Velicka, Our Best Striker Since Robbo?

[H2]

I like Velicka, hes a goalscorer. But to start to compare him to Robbo is a joke.

 

I also think Adam, Bednar, Jankauskas and Fuller where all better

 

Fuller , tell me you are joking, a three game wonder, who has been a similar at every club he's been at. Wonder where he is now, Vauxhall Conference?

 

A player with awesome potential - such a shame:sad:

[hhjambo]

Fuller , tell me you are joking, a three game wonder, who has been a similar at every club he's been at. Wonder where he is now, Vauxhall Conference?

 

A player with awesome potential - such a shame:sad:

 

according to wikipedia he's at Stoke where he's scored 24 in 59.

[John Findlay]

There was Barney Battles and they said there would never be another goalscorer in a Maroon jersey like him.

 

Then three came along at once in the form of Bauld, Conn and Wardaugh.

 

Then they said yeah but we will never have scorers like that again.

 

Along came the golden vision in the form of Alex Young and a wee bit later a guy called Willie Wallace(who Jock Stein at ?30,000 for Celtic).

 

Then they shouted ah but Wallace is the last and along came one of my boyhood heroes by the name of Donald Ford. He will definitely be the last.

 

Along came a wee podgy looking guy called John Robertson and he re-wrote the league scoring history books.

 

That is definitely it no more goalscorers and along comes a guy called Velicka. Not as prolific as the others but given time he may just be.

 

 

 

 

John

[hhjambo]

There was Barney Battles and they said there would never be another goalscorer in a Maroon jersey like him.

 

Then three came along at once in the form of Bauld, Conn and Wardaugh.

 

Then they said yeah but we will never have scorers like that again.

 

Along came the golden vision in the form of Alex Young and a wee bit later a guy called Willie Wallace(who Jock Stein at ?30,000 for Celtic).

 

Then they shouted ah but Wallace is the last and along came one of my boyhood heroes by the name of Donald Ford. He will definitely be the last.

 

Along came a wee podgy looking guy called John Robertson and he re-wrote the league scoring history books.

 

That is definitely it no more goalscorers and along comes a guy called Velicka. Not as prolific as the others but given time he may just be.

 

 

 

John

 

i think someone posted his stats on here recently showing that he's already more prolific than Robbo. Although as I said further up it's not really much of a comparison as the timescales are so different. I was surprised to see that Velicka is already 29. Must say i thought he was younger than that. So I don't think he'll have the time to be remembered with those named above. But i will enjoy it while it lasts.

[Le Chat]

As I said on another thread, he scores goals every 100 minutes for a crap team that play with one up front.

 

The guy deserves a medal.

 

.

 

Bingo.

[cosanostra]

He's better than Adam.

 

Not as good as a fully fit and focussed Bednar, De Vries or Fuller.

[H2]

according to wikipedia he's at Stoke where he's scored 24 in 59.

 

Had a look, amazed to find that this really is the case - maybe he is beginning to use his potential?

 

Interestingly Stoke signed him for only ?90K

 

and they r sitiing 4th in the Championship only 2 pots off WBA

[sked21]

He is the best goal scorer since Robbo.

 

And since strikers are judged on their goals then yes. He is the best since Robbo.

[Rods]

He's better than Adam.

 

Not as good as a fully fit and focussed Bednar, De Vries or Fuller.

 

agree with this maybe not fuller couldni win a header to save himself

 

imho to be a good striker in scotland you have to be able to score a header

[loveofthegame]

Fuller , tell me you are joking, a three game wonder, who has been a similar at every club he's been at. Wonder where he is now, Vauxhall Conference?

 

A player with awesome potential - such a shame:sad:

 

Fuller doing well in a league much stronger than the SPHell.

 

I was talking about on ability. Fuller's a better player.

 

Velicka's a better goalscorer. As long as Velicka keeps sticking the pigs bladder in the net then i'll worship the guy.

 

He's just the kinda guy that you worry if he does have a bad run/stop scoring goals that he'll offer nothing else whatsoever. Its a concern that may never materialize though so we'll see

[cosanostra]

Velicka is a great goalscorer, no doubts about that.

 

Still can't believe he missed his big chances in the 2 cup games that we lost. I still gutted about the one off the post v well and the sitter Nade crafted for him v the Huns.

[Dave 1974]

We are blessed to have Velicka just now.

 

Without him we'd be beside Gretna.

[Tommy Wiseau]

The guy is awesome. Without question the best striker we've had since Robbo - maybe not the most talented, but easily the best goalscorer.

 

Those who have a problem with Velicka either don't know what they're talking about, or have an issue with giving credit to Lithuanians.

 

A goal a game playing up front on your own in a bottom half team? It doesn't matter what language you put that in, it's an incredible record.

 

Thunderstruck nails it above - it's truly mind-boggling that Old Firm fans rate our top scorer higher than we do. Yet, every time I speak to an Old Firm fan, he is the player they pick out from our squad.

[Father Tiresias]

Velicka, Our Best Striker Since Robbo? Probably.

[whitedevries]

He scores goals against the old firm at their patch, scores against wee teams, scores against the hobos, left peg, right peg, headers, tap ins, screamers, up front on his own......

 

If he is here another couple of seasons and gets a decent strike partner, he'll get over a hundred goals for us - equates to legend status!

 

Also goes to the games when not playing and sits in with the rest of us!

[Dave 1974]

Without him we'd be in serious doggy doo.

 

By himself up front in a poor team.

 

Left foot. Right foot. Headers. Howitzers. trundlers. Poacher. Predator.

 

Thanks God for Andy Velicka.

 

That's it.

[The Comedian]

Without him we'd be in serious doggy doo.

 

By himself up front in a poor team.

 

Left foot. Right foot. Headers. Howitzers. trundlers. Poacher. Predator.

 

Thanks God for Andy Velicka.

 

That's it.

 

Nail on head for me. Of course he won't reach the same amount of goals as Robbo and chances are nobody ever will, I just think he's a more complete player and therefore better than Robbo and anyone since.

 

Apologies for being a cawk earlier Loveofthegame, just out the pub. My bad.

[Snake Plissken]

You could possibly level criticism at his work-rate as he doesn't track back a great deal or chase lost causes.

 

I personally don't care about that, we need a striker to score goals and Andrius is doing that. He has that 6th sense to get into scoring positions and though he doesn't take every chance he will always be there for another one.

 

He's at his peak and he's certainly the best we have right now and looks well on course to bag 20 goals this season - something we haven't seen in nearly 20 years.

 

I don't think Velicka gets nearly enough credit.

[John Findlay]

Velicka does the one good thing that all good strikers do. Instinct he hits on instinct. He doesnt dally and think what he is going to do he just does it. Doesnt always come off but it is in my opinion the right thing to do.

 

 

John

[Rocky jamboa]

I reckon he's the best finisher I've ever seen at Tynecastle, including Robbo. 2 goals out of nothing v hibs and his two goals v celtic spring to mind. Possibly other guys mentioned such as fuller had other attributes but I think Velicka puts in a good stint.

 

talking about fuller, he scored a peach for stoke yesterday, solo run from inside his own half similar to the goal he scored for us v motherwell.

[freddiemac]

vela is the best finisher since robbo the legend . other strikers like adam,. de vries and fuller were brilliant in their own way . p.s. is it too difficult for some people to digest a simple question "is velicka our best striker since robbo?"

[IMA MAROON]

vela is the best finisher since robbo the legend . other strikers like adam,. de vries and fuller were brilliant in their own way . p.s. is it too difficult for some people to digest a simple question "is velicka our best striker since robbo?"

 

Velicka is not better than Robbo.

[hoof.hearted]

He certainly is the best since Robbo

And as for tracking back.....I think Robbo only did that about 10 times in his entire career.

Velicka can header the ball too ! Look at it this way if Velicka was in his early 20's & had JC playing alongside him, how many more goals would he be scoring?

[Commander Harris]

I think Velicka probably is the best striker we've had SINCE robbo.

 

his record speaks for itself and I'm of the opinion that it is superior to anyone since robbo.

[mattyw_1874]

I think Velicka probably is the best striker we've had SINCE robbo.

 

his record speaks for itself and I'm of the opinion that it is superior to anyone since robbo.

 

Well it is 14 goals ad we are at Feb, I think we have a 20 goal a season striker. Bit annoying that just wish we had him with Hartley and Rudi, think of it

[givememychoice]

I challenge you to find a hearts player from the last 40 years who has scored more goals AND had a better ratio than Velicka. I will give you a hint. There aren't any. Cross generational questions are always ambiguous. In terms of goalscoring, he is the best since willie wallace.

My mate really doesnt like him. Had the amusing thing yesterday of getting a text from him just after velicka missed his first shot saying "20 a season, you're having a laugh". I got it just as he scored. Needless to say he is anti everything lithuanian. If we started getting all of the players from iceland, we might be disappointed....doesnt mean that gudjohnnsen is rubbish...

I think you would struggle to argue that Velicka can't score 20 in a season.

He didnt feature as prominently last season and was finding his way in a new team and still got 12 from 30 games. given you get in the region of 45 games, if he had played all, he was on target for about 18.

 

Its true, Velicka will not score more than robbo. And if thats how you want to judge him, then fair enough.

[Del1812]

Michael Stewart - Works hard and chases opponents all around the park until he is sick. His passing is very erratic at best and he can hardly be considered someone who picks out a great pass often.

 

Michael Pospisil - Worst link up striker possibly ever. Could find the net at times but when he didn't he never justified his selection. Garbage footballer.

 

Linas Pilibiatis - Erm... no comment.

 

Eggert Jonsson - Comfortable in possession. Rarely gives it away but his passing is limited at best. Never a creatice player.

 

Juho Makela - Often claimed he has never had a chance. I've personally been told by three Hearts players that he is the worst footballer at the club by an absolute mile.

 

Saulius Mikoliunas - Gash most of the time. Even when he does play well his final ball is often wanting.

 

Mauricio Pinilla - Very talented. Always injured.

 

Deividas Cesnauskis - Plays well more often that not but his final ball is just as erratic as Miko's

 

Bruno Aguiar - Can pick a pass and cross but is very inconsistent. Can be superb one game and completely anonymous the next.

 

Christian Nade - Good talent but very lazy and extremely unfit.

 

Ruben Palazeulos - Great player for this league but suits defensive midfield rather than further up the park as he also lacks the cutting edge in the final third. His passing is reliable but not spectacular.

 

Roman Bednar - Talented player but was rarely ever fit.

 

Paul Hartley - Great threat in and around the box but really fancied himself as a pin-point passer is his last 5 months at Hearts. Something he definitely was not.

 

Calum Elliot - Once promising link up forward has turned into the most hated player (in the eyes of the fans) at the club.

 

Kestutis Ivaskevicius - Often worse than Leigh Jenksinson. However on his day he can make fullbacks (particulary 9Mil Alan Hutton) **** themselves. Although his crossing is very Miko-esq.

 

Neil McCann - Can cross but rarely plays well.

 

Laryea Kingston - One of the most gifted players we have seen, can deliver a pass from anywhere on the field but injuries and suspensions have plagued his time at Hearts.

 

Mirslad Beslija - I've dreamt about player for Hearts on average once a year for my 21 years. Technically I've appeared more in a maroon jersey than this waste of money/time/space.

 

Ricardas Beniusis - Victimised by a garbage management but never really showed much anyway.

 

Andrew Driver - Good pace and directness. Always better than McCann and Miko but his final ball can often be worse than theirs.

 

Audrius Ksanavicius - Great first touch but not enough pace for a forward or finish for a forward. In short, a good player who tries but ultimately doesn't fit this league.

 

 

What's your point caller?

 

Robbo, nor any other player since, has had to deal with this kind of inconsistency from a bunch of misfits of this kind. It should also be worth noting Adam, Hamilton, Fuller and De Vries were, themselves, used a whole lot more consistently - despite inferior goalscoring records.

 

Some of the anti-Velicka feeling on this board is laughable. I'm surprised there isn't a thread on Hibs.net laughing at us for this - because we'd ****ing well deserve it.

[Jammy T]

 

Thunderstruck nails it above - it's truly mind-boggling that Old Firm fans rate our top scorer higher than we do. Yet, every time I speak to an Old Firm fan, he is the player they pick out from our squad.

 

The media rate him too

 

Sadly its going to take years for all the agendas Hearts fans have to work their way out of everyone's system

[Hilary Briss]

I would say Velicka is the best finisher we have had at the club since Robbo, basically because I dont think we have had a real goal scorer since the wee man. Having said that, Adam, Janny & Bednar( both in their 1st season) & Fuller were better all round players.

[CMc]

Right foot, on the head and with his left as seen today, we have a thoroughly well rounded striker In Andreas Velicka.

 

He's scored at Parkhead a few times and Ibrox as well, he's scored goals Robbo never would have. He's our 20 goal a season man without a doubt. Of all the Lith contingent he's the best without a doubt.

 

Anyone agree?

 

Hey! He's lost a lot of weight recently - "well rounded" is a liablous slur!

[Guest JamboRobbo]

Velicka is not in the same class as Robbo IMO.

 

That said, he has stepped up to the plate this season and is now doing what should be required of a first choice striker at Hearts.

 

I was critical of him last year, as he didn't do enough IMO (and the stats back me up on that).

 

This year, he has reached the level I didn't think he could reach, and is now playing at the level I expect of a Hearts striker.

 

So credit to Velicka for his hard work and what he's done this year.

 

Oh, and keep up the good work.

[Flimsy]

I said something similar during the game on Saturday. In terms of overall play I think we have had better forwards, however, aside from Rudi Skacel I think Velicka is the best finisher we've had since Robbo. He has really stepped up to the plate this season when the team has crumbled round about him, I'm particularly impressed with the way he leads the line on his own up front. In fact, aside from the emergence of Eggert Jonsson, he is possibly our only on- field success story this season.

[loveofthegame]

I said something similar during the game on Saturday. In terms of overall play I think we have had better forwards, however, aside from Rudi Skacel I think Velicka is the best finisher we've had since Robbo. He has really stepped up to the plate this season when the team has crumbled round about him, I'm particularly impressed with the way he leads the line on his own up front. In fact, aside from the emergence of Eggert Jonsson, he is possibly our only on- field success story this season.

 

Without a shadow of a doubt he's our onfield success story this season mate.

 

I'd disagree that Eggert Jonsson is the other, i think the only other player of any real note has been Ruben, even though hes not been in the team all that long.

 

Velicka is a stick on for POTY

[Tynecastle Valhalla]

Ask yourselves this:

 

 

 

 

 

It is the last minute of a big, big game and the ball rolls into the 18 yard box.

 

 

 

 

 

Who would you want it to fall to?

 

 

 

 

 

Adam or Velicka?

 

 

 

 

 

 

?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, I thought so too...

 

 

 

 

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

 

 

 

Adam, by a mile!

 

Velicka has scored quite a few but no-one seems to remember his misses. His shot against rangers in the cup was horrific.

[Tynecastle Valhalla]

I said something similar during the game on Saturday. In terms of overall play I think we have had better forwards, however, aside from Rudi Skacel I think Velicka is the best finisher we've had since Robbo. He has really stepped up to the plate this season when the team has crumbled round about him, I'm particularly impressed with the way he leads the line on his own up front. In fact, aside from the emergence of Eggert Jonsson, he is possibly our only on- field success story this season.

 

What about Ruben?

[i8hibsh]

He scores with his left foot,right foot,knee,head,tap ins power drives and almost an overhead kick (last week)

 

the guy is class

 

end of

[Peter Olivers Army]

De Vries was a better striker imo

Fuller too

Hes definitly the best we have at the moment, but his attitude and fitness are still issues

 

He can be posted missing at vital times

 

Theres a reason him and Ksanvicius are at this level and its they have major flaws

 

That's just plain silly.

 

According to that logic every Hearts player in history has had 'major flaws'.

[rudi must stay]

no don't think he. He does very little to contribute to the team, which Robbo always did.

 

If the question was Velicka, our best goalscoring since Robbo then i would say he probably is.

 

There's more to being a striker than scoring goals tho...

[Flimsy]

What about Ruben?

 

Forgot about him, he has been excellent since he has become a first team regular.

[Fulham Jambo]

As I said on another thread, he scores goals every 100 minutes for a crap team that play with one up front.

 

 

The guy deserves a medal.

 

 

 

Bufallo Bill

 

.

 

 

spot on BB

 

his goal tally considering the shambles behind him is excellent.

 

Also - it's nice to have a striker who is consistent - remember when we had a midfield who scored but no striker who did - now it's the other way round.

[truejambo81]

He has scored 27 goals so far for us. 26 competitive and 1 in a friendly. The only player that has shown the same sort of finishing ability for me was Pospisil. Since he has left we must value Velicka.

 

As one of the other guys on this thread mentioned earlier. We would be in a far worse situation than we are if we didnt have him. Beni could be good if he ever gets a chance, dont even get me started on Nade or Elliot

[PsychocAndy]

Yes

[coppercrutch]

Velicka is not in the same class as Robbo IMO.

 

That said, he has stepped up to the plate this season and is now doing what should be required of a first choice striker at Hearts.

 

I was critical of him last year, as he didn't do enough IMO (and the stats back me up on that).

 

This year, he has reached the level I didn't think he could reach, and is now playing at the level I expect of a Hearts striker.

 

So credit to Velicka for his hard work and what he's done this year.

 

Oh, and keep up the good work.

 

 

I will provide a 'reading between the lines' for the above post:

 

(I was wrong about Velicka but don't want to admit it)

 

 

[busby1985]

I cant belive Benny is in the same sentence as Robbo!!

"Benny could be as good as Robbo if given a chance?????????"

 

Why, he has done nothing for us! He played all right for 10 mins against aberdeen and know he is a goal away from being compared to our greatest ever striker!!!

 

Velika IMO has been great this season his attidude is MUCH better than last year and he now seems more of a team player. He still needs to work on some things but he could be as leathal as Robbo but i think Adam or Mark de vries were better.

[ScottishSandstorm]

I will provide a 'reading between the lines' for the above post:

 

(I was wrong about Velicka but don't want to admit it)

 

 

Haha. Gotcha JR. Nice one cc. JR you are a cool guy but... Oh snap!

[Chris Benoit]

Don't know about the best since robbo but definitely best since Darren Beckford (remember him?)

In all seriousness tho Velicka by far the best goalscorer since Robbo but i think De Vries was as close to a complete package as a forward i've seen play for Hearts but Velicka runs him a very close second.

And all those slating Velickas attitude last season have got to remember he joined us after playing a full season in Lithuania without a break and was running on empty for the most part so 12 goals was all thing considered a great return, main difference is this season he's had his break in the summer and was here for the full pre-season.

[Guest JamboRobbo]

I will provide a 'reading between the lines' for the above post:

 

(I was wrong about Velicka but don't want to admit it)

 

 

 

To an extent yes, thats pretty much what I'm saying.

 

But I don't think I was wrong last year when I said Velicka wasn't doing enough back then.

 

Where I was wrong, was that I didn't feel he was capable of producing what he's produced this year, which is enough.

 

And now that he's doing enough (which I still say he wasn't last year) , I'm more than happy to say so he is doing enough.

 

IMO, that also shows that I was judging him on football ability and nothing else.

[bighusref]

To be fair the OP asked if Velicka was our best striker SINCE Robbo. I dont think he sought to compare the two.

 

To answer the OP's question then. Is Velicka the best striker we have had since Robbo.........probably yes.

 

To confirm most other people thoughts. Is Velicka on the same planet as Robbo as a striker....absolutely NOT !!!

 

Totally agree with this.

 

Certain strikers showed promise to take that mantle, Adam if he were more consistent, Fuller, Bednar and Miller had they stayed any length of time all came close to that claim, IMO Velicka must take the title of "best Hearts striker SINCE Robbo".

[coppercrutch]

To an extent yes, thats pretty much what I'm saying.

 

But I don't think I was wrong last year when I said Velicka wasn't doing enough back then.

 

Where I was wrong, was that I didn't feel he was capable of producing what he's produced this year, which is enough.

 

And now that he's doing enough (which I still say he wasn't last year) , I'm more than happy to say so he is doing enough.

 

IMO, that also shows that I was judging him on football ability and nothing else.

 

Anyway he is in a maroon top and scoring goals. We are all happy for once.

[Tott]

http://forevergorgie.com/fgtracker/?sort=goals

 

Top scorers table from the last 12 years or so.Competitive games only.(make sure both change boxes are set to "all" )

 

best striker since robbo?

Velicka is doing a decent enough job,but Adam was class.