Neilson crisis meeting ( merged )

[Pasquale for King]

4 minutes ago, BlueRiver said:

 

My bad thought you meant after games! 

 

Aw definitely agree we no doubt have miles to go. Look at the nick of most Scottish players before and then after they go down south and you can see the difference. 

 

My standout memories of when Hearts played both Liverpool and Spurs was the sheer size disparity in the players and the fitness level difference. To me there's no reason any pro club can't aspire to improve those areas and we certainly need to. 

Definitely. Spurs especially were so strong, Zal bounced off Defoe for example. Even in Europe this season they were much faster and stronger. 

[Bob Loblaw]

3 minutes ago, BlueRiver said:

 

When was the last time we scored a header? Sure there's been one since but Rowles injury start of season is all I can pull out 🤣

Gino scored one against Celtic just the other week. Halliday got a couple as well. 

 

In general I agree with the point tbf, we don't attack them enough but there have been a few since Rowles one.

[soonbe110]

3 minutes ago, Robbies Tackle said:

 

Where did he earn it?  One good game?  Better defenders sitting on the bench?   Hill shouldn't be starting regardless as he is not good enough.

 

Halket was injured well before January, the signings in the window have been totally dreadful.   In fact same with the summer Shankland aside and last January Simms aside.

He clearly earned it playing for Bournemouth u23’s when our recruitment guys watched him.  He was also a regular on the Bournemouth first team bench. He signed for us and went straight into the first team. I agree he doesn’t look like he is good enough but would like decide after seeing him play a few games in a four. 
 

Think you and I are on the same page re quality of recruitment. Not sure why you think it’s just the manager to blame for current situation though. 

[Pasquale for King]

5 minutes ago, BlueRiver said:

 

When was the last time we scored a header? Sure there's been one since but Rowles injury start of season is all I can pull out 🤣

Halliday up at RC, we scored off one against Aberdeen that they knocked towards goal and a handball the same game. The average seems to be 2-3 for every 100 corners so we must be well below average. 
Need to do something different against Killie. 

[soonbe110]

5 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Edina Hobos, flying LW who could cross and head the ball, moved back to CH and gave up when I was 12. Thats why I thought it was easy 🤷🏾‍♂️. Rowles has said he needs to bulk up, as for Atkinson well done them for pointing out his many faults. 

😂😂😂😂

 

Just a pity Nat doesn’t accept criticism, hence why he is out in the cold. 

[soonbe110]

1 minute ago, Pasquale for King said:

Halliday up at RC, we scored off one against Aberdeen that they knocked towards goal and a handball the same game. The average seems to be 2-3 for every 100 corners so we must be well below average. 
Need to do something different against Killie. 

We got rid of our set-piece maestro. He is still working wonders at Villa though. Some cracking set-piece moves this season. Only thing I watch their games on MOTD for. 

[Pasquale for King]

11 minutes ago, soonbe110 said:

Not sure what your posts says but I was clearly referring to best outfield player. Just an opinion. 

Stats were worse than Halkett and Kingsley, Beni, Devlin and Boyce contributed more also. 

[Naisys Tackle]

5 minutes ago, soonbe110 said:

He clearly earned it playing for Bournemouth u23’s when our recruitment guys watched him.  He was also a regular on the Bournemouth first team bench. He signed for us and went straight into the first team. I agree he doesn’t look like he is good enough but would like decide after seeing him play a few games in a four. 
 

Think you and I are on the same page re quality of recruitment. Not sure why you think it’s just the manager to blame for current situation though. 

Fair enough, get you now.

 

I don't just blame the manager mate but he shoots himself in the foot with a lot of selections and decisions.

[BlueRiver]

21 minutes ago, Bob Loblaw said:

Gino scored one against Celtic just the other week. Halliday got a couple as well. 

 

In general I agree with the point tbf, we don't attack them enough but there have been a few since Rowles one.

 

Fair I was sure there had been but just couldn't think of them.

[mitch41]

3 hours ago, Bazzas right boot said:

 

 

Or schoosh 3rd like last season and have still have the rabids on his back at the first sign of trouble. 

I have seen it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robbie Neilson is out of his depth at Hearts. He’s not good enough. Hello is there anything between your ears that maybe recognise that or are you a hopeless case. 
I want to operate because I can’t believe there’s an empty space in there. I’m not going to give up on you because you can be saved from this nasty case of NEILSONITIS. 

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

23 minutes ago, soonbe110 said:

We got rid of our set-piece maestro. He is still working wonders at Villa though. Some cracking set-piece moves this season. Only thing I watch their games on MOTD for. 

They absolutely hate McFraud at Villa

[Australis]

Another transfer window coming up where Lee has to talk Robbie into signing some ex sevco players who have been found out and sliding down the divisions.

 

Breaks my heart thinking he will get more money to waste on Joe average players.

Then make them even worse.

Edited March 21, 2023 by Australis

[Pasquale for King]

28 minutes ago, soonbe110 said:

We got rid of our set-piece maestro. He is still working wonders at Villa though. Some cracking set-piece moves this season. Only thing I watch their games on MOTD for. 

Cant be that hard to replicate surely, Snodgrass must have his worst goals scored from crosses record here 🤦🏽. 

[soonbe110]

6 minutes ago, Dusk_Till_Dawn said:

They absolutely hate McFraud at Villa

Well they have changed managers and the old and new managers both rate him and have retained him. 

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

2 minutes ago, soonbe110 said:

Well they have changed managers and the old and new managers both rate him and have retained him. 

A bit like Budge trying desperately to keep him in employment, despite his lack of talent 

[Pasquale for King]

1 hour ago, RudiSkacelsLeftPeg said:

If anyone thinks we are going to romp third after the performances recently they need to come back down to Earth.

Definitely, not romping or schooching it whatever that means.

[Pasquale for King]

11 minutes ago, Dusk_Till_Dawn said:

They absolutely hate McFraud at Villa

I get PTSD whenever I see him 

🤯

[1971fozzy]

46 minutes ago, BlueRiver said:

 

My bad thought you meant after games! 

 

Aw definitely agree we no doubt have miles to go. Look at the nick of most Scottish players before and then after they go down south and you can see the difference. 

 

My standout memories of when Hearts played both Liverpool and Spurs was the sheer size disparity in the players and the fitness level difference. To me there's no reason any pro club can't aspire to improve those areas and we certainly need to. 

that spurs game gave me the fear when they walked out. David v Goliath

[soonbe110]

Just now, Dusk_Till_Dawn said:

A bit like Budge trying desperately to keep him in employment, despite his lack of talent 

Not really.  Dean Smith hired him, Gerard retained him, as has Emery.  Guy must have something because backroom staff usually get emptied when manager changes. He is another one that could end up at Ibrox. Beale was a fan of his work at Villa whilst there 

[Naisys Tackle]

16 minutes ago, Dusk_Till_Dawn said:

They absolutely hate McFraud at Villa

No they dont  

[Naisys Tackle]

7 minutes ago, Dusk_Till_Dawn said:

A bit like Budge trying desperately to keep him in employment, despite his lack of talent 

 

John McGinn - Page 561 - Villa Talk - VillaTalk

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

2 minutes ago, soonbe110 said:

Not really.  Dean Smith hired him, Gerard retained him, as has Emery.  Guy must have something because backroom staff usually get emptied when manager changes. He is another one that could end up at Ibrox. Beale was a fan of his work at Villa whilst there 

Beale is shite so that would fit, for sure 

[soonbe110]

5 minutes ago, Robbies Tackle said:

 

John McGinn - Page 561 - Villa Talk - VillaTalk

Austin McPhee was who we were discussing. 

[Naisys Tackle]

Just now, soonbe110 said:

Austin McPhee was who we were discussing. 

Ah got ya now sorry.  Thought it was to do with McGinn being shite under Gerrard.

 

I should learn to read and not make an arse of myself at times

[Pasquale for King]

27 minutes ago, Australis said:

Another transfer window coming up where Lee has to talk Robbie into signing some ex sevco players who have been found out and sliding down the divisions.

 

Breaks my heart thinking he will get more money to waste on Joe average players.

Then make them even worse.

Was going to mention Lewis Macleod then saw he had retired at 27.

[Carter]

5 hours ago, Dusk_Till_Dawn said:

I think the answer is that we’re not allowed to expect anything from those games, nor should we be making any demands of Neilson when we play them, otherwise we’re entitled. Just put it down as a bad day at the office and reflect on the fact that no manager out there could do better.

We've only finished 3rd back to back once in 50 odd years. Horrendous for a club of our scale in Scotland. Therefore if Neilson does it it'll be akin to some sort of remarkable achievement! 

 

I'd be genuinely concerned to think about what we would look like without the £1.5M+ from FoH and anywhere between £4-5M from JA year on year. Certainly doesn't appear to be a discernible differentiator between us and Hibs/Aberdeen from what we're seeing. 

 

If Robbie does shit the bed and we lose 3rd AB will probably get JA to stump up what European participation would've given us so all is not lost. 

 

[Gizmo]

8 hours ago, JayTeeJnr said:

Interesting post and some good points.

 

Scary to think that the outlay for our whole squad's wages is less than Joe Gomez's reported earnings at Liverpool 😬

 

I'm like a lot of fans - the rational part of my brain doesn't work quite as well when it comes to Hearts so it's good to see information like this that puts things into perspective.

 

I still think there are lots of valid concerns that people have raised. The club is so well run now that shortcomings on the football side are going to be in the spotlight more and more.

 

 

I don't disagree that there are some issues with form / formation - we've hung Mackay out to dry by trying to convert him into something he isn't, same with Shankland being played as anything but a classic no9. 

Cochrane and Devlin also gone downhill. The arguments made that we could, and should, get more out of this squad are sound - especially thinking of how Cochrane,Devlin and Grant (till his red) orchestrated an astonishingly dominant, controlled performance against Zurich. I'd love to see more of that. 

I'd also say we have a real demerit in terms of bringing players through, though against our demands that we win every game, that is pretty difficult.

There are also less excuses (not zero though) for a coach not doing well with the solidity of the footing the club is now on. 

 

7 hours ago, Luckies1874 said:

 

This is true. WE HAVE TO BE 3rd! The rewards are far too important to our club for anyone to be hoping for anything but regardless of the debates that then throws up.

 

How that is achieved, by hook or by crook now doesn't matter. The implications of not getting it and one of Aberdeen/Hibs getting it are sickening to think about. 

 

That does not mean that there can't be significant change on the back of how it is achieved if it's done at a crawl rather than with some confidence and looking like a team we want to watch again next season. Everything should be reviewed anyway but progress and improvement are definitely measures that should be considered come the end of May. That has to be after we've finished 3rd because if we don't decisions should be far more straightforward! 

 

 Do no other team's aspirations or teamwork ever triumph or deserve reward? It's possible for us to do everything right yet a team goes on an unexpected run of consistency and takes the prize, or they unearth a gem of a footballer that revives their fortunes. That's football, and it seems fans really just expect the opposition to stand around as statues to not get in the way of us attaining what is somehow rightfully ours? 

It does not work like this, in any league in any country unless you can massively outspend the opposition on both transfer fees and salaries, by a huge factor. Ambition is one thing, entitlement entirely another and it does not matter how often one protests or finds statistics to justify our stance, this is the truth of sport. We used to celebrate the romance of the cup (when it wasn't us suffering a shock result) - now it's an immediate sackable offence. What changed?

Of course I want us to get 3rd and we are still in pole position as we speak, but being beat by rivals is part of sport - a loss away to Aberdeen isn't new at all - and one might need to grow some thicker skin if the expectations are that we never lose to the opposition if they are even marginally financially poorer than we are. Neilson might play up to the fans by saying we have to win every game, but in reality we need to win more points than our rivals for third. 

[Bazzas right boot]

1 hour ago, Robbies Tackle said:

Ah got ya now sorry.  Thought it was to do with McGinn being shite under Gerrard.

 

I should learn to read and not make an arse of myself at times

 

 

[Naisys Tackle]

Just now, Bazzas right boot said:

 

 

 

Love you too big boy xxx

[Bazzas right boot]

1 minute ago, Gizmo said:

I don't disagree that there are some issues with form / formation - we've hung Mackay out to dry by trying to convert him into something he isn't, same with Shankland being played as anything but a classic no9. 

Cochrane and Devlin also gone downhill. The arguments made that we could, and should, get more out of this squad are sound - especially thinking of how Cochrane,Devlin and Grant (till his red) orchestrated an astonishingly dominant, controlled performance against Zurich. I'd love to see more of that. 

I'd also say we have a real demerit in terms of bringing players through, though against our demands that we win every game, that is pretty difficult.

There are also less excuses (not zero though) for a coach not doing well with the solidity of the footing the club is now on. 

 

 Do no other team's aspirations or teamwork ever triumph or deserve reward? It's possible for us to do everything right yet a team goes on an unexpected run of consistency and takes the prize, or they unearth a gem of a footballer that revives their fortunes. That's football, and it seems fans really just expect the opposition to stand around as statues to not get in the way of us attaining what is somehow rightfully ours? 

It does not work like this, in any league in any country unless you can massively outspend the opposition on both transfer fees and salaries, by a huge factor. Ambition is one thing, entitlement entirely another and it does not matter how often one protests or finds statistics to justify our stance, this is the truth of sport. We used to celebrate the romance of the cup (when it wasn't us suffering a shock result) - now it's an immediate sackable offence. What changed?

Of course I want us to get 3rd and we are still in pole position as we speak, but being beat by rivals is part of sport - a loss away to Aberdeen isn't new at all - and one might need to grow some thicker skin if the expectations are that we never lose to the opposition if they are even marginally financially poorer than we are. Neilson might play up to the fans by saying we have to win every game, but in reality we need to win more points than our rivals for third. 

 

 

Too much sense there.

 

We might not even have outspent Aberdeen.

 

[Bazzas right boot]

1 hour ago, mitch41 said:

Robbie Neilson is out of his depth at Hearts. He’s not good enough. Hello is there anything between your ears that maybe recognise that or are you a hopeless case. 
I want to operate because I can’t believe there’s an empty space in there. I’m not going to give up on you because you can be saved from this nasty case of NEILSONITIS. 

 

I sometimes think you are having a Aneurysm as you type and I am caught in to minds as to laugh at your gibberish or get some medical assistance to you asap.

[Luckies1874]

6 minutes ago, Gizmo said:

 Do no other team's aspirations or teamwork ever triumph or deserve reward? It's possible for us to do everything right yet a team goes on an unexpected run of consistency and takes the prize, or they unearth a gem of a footballer that revives their fortunes. That's football, and it seems fans really just expect the opposition to stand around as statues to not get in the way of us attaining what is somehow rightfully ours? 

It does not work like this, in any league in any country unless you can massively outspend the opposition on both transfer fees and salaries, by a huge factor. Ambition is one thing, entitlement entirely another and it does not matter how often one protests or finds statistics to justify our stance, this is the truth of sport. We used to celebrate the romance of the cup (when it wasn't us suffering a shock result) - now it's an immediate sackable offence. What changed?

Of course I want us to get 3rd and we are still in pole position as we speak, but being beat by rivals is part of sport - a loss away to Aberdeen isn't new at all - and one might need to grow some thicker skin if the expectations are that we never lose to the opposition if they are even marginally financially poorer than we are. Neilson might play up to the fans by saying we have to win every game, but in reality we need to win more points than our rivals for third. 

 

Reasonable points. 

 

Short answer, sorry on a deadline for work this evening is yes of course another team can deserve credit and can over achieve or simply be better than us. However not this year in Scotland's top division. Hearts (I'm not even going to pin it all on Neilson) will have monumentally failed if we do not finish 3rd. Nobody out of the rest should be finishing above us by the end of May this season. And frankly that's all most are interested in right now! 

[merseyjambo]

5 hours ago, Robbies Tackle said:

 

 

Cheers guys.  Really appreciate that.  Not doing the worst at the moment but that's subject to change  

Hey RT, there will always be support out there for you from the Jambo Family if you ever need to talk or vent.

 

All of us want what’s best for the club, unfortunately some take what they say a little too far.

 

As for the manager, I’m not sure he’ll ever be able to take the next step in that role and actually win a trophy while in charge. To do that we will have to beat at least one of OF and I don’t think he’s tactically savvy enough to do that when needed to.

 

HMFC is likely to be the biggest club he manages.

 

 

 

 

[Sherbet]

1 hour ago, merseyjambo said:

Hey RT, there will always be support out there for you from the Jambo Family if you ever need to talk or vent.

 

All of us want what’s best for the club, unfortunately some take what they say a little too far.

 

As for the manager, I’m not sure he’ll ever be able to take the next step in that role and actually win a trophy while in charge. To do that we will have to beat at least one of OF and I don’t think he’s tactically savvy enough to do that when needed to.

 

HMFC is likely to be the biggest club he manages.

 

 

 

 

The OF    he can't beat livi

[TheBigO]

9 hours ago, Carter said:

We've only finished 3rd back to back once in 50 odd years. Horrendous for a club of our scale in Scotland. Therefore if Neilson does it it'll be akin to some sort of remarkable achievement! 

 

I'd be genuinely concerned to think about what we would look like without the £1.5M+ from FoH and anywhere between £4-5M from JA year on year. Certainly doesn't appear to be a discernible differentiator between us and Hibs/Aberdeen from what we're seeing. 

 

If Robbie does shit the bed and we lose 3rd AB will probably get JA to stump up what European participation would've given us so all is not lost. 

 

On your second para, i dont think weve seen full benefit as yet on 1st team. Budget increased yes, squad depth better (thank f....). But i think our wages will still be in and around hibs n aberdeen. The foh money keeps us ahead of them but we also dont know what investment another club will get.

 

To now pull away, we need that euro money again. Thats why 3rd this season is vital. Despite form, smart money still on Hearts. Thats why im frustrated at Robbie but not wild

[Walter Kidd]

Does anyone know what happened at this crisis meeting or was it the usual made up pish?

[Sherbet]

20 minutes ago, Walter Kidd said:

Does anyone know what happened at this crisis meeting or was it the usual made up pish?

no chocolate biscuits

[Jim Panzee]

12 hours ago, Pasquale for King said:

The players used to eat Pozza after games, remember Fabregas threw some at Fergie? Remember our head chef saying he makes them for them as opposed to buying them? The thought was that they help you replace the nutrients, but nutrition has moved on. 
Heard recently that the players ate bacon rolls before games and specifically prepared chicken nuggets after, from two different sources at the club. Bad diet can be a reason people get injured, so a Uefa Pro Lucence coach with a degree in Sports Science told me. We employed a Professional Nutritionist recently so hopefully she can help that side of things. 
Any further forward with how we cant beat the uglies but smaller teanms can beat us?

 

outrageous sexism PFK!!!!

 

how do you know the nutritionist is female?

 

unless we answered her 'come and get me plea' and rescued from her "lochend primary school kitchen hell" so she could join her boyhood.....I mean girlhood heroes Hearts. The players will be salivating at the thought of industrial mince pie and chips with jelly and blancmange now on the menu.

[sandylejambo]

47 minutes ago, TheBigO said:

On your second para, i dont think weve seen full benefit as yet on 1st team. Budget increased yes, squad depth better (thank f....). But i think our wages will still be in and around hibs n aberdeen. The foh money keeps us ahead of them but we also dont know what investment another club will get.

 

To now pull away, we need that euro money again. Thats why 3rd this season is vital. Despite form, smart money still on Hearts. Thats why im frustrated at Robbie but not wild

Balanced, but if your confident he'll improve the performances then great, my worry is we keep getting worse and he looks like he's decided his team and formation and nothing you, me or anyone else thinks, that's how it's going to be. Another manager would change the formation and chose who does well in training and we should get a bounce from that. Oh I know that's not always the case, but keeping Neilson in position seems more of a gamble than replacing him.

[Chimp]

12 hours ago, Malinga the Swinga said:

So me real gems coming out here. McEneff being shown example of what we could have had. A guy that was invisible for 99% of the time he was here and that nobody missed when he left.

We have John McGlynn bring quoted as a manager we could get, or worse, Naismith and Snodgrass taking over.

Why can't those that want Neilson out just admit they blame him for Hibs winning cup and that regardless of what else happens, they will never accept him as manager.

At least that would be honest. Instead we get horseshit dressed up in formations, rumours the Aussies don't like him, rumours players eat pizza before games and other made up nonsense.

Amazing how all the world renowned geniuses on here know which formation to play yet none work in professional sport. 

 

Not another one of these guys 🤦‍♂️ Give it a rest I thought this old chestnut was done with now. Such a lazy pile of nonsense. It seems like it must play on your mind if you're still bringing it up even now. The majority of fans with doubts about Neilson or want him out really aren't judging him on a game 7 years ago and couldn't really care less. It's based on what's happening now. 

[TurboT]

10 hours ago, Gizmo said:

I don't disagree that there are some issues with form / formation - we've hung Mackay out to dry by trying to convert him into something he isn't, same with Shankland being played as anything but a classic no9. 

Cochrane and Devlin also gone downhill. The arguments made that we could, and should, get more out of this squad are sound - especially thinking of how Cochrane,Devlin and Grant (till his red) orchestrated an astonishingly dominant, controlled performance against Zurich. I'd love to see more of that. 

I'd also say we have a real demerit in terms of bringing players through, though against our demands that we win every game, that is pretty difficult.

There are also less excuses (not zero though) for a coach not doing well with the solidity of the footing the club is now on. 

 

 Do no other team's aspirations or teamwork ever triumph or deserve reward? It's possible for us to do everything right yet a team goes on an unexpected run of consistency and takes the prize, or they unearth a gem of a footballer that revives their fortunes. That's football, and it seems fans really just expect the opposition to stand around as statues to not get in the way of us attaining what is somehow rightfully ours? 

It does not work like this, in any league in any country unless you can massively outspend the opposition on both transfer fees and salaries, by a huge factor. Ambition is one thing, entitlement entirely another and it does not matter how often one protests or finds statistics to justify our stance, this is the truth of sport. We used to celebrate the romance of the cup (when it wasn't us suffering a shock result) - now it's an immediate sackable offence. What changed?

Of course I want us to get 3rd and we are still in pole position as we speak, but being beat by rivals is part of sport - a loss away to Aberdeen isn't new at all - and one might need to grow some thicker skin if the expectations are that we never lose to the opposition if they are even marginally financially poorer than we are. Neilson might play up to the fans by saying we have to win every game, but in reality we need to win more points than our rivals for third. 

 

A very good post, I agree with a lot of it

[Australis]

46 minutes ago, Walter Kidd said:

Does anyone know what happened at this crisis meeting or was it the usual made up pish?

The players already knew who would be starting and playing in our next game.

 

Who was likely to be subbed and likely to be kept on, even if they had done nothing all game.

 

It is like a closed shop cabal at the moment.

No organisation, no mastering of the basics and not an ounce of pride or motivation.

[Jim Panzee]

55 minutes ago, Walter Kidd said:

Does anyone know what happened at this crisis meeting or was it the usual made up pish?

not so much made up pish, but a small element of truth blown up by headline writers to sell the news.

 

the coaching team and players will have a debrief after every game (I'd hope) - so no different after saturdays rank performance. 

 

you'd imagine the tone will be different this time, a damn sight more focus on why we were defensively poor and hopefully openness and freedom for all to speak their mind.

[JKBMod 3]

Can members please discuss the topic rather than trying to bait each other.  You have been warned  

 

Thanks

[Jim Panzee]

23 minutes ago, Australis said:

The players already knew who would be starting and playing in our next game.

 

Who was likely to be subbed and likely to be kept on, even if they had done nothing all game.

 

It is like a closed shop cabal at the moment.

No organisation, no mastering of the basics and not an ounce of pride or motivation.

not sure I agree.

 

cochrane subbed after what 30 mins or so on Saturday? that was pre planned?

 

sibbick moved into midfield first half. 

 

doesn't sound pre meditated....

 

Neilsen for sure has a lineup and most of the time has preferred players to go into that line up. But players can force their way into the team - Ginnelly wasn't the nailed on starter he seems to be now as an example.

 

 

[sadj]

12 hours ago, Dusk_Till_Dawn said:

They absolutely hate McFraud at Villa

You maybe want to revisit this opinion. They rate him pretty highly hes last through different managers too as the manager coming in rates him too

[sadj]

12 hours ago, Robbies Tackle said:

No they dont  

^^^ this

[boag1874]

11 hours ago, Gizmo said:

Do no other team's aspirations or teamwork ever triumph or deserve reward? It's possible for us to do everything right yet a team goes on an unexpected run of consistency and takes the prize, or they unearth a gem of a footballer that revives their fortunes. That's football, and it seems fans really just expect the opposition to stand around as statues to not get in the way of us attaining what is somehow rightfully ours? 

It does not work like this, in any league in any country unless you can massively outspend the opposition on both transfer fees and salaries, by a huge factor. Ambition is one thing, entitlement entirely another and it does not matter how often one protests or finds statistics to justify our stance, this is the truth of sport. We used to celebrate the romance of the cup (when it wasn't us suffering a shock result) - now it's an immediate sackable offence. What changed?

Of course I want us to get 3rd and we are still in pole position as we speak, but being beat by rivals is part of sport - a loss away to Aberdeen isn't new at all - and one might need to grow some thicker skin if the expectations are that we never lose to the opposition if they are even marginally financially poorer than we are. Neilson might play up to the fans by saying we have to win every game, but in reality we need to win more points than our rivals for third. 

I do get your point re- 3rd however what I’d say is we were in such a strong position at the end of January, genuinely looked uncatchable and then we had some poor results, especially the Motherwell one which was abysmal, which allowed a resurgent Hibs & Aberdeen to close the gap.

 

It’s still in our hands at this point but if we throw it away from the position we’re in especially considering our run up to the split has 3/4 games v bottom 6 opposition & then we should have home games v both our main competitors post split you can only blame Hearts.

[sadj]

1 hour ago, boag1874 said:

I do get your point re- 3rd however what I’d say is we were in such a strong position at the end of January, genuinely looked uncatchable and then we had some poor results, especially the Motherwell one which was abysmal, which allowed a resurgent Hibs & Aberdeen to close the gap.

 

It’s still in our hands at this point but if we throw it away from the position we’re in especially considering our run up to the split has 3/4 games v bottom 6 opposition & then we should have home games v both our main competitors post split you can only blame Hearts.

Simple and accurate. 

[The Real Maroonblood]

On 21/03/2023 at 20:47, mitch41 said:

Robbie Neilson is out of his depth at Hearts. He’s not good enough. Hello is there anything between your ears that maybe recognise that or are you a hopeless case. 
I want to operate because I can’t believe there’s an empty space in there. I’m not going to give up on you because you can be saved from this nasty case of NEILSONITIS.