Neil Critchley ( merged )

[Sasha Shulgin]

When we take into account the shitshow he inherited, been hugely impressed by him.

 

We’re getting fitter, We look more like a Hearts side and he’s clearly identified the deadwood in the squad.

 

We’ll have plenty of bumps along the way but I’m happy with the job being done.

 

Some of the reaction to his appointment was ridiculous, embarrassing and shameful.

 

He’s doing a good job.

[Selkirkhmfc1874]

Like him , good thing is this international break will give him some quality time on the training ground with the players 

[Valois No1]

Agreed. He is doing a good job. We need a bit of luck as we just seem to have none right now. 

[Bob Loblaw]

International break is coming at a good time too. Will allow him some proper time to work with the players. Some will also get a much needed rest and we'll hopefully get Oda and Nieuwenhof back to add to our creative options.

 

Been impressed by how Critchley has started and you can see we have clear patterns of play. I think that'll only improve over time.

[OTT]

2 minutes ago, Sasha Shulgin said:

When we take into account the shitshow he inherited, been hugely impressed by him.

 

We’re getting fitter, We look more like a Hearts side and he’s clearly identified the deadwood in the squad.

 

We’ll have plenty of bumps along the way but I’m happy with the job being done.

 

Some of the reaction to his appointment was ridiculous, embarrassing and shameful.

 

He’s doing a good job.

 

 

Agreed. 

 

I don't think it can be understated how poorly prepared and coached the players were for the coming season. 

 

 

[Diadora Van Basten]

I think any Manager that loses three games in a row could be in trouble. He has just lost two with Celtic, Aberdeen and Bruges to come. Will be interesting to see peoples opinions of him if he fails to get a win in one of the next three.

[Tazio]

It’s good to see a hardworking Hearts team again. 
To quote Bill Nicholson the legendary Spurs manager, “If you don’t have to drag yourself off the field exhausted after 90 minutes, you can’t claim to have done your best.”

[Mister T]

1 minute ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

I think any Manager that loses three games in a row could be in trouble. He has just lost two with Celtic, Aberdeen and Bruges to come. Will be interesting to see peoples opinions of him if he fails to get a win in one of the next three.

Thanks for that 🙄

[vegas-voss]

We will come good under him.One of the three hard ones out the way with no real damage done with the teams around us.Its going to be a big struggle for a while though but hopefully come January we can have a really strong push up the league into the top 6 in the 2nd half of the season.

[DS98]

1 minute ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

I think any Manager that loses three games in a row could be in trouble. He has just lost two with Celtic, Aberdeen and Bruges to come. Will be interesting to see peoples opinions of him if he fails to get a win in one of the next three.

In trouble? Really? 🤦‍♂️ 

[Tazio]

1 minute ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

I think any Manager that loses three games in a row could be in trouble. He has just lost two with Celtic, Aberdeen and Bruges to come. Will be interesting to see peoples opinions of him if he fails to get a win in one of the next three.

Yeah cause having the top 3 in the league 3 games in a row is standard fare. 

[Kalamazoo Jambo]

1 minute ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

I think any Manager that loses three games in a row could be in trouble. He has just lost two with Celtic, Aberdeen and Bruges to come. Will be interesting to see peoples opinions of him if he fails to get a win in one of the next three.

He could lose all three of those and he’d still be in a job.

[vegas-voss]

2 minutes ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

I think any Manager that loses three games in a row could be in trouble. He has just lost two with Celtic, Aberdeen and Bruges to come. Will be interesting to see peoples opinions of him if he fails to get a win in one of the next three.

I think the fans will judge him more on the next three after that.Most Hearts managers you would be expecting them to struggle in those games.

[jamboinglasgow]

1 minute ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

I think any Manager that loses three games in a row could be in trouble. He has just lost two with Celtic, Aberdeen and Bruges to come. Will be interesting to see peoples opinions of him if he fails to get a win in one of the next three.

 

True, but its not these 5 games fans are judging him on. Naismith wasn't sacked because we lost to Celtic, its losing to teams we should be beating.

 

We have lost to Rangers and Heidenheim, but there games where we could easily have won one and drawn another had our finishing been good. Fans are also understanding that we are a work in progress. Its the games after Aberdeen onwards that are the important ones.

[heartyhub]

Bit harsh buddy, this season is a right off . Critchley,  if he can get some kind of euro place and a decent cup run I think he’s done alright. 

[Craigieboy]

The concern now isn’t the quality of the manager we’ve appointed. In fact, it’s quite frustrating to see such good, positive football played outfield while in front of goal we are absolutely brutal. 

[A Shoreditch Heart]

4 minutes ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

I think any Manager that loses three games in a row could be in trouble. He has just lost two with Celtic, Aberdeen and Bruges to come. Will be interesting to see peoples opinions of him if he fails to get a win in one of the next three.

Yay - that's the spirit 😐

[tightrope]

He has contacts too, looking forward to the window, hopefully we back him with a wee bit wonga...

[Bindy Badgy]

Obviously early days but the performances have been a significant improvement.

[A Shoreditch Heart]

I like him and he's changed the way we play. We played some good football tonight, but we're just not getting any breaks in front of goal - it will come thou.

[jamdunc]

I've just lumped on us for top 6. About as content as I could be. I like NC. I like our football. Spittal and penrice top picks

[gwd1957]

4 minutes ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

I think any Manager that loses three games in a row could be in trouble. He has just lost two with Celtic, Aberdeen and Bruges to come. Will be interesting to see peoples opinions of him if he fails to get a win in one of the next three.

Don;'t talk shit ,he's lumbered with the shit show that Naismith and his clowns put together ,NC has already started dumping the dead wood with plenty more being told they have no future at Hearts, he clearly knows about football and how to set up a team, come January when he gets a few of his own player's in we will see how good a manager he is .

[BackOfTheNet]

We’ll be nowhere near the bottom come the end of the season. He’s had a hard shake of having so many games with little time between, as soon as we have a spell of one game per week we should see an upturn in our fortunes consistently.

[Kinghorn Hearts]

On what we are seeing now is really showing the iPad Trio up for what they were eye bleeding possession with no purpose.On saying this felt sorry for Naismith as think the other two were too big an influence on him

[Jambof3tornado]

13 minutes ago, Sasha Shulgin said:

When we take into account the shitshow he inherited, been hugely impressed by him.

 

We’re getting fitter, We look more like a Hearts side and he’s clearly identified the deadwood in the squad.

 

We’ll have plenty of bumps along the way but I’m happy with the job being done.

 

Some of the reaction to his appointment was ridiculous, embarrassing and shameful.

 

He’s doing a good job.

With some tweaks to playing staff I think he can be our 5 year project gaffer. Finish top 6 this season and that'll be enough to keep him on after the shitshow he came into.

 

Very decent performance today without being overly threatening.

[RustyRightPeg]

12 minutes ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

I think any Manager that loses three games in a row could be in trouble. He has just lost two with Celtic, Aberdeen and Bruges to come. Will be interesting to see peoples opinions of him if he fails to get a win in one of the next three.

**** me. 

[vegas-voss]

2 minutes ago, tightrope said:

He has contacts too, looking forward to the window, hopefully we back him with a wee bit wonga...

I'm just hoping McKinley was playing coy when he said we wouldn't be looking to bring in much and that Critchley wants a smaller squad.

 

Personally I think we need a striker and two wingers at least.

[skacel103]

10 minutes ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

I think any Manager that loses three games in a row could be in trouble. He has just lost two with Celtic, Aberdeen and Bruges to come. Will be interesting to see peoples opinions of him if he fails to get a win in one of the next three.

Yeah but after that it gets a whole lot easier. Literally after Xmas we have a break from old firm until March. We should start this 2 week break as new start. Let's go on an unbeaten run. Starting with getting something from celtic. All teams need to play the top 3 at some point. 

[ToadKiller Dog]

He talks pretty much straight forward as he sees it , no clichéd nonsense etc .

 

We now play to a style ,we now are seeing slight signs of improved fitness .

Players seem a bit happier .

It's clear he knows where improvement is needed .

 

Early days but definatly positive signs .

[stevie1874]

2 minutes ago, Craigieboy said:

The concern now isn’t the quality of the manager we’ve appointed. In fact, it’s quite frustrating to see such good, positive football played outfield while in front of goal we are absolutely brutal. 

Well said 👍 posted on another thread that we look a better team under his leadership and I’m looking forward to when he releases some players and brings in a few who can fit his style of play. The one thing I have really liked is if we’re behind he’s no afraid to put more attacking players on the pitch rather than the 1 for 1 same player type sub we’ve had to endure in the past especially under Neilson. We’re screaming out for a big bustling striker with a bit of pace and a wiseman with pace who actually looks up before he slings the ball into the box. It’s mental that poster on here throwing negatives about being under pressure already. 

[Jocam2325]

15 minutes ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

I think any Manager that loses three games in a row could be in trouble. He has just lost two with Celtic, Aberdeen and Bruges to come. Will be interesting to see peoples opinions of him if he fails to get a win in one of the next three.

I think that's a daft take on it

[Australis]

Great seeing the players finally have a game plan and constantly try to go forward.

 

Naismith left him with few attacking options, because he wasn't worried about our lack of goals.

 

The more our players train together under Neil, it will get even better.

 

The players are buying into his tactics and formations.

 

Great start, Neil. 🙂

 

 

[loveofthegame]

He is doing ok but we’re still in a horrendous position and looking at the fixtures it isn’t easy to see where the run of wins is coming to pull us away from the shit..

 

Performances have to become results and quickly.

[Victorian]

He's done well to make them competitive again.  The glass ceiling is inability to score through grossly out of form players.

 

Signings in January?  Maybe.   It could help to move out a few,  but it's notoriously difficult to shift players on decent contracts in January.  Shift nobody and sign a few and our squad gets big and very expensive.  Hopefully we can do as much as possible though.

[Gorgie_Rules]

Hopefully the fanbase keeps the heid over the next few weeks. No doubt there is significant improvement in performances.

 

Celtic (H), Cercle Brugge (A), Aberdeen (H) is a very tricky run off the back of Heidenheim and Rangers

 

As mentioned on a previous thread we have played 5 at home in the league and 8 away. From 19th December we have the below run which I believe Critchley could really get us firing with a real chance of winning all 5:

 

Petrocub (H)

St Johnstone (H)

Hibs (H)

Ross County (A)

Motherwell (H)

 

Good few important games between after the international break and then but hopefully the fanbase remains patient. 

[Cade]

Performances and fitness levels are getting better.

Results have not quite followed just yet.

We'll get there.

No panic.

[ramrod]

Was always going to be damage limitations till January at the earliest.

Given we've played 8 away games and only 5 at home now is the time for us to kick  on into January. 

We've not carried to much luck and have  came out on the wrong side of some tight games after playing well in patches, but there is no doubt in my mind Critchley has something about him.

[shoesoff]

Yeah I’ve been really impressed with the improvements, especially in playing style. Can see we have an identity now rather than the sludge we were being offered up before.

 

Players all seem to know what’s expected of them, and it looks like Critchley is asking them to be brave on the ball and take more chances in build up play. 

 

Penrice on the overlap has been a highlight, and I’m loving the Beni and Boateng pairing in the middle, brings a lot of stability. 
 

Need pace up top though. Star Lizard better be working overtime on that just now…

[feej]

I see signs if improvement but again it's another loss today - he's hampered by not having a strike force he can rely on.

Loads of possession but the final ball in most cases is lacking and we're not taking our chances when they do come along.

And not to forget we're in the bottom two with a further tough two league games to come. Hopefully we get something otherwise we're in a perilous position.

Like all managers he'll be judged on wins as that's what counts.

[bobskeldon]

I like him!

[The Old Tolbooth]

Breath of fresh air so far, really looking forward to him getting some transfer windows to see what he builds. 

[Armageddon]

29 minutes ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

I think any Manager that loses three games in a row could be in trouble. He has just lost two with Celtic, Aberdeen and Bruges to come. Will be interesting to see peoples opinions of him if he fails to get a win in one of the next three.

Hahaha aye ok 😂😂😂

[Howdy Doody Jambo]

Best football man at the club since George Burley, speaks well, knows the game inside out and a bit of a football scientist 

[GBJambo]

We absolutely need a striker in . Probably a wide player too . If we don’t then questions will be asked off the board 

 

They need to release the purse strings 

[Italian Lambretta]

He should get a free pass until after the January transfer window.

He’s already improved the team he just needs to fix the goal scoring issue and some players need to have a good look in the mirror.

Do they want to stay and help the team or if not then they should leave in January 

[Chaps]

once again speaks tremendously well and that’s what you want to hear from a Hearts gaffer.

 

Looks rather pissed off which is not like him. Always calm and composed when he speaks.

[RustyRightPeg]

7 minutes ago, feej said:

I see signs if improvement but again it's another loss today - he's hampered by not having a strike force he can rely on.

Loads of possession but the final ball in most cases is lacking and we're not taking our chances when they do come along.

And not to forget we're in the bottom two with a further tough two league games to come. Hopefully we get something otherwise we're in a perilous position.

Like all managers he'll be judged on wins as that's what counts.

Not by me he won’t. 
 

He inherited an unfit, unbalanced squad right at the start of a 3 week grind of games. He’s transformed the way we play, all that’s missing is our striker putting it in the net. That can happen at the drop of a hat. 
 

After this international break we have 10 more games before January. After January, and he gets bodies out and in, this is when he should be judged fairly.

[Gmcjambo]

20 minutes ago, vegas-voss said:

I'm just hoping McKinley was playing coy when he said we wouldn't be looking to bring in much and that Critchley wants a smaller squad.

 

Personally I think we need a striker and two wingers at least.

Or just being sensible.   Calling out to the squad that there will be quite a few changes during the season is really not clever.    A lot will depend on whether we can shift some of the dead wood on,   But can’t imagine we’ll not strengthen up front,  most probably a loan striker, and winger with pace.   Loving the way Critchley speaks, his squad choices clearly show he’s sussed players out very quickly, and he knows what is needed. 

[Rick Sanchez]

If we lose the next few games I'll be nowhere near getting on Critchley's back. The man has, IMO, worked wonders with the utter dross he's been left by Steven Naismith. Especially when he's barely had any down time to bed his ideas in. 

 

He'll know exactly what's required in January as well.

[soonbe110]

35 minutes ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

I think any Manager that loses three games in a row could be in trouble. He has just lost two with Celtic, Aberdeen and Bruges to come. Will be interesting to see peoples opinions of him if he fails to get a win in one of the next three.

Depends on performances.   You can only win if you score goals.  We don’t have any players that score goals.  Critchley is too old to play up front.  He shouldn’t be crucified for his predecessors failings.