DISGUSTING!

[4marsbars]

This is spot on he managed us through obligatory and selfish reasons and was definately waiting for an opportunity ala leicester to come along then was out the door quicker than a rat up a drain pipe never in a million years a die hard jambo . Bobby Walker die hard jambo Craig Levein opportunistic cant .

 

Every professional footballer / manager is looking for an opportunity to progress their career. The lucky few manage both to make a career and stay with the club they support. Most don't. Who knows what decisions Bobby Walker would have made if he had been playing nowadays? You might find yourself calling him a ****

[gorgie rd eh11]

de Vries in the derby...

 

 

 

 

Second post, this page.

[i8hibsh]

Levein was a fantastic manager for us.

 

He tightened the ship

 

He brought in non glamerous players who got stuck in.

 

Stamp, Maybury, Kisnorbo, Macfarlane etc

 

Oh how I would take them today

[redm]

I did (but fail to see the relevance here) redm

 

It was come on the Czechs to knock 2 lumps of excrement outta Naismith not to win the game.

 

This thread is about the way we treat Levein.

 

I think we don't pay him enough respect as an ex Hearts player.

 

I could not care that he is Scotland manager.

 

It started way before

 

Ah. I see. Must have just been unnecessarily wound up by the provocative thread title then. My mistake.

 

 

Nice to see some pro-Scotland activity from you....

[Coco]

Levein was a fantastic manager for us.

 

He tightened the ship

 

He brought in non glamerous players who got stuck in.

 

Stamp, Maybury, Kisnorbo, Macfarlane etc

 

Oh how I would take them today

 

Under Levein, Hearts spent so much money on players that we came within a whisker of losing Tynecastle.

 

That would have led to Murrayfield - something which excited Levein - bring it on he said.

[i8hibsh]

Ah. I see. Must have just been unnecessarily wound up by the provocative thread title then. My mistake.

 

 

Nice to see some pro-Scotland activity from you....

 

 

Me! provocative!!!

 

the cheek

 

lol

[Guest vanbasten1874]

Every professional footballer / manager is looking for an opportunity to progress their career. The lucky few manage both to make a career and stay with the club they support. Most don't. Who knows what decisions Bobby Walker would have made if he had been playing nowadays? You might find yourself calling him a ****

 

It was just a comparison to someone saying CL is a jambo diehard not even saying that Craig Levein was wrong to be opportunistic its just the way it was he just wasnt a diehard jambo thats all..

 

And and he wasnt that bad a manager for us results wise its just im not convinced hes a jambo diehard .

[gorgie rd eh11]

Under Levein, Hearts spent so much money on players that we came within a whisker of losing Tynecastle.

 

That would have led to Murrayfield - something which excited Levein - bring it on he said.

 

 

 

 

Craig Levein like any other manager spent what he was allowed to spend. The book keeping that led to us being very close to eviction was down to others.

[Coco]

Craig Levein like any other manager spent what he was allowed to spend. The book keeping that led to us being very close to eviction was down to others.

 

Yes, there was great fault by the Pieman too.

 

But Levein can't have it both ways. His supposed great achievement of being 3rd twice was built on spending so much money that the club nearly went to the wall/to Murrayfield (which he wanted).

[gorgie rd eh11]

Yes, there was great fault by the Pieman too.

 

But Levein can't have it both ways. His supposed great achievement of being 3rd twice was built on spending so much money that the club nearly went to the wall/to Murrayfield (which he wanted).

 

 

 

 

Their wasn't great fault by C.R., it was his fault. And i don't think Levein "wanted" to move to Murrayfield i think he accepted it was happening.

[Coco]

Their wasn't great fault by C.R., it was his fault. And i don't think Levein "wanted" to move to Murrayfield i think he accepted it was happening.

 

Heralding Levein's 3rd place finishes without considering how much it cost (and how close it drove us to losing the ground) is like lauding Leeds United for getting so far in the Champions League without mentioning that it nearly drove them under too.

 

 

As for Levein's views on Murrayfield - 'bring it on':

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20031012/ai_n12585871/?tag=content;col1

[gorgie rd eh11]

Heralding Levein's 3rd place finishes without considering how much it cost (and how close it drove us to losing the ground) is like lauding Leeds United for getting so far in the Champions League without mentioning that it nearly drove them under too.

 

 

As for Levein's views on Murrayfield - 'bring it on':

http://findarticles....ag=content;col1

 

 

 

 

Your link is a pretty decent arguement that he wanted to move to Murrayfield but it would be interesting to see how the same questions would be answered if he hadn't already been told it was the only way he would still have a job.

 

How close we were to losing the ground was down to one person and it wasn't Craig Levein.

[Al Bundy]

He also subjected me to watching the most boring Hearts side i can ever remember for a few years, it was brutal

 

Right, I'm going to bite here. This is not the first time I have read this regards Leven's side being one of the most boring sides to have watched - did you watch Laslo's side??

 

Did Laslo produce 5-1 or 4-4 derby scorelines - or dramatic match-winning goals on 90 minutes aka Phil Stamp?

 

It was great getting into the Euro table format after negotiating past Braga and witnessing Robbie's wonder-winning-goal against a very capable Basle. Better than a humbling at Zagreb for complete tossbag tactics. There are other memorable games but I highlight the obvious.

 

Dare I say, I certainly don't find the current fayre to be so much better than Levein's days. That's not an attack on JJ, it's just if comparisons are going to be made.

 

Yours Confused

[Al Bundy]

Heralding Levein's 3rd place finishes without considering how much it cost (and how close it drove us to losing the ground) is like lauding Leeds United for getting so far in the Champions League without mentioning that it nearly drove them under too.

 

 

As for Levein's views on Murrayfield - 'bring it on':

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20031012/ai_n12585871/?tag=content;col1

 

How dare Craig take us to third place finishes - what a bizarre perspective - stadia and other non-football agendas had nothing to do with CL.

 

CR and BOS are the letters you needed to be typing regards Murrayfield - He says "bring it on" as opposed to "No way I'm taking my team to play there - what a complete **** my chairman is"

 

I wonder how many of us have had to bite on such s**t sandwiches at work to remain positive and in role.

[shaun.lawson]

Yes, there was great fault by the Pieman too.

 

But Levein can't have it both ways. His supposed great achievement of being 3rd twice was built on spending so much money that the club nearly went to the wall/to Murrayfield (which he wanted).

 

No Coco. Because of the idiotic way in which the club frittered away the SMG money, and ludicrously assumed their loan stock would be converted, the die was effectively cast in September 1999. Levein cut the wage bill, which fell by over a third during his time at the club. But the lack of money in Scottish football and falling crowds meant we were screwed regardless - because we couldn't afford to pay SMG their loan (plus interest) back.

 

Your pedantic anti-Levein campaign becomes even more absurd when we consider your total failure to acknowledge that the wage bill shot up not under him, but under JJ. That was our "Leeds under Ridsdale" period. And over the last couple of years, you've also come out with the most extraordinary gibberish about Levein "endangering Dundee United's future" - yet what's their most recently reported (2008/9) wage bill? ?3.6m, 7th in the division.

[Mouse]

Yes, there was great fault by the Pieman too.

 

But Levein can't have it both ways. His supposed great achievement of being 3rd twice was built on spending so much money that the club nearly went to the wall/to Murrayfield (which he wanted).

 

i'm no CL fan but have a ******* word with yourself, he pissed with the ****** he had and done pretty ******* well! we could do with some similar stabilisation over the next few seasons.

He worked on a limited budget and got decent results, far better than the previous management who wasted unknown hundreds of thousands on Gordan Petric and the likes. The only person to blame for HMFC going cap in hand with the begging bowl to Mr Romanov is The Pieman, he and his board let the spending spiral out of control, it certainly wasn't CL

[alanjambo]

Levein was a fantastic manager for us.

 

He tightened the ship

 

He brought in non glamerous players who got stuck in.

 

Stamp, Maybury, Kisnorbo, Macfarlane etc

 

Oh how I would take them today

 

 

I agree with this.

 

What a lot of people seem to forget is that Levein brought us Europe two seasons in a row despite having the backdrop of the pieman. It was the most turbulent of times and yet Hearts had a team that would probably walk todays SPL. We weren't the most adventurous team in the world, that is true. Yet we had some unbelievably memorable games under his stewardship.

 

As for him as a player; of course he would've moved to Spurs or Man Utd had he not been injured so badly. He wanted to progress his career and, as much as it's horrible to admit, moving to England's top flight is a step up. Even Robbo did it. My favourite ever Hearts player, John Colquhoun, moved to England. The fact that he was a brilliant player seems to be a big stick to beat him with now. It's easy to say that he wasn't a great servant to Hearts because he would have moved on had he not been injured. The fact is, he didn't. He didn't go to Aberdeen or Dundee Utd or anywhere else though. He stayed at Hearts, and for that I'll remember him as a great.

 

Plus he signed my 1997/1998 strip, which I wore every Saturday in that season, including 16th May 1998. Right at the start of the season. And he very nice to my mum and dad when he did it, so that's nice.

[ExPatHeartsman]

No Coco. Because of the idiotic way in which the club frittered away the SMG money, and ludicrously assumed their loan stock would be converted, the die was effectively cast in September 1999. Levein cut the wage bill, which fell by over a third during his time at the club. But the lack of money in Scottish football and falling crowds meant we were screwed regardless - because we couldn't afford to pay SMG their loan (plus interest) back.

 

Your pedantic anti-Levein campaign becomes even more absurd when we consider your total failure to acknowledge that the wage bill shot up not under him, but under JJ. That was our "Leeds under Ridsdale" period. And over the last couple of years, you've also come out with the most extraordinary gibberish about Levein "endangering Dundee United's future" - yet what's their most recently reported (2008/9) wage bill? ?3.6m, 7th in the division.

 

As long as we've got boys like you ploughing money into the club we'll be fine

[alanjambo]

As long as we've got boys like you ploughing money into the club we'll be fine

 

 

I assume this is a post doused in sarcasm? Otherwise it makes no sense.

[JamboInSouthsea]

Totally agree with OP.

 

Let's face it, we aren't the biggest club in the country, with the biggest stadium, fan base, spending money etc etc and we certainly can't expect to be sitting top of the league and winning every cup. We have to make do with what we've got and hope that the people, from management down to the players give it their best. Sometimes that just isn't enough, particularly given the power the OF has when it comes to buying/stealing players or talent from us and every other club... I know plenty of OF fans and they agree that their superiority, which like it or not they have, lowers the overall standard of the game in Scotland both at club level and arguably at a national level. Tragically most clubs in Scotland realise that they have to admit they are playing for third unless they get a big injection of cash...let's face it, money talks at a professional level.

 

To have a go at someone for not winning every trophy going given the minimal, say in comparison to OF (at club level) or bigger countries (national), resources is quite simply pathetic and in Craig Levein's case; given his history with Hearts (thought he was outstanding) and for Scotland...for fecks sake give him a chance... jeez wasn't the result against Spain one you'd be surprised at or even take before kick off??

 

Anyhoo, I reckon that resolves one issue which is 'Feck the GFA'.

[Coco]

No Coco. Because of the idiotic way in which the club frittered away the SMG money, and ludicrously assumed their loan stock would be converted, the die was effectively cast in September 1999. Levein cut the wage bill, which fell by over a third during his time at the club. But the lack of money in Scottish football and falling crowds meant we were screwed regardless - because we couldn't afford to pay SMG their loan (plus interest) back.

 

Your pedantic anti-Levein campaign becomes even more absurd when we consider your total failure to acknowledge that the wage bill shot up not under him, but under JJ. That was our "Leeds under Ridsdale" period. And over the last couple of years, you've also come out with the most extraordinary gibberish about Levein "endangering Dundee United's future" - yet what's their most recently reported (2008/9) wage bill? ?3.6m, 7th in the division.

 

The post below yours shows the point perfectly. Levein apparently had a limited budget and yet the Pieman let spending spiral out of control!

[DETTY29]

Find it bizarre that Levein's (overall)tactics are under scrutiny when there was year on year improvement on the results front.

 

But what do football fans know?

 

Aparently accordng to many here our here our midfeld should be Temps, Rudi, AN other and Suso.

 

Talk about about giving the midfield away. It's not as if it's important.

[shaun.lawson]

The post below yours shows the point perfectly. Levein apparently had a limited budget and yet the Pieman let spending spiral out of control!

 

The Pieman had let spending spiral out of control long before Levein took over. How on earth you're unable to grasp this, I cannot fathom.

 

Wage bill before Levein took over? Just over ?7m. Wage bill the season he left? ?4.5m. I honestly think you'd still blame Levein had our wage bill reduced to a packet of salt and vinegar crisps and half-eaten Nestle Crunch bar. You must be the only man on the planet to blame the coach in charge when the wage bill was coming down, while reserving paeans of praise for the manager under whom the wage bill rocketed upwards.

[shaun.lawson]

As long as we've got boys like you ploughing money into the club we'll be fine

 

Hello PickyBum. Nice to see you back. But oh dear - I guess you're now one of those overseas Hearts fans you always had such contempt for. Putting your bank balance ahead of supporting the club? Oh, the irony.

[Deans Jambo]

The post below yours shows the point perfectly. Levein apparently had a limited budget and yet the Pieman let spending spiral out of control!

And Romanovs done a great job of controlling the spending!!

 

Chairmen are damned if they do damned if they don't.

 

**** owning one!

[Coco]

The Pieman had let spending spiral out of control long before Levein took over. How on earth you're unable to grasp this, I cannot fathom.

 

Wage bill before Levein took over? Just over ?7m. Wage bill the season he left? ?4.5m. I honestly think you'd still blame Levein had our wage bill reduced to a packet of salt and vinegar crisps and half-eaten Nestle Crunch bar. You must be the only man on the planet to blame the coach in charge when the wage bill was coming down, while reserving paeans of praise for the manager under whom the wage bill rocketed upwards.

 

The wage bill was lunacy under JJ in his later days the first time. Cannot disagree with that. Bad player choices and faulty financial planning by the Pieman. It came down because those daft contracts ran out (just like the Kingston, Nade, Stewart ones last summer). However, the faulty strategy continued - after the TV money disappeared and there was no upturn in gate/other money - and the ludicrous overspending continued under Levein. The cuts in wage bill were far below what should have happened.

 

The club was spending so far beyond its means under Levein that the ground was nearly sold. That is the context for judging the supposed great achievement of 2 3rd place finishes and nowhere in the Cups - under the supposed limited budget. The damage was done in both the JJ high spending period - and the period under Levein when over ?5m was spent on wages every year and transfer fees were paid and when we knew that the club was in financial jeopardy. It was obvious at the time (and some posted as such on here) that there should have been far greater cuts to the wage bill far earlier (despite the protests behind the main stand). The cut below ?5m was after the CALA deal and the game was nearly over. During that period lots of clubs in the league were in administration - and the wage bill at all the clubs except Celtic were plummeting. That suggests that the average cost of players was falling at the time that Hearts were maintaining a high wage bill. Most of the clubs cut the wage bill hard at the time when Hearts were maintaining a wage bill of over ?5m.

 

The spending on players transfer fees and wages under JJ and then under Levein led to the near sale of Tynecastle and ended up with us in thrall to an absentee owner. Things could have been different.

[4marsbars]

It was just a comparison to someone saying CL is a jambo diehard not even saying that Craig Levein was wrong to be opportunistic its just the way it was he just wasnt a diehard jambo thats all..

 

And and he wasnt that bad a manager for us results wise its just im not convinced hes a jambo diehard .

 

What does it matter? I don't care whether he's a "jambo diehard". I'm a jambo diehard and you should be glad that I've never played for or managed Hearts.

 

He was brought up in Fife, not a Hearts fan. But the club he's most associated with is Hearts, and that always comes across (e.g. if he is a radio pundit at an Edinburgh derby).

 

Other postings have quoted him as being not interested in coming back here as a manager. If true (and I have no reason to doubt it), I'd be pretty certain what he really means is that he doesn't want to work for Vlad (shelf life of a Vlad manager, generally less than a year, much less if you're a success, why subject himself to that?).

 

The anger directed towards Craig Levein from an easily offended minority on here beggars belief.

[Tasavallan]

Levein apparently had a limited budget and yet the Pieman let spending spiral out of control!

Are you myopic? The spending spiral started in the summer of 1998 and ended with JJ's departure in November 2000.

 

After winning the cup in 98, JJ wished to retain the squad on much higher wages plus he brought in the likes of Pressley, McSwegan and Guerin on high wages, which the Pieman sanctioned to hopefully have a successful 1998-1999 season. When in fact the team went from 3rd to 6th, went out early in Europe to Mallorca in 3rd Rd of Cup to and Motherwell. By the beginning of season 2000-2001 Hearts were in financial do-do and under pressure from BoS to cut their cloth.

 

As a result, Jefferies walked to Bradford before he was pushed. The Pieman took over full control of the budget and the signing of players with Levein appointed with only responsibility for on-field activities.

 

The Pieman was a financial incompetent who tried to buy success with other people's money. Very similar to what Dundee have tried to do.

 

Romanov has his personal faults, but not when it comes to money.

 

 

 

 

 

Can I just add that this continual lambasting of Levein by a minority is extremely annoying, especially when I suspect many of them are not old enough to have seen him play in his sublime prime. Some people need to leave their keyboards and find a life.

 

[Gigolo-Aunt]

Have always had a lot of time for Levein.

 

[Guest Dipped Flake]

What does it matter? I don't care whether he's a "jambo diehard". I'm a jambo diehard and you should be glad that I've never played for or managed Hearts.

 

He was brought up in Fife, not a Hearts fan. But the club he's most associated with is Hearts, and that always comes across (e.g. if he is a radio pundit at an Edinburgh derby).

 

Other postings have quoted him as being not interested in coming back here as a manager. If true (and I have no reason to doubt it), I'd be pretty certain what he really means is that he doesn't want to work for Vlad (shelf life of a Vlad manager, generally less than a year, much less if you're a success, why subject himself to that?).

 

The anger directed towards Craig Levein from an easily offended minority on here beggars belief.

 

Correct, it'slike people only post garbage to get a reaction. As others have said, Levein set him team out to get the best result for Hearts. Sometimes defensive, sometimes attacking, depending on who we were playing. And he was effective. And I can assure you, whatever team he supported as a kid, Hearts are his team.

[Guest vanbasten1874]

What does it matter? I don't care whether he's a "jambo diehard". I'm a jambo diehard and you should be glad that I've never played for or managed Hearts.

 

He was brought up in Fife, not a Hearts fan. But the club he's most associated with is Hearts, and that always comes across (e.g. if he is a radio pundit at an Edinburgh derby).

 

Other postings have quoted him as being not interested in coming back here as a manager. If true (and I have no reason to doubt it), I'd be pretty certain what he really means is that he doesn't want to work for Vlad (shelf life of a Vlad manager, generally less than a year, much less if you're a success, why subject himself to that?).

 

The anger directed towards Craig Levein from an easily offended minority on here beggars belief.

 

Whos angry ? i was probably just dissappointed at the time that he couldnt have shown us a bit more loyalty after his long absence through injury plus his 12 match ban for lamping Hoggie where we ie HMFC stood by him thats all ..

[4marsbars]

Whos angry ? i was probably just dissappointed at the time that he couldnt have shown us a bit more loyalty after his long absence through injury plus his 12 match ban for lamping Hoggie where we ie HMFC stood by him thats all ..

 

You've read this whole thread and have come across no anger directed towards Levein?

[Guest vanbasten1874]

You've read this whole thread and have come across no anger directed towards Levein?

 

 

Err whole thread nah , just the good bits

[4marsbars]

Err whole thread nah , just the good bits

 

Fair enough - it's not a bad thread.

[ExPatHeartsman]

Hello PickyBum. Nice to see you back. But oh dear - I guess you're now one of those overseas Hearts fans you always had such contempt for. Putting your bank balance ahead of supporting the club? Oh, the irony.

 

Season ticket holder - platinum

 

One thousand eight hundred pounds on a corporate leaving do before i flew out too, there's ex-pats and there's ex-pats, how much have you put into the coffers you keep banging on about recently?

[shaun.lawson]

The wage bill was lunacy under JJ in his later days the first time. Cannot disagree with that. Bad player choices and faulty financial planning by the Pieman. It came down because those daft contracts ran out (just like the Kingston, Nade, Stewart ones last summer). However, the faulty strategy continued - after the TV money disappeared and there was no upturn in gate/other money - and the ludicrous overspending continued under Levein. The cuts in wage bill were far below what should have happened.

 

The club was spending so far beyond its means under Levein that the ground was nearly sold. That is the context for judging the supposed great achievement of 2 3rd place finishes and nowhere in the Cups - under the supposed limited budget. The damage was done in both the JJ high spending period - and the period under Levein when over ?5m was spent on wages every year and transfer fees were paid and when we knew that the club was in financial jeopardy. It was obvious at the time (and some posted as such on here) that there should have been far greater cuts to the wage bill far earlier (despite the protests behind the main stand). The cut below ?5m was after the CALA deal and the game was nearly over. During that period lots of clubs in the league were in administration - and the wage bill at all the clubs except Celtic were plummeting. That suggests that the average cost of players was falling at the time that Hearts were maintaining a high wage bill. Most of the clubs cut the wage bill hard at the time when Hearts were maintaining a wage bill of over ?5m.

 

The spending on players transfer fees and wages under JJ and then under Levein led to the near sale of Tynecastle and ended up with us in thrall to an absentee owner. Things could have been different.

 

No. No it isn't. Because SMG weren't going to convert, the die had already been cast by the time Levein took over. And had we completely slashed everything, the team would've slumped, gates plummeted, there'd have been no European football... and our revenue would've been a lot lower. This is the part of the equation you always ignore. Scottish football was financially unsustainable for everyone at this time: speculate to accumulate and lose money. Or retrench, and lose money too.

 

Lower costs would've led to lower revenue, similar or worse losses, and the same end result.

[shaun.lawson]

Season ticket holder - platinum

 

One thousand eight hundred pounds on a corporate leaving do before i flew out too, there's ex-pats and there's ex-pats, how much have you put into the coffers you keep banging on about recently?

 

Er... um... rather less than ?1800. I consider myself owned.

[Coco]

No. No it isn't. Because SMG weren't going to convert, the die had already been cast by the time Levein took over. And had we completely slashed everything, the team would've slumped, gates plummeted, there'd have been no European football... and our revenue would've been a lot lower. This is the part of the equation you always ignore. Scottish football was financially unsustainable for everyone at this time: speculate to accumulate and lose money. Or retrench, and lose money too.

 

Lower costs would've led to lower revenue, similar or worse losses, and the same end result.

 

That is by no means a given. Particularly since the other teams were cutting back harder at the time. In my view the Hearts fans would have continued to buy season tickets if young players had come through the ranks and dads army older players were brought in rather than bringing in journeyman players from Premiership squads. But we shall not ever know.

[red]

Levien as a player was outstanding, best defender of our time

 

As a manager of hearts he was ok, and just ok, long ball but reasonably succesful without winning anything or even comingt near to it, unlike jeffries,jordon,ivanauskas or burley,

 

As a manager of anyone else he was and is a failure minus 1 good season with united, to play that formation against BRAZIL away is still embarrasing, read the next statement

 

IN PRAGUE CRAIG LEVIEN BASICALLY SAID TO OUR PLAYERS...."GUYS YOU CANNOT WIN TONIGHT!!!" Thats what he said or may aswell have!!!, the guy is a joke and a disgrace

[The Real Maroonblood]

Levien as a player was outstanding, best defender of our time

 

As a manager of hearts he was ok, and just ok, long ball but reasonably succesful without winning anything or even comingt near to it, unlike jeffries,jordon,ivanauskas or burley,

 

As a manager of anyone else he was and is a failure minus 1 good season with united, to play that formation against BRAZIL away is still embarrasing, read the next statement

 

IN PRAGUE CRAIG LEVIEN BASICALLY SAID TO OUR PLAYERS...."GUYS YOU CANNOT WIN TONIGHT!!!" Thats what he said or may aswell have!!!, the guy is a joke and a disgrace

I take it you just made that bit up?

[IMA MAROON]

And when CL beats Lithuania and Czech Rep at home, red?