***** The Hearts B super thread - Liam Fox confirmed as coach ******

[jamboinglasgow]

Thought to keep it seperate from the Lowland League thread, that there should be a thread dedicated to the Hearts B team that is playing in the Lowland League this year. It allows posts all kept to one place.

 

Hearts B will play home games at Ferguson Park.

 

The fixtures for the league season are:

 

• 23/07/22 vs Berwick Rangers (H)
• 26/07/22 vs Spartans (A)
• 30/07/22 vs East Kilbride (A)
• 03/08/22 vs Cowdenbeath (H)
• 06/08/22 vs Civil Service Strollers (H)
• 13/08/22 vs Bo'ness United (A)
• 21/08/22 vs Celtic B (H)
• 26/08/22 vs East Stirlingshire (A)
• 30/08/22 vs Caledonian Braves (A)
• 03/09/22 vs Cumbernauld Colts (A)
• 01/10/22 vs Rangers B (H)
• 05/10/22 vs Tranent (H)
• 29/10/22 vs University of Stirling (H)
• 02/11/22 vs Dalbeattie Star (H)
• 05/11/22 vs Edinburgh University (A)
• 08/11/22 vs Gala Fairydean Rovers (A)
• 12/11/22 vs Gretna 2008 (H)
• 03/12/22 vs Tranent (A)
• 07/12/22 vs Spartans (H)
• 10/12/22 vs Open Goal Broomhill (H)
• 17/12/22 vs Gretna 2008 (A)
• 26/12/22 vs Rangers B (A)
• 03/01/23 vs Cowdenbeath (A)
• 07/01/23 vs Cumbernauld Colts (H)
• 14/01/23 vs Berwick Rangers (A)
• 28/01/23 vs Edinburgh University (H)
• 08/02/23 vs Caledonian Braves (H)
• 11/02/23 vs Civil Service Strollers (A)
• 18/02/23 vs Gala Fairydean Rovers (H)
• 24/02/23 vs Celtic B (A)
• 11/03/23 vs East Kilbride (H)
• 18/03/23 vs Dalbeattie Star (A)
• 08/04/23 vs East Stirlingshire (H)
• 15/04/23 vs University of Stirling (A)
• 22/04/23 vs Bo'ness United (H)

[Pap]

Edit. Its been answered already.

Edited July 3, 2022 by Pap

[queensferryjambo]

Looking forward to seeing how this works out for Hearts.

 

Great chance for our young guys to get competitive fixtures and great chance for the fans to see what young players are coming through.

[iantjambo]

4-0 friendly win yesterday against Whitehill Welfare. McGill, Kirk, Pollock and Sandilands with the goals.

[Rudy T]

Open goal Broomhill just boils ma pish 😡

[Seymour M Hersh]

Where is Ferguson Park? 

[OmiyaHearts]

33 minutes ago, Rudy T said:

Open goal Broomhill just boils ma pish 😡

Me too. I can't stand the team name, Simon Ferry or Slane. Happy to see them crash & burn

[jamboinglasgow]

11 minutes ago, Seymour M Hersh said:

Where is Ferguson Park? 

 

Rosewell in Midlothian. It is Whitehill Welfare's ground

[Selkirkhmfc1874]

Looking forward to getting to some of these games when 1st team not playing

[tazhearts]

Good idea for the thread. How about Football First writing up a wee pen picture of all the players likely to be in the B Team squad? 

[jambo19]

You can follow @jamboacademy51 on twitter for updates of the games. They seem to be covering the B and U18 news

[jambo19]

3 minutes ago, tazhearts said:

Good idea for the thread. How about Football First writing up a wee pen picture of all the players likely to be in the B Team squad? 

Lineup: McFarlane (Paris), Dall (Nair), Darge (Smutek), Gordon (Forrester), Logan (Friel), Tait (Sandilands), Denholm (Chisholm), Pollock (Hanbrook), Thomas (Kirk), McGill (Crookston), Ferguson (McLuckie). | #HeartsFC #TFIM

 

This was yesterday's squad also. I think Logan might be too old for the B team, McGill did well at Airdrie last season playing in multiple positions so I think both of them will be loaned out to a higher level that LL.

[Pap]

Wish it was played somewhere closer to town. 

[Jambo dans les Pyrenees]

29 minutes ago, Pap said:

Wish it was played somewhere closer to town. 

 

Area 51 isn't that far away.  Nice day out.

[West Jambo]

I believe that once you’ve made 5 appearances for the first team in the season you’re no longer eligible for Lowland League matches based on the new rules.

So, with a bigger squad and not everyone able to be in the match day squad then might, certainly at the start of the season, see a few fringe players involved with B team. 
 

[Seymour M Hersh]

1 hour ago, jamboinglasgow said:

 

Rosewell in Midlothian. It is Whitehill Welfare's ground

 

Thanks, I would never have known that. 

[Footballfirst]

1 hour ago, tazhearts said:

Good idea for the thread. How about Football First writing up a wee pen picture of all the players likely to be in the B Team squad? 

I don't think that its appropriate for me to make judgements on their respective abilities at this point, particularly when I haven't seen some of them play for a while due to them being on loan or during covid restrictions.

 

The club did pen pictures of the 9 who were given full time contracts recently.

https://www.heartsfc.co.uk/news/article/nine-starlets-pen-pro-terms-with-hearts

[Niemi’s gloves]

1 hour ago, jambo19 said:

Lineup: McFarlane (Paris), Dall (Nair), Darge (Smutek), Gordon (Forrester), Logan (Friel), Tait (Sandilands), Denholm (Chisholm), Pollock (Hanbrook), Thomas (Kirk), McGill (Crookston), Ferguson (McLuckie). | #HeartsFC #TFIM

 

This was yesterday's squad also. I think Logan might be too old for the B team, McGill did well at Airdrie last season playing in multiple positions so I think both of them will be loaned out to a higher level that LL.

I think McGill and Logan were both born in 2002 (Connor Smith as well)and thus U21s this season.  It’s been said on here that you can have only one outfield player who is U21 rather than younger but it’s not clear to me whether this means in the squad, in the match day squad or on the park at any one time. In any event, others have said that this rule no longer applies. It would be good to get some authoritative confirmation on what the rules are for the coming season (and indeed whether it is a “rule” or just a gentleman’s agreement).

[Saint Jambo]

1 hour ago, chizinho21 said:

I believe that once you’ve made 5 appearances for the first team in the season you’re no longer eligible for Lowland League matches based on the new rules.

So, with a bigger squad and not everyone able to be in the match day squad then might, certainly at the start of the season, see a few fringe players involved with B team. 
 

 

Where have the new rules been outlined?

 

They don't seem to have been added to the League's website yet.

https://slfl.co.uk/

 

Removing the age limit rule completely would seem really peculiar. There was a rule last year about naming a squad I believe, which would limit the ability to name lots of first team fringe players if it remained in place. Last year the 5 game rule was per half season I believe. Has that been extended to the whole season. If those changes have really all been made, it would seem counterproductive to the aim of the B teams being primarily about youth development.

 

[Libertarian]

3 hours ago, jamboinglasgow said:

Thought to keep it seperate from the Lowland League thread, that there should be a thread dedicated to the Hearts B team that is playing in the Lowland League this year. It allows posts all kept to one place.

 

Hearts B will play home games at Ferguson Park.

 

The fixtures for the league season are:

 

• 23/07/22 vs Berwick Rangers (H)
• 26/07/22 vs Spartans (A)
• 30/07/22 vs East Kilbride (A)
• 03/08/22 vs Cowdenbeath (H)
• 06/08/22 vs Civil Service Strollers (H)
• 13/08/22 vs Bo'ness United (A)
• 21/08/22 vs Celtic B (H)
• 26/08/22 vs East Stirlingshire (A)
• 30/08/22 vs Caledonian Braves (A)
• 03/09/22 vs Cumbernauld Colts (A)
• 01/10/22 vs Rangers B (H)
• 05/10/22 vs Tranent (H)
• 29/10/22 vs University of Stirling (H)
• 02/11/22 vs Dalbeattie Star (H)
• 05/11/22 vs Edinburgh University (A)
• 08/11/22 vs Gala Fairydean Rovers (A)
• 12/11/22 vs Gretna 2008 (H)
• 03/12/22 vs Tranent (A)
• 07/12/22 vs Spartans (H)
• 10/12/22 vs Open Goal Broomhill (H)
• 17/12/22 vs Gretna 2008 (A)
• 26/12/22 vs Rangers B (A)
• 03/01/23 vs Cowdenbeath (A)
• 07/01/23 vs Cumbernauld Colts (H)
• 14/01/23 vs Berwick Rangers (A)
• 28/01/23 vs Edinburgh University (H)
• 08/02/23 vs Caledonian Braves (H)
• 11/02/23 vs Civil Service Strollers (A)
• 18/02/23 vs Gala Fairydean Rovers (H)
• 24/02/23 vs Celtic B (A)
• 11/03/23 vs East Kilbride (H)
• 18/03/23 vs Dalbeattie Star (A)
• 08/04/23 vs East Stirlingshire (H)
• 15/04/23 vs University of Stirling (A)
• 22/04/23 vs Bo'ness United (H)

Is that Ferguson Park in Roswell?

[AlimOzturk]

What a tremendous opportunity for all the young players now. This is an excellent move and the next best thing to a reserve league. 

[OTT]

4 hours ago, queensferryjambo said:

Looking forward to seeing how this works out for Hearts.

 

Great chance for our young guys to get competitive fixtures and great chance for the fans to see what young players are coming through.

 

Absolutely this! I think there will be a lot of merits to the youngsters playing competitive fixtures. The step up from youth level to first team has been talked about before and I'm really hopeful this brings that little bit thats been missing. A lot of our youngsters have came in, looked good then fallen away. Maybe this might be a strong safety net so we can bring them into the first team when needed and they're staying sharp in the B team. 

 

I assume the style of football being played will be the same so if we need a RB, Cammy Logan can step up from the Bs and know exactly what the expectations are etc. 

 

Think its a good idea, and the youngsters rangers put out against us in the final game of the season looked sharp. 

 

Hopefully at the end of this season the guest situation will be resolved and permanent additions can be negotiated assuming it was successful. 

[jambo19]

https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/hearts/steven-naismith-explains-how-hearts-b-players-will-benefit-from-the-lowland-league-3754412

 

Good article here with Naismith

[Tasavallan]

4 hours ago, OmiyaHearts said:

Me too. I can't stand the team name, Simon Ferry or Slane. Happy to see them crash & burn

They got elected to the LL courtesy of the SFA trying to increase the number of west clubs in an east dominated league.   A younger version of The Spartans (youth club turned senior) 

[OTT]

Just now, Tasavallan said:

They got elected to the LL courtesy of the SFA trying to increase the number of west clubs in an east dominated league.   A younger version of The Spartans (youth club turned senior) 

 

Ah, so the authorities are happy to step in when there is an imbalance of east coast vs west coast. 

Can someone tell me how many top flight referees come from the east please? I count 1 (Gavin Duncan). 

 

West:

Willie Collum

John Beaton

Andrew Dallas

Alan Muir

Bobby Madden

Kevin Clancy

Nick Walsh

Don Robertson

Steven Maclean

Euan Anderson

 

If someone could let me know when they'll be stepping in to address this imbalance too that would be super  

[JamboAl]

16 minutes ago, OTT said:

 

Ah, so the authorities are happy to step in when there is an imbalance of east coast vs west coast. 

Can someone tell me how many top flight referees come from the east please? I count 1 (Gavin Duncan). 

 

West:

Willie Collum

John Beaton

Andrew Dallas

Alan Muir

Bobby Madden

Kevin Clancy

Nick Walsh

Don Robertson

Steven Maclean

Euan Anderson

 

If someone could let me know when they'll be stepping in to address this imbalance too that would be super  

You've got no chance, mate.

[OTT]

1 minute ago, JamboAl said:

You've got no chance, mate.

 

I know. 

 

I'm going to keep mentioning it though. Its a farcical situation and should be spoken about until the clubs start to do their jobs and question this to the authorities. Its not a freak coincidence, its the result of a biased system favouring officials from in and around Glasgow. There is no excuse to only have one ref from not just Edinburgh, but the entire east coast. 

[Footballfirst]

27 minutes ago, Tasavallan said:

They got elected to the LL courtesy of the SFA trying to increase the number of west clubs in an east dominated league.   A younger version of The Spartans (youth club turned senior) 

I'm not sure that their location had anything to do with it.

 

The LL started in 2013/14 as a 12 team league, with Broomhill joining the following season along with Edinburgh University. They saw a better pathway for their youths than was offered via the West Juniors

 

Subsequent to BSC's admission 3 further clubs were admitted to the LL for the next season, Cumbernauld, Hawick RA and Civil Service Strollers, so I don't believe there was a clear action plan to recruit more West sides.

[Hesh]

5 hours ago, Pap said:

Wish it was played somewhere closer to town. 

Where then 

[Hesh]

6 hours ago, jambo19 said:

You can follow @jamboacademy51 on twitter for updates of the games. They seem to be covering the B and U18 news

@tfim does too on Twitter 

[poultry]

6 hours ago, Pap said:

Wish it was played somewhere closer to town. 

Lot of Jambos out this way.

[Footballfirst]

22 minutes ago, Hesh said:

@tfim does too on Twitter 

#TFIM stopped his match updates at the end of last season, although he may still go along to the odd game in the future.

 

 

Edited July 3, 2022 by Footballfirst

[Hesh]

19 minutes ago, Footballfirst said:

#TFIM stopped his match updates at the end of last season, although he may still go along to the odd game in the future.

 

 

Thanks, never picked that up

[Stanley_]

Rangers and Celtic have separate Twitter pages for their B teams. Would be good to have something like that for Hearts and have more attention given to the youngsters.

[Restonbabe]

Christmas eve in dundee for the bug team then Boxing day 'at home' vs berwick (away) for me yippee

[sniffer]

18 hours ago, OTT said:

 

Ah, so the authorities are happy to step in when there is an imbalance of east coast vs west coast. 

Can someone tell me how many top flight referees come from the east please? I count 1 (Gavin Duncan). 

 

West:

Willie Collum

John Beaton

Andrew Dallas

Alan Muir

Bobby Madden

Kevin Clancy

Nick Walsh

Don Robertson

Steven Maclean

Euan Anderson

 

If someone could let me know when they'll be stepping in to address this imbalance too that would be super  

To answer your question OTT, there are NO east of Scotland refs in the top (ie Category 1 Select) group of SFA referees. All of Scotland's most senior refs are from the west of Scotland associations (eg Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire). Bobby Madden should also be deleted from your list, as he resigned and moved to England last month.

 

Gavin Duncan is a Category 1 ref but he is not in the top (Select) group, he's in the Category 1 Performance Group, along with several other east coast based refs.

 

For clarification,  the referees appointed, by the SFA, to officiate at Scottish Premier league games are normally those listed in the Select group, although it is possible for a Category 1 Performance group referee to be appointed.

 

So the situation is actually worse than you thought OTT.

[sniffer]

To add to my previous post, here is the current SFA list of Category 1 - Select Group referees:

 

Euan Anderson

John Beaton

Kevin Clancy

William Collum

Andrew Dallas

David Dickinson

Grant Irvine

Steven Maclean

Alan Muir

David Munro

Craig Napier

Don Robertson

Colin Steven

Nick Walsh

 

 

[West Jambo]

Hearts B will play Buckie Thistle at Home in the 1st Round of the SPFL Trust Trophy (the one with all the teams below Prem + Prem B teams + Couple of other random UK sides…

The New Saints and Caernarfon Town, from the JD Cymru Premier in Wales, and Linfield and Cliftonville, from the Danske Bank Premiership in Northern Ireland, will take part in this year’s tournament.

 

Second Round draw coming up too…

Edited July 4, 2022 by chizinho21

[West Jambo]

If we win that 1st round we’ll be at home to either Brora Rangers (!) or Aberdeen B in the second round 

[Niemi’s gloves]

It’s a bit surprising/disappointing that we are intending to play the cup game against Buckie Thistle at Ferguson Park rather than Tynecastle

 

https://www.heartsfc.co.uk/news/article/trust-trophy-b-team-to-face-buckie-thistle

 

I would have thought that it would be a good opportunity to give younger players in the B squad a chance to get the feel of Tynie; and opportunity for those who are interested but live on the North side of Edinburgh a simpler way to see the B team. 

[West Jambo]

7 minutes ago, Niemi’s gloves said:

It’s a bit surprising/disappointing that we are intending to play the cup game against Buckie Thistle at Ferguson Park rather than Tynecastle

 

https://www.heartsfc.co.uk/news/article/trust-trophy-b-team-to-face-buckie-thistle

 

I would have thought that it would be a good opportunity to give younger players in the B squad a chance to get the feel of Tynie; and opportunity for those who are interested but live on the North side of Edinburgh a simpler way to see the B team. 

Am i right in thinking they played one of these matches at Tynecastle a couple of years ago? 

They may not be able to use it for the 2nd round given potentially having a European game at home the same midweek but no such clash for that 1st Round match you mention.

[Saint Jambo]

42 minutes ago, chizinho21 said:

Hearts B will play Buckie Thistle at Home in the 1st Round of the SPFL Trust Trophy (the one with all the teams below Prem + Prem B teams + Couple of other random UK sides…

The New Saints and Caernarfon Town, from the JD Cymru Premier in Wales, and Linfield and Cliftonville, from the Danske Bank Premiership in Northern Ireland, will take part in this year’s tournament.

 

Second Round draw coming up too…

 

Worth noting that the B Team eligibility rules are different for the Trust Trophy than for the Lowland League. Most notably in the Trust Trophy clubs can play two over aged players and can also play youngsters out on loan to other clubs. There may also be a difference in the exact age limits.

[Niemi’s gloves]

5 minutes ago, chizinho21 said:

Am i right in thinking they played one of these matches at Tynecastle a couple of years ago? 

They may not be able to use it for the 2nd round given potentially having a European game at home the same midweek but no such clash for that 1st Round match you mention.

Yes, four years ago the colts team played Ross County at Tynecastle in what was a decent game but ended in a 2-1 defeat. The following year we beat Cowdenbeath 3-1 but that was played in Linlithgow. I think Cowdenbeath expressed disappointment that their players weren’t getting the chance to play at Tynecastle; and I’d imagine that Buckie Thistle will feel the same way, particularly given the long trek down here. 

 

 

[Footballfirst]

1 minute ago, Saint Jambo said:

 

Worth noting that the B Team eligibility rules are different for the Trust Trophy than for the Lowland League. Most notably in the Trust Trophy clubs can play two over aged players and can also play youngsters out on loan to other clubs. There may also be a difference in the exact age limits.

From the SPFL rules for the competition

 

1.3 In these Regulations references to Clubs and clubs includes clubs from another Recognised League (as defined). In the case of Colt Teams playing in the Competition it is the Premiership Club whose Under 21 team is playing in the Competition which is the participant in the Competition and which is the “Club” for the purposes of these Regulations. 

 

1.5.6 “Over Age Player” means a Player: (i) who is League Registered with the Club of a Colt Team or who is the subject of a Temporary Transfer by a Club; and (ii) who was 20 or more years old on 31 December of the year before the year in which the relevant Season commences;

 

7.5 A Colt Team shall be permitted, but not obliged, to Play a maximum of two Over Age eligible Players in any Match.

 

The "overage player" description seems at odd with the definition for an Under 21 player elsewhere in the rules.

 

Under 21 Player means a Player who had not attained the age of 21 years on 31 December of the year before the year in which the relevant Season commences;

[Niemi’s gloves]

1 hour ago, Footballfirst said:

From the SPFL rules for the competition

 

1.3 In these Regulations references to Clubs and clubs includes clubs from another Recognised League (as defined). In the case of Colt Teams playing in the Competition it is the Premiership Club whose Under 21 team is playing in the Competition which is the participant in the Competition and which is the “Club” for the purposes of these Regulations. 

 

1.5.6 “Over Age Player” means a Player: (i) who is League Registered with the Club of a Colt Team or who is the subject of a Temporary Transfer by a Club; and (ii) who was 20 or more years old on 31 December of the year before the year in which the relevant Season commences;

 

7.5 A Colt Team shall be permitted, but not obliged, to Play a maximum of two Over Age eligible Players in any Match.

 

The "overage player" description seems at odd with the definition for an Under 21 player elsewhere in the rules.

 

Under 21 Player means a Player who had not attained the age of 21 years on 31 December of the year before the year in which the relevant Season commences;

Yes I think you are correct on the inconsistency. Perhaps rule 1.3 should read under-20 side. 
 

Incidentally , I’d say that rule 1.3 implies that the relevant “home” ground is Tynecastle not Ferguson Park and thus that Hearts need permission of the SPFL to play a home trust trophy game elsewhere, under rule 1.5.3. Perhaps Hearts have jumped the gun in saying that the game against Buckie Thistle will be in Rosewell. I think when our colts team played in Linlithgow against Cowdenbeath in 2019 the justification was the state of the Tynecastle pitch after the infamous Festival concert. I’m not sure we have a valid reason this time. 

[Footballfirst]

 

[Arfur]

Why are our home games being played at Ferguson park? Didnt we not that long ago she’ll out cash on erecting a stand at one of the pitches at Riccarton?

[SUTOL]

6 minutes ago, Arfur said:

Why are our home games being played at Ferguson park? Didnt we not that long ago she’ll out cash on erecting a stand at one of the pitches at Riccarton?

 

I don't think Hearts paid for the stand(s) at Oriam. 

 

Maybe we can't be sure we would be able to book the pitch for every home match. 

 

There is also limited parking and facilities for supporters a Oriam. 

[TyphoonJambo]

1 hour ago, Arfur said:

Why are our home games being played at Ferguson park? Didnt we not that long ago she’ll out cash on erecting a stand at one of the pitches at Riccarton?

Cheap pint in the clubhouse? 

[Footballfirst]

2 hours ago, SUTOL said:

 

I don't think Hearts paid for the stand(s) at Oriam. 

 

Maybe we can't be sure we would be able to book the pitch for every home match. 

 

There is also limited parking and facilities for supporters a Oriam. 

Your points above are correct.

 

However, in order to participate in the LL your ground has to licensed. The Oriam is not a licensed ground.