***Official St Johnstone FC Vs Heart of Midlothian FC Match Thread***

[Francis Albert]

Basically in our last two games we have thrown away the advantage of taking 4 points (somewhat fortuitously it has to be said) from the OF. So far I think we look no better than a mid-table side.

[Archie White]

Sideways, sideways, back, sideways, sideways, back - with no end result. We need to start taking risks. Get at an opponent and commit them. Build up is way too slow.

[Bazzas right boot]

56 minutes ago, Rudy T said:

We moaned like **** last season about the style of play, many wanted Neilson gone, once it was clear he was staying then the narrative was generally see how he gets on first round of games and his style has to change, here we are unbeaten, 70% possession in Perth and folk are raging claiming we’ll be bottom 6. Ffs talk about over reaction. 
 

We are a work in progress with a completely new ethos at the club, we’ve signed some outstanding players, dominating games away from home (I’ve not seen that in decades) we’re just not putting the ball in the net. If we keep this group of players and add a striker of the quality we’re seeing elsewhere on the pitch we’ll be a real challenge to the rest of the league. 
 

It’s time to back the team and the club and watch us progress. 

 

 

Sense. 

 

 

[The Future's Maroon]

57 minutes ago, Rudy T said:

We moaned like **** last season about the style of play, many wanted Neilson gone, once it was clear he was staying then the narrative was generally see how he gets on first round of games and his style has to change, here we are unbeaten, 70% possession in Perth and folk are raging claiming we’ll be bottom 6. Ffs talk about over reaction. 
 

We are a work in progress with a completely new ethos at the club, we’ve signed some outstanding players, dominating games away from home (I’ve not seen that in decades) we’re just not putting the ball in the net. If we keep this group of players and add a striker of the quality we’re seeing elsewhere on the pitch we’ll be a real challenge to the rest of the league. 
 

It’s time to back the team and the club and watch us progress. 

You’re far too sensible to post on here!

 

I notice certain usernames have started re-appearing…coincidentally or not I dunno 🤷🏼‍♂️ 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2021 by The Future's Maroon

[NANOJAMBO]

34 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

 

It’s the same style, with better players. 

Totally agree.

I'm not a fan of RN and no arguing about the improvements this season,  but he needs to get more out of the players. Set pieces & corners are horrendous as ever- and this is such  a major part of the modern game. 

I thought Mackay was great tonight, pacy, direct , threatening - but he was the only one .

Gino was poor up to his goal and wasted so many opportunities to get the ball in from wide areas.

We didn't create that many clear chances but I think that's where we are as a team - look busy, look threatening but nowhere near good enough when it matters.

But sitting 3rd , it's hard to be too critical. 

[hearts00]

1 hour ago, BackOfTheNet said:

Have to agree. He’s been below average. A lot of players with lesser reputations have had a hell of a lot more stick from our support for performances on par with how he’s played so far if not better. His reputation will only give him so much leeway I feel. Boy needs to learn that his shots cause no issue to the opposition defence and try a different approach.

Woodburn if anything sums up the team this season.  
 

Technically  very good, fluid, great on the ball. 
 

However, no goals and no assists and there’s the problem. Lack of final, crucial moments is holding us back as a team. 

[Bazzas right boot]

6 minutes ago, The Future's Maroon said:

You’re far too sensible to post on here!

 

I notice certain usernames have started re-appearing…coincidentally or not I dunno 🤷🏼‍♂️ 

 

 

 

 

Aye, but at least they are enjoying themselves. 

They've not had much fun this season. 

[hearts00]

10 minutes ago, Francis Albert said:

Basically in our last two games we have thrown away the advantage of taking 4 points (somewhat fortuitously it has to be said) from the OF. So far I think we look no better than a mid-table side.

Nonsense. We look by far the third best team in the country over the first round of games.
 

Yes there are frustrations because of a recent couple of draws in games we have completely dominated but I can’t see us not finishing third.  

[Pasquale for King]

5 minutes ago, NANOJAMBO said:

Totally agree.

I'm not a fan of RN and no arguing about the improvements this season,  but he needs to get more out of the players. Set pieces & corners are horrendous as ever- and this is such  a major part of the modern game. 

I thought Mackay was great tonight, pacy, direct , threatening - but he was the only one .

Gino was poor up to his goal and wasted so many opportunities to get the ball in from wide areas.

We didn't create that many clear chances but I think that's where we are as a team - look busy, look threatening but nowhere near good enough when it matters.

But sitting 3rd , it's hard to be too critical. 

Definitely, it’s frustrating as we really should be 3-6 points clear at the top. 

[One five]

2 minutes ago, hearts00 said:

Woodburn if anything sums up the team this season.  
 

Technically  very good, fluid, great on the ball. 
 

However, no goals and no assists and there’s the problem. Lack of final, crucial moments is holding us back as a team. 

Agreed when you think if it Woodburn, Devlin, Beni and McKay are very good players and getting themselves into some great positions that but are not scoring goals .

[Салатные палочки]

1 hour ago, Rudy T said:

We moaned like **** last season about the style of play, many wanted Neilson gone, once it was clear he was staying then the narrative was generally see how he gets on first round of games and his style has to change, here we are unbeaten, 70% possession in Perth and folk are raging claiming we’ll be bottom 6. Ffs talk about over reaction. 
 

We are a work in progress with a completely new ethos at the club, we’ve signed some outstanding players, dominating games away from home (I’ve not seen that in decades) we’re just not putting the ball in the net. If we keep this group of players and add a striker of the quality we’re seeing elsewhere on the pitch we’ll be a real challenge to the rest of the league. 
 

It’s time to back the team and the club and watch us progress. 

 

Good, sensible post 👏

[Nelly Terraces]

We play some nice stuff in the 1st two thirds of the pitch, but there's no end result.

 

In short, we huff, we puff, but we never blow the house down. 6 draws, 3 of which are against the bottom 3 sides, says it all.

[Cut The Crap]

27 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Halkett made some awful gaffes tonight, more than his normal 2 or 3. 

Looked like a near carbon copy of the goal Dundee scored. Ball dropped

in at the near post causes chaos.

[best in the land]

57 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

 

It’s the same style, with better players. 

Exactly! 

[comradejambo]

Just back…. Thought we played quite well in the second half but just couldn’t score. Thought GMS should have been on with 15 to go for Mackay who had tired. Maybe should have rolled the dice abit and gone for it as feel they were there for the taking! Halkett had abit of a mare today and Halliday just not quite good enough. Devlin again outstanding.

[NANOJAMBO]

1 hour ago, Rudy T said:

We moaned like **** last season about the style of play, many wanted Neilson gone, once it was clear he was staying then the narrative was generally see how he gets on first round of games and his style has to change, here we are unbeaten, 70% possession in Perth and folk are raging claiming we’ll be bottom 6. Ffs talk about over reaction. 
 

More like some folk are over reacting to one poster. 

 

[Pasquale for King]

5 minutes ago, Cut The Crap said:

Looked like a near carbon copy of the goal Dundee scored. Ball dropped

in at the near post causes chaos.

Pretty much, he gave the ball away needlessly before the corner and at least another twice. Time for Moore to replace him.

[Riccarton3]

People talk about being 6 points clear, completely ignoring the relatively shit results other teams have had that are as much a disappointment to them!

[Kyle1874]

Just looking back what is it with our defence when defending corners why have 2 players pushing up towards the corner and not affecting play at all and then to have no one on the back post is criminal in my opinion 

[BackOfTheNet]

24 minutes ago, hearts00 said:

Woodburn if anything sums up the team this season.  
 

Technically  very good, fluid, great on the ball. 
 

However, no goals and no assists and there’s the problem. Lack of final, crucial moments is holding us back as a team. 

Technically has an assist for Souttar’s goal on Saturday as he laid it off. But I get your point.

[Tazio]

5 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Pretty much, he gave the ball away needlessly before the corner and at least another twice. Time for Moore to replace him.

He’s been excellent so far this season and one of the reasons we’ve being doing well is consistency of selection. Why change it because a player has one performance slightly below his standard he’s set so far? 

[portobellojambo1]

I think tonight can be covered by frustration really, because the end result could have been better. I don't have a problem with us playing the ball around, as long as doing so creates an outlet to go forward and often it failed to do that tonight. I'm guessing it is how the players have been asked to play but somethimes when you are sitting in the stands you just want to see Craig Gordon go route one and launch it up the park, more especially on a night like tonight where the ball hitting the ground could have caused problems for defenders.

 

Hard, if not impossible to be upset given we have remained unbeaten but it is frustrating as fyll points on Saturday past and tonight would mean we could be sitting top of the league.

 

Tonight we were effectively one up top again and two strikers operating in and around the box would be so much better. And we need to be more intent on having a dig at goal when the opportunity arises, sometimes just one extra pass brings the end to potential scoring opportunities.

Edited October 28, 2021 by portobellojambo1

[PhoenixHearts]

2 hours ago, gowestjambo said:

 

I don't think a lot of people realise this. Far too predictable build up, whilst playing at walking pace at times. The difference in Hearts is not Robbie Neilson - it is Joe Savage......

is this the new party line from the Robbie-Out camp?

 

Reminds me a bit of how Andy Murray is British when he wins and Scottish if he loses.

 

So Joe Savage gets the credit and accolades for all our improvements but it’s still Robbie’s fault if we stumble or fail? Is that it? 
Awfully jammy position for Savage, I must say. An incredibly convenient excuse for people intent on withholding praise for the manager…

[tian447]

3 hours ago, Leisham38 said:

Out with the shambles of the first 15/20mins it was a good away performance at a ground that we haven’t performed like that very often at all.

On another day we win comfortably.

Looked an incredible save to keep Nando’s header out just before half time and we had plenty chances second half.

 

I would say though our set pieces are atrocious. How can we not deliver a free kick or corner??

 

To be fair, we've said that 6 times this station already. 

 

Need to start making the space and chances were creating hit the back of the net. We've looked good for 3+ goals in loads of games this season, and yet we're often struggling to get more than 1 - which would be fine, if we didn't insist on giving goals away as well. 

[Kiwidoug]

5 hours ago, Francis Albert said:

Basically in our last two games we have thrown away the advantage of taking 4 points (somewhat fortuitously it has to be said) from the OF. So far I think we look no better than a mid-table side.

Sorry to be confrontational but which unbeaten mid-table sides at present are we on a par with?

[pettigrewsstylist]

6 hours ago, allyjambo said:

Just home as I live local.

pretty decent display given some of the guff I have witnessed over the years at McDiarmid. 
While it’s great having 70% possession in most games I wish we wouldn’t take the safe option every time, it was always going sideways and backwards, only seemed to be Souttar who was prepared to drive forward and take on a player. 
In fact overplaying at the back in those conditions seemed to lead to St Johnstone’s best chances tonight. 
Certainly moving in the right direction though. 

Pretty much where im at, although i think JS showed tonight its AM we are missing as much as any strikers.

[ri Alban]

I'm sure the player will be pretty pissed off, anaw. They did more than enough to win the match. We're just struggling with the our finishing at times. They're keeper made a couple of good saves to keep the big man oot.

Edited October 28, 2021 by ri Alban

[Dazo]

5 hours ago, PhoenixHearts said:

is this the new party line from the Robbie-Out camp?

 

Reminds me a bit of how Andy Murray is British when he wins and Scottish if he loses.

 

So Joe Savage gets the credit and accolades for all our improvements but it’s still Robbie’s fault if we stumble or fail? Is that it? 
Awfully jammy position for Savage, I must say. An incredibly convenient excuse for people intent on withholding praise for the manager…

Bang on the money. We totally dominated that game and we missed some big chances. Other than adding to the squad with some more quality, especially up front I’m sure what our manager sitting in the stand could do about that. Still the experts on here no better, that’s why they will also be professional football managers. 😂

[Sherbet]

Just read that robbie said the important thing is we had 70 % possession. Sorry unless its converted into goals it's not much good. Also great to be unbeaten , but if we had won 3 and lost 3 of the 6 draws we would be 6 points better off and top of the league

[KyleLafferty]

5 minutes ago, Sherbet said:

Just read that robbie said the important thing is we had 70 % possession. Sorry unless its converted into goals it's not much good. Also great to be unbeaten , but if we had won 3 and lost 3 of the 6 draws we would be 6 points better off and top of the league

You’ve taken that 70% possession out his interview and missing the rest of it, where he says he’s disappointed. 

[jambopilms]

7 minutes ago, Sherbet said:

Just read that robbie said the important thing is we had 70 % possession. Sorry unless its converted into goals it's not much good. Also great to be unbeaten , but if we had won 3 and lost 3 of the 6 draws we would be 6 points better off and top of the league

If you have that much possession then you will win more than you lose. A few folk have stated the unbeaten fact, maybe we should lose some games and we would be better off ? 

The frustration from me is teams like St Johnston and Dundee are scared of us and have no plan other to hump it into the box whenever they can and they got what they wanted. I hate Scottish football sometimes.

[Boris]

11 minutes ago, Sherbet said:

Just read that robbie said the important thing is we had 70 % possession. Sorry unless its converted into goals it's not much good. Also great to be unbeaten , but if we had won 3 and lost 3 of the 6 draws we would be 6 points better off and top of the league

We'd be three points better off, no?

 

6pts for 6 draws.

 

9pts for 3 wins and 3 losses.

 

9 minus 6 = 3.

[Sherbet]

17 minutes ago, KyleLafferty said:

You’ve taken that 70% possession out his interview and missing the rest of it, where he says he’s disappointed. 

So are we

[Sherbet]

13 minutes ago, jambopilms said:

If you have that much possession then you will win more than you lose. A few folk have stated the unbeaten fact, maybe we should lose some games and we would be better off ? 

The frustration from me is teams like St Johnston and Dundee are scared of us and have no plan other to hump it into the box whenever they can and they got what they wanted. I hate Scottish football sometimes.

It's up to us to combat that.  It's what we do at ibrox and parkhead

[Sherbet]

14 minutes ago, Boris said:

We'd be three points better off, no?

 

6pts for 6 draws.

 

9pts for 3 wins and 3 losses.

 

9 minus 6 = 3.

Sorry my mistake    but a win and a loss is more beneficial than 2 draws  although to be fair I would rather draw than lose

 

[pablo]

I thought it was another good performance once we settled. The conditions helped St Johnstone, especially at the start of the match. They ran down everything until they were out of puff, but offered nothing in terms of quality or football. Poor side IMO.

 

Gnando's play deserved a goal and came close several times. Souttar on another couple of occasions.

 

The football we're playing now is night and day from where we've been for years. Couple of players away from being a good Hearts team. Think we all know which areas need improvement. 

[EH11 2NL]

A striker than can actually score from open play is a must in January. We are creating plenty chances

[Byyy The Light]

6 hours ago, PhoenixHearts said:

is this the new party line from the Robbie-Out camp?

 

Reminds me a bit of how Andy Murray is British when he wins and Scottish if he loses.

 

So Joe Savage gets the credit and accolades for all our improvements but it’s still Robbie’s fault if we stumble or fail? Is that it? 
Awfully jammy position for Savage, I must say. An incredibly convenient excuse for people intent on withholding praise for the manager…

It’s also not even true. Naismith made the initial moves for Beni. Stats guy identified Devlin. It’s a proper team effort behind the scenes. Savage is not some football mastermind running the show by himself. I’m glad he’s part of the team but the pedestal some fans have him on is a bit too much. Fantasy stuff.

[The Real Maroonblood]

10 hours ago, 151 said:

We are shite unfortunately. Going unbeaten is irrelevant if you can't beat anyone either. 

 

The teams around us have lost games.

 

Applauding that pish is why we won't compete. It's all been said before though even in seasons gone by.

[Bazzas right boot]

Jkb  brains Trust has cracked it. 

JKB back to it's slavering best. 

 

We need to stop passing the ball and keeping possession, that's nae use. 

We need more hoofs. 

Passing oot.

Hoofs in. 

 

We also need to lose more games because if we do that we'll automatically win more. 

 

Alex Ferguson and the best managers are famous for that philosophy - we need to lose a few games because if we do we’ll win more of the future games. 

That's how football works. 

 

Being unbeaten oot!

Lets turn some of the draws into defeats and we'll win the next game. 

 

In fact We shouldn't have bothered equalising last night, we've now ****ed our chances of a win at Aberdeen. 

That's how it will work. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 28, 2021 by Smith's right boot

[Haken]

I think it's a sign of progress when those determined to rage now have to rage about draws rather than defeats.

Edited October 28, 2021 by Haken

[frankblack]

1 minute ago, Haken said:

I think it's a sign of progress when those determined to rage now have to rage about draws rather than defeats.

 

It is a step up from their full on tantrums in the Sunderland bounce game match thread.

[GinRummy]

The progress we have made over the last two seasons is nothing short of fantastic. Just saying likes.

[Bazzas right boot]

Just now, Haken said:

I think it's a sign of progress when those determined to rage now have to rage about draws rather than defeats.

 

 

It's called straw clutching. 

 

It's a shame we have folk itching to rip into Bob when the progress is clear. 

 

They take any opportunity to fly into a hissy fit and generally talk utter shit. 

 

They're actually gutted we are doing well. 

It's so obvious. They  Post very little when we are winning, rabid when we  drop points. 

[spacerjoe]

8 hours ago, Tazio said:

He’s been excellent so far this season and one of the reasons we’ve being doing well is consistency of selection. Why change it because a player has one performance slightly below his standard he’s set so far? 

Because we're not top of the league having won 11 out of 11.

 

Its simply not good enough.

[TexasAndy]

16 minutes ago, Haken said:

I think it's a sign of progress when those determined to rage now have to rage about draws rather than defeats.

Yeah I was laughing at some posts on one of the Hearts facebook sites (Jam tarts, I think).  The very same people claiming we would be in a relegation battle now moaning because we may ONLY finish 3rd!!  

[Boris]

1 hour ago, Sherbet said:

Sorry my mistake    but a win and a loss is more beneficial than 2 draws  although to be fair I would rather draw than lose

 

 

I totally get where you are coming from btw, beat Dundee at home, and maybe Hibs or Aberdeen and you can see the impact.

[PapaShango]

One thing that I thought of watching the game last night was how much I am enjoying Hearts again. After the last few years, it's good to see players that are desperate to win and the style of football we have played at times is excellent. We are just that goal scorer away from gubbing a few teams. Love the midfield duo of Devlin and Beni and Souttar looked immense second half last night. 

[heartsfc_fan]

Apologies if already mentioned. What was the attendance last night?

Edited October 28, 2021 by heartsfc_fan

[karipidis]

32 minutes ago, PapaShango said:

One thing that I thought of watching the game last night was how much I am enjoying Hearts again. After the last few years, it's good to see players that are desperate to win and the style of football we have played at times is excellent. We are just that goal scorer away from gubbing a few teams. Love the midfield duo of Devlin and Beni and Souttar looked immense second half last night. 

This. Every game this season has been an enjoyable watch but as usual there is this strange sense of entitlement among Hearts fans. Second half was as good as we've played.