10 reasons why we should feel good about the transfer window

[Greenbank2]

OK, so there are a few things that didn't happen, but put this into context of the dealings of other clubs and also what was said would happen;

 

1. There was NO FIRE SALE. Weegie press - where are your headlines?

 

2. We got a good fee for CB given the market.

 

3. We turned down good money for Driver - is this the sign of a destitute club?

 

4. We moved on a number of passengers

 

5. We secured the services of a very good keeper.

 

6. VR said we need not sell another player after CB went. We did what it says on the tin. David Murray GIRUY.

 

7. VR recommitted to the strategy of bringing players through the academy.

 

8. We re-affirmed the position that given the choice, we will not sell players to rival teams.

 

9. The OF are as strapped for cash as anyone and cannot afford our top talent.

 

10. CL now has the opportunity to manage the situation. It's into Feb, we're 3rd in the table and we've lost only 1 key player in the window. It is clear to him the resources he has at his disposal and must manage with what he has. I'm sure that there will be a few arrivals in the summer, but the position is clear - develop talent through Riccarton. It will not come right overnight, but he's getting the chance - and - we will not be like the wee team and simply supply the M8 conveyor to make money.

 

I'm not saying everything is peachy, we must improve and become more effective up front, but it is far from the armagedon the redtop rags were predicting.

[HEARTS FOREVER]

OK, so there are a few things that didn't happen, but put this into context of the dealings of other clubs and also what was said would happen;

 

1. There was NO FIRE SALE. Weegie press - where are your headlines?

 

2. We got a good fee for CB given the market.

 

3. We turned down good money for Driver - is this the sign of a destitute club?

 

4. We moved on a number of passengers

 

5. We secured the services of a very good keeper.

 

6. VR said we need not sell another player after CB went. We did what it says on the tin. David Murray GIRUY.

 

7. VR recommitted to the strategy of bringing players through the academy.

 

8. We re-affirmed the position that given the choice, we will not sell players to rival teams.

 

9. The OF are as strapped for cash as anyone and cannot afford our top talent.

 

10. CL now has the opportunity to manage the situation. It's into Feb, we're 3rd in the table and we've lost only 1 key player in the window. It is clear to him the resources he has at his disposal and must manage with what he has. I'm sure that there will be a few arrivals in the summer, but the position is clear - develop talent through Riccarton. It will not come right overnight, but he's getting the chance - and - we will not be like the wee team and simply supply the M8 conveyor to make money.

 

I'm not saying everything is peachy, we must improve and become more effective up front, but it is far from the armagedon the redtop rags were predicting.

 

Romanov has clearly lost his appetite for Hearts to have success on the field.

 

The January transfer window shows this.

 

As Rafa would say...............................Its a fact!

[Jammy T]

Romanov has clearly lost his appetite for Hearts to have success on the field.

 

The January transfer window shows this.

 

As Rafa would say...............................Its a fact!

 

I disagree

 

Its been clear for about 3 years

[loveofthegame]

Romanov has clearly lost his appetite for Hearts to have success on the field.

 

The January transfer window shows this.

 

As Rafa would say...............................Its a fact!

 

I am one of VR's biggest critics, but maybe instead of ''lost his appetite'' he has simply realised that his spending over the first couple of years was unsustainable.

 

Had that continued, we'd have been well on our way out of business by now- Its a fact!

[Cambo_Jambo]

I am one of VR's biggest critics, but maybe instead of ''lost his appetite'' he has simply realised that his spending over the first couple of years was unsustainable.

 

Had that continued, we'd have been well on our way out of business by now- Its a fact!

 

I agree and I also think that he realised that while managing Kaunas in a small league with no money is alot easier than managing Hearts in a medium sized league with some real competition.

 

That was what last season was about I think. The dawning realisation he wasn't up to the job and the scramble to find sombody who could make the club successful while he still manages to enjoy being Hearts boss.

[Buffalo Bill]

We needed a striker but we never got one. That's the hangover from this window.

 

However, I can see a lot of the positives too. I am glad we're getting rid of the dead wood, reducing the squad size and wage bill; whist commiting ourselves to getting in the right kind of player in future (i.e young, ambitious, Brit or North European).

 

I'm not a great fan of Vlad but Csaba and the team have my full backing.

 

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

[Cigaro]

We needed a striker but we never got one. That's the hangover from this window.

 

However, I can see a lot of the positives too. I am glad we're getting rid of the dead wood, reducing the squad size and wage bill; whist commiting ourselves to getting in the right kind of player in future (i.e young, ambitious, Brit or North European).

 

I'm not a great fan of Vlad but Csaba and the team have my full backing.

 

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

Hurrah hurrah huzzah!

[Ali-1874]

We needed a striker but we never got one. That's the hangover from this window.

 

However, I can see a lot of the positives too. I am glad we're getting rid of the dead wood, reducing the squad size and wage bill; whist commiting ourselves to getting in the right kind of player in future (i.e young, ambitious, Brit or North European).

 

I'm not a great fan of Vlad but Csaba and the team have my full backing.

 

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

 

Couldn't have put it better.

[Cow]

More positives than negatives if the truth be told , okay we never got a striker but we are in much better position than this time last year which i would class as progress.

 

Lets hope we can bag a euro slot, (yes , a tall order i know) the transfer door has slammed shut and we cant do anything about that for now , get behind the players we have and roar them on to 3rd spot , i'm sure we can make a difference.

[Ryan Gosling]

He has a big interest in the youth team. And he likes Craig Thomson a lot, as does Anatoly.

[bighusref]

We needed a striker but we never got one. That's the hangover from this window.

 

However, I can see a lot of the positives too. I am glad we're getting rid of the dead wood, reducing the squad size and wage bill; whist commiting ourselves to getting in the right kind of player in future (i.e young, ambitious, Brit or North European).

 

I'm not a great fan of Vlad but Csaba and the team have my full backing.

 

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

 

Agreed.

 

I feel sorry for Laszlo, I honestly feel that he went to his superiors and said "I want Farkas and Martin" and was then forced to wait for the club to act.

 

I believe that Laszlo has the same concerns about his squad as he has, I believe his quotes at the tail end of last week pointed towards that. I hope that Hearts reward Laszlo by providing the players he wants in the summer.

[Jambomo]

To be honest I don't think we should be trying to look for positives from this transfer window - for us it was a bad one, we didn't get in what we needed and we lost an excellent player. There are good reasons why these things have happened but to try and pretend that it's been a positive or good window for us is only fooling ourselves.

[Buffalo Bill]

To be honest I don't think we should be trying to look for positives from this transfer window - for us it was a bad one, we didn't get in what we needed and we lost an excellent player. There are good reasons why these things have happened but to try and pretend that it's been a positive or good window for us is only fooling ourselves.

 

What about getting rid of the dead wood?

 

And reducing the wage bill?

 

Or signing Balogh?

 

Are those not positives?

 

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

[speedbump]

What about getting rid of the dead wood?

 

And reducing the wage bill?

 

Or signing Balogh?

 

Are those not positives?

 

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

 

Of course not:mw_rolleyes:

[Greenbank2]

I'm afraid I have to question the expectations that some people have about our ability to bring in a striker. 20 goal a season strikers are as rare as hobby horse's ****e. And there are a number of factors to be considered in trying to bring one in;

 

o transfer fee. Anyone who is good enough to come in and do a job, during this window, is almost certainly under contract. The club must get it's finances in order. If Stephen Fletcher is worth M2+ with 4 years of his contract left, what kind of striker can we expect for less than 1M. Look at what the forces of darkness were offered for our league's top scorer by a 2nd tier english side!!!!!

 

o Wages. With the state of the GBP, players will be earning higher wages in nearly every top tier league in western europe because either the product is better with more paying fans, or there is bigger sponsorship.

 

o development. We're now seeing players regularly moving from the SPL to the english second tier. With no budget for transfer and wages being slashed, it's a really tough sell to get anyone to come to the SPL.

 

So, exactly how hard is it for Csaba to bring in a striker who can immediately have an impact? I'd suggest he needs to be getting lessons from Derren Brown. Be real, in the transfer market, particularly this one, we're bottom feeders - and so is everyone else in the league. The ONLY way forward is to recruit and develop young talent. And with top division sides all over Europe trying to do the same thing, the difference in the long term for HMFC will be can Csaba out-perform his peers. Time will tell, but he needs time.

 

Regarding the arrival of a striker this window, I believe he tried, but against the reality of the current background it simply wasn't possible.

[Jambomo]

What about getting rid of the dead wood?

 

And reducing the wage bill?

 

Or signing Balogh?

 

Are those not positives?

 

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

 

Yes some of the players we got rid of were deadwood but i'm sorry to see the likes of Rapnik go as he's never had a chance - same with some of the other youngsters, but who knows maybe they wouldn't have made it.

 

I don't know how much this really does reduce the wage bill by, as I don't know the earnings of each player but I don't think that many of the high earners have been moved on so it's hard to tell exactly how much of a positive this is.

 

I'm glad we signed Balogh as he is a great keeper but - controversial I know - with Kello and McDonald on the books and being so short in other areas whould the money not have been better spent on a striker or central defender??

 

I don't mean this to be a negative post, only that we really shouldn't be pretending that this has been great for us as some people seem to be doing.

[Rods]

What about Tullberg

 

Maybe just Maybe he is the man to solve our goalscoring problems

[Buffalo Bill]

Yes some of the players we got rid of were deadwood but i'm sorry to see the likes of Rapnik go as he's never had a chance - same with some of the other youngsters, but who knows maybe they wouldn't have made it.

 

I don't know how much this really does reduce the wage bill by, as I don't know the earnings of each player but I don't think that many of the high earners have been moved on so it's hard to tell exactly how much of a positive this is.

 

I'm glad we signed Balogh as he is a great keeper but - controversial I know - with Kello and McDonald on the books and being so short in other areas whould the money not have been better spent on a striker or central defender??

 

I don't mean this to be a negative post, only that we really shouldn't be pretending that this has been great for us as some people seem to be doing.

 

 

So you agree that there are some positives after all?

 

Bearing in mind Beslija and Makela are gone, the exact wages figures are not important. We should all be glad that they're gone.

 

No one is saying it's been a great window: but is spending ?2M great for a club like Hearts just now?

 

We need to cut our cloth to survive.

 

That my friend, is a positive.

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

[Buffalo Bill]

What about Tullberg

 

Maybe just Maybe he is the man to solve our goalscoring problems

 

If you're a Reggiana fan from the future, I might agree with that!

 

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

[redm]

Yes some of the players we got rid of were deadwood but i'm sorry to see the likes of Rapnik go as he's never had a chance - same with some of the other youngsters, but who knows maybe they wouldn't have made it.

 

I don't know how much this really does reduce the wage bill by, as I don't know the earnings of each player but I don't think that many of the high earners have been moved on so it's hard to tell exactly how much of a positive this is.

 

I'm glad we signed Balogh as he is a great keeper but - controversial I know - with Kello and McDonald on the books and being so short in other areas whould the money not have been better spent on a striker or central defender??

 

I don't mean this to be a negative post, only that we really shouldn't be pretending that this has been great for us as some people seem to be doing.

 

I don't see anyone pretending this has been a great transfer window. I only see people adopting the 'it could have been so much worse' approach. Had we lost all of the players that we were reputed to be touting around, then I think we would have been justified in thinking the sky had fallen in. But we didn't.

 

We listened to everyone saying we were screwed, that we'd be selling off the family silver for tuppence just to help overcome our debt problems, that we'd be hosting the best firesale the SPL had ever seen....and what happened in the end? We sold our captain and arguably our best and most consistent performer. And we didn't get the striker that we needed, that's definitely a bit pants.

 

But as for your point relating to the keeper situation, I guess that all comes down to what your opinion is of Kello and MacDonald. Personally, I'm relieved that Balogh is staying because I don't rate Kello all that much and I think MacDonald is a decent keeper but still has some learning to do and isn't yet ready to be first choice. I think he'll come good though. Balogh has performed well for us and we needed him to stay - and he has done. If you've lost your best defender, the last thing you need is to have a new back line who are shored up by an under-confident, inexperienced or inconsistent keeper.

[Guest JamboRobbo]

11. Csaba seems to have managed to prevent the annual invasion of duds from Kaunus. :toasting:

[Rods]

If you're a Reggiana fan from the future, I might agree with that!

 

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

 

 

My point BB was people are being negative about the window due to the fact we never signed a striker.

 

We get this guy back from injury he could be like a new signing

 

Just trying to remain positive. I am very pleased about the way the TW went, apart from maybe getting Kingston off the wages.

[Buffalo Bill]

My point BB was people are being negative about the window due to the fact we never signed a striker.

 

We get this guy back from injury he could be like a new signing

 

Just trying to remain positive. I am very pleased about the way the TW went, apart from maybe getting Kingston off the wages.

 

I was just kiddin' mate.

 

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

[Carl Spackler]

Maybe the striker didn't arrive but as has been pointed out above they come at a premium and the club has clearly decided that they aren't going to do that any more.

 

Rangers aren't doing it either. Gordon Strachan has even moaned about the cost of decent players and Celtic are the ones sitting on, and still to receive, Champions League cash!

 

If there was any immediate finanical problems Hearts would be trying to push "assets" like Driver out the door and that hasn't happened. So did the likes of the Sun have good reason to whack the news of an unpaid water bill on its front page a wee while back?

 

The main positive I will take from this window is the impression that Hearts have a bit more direction. I like Csaba and I think he will improve the players we have more than previous managers so I'm happy enough. Third will not be easy but we are a great deal better than this time last year!

[loveofthegame]

11. Csaba seems to have managed to prevent the annual invasion of duds from Kaunus. :toasting:

 

Massive positive to read that the 2 trialists where sent home- once again showing Csaba is in control.

[Elmo]

This transfer window has convinced me that Hearts are now being run properly.

Decisions now have some logic and the manager seems to have control.

Buying a striker would have been nice but proven goal scorers dont come cheap and neither do unproven ones like Nade.

I have a renewed confidence in uncle Vlad

[rdewar42]

If Kingston had gone early in the window, we might have seen some inward movement, but his lack of application and effectiveness meant that no one wanted him.

 

Any reduction in the wage bill is welcome, and holding on to Andy Driver is surely a positive.

 

It could have been better, but, on the other hand, it could have been worse.

 

I'm fairly happy and optimistic with the situation.

[Ray Winstone]

As far as I can see the only dissapointment of the window was not signing a striker.

 

I think we can cope without Berra and we did get decent money for him.

 

If Vlad had lost his appitite for Hearts then why would he bother to streamline the squad in such a way.

 

It would have been much easier to cash in on all the assets we have and force CL into picking from what he had left.

 

I think it shows some kind of comittment to making the club self sufficient in the future.

[Victorian]

folk can disect the causes and effects of happened and didn't happen in the transfer window until they are blue in the face but the fact remains that we got through it without major trauma. sure we lost berra, arguably our best and most valuable asset but we didn't lose anyone else worth hanging on to.

 

let's face it, in terms of players leaving, the transfer window was a lot better for hearts than a lot of hearts fans thought it was going to be, and a lot better than many from outwith the club insisted it was going to be. in terms of players coming in it was disappointing but surely on the balance it was outweighed by retaining the likes of driver, bruno, karipidis, jonsson and wallace.

[Fourcandles]

Since there are 10 outfield players in a team each one is only 10% of the team.

So having lost 10% of the team doesn't sound so bad does it?

 

The problem is all players are not equal and losing Berra is potentially a lot more serious as far as results go than just one tenth of the team.

 

I'm sure we made c.?2.2million out of our part in the group stages of the UEFA

cup (as was) last time we got there?

 

Just hope losing CB doesn't cost us a Euro spot again.

 

[Rods]

I was just kiddin' mate.

 

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

 

I realise mate I did chuckle when I read your post

[chester copperpot]

I think we all need a reality check here, including me from seasons past.

 

We've spent the most on a single player.

 

We've sold the highest grossing player of the TF window.

 

There's been no fire sale.

 

 

I dont like getting too upset with news now, I stopped doing this after my wee mid season tantrum this year.

 

What will be will be, I will still be on the terracing supporting the team I love.

[Guest jambomickey]

I think we all need a reality check here, including me from seasons past.

 

We've spent the most on a single player.

 

We've sold the highest grossing player of the TF window.

 

There's been no fire sale.

 

 

I dont like getting too upset with news now, I stopped doing this after my wee mid season tantrum this year.

 

What will be will be, I will still be on the terracing supporting the team I love.

 

andy most of us said when csaba arrived late in pre season that the january transfer window was the time when he'd know for sure what he wanted and he did but got no backing from above to get what a blind man knows we need.

[Dr. Bapswent]

andy most of us said when csaba arrived late in pre season that the january transfer window was the time when he'd know for sure what he wanted and he did but got no backing from above to get what a blind man knows we need.

 

What did you expect?

 

Them to spend money they didnt have?

[Skivingatwork]

I think we need to define success this season.

 

Some will say a good cup run and 3rd place, some may be more modest and say a top 6 finish is an improvement on last season.

 

But, could success also be an announcement in March that the ?35m debt is now ?20m and much more managable, that wages have been brought down to a more reasonable level and that further reductions in playing squad over January will only help this more in the future.

 

That for me would be success as it would appear to keep the Administrators at bay and the stories out the media of imminent closure.

[novoman]

3years ago we seen 11 players come in .. bruno ,jose conman, juno makala,beslija,johnston,hackett mc cann, a goalie who never played,and 2 eastern europeans who did play and where rubbish, and correct me if im wrong the brickies mate barassa

 

only bruno out of that lot is still here and is any good.. we might get some dosh for jose at the end of his loan deal.. the rest where a waste of space

 

saying that i though mc cann was unlucky with injuries he got in his 1st game and then again a leg break against celtic..

 

at least this time we dont have romanov and rix flooding riccarton with dross.. in csaba we trust:D

[Paolo]

Romanov has clearly lost his appetite for Hearts to have success on the field.

 

The January transfer window shows this.

 

As Rafa would say...............................Its a fact!

 

This quote somes up how stupid some Hearts fans sadly are.

 

We sign players, and Vlad gets involved then he is interfernig

 

He does not, he has lost interest.

 

We sign players, and we are increasing debt to worrying levels and it is wrong

 

We don't sign players, we are not showing ambition and it is wrong.

 

I wish people will make their minds up.

[Bert Le Clos]

I'll play devil's advocate here;

 

The success or failure of this transfer window won't be fully realised until the summer.

 

The Balogh signing is great news - he's good and a "Csaba signing". If Berra's transfer fee, plus Beslija and Makela off the wage bill allows Bruno, Karapidis and (tin hat on) Neilson to sign new contracts it could be called a success. Even more so if it turns out we have signed this new centre half.

 

However, we didn't bring in a striker - something Csaba and everyone else identified we needed. If this transfer of the new centre half hasn't gone through it could cost us a European place,possibly resulting in Bruno, Karapidis and Nielson leaving for nothing in the summer.

 

I'm not being overly negative, just realistic.

[Fozzyonthefence]

But, could success also be an announcement in March that the ?35m debt is now ?20m and much more managable.

 

If the debt is any more than ?20m serious questions need to be asked, when you take into account what has already been knocked off the last declared debt in the last accounts:

 

1. ?12m debt for equity thingy

2. ?9m for Gordon

3. ?2.3m or whatever for Berra

4. ?2m + for Bednar

5. not sure the ?1m for Hartley was included in the last accounts either?

6. Many big earners off the wage bill

 

I realise that will be countered with loss of revenue from smaller crowds and operating costs that still exceed our income but even so, sureley we are looking at a huge reduction of the ?37m or so last reported? Hopefully we will all be pleasantly surprised.

 

Would liked to have seen Kingston gtf too and presumably he would have if an offer had come in. Personally I would haven't been too disappointed with a firesale if it got the debt managable and we rebuild next summer - we're safe from relegation and I don't think we'll qualify for Europe anyway.

[Jambomo]

So you agree that there are some positives after all?

 

Bearing in mind Beslija and Makela are gone, the exact wages figures are not important. We should all be glad that they're gone.

 

No one is saying it's been a great window: but is spending ?2M great for a club like Hearts just now?

 

We need to cut our cloth to survive.

 

That my friend, is a positive.

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

 

I didn't mean that there were no positives, it just seemed that the OP was scraping the barrel for some positives that aren't really there. It could have been worse, much worse but it could also have been a lot better as well.

[Dave Ross]

We're all disappointed but anyone who thinks it was disastrous should realise it's no different to a pre-Romanov transfer window (even when the whole season was a window). Unfortunately the window sometimes brings expectations from supporters that weren't previous there.