New Manager - Critchley confirmed

[Rods]

I was sceptical at the start but Critchley is winning me over. 
 

In one of his recent interviews I think he also identified what we are lacking in the final 3rd which is good as it was clear for all to see.

 

A good win on Wednesday will kick us onto Saturday. 

[sandylejambo]

15 minutes ago, Shankland31 said:

Anybody still on Critchley’s case needs to have a word with themselves including a certain podcast it’s embarrassing patter.

 

We’re not Man United, we got KB’d, so what? Bunch of virgins man. 
 

Since Critchley has come in he’s been an absolute gentleman after what must have been an excruciatingly awkward feeling answering questions about Hogmo. Ridiculous.

 

The guy clearly knows what he’s doing and with a bit of luck he might well be a success.

 

Its more likely he will get that luck if we all get behind him rather than have the man squirm throughout his whole reign.

 

He deserves respect for how he’s conducted himself and how we’ve actually enjoyed the last 3 games since he’s been here.

 

The players are clearly excited about him and so should we be!

I'm not a virgin, but I think I'm growing it back.

[kingantti1874]

57 minutes ago, RENE said:

O thought we lost the 4-4-2 shape against Hibs. Whether it was fatigue, or the occasion, or whatever we certainly seemed to be all over the place when Hibs attacked us.

hibs didn’t really create much form open play tbh.  That said I thought we hit the wall physically about 35 mins in. 

[Smithian]

On 28/10/2024 at 04:44, Leveins Battalion said:

We were far too narrow,it meant Spittal and Dhanda could not really influence as Oyegoke wasn't pushing high enough,Penrice was but the RH side of the park was a problem.

I'm very happy with Critchley so far, but I didn't love the formation against Hibs.

 

Against Omonia, in possession it was noticeable and I think Critchley confirm in possession they had Kingsley sit in for a 3 at the back with Adam Forrester playing high. When Hibs formation came out, I assumed it would be flipped with Oyegoke playing back and narrow with Penrice having free reign to get forward. Not so.

 

Oyegoke playing forward and being in a spot where he needed to give width was tough tough to watch. I think Critchley took too much from his goal against St. Mirren and challenged him to do more against Hibs. Oyegoke has shown the ability to be a winning player, but at this point I think he is so much better playing back with the game in front of him.

 

Not frustrated in any way. I think Critchley was experimenting. I hope to see more of the Omonia game with Hearts playing one of Forrester and Penrice with Kingsley or Oyegoke as more of a third CB than attacking fullback.

[PapaShango]

I'm really liking Critchley, everything he is coming out with is what we can all see every week and I think he will improve it. He just needs to get us up the league and focus on keeping us safe then hopefully a good January window will see us kick on and hopefully have a decent cup run and still be in Europe. 

[PapaShango]

1 hour ago, Shankland31 said:

Anybody still on Critchley’s case needs to have a word with themselves including a certain podcast it’s embarrassing patter.

 

We’re not Man United, we got KB’d, so what? Bunch of virgins man. 
 

Since Critchley has come in he’s been an absolute gentleman after what must have been an excruciatingly awkward feeling answering questions about Hogmo. Ridiculous.

 

The guy clearly knows what he’s doing and with a bit of luck he might well be a success.

 

Its more likely he will get that luck if we all get behind him rather than have the man squirm throughout his whole reign.

 

He deserves respect for how he’s conducted himself and how we’ve actually enjoyed the last 3 games since he’s been here.

 

The players are clearly excited about him and so should we be!

To be fair there has been good backing for him from the stands every game and that should continue, he's started very well and I'm liking what I see from him. He's clearly very astute and knowledgeable and by all accounts really really good on the training pitch. Hopefully we win tomorrow as all we will get if we lose is that we should have appointed McInnes. I can see it already.  

[sac]

Be nice to hear from Mike Garrity, to get an insight into his character, his strengths, and what he thinks of the players he helps coach (or kick the shit out of whatever the case may be)

[Watt-Zeefuik]

8 hours ago, Dazo said:

The being made was Grant went into Boateng’s position when he went off. Rusty was right it didn’t cause us any issues and we looked like the only team that would score. 

They kind of played the same position but we almost went from 2 holding mids to none. Grant and Spittal were yards further up the pitch from the defence at all times and were rotating with the forwards more.

 

It was a hell of a roll of the dice but it worked because Hibs were playing nothing through the middle anyway.

[Yoda]

2 hours ago, Shankland31 said:

Anybody still on Critchley’s case needs to have a word with themselves including a certain podcast it’s embarrassing patter.

 

We’re not Man United, we got KB’d, so what? Bunch of virgins man. 
 

Since Critchley has come in he’s been an absolute gentleman after what must have been an excruciatingly awkward feeling answering questions about Hogmo. Ridiculous.

 

The guy clearly knows what he’s doing and with a bit of luck he might well be a success.

 

Its more likely he will get that luck if we all get behind him rather than have the man squirm throughout his whole reign.

 

He deserves respect for how he’s conducted himself and how we’ve actually enjoyed the last 3 games since he’s been here.

 

The players are clearly excited about him and so should we be!

👏👏👏

[JimmyCant]

1 hour ago, kingantti1874 said:

hibs didn’t really create much form open play tbh.  That said I thought we hit the wall physically about 35 mins in. 

We did, and there’s not much we can do about fitness and stamina during a season where we’re playing twice a week for much of it.

 

For that reason we’re probably going to see 3/4 changes every game up until January where we can hopefully get a bit more quality in the door to see us through and maybe be able to stop selecting players who are clearly not good enough.

[soonbe110]

5 hours ago, Pasquale for King said:

We struggled when Grant came on and lost the goal, him replacing Vargas isn’t quite a straight swap and it wasn’t until he put Wilson and McKay on that we gained an element of control again.

I don’t think it will take him long to see Grants limitations. 

We lost the goal because of Devlin giving away a cheap free kick near our goal.  I doubt Vargas would have stopped the goal from the free-kick.  For once Grant was blameless at the goal. 

[Jambo-Fox]

He’s doing well 

 

♥️♥️♥️♥️

[One five]

10 hours ago, Jambo-Fox said:

He’s doing well 

 

♥️♥️♥️♥️

He is and I’m confident he will put out a team that will get us the win we need.

[Nelly Terraces]

Not important, but just wonder if anyone one here has met/had a chat with Neil or his assistant Mike Garrity? And if so, what were they they like? He seems a very personable guy who'd be well worth listening to. 

Edited October 30, 2024 by Nelly Terraces

[martoon]

The mediocre performance at ER would have been a bit disheartening if Naisy had still been in charge. More than likely just a sample of the mediocrity to come.

 

I don't feel like that with Critchley, though. 

 

I'm quite content to accept the "off day, derby tension, fatigue..." explanations since Sunday.

 

I feel sure we'll be ready and fine for tonight and when the emailing, missile throwers scuttle up to Gorgie on Boxing day.

 

 

[Bongo 1874]

3 games and I like what i have seen so far,he's currently getting a tune out of the players, and I see alot of similarities to Brighton in terms of formation/out of possession.

 

He's played James Wilson, which i think is showing true belief in giving youth a chance.

 

I'm still not 100% sure if he's the man long-term, but he has definitely improved us in terms of Structure, Shape, out of possession and going forward.

 

Keep it up Neil & Mike.

 

Another 3 points tonight.

 

 

 

[Leveins Battalion]

16 minutes ago, Bongo 1874 said:

3 games and I like what i have seen so far,he's currently getting a tune out of the players, and I see alot of similarities to Brighton in terms of formation/out of possession.

 

He's played James Wilson, which i think is showing true belief in giving youth a chance.

 

I'm still not 100% sure if he's the man long-term, but he has definitely improved us in terms of Structure, Shape, out of possession and going forward.

 

Keep it up Neil & Mike.

 

Another 3 points tonight.

 

 

 

 

 

Good to see you back 🇱🇻🙌

[ƒιѕнρℓαρѕ]

1 hour ago, Bongo 1874 said:

3 games and I like what i have seen so far,he's currently getting a tune out of the players, and I see alot of similarities to Brighton in terms of formation/out of possession.

 

He's played James Wilson, which i think is showing true belief in giving youth a chance.

 

I'm still not 100% sure if he's the man long-term, but he has definitely improved us in terms of Structure, Shape, out of possession and going forward.

 

Keep it up Neil & Mike.

 

Another 3 points tonight.

 

 

 

Loved your goal at ER bongo but you don't half talk some shite sometimes 😆

Mind you, me too 🤔

[GinRummy]

1 hour ago, Bongo 1874 said:

3 games and I like what i have seen so far,he's currently getting a tune out of the players, and I see alot of similarities to Brighton in terms of formation/out of possession.

 

He's played James Wilson, which i think is showing true belief in giving youth a chance.

 

I'm still not 100% sure if he's the man long-term, but he has definitely improved us in terms of Structure, Shape, out of possession and going forward.

 

Keep it up Neil & Mike.

 

Another 3 points tonight.

 

 

 

And he’s back. Place wasn’t the same without you 💋 😂

[Bongo 1874]

3 minutes ago, ｕｎｋｎｏｗｎｕｓｅｒ said:

Loved your goal at ER bongo but you don't half talk some shite sometimes 😆

Mind you, me too 🤔

If you are referring to Stevo mate,I'm not him, we share similar opinions but never would i want to endorse Derek as a Hearts boss.

 

I thought Critchley would be similar to Neilson, but have to say I'm really impressed with him so far.

 

I will give a fair opinion on the guy, and he's improved us massively in the short time he has been here.

 

Just for reference mate,I've been called Locke,Preston, Stevo,Banderson every name under the sun 😂🤣 but i can clarify I'm not any of them.

 

3 points tonight and The Critchley Express is in Motion.

[ƒιѕнρℓαρѕ]

31 minutes ago, Bongo 1874 said:

If you are referring to Stevo mate,I'm not him, we share similar opinions but never would i want to endorse Derek as a Hearts boss.

 

I thought Critchley would be similar to Neilson, but have to say I'm really impressed with him so far.

 

I will give a fair opinion on the guy, and he's improved us massively in the short time he has been here.

 

Just for reference mate,I've been called Locke,Preston, Stevo,Banderson every name under the sun 😂🤣 but i can clarify I'm not any of them.

 

3 points tonight and The Critchley Express is in Motion.

 

Aaaaw! I was getting starry eyed too.

Jamie Mac?

[Watt-Zeefuik]

46 minutes ago, Bongo 1874 said:

If you are referring to Stevo mate,I'm not him, we share similar opinions but never would i want to endorse Derek as a Hearts boss.

 

I thought Critchley would be similar to Neilson, but have to say I'm really impressed with him so far.

 

I will give a fair opinion on the guy, and he's improved us massively in the short time he has been here.

 

Just for reference mate,I've been called Locke,Preston, Stevo,Banderson every name under the sun 😂🤣 but i can clarify I'm not any of them.

 

3 points tonight and The Critchley Express is in Motion.

 

I note you didn't say you weren't Gary Naysmith . . .

 

[Gavman81]

I think Bongo is David Witteveen 

[ƒιѕнρℓαρѕ]

10 minutes ago, Watt-Zeefuik said:

 

I note you didn't say you weren't Gary Naysmith . . .

 

 

Goodness, you reckon?

[Watt-Zeefuik]

9 minutes ago, ｕｎｋｎｏｗｎｕｓｅｒ said:

 

Goodness, you reckon?

 

Probably not but there's a decent bit of Bongo's self-reported bio that matches up.

 

[Jambo-Fox]

The honeymoon is over! 
 

The real work starts now. Critchley needs to make his move. He’s been at the club for long enough now to assess who’s ’in’ and who’s ‘out’! Time to stop listening to the ex-academy coach, the kit man and everyone else who has an opinion on what is wrong and what needs to be done to fix it.

 

Time to sort them all out now Neil otherwise they’ll all drag you down. It’s your job so let’s show us all what you’ve got!

♥️♥️♥️♥️

[selkirkhmfc1874]

Just now, Jambo-Fox said:

The honeymoon is over! 
 

The real work starts now. Critchley needs to make his move. He’s been at the club for long enough now to assess who’s ’in’ and who’s ‘out’! Time to stop listening to the ex-academy coach, the kit man and everyone else who has an opinion on what is wrong and what needs to be done to fix it.

 

Time to sort them all out now Neil otherwise they’ll all drag you down. It’s your job so let’s show us all what you’ve got!

♥️♥️♥️♥️

He's got to rely on what he's got until at least January 

[JimmyCant]

Now we’ll see how good he is IMO. Massive job to stay in touching distance before the window opens 

[S Form]

If he can’t figure out how to play against a low block then there is literally no point in him being here. 

[BackOfTheNet]

Have already questioned the decisions of who gets selected on the bench as opposed to who gets left out (from a purely motivational standpoint for younger players) but the last two games have made me question his substitution choices.

 

We praised him in his first game for having the balls to sub Shankland, but maybe that was just to save him for Europe. Against Omonia he brought Penrice on at left wing, which was odd, since Salazar could have done that job better by all accounts, then Kingsley goes off injured and Penrice goes back, yet Salazar doesn’t come on still. But still we won the games so wasn’t a huge deal.

 

Then on Sunday he’s praised for Wilson, but in all honesty taking off our midfield and having Grant and Spittal as a central midfield was a mad risk. Especially since Spittal became ineffectual and Boateng could and should have stayed on so that we could protect and allow attackers to attack better.

 

Tonight? Kilmarnock LOVED Vargas going off. Might not be a fan favourite right now, but he drags a defence around the place. Takes them out wide, brings them deep with him and they constantly worried about his pace. He comes off and they don’t have to worry about pace or channel running etc. He’s replaced by Grant so Killie’s defence just concentrate on Shankland and Forrest, and it’s easy to keep them quiet. And McKay for Spittal? Spittal and Penrice were causing Kilmarnock problems, and any threat we had disappeared when he came on.

 

I wasn’t happy with who was picked and who wasn’t, but at least it was bench and not in squad as opposed to who starts, but getting the bench wrong leads to getting subs wrong. This is the first test he’s faced, and honestly it’s not a huge one. I’d be expecting much, much better.

[ToadKiller Dog]

We need to get to the next international break without too much harm .

Then he will get a bit if of proper time to work ,difficult just now with no real break .

[indianajones]

Imo of course. 

 

He needs to start kicking **** out these wasters. 

[Der Kaiser]

The number of games means we're kind of forced to use players in rotation who have shown for a while that their future is not at Tynie.

 

 

 

 

[whodanny]

5 hours ago, Gavman81 said:

I think Bongo is David Witteveen 

I think Bongo loves all the attention.

[gorgieshuffle]

2 minutes ago, Der Kaiser said:

The number of games means we're kind of forced to use players in rotation who have shown for a while that their future is not at Tynie.

 

 

 

 

That’s the biggest issue and why we're in for a rough ride. We’re having to use players that we know can’t be relied on. Critchley has a hell of a job managing this schedule with this group of players. This will certainly look bleaker before it can get better. Need to strap ourselves in. Need a win on Saturday and hopefully a season turning moment in one of a number of high profile games coming up. 

[Nelly Terraces]

Pretty clear from tonight the guy has a gargantuan job on his hands given the dreadful squad & situation over a lack of striker & Shankland acting like a Grade A ^^^^.

 

You can see from the 1st half the style of play he's trying to implement, but with catastrophic defending like tonight there's not much you can do to put it right unless you get better personnel in.

[The Maroon Jacket]

I think half the squad know they won't be here next season and have chucked it, I hope NC just brings in a few more youngsters until the window opens, something is rotten and the poison in the dressing room that got Naismith sacked still exists at the club that needs kicked out first before we can galvanize and move forwards 

Edited October 31, 2024 by Howdy Doody Jambo

[Watt-Zeefuik]

To me he's played too many of the same players too many games in a row. We tired in the second half and that's when Killie jumped on us.

[WT Laurie]

20 minutes ago, BackOfTheNet said:

Have already questioned the decisions of who gets selected on the bench as opposed to who gets left out (from a purely motivational standpoint for younger players) but the last two games have made me question his substitution choices.

 

We praised him in his first game for having the balls to sub Shankland, but maybe that was just to save him for Europe. Against Omonia he brought Penrice on at left wing, which was odd, since Salazar could have done that job better by all accounts, then Kingsley goes off injured and Penrice goes back, yet Salazar doesn’t come on still. But still we won the games so wasn’t a huge deal.

 

Then on Sunday he’s praised for Wilson, but in all honesty taking off our midfield and having Grant and Spittal as a central midfield was a mad risk. Especially since Spittal became ineffectual and Boateng could and should have stayed on so that we could protect and allow attackers to attack better.

 

Tonight? Kilmarnock LOVED Vargas going off. Might not be a fan favourite right now, but he drags a defence around the place. Takes them out wide, brings them deep with him and they constantly worried about his pace. He comes off and they don’t have to worry about pace or channel running etc. He’s replaced by Grant so Killie’s defence just concentrate on Shankland and Forrest, and it’s easy to keep them quiet. And McKay for Spittal? Spittal and Penrice were causing Kilmarnock problems, and any threat we had disappeared when he came on.

 

I wasn’t happy with who was picked and who wasn’t, but at least it was bench and not in squad as opposed to who starts, but getting the bench wrong leads to getting subs wrong. This is the first test he’s faced, and honestly it’s not a huge one. I’d be expecting much, much better.

What clown wrote this 

[BackOfTheNet]

9 minutes ago, WT Laurie said:

What clown wrote this 

Get over yourself. We’re allowed to question managers and players when their output is questionable.

[WT Laurie]

4 minutes ago, BackOfTheNet said:

Get over yourself. We’re allowed to question managers and players when their output is questionable.

As I said …. What clown wrote this 

[feedthefox]

37 minutes ago, S Form said:

If he can’t figure out how to play against a low block then there is literally no point in him being here. 

 

Certainly not having 2 cdms in front of a back 4. We were gifted the ball right up to just inside their half so there was next to no play to break up, I'd have like an extra player higher up pitch in-between the lines. He may well be long past his best but I'd like to have seen Boyce on as he can hold the ball up higher up the pitch and bring other players in. Was disappointed in Critchley's tactical response to going behind it seemed that all we did was swap some personnel and didn't make any tactical changes. Keeping Devlin on until 75mins long after we'd gone behind was utterly baffling too.

[gregzy2k7]

Needs to coach Rowles and Kent to get in the gym and start building some f-ing Muscles.

 

Feel sorry for him already. Clearly has his work cut out for him.

[Jocam2325]

6 hours ago, Watt-Zeefuik said:

To me he's played too many of the same players too many games in a row. We tired in the second half and that's when Killie jumped on us.

I get that but what is the alternative. Our squad has no depth, there is barely anything on that bench that adds anything positive. We're in trouble. 

[Dazo]

Thought he hit the subs wrong last night. We comfortably controlled the game in the first half but we seemed to die a death very early in the second. Right back for right back seemed pointless, Vargas although frustrating he was causing problems with his pace. At least he will clearly know what he’s up against now especially in his own dressing room. 

[loveofthegame]

He’s not to blame for that squad of charlatans but persisting with McKay and Grant off the bench is frustrating to say the least.

 

The RB situ isn’t his fault but we don’t have a competent RB in the squad (Forrester may get there in time but for now he’s not at the level we need) and Dhanda should either be played at number 10 or not played at all- he is never a winger.

 

His job has to be just to keep us in touch with 10/11th until January. It’s unbelievable that’s where we are but it is appearing ever more to be the case.

[kingantti1874]

1 hour ago, Jocam2325 said:

I get that but what is the alternative. Our squad has no depth, there is barely anything on that bench that adds anything positive. We're in trouble. 

 

 

7 hours ago, Watt-Zeefuik said:

To me he's played too many of the same players too many games in a row. We tired in the second half and that's when Killie jumped on us.

I think there’s an element of truth here, same happened v hibs where we gassed out in the second half.

 

i can’t believe I’m gonna say this, we have to sacrifice Europe and rotate heavily. Try and beat Petrocub in the last fixture. We can’t sustain this number of  games with the “trusted” pool of players 

[kingantti1874]

2 minutes ago, loveofthegame said:

He’s not to blame for that squad of charlatans but persisting with McKay and Grant off the bench is frustrating to say the least.

 

The RB situ isn’t his fault but we don’t have a competent RB in the squad (Forrester may get there in time but for now he’s not at the level we need) and Dhanda should either be played at number 10 or not played at all- he is never a winger.

 

His job has to be just to keep us in touch with 10/11th until January. It’s unbelievable that’s where we are but it is appearing ever more to be the case.

we have no one else to bring on to change a game.  Hands are tied 

[tartofmidlothian]

8 hours ago, BackOfTheNet said:

Have already questioned the decisions of who gets selected on the bench as opposed to who gets left out (from a purely motivational standpoint for younger players) but the last two games have made me question his substitution choices.

 

We praised him in his first game for having the balls to sub Shankland, but maybe that was just to save him for Europe. Against Omonia he brought Penrice on at left wing, which was odd, since Salazar could have done that job better by all accounts, then Kingsley goes off injured and Penrice goes back, yet Salazar doesn’t come on still. But still we won the games so wasn’t a huge deal.

 

Then on Sunday he’s praised for Wilson, but in all honesty taking off our midfield and having Grant and Spittal as a central midfield was a mad risk. Especially since Spittal became ineffectual and Boateng could and should have stayed on so that we could protect and allow attackers to attack better.

 

Tonight? Kilmarnock LOVED Vargas going off. Might not be a fan favourite right now, but he drags a defence around the place. Takes them out wide, brings them deep with him and they constantly worried about his pace. He comes off and they don’t have to worry about pace or channel running etc. He’s replaced by Grant so Killie’s defence just concentrate on Shankland and Forrest, and it’s easy to keep them quiet. And McKay for Spittal? Spittal and Penrice were causing Kilmarnock problems, and any threat we had disappeared when he came on.

 

I wasn’t happy with who was picked and who wasn’t, but at least it was bench and not in squad as opposed to who starts, but getting the bench wrong leads to getting subs wrong. This is the first test he’s faced, and honestly it’s not a huge one. I’d be expecting much, much better.

 

I thought most of the subs made sense. Forrester's just a young lad and was starting to get bullied off the ball going forward, although sadly Oyegoke had a real mare when he came on. Vargas and Spittal both had very good games before they went off, they set each other up with cracking chances, but they were tiring when they were subbed.

 

The only one that puzzled me was McKay coming on, it should have been Dhanda, at least he gets his sleeves rolled up.

[joondalupjambo]

At the St Mirren game Nc's off sider was off his seat giving it large to the players.  Was not at the Euro game so not sure if he was the same.  Last night though was he ever out of the dug out?