Jump to content

OFFICIAL HEARTS JUGGERNAUT THREAD 2020-


Recommended Posts

I probably wouldn't have McKay in my first-choice side now, and I think that's a good sign.

He's a good, if inconsistent, player. But I think it's a good sign of progress in the squad that a player considered indispensible a couple of years ago is now one I reckon we could get by without (and we often have).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not really comparable with McKay and Dhanda's stats IMO as every time we play a non-OF team McKay gets doubled up on. That shows he's a threat and highly thought of, it also makes it difficult to make those breakthroughs. What it does do though is open space for others, something we've not been able to capitalise on all that often due to a lack of creative players, but I think McKay in addition to the likes of Dhanda and Spittal as well as the return of Boyce, means we have lots of options and will be able to keep teams guessing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Savage Henry said:

Aiden Denholm.  Discuss please.  

Solid wee player - mainly a grafter, but he can play a bit as well.

Edit for a wee bit of background: Neilson was releasing Denholm, but Naismith decided to keep him on.

Did well for us last season when called on. 

Edited by paranoid android
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Tony Wonder said:

Not really comparable with McKay and Dhanda's stats IMO as every time we play a non-OF team McKay gets doubled up on. That shows he's a threat and highly thought of, it also makes it difficult to make those breakthroughs. What it does do though is open space for others, something we've not been able to capitalise on all that often due to a lack of creative players, but I think McKay in addition to the likes of Dhanda and Spittal as well as the return of Boyce, means we have lots of options and will be able to keep teams guessing.

It's not something I thought of but noting is straight forward when comparing. I was thinking that Dhanda had it harder scoring for Ross County than McKay has at Hearts because of where we are and where they are in the table. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, HeartsOfficialMoaner said:

It's not something I thought of but noting is straight forward when comparing. I was thinking that Dhanda had it harder scoring for Ross County than McKay has at Hearts because of where we are and where they are in the table. 

Aren’t they both principally selected as providers rather than finishers so Goals Per Game might not be the most useful metric here anyway 

Not that their goals aren’t welcome you understand 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, HeartsOfficialMoaner said:

It's not something I thought of but noting is straight forward when comparing. I was thinking that Dhanda had it harder scoring for Ross County than McKay has at Hearts because of where we are and where they are in the table. 

Aye tbf I don't think it's comparing like for like was my main point. For instance I doubt Dhanda came up against many teams who sat behind the ball when at County. Will be a new challenge for him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Tony Wonder said:

Not really comparable with McKay and Dhanda's stats IMO as every time we play a non-OF team McKay gets doubled up on. That shows he's a threat and highly thought of, it also makes it difficult to make those breakthroughs. What it does do though is open space for others, something we've not been able to capitalise on all that often due to a lack of creative players, but I think McKay in addition to the likes of Dhanda and Spittal as well as the return of Boyce, means we have lots of options and will be able to keep teams guessing.

Some people moan about McKay “going missing” in games against better opposition as if he’s got some character defect

I’d suggest that his skill set is simply better against teams that sit deep and try to frustrate us. 

He’s a safecracker as opposed to a smash and grab guy

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, Tony Wonder said:

Aye tbf I don't think it's comparing like for like was my main point. For instance I doubt Dhanda came up against many teams who sat behind the ball when at County. Will be a new challenge for him.

Dhanda played in a County team set up to get the best out of him.

McKay plays in a Hearts team set up to get the best out of Shankland.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Kyle Reese said:

Looking forward to seeing McKay and Dhanda in the same team, with Shankland up front. Quite often underrated is our Barrie.

If it works it should free up space for him.

He's definitely suffered from the doubling up.

Hopefully that part of the park takes the heat off No.9 as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, VincentGuerin said:

If it works it should free up space for him.

He's definitely suffered from the doubling up.

Hopefully that part of the park takes the heat off No.9 as well.

Spittal behind him with Yan and Barrie either side. Beni and Hoff sitting… reckon that would be too much for most teams to handle. Europe and old firm we could switch things about and sacrifice an attacking player to give more steel in the midfield if necessary.

 

 

Edited by Kyle Reese
Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 hours ago, topcat(The most tip top) said:

Aren’t they both principally selected as providers rather than finishers so Goals Per Game might not be the most useful metric here anyway 

Not that their goals aren’t welcome you understand 

Yes, they are but we need to be scoring more goals. If we are playing 4-2-3-1 with Shankland being the 1 then the more goals have to come from whoever is a part of the 3. We want to improve on last season. Another step in the right direction.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3-0 defeat to Fleetwood. Pish result even for a friendly.

Naismith said we tried something completely different and it backfired. Fair enough. Do kind of wish we weren't tinkering the week before the opener though, you'd be wanting to play as close to your best team as possible. 

That said, our pre seasons are nearly always shite. Bring on the real stuff.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, Tony Wonder said:

3-0 defeat to Fleetwood. Pish result even for a friendly.

Naismith said we tried something completely different and it backfired. Fair enough. Do kind of wish we weren't tinkering the week before the opener though, you'd be wanting to play as close to your best team as possible. 

That said, our pre seasons are nearly always shite. Bring on the real stuff.

Aye, not really fussed.

I let pre-season pass me by every year. It just doesn't matter.

Can't wait to get back to the fitba.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Humped by a team I couldn't find on a map in pre-season, absolutely non-plussed. I'd imagine we'll stick 3 past Rangers next week regardless - now *there* is a shambles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, JamieThomas said:

Humped by a team I couldn't find on a map in pre-season, absolutely non-plussed. I'd imagine we'll stick 3 past Rangers next week regardless - now *there* is a shambles.

You'll find Fleetwood on the map between the settlements of Mick and Mac. 

Actually it's Blackpool's version of Musselburgh I suppose. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our pre seasons are usually crap as was last season's first games.

Hope Naismith can choose a selection to be worked on in training before the visit of Sevco.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Please edit your content to remove the highlighted words below.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...