Levein interview

[lambojambo]

Anyone else hear Craig Levein's interview on the BBC radio sports programme last night?

 

When asked about his time at LCFC he said -

 

"To be honest I was just desperate to leave Hearts and took the first job that came up. There was too much going on at Hearts with fan's protests and I just wanted out"

 

Nice to hear a "Hearts Legend" saying that!

[The Don]

Nothing about the fact he was pumping another bird and wanted out of Edinburgh and as far away as possible to avoid the fall out from his missus then?

[Don Juan]

He didn't mention having an affair behind his wife's back at any time did he?

[Don Juan]

Nothing about the fact he was pumping another bird and wanted out of Edinburgh and as far away as possible to avoid the fall out from his missus then?

 

You beat me to it

[lambojambo]

Nothing about the fact he was pumping another bird and wanted out of Edinburgh and as far away as possible to avoid the fall out from his missus then?

 

 

I couldn't possibly comment!

 

But for CL to blame the Hearts fans for protesting against what many of us saw as being the end of our Club irked me!

[Jammy T]

Anyone else hear Craig Levein's interview on the BBC radio sports programme last night?

 

When asked about his time at LCFC he said -

 

"To be honest I was just desperate to leave Hearts and took the first job that came up. There was too much going on at Hearts with fan's protests and I just wanted out"

 

Nice to hear a "Hearts Legend" saying that!

 

Well he probably isnt going to say "I was cheating on my missus and things had come to a head in my personal life and it was actually convenient at that time to move away from the village that is Scotland"

 

Having cut costs year on year under Robinson and been faced witha chap we now know was lieing about his initially intimated intentions for Hearts it looks as if he did the right thing

 

Equally had he stayed and been shafted by Romanov - as he would have been - no doubt Levein would also have been slated by the Romanov loyal who would have believed whatever smear campaign followed that.

 

Lose lose situation I guess from a relationship with Hearts fans point of view

[lambojambo]

Well he probably isnt going to say "I was cheating on my missus and things had come to a head in my personal life and it was actually convenient at that time to move away from the village that is Scotland"

 

Having cut costs year on year under Robinson and been faced witha chap we now know was lieing about his initially intimated intentions for Hearts it looks as if he did the right thing

 

Equally had he stayed and been shafted by Romanov - as he would have been - no doubt Levein would also have been slated by the Romanov loyal who would have believed whatever smear campaign followed that.

 

Lose lose situation I guess from a relationship with Hearts fans point of view

 

 

 

CL also said last night

 

"We had a good team (at Hearts) despite cutting the budget year on year"

 

What he failed to mention was that even through this cost cutting, Levein still had a bigger player budget than any other SPL Manager outwith the OF.

[Drylaw Hearts]

I couldn't possibly comment!

 

But for CL to blame the Hearts fans for protesting against what many of us saw as being the end of our Club irked me!

 

I don't think he'd have meant it in quite the way you've put it.

 

Hearts was probably a very unhappy place to be towards the end of his reign with all the protests and uncertainty of where the club was going etc.

 

Take into account his other 'issues' then you can undertstand why a fresh start was probably better for him.

[Walter Kidd]

If you listened to Craig at the Hall of Fame do last year, you would know that Hearts are and always will be his club.

[lambojambo]

I don't think he'd have meant it in quite the way you've put it.

Hearts was probably a very unhappy place to be towards the end of his reign with all the protests and uncertainty of where the club was going etc.

 

Take into account his other 'issues' then you can undertstand why a fresh start was probably better for him.

 

 

Quoted him word for word.

[Radio Ga Ga]

If you listened to Craig at the Hall of Fame do last year, you would know that Hearts are and always will be his club.

 

WK you just stole my thunder, deep down Hearts will ALWAYS be his club

[Drylaw Hearts]

Anyone else hear Craig Levein's interview on the BBC radio sports programme last night?

 

When asked about his time at LCFC he said -

 

"To be honest I was just desperate to leave Hearts and took the first job that came up. There was too much going on at Hearts with fan's protests and I just wanted out"

 

Nice to hear a "Hearts Legend" saying that!

 

I couldn't possibly comment!

 

But for CL to blame the Hearts fans for protesting against what many of us saw as being the end of our Club irked me!

 

Quoted him word for word.

 

 

The first quote is different from your take on it though.

 

He doesn't appear to be blaming the Fans for actually protesting against what they believed - it was just that the protesting was too much for him and he wanted out.

 

I think there's a difference.

[lambojambo]

If you listened to Craig at the Hall of Fame do last year, you would know that Hearts are and always will be his club.

 

 

And he was going to stand up in front of wall to wall Hearts fans and say something different???

 

Levein is a smart cookie and plays to the audience he is in front of -

 

At his first LCFC press conference he said that "Hearts were only a provincial Club".

 

Last night he was in raptures about all things Dundee United including their "fantastic fans".

[bigandy]

Quoted him word for word.

 

To be fair you have quoted him word for word in a small selected section of one interview and followed it with the words - Nice to hear a 'Hearts Legend' say that. Clearly to paint CL in a negative light. All he is saying basically is the club were a bit of a shambles at the time and the fans protests were, while justified, not ideal for the team and Iremember him saying so at the time. Players and managers sometimes find a time when they feel they need to leave a club even when they have a strong attachment to the club.

[lambojambo]

The first quote is different from your take on it though.

 

He doesn't appear to be blaming the Fans for actually protesting against what they beleived just that the protesting was too much for him and he wanted out.

 

I think there's a difference.

 

 

Would a "Hearts Legend" not have stuck by the Club and the fans and worked through the problems instead of jumping ship at the first opportunity?

 

Many on here said he had a right to go as the LCFC job was allegedly a move up. Levein has now admitted he just wanted out at the first opportunity.

[TNCASTLE]

The first quote is different from your take on it though.

 

He doesn't appear to be blaming the Fans for actually protesting against what they believed - it was just that the protesting was too much for him and he wanted out.

 

I think there's a difference.

 

Any photos of the other bird?

[john brownlee]

If you listened to Craig at the Hall of Fame do last year, you would know that Hearts are and always will be his club.

 

yesmen tend to be like that

 

He came to Hearts to be the piemans poodle and that excactly what he was.

As previous posts point out, he left for a very personal reason and nothing to do with what was happening at Hearts or by the fans.

 

Oh BTW. leavin see if you can have a night like bordoux with the arabs. I doubt it. goodbye and thank flex he aint coming back.

[lambojambo]

To be fair you have quoted him word for word in a small selected section of one interview and followed it with the words - Nice to hear a 'Hearts Legend' say that. Clearly to paint CL in a negative light. All he is saying basically is the club were a bit of a shambles at the time and the fans protests were, while justified, not ideal for the team and Iremember him saying so at the time. Players and managers sometimes find a time when they feel they need to leave a club even when they have a strong attachment to the club.

 

 

This part of the interview was specifically relative to Hearts and their fans. With respect I thought HIS comments were negative!

 

The other comments he made in the interview were relative to the "fantastic" DU fans and their club.

[Drylaw Hearts]

Would a "Hearts Legend" not have stuck by the Club and the fans and worked through the problems instead of jumping ship at the first opportunity?

 

Many on here said he had a right to go as the LCFC job was allegedly a move up. Levein has now admitted he just wanted out at the first opportunity.

 

Until you are in those circumstance yourself it is difficult to answer.

 

I was disappointed he left but I understood at the time.

 

Infact....

 

I still understand.

[Benny Factor]

Well he probably isnt going to say "I was cheating on my missus and things had come to a head in my personal life and it was actually convenient at that time to move away from the village that is Scotland"

 

Having cut costs year on year under Robinson and been faced witha chap we now know was lieing about his initially intimated intentions for Hearts it looks as if he did the right thing

 

Equally had he stayed and been shafted by Romanov - as he would have been - no doubt Levein would also have been slated by the Romanov loyal who would have believed whatever smear campaign followed that.

 

Lose lose situation I guess from a relationship with Hearts fans point of view

 

Levein wanted out long before Vlad appeared on the scene.

 

This was all about his personal circumstances and the job he was doing under the Pieman.

[4marsbars]

Craig Levein is, and always will be, a Hearts legend.

 

Some things in football you never forget. I've forgotten many more matches than I remember but I've never forgotten the first time I saw him play (at home against St. Mirren).

 

If you ever hear him as a radio pundit you can tell where his loyalties lie.

 

Professionally, he had the chance to leave a club in serious debt, with unhappy fans, and about to be taken over by someone with an unknown track record. He had always wanted to manage in England (and is honest about that).

 

Professional footballers and managers mostly don't make career decisions out of the kinds of loyalty felt by supporters. That's not how they should be judged.

 

Levein was the best central defender I've seen in a Hearts jersey (with the possible, brief, exception of Sandy Jardine), and we've had a few good ones. He also had a fantastic record as a coach. Judged on what he has done for us, he's a legend.

 

I nearly added that I cannot believe the criticism he gets on here, but I know what Hearts fans can be like and none of these foolish posts surprise me.

[Victor Meldrew]

Whatever Levein may or may not have felt about HMFC, I don't think I'll ever understand why he had to leave us on the eve of one of our biggest ever European nights. By doing so, he helped to deny us a real chance of winning it.

 

If Leicester wanted him, there can have been no reason why he couldn't have started on thursday morning rather than the Tuesday (or whenever it was he went).

 

FWIW I think that Levein is a decent but not brilliant manager. When he was with us, we still had a wage bill much higher than all the other non-OF teams, and finishing third was, in my view, something to be expected rather than celebrated (as it still is!!)

 

We never did anything in the Cups under Levein and really ought to have done. As soon as he left, we got to the semis of both cups under Robbo.

 

At Dundee Utd he's steadied a very dodgy ship, but I doubt whether they'll achieve much else under him.

 

His approach of making teams hard to beat will always work well at an underperforming side, but won't ever result in challenging the Old Firm. In fact, we could virtually always bank on getting pumped by the OF under Levein.

 

Having said that, CL's ability to make his team hard to beat and getting performances from relatively limited players would make him a good Scotland manager.

[Guest JamboRobbo]

I couldn't possibly comment!

 

But for CL to blame the Hearts fans for protesting against what many of us saw as being the end of our Club irked me!

 

 

Everything CL did or does seems to irk you.

[Snake Plissken]

Everything CL did or does seems to irk you.

 

I was about to post similar.

 

LJ's personal vendetta against CL was tiresome 2 years ago, now its just plain sad.

[Guest S.U.S.S.]

At least he is honest and takes time to explain his actions unlike certain other "legends".

[i8hibsh]

Anyone else hear Craig Levein's interview on the BBC radio sports programme last night?

 

When asked about his time at LCFC he said -

 

"To be honest I was just desperate to leave Hearts and took the first job that came up. There was too much going on at Hearts with fan's protests and I just wanted out"

 

Nice to hear a "Hearts Legend" saying that!

 

Levein was a great Hearts player and a very decent manager - NOT A HEARTS LEGEND

[Nucky Thompson]

The guy is an erse, a big mouthed, bad losing erse at that:rolleyes:

[Guest JamboRobbo]

The guy is an erse, a big mouthed, bad losing erse at that:rolleyes:

 

stop changing the subject. This thread has nothing to do with Roman or Vlad.

[Goldstone Wonder]

I was about to post similar.

 

LJ's personal vendetta against CL was tiresome 2 years ago, now its just plain sad.

 

I've really missed LJ's rants about CL. Kinda feels like season 2004-2005 all over again. I seem to remember Gambo had a deep-rooted and irrational hatred of Levein as well.

[Johanes de Silentio]

yesmen tend to be like that

 

He came to Hearts to be the piemans poodle and that excactly what he was.

As previous posts point out, he left for a very personal reason and nothing to do with what was happening at Hearts or by the fans. QUOTE]

 

I doubt very much if CL is or was anyone's 'poodle', or a 'yes man' - he's a pragmatist.

 

Levein's ambitious, and he said at the time that he'd made his mind up to take the first offer he was made.

 

What with the turmoil at Hearts and in his personal life, it was clearly time to go - and he recommended Robbo as his replacement.

 

I have absolutely no problem with Levein, and would welcome him back anytime.

 

For the moment, though, Csaba's the man!

[Guest]

He disnae half come oot wi some guffy comments at times:eek:

[Nucky Thompson]

stop changing the subject. This thread has nothing to do with Roman or Vlad.

But Roman is an erse!

[Dusty]

I've really missed LJ's rants about CL. Kinda feels like season 2004-2005 all over again. I seem to remember Gambo had a deep-rooted and irrational hatred of Levein as well.

 

Next we'll see Maybury getting an undeserved man of the match too

[Zico]

I've really missed LJ's rants about CL. Kinda feels like season 2004-2005 all over again. I seem to remember Gambo had a deep-rooted and irrational hatred of Levein as well.

 

I haven't! We had years of the anti-CL brigades' rants - he's not even here and we're still getting them. And some people think that posters go on about Burley/Romanov's madness etc too much!

[Coco]

Levein is really only concerned with priority No 1. Himself.

 

That is his prerogative though.

[Nucky Thompson]

I haven't! We had years of the anti-CL brigades' rants - he's not even here and we're still getting them. And some people think that posters go on about Burley/Romanov's madness etc too much!

But he's manager of one of our rivals and has just brought down Hearts in an interview.

[chimpos]

Jhudas Lhevein:runaway:

[IMA MAROON]

Anyone else hear Craig Levein's interview on the BBC radio sports programme last night?

 

When asked about his time at LCFC he said -

 

"To be honest I was just desperate to leave Hearts and took the first job that came up. There was too much going on at Hearts with fan's protests and I just wanted out"

 

Nice to hear a "Hearts Legend" saying that!

 

Some will still find a way to blame Vlad.

 

Really disappointed in Levein. Any club but Hearts. Shocking stuff.

[ellsbells]

im fed up of levein and his opinions. every week he feels he has to open his mouth and grace us with his verbals. one week he's criticising hamilton and billy reid and gets into a war of words of hamilton's "defensive, negative football" (oh, the irony!) the next he's out speaking about refs, and now about george peat.

 

im sure every manager in the country has an opinion much like that of levein, even that wee lepracorn strachan isn't involved. levein comes across to me as ridiculous at times, it seems he wants his opinions to be heard each week, probably just for a space in the daily rags to keep his profile up.

 

Levein - shut up and GTF.

[ToadKiller Dog]

im fed up of levein and his opinions. every week he feels he has to open his mouth and grace us with his verbals. one week he's criticising hamilton and billy reid and gets into a war of words of hamilton's "defensive, negative football" (oh, the irony!) the next he's out speaking about refs, and now about george peat.

 

im sure every manager in the country has an opinion much like that of levein, even that wee lepracorn strachan isn't involved. levein comes across to me as ridiculous at times, it seems he wants his opinions to be heard each week, probably just for a space in the daily rags to keep his profile up.

 

Levein - shut up and GTF.

 

CL argument with Billy Reid and Hamilton was very petty and childish ,he should have apologized for that,it ran for ages up here in the dundee evening tele ,came across as a bit of an arrogant trumpet in that.

 

He has been pretty shrewd in the way he has secured his place at Tannadice it will be very hard for them to punt him ,if or when it goes wrong ,If United are now the limit of his ambitions good luck to him.

[lambojambo]

Until you are in those circumstance yourself it is difficult to answer.

 

I was disappointed he left but I understood at the time.

 

Infact....

 

I still understand.

 

 

Your very understanding XXX

 

[lambojambo]

Everything CL did or does seems to irk you.

 

 

 

Much like your posts JR!

[lambojambo]

I haven't! We had years of the anti-CL brigades' rants - he's not even here and we're still getting them. And some people think that posters go on about Burley/Romanov's madness etc too much!

 

 

Ex Hearts Manager and (according to some) Hearts Legend blames Hearts fans for wanting to get out of Tynecastle!

 

Yeh! You're right this is of no interest on a Hearts fans website!

[4marsbars]

Ex Hearts Manager and (according to some) Hearts Legend blames Hearts fans for wanting to get out of Tynecastle!

 

Yeh! You're right this is of no interest on a Hearts fans website!

 

 

Give us a break. He doesn't "blame" Hearts fans. He said that he did not enjoy working in a context that included fans' protests among other things.

 

That's quite a different thing.

 

Show me where he said that it was wrong of these fans to protest.

 

Did you ever see him play? (apologies for not knowing your vintage)

[lambojambo]

Give us a break. He doesn't "blame" Hearts fans. He said that he did not enjoy working in a context that included fans' protests among other things.

 

That's quite a different thing.

 

Show me where he said that it was wrong of these fans to protest.

 

Did you ever see him play? (apologies for not knowing your vintage)

 

 

Read my OP - that is word for word what he said.

 

He did not say "I didn't enjoy working in a context that included fans protests among other things".

 

He didn't expand on it and say it was wrong to protest - he did however say he wanted out because of the fans protests.

 

Ever see him play? Saw my first game in 1965 - what has that got do with my opinion of an ex Hearts Manager having a pop at hearts fans?

[The Real Maroonblood]

I don't think he'd have meant it in quite the way you've put it.

 

Hearts was probably a very unhappy place to be towards the end of his reign with all the protests and uncertainty of where the club was going etc.

 

Take into account his other 'issues' then you can undertstand why a fresh start was probably better for him.

 

Spot on.

[magicTs]

Craig Levein = Hearts legend.

 

lambojambo = Very bitter for some as yet unexplained reason.

[leginten]

Craig Levein is, and always will be, a Hearts legend.

 

Some things in football you never forget. I've forgotten many more matches than I remember but I've never forgotten the first time I saw him play (at home against St. Mirren).

 

If you ever hear him as a radio pundit you can tell where his loyalties lie.

 

Professionally, he had the chance to leave a club in serious debt, with unhappy fans, and about to be taken over by someone with an unknown track record. He had always wanted to manage in England (and is honest about that).

 

Professional footballers and managers mostly don't make career decisions out of the kinds of loyalty felt by supporters. That's not how they should be judged.

 

Levein was the best central defender I've seen in a Hearts jersey (with the possible, brief, exception of Sandy Jardine), and we've had a few good ones. He also had a fantastic record as a coach. Judged on what he has done for us, he's a legend.

 

I nearly added that I cannot believe the criticism he gets on here, but I know what Hearts fans can be like and none of these foolish posts surprise me.

 

 

The voice of reason.

[Nucky Thompson]

Craig Levein = Hearts legend.

 

lambojambo = Nobody.

Hearts legend my erse:4_1_72: He played in a good Hearts team that nearly done the double but so did Ian Jardine and Neil Berry and they are never called Hearts Legends. He was then injured for most of his playing career while getting well looked after by HMFC. He has now turned into a self centred, big mouthed ******. GTF Craig Levein.

[lambojambo]

Craig Levein = Hearts legend.

 

lambojambo = Very bitter for some as yet unexplained reason.

 

 

This will all be revealed in my forthcoming best selling autobiography.