TOM ENGLISH

[keith1964]

Tom English is the only journo that I have heard or read over the last two days that has put forward that Vlad had some justification for sacking JJ.

He was trying to put this point over tonight on Radio Scotland several times . (Traynor did not really bite though)

Felt he had a point , we have the biggest budget outside the old squirm so finishing third and qualifying for Europe should be expected , not a bonus.

Went out of both cups meekly Falkirk and St Johnstone and our poor run at the tail end of the season was woeful.

If Lennon or Mccoist went on a winless 15 game streak would they still be in a job ......I think not.

[jamboinglasgow]

Ewan Murray of the Guardian has said the same.

[Ryan Gosling]

Tom English is a see you next Tuesday.

[Kiwidoug]

Surprised at English. I completely agree with him.

 

We have been rubbish throughout this calendar year. Something had to be done.

[keith1964]

They both write for decent publications , speaks volumes

[Harry Palmer]

Tom English is a see you next Tuesday.

 

Affirmative.

[Sydney]

In his last 20 matches in charge, JJ did worse than Csaba in his last 20 matches. When Csaba left, after a very decent first season, everyone said that we were in a shambles. Maybe Vlad views that after JJ's very, very good half season that we were in an equally bad situation.

 

I like JJ a lot, but getting rid of him was probably the right thing to do. Sergio will now have to work hard to get us out of this "shambles" we're in and start winning games again.

 

As fans, we're in a bit of a no-win situation with Sergio though. If he's crap, he'll be out the door, if he's ok (3rd place) he'll be out the door and if he's any good, I would wager he'll be on the way down south within 2 years.

[I.J]

I'd enjoy reading journalism that stated that Tom English needed a triple kidney transplant.

[jkbam]

I'd rather have Tom English on the radio than Jim Traynor any day. Never usually bother listening to your call, but enjoyed it the other week with Tom on instead of Traynor's usual sidekick.

[maroonshrew]

Ive been arguin to my mates that although i dont completely agree with the sacking circumstances etc if this was a no mark manager from Europe who showed that form the press wouldnt have batted an eyelid at the sacking. It is only cos it is JJ that they are showing faux offence.

[Debut 4]

The bottom line is, everyone is going by today`s hire and fire attitude in football. While i realise taking the last 15 games into consideration was the main reason for JJ going, does that mean what went before didn`t count?

 

Is there no lee-way now? Does the close season not wipe the slate clean ahead of the new one?

[super_vlad]

Ffs, we have had the biggest budget outside the old firm since about 1995, how many times have we finish 3rd? The amount of ******* piss written on here in the last few days is unreal! Everyone seems to have forgotten how we got to third in the first place!

 

I hope the new guy does well but I honestly believe we had a better chance of splitting the old firm with jj in control than a new guy who will need time to adjust to Scottish football and bring his own players in.

[Ben Dover]

The bottom line is, everyone is going by today`s hire and fire attitude in football. While i realise taking the last 15 games into consideration was the main reason for JJ going, does that mean what went before didn`t count?

 

Is there no lee-way now? Does the close season not wipe the slate clean ahead of the new one?

 

Usually yes, given that we have memories like goldfish

But I'm still smarting from the fact that we WERE right on the coat-tails of the OF, till we gave two absolutely woeful performances over in Glasgow, and then the team just threw in the towel.

[TheBigO]

In his last 20 matches in charge, JJ did worse than Csaba in his last 20 matches. When Csaba left, after a very decent first season, everyone said that we were in a shambles. Maybe Vlad views that after JJ's very, very good half season that we were in an equally bad situation.

 

I like JJ a lot, but getting rid of him was probably the right thing to do. Sergio will now have to work hard to get us out of this "shambles" we're in and start winning games again.

 

As fans, we're in a bit of a no-win situation with Sergio though. If he's crap, he'll be out the door, if he's ok (3rd place) he'll be out the door and if he's any good, I would wager he'll be on the way down south within 2 years.

 

I'm not going to let these threads lie.

 

It's imperative that we take into account the circumstances surrounding the 15 games, or more relevantly put, our form since March. We'll start with the footballing side of things. We won 1 game in that time. We lost twice (one of which at Ibrox, our captain having been ordered off the team bus by VR) and got an away draw to the OF. We drew more games than we lost of the rest, including an away score draw in Europe, which yes, we could have won, but it isn't a bad result. The loss on the last day of the season against DUtd was played at a canter - a training match which was more about getting a bit of game time to some youngsters. We were able to do that as we'd already qualified for Europe in 3rd place.

 

At Tanadice, had Brines done his job and given us a penalty and sent off Goodwillie, we'd have won. At Easter Road, had Brines done his job and given us a penalty and sent off Martin Scott, we'd have won.

 

This was without Kyle, Driver, Wallace and Suso. Rudi carrying an injury and Calum being out reducing options up front.

 

I do get it that the run of results would put a manager on a shoogly peg. I'm just saying, even from a footballing perspective, the run isn't as bad as it looks on paper.

 

Now let's look at WHEN FORM DIPPED. This is the crux of the whole matter. VR first stuck his oar in on the Kello issue after the loss (caused by Brines) at Tanadice mid-March. The 15 game run started around... oh yeh... that's it... just a bit of independant thought now... mid-March!! See you got there in the end. I detailed what happened with Kello in a thread I started which was pulled. I won't go into it again but I swear that every word written there was the honest truth. It was direct and those who know where I got it from will verify.

 

VR caused untold upheaval to the season. A season which was faltering only very slightly at that point. We weren't going to do better than 3rd but we were on course to beat 70 points which is a great achievement.

 

What i also said about the bonuses not being paid. Now, the players didn't start losing games in protest over this, but the fact is it caused tension in the changing room and, again, it's very hard to instill winning mentality and togetherness with something like that hanging over the squad.

 

Then the Zal thing at Ibrox. A coach works all week with his probable team. To have that week's work scuppered by your owner on the way to the match and never be told the reason is madness.

 

Not even going to go into the CT thing as I'm talking about the run of games.

 

Maybe you still think another manager could have got more out of the players than Jim did under the above circumstances. Maybe another manager might have carried a bit of luck in a couple more games, but they I'm sure they'd have had the same job in trying to motivate a group of players who were feeling like they were being constantly treated like shit by their own employer.

 

I actually think JJ and BB needed to change the team and could have done more to freshen things up in a footballing sense. I'd have given gametime to Robinson earlier in the season and Denis would have been in the squad sooner too. They knew Temps had shot his bolt but felt they needed to play him each week due to a lack of options. They didn't want to use Mrowiec but felt they had to. I'm not sure they did have to.

 

Anyway, another long post, but there ye go. The biggest worry about all of this is that VR can't help himself. If and when Paulo gets us going and doing well, I just can't see VR not sticking his nose in and creating all sorts of tension and bullshit for the manager and players to deal with. Again. It's just no coincidence that we started really faltering around the time he got involved. He'd been great with JJ up until then.

[hmfc1440]

Usually yes, given that we have memories like goldfish

But I'm still smarting from the fact that we WERE right on the coat-tails of the OF, till we gave two absolutely woeful performances over in Glasgow, and then the team just threw in the towel.

 

The 4-0 defeat at Celtic was a total white flag - not good enough and the team were capable of better.

The question is why do we surrender so tamely in crucial matches - and then you look at leadership -

Manager, Captain, etc - yes the captain as well - never leader material.

[vintage1874]

I'm not going to let these threads lie.

 

It's imperative that we take into account the circumstances surrounding the 15 games, or more relevantly put, our form since March. We'll start with the footballing side of things. We won 1 game in that time. We lost twice (one of which at Ibrox, our captain having been ordered off the team bus by VR) and got an away draw to the OF. We drew more games than we lost of the rest, including an away score draw in Europe, which yes, we could have won, but it isn't a bad result. The loss on the last day of the season against DUtd was played at a canter - a training match which was more about getting a bit of game time to some youngsters. We were able to do that as we'd already qualified for Europe in 3rd place.

 

At Tanadice, had Brines done his job and given us a penalty and sent off Goodwillie, we'd have won. At Easter Road, had Brines done his job and given us a penalty and sent off Martin Scott, we'd have won.

 

This was without Kyle, Driver, Wallace and Suso. Rudi carrying an injury and Calum being out reducing options up front.

 

I do get it that the run of results would put a manager on a shoogly peg. I'm just saying, even from a footballing perspective, the run isn't as bad as it looks on paper.

 

Now let's look at WHEN FORM DIPPED. This is the crux of the whole matter. VR first stuck his oar in on the Kello issue after the loss (caused by Brines) at Tanadice mid-March. The 15 game run started around... oh yeh... that's it... just a bit of independant thought now... mid-March!! See you got there in the end. I detailed what happened with Kello in a thread I started which was pulled. I won't go into it again but I swear that every word written there was the honest truth. It was direct and those who know where I got it from will verify.

 

VR caused untold upheaval to the season. A season which was faltering only very slightly at that point. We weren't going to do better than 3rd but we were on course to beat 70 points which is a great achievement.

 

What i also said about the bonuses not being paid. Now, the players didn't start losing games in protest over this, but the fact is it caused tension in the changing room and, again, it's very hard to instill winning mentality and togetherness with something like that hanging over the squad.

 

Then the Zal thing at Ibrox. A coach works all week with his probable team. To have that week's work scuppered by your owner on the way to the match and never be told the reason is madness.

 

Not even going to go into the CT thing as I'm talking about the run of games.

 

Maybe you still think another manager could have got more out of the players than Jim did under the above circumstances. Maybe another manager might have carried a bit of luck in a couple more games, but they I'm sure they'd have had the same job in trying to motivate a group of players who were feeling like they were being constantly treated like shit by their own employer.

 

I actually think JJ and BB needed to change the team and could have done more to freshen things up in a footballing sense. I'd have given gametime to Robinson earlier in the season and Denis would have been in the squad sooner too. They knew Temps had shot his bolt but felt they needed to play him each week due to a lack of options. They didn't want to use Mrowiec but felt they had to. I'm not sure they did have to.

 

Anyway, another long post, but there ye go. The biggest worry about all of this is that VR can't help himself. If and when Paulo gets us going and doing well, I just can't see VR not sticking his nose in and creating all sorts of tension and bullshit for the manager and players to deal with. Again. It's just no coincidence that we started really faltering around the time he got involved. He'd been great with JJ up until then.

 

 

well said bigO.

There was reference to the smiths yesterday, I think the Kaiser's are on the jukebox today. "We are the angry mob We read the papers everyday We like who we like, we hate who we hate But we're also easily swayed"

[jack D and coke]

I'm not going to let these threads lie.

 

It's imperative that we take into account the circumstances surrounding the 15 games, or more relevantly put, our form since March. We'll start with the footballing side of things. We won 1 game in that time. We lost twice (one of which at Ibrox, our captain having been ordered off the team bus by VR) and got an away draw to the OF. We drew more games than we lost of the rest, including an away score draw in Europe, which yes, we could have won, but it isn't a bad result. The loss on the last day of the season against DUtd was played at a canter - a training match which was more about getting a bit of game time to some youngsters. We were able to do that as we'd already qualified for Europe in 3rd place.

 

At Tanadice, had Brines done his job and given us a penalty and sent off Goodwillie, we'd have won. At Easter Road, had Brines done his job and given us a penalty and sent off Martin Scott, we'd have won.

 

This was without Kyle, Driver, Wallace and Suso. Rudi carrying an injury and Calum being out reducing options up front.

 

I do get it that the run of results would put a manager on a shoogly peg. I'm just saying, even from a footballing perspective, the run isn't as bad as it looks on paper.

 

Now let's look at WHEN FORM DIPPED. This is the crux of the whole matter. VR first stuck his oar in on the Kello issue after the loss (caused by Brines) at Tanadice mid-March. The 15 game run started around... oh yeh... that's it... just a bit of independant thought now... mid-March!! See you got there in the end. I detailed what happened with Kello in a thread I started which was pulled. I won't go into it again but I swear that every word written there was the honest truth. It was direct and those who know where I got it from will verify.

 

VR caused untold upheaval to the season. A season which was faltering only very slightly at that point. We weren't going to do better than 3rd but we were on course to beat 70 points which is a great achievement.

 

What i also said about the bonuses not being paid. Now, the players didn't start losing games in protest over this, but the fact is it caused tension in the changing room and, again, it's very hard to instill winning mentality and togetherness with something like that hanging over the squad.

 

Then the Zal thing at Ibrox. A coach works all week with his probable team. To have that week's work scuppered by your owner on the way to the match and never be told the reason is madness.

 

Not even going to go into the CT thing as I'm talking about the run of games.

 

Maybe you still think another manager could have got more out of the players than Jim did under the above circumstances. Maybe another manager might have carried a bit of luck in a couple more games, but they I'm sure they'd have had the same job in trying to motivate a group of players who were feeling like they were being constantly treated like shit by their own employer.

 

I actually think JJ and BB needed to change the team and could have done more to freshen things up in a footballing sense. I'd have given gametime to Robinson earlier in the season and Denis would have been in the squad sooner too. They knew Temps had shot his bolt but felt they needed to play him each week due to a lack of options. They didn't want to use Mrowiec but felt they had to. I'm not sure they did have to.

 

Anyway, another long post, but there ye go. The biggest worry about all of this is that VR can't help himself. If and when Paulo gets us going and doing well, I just can't see VR not sticking his nose in and creating all sorts of tension and bullshit for the manager and players to deal with. Again. It's just no coincidence that we started really faltering around the time he got involved. He'd been great with JJ up until then.

I believe every word of your kello story the other night for whatever that's worth. I also believe Romanov is a man who should be nowhere near a football team or any kind of sports team such is his paranoia. Paulo could be the best coach/manager in the world but the minute ###### decides he's sticking his oar in then all his good work will be shot to pieces and he'll find himself emptied unceremoniously and with his reputation tarnished over some ludicrous accusation no doubt.

 

But very good luck to the man, he's gonna need it.

[super_vlad]

I'm not going to let these threads lie.

 

It's imperative that we take into account the circumstances surrounding the 15 games, or more relevantly put, our form since March. We'll start with the footballing side of things. We won 1 game in that time. We lost twice (one of which at Ibrox, our captain having been ordered off the team bus by VR) and got an away draw to the OF. We drew more games than we lost of the rest, including an away score draw in Europe, which yes, we could have won, but it isn't a bad result. The loss on the last day of the season against DUtd was played at a canter - a training match which was more about getting a bit of game time to some youngsters. We were able to do that as we'd already qualified for Europe in 3rd place.

 

At Tanadice, had Brines done his job and given us a penalty and sent off Goodwillie, we'd have won. At Easter Road, had Brines done his job and given us a penalty and sent off Martin Scott, we'd have won.

 

This was without Kyle, Driver, Wallace and Suso. Rudi carrying an injury and Calum being out reducing options up front.

 

I do get it that the run of results would put a manager on a shoogly peg. I'm just saying, even from a footballing perspective, the run isn't as bad as it looks on paper.

 

Now let's look at WHEN FORM DIPPED. This is the crux of the whole matter. VR first stuck his oar in on the Kello issue after the loss (caused by Brines) at Tanadice mid-March. The 15 game run started around... oh yeh... that's it... just a bit of independant thought now... mid-March!! See you got there in the end. I detailed what happened with Kello in a thread I started which was pulled. I won't go into it again but I swear that every word written there was the honest truth. It was direct and those who know where I got it from will verify.

 

VR caused untold upheaval to the season. A season which was faltering only very slightly at that point. We weren't going to do better than 3rd but we were on course to beat 70 points which is a great achievement.

 

What i also said about the bonuses not being paid. Now, the players didn't start losing games in protest over this, but the fact is it caused tension in the changing room and, again, it's very hard to instill winning mentality and togetherness with something like that hanging over the squad.

 

Then the Zal thing at Ibrox. A coach works all week with his probable team. To have that week's work scuppered by your owner on the way to the match and never be told the reason is madness.

 

Not even going to go into the CT thing as I'm talking about the run of games.

 

Maybe you still think another manager could have got more out of the players than Jim did under the above circumstances. Maybe another manager might have carried a bit of luck in a couple more games, but they I'm sure they'd have had the same job in trying to motivate a group of players who were feeling like they were being constantly treated like shit by their own employer.

 

I actually think JJ and BB needed to change the team and could have done more to freshen things up in a footballing sense. I'd have given gametime to Robinson earlier in the season and Denis would have been in the squad sooner too. They knew Temps had shot his bolt but felt they needed to play him each week due to a lack of options. They didn't want to use Mrowiec but felt they had to. I'm not sure they did have to.

 

Anyway, another long post, but there ye go. The biggest worry about all of this is that VR can't help himself. If and when Paulo gets us going and doing well, I just can't see VR not sticking his nose in and creating all sorts of tension and bullshit for the manager and players to deal with. Again. It's just no coincidence that we started really faltering around the time he got involved. He'd been great with JJ up until then.

 

 

Brillant mate, i have some thing similar written down about the last 8 games of the season, with events that actually went on in the game. I.e 1-0 up at easter road to have a man sent off and a penalty and still get a 2-2 draw that felt like a win. Being 3-nil up to Motherwell only to lose silly goals. We were 2-1 up against kille away from home when they scored with the last kick of the game. These games were not awful or anywhere near as bad as Csaba run.

 

Also the great its JJ fault that KK got injury and we have no replacement! NO IT"S THE BOARDS FAULT FOR NOT GIVING JJ ANY MORE MONEY IN JANUARY!

 

 

[I.T.K]

I just curious on how good Sergio is!

 

Like most I have a lot of love for Robbo, but he was dropped as manager by Vlad and at the time I felt bad for him. But then Burley, a much better manager, came in and his decision was justified.

 

I want to know if this is same. Has JJ made room for a much better manager. Time will tell with Sergio and of course I have my fingers crossed he is a top manager like Burley and not crazy guy like Casba.

[broughies tach]

I'm not going to let these threads lie.

 

It's imperative that we take into account the circumstances surrounding the 15 games, or more relevantly put, our form since March. We'll start with the footballing side of things. We won 1 game in that time. We lost twice (one of which at Ibrox, our captain having been ordered off the team bus by VR) and got an away draw to the OF. We drew more games than we lost of the rest, including an away score draw in Europe, which yes, we could have won, but it isn't a bad result. The loss on the last day of the season against DUtd was played at a canter - a training match which was more about getting a bit of game time to some youngsters. We were able to do that as we'd already qualified for Europe in 3rd place.

 

At Tanadice, had Brines done his job and given us a penalty and sent off Goodwillie, we'd have won. At Easter Road, had Brines done his job and given us a penalty and sent off Martin Scott, we'd have won.

 

This was without Kyle, Driver, Wallace and Suso. Rudi carrying an injury and Calum being out reducing options up front.

 

I do get it that the run of results would put a manager on a shoogly peg. I'm just saying, even from a footballing perspective, the run isn't as bad as it looks on paper.

 

Now let's look at WHEN FORM DIPPED. This is the crux of the whole matter. VR first stuck his oar in on the Kello issue after the loss (caused by Brines) at Tanadice mid-March. The 15 game run started around... oh yeh... that's it... just a bit of independant thought now... mid-March!! See you got there in the end. I detailed what happened with Kello in a thread I started which was pulled. I won't go into it again but I swear that every word written there was the honest truth. It was direct and those who know where I got it from will verify.

 

VR caused untold upheaval to the season. A season which was faltering only very slightly at that point. We weren't going to do better than 3rd but we were on course to beat 70 points which is a great achievement.

 

What i also said about the bonuses not being paid. Now, the players didn't start losing games in protest over this, but the fact is it caused tension in the changing room and, again, it's very hard to instill winning mentality and togetherness with something like that hanging over the squad.

 

Then the Zal thing at Ibrox. A coach works all week with his probable team. To have that week's work scuppered by your owner on the way to the match and never be told the reason is madness.

 

Not even going to go into the CT thing as I'm talking about the run of games.

 

Maybe you still think another manager could have got more out of the players than Jim did under the above circumstances. Maybe another manager might have carried a bit of luck in a couple more games, but they I'm sure they'd have had the same job in trying to motivate a group of players who were feeling like they were being constantly treated like shit by their own employer.

 

I actually think JJ and BB needed to change the team and could have done more to freshen things up in a footballing sense. I'd have given gametime to Robinson earlier in the season and Denis would have been in the squad sooner too. They knew Temps had shot his bolt but felt they needed to play him each week due to a lack of options. They didn't want to use Mrowiec but felt they had to. I'm not sure they did have to.

 

Anyway, another long post, but there ye go. The biggest worry about all of this is that VR can't help himself. If and when Paulo gets us going and doing well, I just can't see VR not sticking his nose in and creating all sorts of tension and bullshit for the manager and players to deal with. Again. It's just no coincidence that we started really faltering around the time he got involved. He'd been great with JJ up until then.

 

You may have a point with some of your other observations but your summary of the United game is way off the mark. They had injury problems as well with Jon Daly having to play centre half. If Brines should have dismissed Goodwillie he should also have sent off Bouzid for a second bookable. Hearts would not have won that night had they played against Goodwillie on his own as they were peesh poor. Perhaps that was maroon mist that you were looking through towards the end of the game.

[TheBigO]

I just curious on how good Sergio is!

 

Like most I have a lot of love for Robbo, but he was dropped as manager by Vlad and at the time I felt bad for him. But then Burley, a much better manager, came in and his decision was justified.

 

I want to know if this is same. Has JJ made room for a much better manager. Time will tell with Sergio and of course I have my fingers crossed he is a top manager like Burley and not crazy guy like Casba.

 

A big part of me feels like this too. If Paulo is a good coach - a better one that JJ, who did have his faults I'll admit, even - then that's brilliant. Of course I want him to be.

 

My big worry is that VR has a history of every time we're doing well messing it up for us. He SIMPLY MUST LEAVE WELL ALONE or we'll just keep going round in circles.

 

FWIW, I'm nae hat-kicker. From my postings this week, its probably easy to summise I know someone who is or was at the club. And from that same person, I'm told VR is a nice bloke and seems to genuinely want success for Hearts. He backed JJ well at times but his paranoid streak that runs right through him will forever be his undoing in a sporting sense, especially paired with the fact he is as stubborn as a mule and won't take advice from the experts he puts in place. The Craig Thomson saga is a great example of this.

 

Thanks for the posts above btw. I'm pigheaded, arrogant, long-winded and handsome. But I'm not a bullshitter and I hope people would have realised that from my fartoolarge post-count history.

[TheBigO]

You may have a point with some of your other observations but your summary of the United game is way off the mark. They had injury problems as well with Jon Daly having to play centre half. If Brines should have dismissed Goodwillie he should also have sent off Bouzid for a second bookable. Hearts would not have won that night had they played against Goodwillie on his own as they were peesh poor. Perhaps that was maroon mist that you were looking through towards the end of the game.

 

Look, it was a clear as day penalty on Templeton which would have given us the lead in a very even contest. Goals change games and I'm sure we'd have won what was a very scrappy game which had nothing in it.

 

Anyway, my point which super-vlad took further is that, with all the goings on behind the scenes making life so difficult, the run of form looks worse on paper than it did on the pitch.

[broughies tach]

Look, it was a clear as day penalty on Templeton which would have given us the lead in a very even contest. Goals change games and I'm sure we'd have won what was a very scrappy game which had nothing in it.

 

Anyway, my point which super-vlad took further is that, with all the goings on behind the scenes making life so difficult, the run of form looks worse on paper than it did on the pitch.

 

I suppose it's all about opinion and in mine Temps was looking for the award Brines obviously agreed and if the ref says it's not a penalty then it's not a penalty. I had never been back to Dundee since 1986 until that night and Hearts performance convinced me I should have stuck to my guns ! In the games after that night they were just as bad on the pitch and I really can't accept that the mad one was responsible. There is very little anyone can do when the players cross the white line and even in the 3 games so far this season they have produced flat performances. Something needed to be done although I am not saying that what has happened is necessarily the right thing Only time will tell.

In my opinion of course

[Diego10]

I'm not going to let these threads lie.

 

It's imperative that we take into account the circumstances surrounding the 15 games, or more relevantly put, our form since March. We'll start with the footballing side of things. We won 1 game in that time. We lost twice (one of which at Ibrox, our captain having been ordered off the team bus by VR) and got an away draw to the OF. We drew more games than we lost of the rest, including an away score draw in Europe, which yes, we could have won, but it isn't a bad result. The loss on the last day of the season against DUtd was played at a canter - a training match which was more about getting a bit of game time to some youngsters. We were able to do that as we'd already qualified for Europe in 3rd place.

 

At Tanadice, had Brines done his job and given us a penalty and sent off Goodwillie, we'd have won. At Easter Road, had Brines done his job and given us a penalty and sent off Martin Scott, we'd have won.

 

This was without Kyle, Driver, Wallace and Suso. Rudi carrying an injury and Calum being out reducing options up front.

 

I do get it that the run of results would put a manager on a shoogly peg. I'm just saying, even from a footballing perspective, the run isn't as bad as it looks on paper.

 

Now let's look at WHEN FORM DIPPED. This is the crux of the whole matter. VR first stuck his oar in on the Kello issue after the loss (caused by Brines) at Tanadice mid-March. The 15 game run started around... oh yeh... that's it... just a bit of independant thought now... mid-March!! See you got there in the end. I detailed what happened with Kello in a thread I started which was pulled. I won't go into it again but I swear that every word written there was the honest truth. It was direct and those who know where I got it from will verify.

 

VR caused untold upheaval to the season. A season which was faltering only very slightly at that point. We weren't going to do better than 3rd but we were on course to beat 70 points which is a great achievement.

 

What i also said about the bonuses not being paid. Now, the players didn't start losing games in protest over this, but the fact is it caused tension in the changing room and, again, it's very hard to instill winning mentality and togetherness with something like that hanging over the squad.

 

Then the Zal thing at Ibrox. A coach works all week with his probable team. To have that week's work scuppered by your owner on the way to the match and never be told the reason is madness.

 

Not even going to go into the CT thing as I'm talking about the run of games.

 

Maybe you still think another manager could have got more out of the players than Jim did under the above circumstances. Maybe another manager might have carried a bit of luck in a couple more games, but they I'm sure they'd have had the same job in trying to motivate a group of players who were feeling like they were being constantly treated like shit by their own employer.

 

I actually think JJ and BB needed to change the team and could have done more to freshen things up in a footballing sense. I'd have given gametime to Robinson earlier in the season and Denis would have been in the squad sooner too. They knew Temps had shot his bolt but felt they needed to play him each week due to a lack of options. They didn't want to use Mrowiec but felt they had to. I'm not sure they did have to.

 

Anyway, another long post, but there ye go. The biggest worry about all of this is that VR can't help himself. If and when Paulo gets us going and doing well, I just can't see VR not sticking his nose in and creating all sorts of tension and bullshit for the manager and players to deal with. Again. It's just no coincidence that we started really faltering around the time he got involved. He'd been great with JJ up until then.

 

An excellent post. Not to say JJ couldn't have got more out of the last run of games last season, but the context is important.

 

People have short memories. The club was a rabble when JJ came in, and he did, imo, a very good job. Whatever happens Sergio has inherited a far better, fitter, more coherent squad than would have been the case without JJ.

 

Hopefully onwards and upwards but the key thing is allowing the manager to get on with his job.

[269miles]

A big part of me feels like this too. If Paulo is a good coach - a better one that JJ, who did have his faults I'll admit, even - then that's brilliant. Of course I want him to be.

 

My big worry is that VR has a history of every time we're doing well messing it up for us. He SIMPLY MUST LEAVE WELL ALONE or we'll just keep going round in circles.

 

FWIW, I'm nae hat-kicker. From my postings this week, its probably easy to summise I know someone who is or was at the club. And from that same person, I'm told VR is a nice bloke and seems to genuinely want success for Hearts. He backed JJ well at times but his paranoid streak that runs right through him will forever be his undoing in a sporting sense, especially paired with the fact he is as stubborn as a mule and won't take advice from the experts he puts in place. The Craig Thomson saga is a great example of this.

 

Thanks for the posts above btw. I'm pigheaded, arrogant, long-winded and handsome. But I'm not a bullshitter and I hope people would have realised that from my fartoolarge post-count history.

 

Don't let that deter you. Sorry I missed your post about Kello. Keep up the good work.

[TheBigO]

I suppose it's all about opinion and in mine Temps was looking for the award Brines obviously agreed and if the ref says it's not a penalty then it's not a penalty. I had never been back to Dundee since 1986 until that night and Hearts performance convinced me I should have stuck to my guns ! In the games after that night they were just as bad on the pitch and I really can't accept that the mad one was responsible. There is very little anyone can do when the players cross the white line and even in the 3 games so far this season they have produced flat performances. Something needed to be done although I am not saying that what has happened is necessarily the right thing Only time will tell.

In my opinion of course

 

You can't just rewrite history to suit agenda Broughie!!! The performance at Rangers was anything but flat - it was a fantastic performance. Our trip to Hungary got the job done in a game we totally controlled. We probably should have come away with a victory but JJ got the game spot on and most on here agreed afterwards.

 

It's a funny thing about football - one result or performance seems to tarnish anything one before. Shite against United means we didn't do well in previous fixtures.

 

I guess we all look at the game differently and that's the joy of footie!

[Nookie Bear]

Well said BigO

 

Sergio will get my support and I have faith in his abilities that may take us in a new and exciting direction, but I think some of the revisionism going on regarding that run of games and in particular JJ's abilities is nothing short of disgraceful.

 

p.s. your Kello post was fascinating but i'm afraid the usual suspects got hold of a couple of minor details and refused to even consider the bigger picture.

[TheBigO]

Well said BigO

 

Sergio will get my support and I have faith in his abilities that may take us in a new and exciting direction, but I think some of the revisionism going on regarding that run of games and in particular JJ's abilities is nothing short of disgraceful.

 

p.s. your Kello post was fascinating but i'm afraid the usual suspects got hold of a couple of minor details and refused to even consider the bigger picture.

 

Cheers chief. Aye, I regretted a couple of details I put in there which were pretty irrelevant to the main thread. Still true though. We had a player last season, now I can't remember the exact amounts but I'm stating low rather than high and this is ballparkish, but we had a player last season who was on ?8Kpw, ?2K appearance, ?2K win, ?2K clean sheet - paid as salary. Another couple were on similar types of deal but less money.

 

Anyway, that was the bit that got torn apart and the figures themselves weren't important actually. The actual issue was that some players are on contracts with bonuses built in which are paid as part of salary. Other players are on the club bonus scheme. So even should VR decide not to pay the bonuses due to the disciplinary fine, it's only certain players who this effects (the majority of them, but not all which is the point). That simply isn't fair and things like that cause tension.

 

If VR wants someone, he throws money at them and that'd kinda fine cos its his money - actually I'm glad he spends it on us! But you need a certain amount of equality at the very least in if and how wages are paid.

 

Oops, went off on one again. I'm less ranty today though!

[broughies tach]

You can't just rewrite history to suit agenda Broughie!!! The performance at Rangers was anything but flat - it was a fantastic performance. Our trip to Hungary got the job done in a game we totally controlled. We probably should have come away with a victory but JJ got the game spot on and most on here agreed afterwards.

 

It's a funny thing about football - one result or performance seems to tarnish anything one before. Shite against United means we didn't do well in previous fixtures.

 

I guess we all look at the game differently and that's the joy of footie!

 

See there again I don't agree first half maybe but after changing ends it was anything but fantastic. Some of the games mentioned on the European thread were 'fantastic' but I'm afraid the game at Ibrox won't remain indelibly etched in my memory I'm glad to say.

I do admit to being a bit 'jaded' with Hearts at the moment due in the main to what I had to endure in the last quarter of last season plus I honestly think that some of the players we have are just not up to the mark. For the first time since I started supporting Hearts (which is too long ago to mention) I don't have a favourite player that I look forward to seeing but there are some I dread seeing

Anyway I am looking forward to tonights game to re-ignite the spark that is missing.

Let's hope we both enjoy tonights game BigO