Midfield Maestro!!

[tiger Rudi]

2 hours ago, dougal said:

While I agree that they're both top quality I would have preferred for Cochrane to play on the left of a four where he and Kingsley could get in tandem with each other so that one of them was always covering. Failing that we should be playing one if them and asking them to burst a gut for 50/55 minutes and then bringing on the other one to finish the game. Would give us great energy for the whole game down the left side of the pitch.

This is where I'm at re Cochrane. Wide in a 4 or not used at all. Combines well with Kingsley and can sit in when Kingsley goes off on one. 

[Maroonjam]

2 hours ago, Newton51 said:

Grant bombed out when needing a centre mid

What's happened to Grant?

[Newton51]

3 hours ago, Maroonjam said:

What's happened to Grant?

Says it all that grant was left out euro squad for this tie but beni kept in even though nowhere near fit

[soonbe110]

9 hours ago, innerjambo said:

We desperately need one. Right now, we cannot control the midfield. 

Absolutely, the one glaring gap in our recruitment. Both Rosenberg and PAOK had players in their engine room that would improve us significantly. Guys that win the ball but then do something with it.  We just have like Devlin, all energy, win the ball and then either pass it backwards, give it away or put it out of play. 

[soonbe110]

9 hours ago, Leveins Battalion said:

I think our new recruitments look really good,Offiah looks a class act,Vargas I love.

 

 

But we are 2 and a half seasons into Joe Savages tenure and we are playing a left back at centre midfield,cmon man play the game.

 

God forbid anything happens to Shankland bywbor we will benright up Dawson's Creek.

 

 

Yep, then he is replaced by a centre-half.  Surprised Naisy is putting up with it tbh.  Accept that a fit Beni would have made a big difference last night but where was our Oz box to box midfielder? 

[soonbe110]

9 hours ago, hmfc_liam06 said:

Sibbick is not the answer. We don’t need another ball winner, we need someone who can control the game, take the ball in difficult situations and keep it.

Sibbick needs to replace Rowles not play in midfield. 

[soonbe110]

9 hours ago, Cruyff said:

Devlin is first pick but he needs a playmaker beside him not another ball winning mid. We need a Pirlo type, someone that can ping it. 

If we have Beni and a ball playing midfielder then Devlin doesn’t start imo.  We need players in the middle who can start moves for the quality guys we now have up front.  That’s not something Devlin has in his game. 

[Arthur Morgan]

The exact type of midfielder we need right now is another Nypan. He was absolutely excellent for Rosenborg and ran the show for them. Yet he's only 16! What a talent they have btw.

Edited August 25, 2023 by Arthur Morgan

[boag1874]

13 minutes ago, Arthur Morgan said:

The exact type of midfielder we need right now is another Nypan. He was absolutely excellent for Rosenborg and ran the show for them. Yet he's only 16! What a talent they have btw.

He’s going to make them a shit ton btw, you’re looking at a future elite level superstar. What we would give to produce someone like that!

[south morocco]

So frustrating we’ve not had Haring or Beni available for this tie. Would have made a difference.

Last season was the same with injuries for the European ties. 

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

Its on Beni at the moment. If he isnt coming back strong we need one in there for this level. I think we have too much power for most SPL teams, though it obviously doesnt hurt. Bit like strikers, these are the players everyone wants, getting the one we need probably difficult. We have a young lad from Australia who needs some time to adjust, when he does, he will improve us

[Pingu]

I think we need to switch to 4-3-3 for some games. 4-2-3-1 means your sitting midfielders ideally need to do a bit of everything - win the ball, run all day, create chances. Beni is the only player who is enough of an all rounder to do that, and who knows if / when he'll be back to his best.

 

4-3-3 would allow us to have someone in there who doesn't do as much defensive work - Nieuwenhof or even Lowry. Sacrifice the number 10 and get the wide forwards a bit further up the park.

 

Not for every game, but certainly against the better teams.

[Hashimoto]

12 hours ago, mr fox said:

Devlin runs about a good sitting midfielder. He is never going to dictate a game it’s a Bruno player we need. 

Devlin runs about like a headless chicken. Ton's of work, great engine, but never a creative midfielder in a million years.

[Jambof3tornado]

8 minutes ago, Hashimoto said:

Devlin runs about like a headless chicken. Ton's of work, great engine, but never a creative midfielder in a million years.

Nope,1st thought always the safe pass,also more often than not a short backwards pass. He also needs 3 touches to control the ball.

 

Good player at what he does

[Hagar the Horrible]

15 hours ago, innerjambo said:

We desperately need one. Right now, we cannot control the midfield. 

We need a Hartley or a Cameron 

[Korky]

6 hours ago, soonbe110 said:

 where was our Oz box to box midfielder? 

He’s off on a camping holiday with Kio

[wavydavy]

15 hours ago, Deevers said:

Exactly - the lack of someone who can put his foot on the ball and play passes with all to evident tonight.  Two ball winners in the centre of midfield might be ok in most SPFL games, but in these European gamers you need someone who can make chances for the forwards, we lacked that in spades tonight.

 

Spot on the money.

[Nerja Jambo]

6 hours ago, soonbe110 said:

Absolutely, the one glaring gap in our recruitment. Both Rosenberg and PAOK had players in their engine room that would improve us significantly. Guys that win the ball but then do something with it.  We just have like Devlin, all energy, win the ball and then either pass it backwards, give it away or put it out of play. 

I think you're being harsh on Devlin, but your spot on with the rest. 

[wavydavy]

15 hours ago, Nerja Jambo said:

But it's not JS fault Cochrane was played there, it is the coaches. Hoff and Grant not even in the squad, yet 2 teenagers are. That is RN thinking.

 

The teenagers are there because of the rules re playing in European competitions. You have to have so many home grown players and so many under a certain age. It's complicated.

[Nerja Jambo]

1 minute ago, wavydavy said:

 

The teenagers are there because of the rules re playing in European competitions. You have to have so many home grown players and so many under a certain age. It's complicated.

Thanks, didn't know that.

[kingantti1874]

15 minutes ago, wavydavy said:

 

The teenagers are there because of the rules re playing in European competitions. You have to have so many home grown players and so many under a certain age. It's complicated.

ssshhh don’t tell the hard of thinking it’s funny 

[Cruyff]

6 hours ago, soonbe110 said:

If we have Beni and a ball playing midfielder then Devlin doesn’t start imo.  We need players in the middle who can start moves for the quality guys we now have up front.  That’s not something Devlin has in his game. 

Devlin and Beni would be first pick midfield.

 

Can't drop Devlin, he's like having two players in midfield. Yeah, at times he needs to be more composed on the ball but he does have that in his game, see v Zurich when he was asked to be actor man, he just lacks a bit of consistency. There's not a player at Hearts that can't improve some aspect of their game. Everything else Cammy does is second to none. 

 

And Beni has a habit of going on meandering runs to nowhere and losing the ball, he's not the complete player either. Revisionism at best. 

 

We still lack a playmaker, a Miguel Veloso type player. We lack control and carry little threat from deep with balls over the top.  We've got no one that can do it and how are you meant to stretch teams, switch play or find a run in behind if we don't? It's an aspect of the game we sorely miss especially when we are playing better opponents who play with a higher line. 

 

We lose the ball too often because we're forced to play in tight areas because all we've got is a 5-10 yard pass. We only make any gains going forward from goal kicks, winning 2nd ball of Shanks or Boyce, then we have to rely on Vargas, Oda, McKay etc... to take on their man and then we can play around the edge of the box if we get support. What happens after about 2 passes, backwards or lose it? 

 

We're good at transition in both going from defence to attack or attack to defence. In the build up when we get possession, we struggle a wee bit. 

[Robbo-Jambo]

16 hours ago, The Merse said:

Where was Calem tonight? He’s looked miles off it but not making the bench is not a good sign!

If he was fit, yeah a bit concerning when we are allowed so many subs and we are having to play Cochrane as a centre mid.

[frankblack]

11 minutes ago, Robbo-Jambo said:

If he was fit, yeah a bit concerning when we are allowed so many subs and we are having to play Cochrane as a centre mid.

 

Its not surprising if you saw Calem against Partick.  He has a long way to go.

[Robbo-Jambo]

1 minute ago, frankblack said:

 

Its not surprising if you saw Calem against Partick.  He has a long way to go.

I did and he has.

 

Just the fuss about him when he signed made me think he would actually be a starting eleven player or at least make a bench !!

[frankblack]

Just now, Robbo-Jambo said:

I did and he has.

 

Just the fuss about him when he signed made me think he would actually be a starting eleven player or at least make a bench !!

 

He might come good but I think he will need a lot of coaching to get there.

[soonbe110]

2 hours ago, Cruyff said:

Devlin and Beni would be first pick midfield.

 

Can't drop Devlin, he's like having two players in midfield. Yeah, at times he needs to be more composed on the ball but he does have that in his game, see v Zurich when he was asked to be actor man, he just lacks a bit of consistency. There's not a player at Hearts that can't improve some aspect of their game. Everything else Cammy does is second to none. 

 

And Beni has a habit of going on meandering runs to nowhere and losing the ball, he's not the complete player either. Revisionism at best. 

 

We still lack a playmaker, a Miguel Veloso type player. We lack control and carry little threat from deep with balls over the top.  We've got no one that can do it and how are you meant to stretch teams, switch play or find a run in behind if we don't? It's an aspect of the game we sorely miss especially when we are playing better opponents who play with a higher line. 

 

We lose the ball too often because we're forced to play in tight areas because all we've got is a 5-10 yard pass. We only make any gains going forward from goal kicks, winning 2nd ball of Shanks or Boyce, then we have to rely on Vargas, Oda, McKay etc... to take on their man and then we can play around the edge of the box if we get support. What happens after about 2 passes, backwards or lose it? 

 

We're good at transition in both going from defence to attack or attack to defence. In the build up when we get possession, we struggle a wee bit. 

This season so far we actually are performing better without the ball than when we have the ball. Defensively very decent (couple of errors last night excluded), closing teams down, defending set-pieces.  When we have the ball we tend to look lost as in ‘what do I do next’ and that’s compounded by a lack of movement from the attacking players who are not in possession. Lost count of number of times we look to make a pass then turn back or knock it sideways to fullbacks because there’s nothing on. Invariably give it away as well. Should be easily fixed but when? 

[brawlad74]

Agree with other comments that not signing attacking mid is gonna cost us long term. Don't understand the club's seeming lack of success here. Think a lot of us need a reality check re Beni. Unlikely he'll regain the form he had after so long out and with another breakdown could be months away and then his contract up. Club should have sorted this position by now like they've finally done with CB and RB.

[mr fox]

10 hours ago, Hashimoto said:

Devlin runs about like a headless chicken. Ton's of work, great engine, but never a creative midfielder in a million years.

Nope simply doesn’t have it 100% effort but not good enough 

[DesertDawg]

On 24/08/2023 at 13:52, innerjambo said:

We desperately need one. Right now, we cannot control the midfield. 

 

 

That's why we signed this guy.

 

 

 

[innerjambo]

3 minutes ago, DesertDawg said:

 

 

That's why we signed this guy.

 

 

 

 

Yep, and he's not setting the heather alight at the moment, all be it early days. Right now, he has nothing that gets me remotely excited. I will give him a lot more time to find his feet, of course. But he doesn't fill me with confidence. 

[chrystaf]

8 hours ago, Cruyff said:

Devlin and Beni would be first pick midfield.

 

Can't drop Devlin, he's like having two players in midfield. Yeah, at times he needs to be more composed on the ball but he does have that in his game, see v Zurich when he was asked to be actor man, he just lacks a bit of consistency. There's not a player at Hearts that can't improve some aspect of their game. Everything else Cammy does is second to none. 

 

And Beni has a habit of going on meandering runs to nowhere and losing the ball, he's not the complete player either. Revisionism at best. 

 

We still lack a playmaker, a Miguel Veloso type player. We lack control and carry little threat from deep with balls over the top.  We've got no one that can do it and how are you meant to stretch teams, switch play or find a run in behind if we don't? It's an aspect of the game we sorely miss especially when we are playing better opponents who play with a higher line. 

 

We lose the ball too often because we're forced to play in tight areas because all we've got is a 5-10 yard pass. We only make any gains going forward from goal kicks, winning 2nd ball of Shanks or Boyce, then we have to rely on Vargas, Oda, McKay etc... to take on their man and then we can play around the edge of the box if we get support. What happens after about 2 passes, backwards or lose it? 

 

We're good at transition in both going from defence to attack or attack to defence. In the build up when we get possession, we struggle a wee bit. 

At last a degree of sence. Well said sir.

[chrystaf]

27 minutes ago, mr fox said:

Nope simply doesn’t have it 100% effort but not good enough 

His job is NOT to be the creative midfielder.  Because we don't have one the pressure is on him and he's doing a great job. 

Pisses me off when so many on here simply want to ignore that and criticise the guy.

It's easy to criticise - we're Hearts not Man City -  so why not vent that criticism on our management team who got it totally wrong last night.

[Cruyff]

3 hours ago, DesertDawg said:

 

 

That's why we signed this guy.

 

 

 

Folk just don't give players time. I'm sure he'll come good. 

[dougal]

21 hours ago, Lord Beni of Gorgie said:

Its on Beni at the moment. If he isnt coming back strong we need one in there for this level. I think we have too much power for most SPL teams, though it obviously doesnt hurt. Bit like strikers, these are the players everyone wants, getting the one we need probably difficult. We have a young lad from Australia who needs some time to adjust, when he does, he will improve us

In your opinion. We can't bank on that unfortunately. I hope he becomes the player we think he will but it's no guarantee. We've signed plenty of players in the past who we think are going to be great but ultimately don't turn out to be. 

 

As has been said if Beni isn't going to be back to his previous standard then we probably do need to bring in another creative midfield type. Probably a loan at this late stage tbh. But still one I think we should be looking at.

[dougal]

20 hours ago, Jambof3tornado said:

Nope,1st thought always the safe pass,also more often than not a short backwards pass. He also needs 3 touches to control the ball.

 

Good player at what he does

If we had a good quality play maker beside Devlin then that would work great. Devlin breaks up play/recovers possession. Passes it to the playmaker and let them drive us forward. 

[Jambof3tornado]

2 hours ago, dougal said:

If we had a good quality play maker beside Devlin then that would work great. Devlin breaks up play/recovers possession. Passes it to the playmaker and let them drive us forward. 

Yup..need to see if nieuwenhof is that man.

[Sooks]

Has to be an MG model , and I think a Montego would be better 

[Jambof3tornado]

8 hours ago, Cruyff said:

Folk just don't give players time. I'm sure he'll come good. 

Yup we need to give him time to settle. Stand out in Aussie league last year,I'm not accepting that the SPFL is streets ahead standard wise.

 

Hoping to cheer him on at dundee tomorrow. Got to give him gametime.

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

10 hours ago, dougal said:

In your opinion. We can't bank on that unfortunately. I hope he becomes the player we think he will but it's no guarantee. We've signed plenty of players in the past who we think are going to be great but ultimately don't turn out to be. 

 

As has been said if Beni isn't going to be back to his previous standard then we probably do need to bring in another creative midfield type. Probably a loan at this late stage tbh. But still one I think we should be looking at.

It is my opinion but I did lift it off Steven Naismith. 

 

I'll stick with it