***Hearts Winter Transfer Window 2024 SLAMS SHUT***

[OTT]

If Naisy is still here by then, I think we're just going to need to keep lurching forward with virtually the same squad. There was a reason we couldn't get rid of everyone we wanted to and I think in January the issue isn't going to suddenly resolve itself. But hopefully we can at least look at loaning them out and getting most of their wages off the wage bill. Maybe give Savage a bit space on our wage bill to work with. 

 

Do hope we're able to add a little bit of quality. Maybe try for some experience and give us a bit of push for the final stretch of the season. Halkett coming back and hopefully Beni getting back to normal before Christmas could be like new signings. Although, after whatever we want to call Beni's cameo v Rosenborg, its maybe a bit risky to be betting anything on them coming back the same players. 

[Ricardo Quaresma]

12 hours ago, Turkishcap said:

Way back to 1973!

 

That should tempt some hibbys to post

[Batistuta87]

12 hours ago, OTT said:

If Naisy is still here by then, I think we're just going to need to keep lurching forward with virtually the same squad. There was a reason we couldn't get rid of everyone we wanted to and I think in January the issue isn't going to suddenly resolve itself. But hopefully we can at least look at loaning them out and getting most of their wages off the wage bill. Maybe give Savage a bit space on our wage bill to work with. 

 

Do hope we're able to add a little bit of quality. Maybe try for some experience and give us a bit of push for the final stretch of the season. Halkett coming back and hopefully Beni getting back to normal before Christmas could be like new signings. Although, after whatever we want to call Beni's cameo v Rosenborg, its maybe a bit risky to be betting anything on them coming back the same players. 

 

 

January is a long time away for a player who isn't getting a game. If we've failed to move someone on or if they've turned down moves in the summer, they might be a bit more keen to get going if they don't get much game time for us these next few months. Grant will be easy to move on if we want to because he's done so well in L1 down south. I think most clubs down there would be glad to have him. Halliday is the other who everyone wants to see moved on but with him being out of contract at the end of the season I think he'll probably just run that down as a backup player and then leave as a free agent which I'd be quite happy with. Again though he would be quite easy to move on if we really wanted to and I'm sure he'd go straight into most SPL sides. 

 

Edited September 13, 2023 by Batistuta87

[heartsfc_fan]

Michael Smith has signed for Yeovil Town.

[Batistuta87]

Michael Smith has signed for Yeovil Town btw. 

 

Pleased for him as he'll get to live where he wants to live, and can keep playing. Best of luck to him! 

 

Edited September 13, 2023 by Batistuta87

[Chimp]

5 minutes ago, heartsfc_fan said:

Michael Smith has signed for Yeovil Town.

And what has this got to do with the winter transfer window? It's September 😂

[Batistuta87]

Just now, Chimp said:

And what has this got to do with the winter transfer window? It's September 😂

Hearts related transfer news. 

I think a lot of Jambos will be interested to know he's signed for someone... 

 

[Carter]

Good to see him get fixed up. Similar to Connor Smith it's the sixth tier of English football. 

 

He'll come up against a former teammate in Elliott Frear in a couple of weeks. 

[Chimp]

5 minutes ago, Batistuta87 said:

Hearts related transfer news. 

I think a lot of Jambos will be interested to know he's signed for someone... 

 

 

I'm sure they will be interested but this isn't the winter transfer window or even close to it?

[heartsfc_fan]

10 minutes ago, Chimp said:

 

I'm sure they will be interested but this isn't the winter transfer window or even close to it?

Couldn't be bothered finding the summer transfer thread to post in it.

 

It's minor news, but probably useful information.

[Batistuta87]

38 minutes ago, Carter said:

Good to see him get fixed up. Similar to Connor Smith it's the sixth tier of English football. 

 

He'll come up against a former teammate in Elliott Frear in a couple of weeks. 

National League N/S and the National League are pretty competitive and draw decent crowds to be fair, and some players are on decent money. Probably more than some players up here! Clubs are desperate to get into EFL and it took Wrexham 3 seasons with multi-millionaire owners to get from NL to L2. Watch the documentaries on them (Welcome To Wrexham) and Dorking (Bunch Of Amateurs) if you're interested. They're very good  

 

Edited September 13, 2023 by Batistuta87

[Armageddon]

2 hours ago, Batistuta87 said:

Michael Smith has signed for Yeovil Town btw. 

 

Pleased for him as he'll get to live where he wants to live, and can keep playing. Best of luck to him! 

 

 

Could've done a job tbh.

[maroonshrew]

2 hours ago, Batistuta87 said:

Michael Smith has signed for Yeovil Town btw. 

 

Pleased for him as he'll get to live where he wants to live, and can keep playing. Best of luck to him! 

 

Really surprised he had to drop to that level. Im a season ticket holder at Tonbridge Angels in that league and it's very part time. He will be by far and away the most capable player in the league. I'll be sure to wear a Hearts strip the day he visits. 

[GinRummy]

4 hours ago, Chimp said:

And what has this got to do with the winter transfer window? It's September 😂

Within the next 500 pages we’ll discuss everything from Scottish Nationalism to the best place to get a fish supper in Motherwell so good luck trying to keep it on topic. 

[lost in space]

52 minutes ago, GinRummy said:

Within the next 500 pages we’ll discuss everything from Scottish Nationalism to the best place to get a fish supper in Motherwell so good luck trying to keep it on topic. 

Why would even a Scottish Nationalist want to have a fish supper on a Topic?

Maybe a deep fried MARS bar  right enough .....

[Chimp]

1 hour ago, GinRummy said:

Within the next 500 pages we’ll discuss everything from Scottish Nationalism to the best place to get a fish supper in Motherwell so good luck trying to keep it on topic. 

🤣

[GinRummy]

11 minutes ago, lost in space said:

Why would even a Scottish Nationalist want to have a fish supper on a Topic?

Maybe a deep fried MARS bar  right enough .....

😀

[Batistuta87]

2 hours ago, maroonshrew said:

Really surprised he had to drop to that level. Im a season ticket holder at Tonbridge Angels in that league and it's very part time. He will be by far and away the most capable player in the league. I'll be sure to wear a Hearts strip the day he visits. 

Not sure he's physically capable of playing at much higher a level to be honest. Definitely couldn't do another season up here or I think he would have. National League down south is probably similar standard to our Championship. 

 

3 hours ago, Armageddon said:

 

Could've done a job tbh.

Maybe in the shop? He definitely can't play at this level any more. Has big issues with his back. 

 

[heartsfc_fan]

I get impression Michael Smith was waiting for a club in that area down here.

Was it said on here a while ago his wife wanted to settle in Bristol or Bath? Can't remember which it was. And he did have a trial at Cheltenham in the summer. Another team not too far away in that area.

 

 

Edited September 13, 2023 by heartsfc_fan

[OTT]

1 hour ago, heartsfc_fan said:

I get impression Michael Smith was waiting for a club in that area down here.

Was it said on here a while ago his wife wanted to settle in Bristol or Bath? Can't remember which it was. And he did have a trial at Cheltenham in the summer. Another team not too far away in that area.

 

 

 

Makes sense. At 35 zero point in taking a move that doesn't suit him and his family.

 

Hope it works out for him. Can't help but think Smith deserved better from his teammates throughout his time here. At his peak was the last player on the pitch you needed to worry about. Sadly most of his time here we were in varying degrees of having ****ed something up. Still, at least he got to play in Europe for us last season. 

[maroonshrew]

17 hours ago, Batistuta87 said:

Not sure he's physically capable of playing at much higher a level to be honest. Definitely couldn't do another season up here or I think he would have. National League down south is probably similar standard to our Championship. 

 

Maybe in the shop? He definitely can't play at this level any more. Has big issues with his back. 

 

Yea I’d say that level comparison is pretty spot on. But he’s dropped a level below national league to the regional NLS which is mainly teachers and plumbers. But it seems like he was staying West Country no matter the level for the sake of his family. I’m excited to see him strut his stuff at Longmead “stadium” 

[Batistuta87]

38 minutes ago, maroonshrew said:

Yea I’d say that level comparison is pretty spot on. But he’s dropped a level below national league to the regional NLS which is mainly teachers and plumbers. But it seems like he was staying West Country no matter the level for the sake of his family. I’m excited to see him strut his stuff at Longmead “stadium” 

 

Yeah like I say it looks like he's playing just for the sake of playing, somewhere close to home. He is probably about that sort of level though as NLS and up well into EFL L2 is pretty close I would say. There are plenty teams in NL who could handle themselves in L2/even L1. 

 

[Robbo-Jambo]

19 hours ago, heartsfc_fan said:

I get impression Michael Smith was waiting for a club in that area down here.

Was it said on here a while ago his wife wanted to settle in Bristol or Bath? Can't remember which it was. And he did have a trial at Cheltenham in the summer. Another team not too far away in that area.

 

 

Think he had a house built in that area quite a few years ago.

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

20 hours ago, GinRummy said:

Within the next 500 pages we’ll discuss everything from Scottish Nationalism to the best place to get a fish supper in Motherwell so good luck trying to keep it on topic. 

I would bet Miss West Lothian will stretch to a few hundred pages of frivolity to add to the mix😉

[GinRummy]

3 hours ago, All roads lead to Gorgie said:

I would bet Miss West Lothian will stretch to a few hundred pages of frivolity to add to the mix😉

😂 always a fun thread 

[maroonshrew]

4 hours ago, Batistuta87 said:

 

Yeah like I say it looks like he's playing just for the sake of playing, somewhere close to home. He is probably about that sort of level though as NLS and up well into EFL L2 is pretty close I would say. There are plenty teams in NL who could handle themselves in L2/even L1. 

 

I'd agree within the NL top half looking up. The drop to NLS really is monumental though in many cases. The likes of Tonbridge, St Albans, Braintree couldn't cope in the NL let alone above. They don't have a single professional player nor the infrastructure or budget to be able to sign them. 

That said, Elliot Frear plays for Bath City and can't get a game. Unsurprisingly. 

[OTT]

Wonder what it would take to pry Danny Armstrong away from Killie?

 

Still irked he signed an extension there, would have a been a very good signing for us. Probably financially out of reach with what Killie would want. 

[Cruyff]

16 minutes ago, OTT said:

Wonder what it would take to pry Danny Armstrong away from Killie?

 

Still irked he signed an extension there, would have a been a very good signing for us. Probably financially out of reach with what Killie would want. 

Swap for Forrest and Halliday. He's pretty decent that Armstrong. 

[GinRummy]

19 minutes ago, OTT said:

Wonder what it would take to pry Danny Armstrong away from Killie?

 

Still irked he signed an extension there, would have a been a very good signing for us. Probably financially out of reach with what Killie would want. 

Hearts aside, you have to ask what on earth he was thinking about signing a new contract with Killie. 

[Batistuta87]

33 minutes ago, maroonshrew said:

I'd agree within the NL top half looking up. The drop to NLS really is monumental though in many cases. The likes of Tonbridge, St Albans, Braintree couldn't cope in the NL let alone above. They don't have a single professional player nor the infrastructure or budget to be able to sign them. 

That said, Elliot Frear plays for Bath City and can't get a game. Unsurprisingly. 

Elliot Frear wouldn't get a game for my lad's U10 team. Diabolically soft footballer. 

 

[WheatfieldWarrior]

On 11/09/2023 at 14:52, Lord Beni of Gorgie said:

16 weeks away, 16 weeks too long? Which means Christmas is 15, too soon. Now Australia have moved Rowles to left back, we don't need him there, another centre back required even beyond Halkett

 

How many sleeps unit the transfer window opens?

[OTT]

45 minutes ago, GinRummy said:

Hearts aside, you have to ask what on earth he was thinking about signing a new contract with Killie. 

 

It seems like some pretty shit advice from his agent, but then again, his agent is Agent Orange himself. So if its not related to a move to the rangers, he's probably not overly interested. 

[RustyRightPeg]

50 minutes ago, GinRummy said:

Hearts aside, you have to ask what on earth he was thinking about signing a new contract with Killie. 

5 clubs since 2015. 
 

Probably thought a bit of stability and playing for a manager who believes in him would do him some good. Isn’t going too badly. 
 

McInnes also has a decent track record for making wingers better in fairness. 

[GinRummy]

Just now, RustyRightPeg said:

5 clubs since 2015. 
 

Probably thought a bit of stability and playing for a manager who believes in him would do him some good. Isn’t going too badly. 
 

McInnes also has a decent track record for making wingers better in fairness. 

That’s quite refreshing if that’s the reason. Normally players just want to move on quickly for bigger wages. If he’s staying for (more or less) football reasons then good on him. 

[RustyRightPeg]

3 minutes ago, GinRummy said:

That’s quite refreshing if that’s the reason. Normally players just want to move on quickly for bigger wages. If he’s staying for (more or less) football reasons then good on him. 

Just my theory. Seems logical for a change 🤣 

[Jim Panzee]

1 hour ago, Cruyff said:

Swap for Forrest and Halliday. He's pretty decent that Armstrong. 

he is.....but I wonder if he'd be the next Alan Forest if he signed for us.

 

don't mean to pick on Forest as he seems to have a great attitude....but after a bright start hasn't really kicked on.... 

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

1 hour ago, WheatfieldWarrior said:

 

How many sleeps unit the transfer window opens?

Not many if this form continues ☹️

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

3 hours ago, WheatfieldWarrior said:

 

How many sleeps unit the transfer window opens?

109

[hisnameis]

Talking of right back's is there any rumours/hint of us getting an out of contract one. or any OOC player. Or are we gonna try to ride it out like we did last season. PTB suggested the other day that we were looking at an ex blackburn player but it has been very quiet since then. Perhaps our failure to move on a couple has scuppered this.

[OTT]

10 hours ago, hisnameis said:

Talking of right back's is there any rumours/hint of us getting an out of contract one. or any OOC player. Or are we gonna try to ride it out like we did last season. PTB suggested the other day that we were looking at an ex blackburn player but it has been very quiet since then. Perhaps our failure to move on a couple has scuppered this.

 

[Batistuta87]

18 hours ago, GinRummy said:

Hearts aside, you have to ask what on earth he was thinking about signing a new contract with Killie. 

 

Signed his extension in November last year so it wasn't like clubs could approach him with any other offers at the time. Maybe they've chucked daft money at him to get him to sign before that happened, or maybe he's quite happy there? We're also sitting slagging them off but we haven't actually beaten them in the league since February 2019! 

 

[rocketman19]

2 minutes ago, Batistuta87 said:

 

Signed his extension in November last year so it wasn't like clubs could approach him with any other offers at the time. Maybe they've chucked daft money at him to get him to sign before that happened, or maybe he's quite happy there? We're also sitting slagging them off but we haven't actually beaten them in the league since February 2019! 

 

What a statistic that is even though our wage bill probably about 4 times higher than there's!! Can't beat the mighty killie but that's acceptable, for too long we've accepted losers mentality 

[JamboAl]

2 minutes ago, Selkirkhmfc1874 said:

What a statistic that is even though our wage bill probably about 4 times higher than there's!! Can't beat the mighty killie but that's acceptable, for too long we've accepted losers mentality 

For the last 2 or 3 seasons much of our higher wage bill has been lying on the treatment table.

[rocketman19]

4 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

For the last 2 or 3 seasons much of our higher wage bill has been lying on the treatment table.

We've had horrendous injuries granted but we've still put a team on the pitch that the likes of killie could only dream of those resources 

[soonbe110]

On 13/09/2023 at 10:03, Batistuta87 said:

 

 

January is a long time away for a player who isn't getting a game. If we've failed to move someone on or if they've turned down moves in the summer, they might be a bit more keen to get going if they don't get much game time for us these next few months. Grant will be easy to move on if we want to because he's done so well in L1 down south. I think most clubs down there would be glad to have him. Halliday is the other who everyone wants to see moved on but with him being out of contract at the end of the season I think he'll probably just run that down as a backup player and then leave as a free agent which I'd be quite happy with. Again though he would be quite easy to move on if we really wanted to and I'm sure he'd go straight into most SPL sides. 

 

Very few clubs in league 1 could  come close to matching what we are paying Grant I believe. He will be difficult to move on without us making a financial payout to him. Lots of clubs wanted him in the summer. None could afford him 

[Batistuta87]

9 minutes ago, soonbe110 said:

Very few clubs in league 1 could  come close to matching what we are paying Grant I believe. He will be difficult to move on without us making a financial payout to him. Lots of clubs wanted him in the summer. None could afford him 

 

Yeah you're right there. I would probably just try and loan him out in January, maybe get half his wages paid, and hope that he recaptures some of the form that saw him get into the TOTS, which might make clubs a bit more willing to part with some cash. I'm pretty confident he has no future at Hearts though and that he's just not quite there unfortunately. 

 

[Cruyff]

Keep building and making progress towards the 2024/25 season (if all new signings are decent). I'd be looking at, 

 

GK, Clark, Stone, RB, Atkinson, Rathie, Halkett, Neilson, Kent, Darge, CB, Rowles Flatman, Kingsley, Cochrane, Beni, Devlin, Nieuwenhof, Denholm, Tait, CM, McLuckie, Vargas, Oda, AM Pollack, Sandilands, LW, McKay, Boyce, Shankland, Tagawa, Wilson, ST 

 

[jamboinglasgow]

8 minutes ago, Cruyff said:

Keep building and making progress towards the 2024/25 season (if all new signings are decent). I'd be looking at, 

 

GK, Clark, Stone, RB, Atkinson, Rathie, Halkett, Neilson, Kent, Darge, CB, Rowles Flatman, Kingsley, Cochrane, Beni, Devlin, Nieuwenhof, Denholm, Tait, CM, McLuckie, Vargas, Oda, AM Pollack, Sandilands, LW, McKay, Boyce, Shankland, Tagawa, Wilson, ST 

 

 

Just on this, with current contracts here are what players are available each season.

 

2024/25 

 

GK Clark, McGovern (if 1 year option taken up,) Stone (if 1 year option taken up,)  Wilkie (U18) DF Atkinson, Cochrane, Kent, Kingsley, Rowles, Neilson, Sibbick, Forrester, Rathie, Gillies (U18), Selfridge (U18) MF Grant, McKay, Neiuwenhof, Smith (if 1 year option taken up,) McCluckie, Pollock, Tait, Sandilands, Muirhead U18), Stevenson (U18,) FW Boyce, Oda, Shankland, Tagawa, Wilson, Plesiewicz (U18)

 

2025/26

GK n/a    DF Kent, Rowles  MF Neuiwenhof,  McLuckie  FW Oda, Tagawa, Wilson (if 1 year option taken up,) 

 

2026/27

GK n/a  DF Rowles  MF Neuiwenhof FW n/a

 

2027/28

GK n/a  DF Rowles    MF n/a   FW n/a

[Ricardo Quaresma]

6 hours ago, Batistuta87 said:

Signed his extension in November last year so it wasn't like clubs could approach him with any other offers at the time. Maybe they've chucked daft money at him to get him to sign before that happened, or maybe he's quite happy there? We're also sitting slagging them off but we haven't actually beaten them in the league since February 2019!

 

What am I missing? we beat killie 3-1 last season

 

-

Edited September 15, 2023 by Ricardo Quaresma

[JamboAl]

6 hours ago, Selkirkhmfc1874 said:

We've had horrendous injuries granted but we've still put a team on the pitch that the likes of killie could only dream of those resources 

That is a matter of opinion which results don't bear out.

I could only dream of having a season with "normal" injuries like Killie and others enjoy.

Finance etc apart, when players are constantly injured it means continual changes from week to week and thus consistency goes out of the window -even a primary school child could work that out.

As an example, maybe you could tell us what our best team for tomorrow will be.  Even with (possibly) Beni and others back will they hit the ground running?