B Team 2023/24

[Prehen]

9 hours ago, Chuck Berry said:

Poor first half. Had our fair share of possession but didn't do a lot with it in contrast to Celtic who took their chances and it could have been more. Better second half and once McLuckie got one back we pushed for the equaliser which didn't come. A fair result in the end. 

 

Pollock off with an ankle injury. Went down, got treatment, came back on for 5 mins but was struggling and was subbed. Wilson off on 60 mins probably due to Sunday.

Gutted for Pollock. The lad in tears going down tunnel on 38mins. When will he catch a break. Hopefully not serious and he gets some mins before the end of the season.

[Gorgierools]

16 minutes ago, Prehen said:

Gutted for Pollock. The lad in tears going down tunnel on 38mins. When will he catch a break. Hopefully not serious and he gets some mins before the end of the season.

Fingers crossed for the kid, he's had no luck this year. 

[Mikey1874]

 

[Footballfirst]

Pretty poor representation in the LL team of the year for a team that finished 2nd in the league (only 3 out of 44 selected).

 

[Chuck Berry]

Mental. These eejits have probably not been at a B game.

[jamboinglasgow]

 

[RustyRightPeg]

On 22/04/2024 at 15:15, Footballfirst said:

Pretty poor representation in the LL team of the year for a team that finished 2nd in the league (only 3 out of 44 selected).

 

 

Why's there two teams FF? 

[RustyRightPeg]

On 20/04/2024 at 07:57, Prehen said:

Gutted for Pollock. The lad in tears going down tunnel on 38mins. When will he catch a break. Hopefully not serious and he gets some mins before the end of the season.

 

Jeez that's not good. Poor laddie.

[Footballfirst]

1 hour ago, RustyRightPeg said:

 

Why's there two teams FF? 

I don't know how they came up with the format, but it is one they have used in previous years.

 

Six players from Albion Rovers? They finished 9th in the league.  The rest of the team must be pretty poor.  Cumbernauld Colts (4th) also with six, I can just about understand, but only four from East Kilbride (1st)?  It seems the selections must have been made by individuals who probably have a vested interest in promoting certain clubs.

[RustyRightPeg]

51 minutes ago, Footballfirst said:

I don't know how they came up with the format, but it is one they have used in previous years.

 

Six players from Albion Rovers? They finished 9th in the league.  The rest of the team must be pretty poor.  Cumbernauld Colts (4th) also with six, I can just about understand, but only four from East Kilbride (1st)?  It seems the selections must have been made by individuals who probably have a vested interest in promoting certain clubs.

Bizarre. Can’t see any Celtic players either unless I’m missing something. 

[Mikey1874]

25 minutes ago, RustyRightPeg said:

Bizarre. Can’t see any Celtic players either unless I’m missing something. 

 

Couple of Celtic players at least should be in there. Lewis Dobbie and Lenny Agbaire would get into any side. 

[Footballfirst]

3 hours ago, RustyRightPeg said:

Bizarre. Can’t see any Celtic players either unless I’m missing something. 

Lewis Dobbie and Ben Quinn are from Celtic.

[Footballfirst]

Scotland U15s lost 1-3 to Spain this morning.  Alfie Hutchison started and Stanley Wilson (one of James' younger twin siblings) came on as a substitute.  Scotland's goal was an o.g.

[jamboinglasgow]

14 minutes ago, Footballfirst said:

Scotland U15s lost 1-3 to Spain this morning.  Alfie Hutchison started and Stanley Wilson (one of James' younger twin siblings) came on as a substitute.  Scotland's goal was an o.g.

 

Are both of the twins at Hearts?

[Footballfirst]

Just now, jamboinglasgow said:

 

Are both of the twins at Hearts?

Yes. Alfie Wilson is the other one. He was probably close to selection for the squad too.

[Chuck Berry]

What was the U18 result last night?  the twitter feed posted the line-up, and then nothing.

[Mikey1874]

57 minutes ago, Chuck Berry said:

What was the U18 result last night?  the twitter feed posted the line-up, and then nothing.

 

 

[Chuck Berry]

Oh dear......

[Footballfirst]

1 hour ago, Chuck Berry said:

What was the U18 result last night?  the twitter feed posted the line-up, and then nothing.

Got humped 5-1.

 

Hearts was the better side for the first 40 mins, but United opened the scoring after 16 mins when a loose ball broke to their striker 6 yards out.  Rocco Friel equalised after 20 mins from a free kick just outside the box.

 

The game changed on 41 mins when Tas came well out of his box to clear a long ball but only succeeded in taking out Stevenson, leaving their striker to run the ball into an empty net.  United added a 3rd just before half time with a great strike for 25 yards into the top corner.

 

The second half was all United and they added a couple of clinical finishes. Hearts looked pretty frustrated by the end, but couldn't create anything of note, while United could have added to their tally.

 

The U13 game v Hibs was abandoned this morning after a serious injury to Adam Stevenson. Looked like it could have been a dislocated knee after he was caught a little high and late by an attempted block. More shame to the ref who played on without even awarding a foul. An ambulance was called.

 

Edit: This weekend's U14 and U15 games have been postponed due to an increasingly large injury list and international call ups.

Edited April 27 by Footballfirst

[Footballfirst]

Stanley started today's game with Alfie on the bench, the reverse of the first game.

 

 

[Gorgierools]

Well done guys 

[Footballfirst]

The final Lowland League table after Tranent's win over Celtic B today.

 

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	East Kilbride	34	26	3	5	96	43	81
2	Heart of Midlothian B	34	21	6	7	92	43	69
3	Bo’ness United	34	21	4	9	72	50	67
4	Cumbernauld Colts	34	19	8	7	70	43	65
5	Tranent	34	18	6	10	69	42	60
6	Celtic B	34	18	5	11	80	47	59
7	Civil Service Strollers	34	17	5	12	51	48	56
8	Linlithgow Rose	34	14	8	12	63	43	50
9	Albion Rovers	34	12	10	12	43	36	46
10	Cowdenbeath	34	12	10	12	55	56	46
11	University of Stirling	34	13	7	14	50	53	46
12	Caledonian Braves	34	12	9	13	47	43	45
13	Berwick Rangers	34	12	6	16	42	48	42
14	East Stirlingshire	34	12	4	18	58	68	40
15	Broomhill	34	11	6	17	56	59	39
16	Gala Fairydean Rovers	34	9	5	20	45	87	32
17	Gretna 2008	34	3	3	28	26	114	12
18	Edinburgh University	34	2	3	29	40	132	9

[iain ferguson]

8 hours ago, Footballfirst said:

Got humped 5-1.

 

Hearts was the better side for the first 40 mins, but United opened the scoring after 16 mins when a loose ball broke to their striker 6 yards out.  Rocco Friel equalised after 20 mins from a free kick just outside the box.

 

The game changed on 41 mins when Tas came well out of his box to clear a long ball but only succeeded in taking out Stevenson, leaving their striker to run the ball into an empty net.  United added a 3rd just before half time with a great strike for 25 yards into the top corner.

 

The second half was all United and they added a couple of clinical finishes. Hearts looked pretty frustrated by the end, but couldn't create anything of note, while United could have added to their tally.

 

The U13 game v Hibs was abandoned this morning after a serious injury to Adam Stevenson. Looked like it could have been a dislocated knee after he was caught a little high and late by an attempted block. More shame to the ref who played on without even awarding a foul. An ambulance was called.

 

Edit: This weekend's U14 and U15 games have been postponed due to an increasingly large injury list and international call ups.

Looks like Adam’s injury is not as bad as first feared and hopefully not too long out. 

[Footballfirst]

1 minute ago, iain ferguson said:

Looks like Adam’s injury is not as bad as first feared and hopefully not too long out. 

That's good news for the lad. 👍

[Chuck Berry]

17 hours ago, iain ferguson said:

Looks like Adam’s injury is not as bad as first feared and hopefully not too long out. 

 

👍

[jamboinglasgow]

I see some of the B team are announcing online that they are leaving the club at the end of season.

 

So far see Callum Flatman and Murray Thomas announce they are leaving. Sadly not too surprising as they will be too old for the B team next season. Hopefully they get snapped up and have a good career.

[Finlay James]

5 minutes ago, jamboinglasgow said:

I see some of the B team are announcing online that they are leaving the club at the end of season.

 

So far see Callum Flatman and Murray Thomas announce they are leaving. Sadly not too surprising as they will be too old for the B team next season. Hopefully they get snapped up and have a good career.

injuries have stagnated Flatman’ development and no surprise to see him released as he hasn’t progressed.  Thomas a good player but not at our level.

 

Both will have decent careers at a lower level.

[jamboinglasgow]

23 minutes ago, Finlay James said:

injuries have stagnated Flatman’ development and no surprise to see him released as he hasn’t progressed.  Thomas a good player but not at our level.

 

Both will have decent careers at a lower level.

 

Yeah, Flatman deserves a break after all the misery of injuries.

 

I do think if I was a League one or two manager, I would certainly looking to snap them up. Young but with a lot of senior experience and obvious talent that could really benefit them.

[Chuck Berry]

The Lowland League gives these guys a better chance at making it elsewhere IMO.

 

There's not one regular B team player who couldn't carve out a decent career in the SPFL at whatever level. They need to keep working hard and they'll make it. Sadly, just not with Hearts.

[Footballfirst]

An issue for released players is whether or not they can find a full time club paying enough to make a career out of football. If they go part time (tier 3 or below), then they need to find a career elsewhere, or if academically capable to go into further education. The alternative for some is to give up playing completely.

 

The U18s lost 1-3 to Queen's Park this afternoon. It was a pretty strong line-up, probably missing only Bobby McLuckie from those still eligible. James Wilson scored the Hearts goal from a penalty. A couple of the younger lads (U16s) that would normally be in the matchday squad for the U18s haven't featured in recent squads.  Now it may be down to them having school exams at this time of year, but I'm suspicious that those who have not yet signed full time contracts offered to them are be being excluded for that reason (other U16s have been included).  

[FIGJAM]

9 hours ago, Footballfirst said:

An issue for released players is whether or not they can find a full time club paying enough to make a career out of football. If they go part time (tier 3 or below), then they need to find a career elsewhere, or if academically capable to go into further education. The alternative for some is to give up playing completely.

 

The U18s lost 1-3 to Queen's Park this afternoon. It was a pretty strong line-up, probably missing only Bobby McLuckie from those still eligible. James Wilson scored the Hearts goal from a penalty. A couple of the younger lads (U16s) that would normally be in the matchday squad for the U18s haven't featured in recent squads.  Now it may be down to them having school exams at this time of year, but I'm suspicious that those who have not yet signed full time contracts offered to them are be being excluded for that reason (other U16s have been included).  

I watched u16s play on Sunday. Hogarth showed little to me that would make me think offers from down south would be forthcoming. Since he made his u15 Scotland debut he seems to have regressed. Osborne currently looks like a giraffe in midfield. He has been torn apart in recent months and if he grows anymore his time in midfield is at an end. Centre back looks likely his position. Both are young and still growing so ups and down part and parcel of their development. So I think the two are going to be Hearts players next season. I actually really enjoyed the game, not the highest quality but a good battle nevertheless. I really liked the looked of the boy Sanders

Hearts also appear to be going through a mini injury crisis in the academy. I wonder is this having an impact on selection?

[RustyRightPeg]

Sad news about Flatman. He was one that I had high hopes for.  

[Mikey1874]

 

[Mikey1874]

On 07/07/2023 at 19:07, Footballfirst said:

B Team Squad (eligible players at U20/U19)

Keeper - Liam McFarlane

Defenders - Adam Forrester Callum Flatman, Luke Rathie, Bailey Dall, Ethan Drysdale

Midfielders - Macaulay Tait, Harry Gordon, Ryan Duncan, Finlay Pollock

Forwards - Mackenzie Kirk, Murray Thomas, Callum Sandilands

 

U18s likely to feature:

Kai Smutek, Kenzi Nair, Harvey Chisholm, Gregor Crookston, Bobby McLuckie, Mackenzie Ross, Rocco Friel, Alex Walker

 

U17s likely to feature

James Wilson, Gus Stevenson, Matthew Gillies, Owen Muirhead.

 

 

[Niemi’s gloves]

Bailey Dall getting another year is a slight surprise, given the earlier suggestions  on here that no 2004’s were getting extensions. No indication that he’s moving up to the first team squad so presumably in 2024/25 we are going to use the option to play one U-21  outfield player in the B team  (which I don’t think we did in the season just ending apart from a single appearance by Aidan Denholm).

 

Kai Smutek is more straightforward: a 2006 who is reaching the end of the two year contract signed at 16 and looks well worthy of the two year extension given his recent B team form. Among other 2006s, I think Bobby McLuckie signed a contract through to 2026 last summer, while we know that Rocco Friel hasn’t signed an extension and is perhaps aiming to move south. 
 

Of the other 2006s, I haven’t seen anything on the position of Nair (out injured recently?)  or Ross; and of course there are several others who have mainly  played in the U-18 team and not much if at all in the B team. I’d guess that only some will get extended contracts. 

[Footballfirst]

1 hour ago, Niemi’s gloves said:

Bailey Dall getting another year is a slight surprise, given the earlier suggestions  on here that no 2004’s were getting extensions. No indication that he’s moving up to the first team squad so presumably in 2024/25 we are going to use the option to play one U-21  outfield player in the B team  (which I don’t think we did in the season just ending apart from a single appearance by Aidan Denholm).

 

Kai Smutek is more straightforward: a 2006 who is reaching the end of the two year contract signed at 16 and looks well worthy of the two year extension given his recent B team form. Among other 2006s, I think Bobby McLuckie signed a contract through to 2026 last summer, while we know that Rocco Friel hasn’t signed an extension and is perhaps aiming to move south. 
 

Of the other 2006s, I haven’t seen anything on the position of Nair (out injured recently?)  or Ross; and of course there are several others who have mainly  played in the U-18 team and not much if at all in the B team. I’d guess that only some will get extended contracts. 

The 2006s will be too old for the U18s next season, so it will have to be 1st team, B team or out on loan if they are kept on.  I think a few will be released. I would certainly release a few.

 

Kai Smutek, Alex Walker, Jamie Anderson, Gregor Crookston, Lucas Smith, Harvey Chisholm, Bobby McCluckie, Kenzi Nair, Mackenzie Ross, Rocco Friel

 

Going into next season the B Team could use (my strongest XI in bold):

GK - McFarlane (U21), Wilkie (U18), Tas (U17), Lyon (U17)

FB - Forrester (U20) Drysdale (U20), Friel (U19), Smith (U19), Burn (U18), Selfridge  (U18), McDonald (U17), Ratcliffe (U17)

CB - Rathie (U20), Nair (U19), Smutek (U19), Walker (U19), Anderson (U19), Gillies (U18), Kelly (U17), Glasgow (U17)

MF - Sandilands (U20) Duncan (U20), McLuckie (U19), Crookston (U19), Stevenson (U18), Chisholm (U19), Muirhead (U18), Osborne (U17) Sanders (U17), Banks (U17), Hogarth (U17), Mulholland (U17)

FW - Ross (U19), Wilson (U18), Plesiewicz (U18), Robb (U17)

 

There are some U17s/U18s I would like to see fast tracked to the B Team's matchday squad, as I see them as the best prospects in those age groups. Those would  include Tas, Ratcliffe, Gillies, Glasgow, Muirhead, Sanders and Robb, plus Hutchison once he turns 16 next January.

[Jonbo]

1 minute ago, Footballfirst said:

The 2006s will be too old for the U18s next season, so it will have to be 1st team, B team or out on loan if they are kept on.  I think a few will be released. I would certainly release a few.

 

Kai Smutek, Alex Walker, Jamie Anderson, Gregor Crookston, Lucas Smith, Harvey Chisholm, Bobby McCluckie, Kenzi Nair, Mackenzie Ross, Rocco Friel

 

Going into next season the B Team could use (my strongest XI in bold):

GK - McFarlane (U21), Wilkie (U18), Tas (U17), Lyon (U17)

FB - Forrester (U20) Drysdale (U20), Friel (U19), Smith (U19), Burn (U18), Selfridge  (U18), McDonald (U17), Ratcliffe (U17)

CB - Rathie (U20), Nair (U19), Smutek (U19), Walker (U19), Anderson (U19), Gillies (U18), Kelly (U17), Glasgow (U17)

MF - Sandilands (U20) Duncan (U20), McLuckie (U19), Crookston (U19), Stevenson (U18), Chisholm (U19), Muirhead (U18), Osborne (U17) Sanders (U17), Banks (U17), Hogarth (U17), Mulholland (U17)

FW - Ross (U19), Wilson (U18), Plesiewicz (U18), Robb (U17)

 

There are some U17s/U18s I would like to see fast tracked to the B Team's matchday squad, as I see them as the best prospects in those age groups. Those would  include Tas, Ratcliffe, Gillies, Glasgow, Muirhead, Sanders and Robb, plus Hutchison once he turns 16 next January.

From what I’ve heard,

Smutek, Ross, Nair, Smith, Crookston and Friel have all been offered new deals!

hearing also g/k Jack McConnell has also been offered a deal?

 

also hear that Harry Gordon will leave this summer! 

[Footballfirst]

3 minutes ago, Jonbo said:

From what I’ve heard,

Smutek, Ross, Nair, Smith, Crookston and Friel have all been offered new deals!

hearing also g/k Jack McConnell has also been offered a deal?

 

also hear that Harry Gordon will leave this summer! 

I always seem to forget Jack McConnell when I look at squads. Although, it's hardly surprising when he didn't play a minute in the B Team's league campaign.

[jamboinglasgow]

So I make it the current B and U18 players still out of contract whose future is unknown is:

 

Jamie Anderson
Harvey Chisholm
Gregor Crookston
Rocco Friel
Harry Gordon 
Jack McConnell
Kenzi Nair
Mackenzie Ross
Lucas Smith
Lennon Thompson
Alexander Walker
 

[Chuck Berry]

Harry Gordon is one of the players leaving.

[jamboinglasgow]

https://www.heartsfc.co.uk/blogs/news/b-team-trio-depart

 

Confirmation from Hearts that Harry Gordon, Callum Flatman and Murray Thomas are leaving.

 

Also confirms U18 players Alexander Walker, Harvey Chisolm and Jamie Anderson are also leaving.

[Selkirkhmfc1874]

1 minute ago, jamboinglasgow said:

https://www.heartsfc.co.uk/blogs/news/b-team-trio-depart

 

Confirmation from Hearts that Harry Gordon, Callum Flatman and Murray Thomas are leaving.

 

Also confirms U18 players Alexander Walker, Harvey Chisolm and Jamie Anderson are also leaving.

Whatever 1st team players leaving usually not far behind 

[jamboinglasgow]

2 minutes ago, Selkirkhmfc1874 said:

Whatever 1st team players leaving usually not far behind 

 

They will probably come in the days after the last game. With the Hearts B season over it makes sense to announce it now.

 

Would say with the current update, the remaining B/U18 players out of contract with nothing announced are:

Gregor Crookston
Rocco Friel
Jack McConnell
Kenzi Nair
Mackenzie Ross
Lucas Smith
Lennon Thompson
 

Suspect they have all been offered contracts if we are not saying they have gone. Obviously it doesn't mean they have accepted the contract (see Rocco Friel.)

[Footballfirst]

1 hour ago, jamboinglasgow said:

https://www.heartsfc.co.uk/blogs/news/b-team-trio-depart

 

Confirmation from Hearts that Harry Gordon, Callum Flatman and Murray Thomas are leaving.

 

Also confirms U18 players Alexander Walker, Harvey Chisolm and Jamie Anderson are also leaving.

No great surprise among those released.