Jump to content

Replacing Craig Gordon


steve123

Recommended Posts

Musing on a Monday night, how on earth do we replace him when the time comes ?

 

Hopefully he has a couple of years to go at his current level yet but is a huge task to find the next goalkeeper, we well know it does not turn out well when the wrong choice is made.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's near impossible for us to find a keeper who will step straight in and be just as good as Craig.

 

That's why I really hope that Harry Stone lives up to the hype, if he continues to develop and becomes our first choice then he may make mistakes in his first season but hopefully he will gradually make the position his own. Always good to have a competent back up just in case though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don’t think Harry stone will stay. Craig Gordon will want to play for as long as he can and barring injury there is no reason he can’t continue for another 5 years.. 

 

stone probably won’t hang around 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A_A wehatethehibs
Just now, kingantti1874 said:

I don’t think Harry stone will stay. Craig Gordon will want to play for as long as he can and barring injury there is no reason he can’t continue for another 5 years.. 

 

stone probably won’t hang around 


Not necessarily, Stone could go out on 2 or 3 loans with Gordon still playing and get the game time he needs. That kid has his head screwed on well. Iirc did Jamie McDonald not have 4 loans at QoS and won player of the year there, but basically didn’t play for us till he was about 25 and had >100 games under the belt? 
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Robbies Tackle said:

Zander Clark is the one we should be going all out to get. 

 

Just about to mention him, out of contract at the end of the season.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Robbies Tackle said:

Zander Clark is the one we should be going all out to get. 

Not going to join Hearts unless he is first choice I would assume. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, davemclaren said:

Not going to join Hearts unless he is first choice I would assume. 

 

Five year deal, loan him out to Saints for a season on a lot more of a wage they could offer and see where we are at in 2023 in terms of GC?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Robbies Tackle said:

 

Five year deal, loan him out to Saints for a season on a lot more of a wage they could offer and see where we are at in 2023 in terms of GC?

😂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was thinking similar on my walk tonight, just had a look and I see Harry Stone wasn't starting for Patrick at the weekend. Hopefully he can get some game time and continue to develop.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, kingantti1874 said:

I don’t think Harry stone will stay. Craig Gordon will want to play for as long as he can and barring injury there is no reason he can’t continue for another 5 years.. 

 

stone probably won’t hang around 

 

Gordon will be 39 in a couple of months. It would be great if he was still playing in 5 years, but very unlikely even without injuries.

 

Harry stone only turns 20 at the end of the season. Given we are clearly happy to loan him out, I don't see any reason we shouldn't be able to keep him happy until Gordon retires. Maybe he turns out to be so exceptional he can go to a level higher than Hearts in the next couple of years but unlikely. More likely that he'll turn out to not make the grade to play for Hearts, purely on the basis of the number of youth players who never make it.

 

Realistically, there is little chance that our next keeper us as good as Gordon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, Robbies Tackle said:

 

Five year deal, loan him out to Saints for a season on a lot more of a wage they could offer and see where we are at in 2023 in terms of GC?

A lot of if’s and but’s for all parties in that but bigger teams have certainly done similar 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tbh I could easily see Gordon playing another 2/3 seasons minimum, he isn’t showing any kind of decline at all. McGregor is older and still playing in a title challenging team and in Europe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Section N Rules said:

It took us 13 years to finally find Craig Gordons replacement...


Had a few goodies in that time though. MacDonald, Kello, McLaughiln, Alexander

 

Jack Hamilton should have made it. Given every opportunity and played at all levels for Scotland and was rated by many but just regressed terribly. 
 

For every Gordon there will be so many like Hamilton which is a shame. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, Ibrahim Tall said:

Tbh I could easily see Gordon playing another 2/3 seasons minimum, he isn’t showing any kind of decline at all. McGregor is older and still playing in a title challenging team and in Europe.


Gordon is healthy and happy. So long as he is pulling off the top class performances he can occupy the sticks as long as wishes. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, AlimOzturk said:


Had a few goodies in that time though. MacDonald, Kello, McLaughiln, Alexander

 

Jack Hamilton should have made it. Given every opportunity and played at all levels for Scotland and was rated by many but just regressed terribly. 
 

For every Gordon there will be so many like Hamilton which is a shame. 

Yeah all good keepers. Sure McLaughlin had a clean sheet record when with us. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, AlimOzturk said:


Had a few goodies in that time though. MacDonald, Kello, McLaughiln, Alexander

I really rated Banks as well, Balogh had a mistake in him but he’d certainly get a game over the likes of Zlamal, Doyle and Pereira.

 

As Hearts supporters we’ve become accustomed to keepers ranging from decent to brilliant. It’s rarely been a problem position 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, BigAlim said:

It's near impossible for us to find a keeper who will step straight in and be just as good as Craig.

 

That's why I really hope that Harry Stone lives up to the hype, if he continues to develop and becomes our first choice then he may make mistakes in his first season but hopefully he will gradually make the position his own. Always good to have a competent back up just in case though.

 

Difficult thing with Stone is that we need to make sure we manage his contract correctly. 

 

If the club back the laddie, back him before Gordon retires. 5 year deal, year on year wage increases etc. I reckon Gordon has at least another couple of years before needing to think about that though. 

 

We cannot be in the situation where this much time and energy is put in, only to get a season, maybe two before he runs his contract down and buggers off. IMO the club have been god awful at managing young players contracts and we seem to constantly allow ourselves to get into the last 12 months of a deal before offering them a new contract and then seem shocked when we can't offer them the deal they want. 

 

Its balancing risk and reward, we obviously don't want a player that isn't good enough on a long term deal, but at his age, with his lack of experience, I think its a gamble worth taking. Especially if Gordon is open to the idea of stepping back to number 2/ GK coach to support his development (rather than outright retire when the time comes). It means if it goes tits up we have a safe pair of hands to get us to the next transfer window. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If Harry Stone becomes as good as Gordon he'll be away after his first year as number 1. 

 

The only reasons we have Craig is his age, the stage of his career, the love he has for the club and the frankly unbelievable stupidity of Celtic.

 

Any goalkeeper close to being as good, in his prime years, in the modern game will be away chasing money down south. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bazzas right boot

Be easier to replace him as champions  and with all the wonga the UCL brings.

I'll be expecting an upgrade.

 

I jest, but if we are doing well and competing in Europe we will be able to get  and afford a good  keeper.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, BigAlim said:

I really rated Banks as well, Balogh had a mistake in him but he’d certainly get a game over the likes of Zlamal, Doyle and Pereira.

 

As Hearts supporters we’ve become accustomed to keepers ranging from decent to brilliant. It’s rarely been a problem position 


Totally forgot about banks. Yes, very able keeper. Balogh was decent but always find it a bit sour talking about him after the way Kello was dropped in his favour (Vlad flu). Not baloghs fault of course. 

Edited by AlimOzturk
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, davie1980 said:

If Harry Stone becomes as good as Gordon he'll be away after his first year as number 1. 

 

The only reasons we have Craig is his age, the stage of his career, the love he has for the club and the frankly unbelievable stupidity of Celtic.

 

Any goalkeeper close to being as good, in his prime years, in the modern game will be away chasing money down south. 

 

Not a chance that's happening.  Craig is a one off. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, Saint Jambo said:

 

Gordon will be 39 in a couple of months. It would be great if he was still playing in 5 years, but very unlikely even without injuries.

 

Harry stone only turns 20 at the end of the season. Given we are clearly happy to loan him out, I don't see any reason we shouldn't be able to keep him happy until Gordon retires. Maybe he turns out to be so exceptional he can go to a level higher than Hearts in the next couple of years but unlikely. More likely that he'll turn out to not make the grade to play for Hearts, purely on the basis of the number of youth players who never make it.

 

Realistically, there is little chance that our next keeper us as good as Gordon.

If Harry isn't happy when his current deal ends he'll have plenty of choices.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Harry Stone I’m sure will get his chance to show what he can do once Craig decides to hang up his gloves, similar vibes with this one to when we had an ageing Neil Alexander & a young Jack Hamilton waiting for his moment in Robbies first spell. Hopefully Stone is better than Hamilton but he’ll get his opportunity 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, Getintaethem said:

Interesting to hear Robbie and Savage are targeting a keeper in the next window.

They are looking to get somebody in now,  free transfer/out of contract keeper as back up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stone will be his eventual replacement. Some good loan deals will get him ready to replace Gordon in 3 years or so. Livi would be a good option to loan him to for a season or two.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, AlimOzturk said:


Had a few goodies in that time though. MacDonald, Kello, McLaughiln, Alexander

 

Jack Hamilton should have made it. Given every opportunity and played at all levels for Scotland and was rated by many but just regressed terribly. 
 

For every Gordon there will be so many like Hamilton which is a shame. 

 

Mark Ridgers was also unfortunate to get held back with his time at Hearts. He has conceded only 3 goals in his last 42 shots on target. That stat i seen was before the weekend so not sure if still valid. 6 or 7 clean sheets this season already. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, Robbies Tackle said:

 

Not a chance that's happening.  Craig is a one off. 

 

Wasn't saying it would but people were discussing replacing Craig with Harry as if he could fill his shoes.

 

The truth is we almost certainly won't find another as good as Craig and the likelihood of producing another through the youths is nigh on impossible 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A_A wehatethehibs
1 hour ago, dazajmbo said:

 

Mark Ridgers was also unfortunate to get held back with his time at Hearts. He has conceded only 3 goals in his last 42 shots on target. That stat i seen was before the weekend so not sure if still valid. 6 or 7 clean sheets this season already. 


You can’t really compare the keeper he is today with what he was back then. He’s got 8 or 9 years experience by now. But good to see his ability eventually come to fruition at age 31. That’s sometimes what it takes, these kids who weren’t good enough as 20 year olds, have just got to go out there and play their football over many years to eventually develop. They’ve got to make their mistakes and learn that takes time. Good to see him and Brad McKay carve out good careers for themselves never knew Brad had moved to Falkirk 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Craig Gordon is a once in a lifetime player.

 

Replacing him is just about impossible. The only reason he is back here is because he is a lifetime supporter.

 

To get a world class keeper who also supports the team he played for and wanted a return to that club after a successful career elsewhere is one in million stuff.

 

Enjoy him because there won’t be another Craig Gordon coming along anytime soon unfortunately.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Gordon shows no signs of slowing down so hopefully not something we need to worry about for at least 3-5 years.

 

Out of curiousity who is our oldest ever player?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
On 28/09/2021 at 12:03, Arfur said:

Stone will be his eventual replacement. Some good loan deals will get him ready to replace Gordon in 3 years or so. Livi would be a good option to loan him to for a season or two.

We need to recall him then in January and send him elsewhere where he will get games 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

William H. Bonney
8 minutes ago, Jambo 4 Ever said:

We need to recall him then in January and send him elsewhere where he will get games 


Seems pointless being at thistle if they aren’t playing him. He could have stayed here, played in cup games and learnt from Gordon. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 28/09/2021 at 15:15, RS86 said:

Gordon shows no signs of slowing down so hopefully not something we need to worry about for at least 3-5 years.

 

Out of curiousity who is our oldest ever player?

Laryea Kingston 😎

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bazzas right boot
On 27/09/2021 at 19:07, Robbies Tackle said:

Zander Clark is the one we should be going all out to get. 

 

 

This, if not this season next. 

 

Double his wage or treble it, he'll be OK playing second fiddle for a a small time. 

 

Plus with all the European games there will be plenty opportunities. 

 

Gordon might even want to  phase himself out in 2 or 3 years, he might prefer to play less and look at the  coaching side more as he ages. 

 

Clarke all day long, if we wait to long he'll end up at Aberdeen or the likes, maybe even at the of. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Stating the obvious ,the resigning of CG is the best move we have made in years. If he had been with us 2 seasons ago there is no way we would have been demoted. Heaven knows how we are going to replace him, as I consider him one of the top keepers in the UK!!....thankfully he is one if us and I pray that he stays with us till he finishes ( hopefully 2/3 years..🤞). HHGH!!.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bazzas right boot
On 28/09/2021 at 12:47, dazajmbo said:

 

Mark Ridgers was also unfortunate to get held back with his time at Hearts. He has conceded only 3 goals in his last 42 shots on target. That stat i seen was before the weekend so not sure if still valid. 6 or 7 clean sheets this season already. 

 

 

Held back is a bit unfair. 

He wasn't good enough at the time but got better as he aged. 

Robinson is another one. 

 

We can't just play poor players for 3,4 years and then get the returns later. 

 

At Hearts we need the players that are good enough now to play, if they can't break into the team when they want to  then they will move on and play at their level. 

 

Sometimes they will stay there other times they may very well rise back up. 

 

No young lad  that has left that we didn't want would be near the team at this moment. 

 

Irving, zannata, Morrison, Cochrane, Robinson, Holt etc were all championed on here. 

 

Irving was even discussed as being the guy to build a team round. This season. 

He may have been a useful squad player, but not a chance he was the level we need it for a first team player. 

Way of the level we need. Ridgers was the same. 

 

These young players that leave might very well rise again to our level or above. 

 

I don't think it's unfortunate, these players just weren't good enough when at Hearts to play regularly. 

 

Off all the young players that have left in the past 5/6 years ( maybe even 10 years) Only Hickey and probably Paterson would add anything to our first 20 atm. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 27/09/2021 at 19:07, Robbies Tackle said:

Zander Clark is the one we should be going all out to get. 

 

Never really been that impressed with him, he's improved over the last couple of seasons but still not that good a goalkeeper in my opinion. Good stot stopper but coming for crosses, positioning and concentration levels are all suspect for me. Also at the age of 29 he's not really one that's likely to improve significantly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 27/09/2021 at 19:07, Robbies Tackle said:

Zander Clark is the one we should be going all out to get. 

He’d be a great shout. A good shot stopper and normally well in control of his penalty area.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...