The summer manager saga, a look back

[jamboinglasgow]

As it has been 4 weeks (exactly a month tomorrow) since Csaba was appointed at hearts I thought I would look back at that manager search and argue that after the match at the weekend we chose the right man over McGhee (though not nessecary because of the results yet.) Dont worry this is not a told you so thread as I hate those kind of ones.

 

First the manager search, back in the dark days of January when we were 11th in the league and looking awful I remember waking up after a great new years party at a friends house to switch on my PC and go onto kickback. There it mentioned something about a statement. The magic statement that were going to get a manager, oh how I was cheered up, 2008 was going to be a great year I thought. Two weeks at the most we would get a manager. But two weeks passed, then three. In the fourth week I got a text from a friend with info that we were going for McGhee, at that time I wanted Davies but would take McGhee. But time was ticking and as January became Febuary no one had arrived. Then Febuary became March, thinking it would may not happen. Then KB insiders said that a man was coming in the summer due to being tied up so I thought I would wait to give romanov the benfit of the doubt.

 

So watching the rest of the season thinking the change will happen at the end of the season. The season ended and the news kept coming we had made an attempt to get McGhee. Done deals banded about. I was going through the roof that we were getting such a manager at hearts. Dreams of season 2008/09 were swirling through my head. Then news he was on the plane, I thought it was a matter of signing. Went out and came back to find the disasterous news that it was off. I was back in the wilderness, each week a new manager was linked an icelandic manager, Vladimir Weiss, a german guy who slags off Kaunas. I starting to think it was not going to happen. Then Angel Cerenkov came and I knew the ***t was going to hit the fan on kickback. Then came the news that we were going after the manager of Uganda who had been manager when we played Ferencvos, I first thought Vlad was picking names out of a hat. Then read a bit more about this so called Lazlo Csaba.

 

So this manager called Lazlo Csaba had coached at few clubs, been head of youth at a german bundisleage club, was nicknamed 'miracle man' in uganda. Sounded interesting. When he was signed I thought good we have a manager, and his name is actully Csaba Lazlo. Still unsure what he was like till he spoke. And boy did the man talk. When he talked I agreed, when he pointed out things wrong with the club I shouted "yes that is the problem." When he spoke of the desire to have good youth coming through I was the warm feeling was in me that this is a man who we have called for in the end.

 

 

You have probably skipped the story but the thing I want to put across is that when I look at McGhee against Csaba i think both have a tactical awareness and able to lift players but I cant imagine McGhee setting out 8 hour days for the players, teaching them what to do in different situations and tactics. Though I can see McGhee bringing through youth I cant see him doing it as efficently and well as Csaba. I can see Csaba as someone who can work much better with Vlad and allow the club to succed.

 

As a football fan who is really interested at what happens behind the scenes, it fills me with great pleasure at what Csaba is doing. Trying to bring a scouting system that will tell him all he needs to know about players before buying them, changing the reserves to a U23 team so that youth that impress from the U19s (or are currently too old for the U19s but still good prospects) are brought up to the next level so that they become the player they can be. An assistant who is similar to him and is a friend to him so that he can control more of training sessions and have another set of eyes around Hearts. I am still interested to know what he plans to do about Riccarton as in his first interview he was asked about the facilites and said he wants to change things and it sounded like not just the set up.

 

I honestly think that Csaba could be our Arsene Wenger, not saying he will be of the quality of Arsene as few are but if give a few years he could turns hearts into a great club and whenever there is a report about Scottish football and youth hearts will be the first name mentioned. We at the begining of something which could be special, which could work well for hearts. The club has the potential to be a great club under Csaba, it will take time but it could happen. As long as Vlad does not do something stupid and works in partnership with Csaba then the future looks certainly brighter.

 

sorry about the length of the post:confused:

[Chris Benoit]

Decided against quoting because the threads too long already but agree 100% with what you said and it's not often that happens on here!

[Quint]

"As long as Vlad does not do something stupid and works in partnership with Csaba then the future looks certainly brighter"

 

And thats the main problem - let the man do his job. It looks ok just now but its only 4 weeks and Vlad will be distracted by Kaunas at the moment.

[Dirk Diggler]

I'll be honest and say I read the first paragraph and skipped the rest....

 

 

Sorry.

 

 

Sometimes a club gets lucky with an appointment. Mowbray wasn't first choice with Hibs but he turned out to be a pretty decent manager.......

 

I have no doubt we have unearthed a Diamond in Csaba.

 

IN CSABA I TRUST.

[jamboinglasgow]

I'll be honest and say I read the first paragraph and skipped the rest....

 

 

Sorry.

 

 

Sometimes a club gets lucky with an appointment. Mowbray wasn't first choice with Hibs but he turned out to be a pretty decent manager.......

 

I have no doubt we have unearthed a Diamond in Csaba.

 

IN CSABA I TRUST.

 

I'll let you off, I was losing interest in it myself when writing (trying to get to the points at the end.)

 

I agree with you I think we have unearthed a diamond who could shine. I also think he is a manager who wants to stay here as he is not too bothered about more money and would like to develop a club his own. Think he left Uganda as he felt they had very limited facilities and was not much he could do with them. With hearts there is the chance to build them up, challenege the league, get into Europe and the ultimate possible challenge...champions league.

[John S]

Terrific post jamboinglasgow; I read it all!

 

I enjoyed reading it, and like you, I've a good feeling about Lazlo Csaba.

 

Cheers

 

J

[jamboinglasgow]

Terrific post jamboinglasgow; I read it all!

 

I enjoyed reading it, and like you, I've a good feeling about Lazlo Csaba.

 

Cheers

 

J

 

thanks John, thought I would do try a bit of buffalo bill's style of posts but obviously its not as good as a published author's;)

 

I have yet to feel a bad thing about Csaba, feel the only thing that will let him down is the quality of some players but that should only be for a season at the most.

[Drylaw Hearts]

As a football fan who is really interested at what happens behind the scenes, it fills me with great pleasure at what Csaba is doing. Trying to bring a scouting system that will tell him all he needs to know about players before buying them, changing the reserves to a U23 team so that youth that impress from the U19s (or are currently too old for the U19s but still good prospects) are brought up to the next level so that they become the player they can be. An assistant who is similar to him and is a friend to him so that he can control more of training sessions and have another set of eyes around Hearts. I am still interested to know what he plans to do about Riccarton as in his first interview he was asked about the facilites and said he wants to change things and it sounded like not just the set up.

 

 

Out of everything Csaba had said since he arrived ( and lets be honest it's a lot !! ) the bit I've highlighted has interested me most.

 

The changes he is proposing will give us a better structure to the footballing side of the Club.

 

If you look at the League placings the First Team, Reserve Team and U19's achieved last Season it was a major worry.

 

He is going to need a couple of Season to sort the mess he's inherited out.

[droid]

Terrific post jamboinglasgow; I read it all!

 

I enjoyed reading it, and like you, I've a good feeling about Lazlo Csaba.

 

Cheers

 

J

 

seconded john nearly as good a post as your signature.

 

laszlo csaba has made me fall in love with heart of midlothian all over again!!!

[jamboinglasgow]

Out of everything Csaba had said since he arrived ( and lets be honest it's a lot !! ) the bit I've highlighted has interested me most.

 

The changes he is proposing will give us a better structure to the footballing side of the Club.

 

If you look at the League placings the First Team, Reserve Team and U19's achieved last Season it was a major worry.

 

He is going to need a couple of Season to sort the mess he's inherited out.

 

I agree with you in everything there, think having that form of structure will help all teams. The first team will be able to call on the U23s if they need a player, the player will have been coached specially to get up to that system. The U19s benefits as it means that if they show enough promise they can move up into the U23s and it clears the clutter that last season hampered the U19s as the reserves was full of needless squad fillers. It streamlines the club so that players are constantly get pushed up to the next squad which prepares them for the next level. So theroticly a player who starts in the U17 at the begining of the season could if he shows enough progression at each section then by the end of the season he could of played for the first team. Now thats a great incentive for a youngster and adds presure to a senior player that if he doesn't preform then x youngster is doing really well in the U23s so could take his place.

 

As you say a few seasons are needed to fix this but hopefully he is given time and control to do it.

 

Still think it odd that these behind the scene changes that get mentioned on the website dont get a bigger mention here.

[scots civil war]

laszlo csaba has made me fall in love with heart of midlothian all over again!!!

 

 

 

..........word

[davemclaren]

All a bit early yet but certainly very promising and we can hopefully look forward to attending matches this season again.

[HeartyGraeme]

You are most probably right, but im afraid my attention spans pretty short these days, sorry.

[Libertonian_II]

So far, so good. Says the right things and is obviously intelligent and appears to have the respect of the players, but like everything else, he will be judged by results.

 

We got a good one yesterday but I've reservations about playing Karipedis in midfield, likewise about substitutions that were like for like, rather than altering the tactics. I'd also have played a half fit Nade before this year's donkey

[Ryan Gosling]

I've made it to the second paragraph.

 

I've bookmarked it and will continue tomorrow evening.

 

And it's Csaba L?szl?.

 

[redm]

Excellent post...and sums up pretty much how I've been feeling for the last few weeks. This man could really be legendary for Heart of Midlothian Football Club. I had my worries but less so now, he really does seem to understand...everything from the players, to the owner, the set up, the fans...everything...he totally gets it.

 

I think I love this man already....

 

Hehe.

[jamboinglasgow]

I've made it to the second paragraph.

 

I've bookmarked it and will continue tomorrow evening.

 

And it's Csaba L?szl?.

 

 

 

time to play my dyslexia card;)

 

seriously though I think anyone who reads the whole of my OP deserves a medal.

[Charlie-Brown]

There wasn't really any problem with the U19's last season or the season before, the primary focus of that age group is to give kids a game and see how they develop...i happen to think a lot of the kids are developing just fine even though the U19 results meant they only finished 4th or 5th in the SPL they played a LOT of players, young & even younger than their competitiors, they also conceded daft goals in games they dominated - defensive errors & offside mistakes that cost them goals in games they otherwise dominated...but that apart the U19's served their purpose last season.

 

There was a lack of focus about what the reserve team was all about and for most of the 22 games it was the senior squad players who dominated the line up's and the youngsters were often pushed to the background - this was obviously detrimental to progessing all but the best youngsters however given the wages the senior players were earning to hardly have played them at all really would have been money for nothing...

 

Anyway Csaba's proposed changes should give greater focus & purpose to the reserve team which has been a bit of a meaningless level in recent years with senior SPL players treating them like training games and trying not to get injured first and foremost.

 

Hopefully now we will see more structured progression of our young hopeful's.