OFFICIAL HEARTS JUGGERNAUT THREAD 2020-

[Tony Wonder]

1 minute ago, DC92 said:

Listened back to the end of the game on Sportsound there.

Richard Gordon asks whether Hearts can sustain this run of clawing back points from behind and scoring late winners.

Before tonight we'd only managed one single point from a losing position and had scored one late winner all season.

He's a slavering arsehole. Didn't want to give any credit whatsoever tonight. As you say, we aren't exactly renowned for results like that. 

[topcat(The most tip top)]

7 minutes ago, DC92 said:

Listened back to the end of the game on Sportsound there.

Richard Gordon asks whether Hearts can sustain this run of clawing back points from behind and scoring late winners.

Before tonight we'd only managed one single point from a losing position and had scored one late winner all season.

Being level with Spartans just felt like a losing position 

[Insert Amusing Pseudonym]

6 minutes ago, DC92 said:

Listened back to the end of the game on Sportsound there.

Richard Gordon asks whether Hearts can sustain this run of clawing back points from behind and scoring late winners.

Before tonight we'd only managed one single point from a losing position and had scored one late winner all season.

Hopefully Aberdeen can maintain their run of getting bodied everywhere they go bar Dingwall

[Craigie Jambo]

7 minutes ago, Tony Wonder said:

He's a slavering arsehole. Didn't want to give any credit whatsoever tonight. As you say, we aren't exactly renowned for results like that. 

A win this weekend and the sheep will be in the priviliged position of being only 8 points behind if they win all 4 games in hand

[Craigie Jambo]

So, who's up next on penalties?

3 strikes is unacceptable for anyone

[DC92]

18 minutes ago, Tony Wonder said:

He's a slavering arsehole. Didn't want to give any credit whatsoever tonight. As you say, we aren't exactly renowned for results like that. 

None of them seemed to be giving much credit. Michael Stewart made sure to point out we only played well in the last half-hour (not the whole half) and even then we didn't have any good "patterns of play".

That's probably not completely without merit but it feels like a high bar for what constitutes a good performance considering we definitely had more of the play and more of the chances over the 90 minutes as a whole. And the missed penalty could easily have been a negative momentum-shifter as much as Nieuwenhof's goal was a positive one, but it wasn't. I got the sense they'd made their mind up on the game at half-time and didn't want to row back on anything.

It's a sentiment that's there among plenty of Hearts fans as well. Quite a lot of us made our minds up on Naismith early (I also thought he was a dud) and are reluctant to admit they might be wrong.

We've put a long run of consistent results together since getting knocked out of Europe (11 wins and only 2 defeats v the bottom 9 in all comps, a win at Parkhead, beaten every team in the league except Rangers, etc.) but still whenever the first sign of adversity appears there are a host of people going "Aha! There it is! I knew this was coming! That's the REAL Hearts!" and it's getting a bit tedious now.

That's not me saying we don't have plenty of room for improvement and I do think we'll have sticky patches to come this season. I wouldn't even say I'm completely sold on Naismith yet, but maybe he's earned a bit more leeway than he seems to get from some.

[SEETHING]

2 hours ago, VincentGuerin said:

Assuming Aberdeen win tomorrow,

Bold of you. 

[Craigie Jambo]

7 hours ago, VincentGuerin said:

Assuming Aberdeen win tomorrow.

4 hours ago, SEETHING said:

Bold of you. 

Aw aye; fook, jonnies away

Last time the sheep got a pen and a red in the 6th minute, amirite?

[Dons_1988]

8 hours ago, VincentGuerin said:

Assuming Aberdeen win tomorrow

[VincentGuerin]

8 hours ago, DC92 said:

We've put a long run of consistent results together since getting knocked out of Europe (11 wins and only 2 defeats v the bottom 9 in all comps, a win at Parkhead, beaten every team in the league except Rangers, etc.) but still whenever the first sign of adversity appears there are a host of people going "Aha! There it is! I knew this was coming! That's the REAL Hearts!" and it's getting a bit tedious now.

 

Can't deny the results, but I think from watching almost every game this season it's fair to say we're doing it on fine margins.

I'm delighted that our defensive record has been good, but, we've also conceded four goals in our last two home games against Ross County and Dundee. We don't make a lot of chances, so the only way we continue the form we've been on is by getting back to keeping clean sheets. We've conceded in four games in a row now, in a pretty kind run of fixtures. We can't afford to do that.

I still think the midfield is the issue. We need someone in there who can change the pace of a game, as we become very one-paced and we've all seen the struggles against teams sitting deep this season.

Credit to Naismith for last night. His changes were good, and it was good to see us put more pressure on the wide areas. The new lad looks handy.

My concern remains that we always look likely to drop points at home. We already have to Killie, Motherwell, and Ross County. Baw hair from doing it again last night. Not much in it v Livi or St Johnstone. The only "comfortable" afternoons we've had at home were the Aberdeen and St Mirren games. Let's be honest, we've been a fucking chore to watch at home this season. We've got a good run of home fixtures up to the split, and it's a run that gives us the opportunity to finish this by the split (considering Hearts' normal strength at home). But nobody can deny that we look vulnerable to dropping points at Tynecastle this season, and it's a concern.

It'll be interesting to see what Robson does on Saturday. I know the Aberdeen fans are keen for him to play four at the back, but we've all seen how Hearts struggle when teams sit deep and congest the central area. I wouldn't be surprised to see Aberdeen do that on Saturday.

Edited January 24 by VincentGuerin

[lennyzer0]

10 hours ago, Craigie Jambo said:

So, who's up next on penalties?

3 strikes is unacceptable for anyone

Naismith quoted last night as saying Shankland would continue on them (and to be fair, last night's was a 'goalie picks the right direction and throws himself full length at a decently hit penalty' which would have gone in nine times out of ten).

[Darren]

54 minutes ago, VincentGuerin said:

I still think the midfield is the issue. We need someone in there who can change the pace of a game, as we become very one-paced and we've all seen the struggles against teams sitting deep this season.

Midfield is definitely the issue, we started last night with three who are essentially different shades of the same colour. I can see the logic behind it – crap weather meaning it was likely to be a battle. But it seems Lembikisa was the only real creative option in the first half (I wasn't there).

[lennyzer0]

2 minutes ago, Darren said:

Midfield is definitely the issue, we started last night with three who are essentially different shades of the same colour. I can see the logic behind it – crap weather meaning it was likely to be a battle. But it seems Lembikisa was the only real creative option in the first half (I wasn't there).

Definitely a contributing factor, and what saved us as much as Naismith's half time formation rejig was the forced replacement of Beni (who has often not look all interested since he came back in team) and Denholm with Forrest and Tait, both of whom were excellent and both of whom offered something different from Nieuwenhof.

My main hope going forward is that Halkett is never allowed to pass a ball forward ever again. I literally cannot recall more simple balls passed directly to opposition players in the final third than he managed last night. 

[Tony Wonder]

9 hours ago, DC92 said:

None of them seemed to be giving much credit. Michael Stewart made sure to point out we only played well in the last half-hour (not the whole half) and even then we didn't have any good "patterns of play".

That's probably not completely without merit but it feels like a high bar for what constitutes a good performance considering we definitely had more of the play and more of the chances over the 90 minutes as a whole. And the missed penalty could easily have been a negative momentum-shifter as much as Nieuwenhof's goal was a positive one, but it wasn't. I got the sense they'd made their mind up on the game at half-time and didn't want to row back on anything.

It's a sentiment that's there among plenty of Hearts fans as well. Quite a lot of us made our minds up on Naismith early (I also thought he was a dud) and are reluctant to admit they might be wrong.

We've put a long run of consistent results together since getting knocked out of Europe (11 wins and only 2 defeats v the bottom 9 in all comps, a win at Parkhead, beaten every team in the league except Rangers, etc.) but still whenever the first sign of adversity appears there are a host of people going "Aha! There it is! I knew this was coming! That's the REAL Hearts!" and it's getting a bit tedious now.

That's not me saying we don't have plenty of room for improvement and I do think we'll have sticky patches to come this season. I wouldn't even say I'm completely sold on Naismith yet, but maybe he's earned a bit more leeway than he seems to get from some.

I agree with a lot of this. People have made their minds up about Naismith and refuse to budge, it's really noticeable at games. At HT I bumped into two guys I know, who independently of each other, suggested this could be the end for Naismith which is absolutley bizarre given the run we've been on.

Too many make snap judgements and then refuse to shift so they can be proven right. And when they are wrong, they just try to bend the narrative to back their ideas up. Football fans do it in general, but Hearts fans in particular seem to be bad for it just now. I was very critical of Naismith early doors as it all felt wrong, however we've been in great form and put a bit distance between us and 4th. You can't grumble at that. There is room for improvement, but it's clear he is getting a tune and I do think we are seeing certain aspects that looked really dodgy get better. Sort the midfield and we are in a good place. 

[Tony Wonder]

Really excited by the look of Tait. He didn't look out of place at all. He was comfy on the ball and constantly on the move, would be happy for him to start on Saturday.

[topcat(The most tip top)]

9 hours ago, DC92 said:

It's a sentiment that's there among plenty of Hearts fans as well. Quite a lot of us made our minds up on Naismith early (I also thought he was a dud) and are reluctant to admit they might be wrong.

To be fair to the sceptics the main reason being advanced against appointing Naismith was his lack of experience, which is fair enough

But that's a problem that solves itself

Last night was his 36th game in charge. He's not a wily old veteran by any means, and he'll still have things to learn, but he's no longer a neophyte

 

 

[DC92]

1 hour ago, VincentGuerin said:

Can't deny the results, but I think from watching almost every game this season it's fair to say we're doing it on fine margins.

I'm delighted that our defensive record has been good, but, we've also conceded four goals in our last two home games against Ross County and Dundee. We don't make a lot of chances, so the only way we continue the form we've been on is by getting back to keeping clean sheets. We've conceded in four games in a row now, in a pretty kind run of fixtures. We can't afford to do that.

I still think the midfield is the issue. We need someone in there who can change the pace of a game, as we become very one-paced and we've all seen the struggles against teams sitting deep this season.

Credit to Naismith for last night. His changes were good, and it was good to see us put more pressure on the wide areas. The new lad looks handy.

My concern remains that we always look likely to drop points at home. We already have to Killie, Motherwell, and Ross County. Baw hair from doing it again last night.

It'll be interesting to see what Robson does on Saturday. I know the Aberdeen fans are keen for him to play four at the back, but we've all seen how Hearts struggle when teams sit deep and congest the central area. I wouldn't be surprised to see Aberdeen do that on Saturday.

It has been fine margins, and we absolutely are liable to drop points from time to time if we keep playing the same way, but we've consistently been on the right side of those fine margins for a long run of games over several months now. The games we've lost have all been fine margins as well (Celtic at Tynecastle aside) and while we don't create much, we are generally making more chances than the opposition in the games we're winning.

Midfield is an issue. The blend looked wrong on paper last night and against Ross County and it proved to be so on the pitch as well. Nieuwenhof and Denholm in the same midfield isn't good enough and doesn't work. We've got a few options so I think we'll get by, but it needs addressed at some point.

Unfortunately, the common theme in the drop in defensive performance is the return of a rusty looking Craig Halkett, as well as the loss of Rowles, who's been excellent in recent months. Hopefully Halkett can quickly get back to how he was, otherwise it's a concern for the next couple of weeks.

I don't think we're seeing fundamentally different things here. After the shambles at the end of Neilson's time, I'm just happy for us to be getting results consistently and pulling away in third, which can't be taken for granted. If we lose a game or two I'm not going to panic like some others seem to whenever we lose a goal, because there's a body of evidence that suggests we'll continue to pick up points. If we f**k up third or haven't improved in 12 months time then I'll be frustrated, but for now I'm reasonably happy (still need a couple of players in this window).

Edited January 24 by DC92

[VincentGuerin]

21 minutes ago, DC92 said:

It has been fine margins, and we absolutely are liable to drop points from time to time if we keep playing the same way, but we've consistently been on the right side of those fine margins for a long run of games over several months now. The games we've lost have all been fine margins as well (Celtic at Tynecastle aside) and while we don't create much, we are generally making more chances than the opposition in the games we're winning.

Midfield is an issue. The blend looked wrong on paper last night and against Ross County and it proved to be so on the pitch as well. Nieuwenhof and Denholm in the same midfield doesn't work. We've got a few options so I think we'll get by but it needs addressed at some point.

Unfortunately, the common theme in the drop in defensive performance is the return of a rusty looking Craig Halkett, as well as the loss of Rowles, who's been excellent in recent months. Hopefully Halkett can quickly get back to how he was, otherwise it's a concern for the next couple of weeks.

I don't think we're seeing fundamentally different things here. After the shambles at the end of Neilson's time, I'm just happy for us to be getting results consistently and pulling away in third, which can't be taken for granted. If we lose a game or two I'm not going to panic like some others seem to whenever we lose a goal, because there's a body of evidence that suggests we'll continue to pick up points. If we f**k up third or haven't improved in 12 months time then I'll be frustrated, but for now I'm reasonably happy (still need a couple of players in this window).

Halkett is a concern. He just looks unfit. Not lacking match fitness, but fat and slow, to be frank. I think the issues with his play come from that. A real disappointment.

I think your opening paragraph makes an important point that nobody has really given us a pasting. Under Neilson we took some shoeings from Rangers and Celtic (in performance often even if not scoreline) and I don't really think there have been games this season when we've been played off the park, including against the OF.

So, there is balance to it. Really big game on Saturday. It will have a massive influence on the next few months.

[Craigie Jambo]

1 hour ago, lennyzer0 said:

Naismith quoted last night as saying Shankland would continue on them (and to be fair, last night's was a 'goalie picks the right direction and throws himself full length at a decently hit penalty' which would have gone in nine times out of ten).

He should be back of the line as he looks like he's got the yips

[Empty It]

The problem is we are absolutely brutal to watch 90% of the time which is all fine and well when we're getting results but doesn't lead to lots of patience when the results stop coming.