewing the pros and cons of offering a new contract to Robbie - in addition to dealing with issues arising from things  like Oriam, stadium, pitch, medical, safety, security, housekeeping, compliance  etc 

 

Just because Ann wants Robbie and Joe to report directly to her doesn't mean that's necessarily how it will be after she leaves.   AMcK might want Robbie to report to Joe in the future.

@Lone Striker Thanks for the perspective.

 

I still think that it's an unwieldy management structure to have Robbie report directly to Executive Chairman Ann, but who cares what I think, eh?

 

Especially since Ann could be around for a long time to come, given her comment in the McKinlay announcement that " ... my work here is far from done."

 

 

[Lone Striker]

6 minutes ago, Maple Leaf said:

@Lone Striker Thanks for the perspective.

 

I still think that it's an unwieldy management structure to have Robbie report directly to Executive Chairman Ann, but who cares what I think, eh?

 

Especially since Ann could be around for a long time to come, given her comment in the McKinlay announcement that " ... my work here is far from done."

 

 

Ha-ha.... you could right, since it appears FoH aren't exactly breaking the door down to get the transfer done.   Regarding her quote though........   imagine the outrage if she hadn't included the "far from".   😲   

[Auldbenches]

1 hour ago, Cruyff said:

Nah, his job is running the club on a day to day basis. He's got naff all to do with football decisions. 

So we have a CEO getting full time wages for doing only part of the job that role? 

[Gambo]

1 hour ago, Smith's right boot said:

 

I still think "awful play" after 3 draws is a tad dramatic, imo 2/3 with better finishing are wins, comfortable at that, but each to thier own. Splitting hairs, still poor results. 

 

 

New ceo, new dof, new manager, new coaching team.. Different division! if posters are still haunted by CL then it's thier issue now imo. 

 

 

 

You think fans think we have been awful to watch because of 3 draws???

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

43 minutes ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

He's got a decent eye for coaches and has helped launch some decent careers in coaching and management. Simple facts are too tricky for some.

Yep, that coaching conveyor belt sure worked for us!

[pointon]

2 hours ago, gashauskis9 said:

What happened to our CEO? I thought he was the one answerable on our football operations? 

The invincible boss like on chewin the fat 😆

[Gambo]

50 minutes ago, Geoff Kilpatrick said:

 

As defending the indefensibles go, this is pretty good.

It is right up there.

[Guest ToqueJambo]

1 minute ago, Geoff Kilpatrick said:

Yep, that coaching conveyor belt sure worked for us!

 

Worth a try though. If he'd got the team he wanted at the start of 14/15 together of Neilson HC, Cathro U20s, Gordon goalie coach and Rudi technical coach together then who knows. His back-up options obviously didn't work, but there's no denying Neilson, Ross, and Cathro all have something about them as coaches. Just to be working non-stop at a good level since they started out proves that.

[The Grim Reaper]

The lengths these two go to to defend the club, Levein and Neilson 😂

[Silverwolf]

6 hours ago, No Idle Talk said:

I think Ann needs to be careful when dipping her toe into the 'some clubs are too quick to act' waters. She is absolutely correct in what she is saying but the obvious problem with her passing comment on it is that she stuck by Craig Levein for WAY LONGER than she should have. And there are a lot of Hearts fans who are annoyed about that. Rightly so in my view. So the moment Ann makes a comment about clubs sacking managers too quickly, she is immediately leaving herself open to having that thrown in her face. 

 

It also leaves her open to criticism because of the way she/the club handled Daniel Stendel's dismissal. Stendel wasn't given a fair shake at Hearts. He was only in the job for three months and he inherited a squad of players who were 1 - Bereft of confidence, and, 2 - Not entirely capable of playing the style of football he as a manager wanted to play. To make any kind of fair judgment on Stendel he needed to be given more time. Time to bring in players who could actually do what he was asking. Without being given that opportunity, none of us(including Ann Budge) will ever really know if Stendel could have been a successful Hearts manager. So, in my view, the dismissal of Daniel Stendel was a classic example of a club "acting too quickly". Which obviously creates a problem for Ann Budge when she makes a comment like the one she has just made. 

 

All of the above said, we are where we are. The clock can't be turned back so we just have to look at the here and now and try to move forward. And as far as Robbie Neilson's situation goes, I agree with Ann Budge. It would be absolute madness to sack a manager who has us on track for promotion and who came within two penalty kicks of delivering the Scottish Cup this season. We can all debate the quality of the football currently being served up by the team - personally speaking, I don't think it's good enough - but the fact is we are on course to achieve what we set out to achieve at the beginning of the season. If Hearts were to sack Robbie Neilson today(which some people on here appear to want them to do), imagine how badly that would reflect on Hearts as a club. Imagine how much more difficult it would make it for us to find a high calibre replacement for Robbie Neilson. Think about it.  You are a good football manager and your phone rings. It is Hearts on the phone and they want you to be their manager. Sounds great. So you do a little bit of research on what is going on at Hearts and why their last manager got the sack. You are probably pretty shocked to discover that Hearts are currently sitting well clear at the top of the league they are playing in and that they very nearly won the Scottish Cup earlier in the season. At that point the thought has to go through your mind - if their last manager can get sacked for that, what exactly will I have to do in order to not be under pressure or get sacked? Suddenly the job doesn't seem quite so appealing. 

 

Ann Budge is right. We have to stick with Robbie for the moment. More than that, we should be supporting him and not wanting him sacked any time we don't win a match. The time to truly evaluate how he is doing will be next season. I will be keeping my powder dry until then.* 

 

*Unless of course we suffered some sort of monumental collapse and failed to get promoted. I would expect him to be sacked at that point. But I do not believe that is going to happen so it is a moot point.

Great and well thought out synopsis of the current situation.

I also have and issue with why so many are vocal about wanting Budge out. She stumped up her own money when the club desperately needed help. She is in the process of steering it towards fan ownership (a unique model in order to protect it from being a plaything of the super wealthy...in the case of Vlad...not so wealthy). She is a proven business woman who has has taken flack for making tough decisions last year in the best interests of the club. She took real heat in the media about it but was subsequently proved correct when all the other clubs that slated her followed suit. She has attracted significant benefactors who would not be supporting us without her influence.
 

I am as disappointed as anyone that the football side has not delivered during her tenure and I sincerely believe that she stuck with Levein for so long because she did not feel qualified to make changes on the football front. Indeed she has admitted as much. Consequently she has now appointed a CEO to provide daily business leadership at the club (not sure why he has been so quiet). As Chair, she is moving into a non-exec governance role which will suit her and the club very well.
 

If the answer is fan ownership, I cannot believe that this will mean that fans have a say over the day to day running of the business or even the football side. Through the FOH, they will, of course, have a voice in the boardroom but that does not mean that the team selection will be made in a poll on Kickback every week. There will still be a requirement for leadership, assurance and governance otherwise it will just be anarchy. 

 

The fans who have vilified her must believe there is a better candidate out there who could bring more to the party but I just cannot see it. Be careful what you wish for.

[Howdy Doody Jambo]

1 hour ago, GinRummy said:

When I was a bairn I had a scarf with about 15 or so Hearts badges. Lost it on a train back from Glasgow and never bought a badge since. Still a bit gutted about it now. Used to buy them out the sports shop on Gorgie Road (Thomson sport or inter sport maybe).

Them Topsport badges were superb, I always remember the characatuers of favourite players of the mid 70s

"Bannon Shoots like a Canon" and the like, great shop as a kid 

There could be a niche in the market nowadays 

"Naismith moans more than Victor Meldrew" 

Edited March 4, 2021 by Ma Roon

[No Idle Talk]

1 hour ago, GinRummy said:

When I was a bairn I had a scarf with about 15 or so Hearts badges. Lost it on a train back from Glasgow and never bought a badge since. Still a bit gutted about it now. Used to buy them out the sports shop on Gorgie Road (Thomson sport or inter sport maybe).

 

I got my first Hearts badge in that same shop. 'Go man Bowman' it said.

[Guest ToqueJambo]

6 hours ago, No Idle Talk said:

I think Ann needs to be careful when dipping her toe into the 'some clubs are too quick to act' waters. She is absolutely correct in what she is saying but the obvious problem with her passing comment on it is that she stuck by Craig Levein for WAY LONGER than she should have. And there are a lot of Hearts fans who are annoyed about that. Rightly so in my view. So the moment Ann makes a comment about clubs sacking managers too quickly, she is immediately leaving herself open to having that thrown in her face. 

 

It also leaves her open to criticism because of the way she/the club handled Daniel Stendel's dismissal. Stendel wasn't given a fair shake at Hearts. He was only in the job for three months and he inherited a squad of players who were 1 - Bereft of confidence, and, 2 - Not entirely capable of playing the style of football he as a manager wanted to play. To make any kind of fair judgment on Stendel he needed to be given more time. Time to bring in players who could actually do what he was asking. Without being given that opportunity, none of us(including Ann Budge) will ever really know if Stendel could have been a successful Hearts manager. So, in my view, the dismissal of Daniel Stendel was a classic example of a club "acting too quickly". Which obviously creates a problem for Ann Budge when she makes a comment like the one she has just made. 

 

All of the above said, we are where we are. The clock can't be turned back so we just have to look at the here and now and try to move forward. And as far as Robbie Neilson's situation goes, I agree with Ann Budge. It would be absolute madness to sack a manager who has us on track for promotion and who came within two penalty kicks of delivering the Scottish Cup this season. We can all debate the quality of the football currently being served up by the team - personally speaking, I don't think it's good enough - but the fact is we are on course to achieve what we set out to achieve at the beginning of the season. If Hearts were to sack Robbie Neilson today(which some people on here appear to want them to do), imagine how badly that would reflect on Hearts as a club. Imagine how much more difficult it would make it for us to find a high calibre replacement for Robbie Neilson. Think about it.  You are a good football manager and your phone rings. It is Hearts on the phone and they want you to be their manager. Sounds great. So you do a little bit of research on what is going on at Hearts and why their last manager got the sack. You are probably pretty shocked to discover that Hearts are currently sitting well clear at the top of the league they are playing in and that they very nearly won the Scottish Cup earlier in the season. At that point the thought has to go through your mind - if their last manager can get sacked for that, what exactly will I have to do in order to not be under pressure or get sacked? Suddenly the job doesn't seem quite so appealing. 

 

Ann Budge is right. We have to stick with Robbie for the moment. More than that, we should be supporting him and not wanting him sacked any time we don't win a match. The time to truly evaluate how he is doing will be next season. I will be keeping my powder dry until then.* 

 

*Unless of course we suffered some sort of monumental collapse and failed to get promoted. I would expect him to be sacked at that point. But I do not believe that is going to happen so it is a moot point.

 

A good post and worth pointing out that Neilson inherited the same squad and the same challenges. Actually even greater challenges as unlike Stendel he's had to manage and recruit during the pandemic with a slashed budget and a huge amount of uncertainty. And he's had about the same amount of time as Stendel so far but, unlike Stendel, is meeting 2 of his main 3 pre-season targets very comfortably - be well clear at the top by the 75% of games played mark and beat Hibs in the semi. He gave us a bonus by way of that cup final performance and promotion his the main aim still to accomplish but even the most myopic Robbie hater has to admit we're in no danger of not getting promoted.

 

Simply put if you think Stendel was dealt a tough hand and didn't get enough time, the same applies to Neilson.

[bairdy]

13 minutes ago, Silverwolf said:

Great and well thought out synopsis of the current situation.

I also have and issue with why so many are vocal about wanting Budge out. She stumped up her own money when the club desperately needed help. She is in the process of steering it towards fan ownership (a unique model in order to protect it from being a plaything of the super wealthy...in the case of Vlad...not so wealthy). She is a proven business woman who has has taken flack for making tough decisions last year in the best interests of the club. She took real heat in the media about it but was subsequently proved correct when all the other clubs that slated her followed suit. She has attracted significant benefactors who would not be supporting us without her influence.
 

I am as disappointed as anyone that the football side has not delivered during her tenure and I sincerely believe that she stuck with Levein for so long because she did not feel qualified to make changes on the football front. Indeed she has admitted as much. Consequently she has now appointed a CEO to provide daily business leadership at the club (not sure why he has been so quiet). As Chair, she is moving into a non-exec governance role which will suit her and the club very well.
 

If the answer is fan ownership, I cannot believe that this will mean that fans have a say over the day to day running of the business or even the football side. Through the FOH, they will, of course, have a voice in the boardroom but that does not mean that the team selection will be made in a poll on Kickback every week. There will still be a requirement for leadership, assurance and governance otherwise it will just be anarchy. 

 

The fans who have vilified her must believe there is a better candidate out there who could bring more to the party but I just cannot see it. Be careful what you wish for.

Excellent post.

[gashauskis9]

1 hour ago, Maple Leaf said:

I've asked the same question on this thread.  There seems to be some confusion (at least among the fans) over his role at the Club.  When Andrew McKinlay was appointed, the wording on the announcement read like he has responsibility for all day-to-day activities.  To me, the day-to-day activities of a football club include, *ahem*, football.

 

But others have posted that he is not responsible for football matters, which makes the title Chief Executive Officer seem strange.  It has also been posted on this thread that RN does not report to Sporting Director Joe Savage.  Does that mean that Robbie reports directly to Executive Chairman, Ann Budge?  Weird.  

 

https://www.heartsfc.co.uk/news/article/andrew-mckinlay-appointed-chief-executive  

Yep, same confusion from me 👍

[Guest ToqueJambo]

2 hours ago, Maple Leaf said:

I've asked the same question on this thread.  There seems to be some confusion (at least among the fans) over his role at the Club.  When Andrew McKinlay was appointed, the wording on the announcement read like he has responsibility for all day-to-day activities.  To me, the day-to-day activities of a football club include, *ahem*, football.

 

But others have posted that he is not responsible for football matters, which makes the title Chief Executive Officer seem strange.  It has also been posted on this thread that RN does not report to Sporting Director Joe Savage.  Does that mean that Robbie reports directly to Executive Chairman, Ann Budge?  Weird.  

 

https://www.heartsfc.co.uk/news/article/andrew-mckinlay-appointed-chief-executive  

 

 

When Budge appointed Neilson she said he and the new SD would report directly to her, as CEO. When she appointed a new CEO she said she would be focusing on the long-term strategy and he handles day to day.

 

It's possible they both now report to McKinlay, but my guess would be they kind of report to Budge and him but she's in overall charge. Like Cormack at Aberdeen. They also have a CEO (or did until recently), but Cormack is the one in the press all the time as the chairman. I'm pretty sure McInnes reported to Cormack mainly whether they have a CEO or not. Not sure how other clubs work in terms of managers reporting to the CEO or the chairman.

Edited March 4, 2021 by ToqueJambo

[Hectormasson]

1 hour ago, ShedBoy said:

Another charity shop FFS

Lots in gorgie, even the old willie Hill is opposite old topsport and that's the Sally army charity shop, I live up here it's pretty sad m8 but ?????

[ShedBoy]

43 minutes ago, Hectormasson said:

Lots in gorgie, even the old willie Hill is opposite old topsport and that's the Sally army charity shop, I live up here it's pretty sad m8 but ?????

Dalkeith is hooching with charity shops, cafes and Turkish barbers. And now the Wetherspoons has been reclaimed by Lidl. What a pile of shite

[Hectormasson]

Just now, ShedBoy said:

Dalkeith is hooching with charity shops, cafes and Turkish barbers. And now the Wetherspoons has been reclaimed by Lidl. What a pile of shite

Get you m8🙈🙈🙈

[Bazzas right boot]

8 hours ago, No Idle Talk said:

I think Ann needs to be careful when dipping her toe into the 'some clubs are too quick to act' waters. She is absolutely correct in what she is saying but the obvious problem with her passing comment on it is that she stuck by Craig Levein for WAY LONGER than she should have. And there are a lot of Hearts fans who are annoyed about that. Rightly so in my view. So the moment Ann makes a comment about clubs sacking managers too quickly, she is immediately leaving herself open to having that thrown in her face. 

 

It also leaves her open to criticism because of the way she/the club handled Daniel Stendel's dismissal. Stendel wasn't given a fair shake at Hearts. He was only in the job for three months and he inherited a squad of players who were 1 - Bereft of confidence, and, 2 - Not entirely capable of playing the style of football he as a manager wanted to play. To make any kind of fair judgment on Stendel he needed to be given more time. Time to bring in players who could actually do what he was asking. Without being given that opportunity, none of us(including Ann Budge) will ever really know if Stendel could have been a successful Hearts manager. So, in my view, the dismissal of Daniel Stendel was a classic example of a club "acting too quickly". Which obviously creates a problem for Ann Budge when she makes a comment like the one she has just made. 

 

All of the above said, we are where we are. The clock can't be turned back so we just have to look at the here and now and try to move forward. And as far as Robbie Neilson's situation goes, I agree with Ann Budge. It would be absolute madness to sack a manager who has us on track for promotion and who came within two penalty kicks of delivering the Scottish Cup this season. We can all debate the quality of the football currently being served up by the team - personally speaking, I don't think it's good enough - but the fact is we are on course to achieve what we set out to achieve at the beginning of the season. If Hearts were to sack Robbie Neilson today(which some people on here appear to want them to do), imagine how badly that would reflect on Hearts as a club. Imagine how much more difficult it would make it for us to find a high calibre replacement for Robbie Neilson. Think about it.  You are a good football manager and your phone rings. It is Hearts on the phone and they want you to be their manager. Sounds great. So you do a little bit of research on what is going on at Hearts and why their last manager got the sack. You are probably pretty shocked to discover that Hearts are currently sitting well clear at the top of the league they are playing in and that they very nearly won the Scottish Cup earlier in the season. At that point the thought has to go through your mind - if their last manager can get sacked for that, what exactly will I have to do in order to not be under pressure or get sacked? Suddenly the job doesn't seem quite so appealing. 

 

Ann Budge is right. We have to stick with Robbie for the moment. More than that, we should be supporting him and not wanting him sacked any time we don't win a match. The time to truly evaluate how he is doing will be next season. I will be keeping my powder dry until then.* 

 

*Unless of course we suffered some sort of monumental collapse and failed to get promoted. I would expect him to be sacked at that point. But I do not believe that is going to happen so it is a moot point.

 

 

Decent post but in regards to Stendel it has to be noted that although all what you say is correct about him , his remit was to keep us off bottom, that's all he had to do and he would have Likley still been here. 

 

All he had to do was keep us second bottom, not 3rd, 4th, top six, all he had to do was use the players he had, add a few of his own and keep us 2nd bottom. 

Despite what might have been, he couldn't do that. Even with all what you say, he should have been able to do that. 

 

 

[chrystaf]

5 hours ago, SuperstarSteve said:

100% agree. 3rd/4th regular is as good as it gets following this club. The fans who demand more are delusional. Challenging the OF is not an option. That’s not ours, Aberdeen or hibs end game. Qualifying for Europe regular is and being best of the rest is. 
 

Robbie finished 1st. 3rd and left us sitting 2nd (granted games in hand) If we are sitting top 4 and he’s punted next year then oh my! 
 

As someone explained to me. Football fans don’t care about realism, they live in hope. Telling them 3rd is as good as it gets, takes away their hope and without hope. What is a football fan? Nothing basically. 
 

I personally have accepted my best day supporting hearts has been and gone. It will never be topped. There won’t be a feeling that can top what I’ve already felt. So I’ll accept regular top 4 and the odd cup, sadly right or wrong, majority of fans won’t. 
 

 

:Last paragraph sums it up perfectly.

[Pasquale for King]

2 hours ago, ShedBoy said:

Thats it, it’s a computer repair shop now I think? My cousin used to manage it 👍🏻

Too

sport/ Inter sport was the one at the top of Smithfield Street is now a charity shop. I think there was another sports shop that sold badges nearer Tynie 🤔🤷🏾‍♂️. 

[chrystaf]

1 hour ago, bairdy said:

Excellent post.

Agree.

[Pasquale for King]

1 hour ago, Hectormasson said:

Lots in gorgie, even the old willie Hill is opposite old topsport and that's the Sally army charity shop, I live up here it's pretty sad m8 but ?????

What all 2 of them? Both at the top of my street. There was 15 places to get your hair cut from Newton Street to Robertson Avenue. 

[Hectormasson]

Just now, Pasquale for King said:

What all 2 of them? Both at the top of my street. There was 15 places to get your hair cut from Newton Street to Robertson Avenue. 

Eh haircuts ?or get a tattoo?😁😄😄😄😄

[Hectormasson]

Just now, Hectormasson said:

Eh haircuts ?or get a tattoo?😁😄😄😄😄

U in smithfield st then, I don't mind how many charity shops there is , as long as tyney still there ladbrokes and kebab xpress, I'm easily amused,,,,

[Kiwidoug]

Superstar steve says his best day of supporting Hearts is already behind him and I think many on here will agree with him.  I certainly do having particular regard for my age of 72.

 

I will never forget the text message telling me we'd extended our lead to 4-1. Never felt quite like that before or since although there have obviously been many other highlights.

[Bongo 1874]

3 hours ago, Geoff Kilpatrick said:

Yep, that coaching conveyor belt sure worked for us!

Wasting your time. 

[Bongo 1874]

3 hours ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

Worth a try though. If he'd got the team he wanted at the start of 14/15 together of Neilson HC, Cathro U20s, Gordon goalie coach and Rudi technical coach together then who knows. His back-up options obviously didn't work, but there's no denying Neilson, Ross, and Cathro all have something about them as coaches. Just to be working non-stop at a good level since they started out proves that.

Sorry you don't think rudi would of been worth a 2year deal with the view of becoming a coach? Why wasn't he offered this, yet went on to play for Raith, when you consider the likes of Aaron Hughes got an extension with a few others, it was nothing but a blatant disrespect to offer Rudi to be a technical coach, when he had made it very clear he wanted to play a couple more years. 

 

Before getting into his Coaching. 

 

But there was a reason why rudi wasn't offered a playing deal at Hearts 😉, that reason Rudi will always be a bigger legend to our support than Levein ever was. 

 

Levein wanted all the credit and nobody was going to overshadow him during his time as DOF, this is why Locke was binned as he isn't a yes man, if he didn't like what Levein said he wouldn't think twice to speak his mind, but in Robbie Neilson and Steven Crawford and Jack Ross with John Hill, Levein can be the puppet master and his word is final, hence why the next guy he brought in was Cathro a good coach, but certainly not his own man basically Leveins B***h. 

 

 

This is why our club will never reach it's potential sad but what can be done about it. 

 

Notice how John Robertson and Gary Locke have never been considered for anything coaching wise at Hearts when Levein was there, I'll never forget John Robertson that day the line was huge for our Scottish Cup tickets at home against Hibs, it's pissing down with rain and he's handing out cups of tea to people. 

 

That's the difference 👍. 

Edited March 5, 2021 by Bongo 1874

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

41 minutes ago, Bongo 1874 said:

Sorry you don't think rudi would of been worth a 2year deal with the view of becoming a coach? Why wasn't he offered this, yet went on to play for Raith, when you consider the likes of Aaron Hughes got an extension with a few others, it was nothing but a blatant disrespect to offer Rudi to be a technical coach, when he had made it very clear he wanted to play a couple more years. 

 

Before getting into his Coaching. 

 

But there was a reason why rudi wasn't offered a playing deal at Hearts 😉, that reason Rudi will always be a bigger legend to our support then Levein ever was. 

 

Levein wanted all the credit and nobody was going to overshadow him during his time as DOF, this is why Locke was binned as he isn't a yes man, if he didn't like what Levein said he wouldn't think twice to speak his mind, but in Robbie Neilson and Steven Crawford and Jack Ross with John Hill, Levein can be the puppet master and his word is final, hence why the next guy he brought in was Cathro a good coach, but certainly not his own man basically Leveins B***h. 

 

 

This is why our club will never reach it's potential sad but what can be done about it. 

 

Notice how John Robertson and Gary Locke have never been considered for anything coaching wise at Hearts when Levein was there, I'll never forget John Robertson that day the line was huge for our Scottish Cup tickets at home against Hibs, it's pissing down with rain and he's handing out cups of tea to people. 

 

That's the difference 👍. 

Gary Locke was a horrendous manager and almost everyone was delighted when he got emptied on Budgement Day. Big difference between that and putting cones out for Paulo.

[Bongo 1874]

26 minutes ago, Geoff Kilpatrick said:

Gary Locke was a horrendous manager and almost everyone was delighted when he got emptied on Budgement Day. Big difference between that and putting cones out for Paulo.

In my opinion Gary Locke done a decent job considering the circumstances. 

[oi oi]

18 hours ago, Vlad Magic said:

“Pub League”

”Part time League”

Tin pot League”

 

How many attempts did it take Hibs to get out?

 

How did Rangers get on when they were in this “Pub League” along side us?

The point there is that the league was much stronger back then.  This season the "quality" is unequivocally poor.

[ri Alban]

3 hours ago, oi oi said:

The point there is that the league was much stronger back then.  This season the "quality" is unequivocally poor.

It's just more noticeable with no fans. If the place was packed every week, the football would be more enjoyable and the team would be playing better, anaw. Imo. 

[Gambo]

7 hours ago, Smith's right boot said:

 

 

Decent post but in regards to Stendel it has to be noted that although all what you say is correct about him , his remit was to keep us off bottom, that's all he had to do and he would have Likley still been here. 

 

All he had to do was keep us second bottom, not 3rd, 4th, top six, all he had to do was use the players he had, add a few of his own and keep us 2nd bottom. 

Despite what might have been, he couldn't do that. Even with all what you say, he should have been able to do that. 

 

 

There were 8 games to go ffs.

[DH1986]

Gary Locke 😂

 

A proven failed Head Coach/Manager several times over and Bongo is questioning why he wasn’t ever considered for a job under CL 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

 

There are more than enough sticks available to beat CL, AB and RN with.....but when he gets desperate and posts nonsense like that above it’s no wonder he’s often mocked.

 

Bongo needs to stick to rumours and telling us what his ‘sources’ opinions are as it’s clear his own are definitely worth ignoring at all costs.

[Gambo]

9 hours ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

A good post and worth pointing out that Neilson inherited the same squad and the same challenges. Actually even greater challenges as unlike Stendel he's had to manage and recruit during the pandemic with a slashed budget and a huge amount of uncertainty. And he's had about the same amount of time as Stendel so far but, unlike Stendel, is meeting 2 of his main 3 pre-season targets very comfortably - be well clear at the top by the 75% of games played mark and beat Hibs in the semi. He gave us a bonus by way of that cup final performance and promotion his the main aim still to accomplish but even the most myopic Robbie hater has to admit we're in no danger of not getting promoted.

 

Simply put if you think Stendel was dealt a tough hand and didn't get enough time, the same applies to Neilson.

Stendel - 

New to country and league.

New to the club.

New to the squad.

Squad had to be tought to play football again.

Previous manager hanging around.

Team was in a relegation battle.

Team was in SPL.

No pre season.

Only able to work in Jan market.

Had to wait to bring in own coaches.

 

Neilson.

Already knows the club, league and players.

Able to bring in own coaches straight away.

Does not have previous manager banging around.

Team was in SPFL.

Had a full pre season, and a head start on others in league.

Has had a summer market and Jan market to work in.

 

Yeah, looks like both were dealt with same tough hand.

 

[kila]

9 hours ago, ToqueJambo said:

Actually even greater challenges as unlike Stendel he's had to manage and recruit during the pandemic with a slashed budget and a huge amount of uncertainty. And he's had about the same amount of time as Stendel so far…

 

Wow 🤣

 

You are going so easy on Robbie but slating Stendel. 
 

It is very telling…

 

Stendel had 1 in 1 out enforced on him during ONE window. He also only had a few months. Neilson has had TWO windows and a lot longer…

[The Grim Reaper]

The happy clappers happily throw Stendel under the bus to protect CL and RN. 

[Nookie Bear]

6 hours ago, Geoff Kilpatrick said:

Gary Locke was a horrendous manager and almost everyone was delighted when he got emptied on Budgement Day. Big difference between that and putting cones out for Paulo.

Perhaps so but at least he fronted up and tried to help the team rather than hiding in the u18s changing rooms waiting for a clean slate and big budget. 

[Nookie Bear]

10 hours ago, ToqueJambo said:

 

Worth a try though. If he'd got the team he wanted at the start of 14/15 together of Neilson HC, Cathro U20s, Gordon goalie coach and Rudi technical coach together then who knows. His back-up options obviously didn't work, but there's no denying Neilson, Ross, and Cathro all have something about them as coaches. Just to be working non-stop at a good level since they started out proves that.

Did he not want Cathro as HC at the beginning of 14/14?

 

Gordon as goalie coach when he had 6 years (and counting) left in him as a player?

 

Rudi as technical coach was an insult to him as well. 
 

But I will agree about Ross, had we appointed him instead of Stendel we would be in the top division and not having any of these arguments right now. And Neilson would still be with Dundee Utd. 

[Bazzas right boot]

41 minutes ago, Gambo said:

There were 8 games to go ffs.

 

Yeah Ofc, he might have kept us up, I think he would have. 

 

Doesn't detract from the fact he taken us from 2nd bottom to bottom tho. 

 

 

 

[Bazzas right boot]

31 minutes ago, kila said:

 

Wow 🤣

 

You are going so easy on Robbie but slating Stendel. 
 

It is very telling…

 

Stendel had 1 in 1 out enforced on him during ONE window. He also only had a few months. Neilson has had TWO windows and a lot longer…

 

 

Agreed, but all Stendel had to do was keep us 2nd bottom at worse. 

Keep a Hearts team second bottom of the league, one that many said couldn't get worse, that I thought couldn't get worse. We then went bottom. 

 

Robbies minimum is to get promotion as league winner's. He's doing that. 

 

Stendel would have had a total rebuild on his hands but the long and short of it is the guy failed in his short tenure to keep us at least 2nd bottom. 

What might have been, who knows. Real shame we'll never find out. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Debut 4]

26 minutes ago, The Grim Reaper said:

The happy clappers happily throw Stendel under the bus to protect CL and RN. 

Indeed.  Including cup games our form was a bawhair better than it had been for months. That’s not saying much because it’s not like we were brilliant, and in truth, still struggling. 
 

However, they fail to consider the situation. Neilson “needs time”, and btw, he should get it. But this didn’t apply to Stendel.  It wasn’t allowed. Being thrown into a club in sheer turmoil without proper leadership l, and being asked to wane a magic wand, is a situation in football no one wants. But he took it.  
 

Fair play to him. He tried. 
 

 

 

[Bazzas right boot]

40 minutes ago, Gambo said:

Stendel - 

New to country and league.

New to the club.

New to the squad.

Squad had to be tought to play football again.

Previous manager hanging around.

Team was in a relegation battle.

Team was in SPL.

No pre season.

Only able to work in Jan market.

Had to wait to bring in own coaches.

 

Neilson.

Already knows the club, league and players.

Able to bring in own coaches straight away.

Does not have previous manager banging around.

Team was in SPFL.

Had a full pre season, and a head start on others in league.

Has had a summer market and Jan market to work in.

 

Yeah, looks like both were dealt with same tough hand.

 

 

 

I'll repeat it, all Stendel had to do was keep us second bottom, he wasn't tasked with getting to the top 6 or 3rd place. 

He was tasked with keeping us exactly were we where when he taken over. 

He was tasked to keep us just as shit as we had been all season, he made us worse. 

 

 

 

 

[Taffin]

10 minutes ago, Smith's right boot said:

 

 

I'll repeat it, all Stendel had to do was keep us second bottom, he wasn't tasked with getting to the top 6 or 3rd place. 

He was tasked with keeping us exactly were we where when he taken over. 

He was tasked to keep us just as shit as we had been all season, he made us worse. 

 

 

 

 

 

We'll never know if Stendel would have achieved his remit or not because the league was curtailed.

 

[Bazzas right boot]

8 minutes ago, Taffin said:

 

We'll never know if Stendel would have achieved his remit or not because the league was curtailed.

 

 

Correct, we'll never know. 

 

Unfortunately for us we know what did happen, he taken us from 2nd bottom to bottom in his short tenure. 

 

We are we are now, Stendel chat about what if's are pointless. 

 

 

[Jambo in Bathgate]

15 minutes ago, Smith's right boot said:

 

 

I'll repeat it, all Stendel had to do was keep us second bottom, he wasn't tasked with getting to the top 6 or 3rd place. 

He was tasked with keeping us exactly were we where when he taken over. 

He was tasked to keep us just as shit as we had been all season, he made us worse. 

 

 

 

 

It’s a waste of time arguing with the Stendel Bots. There is no doubt his tactics worked against Rangers twice and Hibs once. However he failed to beat the teams that mattered leaving us at the bottom of the league. As you say making us worse. He only tried to play one way that cost us against the long ball merchants. He and his assistants were on very good wages. With the pandemic we had to cut our cloth. 

[Bazzas right boot]

2 minutes ago, Jambo in Bathgate said:

It’s a waste of time arguing with the Stendel Bots. There is no doubt his tactics worked against Rangers twice and Hibs once. However he failed to beat the teams that mattered leaving us at the bottom of the league. As you say making us worse. He only tried to play one way that cost us against the long ball merchants. He and his assistants were on very good wages. With the pandemic we had to cut our cloth. 

 

Yip, shame. 

Would have been good to see "what could have been" tho. 

 

 

 

 

[GinRummy]

7 minutes ago, Jambo in Bathgate said:

It’s a waste of time arguing with the Stendel Bots. There is no doubt his tactics worked against Rangers twice and Hibs once. However he failed to beat the teams that mattered leaving us at the bottom of the league. As you say making us worse. He only tried to play one way that cost us against the long ball merchants. He and his assistants were on very good wages. With the pandemic we had to cut our cloth. 

All fair enough but his assistants wages wouldn’t have cost us much. They were only here ten minutes because AB decided to bring in a manager who’s assistants were caught up in legal wrangle with their club. 

[Ethan Hunt]

1 hour ago, Nookie Bear said:

Did he not want Cathro as HC at the beginning of 14/14?

 

Gordon as goalie coach when he had 6 years (and counting) left in him as a player?

 

Rudi as technical coach was an insult to him as well. 
 

But I will agree about Ross, had we appointed him instead of Stendel we would be in the top division and not having any of these arguments right now. And Neilson would still be with Dundee Utd. 

It would have been worth employing Ross for that alone.