Why is anyone surprised..........

[bighusref]

This debate seems to have strayed from the OP.

 

Do we require a striker or not? I defy anybody to tell us otherwise. Our striking options are appalling.

 

Our striking options are (if I am not forgetting anybody) Nade, Mole, Glen, Makela, Tullberg. Any other options and we would be delving into the youth side.

 

Nade An enigma. This player has shown brief signs of being a great player, despite rarely looking like a goal threat. Fully fit and on fire I think this lad COULD do it, sadly we have seen very little from him. I really hope he is not this seasons Pinilla.

 

Mole I feel sorry for him. He has done a sterling job up front on his own, but needs help. He too needs to prove he can score, he often looks like a triumph of effort over ability. A run with a striker alongside him should prove whether or not he can score regularly at this level.

 

Glen Little more than a promising youngster. He came in and scored a few last season, looking like our only striker that can put the ball in the net. Since then, Laszlo seems to have decided that he is "not ready". Looks talented, but we cannot rely on him to carry our hopes.

 

Makela Scored for fun elsewhere, scored on his first few games for Hearts against lesser opposition but was given a chance this season and spectacularly failed to take it. Must be on the way out.

 

Tullberg I know as little about this guy as every other Hearts fan. All I know is goals were hard to come by at any of his previous clubs. I fear that he is being built up (much like Obua) to be better and more important to us than he will be. Only time will tell.

 

We URGENTLY required a goal scorer in the summer transfer window, we have failed to provide that, how can that be debated?

[Guest JamboRobbo]

This debate seems to have strayed from the OP.

 

Do we require a striker or not? I defy anybody to tell us otherwise. Our striking options are appalling.

 

We needed one before the last transfer window closed. That situation hasn't changed, and the lack of goals from our "strikers" is proving the point.

[Deevers]

I firmly believe that Alan Gow would have been the answer. He was scoring regularly in a very mundane Falkirk team, prior to ruining his career playing reserve team football for Rangers. My understanding is that Hearts approached Rangers on more than one occasion about taking him on loan and Rangers made it quite clear to them that there was no way he was going to be loaned to any Scottish Club, however they would sell him. Hearts baulked at this and Gow went to Blackpool.

 

I'm sure that our manager is more than aware of the lack of fire power up front, however it appears that real money was not made available to rectify that situation. It's something that has to be taken on board for January.

[Frodo Jambo]

The defeat boils down to a combination of two fairly simple things, imo.

 

1. We have an average defense. It is a defense which has - and will - give away cheap goals, either down to poor positioning or lack of concentration. Both elements can be worked on during training - we may have to be very patient.

 

2. We engage a one-striker system, despite what descriptions might be offered by the management. We do not, however, appear to have a striker who has the ability to make that system work. And sticking to it is just a recipe for making some strikers look worse than they are; I could see it working with an interested-Jankauskas-type, someone to whom the ball stuck, thus allowing the midfield, to move forward and add to the offensive. In a league like the SPL - which is very much horses for courses - a 4-4-2 against the majority of teams at the majority of venues is quite sufficent, I would suggest.

 

So what we have - and what we are seeing - is a team that's playing some decent football, but which struggles to score and is susceptible to throwing away daft goals. You can argue that signings might have helped. I would say that yes, then we should have signed a decent left back and an experienced centre back; I don't know what sort of money you'd need to spend to sign a striker who has the ability to work on his own, gather balls, hold onto them and bring our midfield into play. Possibly more than the money we got for Bednar, at a guess.

[Deevers]

The defeat boils down to a combination of two fairly simple things, imo.

 

1. We have an average defense. It is a defense which has - and will - give away cheap goals, either down to poor positioning or lack of concentration. Both elements can be worked on during training - we may have to be very patient.

 

2. We engage a one-striker system, despite what descriptions might be offered by the management. We do not, however, appear to have a striker who has the ability to make that system work. And sticking to it is just a recipe for making some strikers look worse than they are; I could see it working with an interested-Jankauskas-type, someone to whom the ball stuck, thus allowing the midfield, to move forward and add to the offensive. In a league like the SPL - which is very much horses for courses - a 4-4-2 against the majority of teams at the majority of venues is quite sufficent, I would suggest.

 

So what we have - and what we are seeing - is a team that's playing some decent football, but which struggles to score and is susceptible to throwing away daft goals. You can argue that signings might have helped. I would say that yes, then we should have signed a decent left back and an experienced centre back; I don't know what sort of money you'd need to spend to sign a striker who has the ability to work on his own, gather balls, hold onto them and bring our midfield into play. Possibly more than the money we got for Bednar, at a guess.

 

 

The side still needs some fairly major surgery over the next year. We don't have a midfield player who is going to give us 10 - 15 goals a season like Paul Hartley or Colin Cameron and playing with only one forward is severley limiting the ability of the team to put poorer teams to the sword, given the good possession football that we have played so far this season. We should have beaten both Motherwell and St Midden by more than one goal given the chances that were created in both games.

[hmfc1440]

This debate seems to have strayed from the OP.

 

Do we require a striker or not? I defy anybody to tell us otherwise. Our striking options are appalling.

 

Our striking options are (if I am not forgetting anybody) Nade, Mole, Glen, Makela, Tullberg. Any other options and we would be delving into the youth side.

 

Nade An enigma. This player has shown brief signs of being a great player, despite rarely looking like a goal threat. Fully fit and on fire I think this lad COULD do it, sadly we have seen very little from him. I really hope he is not this seasons Pinilla.

 

Mole I feel sorry for him. He has done a sterling job up front on his own, but needs help. He too needs to prove he can score, he often looks like a triumph of effort over ability. A run with a striker alongside him should prove whether or not he can score regularly at this level.

 

Glen Little more than a promising youngster. He came in and scored a few last season, looking like our only striker that can put the ball in the net. Since then, Laszlo seems to have decided that he is "not ready". Looks talented, but we cannot rely on him to carry our hopes.

 

Makela Scored for fun elsewhere, scored on his first few games for Hearts against lesser opposition but was given a chance this season and spectacularly failed to take it. Must be on the way out.

 

Tullberg I know as little about this guy as every other Hearts fan. All I know is goals were hard to come by at any of his previous clubs. I fear that he is being built up (much like Obua) to be better and more important to us than he will be. Only time will tell.

 

We URGENTLY required a goal scorer in the summer transfer window, we have failed to provide that, how can that be debated?

 

The absolute and only debate here is why does Vlad refuse to buy a decent striker, or what are his expectations from a striker?

We have never had a decent return from a striker in the Vlad era and far too many have been half-hearted and injury-prone - perhaps this is the problem - he has invested heavily in the past with poor feedback. Therefore the finger must be pointed at who is identifying the striking talent.

However, a definite and urgent solution is required and with the many staff around, Sporting Director, Manager, Coach, Scouts surely we can find a striker.

The only striker from our stable that has any credibility is Glen - based on reasonable striking consistency over a short period last season but well worth building on, however, not played this season.

Contrary to popular opinion finding a striker is not difficult and can be achieved within a reasonable budget - it is simple. The scout or whoever is responsible looks to the lower leagues (in any country) for a striker who is playing and scoring on a regular basis and offers them a better job. It is very evident that we are not following simple policy and prefer to pick a player of Nade's style based on potential, hearsay and past. Judge a man by his actions and never by his words or what others say about him - in short we buy damaged goods from good salesmen. It is just not within our "complicated" structure to do the simple thing in so many of our departments.

[Jam Tarts 1874]

The absolute and only debate here is why does Vlad refuse to buy a decent striker, or what are his expectations from a striker?

We have never had a decent return from a striker in the Vlad era and far too many have been half-hearted and injury-prone - perhaps this is the problem - he has invested heavily in the past with poor feedback. Therefore the finger must be pointed at who is identifying the striking talent.

However, a definite and urgent solution is required and with the many staff around, Sporting Director, Manager, Coach, Scouts surely we can find a striker.

The only striker from our stable that has any credibility is Glen - based on reasonable striking consistency over a short period last season but well worth building on, however, not played this season.

Contrary to popular opinion finding a striker is not difficult and can be achieved within a reasonable budget - it is simple. The scout or whoever is responsible looks to the lower leagues (in any country) for a striker who is playing and scoring on a regular basis and offers them a better job. It is very evident that we are not following simple policy and prefer to pick a player of Nade's style based on potential, hearsay and past. Judge a man by his actions and never by his words or what others say about him - in short we buy damaged goods from good salesmen. It is just not within our "complicated" structure to do the simple thing in so many of our departments.

 

How much more debt do you want Hearts to be in?

 

Have you not noticed that only Celtic and Rangers have scored more goals than Hearts this season?

 

Given how little time Csaba had pre-season to find players and to set up his scouts don't you think you should calm down a bit and give his 5 signings a chance?

 

Were we not missing a couple of key players on Saturday, i.e. Driver and Oboa?

 

Have you seen Tullberg play?

 

Anyone would think that Hearts had never had striking problems ever before or that Hearts had never lost to Falkirk before!

[bighusref]

There is a proven striker that is available on a free transfer....

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/7618041.stm

 

[shaun.lawson]

This is it Debut, it seems guys like Shaun have the mentality of most SPL managers these days and I quote " anything we get off the OLD FIRM is a bonus" - absolutely hate that attitude and if any Hearts player has that belief he should be ashamed of himself:mad:

 

 

As Debut 4 said above, Hearts are generally a strong league club. But this amounts to qualifying for Europe every other year, and once in a blue moon, mounting a challenge to the OF. We haven't won the league title for 48 years - and no-one outwith Glasgow has done so since 1985.

 

I expect Hearts players and fans to want the very best for the club, and give their all in the quest for success. But there's a very big difference between success and pure delusion. In 1997/8, when we still ended up a mere 3rd, we lived significantly beyond our means; eight years later, when we finished one point ahead of the worst Rangers side in 20 years and seventeen behind a hardly awe-inspiring Celtic, we lived miles beyond them. This is simple reality for all clubs outside Glasgow's two freaks of nature - we have neither the fanbase nor resources to have a hope of winning the league, and there's little chance of an uber-rich owner performing a Chelsea-style transformation on any of us either.

 

As I've already said, fans of Tottenham, Aston Villa, Everton or Newcastle, clubs with traditions massively bigger than our own, know they have no chance whatever of winning the title. But this doesn't stop them enjoying supporting their teams, and wanting success. The only difference is, they know what success realistically is. It's simply bonkers for any Hearts fan to think we are somehow different - and in truth, such a mentality probably helps explain why we ended up in such a dire predicament that we needed to sell our ground in order to survive, only to be bailed out by the devil we didn't know.

[Generic Username]

The thing with the current squad is, right now we don't have an out and out 20 a season striker (could well be Tullberg but we'll need to wait and see what he can deliver) but we are still scoring goals.

 

It's obvious a lot of peoples frustrations this season are not that we're playing crap or there is the usual rumours of interference - it's that if we just converted 1 or 2 of our extra chances we'd be winning games no problem.

 

Whether the answer lies in the current squad or not remains to be seen. Personally I'm doubtful but I'd love guys like Nade and Mole to really step up to the plate and prove us all wrong and start banging them in.

 

It might happen, it might not. Whats supporting Hearts without a bit of frustration?