Craig Levein

[wright1989]

Top manager and I would have loved if he was brought in last time round. Shows ambition and wasn't scared of the OF.

[The Real Maroonblood]

I agree.

 

But Romanov has changed Hearts as a club. We are now supporters with factions.

 

Tynecastle has become a pretty horrid place when we start to lose, instead of backing the side we shout abuse and tell players to "get tae feck".

A very pertinent point.

[wright1989]

Great player who makes my all-time Hearts XI. I always thought he was destined for Tottenham Hotspur after Hearts.

 

 

These days though, I don't care much for his chat. He seems a bit smug to me.

 

TBF look at what he done at Dundee UTD. He would have had us much closer to the OF.

[Le Chat]

Normally I don't bother responding to people like you, but for some reason I'm going to. Probably the main reason that I'm doing so is that you're coming over as a smug dick, but unfortunately for you, a smug dick that is willing to try and make other posters look daft whilst being laughably wrong.

 

 

Gordon and Hartley dont get any pelters yet they sat either side of Pressley.

 

He spoke up for a sizeable chunk of the squad who thought working under the mad one was becoming impossible.

 

 

Pressley doesn't get abuse because of the Riccarton 3 incident. He gets abuse because of the way he conducted himself when he has returned to Tynecastle and the things he has said since. Your point about Gordon and Hartley (who have shown the Hearts supporters nothing but respect since btw) is therefore utterly irrelevant.

 

 

I see the whole 86 team sitting in Mcdonalds every Tuesday night, the only one not there is Levein.

 

He must be one bad ass begger.

 

Bet he doesnt even send the rest of them a Christmas card.

 

Jesus wept.

 

Its a well known fact that Levein was not popular with his team mates in Alex McDonald's team. He was known as a bit of a cry-baby who would go crying to Wallace Mercer if he wasn't getting his way. It has also been inferred that he bottled out of playing at Dens in 86 and is disliked because of that. He also had very public falling-outs with Dave McPherson and Gary McKay whilst manager of Hearts.

 

 

Next time you try and take the piss out of other people I'd make sure you knew what you were talking about first if I were you.

[PsychocAndy]

certainly.

 

the over-riding reason he's a total ****** is because of the famous rant he had at hearts, our players and our then manager while he was with dundee united.

 

now i can take a certain amount of mumping and moaning from various characters in the game and in the media, but his ludicrously over-the-top diatribe on that occasion defied all belief. it was of such ferocity that it should never have come from someone with such an extensive connection to the club. if even a small part of it had been merited then i probably wouldn't have bothered all that much, but the whole thing was simply ridiculous.

 

as far as i'm concerned, he demonstrated quite clearly that his legandary status with this club is very much a one-way street. it's quite obvious that he doesn't care about the hearts support as much as many people would like to think, and would have you believe.

 

if andy walker, craig burley, chic young, charlie nicholas or the like had done the same then it would still have come as a surprise as to the sheer ferocity. the fact that it came from him was quite a shocking thing to me, and it ended any respect i could ever hold for him. he was a hearts legend to me but not any more.

 

I support Heart of Midlothian FC and I couldn't care what most of the supporters think or do, and your wrong about the two way Legendary status, Craig played for us and was great, I actually think Alan McLaren was a better player but not by much, what have you done or me or virtually everyone on this forum?

Also Fergie said he was up, with Archie Knox, for one last look before putting in an offer for Craig at the match he had his second injury, to take him to Man Utd.

That is how good he was.

[david mcgee]

Normally I don't bother responding to people like you, but for some reason I'm going to. Probably the main reason that I'm doing so is that you're coming over as a smug dick, but unfortunately for you, a smug dick that is willing to try and make other posters look daft whilst being laughably wrong.

 

 

 

Pressley doesn't get abuse because of the Riccarton 3 incident. He gets abuse because of the way he conducted himself when he has returned to Tynecastle and the things he has said since. Your point about Gordon and Hartley (who have shown the Hearts supporters nothing but respect since btw) is therefore utterly irrelevant.

 

 

 

 

Its a well known fact that Levein was not popular with his team mates in Alex McDonald's team. He was known as a bit of a cry-baby who would go crying to Wallace Mercer if he wasn't getting his way. It has also been inferred that he bottled out of playing at Dens in 86 and is disliked because of that. He also had very public falling-outs with Dave McPherson and Gary McKay whilst manager of Hearts.

 

 

Next time you try and take the piss out of other people I'd make sure you knew what you were talking about first if I were you.

Well known "facts". Dont make me laugh.

 

If you read previous posts, other posters slated Pressley for his Riccarton 3 statement on this thread, i never brought it up.

 

So my comments are relevant.

 

Its you that needs to get your facts right.

[The Real Maroonblood]

Normally I don't bother responding to people like you, but for some reason I'm going to. Probably the main reason that I'm doing so is that you're coming over as a smug dick, but unfortunately for you, a smug dick that is willing to try and make other posters look daft whilst being laughably wrong.

 

 

 

Pressley doesn't get abuse because of the Riccarton 3 incident. He gets abuse because of the way he conducted himself when he has returned to Tynecastle and the things he has said since. Your point about Gordon and Hartley (who have shown the Hearts supporters nothing but respect since btw) is therefore utterly irrelevant.

 

 

 

 

Its a well known fact that Levein was not popular with his team mates in Alex McDonald's team. He was known as a bit of a cry-baby who would go crying to Wallace Mercer if he wasn't getting his way. It has also been inferred that he bottled out of playing at Dens in 86 and is disliked because of that. He also had very public falling-outs with Dave McPherson and Gary McKay whilst manager of Hearts.

 

Next time you try and take the piss out of other people I'd make sure you knew what you were talking about first if I were you.

Did this come from someone ITK.

[Victorian]

I support Heart of Midlothian FC and I couldn't care what most of the supporters think or do, and your wrong about the two way Legendary status, Craig played for us and was great, I actually think Alan McLaren was a better player but not by much, what have you done or me or virtually everyone on this forum?

Also Fergie said he was up, with Archie Knox, for one last look before putting in an offer for Craig at the match he had his second injury, to take him to Man Utd.

That is how good he was.

 

i'm fully aware of how good a player he was. i was there all the way.

 

when i talked about his legendary status, what i was referring to was that he held (or still holds) legendary status with the hearts support. in my book, by doing what he did, he showed that he held absolutely no regard for hearts supporters. therefore the relationship is very much one-way.

 

the rant i brought up wasn't done straight after a game. he launched into it a full day after the match... at least a day. it was completely premeditated and he must have planned what he was going to say.

 

the guy no longer has any hearts greatness for me, other than being a tremendous player of course.

[PsychocAndy]

[Le Chat]

Well known "facts". Dont make me laugh.

 

If you read previous posts, other posters slated Pressley for his Riccarton 3 statement on this thread, i never brought it up.

 

So my comments are relevant.

 

Its you that needs to get your facts right.

 

 

No wonder I can't be arsed conversing with people like you.

 

OK, so because you don't know these things they're not true. Right you are then.

 

Tara.

[HillmanHearts]

Terrific Hearts Player

Very Good Hearts Manager. Pragmatic but succesful approach in a time of transition.

Growing into a good Scotland Manager IMO. ( Better than fecken Burley, Vogts or McLeish anyway ! )

 

Never jumps on the band wagon when Hearts are getting slated yet again in the media. Usually defends our corner.

 

Yes - he is self confident, head strong and calculating in his approach to his profession - most good professionals are !

 

I like him.

 

Top Bloke.

[CaskieberranJambo]

Terrific Hearts Player

Very Good Hearts Manager. Pragmatic but succesful approach in a time of transition.

Growing into a good Scotland Manager IMO. ( Better than fecken Burley, Vogts or McLeish anyway ! )

 

Never jumps on the band wagon when Hearts are getting slated yet again in the media. Usually defends our corner.

 

Yes - he is self confident, head strong and calculating in his approach to his profession - most good professionals are !

 

I like him.

 

Top Bloke.

 

All the above, BUT why didn't he play at Dens in '86?

According to S**** C**** he utterly and completely BOTTLED it!!

Flu?

 

As he's a paid employee of the GFA should he be commenting on clubs in the Scottish game?

Ok, he's got a strong connection to us, but I'd just love to see any of these people in key positions in Scottish Football commenting on the OF.

No? Didn't think so.

GTF

[RoussetsShorts]

No wonder I can't be arsed conversing with people like you.

 

OK, so because you don't know these things they're not true. Right you are then.

 

Tara.

 

Dear oh dear.

[Prenticeonthewing]

The problem as I see it is, no one on this forum seems to be able to seperate the player from the manager or agent or commentator etc.

 

Levein - Club Captain, finest defender I ever saw play for us

MacKay - Club Captain, bleeds Maroon driving force behind one of the best Hearts sides I ever watched.

Pressley - Club Captain, lifted the Scottish Cup

 

I'd add into the list of berated legends on this site -

 

John Robertson - Just simply "the" Legend

Paul Hartley - The 4-0 at Hampden alone gives him Hero status.

 

All should be in the Heart of Midlothian hall of fame.

 

Outside their playing careers they have their own agenda's and while the "chest pump" was OTT as a player for this club Pressley could not have done more when he pulled on the jersey and very much the same for the rest. I actually believe if Stephane Adam, Colin Cameron, Thomas Flogel et al where ever to say a bad word about the club they'd also be targeted by the lunatics on this board.

 

 

Really spot on with these comments - regardless of what these guys have done since their playing days they are are Hearts legends through and through for their on field exploits - guys like Levein were amoungg the best players I have seen in Scottish football never mind Hearts and regardless of recent history should be respected for what they did on the pitch.

[Smack]

The thing that Levein the manager has going for him is that he wears spectacles and tilts his head to the side slightly when he speaks. He's got image.

 

Jimmy Calderwood on the other hand has a hilarious tan and wobbles his head all over the shop when he talks.

 

The season Aberdeen finished third and Dundee Utd fourth: Calderwood was sacked; Levein got the Scotland job.

 

It's not what you do, it's how you look while you're doing it.

[Genghis Khan]

No doubt Levein was a classy player who suffered 2 really bad injuries BUT it should be remembered that Heart of Midlothian looked after him brilliantly during those dark days and it was also this club that gave CL his big managerial break when he was struggling away at Cowdenbeath.

 

To repay that loyalty by walking out on the eve of a major Euro tie was disrespectful and did nothing to repay that loyalty. As was mentioned earlier in the thread he had approached Kenny Black to be on his coaching staff at Leicester 3 weeks before he walked out - again disrespectful to Hearts.

 

During the protest years, SOH made sure that the management & players were kept out of the campaign, CL jumped right into it on the side of the Pieman. At Dundee Utd, he had a rant against Hearts fans involved in SOH - no need, as he had moved on some considerable time earlier.

 

His views on the current Hearts set-up are completely irrelevant to me so I would respectfully suggests that he sticks to his own remit ie the Scotland national team.

[I.J]

My favourite things about Levein:

 

Leaving us in the shit 24 hours before a Euro game

 

His utter acceptance of being 3rd best

 

4-6-0

 

When he shook his head disgustedly when Naismith missed an easy header against us.

 

That people who think he's anything close to being Hearts are the same absolute raspers who think Pressley is a human being.

 

End of list.

[Jay B-8)]

how on earth can u criticise him for leaving hearts when he did looking at how many managers weve gone through i can only think of 1 word to describe his decision smart

[I.J]

how on earth can u criticise him for leaving hearts when he did looking at how many managers weve gone through i can only think of 1 word to describe his decision smart

 

r u speaking to me m8 u r deluded m8 we r #1 in scotland m8

 

 

 

[Coco]

TBF look at what he done at Dundee UTD. He would have had us much closer to the OF.

 

Levein finished 5th in each of his 2 seasons at Dundee United.

 

The year he left it was Houston who took them to 3rd and the Cup.

[Colonel Kurtz]

Levein finished 5th in each of his 2 seasons at Dundee United.

 

The year he left it was Houston who took them to 3rd and the Cup.

None of the people who have made snide allegations about Levein and Dens park have ever made these allegations to his face..says a lot dont you think.

[The Real Maroonblood]

None of the people who have made snide allegations about Levein and Dens park have ever made these allegations to his face..says a lot dont you think.

Correct.

People believe what they want just to suit their own agendas. Fact.

[Sydney]

Craig Levein = outstanding defender. Better than Webster, Ritchie, Weir, Pressley, McPherson and McLaren.

Craig Levein = good Hearts manager, but nowhere near great.

Craig Levein = self confident, didnt feel the need to join cliques in teams and not insecure a la Gary Mackay (which isn't a criticism, I like Mackay too).

Craig Levein = someone who will make a difference to Scotish football - even if it isnt as manager of the national team. His views on developing the state of our footballing health are light years ahead of many better coaches.

 

I like Levein a lot. He got the 4-6-0 wrong, but his main failing was his refusal to accept he got it wrong.

 

Him leaving Hearts before the Euro tie didnt really matter. He still came back and gave wee Robbo a hand.

 

Nothing in life is black and white.

[Sydney]

My favourite things about Levein:

 

Leaving us in the shit 24 hours before a Euro game

 

His utter acceptance of being 3rd best

 

4-6-0

 

When he shook his head disgustedly when Naismith missed an easy header against us.

 

That people who think he's anything close to being Hearts are the same absolute raspers who think Pressley is a human being.

 

End of list.

 

I take it you don't like him?

[ToYouToMe]

certainly.

 

the over-riding reason he's a total ****** is because of the famous rant he had at hearts, our players and our then manager while he was with dundee united.

 

now i can take a certain amount of mumping and moaning from various characters in the game and in the media, but his ludicrously over-the-top diatribe on that occasion defied all belief. it was of such ferocity that it should never have come from someone with such an extensive connection to the club. if even a small part of it had been merited then i probably wouldn't have bothered all that much, but the whole thing was simply ridiculous.

 

as far as i'm concerned, he demonstrated quite clearly that his legandary status with this club is very much a one-way street. it's quite obvious that he doesn't care about the hearts support as much as many people would like to think, and would have you believe.

 

if andy walker, craig burley, chic young, charlie nicholas or the like had done the same then it would still have come as a surprise as to the sheer ferocity. the fact that it came from him was quite a shocking thing to me, and it ended any respect i could ever hold for him. he was a hearts legend to me but not any more.

 

This. Levein says what best serves Levein at the time, end of. No legend for me.

[The Mighty Thor]

It seems very much de rigeuer to slate players and managers that served Hearts.

 

According to some of the prominent posters absolute welts on here Jefferies was a complete waste of space before his car had even left the Riccarton car park on Monday afternoon.

 

Craig Levein was a fantastic footballer for Hearts. He was then a good manager at Hearts and he looks to be trying to sort out the shambles at national level from the ground up.

 

 

 

 

 

[The Real Maroonblood]

It seems very much de rigeuer to slate players and managers that served Hearts.

 

According to some of the prominent posters absolute welts on here Jefferies was a complete waste of space before his car had even left the Riccarton car park on Monday afternoon.

 

Craig Levein was a fantastic footballer for Hearts. He was then a good manager at Hearts and he looks to be trying to sort out the shambles at national level from the ground up.

Spot on.

[Rudy T]

My favourite things about Levein:

 

Leaving us in the shit 24 hours before a Euro game

 

His utter acceptance of being 3rd best

 

4-6-0

 

When he shook his head disgustedly when Naismith missed an easy header against us.

 

That people who think he's anything close to being Hearts are the same absolute raspers who think Pressley is a human being.

 

End of list.

 

Did you even see Craig Levein play for Hearts ?

 

Where did we finish the season before he took over ? When we beat Hibs 5-1 at Tynie did you hate him then, think he wasn't close to Hearts ?

 

4-6-0 - For Scotland relevance to Hearts ???

 

So one of his forwards misses a sitter and he shakes his head - another crime against Hearts or maybe just your tainted view of the man.

 

IJ you should really stick to hating Hibs your much better at that.

[Victorian]

i wasn't going to revisit this thread as i had said all i was going to say, but...

 

someone in the daily record phone-in thingy made an excellent observation regarding this. he pointed out that, if levein is so concerned with stability being a crucial factor at a football club, why did he scarper to leicester on the eve of the shalke match?

 

this clearly illustrates the inherent hypocrisy of football people. they want stability when it suits their own needs. they don't give a shit about stability when their own needs are better served by doing something else.

 

"hey craigy!!! dinny go man!!! whit aboot the stability naw?

 

"oh... eh... we're not doing that today. see ya later".

[Feeno]

Really spot on with these comments - regardless of what these guys have done since their playing days they are are Hearts legends through and through for their on field exploits - guys like Levein were amoungg the best players I have seen in Scottish football never mind Hearts and regardless of recent history should be respected for what they did on the pitch.

 

 

They get respect for what they did on the pitch, they get slated for their actions of it if appropriate. Shouldnt be to hard to grasp.

 

 

What is this weak willed mentality??? cos they played awrite we'll put up with any shite. Sycophants

[Colonel Kurtz]

i wasn't going to revisit this thread as i had said all i was going to say, but...

 

someone in the daily record phone-in thingy made an excellent observation regarding this. he pointed out that, if levein is so concerned with stability being a crucial factor at a football club, why did he scarper to leicester on the eve of the shalke match?

 

this clearly illustrates the inherent hypocrisy of football people. they want stability when it suits their own needs. they don't give a shit about stability when their own needs are better served by doing something else.

 

"hey craigy!!! dinny go man!!! whit aboot the stability naw?

 

"oh... eh... we're not doing that today. see ya later".

allsports thinking with a part of his anatomy other than his brain

I recall Levein playing for SCotland twice at Ibrox marking on each accasion a forward who was considered the best around at the time..both cases he they never got a kick.

Also played in a Scotland team which won a match in the World cup finals..beside big dave,but according to some he bottled Dens park..aye right