Atkinson

[PTBCAL]

Sorry but I just have not seen it with Atkinson yet. Hopefully some kind of break and a good pre season will see him perform at the level I think Hearts believe he is capable of. 
 

Defensively he can be suspect at times 

[Trajan]

48 minutes ago, PTBCAL said:

Sorry but I just have not seen it with Atkinson yet. Hopefully some kind of break and a good pre season will see him perform at the level I think Hearts believe he is capable of. 
 

Defensively he can be suspect at times 

 

If Atkinson was such a well-rounded player, I'm not so sure we would have been the club to get him in the first place. It'll be Robbie's job to try to turn him into that player. And as an ex-right back himself, Atkinson is in good hands. 

[Dazo]

55 minutes ago, PTBCAL said:

Sorry but I just have not seen it with Atkinson yet. Hopefully some kind of break and a good pre season will see him perform at the level I think Hearts believe he is capable of. 
 

Defensively he can be suspect at times 

Yeah pretty much agree regarding defensive side of his game. Deffo something there though and potentially we will have a right player. 

[AlimOzturk]

1 hour ago, PTBCAL said:

Sorry but I just have not seen it with Atkinson yet. Hopefully some kind of break and a good pre season will see him perform at the level I think Hearts believe he is capable of. 
 

Defensively he can be suspect at times 

 
Totally raw and needs properly coached which I think will happen this pre season. Couldn’t ask for better mentors in Neilson and Michael Smith however. Needs to hit the ground running next season. Hopefully see a Halkett style improvement. 

[Bazzas right boot]

1 hour ago, PTBCAL said:

Sorry but I just have not seen it with Atkinson yet. Hopefully some kind of break and a good pre season will see him perform at the level I think Hearts believe he is capable of. 
 

Defensively he can be suspect at times 

 

Why do you care, you'll be gardening?

 

 

[Vlad Magic]

1 minute ago, Bazzas right boot said:

 

Why do you care, you'll be gardening?

 

 

🤣🤣👍👍

[Bazzas right boot]

23 minutes ago, Vlad Magic said:

🤣🤣👍👍

 

Or dogging, apparently. 

 

That is walking the dog. 🤔

[GinRummy]

1 hour ago, PTBCAL said:

Sorry but I just have not seen it with Atkinson yet. Hopefully some kind of break and a good pre season will see him perform at the level I think Hearts believe he is capable of. 
 

Defensively he can be suspect at times 

Got a bit to learn and has had some dodgy moments but his quality is obvious. He'll turn into an excellent player for us imo,

[Mikey1874]

2 hours ago, PTBCAL said:

Sorry but I just have not seen it with Atkinson yet. Hopefully some kind of break and a good pre season will see him perform at the level I think Hearts believe he is capable of. 
 

Defensively he can be suspect at times 

 

You said you don't go to games. 

[Vlad Magic]

8 hours ago, Mikey1874 said:

 

You said you don't go to games. 

He’s one of those “tells lies and hope no one notices” type people.

 

Will disappear now he’s been rumbled. Then appear when he thinks we have forgotten.

[iainmac]

10 hours ago, PTBCAL said:

Sorry but I just have not seen it with Atkinson yet. Hopefully some kind of break and a good pre season will see him perform at the level I think Hearts believe he is capable of. 
 

Defensively he can be suspect at times 

 

Decent going forward but looked very suspect defensively versus UAE. Needs to work on the defensive side of the game next season if he's going to be a regular. I thought Rowles looked pretty comfortable at the back for Australia and maybe should've bagged a goal.

[A_A wehatethehibs]

2021 “We need a better attacking RWB !!!!”

 

2022 “He’s good going forward but suspect defensively……… “

 

Any clue why Hearts fans seem to expect a full back to come in and be Cafu level?

Edited June 8, 2022 by A_A wehatethehibs

[gregzy2k7]

Hopefully Australia qualify due to the obvious hearts connections and of course New Zealand my country of residence, will hopefully get a chance to support one or other or potentially both at the World cup.

[Watt-Zeefuik]

19 minutes ago, A_A wehatethehibs said:

2021 “We need a better attacking RWB !!!!”

 

2022 “He’s good going forward but suspect defensively……… “

 

Any clue why Hearts fans seem to expect a full back to come in and be Cafu level?

 

This amuses me too. Atkinson is everything that people wanted Smith to be in terms of attacking, but he's young and raw so his game isn't complete. Complaining is a hobby for some I guess.

[jambopilms]

32 minutes ago, A_A wehatethehibs said:

2021 “We need a better attacking RWB !!!!”

 

2022 “He’s good going forward but suspect defensively……… “

 

Any clue why Hearts fans seem to expect a full back to come in and be Cafu level?

IMO his attacking is not overly great, certainly not good enough to justify his lack of defending ability.

I don't think anyone is expecting Cafu, just a decent level of competence in both aspects that his position needs.

[PTBCAL]

9 hours ago, Mikey1874 said:

 

You said you don't go to games. 

No. I didn’t buy one 

 

I have a free ST if I want it 

 

I have a cracking Firestick that shows every game in top 2 leagues in Scotland etc 

 

I just dip in and out 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PTBCAL]

1 hour ago, Vlad Magic said:

He’s one of those “tells lies and hope no one notices” type people.

 

Will disappear now he’s been rumbled. Then appear when he thinks we have forgotten.

 What are you on about coco?

I seem to have rattled a few here 🤣

[PTBCAL]

10 hours ago, Bazzas right boot said:

 

Or dogging, apparently. 

 

That is walking the dog. 🤔

Dogging 

 

With Mrs BRM when you are at the fitba

 

🙂

[Bazzas right boot]

12 minutes ago, PTBCAL said:

Dogging 

 

With Mrs BRM when you are at the fitba

 

🙂

 

 

🤣

 

I know, she brings back the videos. 

Good to put a face to the name. 

 

Thanks for saving me a Joab.

Edited June 8, 2022 by Bazzas right boot

[DC_92]

23 minutes ago, jambopilms said:

IMO his attacking is not overly great, certainly not good enough to justify his lack of defending ability.

I don't think anyone is expecting Cafu, just a decent level of competence in both aspects that his position needs.

Agreed. I'd say his crossing isn't great, he's easily brushed off the ball by defenders and he often takes the wrong option. Goals and assists don't tell the whole story but he's not done any better than Smith on that score.

 

He's shown flashes, he's young and his flaws can be improved, but I'm kind of baffled by the praise he's been getting. To me, he's been generally ropey defensively and inconsistent going forward. Definite potential, but he'd have to make a sizeable improvement for me to want him starting every week next season.

[A_A wehatethehibs]

1 hour ago, jambopilms said:

IMO his attacking is not overly great, certainly not good enough to justify his lack of defending ability.

I don't think anyone is expecting Cafu, just a decent level of competence in both aspects that his position needs.

The fact is the lad has come in mid season and been on the whole, very competitive, composed and consistent. He proved to be an absolutely vital signing with smith going out injured. We’d have been playing Moore there second half of the season without akka, maybe that puts things in perspective. Very challenging to make an immediate step up in level particularly in the physical aspect. And he has to date only played 15 league games so we’ve barely scratched the surface of what he can offer long term. Expectations are too high if you’re not happy with this signing IMO and yes, some fan dans on this forum ARE expecting Cafu level delusionally

[jambopilms]

11 minutes ago, A_A wehatethehibs said:

The fact is the lad has come in mid season and been on the whole, very competitive, composed and consistent. 

This is the compete opposite of what I see. 

Weak in the tackle, all over the place defensively and gives the ball away far too much.

We are lucky we had someone to replace Smith but I hope we are looking to strengthen this area.

Folk are stating he WILL get better but have no idea that he actually will. It's guess work, he makes the same mistakes over and over, maybe he won't get better. I hope he does but it's daft to say he WILL get better.

[Zico]

26 minutes ago, A_A wehatethehibs said:

The fact is the lad has come in mid season and been on the whole, very competitive, composed and consistent. He proved to be an absolutely vital signing with smith going out injured. We’d have been playing Moore there second half of the season without akka, maybe that puts things in perspective. Very challenging to make an immediate step up in level particularly in the physical aspect. And he has to date only played 15 league games so we’ve barely scratched the surface of what he can offer long term. Expectations are too high if you’re not happy with this signing IMO and yes, some fan dans on this forum ARE expecting Cafu level delusionally

We’ll have less of this reasonable contextualising thank you very much. 

[hereford_hearts]

The negativity on here!

'Hi lad, glad you travelled 10k miles to a new country.

We expect you to perform at a higher level than you ever have, in a strange league, playing with total strangers. 

And don't **** up or kickback will be on your arse' 

FFS give it a break 

[Watt-Zeefuik]

1 hour ago, hereford_hearts said:

The negativity on here!

'Hi lad, glad you travelled 10k miles to a new country.

We expect you to perform at a higher level than you ever have, in a strange league, playing with total strangers. 

And don't **** up or kickback will be on your arse' 

FFS give it a break 

 

I think about how many of our signings who were new last season took a major step forward this year.

 

Halkett went from a bit wobbly to stout as a post.

Kingsley went from quality to commanding.

Even Gordon went from top shelf to world class.

 

Won't be everyone of course but as players settle in they can take major steps forward. I'd back Atkinson, Devlin, and Sibbick to be substantially improved next season.

[Harry Potter]

22 hours ago, PTBCAL said:

Sorry but I just have not seen it with Atkinson yet. Hopefully some kind of break and a good pre season will see him perform at the level I think Hearts believe he is capable of. 
 

Defensively he can be suspect at times 

he works hard 110% effort, do for me.

[briever]

10 hours ago, Harry Potter said:

he works hard 110% effort, do for me.

 

Eh?  Scottish fitba is full of honest triers - I think we should be looking beyond that.

Atkinson needs to improve his defence, next season we will find out if he does.  He's certainly got talent, but IMO he's still a bit soft and definitely needs some S&C this summer.

[Homme]

I think he's done well so far. More positives than negatives IMO.

 

He'll improve further.

[gar jambo]

On 08/06/2022 at 07:52, Trajan said:

 

If Atkinson was such a well-rounded player, I'm not so sure we would have been the club to get him in the first place. It'll be Robbie's job to try to turn him into that player. And as an ex-right back himself, Atkinson is in good hands. 

My brother lives in Sydney Atkinson had a nightmare against Saudi the other night 

[ri Alban]

On 08/06/2022 at 22:19, hereford_hearts said:

The negativity on here!

'Hi lad, glad you travelled 10k miles to a new country.

We expect you to perform at a higher level than you ever have, in a strange league, playing with total strangers. 

And don't **** up or kickback will be on your arse' 

FFS give it a break 

Except for the weather, what's so different between Scotland and Australia.

Edited June 10, 2022 by ri Alban

[johnking123]

Atkinson has had fine season for us. Performances dropped a bit at end of the season. But so did rest of squad. Devlin had excellent first season too. Expected next season will be even better from them.

[TexasAndy]

Atkinson has had a mixed bag since he arrived.  Some really good moments going forward and some dodgy moments defending.  I have seen enough ability to think that he can kick on and become a really good player for us.  He's a young lad who got thrown in half way through season in a country half way across the world.   I like him.  

[PapaShango]

No doubt Atkinson is raw but I think he will get better. Far from poor last season, he had a mixed bag but with a proper pre-season I think he will bed in nicely. We need full backs that get up the pitch and the downside to that is they will often be left exposed defensively. He could do to work on his strength though and maybe bulk up a bit as he was often brushed off the ball too easily. 

[indianajones]

I like him.

 

Will only get better too. 

[Watt-Zeefuik]

5 hours ago, PapaShango said:

No doubt Atkinson is raw but I think he will get better. Far from poor last season, he had a mixed bag but with a proper pre-season I think he will bed in nicely. We need full backs that get up the pitch and the downside to that is they will often be left exposed defensively. He could do to work on his strength though and maybe bulk up a bit as he was often brushed off the ball too easily. 

 

I think his form last season was like one of those duck/rabbit drawings. You could see it both ways.

 

If you were expecting a finished product to come in and be a major upgrade over Smith, you were disappointed. He has attacking verve but makes mistakes, and despite contributing a lot on the attacking end, never really took a game by the collar and turned it.

 

If you were looking for a player with bags of potential who has the drive, effort, and disposition to kick on, there was plenty to love. The kinds of mistakes he made were what you expect of a player stepping up a level and adjusting to a different style of game in a different country. Gambles he was able to make in the A league and get away with bit him in the backside here.

 

I'm definitely in column B on this, and am really excited for the player we got, but the proof will be in the pudding next season. To have a decent European campaign and kick on to a solid 3rd again, he needs to clean up his mistakes at the back and be just a bit more clinical in his passes and cuts on the attack. But I think he has every chance of doing that.

 

Here's hoping.

[Dick Dastardly]

He does like a bit of a roll about on the ground after a Typical Scottish Football Tackle. 

I like him going forward. He tends to cut inside a bit too much for me and gets caught on the ball a bit too much. Defensively he does look like he needs to improve. I feel confident that he will do nothing but improve this season coming. 

[Don Dan]

Hearts' Nathaniel Atkinson "in calculations" for Australia play-off with Peru

Hearts defender Nathaniel Atkinson remains in Australia coach Graham Arnold’s “calculations” for the Socceroos’ bid to qualify for this year’s World Cup.

By David Oliver

Sunday, 12th June 2022, 2:15 pm

Updated 5 hours ago

0

comments

HAVE YOUR SAY

Peru in a play-off stand between Australia and three- Scottish-based players joining this year’s World Cup with kick-off in Doha 7pm(BST) on Monday for the penultimate place at the Finals.

Nathaniel Atkinson, Kye Rowles and Cammy Devlin’s Qatar hopes are on the line and the right-back remains in Arnold’s thinking after the semi-final win over UAE.

Asked about Atkinson’s role, the national coach said: “ He added: “Nathaniel was isolated a couple of times against the (UAE) player who had very very good speed. At times he let the player turn and face him whereas he has to not let the player turn. We have worked on that, spoken about it and showed the full-backs those types of situations but those two players are in calculations.

The last remaining place for Qatar will be decided on Tuesday when New Zealand face Costa Rica.

 

I though we should have coached him on that 

Edited June 12, 2022 by Imaman

[Tom Hardy’s Dug]

So is Cammy in the squad for the Peru game?

[JimmyCant]

9 hours ago, Tom Hardy’s Dug said:

So is Cammy in the squad for the Peru game?

No. Atkinson probably won’t start either

Edited June 13, 2022 by JimmyCant

[moonraker]

If Atkinson can cut down the number of times he us "tempted" inside and either  runs or plays the ball inside  he will keep possession much more. As it is he gives  it away in really dangerous positions far too frequently. I don't think he is too bad at 1:1 defending but he is bit positionally suspect. He makes a lot of good runs off the ball and has good delivery from wider areas. Still young so scope to improve

[Unknown user]

10 hours ago, Tom Hardy’s Dug said:

So is Cammy in the squad for the Peru game?

He's never been capped, he was in the Olympic team though

[wavydavy]

53 minutes ago, moonraker said:

If Atkinson can cut down the number of times he us "tempted" inside and either  runs or plays the ball inside  he will keep possession much more. As it is he gives  it away in really dangerous positions far too frequently. I don't think he is too bad at 1:1 defending but he is bit positionally suspect. He makes a lot of good runs off the ball and has good delivery from wider areas. Still young so scope to improve

 

Agree totally on this. Perhaps playing at this level he will learn quickly though or face being dropped.

 

He needs to bulk up a bit and be less easy to move off the ball but he is still relatively young and will hopefully only improve.

[boag1874]

Some folk love a moan eh? Atkinson has done very well imo since joining, especially baring in mind he probably wasn't signed to go straight in to the xi every week but has been chucked in at the deep end. Yes he's still a bit raw with his decision making but the fact he's willing to make mistakes rather than take the easy option every time isn't a bad thing for me. His attitude is first class, the rest can be taught. In a years time I reckon we'll be absolutely lamenting him as a key player.

[My half sister]

I see they are playing in Doha in the month the World Cup should have been played, but was cancelled because of the heat. Why do they think it is safe to play this game tonight? Let me guess, money? 

[MattyK82]

 

Interesting that we may actually benefit financially from Australia qualifying for the WC. Can’t say I’ve heard of the program Donaldson is citing. 

[JimmyCant]

On 08/06/2022 at 06:22, jamboozy said:

Sainsbury=Sainso, Atkinson = Atko,  Jeggo = well, erm, Jeggo.👍

Jegga ?

[Mikey1874]

 

Edited June 13, 2022 by Mikey1874

[Wee Mikey]

8 minutes ago, JimmyCant said:

Jegga ?

 

Jeggsy

[JimmyCant]

14 minutes ago, MattyK82 said:

 

Interesting that we may actually benefit financially from Australia qualifying for the WC. Can’t say I’ve heard of the program Donaldson is citing. 

Total pool of $209 million divided by 736 players (23 x 32) is $286k dollars for each player. £234k per player we provide. Could be 3, 4 if we sign another of their squad takes it to nearly £1million. FFS what are we going to do with all this dosh !!!

 

Having said that they are rank outsiders to qualify

Edited June 13, 2022 by JimmyCant

[neilnunb]

Looks like the match is live on the BBC red button/iplayer/website

 

 

*ooops just seen a thread mentioning this 😁

Edited June 13, 2022 by neilnunb