VincentGuerin Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 3 minutes ago, Insert Amusing Pseudonym said: So far this season we've been called delusional for thinking we're good and delusional for thinking we're shite and should be better. I said before the Rangers game we looked undercooked and unfortunately that's looking very much the case. Having built up partnerships on the pitch, haven't got a clue what the 'best' xi is, haven't settled on a style or formation. Naismith got all those things right eventually last season, without us ever being scintillating, and I suspect he would given time this season. However he's put himself into a self inflicted predicament when we have had most of the squad since day 1 of preseason and look to have gone backwards. A settled backline and getting Beni and Hoff back on the pitch will help but it might be too late for him already. Beni and Hoff being away at the same time is just unlucky. You can see it impacting the balance throughout the team. I've never been keen on Naismith, and I still think we could do better and would be happy to see him emptied and replaced. But I think some of the criticism has just glossed over that he's had a busy run of fixtures missing - at various points - his two most important midfielders, his first choice keeper, and his captain/top scorer. That's a difficult situation, and I think it needs taken into account. Also, as I mentioned above, our start this season only really differs from last season because we played Rangers rather than St Johnstone. So, I'd get rid of him, but I also don't think he's due a lot more criticism now than at any other point. I think there's always been stuff to criticise. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC92 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 I get the feeling we won't see Nieuwenhof for a good while. It seems like an Aaron Hickey situation (also a hamstring) where he's constantly a few weeks away. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afc_blockhead Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 25 minutes ago, Insert Amusing Pseudonym said: That last paragraph certainly marks you out as someone whose views I'll take seriously on Hearts. Ignore the main points that you can't refute you mean. Anyway, it seems like Hearts fans are facing the reality that Dhanda/Penrice and Spittal may not actually mean that Hearts are now an unstoppable force. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afc_blockhead Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 25 minutes ago, Darren said: I've lived in Leith and Aberdeen so I know you're talking shite. Is that how this works? No. I'm from Aberdeen but have lived in Edinburgh a long time. Hibs fans are much more rooted in reality than Hearts. Just a fact. You may not like it but its the way it is. Hearts were going to split the old firm based on a 0-0 with Sevco on the opening day according to a large majority of Jambos. Fantasists. Hibs fans , learn from them. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPAFKA Jersey 2 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 31 minutes ago, Insert Amusing Pseudonym said: That last paragraph certainly marks you out as someone whose views I'll take seriously on anything. FTFY 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentGuerin Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 (edited) 15 hours ago, RandomGuy. said: Good to see bald Barry Robson being found out without Shankland bailing him out. His pals at the BBC speaking as if he was headed for the EPL this season will be frantically deleting tweets as we speak. As regular subscribers to this newsletter know, I am no fan of Naismith. But people completely misread Hearts because they can't see past headlines.. Last season Hearts were rubbish but won because Shankland was a cheat code. Apparently. Yet: The season before that when Shankland was also banging in goals but we had no Beni and an unsettled defence we ended up 14 points worse off. 21/22 with Beni and a settled defence (for most of the season), but no Shankland, we cruised to third and made the cup final. This season with Shankland still in the team but no Beni and an unsettled defence, we are a shambles. There's a pattern here. It's almost like this Shankland narrative has been missing the point all along. He's clearly a vital player, but it's fairly obvious that the key to Hearts' recent success has been stability further back in the pitch. Edited September 2 by VincentGuerin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPAFKA Jersey 2 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 43 minutes ago, afc_blockhead said: Your post makes no sense. You Aberdeen fans are developing a habit for saying things that make sense, don't make any sense. Was it you or one of your pals that was only yesterday saying the term "significant minority" didn't make any sense either. Blockhead indeed. Aberdeen fans still basking in the rare glory of being able to say they beat us. Sorry Hearts fans....as you were. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insert Amusing Pseudonym Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 5 minutes ago, afc_blockhead said: No. I'm from Aberdeen but have lived in Edinburgh a long time. Hibs fans are much more rooted in reality than Hearts. Just a fact. You may not like it but its the way it is. Hearts were going to split the old firm based on a 0-0 with Sevco on the opening day according to a large majority of Jambos. Fantasists. Hibs fans , learn from them. Can you point to any of this large majority of people who said we were going to split the OF, or is it just absolute shite you're making up? Our squad is better than last season, undoubtedly. Unfortunately at this point the team isn't, and the failure to strengthen up front looks like a massive error. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 30 minutes ago, VincentGuerin said: We've got to take our medicine like everyone else when things are bad, but for the general readability of this thread, I think ignoring blockhead is a wise policy. He's either 15, at the wind-up, or in serious need of a cuddle. He'll get tired shouting into a void and the adults can carry on. Point taken. (Which is more than Hearts have managed since the first day, LOL.) 7 minutes ago, afc_blockhead said: No. I'm from Aberdeen but have lived in Edinburgh a long time. Hibs fans are much more rooted in reality than Hearts. Just a fact. You may not like it but its the way it is. Hearts were going to split the old firm based on a 0-0 with Sevco on the opening day according to a large majority of Jambos. Fantasists. Hibs fans , learn from them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPAFKA Jersey 2 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 4 minutes ago, VincentGuerin said: As regular subscribers to this newsletter know, I am no fan of Naismith. But people want it both ways here. Last season Hearts were rubbish but won because Shankland was a cheat code. Apparently. Yet: The season before that when Shankland was also banging in goals but we had no Beni and an unsettled defence we ended up 14 points worse off. This season with Shankland still in the team but no Beni and an unsettled defence, we are a shambles. It's almost like this Shankland narrative has been missing the point all along. He's clearly a vital player, but it's fairly obvious what the key to Hearts' recent success has been stability further back in the pitch. Even as a St. Mirren fan I'd say the Shankland patter from last season was a nonsense. It's fair to say you relied pretty heavily on him, but he was your player FFS!! You're entitled to rely on your own, fully signed up main centre forward. The notion he gave you some sort of unfair advantage is laughable. It's not like you brought in Mbappe on a season long loan for £50 a week because Ann Budge had nudie photies of him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dons_1988 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 6 minutes ago, VincentGuerin said: As regular subscribers to this newsletter know, I am no fan of Naismith. But people want it both ways here. Last season Hearts were rubbish but won because Shankland was a cheat code. Apparently. Yet: The season before that when Shankland was also banging in goals but we had no Beni and an unsettled defence we ended up 14 points worse off. 21/22 with Beni and a settled defence (for most of the season), but no Shankland, we cruised to third and made the cup final. This season with Shankland still in the team but no Beni and an unsettled defence, we are a shambles. It's almost like this Shankland narrative has been missing the point all along. He's clearly a vital player, but it's fairly obvious that the key to Hearts' recent success has been stability further back in the pitch. It’s fair to say hearts success last season was based on solidity at the back + goals + relative consistency of performance (I.e. most of the team playing at least 6 or 7 out of 10 most weeks). Sounds disparaging but not that easy to do and usually enough in this league to achieve your goals. The problem for managers who don’t have a relatively clearly defined style of play is that it is inevitable that significant reliance on certain areas of the team will come unstuck at some point for a variety of reasons, whether it be injury, form, scheduling, all of the above or something else. I think Naismith now has to prove that he has a way of playing that suits you and doesn’t rely too heavily on individuals. The drop off may be too big for him to recover from though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC92 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 16 minutes ago, afc_blockhead said: Hearts were going to split the old firm based on a 0-0 with Sevco on the opening day according to a large majority of Jambos. The reason a post displaying lukewarm optimism on the eve of the season is now being seized upon is because there were exactly 0 posts saying this. I did see a bit of it from fans of other teams though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentGuerin Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 1 minute ago, Dons_1988 said: It’s fair to say hearts success last season was based on solidity at the back + goals + relative consistency of performance (I.e. most of the team playing at least 6 or 7 out of 10 most weeks). Sounds disparaging but not that easy to do and usually enough in this league to achieve your goals. The problem for managers who don’t have a relatively clearly defined style of play is that it is inevitable that significant reliance on certain areas of the team will come unstuck at some point for a variety of reasons, whether it be injury, form, scheduling, all of the above or something else. I think Naismith now has to prove that he has a way of playing that suits you and doesn’t rely too heavily on individuals. The drop off may be too big for him to recover from though. Agree. I have said loads of times in response to folk saying Hearts are an average team that it's entirely correct. But being generally competent is how you succeed at our level and with our budget. Last season we had no serious flaws once the midfield settled (hello Beni and Hoff). This season we clearly do. Remains to be seen how long both are missing for, but they'll make a difference when they come back. The issue with Naismith is that he's now in his second full season and has had two pre-season. So, what is his team? It seems that he has no idea. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentGuerin Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 (edited) 3 minutes ago, DC92 said: The reason a post displaying lukewarm optimism on the eve of the season is now being seized upon is because there were exactly 0 posts saying this. I did see a bit of it from fans of other teams though. Honestly. If we let this lad in, the thread is down the toilet. Respectfully, I'd encourage everyone to radio silence the lad. Blockhead, not DC92 Edited September 2 by VincentGuerin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MENTALFATHER79 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 This man needs to be the next Hearts Manager by the end off the week. He is tried and tested and can hopefully make a team off the squad we have after really poor signings that Naismith has brought in. Thoughts 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentGuerin Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Just now, MENTALFATHER79 said: This man needs to be the next Hearts Manager by the end off the week. He is tried and tested and can hopefully make a team off the squad we have after really poor signings that Naismith has brought in. Thoughts Not for me. Don't think it would work. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukDukGoose Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 1 hour ago, DC92 said: And we've lost 3 league games, 2 of which were after Europe, and a League Cup tie where we rested a load of players ahead of a European game. Last season our results and performances after European games were noticeably worse than average, even in August. The European ties themselves are far less of an issue than the way they've affected Naismith's decision making and the amount of needless f**king about with the line-up and placing of square pegs in round holes every week. But, the squad depth? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insert Amusing Pseudonym Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 2 minutes ago, MENTALFATHER79 said: This man needs to be the next Hearts Manager by the end off the week. He is tried and tested and can hopefully make a team off the squad we have after really poor signings that Naismith has brought in. Thoughts Absolutely not 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MENTALFATHER79 Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Just now, Insert Amusing Pseudonym said: Absolutely not You want to keep Naismith 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insert Amusing Pseudonym Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Just now, DukDukGoose said: But, the squad depth? Is part of the problem. Naismith making changes that aren't necessary because we have a better squad. That's fine when everyone's learned their role. Atm it's counterproductive 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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