Craig Levein joins Brechin

[Toxteth O'Grady]

Said it on another thread and I will say it again. I hope Brechin City go down the pan. 

[Toxteth O'Grady]

7 hours ago, i8hibsh said:

Shocking way to talk about him.

 

He will always mean a lot to me.

No better than the Badge kissing fist pumping snake.

Edited June 4, 2021 by Toxteth O'Grady

[Thomaso]

I laughed out loud when I saw this! 😂

[Class of 75]

That clown couldn't advise his way out of a paper bag. Useless manager who assisted in our slide back to the Championship. Was given a unique opportunity to restart the fortunes of a sleeping giant, a club who had the foundations to challenge the Old Firm yet squandered it through his poor managerial accumen.

[Class of 75]

I wonder what useless overage hasbeens he will sign on 4 year contracts giving then a package 'they could not refuse'. 

[Class of 75]

15 hours ago, pointon said:

Totally abused our club I have a proper dislike for few individuals but this twat is top of the list

With you 100%

[Class of 75]

15 hours ago, Kiwidoug said:

Serious question.  What does a full time advisor actually do? Wouldn't you run out of advice after a fortnight?

 

If Hearts asked me to be an advisor, I would expect to be in the role for no more than 1 day every couple of months.

Probably true. I can't imagine he has that much advice to give, back of a fag packet the extent of his knowledge. Even that is pushing it. 

[DH1986]

Towards the end of the season CL had been sticking up for Brechin City in their fight to stay in league.....

 

Makes sense now.

[Class of 75]

15 hours ago, Ex member of the SaS said:

Going to a club that voted us down yet some on here claim he's a PHM. Yea right, the slimey toad only thinks of himself.

Totally agree, never ever a Hearts man in a million years. 

[151]

24 minutes ago, Class of 75 said:

Totally agree, never ever a Hearts man in a million years. 

 

Course he isn't. He was an employee who milked the employer for every penny he could. 

 

He would have stepped down long before he did if he gave a ****.

 

A loser as a player, and a loser as a manager.

 

Unreal that folk are dressing it up otherwise .

 

 "almost", "nearly", "close".

 

All words to replace "failed".

 

It doesn't matter how close or near it was - it didn't happen. 

 

Folk who comfort themselves with such words rarely go on to achieve the goal they set. 

[Class of 75]

1 minute ago, 151 said:

 

Course he isn't. He was an employee who milked the employer for every penny he could. 

 

He would have stepped down long before he did if he gave a ****.

 

A loser as a player, and a loser as a manager.

 

Unreal that folk are dressing it up otherwise .

 

 "almost", "nearly", "close".

 

All words to replace "failed".

 

It doesn't matter how close or near it was - it didn't happen. 

 

Folk who comfort themselves with such words rarely go on to achieve the goal they set. 

Yep sums him up perfectly 

[MCW1976]

17 hours ago, i8hibsh said:

Shocking way to talk about him.

 

He will always mean a lot to me.

 

Agree.

[i8hibsh]

Just now, MCW1976 said:

 

Agree.

 

 

And I know it is rich coming from me as I abuse many a player but the players I abuse are ***** who have done **** all for this club. Levein has done so much for us.

[Savage Vince]

14 minutes ago, i8hibsh said:

 

 

And I know it is rich coming from me as I abuse many a player but the players I abuse are ***** who have done **** all for this club. Levein has done so much for us.

 

I think it's more about your need to be noticed. 

[151]

24 minutes ago, i8hibsh said:

 

 

And I know it is rich coming from me as I abuse many a player but the players I abuse are ***** who have done **** all for this club. Levein has done so much for us.

 

Be good if you could list those things for people like myself, who granted seen European games in early 00's with him in charge but other than that struggle to remember anything worthwhile. 

[Tom Hardy’s Dug]

17 hours ago, martoon said:

 

...and still not worth it.

 

Pray for Brechin.

 

Poor feckers.

Will be the worst free DOF they’ve wasted no money on.

[Section Q]

17 hours ago, soonbe110 said:

The Brechin board members who voted us down have all left the club in recent weeks. This a fresh start for Brechin under new ownership and leadership. Everyone deserves a second chance, just a pity theirs is in the Highland League. 

👍......... Brechin must dislike their ex chairman as much as we do then.....,

[pointon]

9 minutes ago, 151 said:

 

Be good if you could list those things for people like myself, who granted seen European games in early 00's with him in charge but other than that struggle to remember anything worthwhile. 

Exactly won **** all with us and drained us financially modern day John Kennedy 

[DH1986]

21 minutes ago, Savage Vince said:

 

I think it's more about your need to be noticed. 

Without doubt......

[No Idle Talk]

It's really really sad to log on to a Hearts forum, see a thread about Craig Levein, and see some of the comments that have been made. But I totally get it. My own view is that when discussing Craig Levein you have to separate the playing career from the managerial/media career. And evaluate him on that basis.

 

As a player, Levein was absolute quality. Anyone who saw him play, especially before the knee injuries, knows just how much potential he had. It will forever be a tragedy what happened to him.

 

As for the managerial career.........oh dear. Where do you even begin. I cannot stand him as a manager. Never could. Twenty odd years of going away from home with a stacked midfield and lumping the ball forward to a big lad up front. Chronic to watch. 

 

He doesn't come across as very likeable in the media either. And I know a couple of people who have met Levein in social settings and have basically reinforced that opinion. They didn't like him either. Would two different people have met him and thought he was sound? Possibly. But when you hear stories like that it does make you wonder.

 

I'll always have mixed feelings about Craig Levein now. There is no way for him to undo the damage he did at Hearts as a DoF and a manager. But at the same time, probably because I was going to the games at the time, I will never forget what he did for us as a player.

 

Craig Levein and Brechin. That does feel like an appropriate level for his managerial advice.

[dumpson]

Don't think there could have been a more controversial move than this for our support at this point in time !

 

My wife's family are from Brechin, her old man has been a loyal supporter of theirs for a long time both in football and financial terms. The previous board have done the club no favours and they're now in a similar position to us in 2013. The club is a big part of the community and there's a lot of bad feeling towards the board for taking them from Championship to Highland league in such a short space of time !

 

Tough road ahead of them due to their recent behavior, it'll be a long time before they get a warm welcome anywhere ! I'm not trying to stick up for them, just have a little more empathy due to family collection and knowing how it feels to very nearly lose your club !

 

I'll get my coat ....

[soonbe110]

26 minutes ago, Section Q said:

👍......... Brechin must dislike their ex chairman as much as we do then.....,

Which ex-chairman are you referring to? 

[soonbe110]

1 hour ago, 151 said:

 

Course he isn't. He was an employee who milked the employer for every penny he could. 

 

He would have stepped down long before he did if he gave a ****.

 

A loser as a player, and a loser as a manager.

 

Unreal that folk are dressing it up otherwise .

 

 "almost", "nearly", "close".

 

All words to replace "failed".

 

It doesn't matter how close or near it was - it didn't happen. 

 

Folk who comfort themselves with such words rarely go on to achieve the goal they set. 

Don’t know what age you are but I doubt you have seen many better players in a maroon jersey than Levein at his peak. 

[Thomaso]

1 hour ago, Class of 75 said:

Totally agree, never ever a Hearts man in a million years. 

He was only a “Hearts man” because he has had no where else to go as a player or manager.

As a player he would have been off like a shot to the first big team who came calling if he (tragically) had not done his knee in, meaning he would never if passed a medical.

He was the Manager at the mighty Cowdenbeath when the Pieman plucked him from obscurity, and again was off like a shot when the first “big” team came calling!

He then became a “Hearts man” again when he was a dead man walking in Scottish football when Budge was naive or daft enough to swallow his revolutionary plan and ended up giving him the run of our club to disastrous consequences.

Levein has never been a “Hearts man” in the real sense - he is a “Levein man” end of!

 

[pointon]

11 hours ago, ToqueJambo said:

Loves the game enough to work unpaid and isn't proud enough to start at the bottom at anytime in his career. Has done it 3 times now - Cowdenbeath, Raith and now Brechin. Whatever anyone thinks of him now, you have to respect his love for football and the fact he's always up for a challenge.

Does not need the money because he milked us dry you could not mark the speccy twats neck with a blow torch

[gregzy2k7]

17 hours ago, pointon said:

Arsehole of a club arsehole of man 

[Nookie Bear]

His name been scrubbed off the plaque yet?

[Thomaso]

2 minutes ago, soonbe110 said:

Don’t know what age you are but I doubt you have seen many better players in a maroon jersey than Levein at his peak. 

Whether he saw Levein play or not does not change the fact that 151’s summation of him is pretty much spot on.

By the way I saw Levein play and thought he was a class act as a player - again that doesn’t change my opinion of him as an alleged “Hearts man”.

[soonbe110]

11 minutes ago, Thomaso said:

Whether he saw Levein play or not does not change the fact that 151’s summation of him is pretty much spot on.

By the way I saw Levein play and thought he was a class act as a player - again that doesn’t change my opinion of him as an alleged “Hearts man”.

His comment that Levein was ‘a loser as a player’ was what I was responding to. That comment couldn’t be further from the truth so I didn’t really read much more of his post. 

[Des Lynam]

2 minutes ago, soonbe110 said:

His comment that Levein was ‘a loser as a player’ was what I was responding to. That comment couldn’t be further from the truth so I didn’t really read much more of his post. 

I agree. I understand the anger towards him but the loser chat is poor. 

[XB52]

Some absolutely pathetic comments on here but, sadly, to be expected on JKB. Levein was one of the best players to ever play for our club, was a good manager first time round, but eventually failed second time round. He is also a Hearts man and the good friends of mine who know him a lot better than me won't hear a bad word against him. I'll take their opinions over some sad sacks on here

Edited June 5, 2021 by XB52
Predictive text

[Simmo]

19 hours ago, i8hibsh said:

Shocking way to talk about him.

 

He will always mean a lot to me.

i8, I never thought you would post something I entirely agree with but you have here.   Some arseholes on here have short memories or weren't born when he played or, indeed, as a manager got three third places and a run in Europe. He let himself down latterly but it happens. 

[Debut 4]

57 minutes ago, No Idle Talk said:

It's really really sad to log on to a Hearts forum, see a thread about Craig Levein, and see some of the comments that have been made. But I totally get it. My own view is that when discussing Craig Levein you have to separate the playing career from the managerial/media career. And evaluate him on that basis.

 

As a player, Levein was absolute quality. Anyone who saw him play, especially before the knee injuries, knows just how much potential he had. It will forever be a tragedy what happened to him.

 

As for the managerial career.........oh dear. Where do you even begin. I cannot stand him as a manager. Never could. Twenty odd years of going away from home with a stacked midfield and lumping the ball forward to a big lad up front. Chronic to watch. 

 

He doesn't come across as very likeable in the media either. And I know a couple of people who have met Levein in social settings and have basically reinforced that opinion. They didn't like him either. Would two different people have met him and thought he was sound? Possibly. But when you hear stories like that it does make you wonder.

 

I'll always have mixed feelings about Craig Levein now. There is no way for him to undo the damage he did at Hearts as a DoF and a manager. But at the same time, probably because I was going to the games at the time, I will never forget what he did for us as a player.

 

Craig Levein and Brechin. That does feel like an appropriate level for his managerial advice.

Imo, all this anger towards him and people changing theirs minds about whether they like him or not, wouldn’t have happened if Budge did her job at the appropriate time. It’s that simple , imo.

 

If there’s a period which highlights why having a leader who admits to having no clue to running a team is so damaging, it was the last 3 years or so.

 

If him and his set up were emptied much earlier we’d probably be remembering him more fondly and appreciating his efforts “but it wasn’t to be, good luck, all the best”.  
 

It dragged on and the dislike got stronger, the suspicions got stronger, more questions got raised on how the club was being run.  It was a shambles she allowed. 

 

 

[martoon]

6 minutes ago, XB52 said:

Some absolutely pathetic comments on here but, sadly, to be expected on JKB. Levein was one of the best players to ever play for our club, was a good manager first time round, but eventually failed second time round. He is also a Hearts man and the good friends of mine who know him a lot better than me won't hear a bad word against him. I'll take their opinions over some sad sacks on here

 

They won't read a bad word against him either. Not on JKB, anyway.

[Auldbenches]

38 minutes ago, Nookie Bear said:

His name been scrubbed off the plaque yet?

They should replace it for one for the fans who actually funded the stand.   He gets a plaque and the fans get a shirt they had to spend more money to get.  

The main thing that gets me is the  fans being not even being considered for a plaque is shocking. 

[Unknown user]

17 hours ago, 151 said:

Not once slagged any Hearts player for not winning a trophy

.....

I have slagged Levein for not winning anything in the game.

 

 

 

 

[Byyy The Light]

15 minutes ago, Debut 4 said:

Imo, all this anger towards him and people changing theirs minds about whether they like him or not, wouldn’t have happened if Budge did her job at the appropriate time. It’s that simple , imo.

 

If there’s a period which highlights why having a leader who admits to having no clue to running a team is so damaging, it was the last 3 years or so.

 

If him and his set up were emptied much earlier we’d probably be remembering him more fondly and appreciating his efforts “but it wasn’t to be, good luck, all the best”.  
 

It dragged on and the dislike got stronger, the suspicions got stronger, more questions got raised on how the club was being run.  It was a shambles she allowed. 

 

 

Cant argue with that

[Japan Jambo]

17 hours ago, tian447 said:

Craig Levein suffered from believing his own hype and not knowing when to throw in the towel, but probably was swayed given his own support of and affiliation to the club.

 

Yes, he should have stepped down long before he did, but if I was the manager of Hearts, I'd be reluctant to give up the position as well, and would definitely "outstay my welcome" if thinks were looking bleak, not because I thought I could turn it around, but because I wanted to turn it around.

 

That being said, he seems to be a hard person to work with, and a lot of the backward steps we took were likely down to how he interacted with players.  Look at the Vanecek saga, we were on the verge of paying money to get him early, he's here a week (and by no means looked as shite as he was made out to be), fell out with Levein and that was the end of it.  He seemed to have an "in crowd", with the likes of Berra, that have been causing us problems long after he was no longer the manager.

 

For everyone quick to cast him out and call him a snake, a *******, a whatever, for what happened in the last year or two of his time with us, should remember that there is a lot of "Levein History" that comes long before that, where he was a top player, and gave his all for the club - but anonymous social media make it very easy for people to shout loud and stupid, and reach a large audience with an agenda.  His history with the club needs to include all of it, and not just the disastrous bit at the end.

 

If he wants to go and do a job with Brechin City, that's up to him.  I can't imagine there are a lot of clubs out there actively thinking he's the answer to whatever managerial problems they're having, and none of us in the same position would be turning down jobs if we were out of work.

 

Good luck to him, whatever he does there will have absolutely **** all impact on Heart of Midlothian Football Club.

 

 

 

great post. I wish we could move on from this, he has done his time in the stocks.

[Independence]

19 hours ago, Clark Griswold said:

https://news.stv.tv/sport/craig-levein-joins-brechin-city-as-full-time-advisor?fbclid=IwAR3RXM-C6qn0Wqf_YYrLw7rdThZRHyViKvBpNxcYtCw6rOTBkpwFUzpodp4&top

Good luck Craig.

[Boab]

46 minutes ago, Thomaso said:

Whether he saw Levein play or not does not change the fact that 151’s summation of him is pretty much spot on.

By the way I saw Levein play and thought he was a class act as a player - again that doesn’t change my opinion of him as an alleged “Hearts man”.

It’s his summation of him that I, and others, have of him that’s off as far I’m concerned. 
If he was a loser then so was most of the 85-86 team. Majority won hee haw. Are they open to criticism because they won nothing in the game ?

People can criticise his last tenure as manager all they want as there is plenty criticism there but slagging a Hearts player because he won nothing ?

Jeez, where do we start ? Or stop ?

[smiler]

2 hours ago, i8hibsh said:

 

 

And I know it is rich coming from me as I abuse many a player but the players I abuse are ***** who have done **** all for this club. Levein has done so much for us.

Eh? Not sure if you’re taking the piss but I’m sure you’ve laid into Levein just as much as anyone on here has.

[Shanks]

He’s a loser that cost the club millions through his incompetence, I can’t really blame him though as he was merely an employee and he was happy to pick up his pay cheque.  
 

It’s like if an adult leaves a kid in a car and lets him drive, you don’t blame the kid because he can’t drive - it’s the idiot adults fault. 

[i8hibsh]

16 minutes ago, smiler said:

Eh? Not sure if you’re taking the piss but I’m sure you’ve laid into Levein just as much as anyone on here has.

 

 

Of course I have but not the shit I am reading here.

 

I was wanting him out and said some pretty awful stuff but the dust has settled now and we can see clearer.

[davemclaren]

3 hours ago, DH1986 said:

Towards the end of the season CL had been sticking up for Brechin City in their fight to stay in league.....

 

Makes sense now.

Looks like he is mates with the new chairman. Personslly was lot, don’t care what he does with the tail end of his career in football. It’s his choice. 

[spacerjoe]

16 hours ago, Pasquale for King said:

Indeed, who knows what would’ve happened if his business hasn’t went bust.
At least he provided some sort of entertainment and memorable moments. 
Levein being enabled by Budge or a nice guy doesn’t hide the fact he cost us millions with nothing to show for it, and still won’t accept any of the blame. 
Found his level. 

 

I don't really blame Levein for that. The club, and ultimately Budge, are responsible for not sacking him.

 

Managers only quit when they are:

A. Going somewhere else, or

B. Feel they are not being supported by the club and don't want to look responsible for bad results

C. Physically unable to do the job anymore.

 

You can say that he, being a Hearts man, should have walked for the good of the team, but if he genuinely believed that he could turn it around, why would he want to do that? Rather than take the hit on the flop, he piled more in on the turn.

 

He, like many of our fans, held on to that early run of wins as evidence he could make it work, and simply blamed injuries for our downfall. He would have been thinking 'I'm so close to getting back to that winning formula again', even when things were shit.

 

The cup final would have blinded the board again, and given him more false hope.

 

Just like Abramhovic did with Lampard though after early promise turned into a bad run, she should have canned him before we got near the cup final.

 

I'm not saying he was right to stay; just that it should not have been his call to make.

[ford donald]

1 hour ago, pointon said:

Does not need the money because he milked us dry you could not mark the speccy twats neck with a blow torch

 

Correct!

[Last Laff]

1 hour ago, XB52 said:

Some absolutely pathetic comments on here but, sadly, to be expected on JKB. Levein was one of the best players to ever play for our club, was a good manager first time round, but eventually failed second time round. He is also a Hearts man and the good friends of mine who know him a lot better than me won't hear a bad word against him. I'll take their opinions over some sad sacks on here

He shat on the club in both stints at management.

[Costanza]

2 hours ago, 151 said:

 

Be good if you could list those things for people like myself, who granted seen European games in early 00's with him in charge but other than that struggle to remember anything worthwhile. 

Seriously? I find it hard to believe a Hearts fan would forget the season of the 5-1, 2-1 and 4-4 derbies.

He was relatively successfully as manager first time around but yes, a complete disaster the second time.

You can argue the second point without trying to pretend there weren't any highlights the first time around.

[martoon]

1 minute ago, i8hibsh said:

 

 

Of course I have but not the shit I am reading here.

 

I was wanting him out and said some pretty awful stuff but the dust has settled now and we can see clearer.

 

I thought you were joking too, i8. 😊

 

You're right about letting it go/moving on but the mere mention of Levein still gets my back up.

 

Pity, as I admired him greatly as a player and thought he got everything out of the Hearts at his disposal as a manager 1st time around. European group football, successive 3rd places, unbeaten at Tynecastle for 2 years (outwith OF and Bordeaux)...there was a lot to admire.

 

I'll let it go one day. There's no point in carrying stuff around that does no one any good.

 

Hate hurts the hater more than the hated. The hated either don't know they are or don't give a shit.

 

CL must fall into the latter.

 

 

[mitch41]

2 hours ago, No Idle Talk said:

It's really really sad to log on to a Hearts forum, see a thread about Craig Levein, and see some of the comments that have been made. But I totally get it. My own view is that when discussing Craig Levein you have to separate the playing career from the managerial/media career. And evaluate him on that basis.

 

As a player, Levein was absolute quality. Anyone who saw him play, especially before the knee injuries, knows just how much potential he had. It will forever be a tragedy what happened to him.

 

As for the managerial career.........oh dear. Where do you even begin. I cannot stand him as a manager. Never could. Twenty odd years of going away from home with a stacked midfield and lumping the ball forward to a big lad up front. Chronic to watch. 

 

He doesn't come across as very likeable in the media either. And I know a couple of people who have met Levein in social settings and have basically reinforced that opinion. They didn't like him either. Would two different people have met him and thought he was sound? Possibly. But when you hear stories like that it does make you wonder.

 

I'll always have mixed feelings about Craig Levein now. There is no way for him to undo the damage he did at Hearts as a DoF and a manager. But at the same time, probably because I was going to the games at the time, I will never forget what he did for us as a player.

 

Craig Levein and Brechin. That does feel like an appropriate level for his managerial advice.

Superb post.