Andy Driver...

[Martin_T]

....is an absolutely huge miss for Hearts when he is not available. I hope he recovers from injury as soon as possible, we have gone from scoring 2 or 3 a game with him in the team, to struggling to score at all. Hearts record without Driver this season reads played 4, won 1, lost 3. With Driver it's played 4 won 3, lost 1.

 

Just goes to show that those who don't rate him, including one contributor in particular, are talking out of their erse.

[CJGJ]

Correct -- he brings a balance to our team on the left hand side as well as providing a threat up front -- badly missed this season when injured.

[Pete Seeger]

We badly missed a link in the final third today and if Andy had been playing i think we would have created an awful lot more. Miko just doesn't perform very well wide left.

[Coco]

I think Miko was our best outfield player today, but we did miss Driver.

 

If he is fit for the next game I would replace Kingston with Driver playing on the right side.

[Snake Plissken]

I've always rated Driver - he still has some flaws to iron out of his game (namely decision making) but he's still the best left sided midfielder at the club and will only get better.

[jamboinglasgow]

I have been thinking this, it shows the talent of Driver that when he is gone we miss him badly on the left. Would have Driver on the left and Miko on the right.

[Napier]

Andy has definitely been a big miss for us so far i would have him on the left with Miko on the right then we would have two very good players running the wings .

But if this happens where does Larry fit into the team ?

[Malinga the Swinga]

Andy has definitely been a big miss for us so far i would have him on the left with Miko on the right then we would have two very good players running the wings .

But if this happens where does Larry fit into the team ?

 

The way he is playing at the moment, on the bench

[Jambof3tornado]

I think Miko was our best outfield player today, but we did miss Driver.

 

If he is fit for the next game I would replace Kingston with Driver playing on the right side.

 

You could replace him with Bella Emberg and see an improvement!!!

[Charlie-Brown]

The problem with Kingston, Miko and Driver when he played this season is that far too often they are beating the opposition full-back far too far back from the opposition goalmouth & penalty box to create any real danger in the opposition half or create enough chances or goal threat for our team..... we need to be getting our wingers on 1 v 1 much deeper into opposition terrority where them beating their man will make a noticeable difference to creating direct goalscoring chances.

[bighusref]

....is an absolutely huge miss for Hearts when he is not available. I hope he recovers from injury as soon as possible, we have gone from scoring 2 or 3 a game with him in the team, to struggling to score at all. Hearts record without Driver this season reads played 4, won 1, lost 3. With Driver it's played 4 won 3, lost 1.

 

Just goes to show that those who don't rate him, including one contributor in particular, are talking out of their erse.

 

That will be me then!

 

Andrew Driver is the sort of winger that flatters to deceive, runs with the ball and does nothing with it. He fools some (those that think that Ivan Sproule was a good player) but not all. I would play Mikoliunas on one wing and Cesnauskis on the other.

 

Just out of interest, with Andrew Driver in the team yesterday would we have won 3-4? Or would he have stopped them scoring as well as setting up a few and scoring a few?

[Martin_T]

That will be me then!

 

Andrew Driver is the sort of winger that flatters to deceive, runs with the ball and does nothing with it. He fools some (those that think that Ivan Sproule was a good player) but not all. I would play Mikoliunas on one wing and Cesnauskis on the other.

 

Just out of interest, with Andrew Driver in the team yesterday would we have won 3-4? Or would he have stopped them scoring as well as setting up a few and scoring a few?

 

2 assists and 1 goal in 4 games is not flattering to deceive. Cesnauskis over Driver? That'll be the same Cesnauskis who has scored 1 league goal in coming on 3 and a half years? The same Cesnauskis, who we have no idea whether he can cross or not, as every time he gets the ball he cuts inside (and usually loses it).

 

Yet again, you have been exposed as talking nonsense. Admit you were wrong and move on....

[portobellojambo1]

I think Miko was our best outfield player today, but we did miss Driver.

 

If he is fit for the next game I would replace Kingston with Driver playing on the right side.

 

That doesn't really make an awful lot of sense Coco, position wise. While I agree with what you say, i.e. we are getting nothing from Kingston, it would make more sense to put Driver in his correct position, wide left, and Mikoliunas wide right. As ukol says, even as one of the players less open to criticism yesterday Mikoliunas still failed to actually produce anything dangerous into the box from the wide left position, because he cannot play it.

[Charlie-Brown]

The one main criticism of Driver this season is that his decision making and composure for delivering the cross or shot hasn't been of the standard it could or should be - too often he's wanted to take an extra touch too many or go himself instead of releasing the ball and the opportunity has been lost of squandered.....that said currently we do miss him a lot.

[portobellojambo1]

The one main criticism of Driver this season is that his decision making and composure for delivering the cross or shot hasn't been of the standard it could or should be - too often he's wanted to take an extra touch too many or go himself instead of releasing the ball and the opportunity has been lost of squandered.....that said currently we do miss him a lot.

 

But I think that takes us back to another of the failings in the team NMH, we have no players (strikers) who know how to play the penalty box. I know it is going back in time but much of the cohesiveness which revolved around the delivery into the box when Robertson played was because he knew where the danger areas for the opposition were, and the players feeding him, Colquhoun and Mackay for example, knew he would get himself into those areas and all they had to do was deliver the ball. Now it is not unknown for Driver to get to the bye line, look up and the striker nearest to the penalty area is running about somewhere about the half way line. The end result as you say is he tries to delay delivery, with the danger of losing the ball to a defender, he goes it alone or he takes the simple option, he fires the ball into a penalty area devoid of Hearts players, and we, the crowd, get on his back as a result.

 

The simple fact that Driver was missing yesterday wasn't the reason we lost. We were sitting watching the game yesterday and talking about it as it progressed. Hearts appeared to have a fairly rigid formation, where people performed, or failed to perform, their own little jobs, whereas when Dundee United either attacked or defended their formation changed accordingly, players flitted around either supplementing the defence or the attack, our system at times just seems to be far too rigid and inflexible, or maybe it is a lack of the right players in the right positions.

[Coco]

That doesn't really make an awful lot of sense Coco, position wise. While I agree with what you say, i.e. we are getting nothing from Kingston, it would make more sense to put Driver in his correct position, wide left, and Mikoliunas wide right. As ukol says, even as one of the players less open to criticism yesterday Mikoliunas still failed to actually produce anything dangerous into the box from the wide left position, because he cannot play it.

 

I think that both Miko - who likes to step inside to shoot - and Driver are good players on their 'wrong' wings. Driver has had a number of good games on the right.

[Groot]

I think that both Miko - who likes to step inside to shoot - and Driver are good players on their 'wrong' wings. Driver has had a number of good games on the right.

 

You just have took back to the League Cup game at Darkheid last season

[Charlie-Brown]

In one of the recent home games Driver played on the right and we did something we don't often do when Driver plays on the left ..... we played the ball inside the fullback & centre-back for Driver to run in behind....on the left we often play to Driver's feet & let him run at his defender.

[Drylaw Hearts]

I think that both Miko - who likes to step inside to shoot - and Driver are good players on their 'wrong' wings. Driver has had a number of good games on the right.

 

Driver had an excellent match at ER whilst playing on the right.

 

He ripped David Murphy up for for erse paper.

[bighusref]

2 assists and 1 goal in 4 games is not flattering to deceive. Cesnauskis over Driver? That'll be the same Cesnauskis who has scored 1 league goal in coming on 3 and a half years? The same Cesnauskis, who we have no idea whether he can cross or not, as every time he gets the ball he cuts inside (and usually loses it).

 

Yet again, you have been exposed as talking nonsense. Admit you were wrong and move on....

 

He does flatter to deceive, it obviously deceived you as you were defending his performance against Motherwell where he ran in straight lines with the ball, failed to cross and wasted opportunites hand over fist.

 

I admit that Cesnauskis is far from a superstar, but Mikoliunas and Cesnauskis are IMO the best of a bad bunch. A proper left midfielder would have been part of my shopping list pre season but hey ho.

 

I take it that you won't answer what he would have done yesterday?

 

Still, if it makes you happy to start threads aimed at fellow Hearts fans that dare to disagree with you, bash on.

[Martin_T]

He does flatter to deceive, it obviously deceived you as you were defending his performance against Motherwell where he ran in straight lines with the ball, failed to cross and wasted opportunites hand over fist.

 

I admit that Cesnauskis is far from a superstar, but Mikoliunas and Cesnauskis are IMO the best of a bad bunch. A proper left midfielder would have been part of my shopping list pre season but hey ho.

 

I take it that you won't answer what he would have done yesterday?

 

Still, if it makes you happy to start threads aimed at fellow Hearts fans that dare to disagree with you, bash on.

 

That'll be the same game he sent a fantastic pass through to Stewart to score the first goal? Or the same game he skinned Paul Quinn for fun in.

 

When virtually everyone else thinks you are talking out of your erse, you really have to start wondering if your opinion on a subject is valid.

[Coco]

We can't play with two wingers, its been the case for a long time now. Our midfield gets over-run, even when we play a CH as an extra man there.

 

We really need to provide a bit of balance to the midfield, I hate the continuation of two wingers (whose talents are questionable). Would rather we played a RM/LM who had the ability to track back and tuck in as required to bolster our midfield.

 

The commitee needs to realise that we cannot accomodate 2 wingers even in a 5 man midfield.

 

While I would normally agree with you, the dearth of quality midfielders in the bloated midfield squad would mean that I would play both Driver and Miko at the moment. I would play them with Stewart and Jonsson in a 4 man midfield.

[Coco]

That midfield combo would be completely over run by the might of teams like St.Mirren. Who would figure our game plan out in about 5 sec.

 

Thats said I agree, despite it apearing our strongest position our midfield ain't great. We lack creativity and any real strength in the midfield. In addition to having far too many players who do the same job.

 

Our whole squad is un balanced.

 

The midfield area is so poor at the moment - that the 4 I mentioned are the only ones I would trust to bust a gut for the team in midfield (Mrowiec to be fair has done nothing wrong so far). I am sick and tired of lightweight midfields of the post Brellier age - but given how many lazy saps we have in the midfield pool - I would play Driver-Jonsson-Stewart-Driver-Glen and Nade at the moment as the midfield/front formation.

[Coco]

LOL Driver is some player.

 

Anyway I agree our midfield is very lightweight. Never really understood the aparant reluctance of the committee to hate defensive midfielders ie. Brellier and to a lesser extent Johnson. However, more that happy to allow CH's Zali, Tall, Karipisis to look like fish out of water.

 

In the SPL you need someone who is prepared to break up play, in fairness most good team have a player prepared to do the dirty work.

 

I guess I will never understand the logic of the committee.

 

Oh dear, Driver covering both sides of the pitch!

 

Miko on the left!

 

But oh for Brellier.