*** Official Livingston v Heart Of Midlothian thread ***

[JimmyCant]

5 minutes ago, Victorian said:

Go out with a plan to win the game of course.  A win for us puts a big dent in their challenge for 3rd.  But nobody should be under any illusions whatsoever that a draw is not a decent result.  They are decent,  well organised and bloody difficult opponents.  

 

Size of club,  support,  turnover does not win games vs stubbornly effective teams like them.

Their challenge for 3rd ? They got thrashed at Easter Road 3 weeks ago. They just happen to be 4th at the moment.That’s all this is. A poor team getting slightly better outcomes than the other poor teams for the moment

[Tynecastle Valhalla]

Robbie will be tempted to keep the same starting 11.

 

…..but this is a different type of game - we need to learn from the draw at tynecastle and also cater for the Astro pitch.

 

…i think a back four is appropriate with attacking full backs. A solid two in the middle for physicality and to win the ball and an attacking centre mid to link the play.

 

Fast wingers and a poacher up top.

 

my team:

 

Zander

 

Atkinson

Sibbick

Rowles

Kingsley

 

Kio

Devlin

 

Ginnelly 

Grant

Kuol

 

Shankland

 

we would then have quality on the bench like Humps / Mckay / Snodgrass to come on and create or score goals in the last 25 mins.

 

Give Cochrane and Smith a rest. Hill has been outstanding but misses out due to the formation.

 

 

 

 

[JimmyCant]

1 minute ago, GinRummy said:

Don't think the side will change much. I'd be tempted to start Humphrys though. Be a tough game this. 0-1 Hearts.

We up our performance levels a notch and we’re taking 6 off this mob.

[GBJambo]

I’m sure Robbie has figured out how to beat them. 
 

They aren’t as good a side as people are making out.  They got hammered by Hibs ffs 

 

We have a much better defence than last time plus we are scoring goals 

[Dazo]

7 minutes ago, JimmyCant said:

Their challenge for 3rd ? They got thrashed at Easter Road 3 weeks ago. They just happen to be 4th at the moment.That’s all this is. A poor team getting slightly better outcomes than the other poor teams for the moment

Down to 10 men after 15 mins. We should beat them but their pitch is horrible and shouldn’t underestimated based on a result with a man down. 

Edited January 24, 2023 by Dazo

[The Apprentice]

2 minutes ago, GBJambo said:

I’m sure Robbie has figured out how to beat them. 
 

They aren’t as good a side as people are making out.  They got hammered by Hibs ffs 

 

We have a much better defence than last time plus we are scoring goals 

In fairness they were yet another victim of getting a player sent off against Hibs allowing them to win the game (we all know Hibs struggle against 11 men!).  I do fancy us in this one and personally I'd be resisting the temptation to make too many changes as some are suggesting.  The team is in a good place at the moment.

[jamdunc]

11 minutes ago, JimmyCant said:

Their challenge for 3rd ? They got thrashed at Easter Road 3 weeks ago. They just happen to be 4th at the moment.That’s all this is. A poor team getting slightly better outcomes than the other poor teams for the moment

Whoever is 4th is our challenger for third for me. The humping at easter rd was because they had a man sent off early doors. 

Edited January 24, 2023 by jamdunc

[jamboozy]

That pitch is their 12th man, I just despise these so called ‘ All weather’ pitches.

              As an aside, I think that pitch is probably the cause for Halks getting so many injuries, due to him having come from Livvy to us. All this is just my opinion of course.

[jock _turd]

Playing on that excuse for a football pitch is always going to be difficult for football players but their hatchet men will be right at home on it though so I think we are in for a hard game I would take a draw to be honest.

[Victorian]

Frightening complacency and a smidge of arrogance going on.  

 

Plan to win.  Try to win.  Win if you can.  Draw if you can't win.  Look back and accept it as a reasonable result against what will be a top 6 side and credible top 3/4 challenger.

 

 

[GinRummy]

41 minutes ago, JimmyCant said:

We up our performance levels a notch and we’re taking 6 off this mob.

Hope so Jimmy. We certainly have confidence and momentum going into the game so you never know. 

[maybolejambo]

I would start forrest he is used to that monstrosity of a pitch

[jackal]

Livi are a hard team to beat at home and the pitch is an issue but at least the pitch is flat unlike the tattie field we just played on. 

Not sure if I imagine it or not but long balls on that pitch for the 1st bounce it holds up slightly then 2nd bounce is more like a normal pitch. Stupid things like that must give an advantage of you play on it all the time. 

Main problem is injuries because of the pitch. 

Edited January 24, 2023 by jackal

[Armageddon]

3-0 Livi, all 3 goals in the first 15 minutes.

[His name is]

Does anyone know how many tickets we've sold? Section X is currently available on the Hearts ticket page, does this mean we have sold out the East stand with the North stand still potentially to be opened?

[hisnameis]

I think we need an improved performance on our last couple of away outings. Feel like we have been riding our luck a bit and don't like the way we rely so heavily on the defence .Would like to see us bolster the midfield. Perhaps rest Snodric who has played in every game recently. I could not believe that we came out in the second half at ER with the same team and formation that had struggled so much in the first half, albeit holding a one goal lead. Grant has done well when coming on recently and McKay has been off it in the away games. Would prefer to see Humphrys up front instead of Ginelly as I think he is better at holding up play and also offers an ariel threat. Despite not being as quick as Gino he is still reasonably rapid. 

[Watt-Zeefuik]

We're in fine fettle at the moment. 2-0.

[JimmyCant]

1 hour ago, Victorian said:

Frightening complacency and a smidge of arrogance going on.  

 

Plan to win.  Try to win.  Win if you can.  Draw if you can't win.  Look back and accept it as a reasonable result against what will be a top 6 side and credible top 3/4 challenger.

 

 

This is turning into a carbon copy of last season. None of the teams below us are ‘good’ and any one of them could finish, in our wake,anywhere between 4th and 10th. It doesn’t  affect us and we ought to be aiming to dispose of them almost every time we play them, home or away, bar the odd hiccup. That’s how you get closer to the OF and as long as we see drawing at Livingston as being ‘reasonable’ we won’t get any closer. 

Edited January 24, 2023 by JimmyCant

[Captain Sausage]

2 hours ago, JimmyCant said:

I knew it wouldn’t be long before someone said ‘take a draw’ we need to change that mentality if we’re going to get closer to the OF and we’ve already got 4 or 5 posters taking the draw before we’ve even started

 

A draw at Livingston is and always will be and always has been 2 points dropped and a poor result

 

Where else do yous want to ‘take a draw’ Easter Rd ? Pittodrie? Perth ? Paisley ? Kilmarnock ? Dundee ? That’s a lot of dropped points right there

The mentality is based entirely in logic. We are not competing with the old firm this season. Our wage budget is a fraction of the OFs. 
 

We need to consolidate third place / cup final vs old firm and scoop up the guaranteed Euro run next season for two reasons:

- it pulls us closer to the Old Firm and away from the pack

- it stops a rival from closing the gap to us

 

To do so, we simply need to maintain our gap from fourth place. A draw away, at a difficult ground for all teams in the league, does that. 
 

Going into every game claiming we will win is not grounded in reality. It’s that lack of nuance that marks out people who lack any critical thinking skills. 

 

We simply need to drop less points than our rivals for third place between now and the end of the season. Simple. 

[AlphonseCapone]

Would take a draw but I'm quietly optimistic for more. 

Edited January 24, 2023 by AlphonseCapone

[SectionN]

Many tickets we sold roughly? 

[PapaShango]

2 hours ago, Tynecastle Valhalla said:

Robbie will be tempted to keep the same starting 11.

 

…..but this is a different type of game - we need to learn from the draw at tynecastle and also cater for the Astro pitch.

 

…i think a back four is appropriate with attacking full backs. A solid two in the middle for physicality and to win the ball and an attacking centre mid to link the play.

 

Fast wingers and a poacher up top.

 

my team:

 

Zander

 

Atkinson

Sibbick

Rowles

Kingsley

 

Kio

Devlin

 

Ginnelly 

Grant

Kuol

 

Shankland

 

we would then have quality on the bench like Humps / Mckay / Snodgrass to come on and create or score goals in the last 25 mins.

 

Give Cochrane and Smith a rest. Hill has been outstanding but misses out due to the formation.

 

 

 

 

Thankfully Robbie will see sense and not be leaving Snodgrass out, he's the key to how we play and dictates everything from the middle of the park. Replacing him with Kio is just asking for trouble. We need to pass the ball well on that surface and Snodgrass is the best player in the side for moving it, would be madness if we left him out. 

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

Muir is the referee, fusspot on a poor pitch, not expecting a classic, it will be a grind, however, it will be better than the 2 previous games this season, we know what to expect

[LochcarronJambo]

30 minutes ago, PapaShango said:

Thankfully Robbie will see sense and not be leaving Snodgrass out, he's the key to how we play and dictates everything from the middle of the park. Replacing him with Kio is just asking for trouble. We need to pass the ball well on that surface and Snodgrass is the best player in the side for moving it, would be madness if we left him out. 

I agree, Snoddy been fulcrum of our play, has to be in the team…I do hate that pitch tho & Livingston are really well organised so be chuffed with a 1 goal win & that would be a really good result, however, going to be a tough game for us

[PapaShango]

5 minutes ago, Lord Beni of Gorgie said:

Muir is the referee, fusspot on a poor pitch, not expecting a classic, it will be a grind, however, it will be better than the 2 previous games this season, we know what to expect

When we played there earlier in the season it was probably one of the poorest performances we had put in. Robbie changed the starting 11 by a good few players, Humphrys played from the start and we just couldn't get going to the entire match. Hopefully we come out the blocks fast and assert ourselves on them. If you let them get in front and a foothold in the game they can be massively frustrating to break down. 

[Riccarton3]

343 again. Usual suspects with changes made in second half to consolidate or to change it up/change the pattern.

[Italian Lambretta]

Jorge Grant for McKay would be the only change I would make

[Chillidigits]

Wonder if Robbie asks his players how they feel about playing on these surfaces. I'd like to think that he knows from previous experience which players adapt to it better than others and that his team selection will take that into consideration. Same attention to detail also needed for the Hamilton game IMO.

[Armageddon]

1 hour ago, SectionN said:

Many tickets we sold roughly? 

 

[Cruyff]

                     Clark 

           Hill Sibbick Rowles 

Atkinson                           Kingsley

               Devlin Snodric  

       Shanks                   Grant 

                  Humphrys 

 

Tough yin. I think Robbie will play the same side but if not I'd rotate a little bit, give some a rest and others a start. 

 

The pitch is an advantage to them but even more so as Livi are decent. I'd take a point right now tbh. I don't think it'll be pretty. 

[Kiwidoug]

Just a bit bit of really good news and in my experience that's like a winning streak at the races.  Makes me certain that Livingston are heading for a defeat.

 

Bring them on.  

[MarkDevriesScores4]

2023 and we still have plastic pitches in the top flight of Scottish football. It’s embarrassing. 
 

might not be great for Snods knees but fairly certain the rest should be ok. 

[Ked]

The next two games are tougher than the previous two.

One game at a time.

Start if possible the winning line up.

But given the surface, humpreys for shankland,Halliday for Snodgrass, Forest for Ginnelly. 

Narrow win .

 

[jambo mark]

Same line up as last two games, but I can’t see 1-2 changes at most. I know it’s a squad game for us now, but we need to keep the majority of a winning team on the park. 
 

My guess would be Grant for McKay (form) and Kingsley for Cochrane (rest).

[davie1980]

I'm feeling quite optimistic that this isn't the bananaskin to upset our recent form.

 

Going 3-1 with us looking the better side anaw

[Pasquale for King]

Difficult game, i think we mightve just edged them for the most amount of points earned in 2022. 
 They stopped us from playing last time, Omeonga marked Snodgrass well and we might need to change something to get the better of them. 
Im sure we will take 4-5k through there and roar us onto victory. 

[Unknown user]

I'm sure this has been posted already, but here's behind the scenes audio at Livi

 

https://fb.watch/igg4abiGE_/

 

When you see the size of his players too!

[Notts1874]

3 minutes ago, Smithee said:

I'm sure this has been posted already, but here's behind the scenes audio at Livi

 

https://fb.watch/igg4abiGE_/

 

When you see the size of his players too!

I wouldn't argue with Martindale, he's been there and done that 😎

[Unknown user]

26 minutes ago, Notts1874 said:

I wouldn't argue with Martindale, he's been there and done that 😎

And lots of it! 

I certainly wouldn't want him to think I'd been a bit passive in possession 😬

[Watt-Zeefuik]

I think we can win and that we will win but I would also not start a single player who had a gimpy knee or ankle of any kind.

[ri Alban]

More confident about beating Rangers, but beating Livingston is more important. I know we've just pumped Hibs and Aberdeen, but we need to play a bit better or someone will punish us.

[i wish jj was my dad]

17 hours ago, JimmyCant said:

This is turning into a carbon copy of last season. None of the teams below us are ‘good’ and any one of them could finish, in our wake,anywhere between 4th and 10th. It doesn’t  affect us and we ought to be aiming to dispose of them almost every time we play them, home or away, bar the odd hiccup. That’s how you get closer to the OF and as long as we see drawing at Livingston as being ‘reasonable’ we won’t get any closer. 

You must have a pretty glum life with that outlook. Our form since the break has been excellent  Being able to play actual central defenders has made us more secure at the back and allowed the rest of the players to play their own game which is the reason we are turning over other teams. 

[GinRummy]

19 hours ago, JimmyCant said:

This is turning into a carbon copy of last season. None of the teams below us are ‘good’ and any one of them could finish, in our wake,anywhere between 4th and 10th. It doesn’t  affect us and we ought to be aiming to dispose of them almost every time we play them, home or away, bar the odd hiccup. That’s how you get closer to the OF and as long as we see drawing at Livingston as being ‘reasonable’ we won’t get any closer. 

Like it or not it's currently the hardest away fixture outside the OF. I'm never happy if we draw against the lesser clubs but given our league position and previous results against them this season I'd take it.

[JimmyCant]

2 hours ago, i wish jj was my dad said:

You must have a pretty glum life with that outlook. Our form since the break has been excellent  Being able to play actual central defenders has made us more secure at the back and allowed the rest of the players to play their own game which is the reason we are turning over other teams. 

Agreed. So we ought to be beating Livingston then. yes ?

[i wish jj was my dad]

1 minute ago, JimmyCant said:

Agreed. So we ought to be beating Livingston then. yes ?

I would expect so but football results don't go in straight lines. Anything can happen on the day especially against a stuffy side lime them. I won't lose my shit if that happens. 

[JimmyCant]

33 minutes ago, GinRummy said:

Like it or not it's currently the hardest away fixture outside the OF. I'm never happy if we draw against the lesser clubs but given our league position and previous results against them this season I'd take it.

What’s the key to winning this league or challenging for it ? Not this season obviously but in the future ?

 

You just need to look at how Rangers and Celtic win it or end up so far ahead of the rest and it’s because they rarely drop anything to ‘the rest’

 

Either of them could win the league without winning a single Old Firm game, as long as they’ve dropped very little to ‘the rest’ they will be there or thereabouts. And if you’re that good a team that you can beat ‘the rest’ very consistently you will naturally take a share of points from the other  contenders for the title (Celtic and Rangers)

 

Look we’re not quite there yet but that’s what we should be building towards if we want to challenge. A team that goes to Livingston Paisley Kilmarnock etc etc and wins most of the time. That’s possible. It’s not a stretch and we’re building a team that COULD get to that situation.

 

Okay, this season, a draw or even a loss on Sunday won’t really damage us but in the scheme of things and in the future,for a team that wants to challenge, it’s not a good result. Celtic or Rangers have half a dozen draws to teams like that over a season and they’re not winning it. In fact they’re going to be miles behind the other.

 

Its not about beating Celtic and Rangers head to head, although it certainly helps if you are more or less splitting the points with them, maybe beating them at home once or twice would probably be enough if you’ve gone through the rest of the card sweeping ‘the rest’ aside

 

We need to stop thinking a draw at Livingston is a good result. And by ‘we’ I mean the club as a whole, the coaching staff , the players, the fan base. For a team looking to mount a challenge anytime soon , it simply isn’t.

Edited January 25, 2023 by JimmyCant

[Fozzyonthefence]

12 minutes ago, JimmyCant said:

Agreed. So we ought to be beating Livingston then. yes ?

Rangers and Celtic always struggle there so why do you expect a weaker team to go there and turn them over?  We might go there and scrape a win, we’re just as likely to lose.  We’re on a very good run but let’s not pretend we’re playing well - even the players and manager acknowledge that.  The difference is we can play 3 centre backs again and we’re much better organised / hard to beat and pretty clinical at the other end which is a good combination.

 

The only prediction I’m making is this will be a shit game on a shit pitch. 

[LochcarronJambo]

8 minutes ago, JimmyCant said:

What’s the key to winning this league or challenging for it ? Not this season obviously but in the future ?

 

You just need to look at how Rangers and Celtic win it or end up so far ahead of the rest and it’s because they rarely drop anything to ‘the rest’

 

Either of them could win the league without winning a single Old Firm game, as long as they’ve dropped very little to ‘the rest’ they will be there or thereabouts. And if you’re that good a team that you can beat ‘the rest’ very consistently you will naturally take a share of points from the other  contenders for the title (Celtic and Rangers)

 

Look we’re not quite there yet but that’s what we should be building towards if we want to challenge. A team that goes to Livingston Paisley Kilmarnock etc etc and wins most of the time. That’s possible. It’s not a stretch and we’re building a team that COULD get to that situation.

 

Okay, this season, a draw or even a loss on Sunday won’t really damage us but in the scheme of things and in the future,for a team that wants to challenge, it’s not a good result. Celtic or Rangers have half a dozen draws to teams like that over a season and they’re not winning it. In fact they’re going to be miles behind the other.

 

Its not about beating Celtic and Rangers head to head, although it certainly helps if you are more or less splitting the points with them, maybe beating them at home once or twice would probably be enough if you’ve gone through the rest of the card sweeping ‘the rest’ aside

 

We need to stop thinking a draw at Livingston is a good result. For a team looking to mount a challenge anytime soon , it simply isn’t.

Good post

[Pans Jambo]

Narrow win for Hearts.

 

Livi are no mugs. They are well drilled and like to close teams down so we wont have much time on the ball.

Lets face it, they're cloggers. And that "pitch" 

Think we have enough about us to get the 3 points. I'm going 2 -0. Another clean sheet.

 

If you are Livingston and see that Hearts have just won their last 2 games 5-0 and 3-0 what would you do? Man mark, park the bus and try and hit us on the break. It wont be pretty.

Edited January 25, 2023 by Pans Jambo

[Sub4TiddlerMurray]

39 minutes ago, Pans Jambo said:

 

If you are Livingston and see that Hearts have just won their last 2 games 5-0 and 3-0 what would you do? Man mark, park the bus and try and hit us on the break. It wont be pretty.

Martindale loves the low block