DC92
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Posts posted by DC92
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37 minutes ago, Insert Amusing Pseudonym said:
I do think Robbie takes some unjustified stick, along with the fair comments. Clearly he's got a massive budget advantage this year, but he also cruised the championship with the 3rd biggest budget last time we were in it, so he's clearly not completely tactically clueless.
Same with the Hearts are a poor team stuff we see after every game. Clear there's some strengthening to do ahead of the Premier league, but I don't think we're talking about a whole new squad to get in the top 6
32 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:Not a whole new squad, no. Craig Gordon's the best keeper in the country.
Boyce is good enough.
You don't have to be that good to get into the top six. Add a solid centre-half and a ball-winning midfielder and I'd be confident enough with the current squad.
Getting back to challenging for top 3/4 is a different matter and we'll need a fair bit more than that. Hopefully some of the new signings we made last month are the start of that.
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30 minutes ago, Skyline Drifter said:
True. But there are a lot of echoes of Neilson's Dundee United side, except without the exceptional goalscorer that Shankland was in their promotion season.
Hearts are functional, stronger than everyone else and will win the league by a mile. They arent a great side though and would need wholesale surgery to avoid being bottom half strugglers again next season. You would think Hearts probably have loftier ambitions than that.
We were absolutely rotten last season and we were never going to resolve all of those problems on a Championship budget, so I'm quite happy to be winning the league easily. If we continue our current points per game until the end of the season then it'll only be bettered by our previous Championship team in 14/15.
Having said that, I think if you asked Hearts fans where this current side would place in the Premiership then most would say we'd be bottom six. Nobody is under any illusions that we don't need half a dozen new players in the summer to get back to where we should be but, perhaps unlike Dundee United, we have the resources to make that happen.
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6 minutes ago, paranoid android said:
Think we'll see Berra come back in for Popescu due to the latter's mistakes.
I have palpitations whenever Popescu is on the ball, but Berra isn't much better in that regard and, unlike Berra, he is genuinely capable of playing out from the back, allowing us to hold a much higher line. We've also had three clean sheets in a row, so I can't see Berra coming back in yet.
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3 minutes ago, Tony Wonder said:
Not sure what some people watch, comments saying Boyce was awful. He is a very intelligent footballer, sometimes his touch is off but he gets in great areas, links play and is a threat when he gets a chance.
The comments on here during a match are usually about as intelligent as the dreadful shouts you (used to) hear at games. Best just to skip to the first page after the final whistle I find.
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1 minute ago, itzdrk said:
What did the replays show, looked like it was 80% ball 20% Boyce from where I was.
It was more like 80/20 the other way from my recollection.
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7 minutes ago, Insert Amusing Pseudonym said:
I thought Hearts were alright tbh, given it was a brutal night to play football. Final ball a bit off but worth the 3 points in the second half
I agree with that. We weren't great and made quite a few poor decisions in the final third, but we were comfortable once we got ahead and controlled the second half. The only way we were conceding an equaliser was from Popescu playing the ball out from the back or Gordon's kicking.
McEneff's display off the bench was encouraging - he looked really positive on the ball and got back and defended at times as well. Kastaneer looks to have something about him too.
McLean was terrible all night but his decision not to even give a foul against Muirhead when he went through Boyce was the most astonishing.
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These Friday night away games have been horrible watches so far so I'm not particularly looking forward to this.
7 hours ago, itzdrk said:The only unknown is what difference the new signings make at Hearts.
One of them hasn't trained for 8 weeks and another has played 20 minutes this season, so I expect the only one who'll start is Mackay-Steven, even though he's also looked off the pace so far. Gnanduillet is the most likely from the other three, but we usually play one up front and he's still getting up to speed so I expect he'll come off the bench.
Neilson often springs a surprise but I'd guess that we keep the same team as Saturday with Walker coming in for Naismith or Henderson.
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7 hours ago, YassinMoutaouakil said:
I think it's a bit mental folk are writing off a winger because Robbie fucking Neilson couldn't get a tune out of him btw.
I'm struggling to think of any players who didn't do well for us under Neilson and then went on to be more successful elsewhere. Danny Swanson maybe, but there might have been other reasons for that (and he also failed at Hibs).
On the other hand, I can think of quite a few players he signed who just weren't very good. Motherwell might have taken a couple of them on loan.
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I'm not really sure what he's supposed to be good at. He always looks half-arsed, doesn't take players on or cross the ball and I'm struggling to remember him having a single shot on goal all season. He usually just fucks around and gets dispossessed.
Elliott Frear has been marginally less useless, which might tell you all you need to know.
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Got to be reasonably happy looking at the league table, but it was another poor, disjointed performance from us today.
Our midfield isn't good enough to control games and Naismith always drops really deep to play a role he isn't particularly good at, leaving the front three isolated. I think he got into a decent attacking position once today, dallied around and fucked it. Like most, I'd be happy to see him benched for Walker from now on. Even if it doesn't solve the main problem, he at least carries a threat, and he produced a great bit of play for the goal today.
We also seem to give up clear cut chances almost every time the other team comes forward, and I think the lack of a commanding midfielder is probably as critical as the need for a new centre-half or two in resolving that. We don't need it to win this division, but that's hopefully something we'll be addressing by Monday with next season in mind.
Gutted about the Ginnelly news. Even though he barely played, he offered something different to what we have and made a tangible contribution in almost every appearance. I think we'll struggle to replace him with someone who's as effective when they're on the pitch. GMS hasn't looked nearly as effective so far, albeit it's very early days for him.
On a more positive note, we've tended to lose this season if we haven't win easily, so it's nice to see us grind out a win.
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8 minutes ago, RossDee01 said:
Apparently we’re still linked with Lafferty. I’d be surprised if we took him and Hearts didn’t. Do we even need him? I’d rather we signed a midfielder instead. If only we still had Dorrans.
Neilson confirmed we wouldn't be moving for Lafferty a few weeks ago. There have been a few opportunities to bring him back since he left and the club haven't taken them, so I suspect something went on behind the scenes before he left.
His scoring record recently isn't that great but he's a big game player and he seems to thrive on being the main man. Quite similar to Cummings in that respect.
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2 hours ago, Martin_T said:
Pars fans predicting a comfortable Hearts win are probably doing so based on a false impression that we have been comfortable in most of our games this season. Tuesday night was very much an exception, in many games, including perhaps even in the Scottish Cup Final, Hearts have not got going until we've gone a goal down.
Ultimately we'll probably comfortably win the league by sheer weight of resource, but so far this season there has been a lot of evidence that there are many weaknesses that can be exploited.
The performances have generally ranged from poor to adequate most of the season, but the large majority of our wins have still been comfortable ones. Aside from the Arbroath away game and a 5/10 minute spell in each of the Ayr and Inverness games, we've never really looked in danger of not winning any of them. Our last 6 wins have all been by 2+ goal margins.
We are beatable, evidently, and the key to that seems to be pressing us from the start and getting a couple of goals ahead, otherwise we've usually got enough firepower to win with a bit to spare. Most teams haven't been able to do that so far, although our last game against Dunfermline was one of the exceptions.
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I get the feeling the players bought into all the chat about the COVID outbreak at Raith and were caught by surprise on Saturday. A much better approach and attitude tonight, so much so that 4-0 is probably mildly disappointing on the balance of play.
I've been critical of Popescu but he was very good tonight and he's a far better option than Berra when we're on the front foot. I am conscious that he pretty much had no defending to do but it's definitely his place to lose now.
Fizzing at Ginnelly getting injured again. He's played about 20 minutes this season but he's done far more than any of the alternatives put together.
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2 minutes ago, Raith Against The Machine said:
Halliday's was particularly egregious. He had enough time to change his jersey before picking his spot but went for the pirrouette volley. Some players might be able to pick a ball out the sky, on the spin, and stick it in the top him, but Andy Halliday ain't one of them.
Something drastic is going to have to happen to prevent Boyce getting a hat-trick here.
Hearts have got the goal they needed to settle them and to knock the Rovers' belief. The rest of the first half played out exactly as you'd expect, with Hendry's red card maybe escalating things a little.
It'll finish somewhere between 4 and 7-0. Hearts have a point to prove after the weekend, the Rovers just need to get through it without any further injuries or suspensions.
Halliday just isn't very good. The hype about him signing in the summer was cringeworthy, really.
Boyce has been very good but his finishing when he has too much time to think about it isn't great, as shown by the chance at the end.
We need to not take the foot off the gas on the second half. I've seen us concede stupid goals from a comfortable position and then struggle too many times this season.
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We're clearly out for blood here. First time we've played with real purpose since the opening game.
We still need about 10 chances to score a goal though. Some of the misses have been ridiculous.
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1 hour ago, Tony Wonder said:
Hearts have signed Armand Gnanduillet, Adebayo deal is off.
18 in 35 for Blackpool last season, looks not bad. Straight into the squad for tomorrow.
Boyce and Wighton are easily bullied at times so we needed something different up front.
Also much happier with this than the Adebayo guy. Not only does he have a better goal record at a higher level, but we keep the bonus that fans of English diddy teams are spewing about him choosing a Jock second division team over their tinpot outfit.
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1 hour ago, stevoraith said:
Some of our guys not being vary gracious in victory to be honest.
The arsehole hearts fans must be stuck on kickback ‘cos all the ones on here tonight are pretty balanced but some of our boys are determined to give it the ‘get it roond ye’ anyway.
A bit disappointed by that to be honest
What was this website invented for if not for dishing out GIRUYs?
Anyway, I've more respect for those posts than the handful of fucking bores who make a point of coming onto every Hearts thread to make the exact same posts about last season over and over again.
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4 minutes ago, Beachbum said:
Blow for Raith as defender Christophe Berra is doubtful after pulling a hamstring and being substituted.
Boost for Raith as Mihai Popescu set to take his place.
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Oh, good.
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3 minutes ago, Insert Amusing Pseudonym said:
I'll be honest, I thought Popescu was much better than Berra even with the mistake for the second goal. He actually won some headers and passed the ball with some purpose
That's also twice this season Kai Kennedy has run Michael Smith ragged
I don't generally have much of a preference out of the two, but Popescu always seconds away from a disaster like that. I like that he carries the ball forward, but his passing from the back could generously be described as erratic, so sometimes even Berra's hoofs seem preferable.
For the avoidance of doubt, Berra was also fucking terrible today. Hopefully his injury will force us to bring someone in this week. I think we might have to suffer Halkett until the end of the season though, unfortunately.
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We've generally ranged from poor to adequate this season but that first hour was genuinely horrific. Quite clear the players thought they just had to turn up to win today.
Neilson hasn't mentioned a new centre-back yet in this window, which is bizarre because our defence is as bad as I can ever remember. Most people have (reasonably) questioned why Berra seems undroppable but Popescu showed exactly why that is today.
I've no idea what Halliday is supposed to offer either. Irving was pretty much doing the work of two players in midfield today.
Raith were very impressive. I don't think the second goal should have been a penalty but Kennedy absolutely did Smith and was generally superb all afternoon. MacDonald pretty much transformed into Buffon for the last 20 minutes. It'd hardly be a surprise if they turned us over on Tuesday based on that display.
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2 hours ago, Rudolph Hucker said:
hmm, where to start with that bollocks.....
The "dreadful English" you refer to - one missing "d".
And nothing wrong with my arithmetic, come to that.
Other than that, whether intentionally or not you're still not getting the points. That's fine, we can't all be clever. Those of us who are know when to tune out those who ain't, so it's cheeribye from me.
The reason you don't know where to start is because your original "point" has been skewered, as were your attempts to pretend it meant something different. You aren't able to offer a coherent comeback because it doesn't exist.
I do almost admire the brass neck of insinuating that anyone other than you is the thick one here, though. Genuinely impressive.
I'd also be fascinated to know where you think inserting a "d" into this mess will make it make sense, by the way. No need to respond, though - I'd prefer to keep it a mystery.
"You've been 8 points adrift in third place at the mo."
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1 hour ago, Rudolph Hucker said:
sorry pal, I didn’t realise you thought you could read minds. But you can’t, as your post shows.
Try reading my post that you quoted slowly this time. If you still don’t get it, tough, and I won’t be surprised.
No mind-reading required, only basic comprehension skills (despite the dreadful English in your first post). If the OP was "acting like we were already 20 points ahead" then a 15 point handicap would have already been blown out of the water with most of the season still to go, completely defeating the purpose of the handicap (to make things more competitive). That makes no sense. It's much more likely that the OP was acting as if we are on course to win the league by just over 15 points, which we would be if the current trend continues. This is backed up, not disproven, by the statistic you cited in your post.
You then tried to claim you were making a different point, which was that we might have an "arse collapse" in the remaining games, i.e. that we might perform worse in the remaining games than we have so far. This is despite the fact your original post cited a statistic that is entirely based on current performance (on course to win by 15+ points) and contained no reference to a future collapse.
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50 minutes ago, Rudolph Hucker said:
Nope. My point was that you were talking as if you were already about 20 points ahead, a la TheRangers in the league above.
We’re less than halfway through the season. Plenty of teams much better than yours have suffered arse collapses as the season goes on - Rangers last year, Celtic this year, to name but two.Hearts will probably win this division (if it’s played to a finish) with points to spare. They certainly SHOULD do. But, given how abject your performance last year, a little bit of realism would be more appropriate rather than the billy bigbaws nonsense some of you embarrass yourselves with on here and elsewhere - your post and the post above this, for example.
THAT”S my point.
The original post (which wasn't mine) suggested giving others a 15 point head start to make things more interesting because we'd be behind most of the season but probably still catch up and win anyway. You thought it was some sort of zinger to point out that we'd still be behind with 60% of the season still to go, despite having made up half the deficit already.
If we were already 20 points ahead at this stage (and therefore on track to win by more than 20 points) then a 15 point handicap wouldn't have done much to make it interesting for very long, would it?
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The Great Playoff/2nd place Hunt
in Scottish Championship General Chatter
Posted
On average, since the turn of the century, you need a PPG of 1.79 to win this division, which is equivalent to 64/65 points in a 36 game season. The highest second-placed PPG was 2.00 (72 points) in 02/03.
Hearts are currently on 2.21 PPG, which is equivalent to around 80 points in a 36 game season. Only 3 teams have bettered that PPG (Falkirk and Rangers got 2.25 in 02/03 and 15/16, respectively, and we got 2.53 in 14/15). Even if we drop half of our points from now on, we'd finish on 2.00 PPG, which is enough to win this division 95% of the time.
It's been eye-bleeding shite, but the idea that a team picking up the points we are should be under pressure is fantasy stuff.