***Official Heart of Midlothian v PAOK Match Thread***

[MattyK82]

8 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Or the ones we have to be fully fit, crazy though that sounds. 

Now you are asking for a bit much 😉

[Pasquale for King]

9 minutes ago, MattyK82 said:

Now you are asking for a bit much 😉

Crazy talk eh 🤪🤦🏽?

[Pasquale for King]

21 minutes ago, Victorian said:

 

Assumed he is.  Maybe not then.  If not,  and maybe even if he is,  we could try a Levein vs Bordeaux special.  Pack out the midfield in whatever formation can be cobbled together.  Might involve a gamble of going 3 at the back.  

Should never assume. He wasn’t on the bench for our last two games. 

[Victorian]

If we're going to pack the midfield

 

Clark

Offiah  Kent  Kingsley

Atkinson  Cochrane

Oda  Devlin  Denholm  Vargas

Shankland

 

 

[superjack]

5 minutes ago, Victorian said:

If we're going to pack the midfield

 

Clark

Offiah  Kent  Kingsley

Atkinson  Cochrane

Oda  Devlin  Denholm  Vargas

Shankland

 

 

If we are going for that line up, I'd have toby in before chariots. 

[Bauld]

________________Clark

 

_______Offiah___Kent__Rowles

 

Atkinson______Devlin__________Kingsley

 

Oda_________We're ****ed __Cochrane

 

_____________Shankland

 

 

Edited August 31, 2023 by Bauld

[Victorian]

7 minutes ago, superjack said:

If we are going for that line up, I'd have toby in before chariots. 

 

I prefer the more natural left and right back doubling up.

 

Offiah/Atkinson

Kingsley/Cochrane

 

 

[longmalx]

I'd be tempted to switch to a back 3:

                           Clark

            Kent      Sibbick       Kingsley

Atkinson                                         Cochrane
                                    Devlin
                Denholm
                                                 Lowry
                 Boyce
                                      Shankland

 

Kent needs to be RCB as we want a header there and Sibbick has done OK in middle of back 3 in the past.
Cochrane / Atkinson have a tough gig of providing width with Boyce  / Lowry drifting wide.
 

EDITED TO ADD: Grant should really be playing where Denholm is. People forget he was having a great game against Zurich in that position until the red card.

Edited August 31, 2023 by longmalx

[Craig_]

31 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

Viaplay 1 or on here

http://www.fawanews.com/

 

Nice one, cheers.

[GinRummy]

So hard to predict a line up for this so I'll probably make an arse of it.

 

Convinced he won't play three at the back so i reckon he'll go for this -

 

Clark

 

Atkinson

Kent

Rowles

Kingsley

 

Oda

Sibbick

Devlin

Cochrane

 

Boyce

Shankland

 

Not really sure what I'd go for but I reckon the above will be close to our line up.

[jock _turd]

FFS we have so many midfield players we can have some that are not considered because they are out of favour 😅

Personally as long as they don't score five against us I will be happy. I don't want them to be saying we lost five as well. In saying that the five the shipped was against s good side, we should have beaten PAOK at Tynie.

[cazzyy]

35 minutes ago, By The Light.. said:

 

I've just signed up for Viaplay on Virgin £12.99 a month, takes 4 hours so do it soon if thinking about it, gets the Scotland games and League Cup if you can't be arsed driving to Killie on a Tuesday night 

 

£156 a year?  IPTV is about a third of that. Mind you it is illegal so nobody should be doing that.

[Bauld]

3 minutes ago, cazzyy said:

 

£156 a year?  IPTV is about a third of that. Mind you it is illegal so nobody should be doing that.

 

You pay for illegal TV?

 

Surely you should just stream for free if you are going to do it illegally. 

 

You wouldn't pay to rob a local shop. 

[jock _turd]

11 minutes ago, Bauld said:

 

You pay for illegal TV?

 

Surely you should just stream for free if you are going to do it illegally. 

 

You wouldn't pay to rob a local shop. 

 

😅😅😅👍

[cazzyy]

12 minutes ago, Bauld said:

 

You pay for illegal TV?

 

Surely you should just stream for free if you are going to do it illegally. 

 

You wouldn't pay to rob a local shop. 

 

Free streams tend to buffer and have ads popping up constantly.

 

IPTV in my experience is flawless even in HD.

 

I wouldn't pay to rob a local shop but I might invest a small amount to rob a shop with quality goods inside.

[Bauld]

1 minute ago, cazzyy said:

 

Free streams tend to buffer and have ads popping up constantly.

 

IPTV in my experience is flawless even in HD.

 

I wouldn't pay to rob a local shop but I might invest a small amount to rob a shop with quality goods inside.

 

Twitter streams are usually decent quality and ad free. 

 

Fawanews once you've closed the initial ads it tends to be the same unless you move away from the window.

 

(So I'm told)

[jack D and coke]

Line up won’t matter a sook.
Shuffling chairs around on the deck of the titanic.
Getting a scudding tonight imo. 

 

[cazzyy]

2 minutes ago, Bauld said:

 

Twitter streams are usually decent quality and ad free. 

 

Fawanews once you've closed the initial ads it tends to be the same unless you move away from the window.

 

(So I'm told)

 

IPTV allows me to watch virtually any channel, movie, documentary or series on my TV in HD, ad free.  No comparison tbh.

 

* at least it would if I had it.

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

22 minutes ago, Bauld said:

 

You pay for illegal TV?

 

Surely you should just stream for free if you are going to do it illegally. 

 

You wouldn't pay to rob a local shop. 

Playing golf with two lads recently, not my normal partners, one complained about the price of his stick going up, the other guy piped up, aye its shite even robbery is not immune to inflation

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

1 minute ago, jack D and coke said:

Line up won’t matter a sook.
Shuffling chairs around on the deck of the titanic.
Getting a scudding tonight imo. 

 

Its how we can suck the life out of them the way Dundee did to us. And pray.

[Bauld]

I didn't realise their pitch was bigger than the Camp Nou.

 

Over 30° temperatures and a massive pitch.

 

They'll use that and drain the life out of us.

[jack D and coke]

5 minutes ago, Lord Beni of Gorgie said:

It’s how we can suck the life out of them the way Dundee did to us. And pray.

 Don’t get me wrong be nobody happier (or shocked) if we manage it. 
Scottish teams are awful though it’s a damage limitation and hopefully no absaloot beamer of a scoreline for me. 

[GinRummy]

10 minutes ago, jack D and coke said:

Line up won’t matter a sook.
Shuffling chairs around on the deck of the titanic.
Getting a scudding tonight imo. 

 

Something to talk about though.

 

What line up would you go for 😁

[liam11]

I think we have no option but to surrender the midfield and try to counter. We’ll have to defend better than we ever have, and look for the quick ball in behind - at least we have some genuine pace for that.

 

Thats going to involve leaving players up the pitch though, and it’s not something our coaching staff seem to entertain 

[spacerjoe]

1 hour ago, GinRummy said:

I said we can't sit in but because we don't have the personnel to do it. Our defence and midfield are weak but we have forwards to hurt them. Playing it cagey will be an absolute disaster.

Yep, I agree.

 

[jack D and coke]

7 minutes ago, GinRummy said:

Something to talk about though.

 

What line up would you go for 😁

Some variation on the old 10-0-0 formation. Shankland and Boycey in behind Zander Clark too heeding it off the line cos our CH’s attack the ball like 12 year old girls at times. Kent excepted actually. 

Wed still lose but at least it wouldn’t be a total riddy. 
 

[GinRummy]

Just now, jack D and coke said:

Some variation on the old 10-0-0 formation. Shankland and Boycey in behind Zander Clark too heeding it off the line cos our CH’s attack the ball like 12 year old girls at times. Kent excepted actually. 

Wed still lose but at least it wouldn’t be a total riddy. 
 

😁

[spacerjoe]

2 hours ago, Batistuta87 said:

 

Strange comment.

 

Kingsley can handle himself in the air. He's not the best (and neither is Rowles) but as things are just now I would trust Kingsley on the ball more than I would trust Rowles. He's looking very nervous and his decision making has been shocking. 

 

We have got nothing to lose. We're on the back foot now matter what way you look at it. We need to go for it. And if we were 1-0 down in a cup final I would fully expect us to go for it then too. 

 

For sure, a bit extreme. I just have terrible memories of Kingsley, Smith, Cochrane all taking turns at CB and us getting destroyed on any high or cross ball.

 

As mentioned in another comment, Kingsley was bullied by Istanbul.

 

I'll put it another way though, in all the areas where we think Rowles is weak, I think Kingsley is weaker.

 

We just signed a CB - why not play him?

 

Kingsley is good on left of a 3 and great at LB. Let him play where he is best.

[TheBigO]

1 hour ago, GinRummy said:

So hard to predict a line up for this so I'll probably make an arse of it.

 

Convinced he won't play three at the back so i reckon he'll go for this -

 

Clark

 

Atkinson

Kent

Rowles

Kingsley

 

Oda

Sibbick

Devlin

Cochrane

 

Boyce

Shankland

 

Not really sure what I'd go for but I reckon the above will be close to our line up.

Is the only team I can see personally.    Other option is Alex at CM but then who plays LW - I like the idea of him LW and think it strengthens us across the middle of the park - helps the CMs.  Other wingers like Vargas, Lowry, have other positives, but we don't get that from them

[daavojaay]

1 hour ago, longmalx said:

I'd be tempted to switch to a back 3:

                           Clark

            Kent      Sibbick       Kingsley

Atkinson                                         Cochrane
                                    Devlin
                Denholm
                                                 Lowry
                 Boyce
                                      Shankland

 

Kent needs to be RCB as we want a header there and Sibbick has done OK in middle of back 3 in the past.
Cochrane / Atkinson have a tough gig of providing width with Boyce  / Lowry drifting wide.
 

EDITED TO ADD: Grant should really be playing where Denholm is. People forget he was having a great game against Zurich in that position until the red card.

u would really take vargas running and directness away hes been our best player past few games and could have massive part to play tonigh i think this will be line up 

                          clark 

 

atkinson kent  rowles kinsley 

 

       cammy    denholm 

 

   vargas  boyce   lowry 

            shankland

[daavojaay]

1 hour ago, jock _turd said:

FFS we have so many midfield players we can have some that are not considered because they are out of favour 😅

Personally as long as they don't score five against us I will be happy. I don't want them to be saying we lost five as well. In saying that the five the shipped was against s good side, we should have beaten PAOK at Tynie.

i think its gonna be alot closer than people think as long as we dont concede early all we need is a goal to take to extra time. we are more than capable

[EIEIO]

2 hours ago, cazzyy said:

 

Rangers and Celtic both failed to beat Killie in August.

Motherwell beat Killie so best start shitting ourselves for Sunday, by that logic. I'd love us to beat PAOK and progress just can't see it, unfortunately.

[Ricardo Quaresma]

4 hours ago, Mr Kipling said:

I wouldn't have Sibbick anywhere near midfield. He was a complete bombscare vs Dundee. I would prefer Denholm but appreciate he is too inexperienced. Is Cochrane our only option? How is Beni?

 

I only counted 1 bad forward pass from Sibbick on Sunday

 

It'll be Cochrane in LCM anyway, he's a fast learner

[cazzyy]

11 minutes ago, EIEIO said:

Motherwell beat Killie so best start shitting ourselves for Sunday, by that logic. I'd love us to beat PAOK and progress just can't see it, unfortunately.

 

Well exactly, but it was your logic not mine.  Edit: might not have been yours but I'm not looking back to find out, point stands. 

 

Fingers crossed we keep our dignity tonight. 👍🇵🇪

Edited August 31, 2023 by cazzyy

[GinRummy]

23 minutes ago, TheBigO said:

Is the only team I can see personally.    Other option is Alex at CM but then who plays LW - I like the idea of him LW and think it strengthens us across the middle of the park - helps the CMs.  Other wingers like Vargas, Lowry, have other positives, but we don't get that from them

Some pace and guile off the bench could be handy. 

[Chong]

1 minute ago, Ricardo Quaresma said:

 

I only counted 1 bad forward pass from Sibbick on Sunday

 

It'll be Cochrane in LCM anyway, he's a fast learner

 

I think Cochrane and Devlin in there too. Boyce may be more withdrawn in that "ten" role to help numbers and we can hope for pace in wide areas from Vargas and Oda to get close to Shankland. Atkinson and Kingsley maybe able to add in support at times but mainly staying compact in a flat four with Kent and Rowles. 

That's how I see us setting up and if we can get a bit luck we may have a chance with that. That would give us a threat and a chance of scoring twice.....might not be able to control the midfield at all though given the big Russian that missed the Tynecastle tie is back and seems to be a very good player.

Let's go. 

[Thunder and Lightning]

1 hour ago, cazzyy said:

 

£156 a year?  IPTV is about a third of that. Mind you it is illegal so nobody should be doing that.

Yeah, and you get all this and more for your money. 

 

Allegedly. 😂 

[OTT]

27 minutes ago, TheBigO said:

Is the only team I can see personally.    Other option is Alex at CM but then who plays LW - I like the idea of him LW and think it strengthens us across the middle of the park - helps the CMs.  Other wingers like Vargas, Lowry, have other positives, but we don't get that from them

 

I think the issue is there are no good options in the middle of the park currently. 

 

I still stand by my Jeando Fuchs suggestion, albeit I'm going a little full Bongo about it (and him being injured). 

 

Got to say, I'm feeling a little bit bitter towards Savage/the recruitment team. Grant has been an abject failure and Halliday appears to have been handed a contract in a bit of a jobs for the boys way from Robbie. Beni's fitness after being out for so long should have had a big fat question mark under it regardless and that would have left just Devlin and Haring as our options in the middle. Haring being notoriously injury prone.. It feels a little bit like a failure in planning here. 

 

Cochrane and Sibbick as emergency options in midfield just isn't good enough. Cammy needs a comfortable partner and unfortunately, neither are that. 

[Ricardo Quaresma]

3 hours ago, Gorgi1874 said:

I had a dream I saved a half frozen owl. Must be the Greek beer

 

Definitely about Callum Paterson

[Ricardo Quaresma]

3 hours ago, kingantti1874 said:

Not looking forward to this at all really, as the week has gone on my confidence has dipped big time.

 

i don’t think we have the players available to do it.  We could and possibly should have won last week but none the less you could tell they are still the better side

 

We have to go for it; we were on the back foot as soon as they got their penalty and it totally changed the game

 

We got forward a lot, still, but we never played right after that

 

Offiah has to go in at CB; I already stated that Rowles should've been taken out of the firing line before Sunday and again he's been involved in a capitulation; he needs to take a breather

 

-

Edited August 31, 2023 by Ricardo Quaresma

[Sooks]

3 hours ago, Gorgi1874 said:

I had a dream I saved a half frozen owl. Must be the Greek beer

Did you rescue it from that Meuller weirdo that was scooping ten grand a week at Hibs

[TheBigO]

27 minutes ago, OTT said:

 

I think the issue is there are no good options in the middle of the park currently. 

 

I still stand by my Jeando Fuchs suggestion, albeit I'm going a little full Bongo about it (and him being injured). 

 

Got to say, I'm feeling a little bit bitter towards Savage/the recruitment team. Grant has been an abject failure and Halliday appears to have been handed a contract in a bit of a jobs for the boys way from Robbie. Beni's fitness after being out for so long should have had a big fat question mark under it regardless and that would have left just Devlin and Haring as our options in the middle. Haring being notoriously injury prone.. It feels a little bit like a failure in planning here. 

 

Cochrane and Sibbick as emergency options in midfield just isn't good enough. Cammy needs a comfortable partner and unfortunately, neither are that. 

Yes.  A bit.

 

But your ire is misplaced if you have ire.  The manager decides what the squad needs and Joe and his team find it.  The only bit they're to blame for is "Grant has been an abject failure".  Not my totaly feeling, I don't mind Jorge and would think he could be useful tonight but hey I dont see training.

 

Joe was asked to find a midfielder, he brought in Newy and whatever anyone says, the lad has a calf strain and can't play.  Plenty people had him down as the best player in the A-league, so there's something in the kid.

 

If he was asked for 2 midfielders or 3 or 4.  Or specifically asked to find ones who are in SPFL or like Kent playing somewhere they can step in straight away, then he's perhaps failed.  We don't know is the point, I guess?

 

I have to say at the start of the season I didn't personally feel we were light at CM.  Pete looked the fittest he'd been in years (rolled his ankle, I mean what can ya do?!), Beni had been back since May and reports were he was raring to go.  I love Cam to bits and we just signed the best CM in Oz.  Grant and Sibbick (and now Cochrane) as options if need be.  Smith, Denholm, Tait, Pollock, although I htink he plays further forward.  I'd say we felt covered.  But the worst has happened and we now look woefully short.  I'm not blaming Joe for that, I have to say.

[Ricardo Quaresma]

36 minutes ago, OTT said:

I think the issue is there are no good options in the middle of the park currently. 

 

I still stand by my Jeando Fuchs suggestion, albeit I'm going a little full Bongo about it (and him being injured). 

 

Got to say, I'm feeling a little bit bitter towards Savage/the recruitment team. Grant has been an abject failure and Halliday appears to have been handed a contract in a bit of a jobs for the boys way from Robbie. Beni's fitness after being out for so long should have had a big fat question mark under it regardless and that would have left just Devlin and Haring as our options in the middle. Haring being notoriously injury prone.. It feels a little bit like a failure in planning here. 

 

Cochrane and Sibbick as emergency options in midfield just isn't good enough. Cammy needs a comfortable partner and unfortunately, neither are that. 

 

I did post he was injured until 15/11, about a week ago, but yes, he looks good

[OTT]

4 minutes ago, Ricardo Quaresma said:

 

I did post he was injured until 15/11, about a week ago, but yes, he looks good

 

Haha, Yeah don't worry I remembered - Added it on at the end 😛  

 

Well spotted though! Probably should have checked initially!

 

 

[Ricardo Quaresma]

7 minutes ago, OTT said:

Haha, Yeah don't worry I remembered - Added it on at the end 😛  

 

Well spotted though! Probably should have checked initially!

 

What can you do eh? Even signing targets get injured FFS!

 

 

 

Edit: FS, never spotted that bit, apologies pal, wouldn't have bothered if I saw that

 

Just dove in assuming you still never knew about injury

 

-

Edited August 31, 2023 by Ricardo Quaresma

[spacerjoe]

4 hours ago, Pasquale for King said:

You cant say Kingsley cant head the ball, he’s far better at doing so than Rowles and Toby. He won a few headers in the opposition box last week, something the other two rarely do. PAOK are not likely to play high balls anyway and their two CHs don’t look great in the air either. 

I'm very confident of him winning headers in the middle of the park or a ball floated down the wing.

 

What I'm not confident of is him defending against an aggressive cross against a seasoned CF.

 

Kingsley is a wonderful player. Playing out from a back 3, he's brilliant. And he seems to have his mojo back at LB again this year.

 

In a CB pairing? No thanks.

 

 

[The White Cockade]

Sorry to say I think we will take a tanking tonight whatever the starting 11

Hope not obviously but it’s watch through your fingers time 

[spacerjoe]

3 hours ago, Bauld said:

________________Clark

 

_______Offiah___Kent__Rowles

 

Atkinson______Devlin__________Kingsley

 

Oda_________We're ****ed __Cochrane

 

_____________Shankland

 

 

Is Boyce out? Did I miss something?

[OTT]

3 minutes ago, The White Cockade said:

Sorry to say I think we will take a tanking tonight whatever the starting 11

Hope not obviously but it’s watch through your fingers time 

 

Yeah, I'm not feeling too optimistic either.

 

TBH I'm thinking we're out and this is pretty much a forgone conclusion. But I want to see some fight from the team and a little less naivety. Don't for the love of god lose a goal inside 10 minutes. if that happens, I think we'll get hammered. 

[spacerjoe]

4 minutes ago, The White Cockade said:

Sorry to say I think we will take a tanking tonight whatever the starting 11

Hope not obviously but it’s watch through your fingers time 

I thought all you had to do to beat a better team was to 'believe'?

 

Where have all the 'believe' guys gone?

 

I'm looking forward to tonight. Its a European night!

 

Could take a tanking, but who knows? Its not like they battered us the first leg.