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***Official Heart of Midlothian v H1b5 Match Day Thread***


Wee Mikey

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Bazzas right boot
2 hours ago, Tom Hardy’s Dug said:


I think a lot of our fans have a bit of a blind spot about our midfield. Partly proven (IMO) but the fact that many think Haring is our best midfielder.

 

The problem is Haring causes most of the problems in midfield that our fans complain about. This is not to say he is a bad player but he can’t take the ball on the half turn and he can’t drive forward and buzz around the edge of the oppo box.

 

Whereas, Beni and Cammy can both do this and Grant is a more attack minded version. But these three can all take the ball in a tight space, turn and try and push forward more quickly than Haring.

 

Not to say that I think Haring is a bad player or needs dropped but I think our fans need to realise that he slows down our play and less and less now (each season) does he control midfield.

 

I loved Haring when he joined but I genuinely don’t understand why so many people think he is our best midfielder - it must partly be down to the fact that our best two midfielders have in fact been getting hired a lot last year and our 3rd best midfielder has only just joined.

 

But to me, Haring is 4th choice.

 

 

Agreed. 

I couldn't put it better myself. 

 

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Tom Hardy’s Dug
1 hour ago, Horatio Caine said:

Apparently Nat had been unwell during the week and felt he could play on Saturday but then discovered he wasn't sufficiently over whatever it had been.


Dont believe this. 
 

A well intended story to protect Natty. 
 

For example he pretended to have a leg injury when he knew he was being subbed.

 

We couldn’t have known Edward’s would have been as shit hot. When we did we changed it.

Edited by Tom Hardy’s Dug
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SpruceBringsteen

I'm 45 years old. I've had - literally - 40 years of beefing the vermin into oblivion. 

 

Probably not even going to get out of bed for this one. 3 or 4 nil as per.

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Perplexed to see thst Bet365 have Hibs as narrow favourites on my phone app.  Despite that 51% of the people who had voted had us winning.

 

51%. Has to be an omen.

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13 hours ago, CMc said:


so if we swap Boyce for Rowles the above becomes a losing team?

I think we will not win if we did that

Its blatantly obvious as well 

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Bazzas right boot
6 hours ago, SpruceBringsteen said:

I'm 45 years old. I've had - literally - 40 years of beefing the vermin into oblivion. 

 

Probably not even going to get out of bed for this one. 3 or 4 nil as per.

 

"as per" 

We've not beaten them 3/ 4-0 that often in recent years... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are due one😁

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13 hours ago, CMc said:

That’s our best available XI if Cam is not fit and there are any worries about Kingsley. 
 

I would feel much better with a fit Devlin in the engine room. 
 

Would not cry if Boyce started ahead of Shanks or Forrest to ensure plenty of dig in the first phase of the game in the 343 either. 

In a massively controversial post i dont disagree with that sentiment but if its that shape and we want Boyces dig, its Bazza who drops out for me. Oooft!

 

Forrest is a wee terrier who will get in their nervy defenders faces while try the Beckenbauer routine.

 

Not advocating this just saying!

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11 hours ago, Tom Hardy’s Dug said:


Dont believe this. 
 

A well intended story to protect Natty. 
 

For example he pretended to have a leg injury when he knew he was being subbed.

 

We couldn’t have known Edward’s would have been as shit hot. When we did we changed it.

Or he looked shit hot because Natty was ill. He didn’t do much once Smith went there. 

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Is Kingsley available? I noticed someone said he’d been training but didn’t appear to be in the video Harry’s released earlier in the week. 

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Popped over to .net to see what they’re saying about the derby, one thread about the ref that’s it? Are they not allowed to talk about it🤷‍♂️

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15 hours ago, CMc said:


Smith’s positioning, off the ball runs and leadership from RB were part of what turned the game on Saturday. 
(Along with possibly him not slowing things down in midfield TBF). 
 

He was way better than Nat in the 343 last game. (Was Atkinson carrying a knock?). 

 

Robbie said after the game that Atkinson had been feeling unwell during the week and during the game which he says is why he took him off.

 

I tend to think Robbie was being kind to him by saying that because he was having a nightmare and their winger was running rings round him.

 

We were much better once Smith moved there.

 

Have to agree with your thoughts which beggars the question is Atkinson good enough defensively against teams that have decent left sided players to start ahead of Smith.

 

I know after we signed Atkinson Robbie said that he hadn't wanted to play him as much as he did  but the injury to Smith forced him to play him.

 

The jury is still out for me on him. I think he has some decent forward runs at times but does tend to get caught with the ball and as we have seen he can be a bit of a bombscare defensively.

 

He is still fairly young and will improve but I am not sure he is ready to be our first choice just yet.

Edited by wavydavy
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Pasquale for King
2 hours ago, karipidis said:

Or he looked shit hot because Natty was ill. He didn’t do much once Smith went there. 

I think it was more after Sibbick gave him a kick, it eventually forced him off. 

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LogicalEric

As long as we start how we played in the 2nd half against County we should control the game and get the fans on their backs early doors.

 

Can't afford to start the game as passively as we did last Saturday.

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Tynecastlesmychurch

If were at our best we win. Not even slightly bothered, nervous or worried about this game. The h1b5 are due a damn good derby thrashing! :flag1:

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3 hours ago, Rudy T said:

Popped over to .net to see what they’re saying about the derby, one thread about the ref that’s it? Are they not allowed to talk about it🤷‍♂️


I see Hibs fans are doing this weird new thing where they claim the derby isn’t the be all and end all. Somehow a Hearts inferiority complex that we tend to judge players, managers, seasons etc by how the derbies have gone.

 

I wonder if this new attitude has anything to do with the fact that we’ve beaten them to the brink of irrelevance? They’ve finally realised that there’s no point trying to match us on the football pitch so the best thing to do is laugh at us... for constantly beating them! Got to love them. 

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23 minutes ago, RDSK said:


I see Hibs fans are doing this weird new thing where they claim the derby isn’t the be all and end all. Somehow a Hearts inferiority complex that we tend to judge players, managers, seasons etc by how the derbies have gone.

 

I wonder if this new attitude has anything to do with the fact that we’ve beaten them to the brink of irrelevance? They’ve finally realised that there’s no point trying to match us on the football pitch so the best thing to do is laugh at us... for constantly beating them! Got to love them. 

Derby isn’t the be all & end all yet they celebrate 0-0 draws like a win & wins like they’ve won the World Cup.

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11 hours ago, SpruceBringsteen said:

I'm 45 years old. I've had - literally - 40 years of beefing the vermin into oblivion. 

 

Probably not even going to get out of bed for this one. 3 or 4 nil as per.


:rofl: 

 

I agree we are going to totally pagger them 

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After the last game having Halliday starting may be a great tactic. He’ll get booked so needs subbed second half. However, will have wound them up completely and may also have got a goal!! 

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See they've annouced a total sellout for the game. Wonder how many will be dressed as seats!

Hate to say it but I think it will be a tough game. Hope I'm wrong and shankland sticks a hatrick and Halliday gets a goal purely for the seethe fest it'll create :)

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4 hours ago, wavydavy said:

 

Robbie said after the game that Atkinson had been feeling unwell during the week and during the game which he says is why he took him off.

 

I tend to think Robbie was being kind to him by saying that because he was having a nightmare and their winger was running rings round him.

 

We were much better once Smith moved there.

 

Have to agree with your thoughts which beggars the question is Atkinson good enough defensively against teams that have decent left sided players to start ahead of Smith.

 

I know after we signed Atkinson Robbie said that he hadn't wanted to play him as much as he did  but the injury to Smith forced him to play him.

 

The jury is still out for me on him. I think he has some decent forward runs at times but does tend to get caught with the ball and as we have seen he can be a bit of a bombscare defensively.

 

He is still fairly young and will improve but I am not sure he is ready to be our first choice just yet.


Atkinson is still pretty new to the team and will no doubt get better. Halkett, Kingsley and Cochrane have all improved with us and are playing the best football of their careers. Souttar progressed hugely in his defending with us. We seem to improve defenders. 
 

Nat has excellent athleticism and carries the ball well. I think he is a real confidence player however and can start to panic a bit when things don’t go his way. His stats for unsuccessful touches and being dispossessed are quite high. I suspect these came in clusters over the course of the season. We saw a bit of this on Saturday when a couple of dodgy moments seemed to have a domino effect on his subsequent decision making. Composure, confidence and decision making should improve as he continues to bed in this season.
 

Increased confidence would also help his distribution IMO. He hits long passes more than he crosses and doesn’t beat his man all that often. He has the technical skills to do these things. He just seems to hold back in some games. 
 

I think a bit of careful gym work would also help him. If he was a wee touch stronger and more explosive, I think he would have more success in both attack and defence. He’s just turned 23, so this is often the time players add a bit more muscle. If he can do so without weighing himself down, I think we would see the benefit. 
 

I think time and good coaching will round him out into a good player for us. In the meantime, having Mikey Smith as the experienced Mr Consistent is a very good balance to the slightly raw and inconsistent talent of Atkinson. Them fighting for the jersey will do neither any harm. 

Edited by CMc
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16 minutes ago, CMc said:


Atkinson is still pretty new to the team and will no doubt get better. Halkett, Kingsley and Cochrane have all improved with us and are playing the best football of their careers. Souttar progressed hugely in his defending with us. We seem to improve defenders. 
 

Nat has excellent athleticism and carries the ball well. I think he is a real confidence player however and can start to panic a bit when things don’t go his way. His stats for unsuccessful touches and being dispossessed are quite high. I suspect these came in clusters over the course of the season. We saw a bit of this on Saturday when a couple of dodgy moments seemed to have a domino effect on his subsequent decision making. Composure, confidence and decision making should improve as he continues to bed in this season.
 

Increased confidence would also help his distribution IMO. He hits long passes more than he crosses and doesn’t beat his man all that often. He has the technical skills to do these things. He just seems to hold back in some games. 
 

I think a bit of careful gym work would also help him. If he was a wee touch stronger and more explosive, I think he would have more success in both attack and defence. He’s just turned 23, so this is often the time players add a bit more muscle. If he can do so without weighing himself down, I think we would see the benefit. 
 

I think time and good coaching will round him out into a good player for us. In the meantime, having Mikey Smith as the experienced Mr Consistent is a very good balance to the slightly raw and inconsistent talent of Atkinson. Them fighting for the jersey will do neither any harm. 

 

Can't really disagree with any of what you say. I have a feeling he might not play on Sunday.

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A_A wehatethehibs

Just seen McAnus with a classic old chestnut “all the pressure is on Hearts”
 

Ok you keep losing pal keep putting more pressure on us 👍😂

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20 minutes ago, Baxfee said:

Hibees very confident about Sunday - I love it when they are 👍


They are indeed.
 

I was driving down south with a Hibs supporting colleague earlier in the week. We listened to various Hearts/Hibs podcasts on the way. A Hibs one (can’t remember the name) was hilarious. Apparently we are MUCH weaker than last season and will do what we always do and hoof it up the park 🤣. They said all they need to do is concentrate on their ‘one touch, fast pace football’ and they’ll beat us no problem.

 

These guys are seriously deluded and need to seek professional help. 

Edited by DS98
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26 minutes ago, Baxfee said:

Hibees very confident about Sunday - I love it when they are 👍

It's seldom good for them when they are confident.

 

Long may that continue. 👍

 

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I don’t think I’ve been this confident of a derby win since around the 5-1 era.


We are so far ahead of them in every department. Usually you’d say if both teams play to 100% then Hearts would win. I’d go as far as saying even if we turn up and play to 75% then Hibs don’t have a chance. No matter what they do. 
 

Just look at Saturday for example. We were playing a team who are better than Hibs, backed up by their league position last season and league cup results this year. To say we played within ourselves is an understatement but we still won because we simply had better players. We’ve seen it with the OF for years.  
 

There’s no danger Hibs would score the goals we did on Saturday as they don’t have the capability, either individually or as a team.

 

Get at them from the start. Boyce, McKay, Forrest and Shankland on the pitch and we’ll skoosh it by 2 or 3. If we approach the game with a slightly negative 3-4-3 I’m still going for a narrow victory.

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Bazzas right boot

Get a win, any win as I'm not sure it will be as easy as many think ( very few games, especially away games are) and we'll be 2 points better off than last season already. 

 

They'll come out, run about like arseholes, kick our players (esp Forrest and McKay), their fans will cheer every punt, tackle and corner while singing their dirge.

All we néed do is defend well, keep the heed and when we get the ball use it properly.

We'll eventually control he game as they resort to punt and chase. 

 

Do that and we'll create chances, take them and we'll win. 

 

 

Edited by Bazzas right boot
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I think if we go down and start the game correctly we'll win. But too often we don't down there and it allows them to get the fans onside and gives them a lift.

 

I think we are better than them in nearly every department but it's pretty rare to go to any top flight away ground and win comfortably.

 

Just once I'd like to go down there and set the tempo. Get the first shot away, get the first tackle in. Get them on the backfoot from the get go.

 

I think we'll win, but I can see it being tight. 

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They are very confident. Especially as Kingsley appears to maybe out for it. In my work they are absolutely convinced. I just smile. They call me arrogant. 
Best thing for us is to score early and shut them up. Which I expect to happen
 

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Unknown user
22 minutes ago, 1971fozzy said:

They are very confident. Especially as Kingsley appears to maybe out for it. In my work they are absolutely convinced. I just smile. They call me arrogant. 
Best thing for us is to score early and shut them up. Which I expect to happen
 

 

When it comes to hibs, arrogance is entirely appropriate

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highlandjambo3
2 hours ago, A_A wehatethehibs said:

Just seen McAnus with a classic old chestnut “all the pressure is on Hearts”
 

Ok you keep losing pal keep putting more pressure on us 👍😂

That trumpet will never learn………..codpiece 

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4 hours ago, A_A wehatethehibs said:

Just seen McAnus with a classic old chestnut “all the pressure is on Hearts”
 

Ok you keep losing pal keep putting more pressure on us 👍😂


So is he saying there’s no pressure on Hibs? No pressure to win a derby a couple of weeks after being punted out the cup before we’re even in it? With a trip to Livi followed by Rangers to come next. If there’s no pressure on them then he’s as good as saying they’re dug meat and there’s no expectations on them other than to stay in the league. He’s right though there’s pressure on Hearts because we demand we win these games and to finish in the top 3. 

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I would like to see Devlin in for Haring , purely on that he will be up and in their faces from the off , which would certainly unsettle them. There will be a lot of them in green playing in their derby in front of a full stadium .

 

This has the makings of a great game for us if we get the line up and tempo correct from the start 

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10 minutes ago, fila said:

I would like to see Devlin in for Haring , purely on that he will be up and in their faces from the off , which would certainly unsettle them. There will be a lot of them in green playing in their derby in front of a full stadium .

 

This has the makings of a great game for us if we get the line up and tempo correct from the start 

For me, aye.  Tempo comes from , not just courage, but pace and players that can take the ball quickly and on the turn. 
 

Haring is far too slow for me and already showed signs last week that when the game is more intense, he’s caught on the ball.  
 

Experience too and the ability to hold the ball and feed our creative players is key.  I wouldn’t mind seeing Boyce ahead of Devlin and Grant.  Boycie looked like he had the bit between his teeth when he came on last week.
 

Looked sharper, was getting himself tight on defenders and bustling them into fouls. 
 

Maybe the arrival of Shankland has given him a jag?  Many agree he’s looked better in that area just off the striker and I wonder if that’s where we need him to link with the midfield and our front 3?

Edited by Debut 4
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Unfortunately I’m far more ITK when it comes to the goings on across the city than I am this side.

 

The Portuguese FA have notified Hibs that Jair Tavares has to serve a suspension this weekend and is therefore out of the derby. 

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Ricardo Quaresma
2 minutes ago, RDSK said:

Unfortunately I’m far more ITK when it comes to the goings on across the city than I am this side.

 

The Portuguese FA have notified Hibs that Jair Tavares has to serve a suspension this weekend and is therefore out of the derby. 

 

Hasn't he played already?

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Nothing makes me happier than scudding Hibs at every opportunity, but I’d happily take a 1-0 win everytime. We need to be positive & in their faces from the off

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1 hour ago, mcdougg said:

Nothing makes me happier than scudding Hibs at every opportunity, but I’d happily take a 1-0 win everytime. We need to be positive & in their faces from the off

Hmmmm. I think we’ll play ourselves in cautiously for 10-15 minutes. We do that a lot. Then all being well and confident we’ve got this, we’ll crank it up And see if they can handle it. We go in 1-0 up at half time. They have a spell we deal with. They get frustrated and out of shape and undisciplined and we put another couple past them

late on when we’ve got the team on the park who actually should have started (jokin 👍 Okay)

 

3-0 or 3-1 Hearts.

Edited by JimmyCant
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Ricardo Quaresma

Reckon it will be constant one-way traffic for the full game

 

They will have 2 sub-5-minute spells maximum

 

 

-

Edited by Ricardo Quaresma
typo
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Alec Eiffel

 Spare a thought for me, guys.   They have me in an isolation room at St John's Hospital with a nasty allergic reaction to antibiotics.  As it stands, no means to see the game.  Only option will be to follow through JKB.  Will catch up in due course.

 

HHGH

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Ricardo Quaresma
1 minute ago, Alec Eiffel said:

 Spare a thought for me, guys.   They have me in an isolation room at St John's Hospital with a nasty allergic reaction to antibiotics.  As it stands, no means to see the game.  Only option will be to follow through JKB.  Will catch up in due course.

 

HHGH

 

No Hearts TV? If you can get on here, you can at least watch on phone, no?

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Wonder how many fouls Joe Newell gets away with this time. Cant remember if he eventually got a booking in our last game at Tynecastle or not. The amount free kicks he gave us without a booking was at leaat 5

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Captain Sausage

No chance we win 3 or 4-0. When was the last time we had a runaway away win in the league?

 

We are a better team. They are at home. 1-1 or 2-1 us. 

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This might be "disrespectful", but I had to Google Graham Mitchell to see who he was. 

 

The following is from today's daily record. 

 

Graham Mitchell believes Record Sport's Ryan Stevenson has scored the biggest own-goal since Craig Levein claimed to have restored natural order at Hearts.

The Easter Road legend has hit back at the former Gorgie star for claiming the Jambos are now bigger than Sunday’s Edinburgh derby and believes the comment will bite him on the backside just as it did with the ex-Tynecastle boss. Stevenson also insists Robbie Neilson's side are on a different level from their city rivals and should routinely be taking care of a team which finished bottom six last term ahead of Sunday's first collision of the season in Leith.

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1 minute ago, Ski Nae said:

This might be "disrespectful", but I had to Google Graham Mitchell to see who he was. 

 

The following is from today's daily record. 

 

Graham Mitchell believes Record Sport's Ryan Stevenson has scored the biggest own-goal since Craig Levein claimed to have restored natural order at Hearts.

The Easter Road legend has hit back at the former Gorgie star for claiming the Jambos are now bigger than Sunday’s Edinburgh derby and believes the comment will bite him on the backside just as it did with the ex-Tynecastle boss. Stevenson also insists Robbie Neilson's side are on a different level from their city rivals and should routinely be taking care of a team which finished bottom six last term ahead of Sunday's first collision of the season in Leith.

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ryan-stevenson-branded-disrespectful-hibs-27660194

 

Here's the link if anyone's bothered. 

 

FTH

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Absolute Scenes

Neilson article saying Kingsley hasn’t trained this week but hasn’t ruled him out altogether. Still says touch and go rather than saying he’s out so still hopeful he can make it. Devlin and Gino back in contention too

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