*** Hearts Summer Transfer Window 2022 - Snodgrass signs ***

[DH1986]

8 months to find a RCB……

[indianajones]

Nappies at the ready. 

[McNelly15]

9 minutes ago, RustyRightPeg said:

ah okay can’t see it but I’ll take your word for it

I'm pretty sure he got asked last night and said we weren't interested in him..

[Ribble]

27 minutes ago, Mac80 said:

Does it matter?

Possibly yes, many clubs will still be hurting financially from covid and could well be demanding fees up front rather than accepting instalments

[Bazzas right boot]

9 hours ago, innerjambo said:

Had we played for 180 minutes tonight, we wouldn't have scored a goal. That in itself speaks volumes about our current situation imo.

 

We'd also scored 9 goals in 3 home games prior to last night so I'm unsure what volume that speaks off. 

 

It could mean that Boyce needs replaced, Last night was a one off or like you suggest we can't score. 

 

We 100% need Boyce replaced and another striker would be good along with a creative midfielder. 

 

We have enough defenders, but clean sheets are also an issue atm. 

 

[BackOfTheNet]

2 minutes ago, Ricardo Quaresma said:

 

It's really simple; we take what we can get for Europe before that deadline expires and supplement the domestic squad with free agents, then use them more in league games

 

The critical factor then becomes quality for Europe; we need Rowles and Boyce replaced adequately, just to restore the status quo, then add more as we intended

 

That sounds like 4 or 5 quality players, or we're struggling in Europe

 

If we can't do that, we can't do it, we'll just have to see if our best is good enough

Simple yes, unavoidable? I don’t think so. That’s why questions will be asked. But I for one will look forward to our post window signings during their ‘welcome to Hearts’ interview talking about how hopefully we can secure 3rd to have a bash at Europe next season.

[Bazzas right boot]

4 minutes ago, Ricardo Quaresma said:

 

It's really simple; we take what we can get for Europe before that deadline expires and supplement the domestic squad with free agents, then use them more in league games

 

The critical factor then becomes quality for Europe; we need Rowles and Boyce replaced adequately, just to restore the status quo, then add more as we intended

 

That sounds like 4 or 5 quality players, or we're struggling in Europe

 

If we can't do that, we can't do it, we'll just have to see if our best is good enough

 

 

Rowles will be back within 2 months, I don't think we'll replace him. 

 

Boyce 100% needs replaced. 

 

[August Landmesser]

27 minutes ago, David McCaig said:

I doubt UEFA are going to shaft us, so we already know what our minimum budget is for the season.  

 

I assume screwing up the League Cup every year is also factored in.

It's been stated repeatedly by the club (from AB downwards) that cup runs are never part of our budget projections, due to their unpredictability.

[Bazzas right boot]

14 minutes ago, David McCaig said:

We've failed to score from open play in 4 of our last 5  matches!!

 

We've also scored 9 goals in 3 home league games so far this season. 

 

 

[Ricardo Quaresma]

1 minute ago, BackOfTheNet said:

Simple yes, unavoidable? I don’t think so. That’s why questions will be asked. But I for one will look forward to our post window signings during their ‘welcome to Hearts’ interview talking about how hopefully we can secure 3rd to have a bash at Europe next season.

 

That's the main objective; we have the January window to control things a bit more

[Taffin]

It's odd that they seem caught off guard by a lot of games at the start of the season. We all knew it was coming. I guess in the same way European football is a learning curve for some of the players, it's a learning curve for the management team too. You'd have hoped they'd not need to learn that lesson but at least they'll know for next time we're in Europe.

 

Waltzing into the Europa League with one unproven striker, a past his best CF and no RCB when you play 3 at the back was bonkers in hindsight  

[feej]

I really can't believe that out of the hundreds of players out there we've failed to identify a defender and strikers that meet our profile and are within budget. 

[soonbe110]

8 hours ago, Carter said:

His comments post match are pretty nonsensical tbh. Says we're asking players to go again and again. We've played 5 league games and 2 games in Europe. Tonight was our first domestic cup game. Kilmarnock have played 2 more competitive games than us before tonight. That type of stuff before the end of August isn't buttering any parsnips.

8 competitive games in 32 days is a tough schedule to start the season esp when you include Hibs and Celtic away plus two European matches in the 8. Killie played a lot of their games in early to mid July. Think a bit of slack is justified. 

[Ricardo Quaresma]

2 minutes ago, Bazzas right boot said:

 

 

Rowles will be back within 2 months, I don't think we'll replace him. 

 

Boyce 100% needs replaced. 

 

 

Well, we need to work without him for at least  the first 4 Euro games, that's tight

[BackOfTheNet]

I’m not sure saying Boyce would have been the difference last night when his goal scoring record this calendar year (as well as assists record) seems to suggest it would make little if any difference, is the argument some people think it is.

[karipidis]

1 minute ago, Bazzas right boot said:

 

We've also scored 9 goals in 3 home league games so far this season. 

 

 

Yep some of the stats are very selective. Last night was not good but due to a number of factors. The previous games we have not scored in include Celtic away and Zurich at home when we did anything hit score and likely would have without the red card. 

[gedster]

1 minute ago, Ricardo Quaresma said:

 

That's the main objective; we have the January window to control things a bit more

But every year without fail we get from the club the mantra..... it's hard to sign players of quality in January. 

[karipidis]

Just now, BackOfTheNet said:

I’m not sure saying Boyce would have been the difference last night when his goal scoring record this calendar year (as well as assists record) seems to suggest it would make little if any difference, is the argument some people think it is.

Possibly not but certainly a position we are very short in. We must bring in at least 2 today. 

[BackOfTheNet]

2 minutes ago, Ricardo Quaresma said:

 

That's the main objective; we have the January window to control things a bit more

I know it’s the club’s main objective, I’ll just find it odd new signings talking about it while we’re already in Europe, is the point.

[soonbe110]

7 hours ago, HMFC01 said:

 

So we only had 3 or 4 first team players on the field tonight.    OK I'll start with Gordon, Shankland,  McKay.    Last one up for debate.   Devlin? Cochrane?   That's five. 👃   💩

 

 

8 starters missing tonight if fit. Atkinson, Rowles, Halkett, Kingsley, Beni, Grant, Boyce and Kio…

[BackOfTheNet]

Just now, karipidis said:

Possibly not but certainly a position we are very short in. We must bring in at least 2 today. 

I agree. But we were short in it even last season. Then Simms left, and we got Shankland in, so we’re still well short and have been all window. It seems we’ve been scouring stats of the A-League while teams like Aberdeen are bringing in international forwards like Miovski. (I’m being flippant here, but you get the point)

[soonbe110]

6 hours ago, Hearts1975 said:

A few years back we had a signing policy of quantity over quality. At one point because of the policy, we had folk who weren't good enough to get a game, but sitting on the sidelines taking thousands each week for wages out the club. 

 

For the first time we have managed to weed these shitehawk players out the club. Does anyone seriously want to go back to these days ? Just sign anyone because the hoardes are up in arms ... Mental, absolutely bat shit mental 

 

No one but no one, unless they have inside information from people within knows exactly how hard we r trying, or have been trying to sign our preferred targets in the background. I would hazard a guess that most on here don't and are speculating as to the lack of effort being put in. 

 

I have listened to savage numerous times in interviews and podcasts and the guy knows his stuff. No f...... way is he, Robbie or anyone else involved in the recruitment side not out to actively bring in better players than we already have. 

 

This is the problem though - easy to recruit players to replace the likes of damour and Whelan who weren't worth the jersey in the first place.

Trying to recruit players to compete or be better than the likes of Mackay, shankland and even Forrest, not so much so. 

 

It isn't that these players aren't there. They are but are probably being persuaded to join other clubs for much more money. We had 8 first team squad players out tonight .... Cmon, seriously, I don't think there is a team in the league out with the OF who could have coped with that 

 

This might be a shite post but the amount of folk that seem to have all the answers and the know how, on here, as to how much we are f....... Up in the background with getting players in, but really know as much as the next one which = jack shit, is incredible 

 

 

Great post. Reality is always tough for a lot of people to see. 

[soonbe110]

4 hours ago, Tom Hardy’s Dug said:

Would Miovski (or equivalent) be outside our signing budget?

 

A player that would be great for us.

 

Aberdeen signed him weeks ago.

 

There has been a bit too much peacock strutting going on in our recruitment team IMO.

 

And there is no point in saying “well at least it shows we are aiming high”. No point if we spend ages missing our targets.

 

I also think the club has overestimated the draw of Europe.

 

Mighten choosing SW over us FFS for example.

Calum Paterson is currently earning three times what our top earner is getting paid.  Who does Calum play for?  Sheffield is also a lot closer to Nottingham than Edinburgh. 
There’s the two very good reasons why we missed out on Mighten. 

[Tour22]

5 minutes ago, BackOfTheNet said:

I’m not sure saying Boyce would have been the difference last night when his goal scoring record this calendar year (as well as assists record) seems to suggest it would make little if any difference, is the argument some people think it is.

 

We will extremely miss his link up play. Not convinced by shankland yet. We don't play to his strengths either. 

[jambopilms]

The Spfl is littered with bog standard tackle and header type defenders, it's exactly what we need as back up, we have Sibbick who cant do either. 

 

[Taffin]

1 minute ago, soonbe110 said:

8 starters missing tonight if fit. Atkinson, Rowles, Halkett, Kingsley, Beni, Grant, Boyce and Kio…

 

That's part of the problem though. Those 3 shouldn't be starting as the back three. Halkett is best in the centre, as he proved last season when he was excellent. You've then either got a left footer in RCB, or you shunt Halkett out of position. It's stupid imo. Halkett seems to also pick up injuries when on the stretch so he's less likely to pick those up if not playing rcb and covering for the rwb.

 

Which leads me to point two, the rwb. Yes Atkinson is out, but he shouldn't be the starting rwb, and that we don't have adequate backup is also poor even if you do think he should be first pick.

 

Grant I'll give you, and to an extent Beni, but we've had ample time to plan for Beni's absence.

 

Boyce needed a replacement/supplement anyway. One striker and one CF was always a recipe for disaster.

 

Kio, as in the new guy who hasn't even played for us yet? 

[PapaShango]

10 minutes ago, BackOfTheNet said:

I’m not sure saying Boyce would have been the difference last night when his goal scoring record this calendar year (as well as assists record) seems to suggest it would make little if any difference, is the argument some people think it is.

It’s not all about goals and assists he is the one that can hold it in and link the play we clearly missed that last night.

[vegas-voss]

2 minutes ago, jambopilms said:

The Spfl is littered with bog standard tackle and header type defenders, it's exactly what we need as back up, we have Sibbick who cant do either. 

 

Aye that Wright would have done as back up but maybe that's why we didn't go ahead and sign him as he wanted to be first choice somewhere.

[gedster]

2 minutes ago, jambopilms said:

The Spfl is littered with bog standard tackle and header type defenders, it's exactly what we need as back up, we have Sibbick who cant do either. 

 

What's Joe Wright up to these days . 

Actually thought he was okay last night. Maybe we should have kept him for defensive back up

[Dick Dastardly]

9 hours ago, Pap said:

Heard we are after John McVie. Just Rumours though.

Little lies 

[feej]

Just now, PapaShango said:

It’s not all about goals and assists he is the one that can hold it in and link the play we clearly missed that last night.

We're all assuming Boyce would have played last night if fit, he may not have, he could have been rested so we would have the same dilemma. 2 other stirkers should have been brought in, one different to what what we have and one to supplement Boyce.

[soonbe110]

59 minutes ago, David McCaig said:

Since Souttar left we don't have a first choice RCH full stop let alone one out injured. (Although Neilson has the potential to be even better)

 

We've known since February that Beni is out until 2023.

 

Even before Simms got injured we only had 2 strikers at the club and Shankland quite clearly can't play as a lone frontman. We have also failed miserably to replace the pace, size and strength of Simms.

 

Yes, we've been unlucky with injuries but that's what happens when you have a threadbare squad.  It could also be argued that Halkett, Kingsley and Atkinson have paid the price for playing when not quite 100%/carrying niggles due to lack of depth in the squad.

 

At present we have a squad capable of fighting hard for 3rd place, but not as good as last season and more disappointingly not in any way a game changing step forward despite our £5m European windfall.

Halkett and Neilson for rcb? 
We have no idea what’s caused the injuries to the players you mention, you are just speculating to support your argument. 
We haven’t seen and won’t see a £5m European windfall this season. 

[Leveins Battalion]

We've no strikers and managed 1 shot on goal last night yet our recruitment team and manager felt it more important to chuck £350 k on a DM in an area where we are well covered.😂

 

Only Hearts.

[BackOfTheNet]

2 minutes ago, PapaShango said:

It’s not all about goals and assists he is the one that can hold it in and link the play we clearly missed that last night.

His “link up play” is a JKB myth. Listen, Boyce is good (not great), but people talk about his link up play and hold up play as if they’re strengths, when if anything they’re weaknesses. His link up play more often than not includes him pondering on the ball too long and missing an opportunity to pass, and his hold up play involves him holding onto the ball while he switches it from one foot to the next on the edge of the box. He can’t play with his back to the goal, rarely wins headers, has little pace and can’t run the channels. He can, effectively at times, pull CB’s out to make space, but that’s usually because the other team have set out tactically to man mark a forward and he ends up playing deeper.

[lost in space]

I assume that since it takes days to register players from outside the UK, that all of the signings we make today will be from the UK - or UK passport holders.

[bazman]

3 minutes ago, Leveins Battalion said:

We've no strikers and managed 1 shot on goal last night yet our recruitment team and manager felt it more important to chuck £350 k on a DM in an area where we are well covered.😂

 

Only Hearts.

That well covered that we had Connor smith playing there last night

[soonbe110]

53 minutes ago, David McCaig said:

£3m minimum just from.making the groups + tv pool + 4 x sell out crowds + advertising.

 

If we win a couple of group games it will be considerably more than £5m.

 

I'm not suggesting we go out and buy million pound plus players but at present our recruitment doesn't suggest a step forward in any way. 

Need to revisit your assumptions and arithmetic. Starter is that it’s only £2.5m for reaching group stage. TV pool in conference league is not huge, a sell out crowd is only 17,000, just like a normal league match, doubt they will be speculating on us getting many points in the group stage at this time, advertising is largely dominated by uefa who don’t pay for it, similar to a lot of hospitality. It’s a great earner but certainly not close to £5m. 

[Ricardo Quaresma]

9 minutes ago, BackOfTheNet said:

I know it’s the club’s main objective, I’ll just find it odd new signings talking about it while we’re already in Europe, is the point.

 

Well, you have to wonder how the club see this European campaign

 

I guess if we manage to get 2nd in group, thus still in it after christmas, we'll probably get a budget increase, but we're not going to burst the bank trying to achieve that

 

The good thing about all of this is that we get a good readout of where we are, plus the team have already improved and will improve further

 

There were glimpses of it in the game against the perth farmers; they couldn't live with some of the pace and movement from us

 

It's like you say with regard to signings and this transfer window; keep your expectations low and anything above is a bonus, we're heading in the right direction, no doubt about it

 

Only question is how far can we take it and what's going to stop us taking it further?

[Francis Albert]

21 minutes ago, Ricardo Quaresma said:

 

It's really simple; we take what we can get for Europe before that deadline expires and supplement the domestic squad with free agents, then use them more in league games

 

The critical factor then becomes quality for Europe; we need Rowles and Boyce replaced adequately, just to restore the status quo, then add more as we intended

 

That sounds like 4 or 5 quality players, or we're struggling in Europe

 

If we can't do that, we can't do it, we'll just have to see if our best is good enough

We will struggle in Europe whatever we do. We always were going to. The idea of focusing on Europe and playing a bunch of "free agents" no-one else wants in our league games means we will struggle in them too. 3rd in the league is our priority. Anything else is a bonus.

[Fire_At_The_Disco]

2 minutes ago, lost in space said:

I assume that since it takes days to register players from outside the UK, that all of the signings we make today will be from the UK - or UK passport holders.

I think you get to 11pm tomorrow for players outside uk

[soonbe110]

58 minutes ago, bazman said:

I may be wrong but isn't the European money paid retrospective so we don't actually have it yet?

Yes

[BackOfTheNet]

2 minutes ago, lost in space said:

I assume that since it takes days to register players from outside the UK, that all of the signings we make today will be from the UK - or UK passport holders.

We can sign and register players today, and finalise official paperwork (such as visas etc) at a later date. Run a risk of course, of signing a player that isn’t eligible to play in the country if denied.

[DC_92]

3 minutes ago, Leveins Battalion said:

We've no strikers and managed 1 shot on goal last night yet our recruitment team and manager felt it more important to chuck £350 k on a DM in an area where we are well covered.😂

 

Only Hearts.

 

We were not well covered at CM. We just happen not to have had any (new) injuries there and Haring isn't good enough to be 1st pick. Essential signing.

 

We spent a similar amount on a striker already and still want more forwards.

 

[BackOfTheNet]

1 minute ago, Ricardo Quaresma said:

 

Well, you have to wonder how the club see this European campaign

 

I guess if we manage to get 2nd in group, thus still in it after christmas, we'll probably get a budget increase, but we're not going to burst the bank trying to achieve that

 

The good thing about all of this is that we get a good readout of where we are, plus the team have already improved and will improve further

 

There were glimpses of it in the game against the perth farmers; they couldn't live with some of the pace and movement from us

 

It's like you say with regard to signings and this transfer window; keep your expectations low and anything above is a bonus, we're heading in the right direction, no doubt about it

 

Only question is how far can we take it and what's going to stop us taking it further?

Last night won’t define our season, but for me it was a bit of a wake up call. I have reduced my expectations from 1 to 0 now. That way anything else is a bonus. Doesn’t mean I won’t think the club has failed by not bringing in a handful more if we don’t.

[RustyRightPeg]

1 minute ago, DC_92 said:

 

We were not well covered at CM. We just happen not to have had any (new) injuries there and Haring isn't good enough to be 1st pick. Essential signing.

 

We spent a similar amount on a striker already and still want more forwards.

 

With a fit squad Halliday is above Haring in the pecking order for me. 

[soonbe110]

47 minutes ago, BackOfTheNet said:

Deadline day last year we were rumoured to be in for Obafemi and Branthwaite and only ended up signing Devlin, which we knew about for a month. We don’t have anyone we know about or rumoured about today. I feel this can go one of two ways.

 

On the plus side, maybe we’ll sign some out of contract players next week, at least we’ll know they will only have one game a week.

Not sure what happened on a day 12 months has any  meaning for what will happen today or tomorrow. Unless it’s your birthday.  

[soonbe110]

46 minutes ago, We_are_the_Hearts said:

The management ad recruitment team are under pressure no doubt. The FOH money, record season tickets, biggest European pot. We have been short changed. And you could also argue that 9 of the starters last night are 1st team players. To have excuses in August is pathetic! Small team mentality. Not good enough. 

So only two of the eight that were missing last night get a game when they are fit?  Everybody that started last night is a first team squad member but let’s not kid on that  9 or them are first choices. 

[Batistuta87]

5 minutes ago, RustyRightPeg said:

With a fit squad Halliday is above Haring in the pecking order for me. 

Halliday was definitely better last night. Covered every blade of grass. His versatility and determination is massively underrated by many in our support. 

 

Edited September 1, 2022 by Batistuta87

[Hearts of Vladland]

35 minutes ago, DH1986 said:

8 months to find a RCB……

Joe Wright wasn’t good enough for us, kept a clean sheet against us last night though 🤷‍♂️

[soonbe110]

35 minutes ago, DH1986 said:

8 months to find a RCB……

Halkett and Neilson, do we need 3. Esp when Smith and Sibbick can cover short term. Much rather we spent money on attacking players.