Match Thread [FT] Hearts 3 - 3 Rangers (McCausland 52; Cantwell 69; Silva 79)

[yuddie 1,693]

11 minutes ago, CammyF said:

That's the easy answer, and if it makes you feel better about our capitulation in the closing stages of the season, good on you. 

 

Current manager shoulders some responsibility. Baffling team selections, no real playing style, no width in the team, players unable to perform their basic tasks. We look unfit and poorly coached. 

 

Clement deserves time to get his players in, but he isn't blameless for where we currently are. 

Coming round to that way of thinking tbh.

 

His selections are strange and so is the setup of the team.

 

It is worth saying though, a long injury list to first teamers can crucify a team. Case in point being liverpool in 20/21 when they lost VVD and all of their CB's for a large portion of the season.

 

It was only until Klopp actually played the youngsters in defence in their natural positions instead of shoehorning players in that they righted themselves and went on a run, then subsequently took a quadruple to the final day of the season in 21/22.

 

Clement should've smelt the coffee in that regard, dropping McCausland and shoehorning Sterling into RW or even at LB when he could've put his faith in Fraser was indicative of a manager desperately trying to find solutions when there's plausibility staring him in the face.

 

Plugging away with Lundstram when freezing out Raskin until it's shit or bust at Parkhead another example.

 

I'll back the man but this Cup final could be seminal for him, especially with the first OF being at Parkhead.

 

Sigh.

 

 

[Franc Ergs 1,648]

This current crop of players all doing their jobs properly, and consistently ,would be good enough to win the league.

 

Only one clear candidate for POTY tells us a lot though.

[weebluedevil 1,239]

12 minutes ago, CammyF said:

That's the easy answer, and if it makes you feel better about our capitulation in the closing stages of the season, good on you. 

 

Current manager shoulders some responsibility. Baffling team selections, no real playing style, no width in the team, players unable to perform their basic tasks. We look unfit and poorly coached. 

 

Clement deserves time to get his players in, but he isn't blameless for where we currently are. 

Can't disagree with that.

 

Clement has not lived up to his early hype unfortunately, and I can see fans' patience running out with him, especially if we lose to them again next weekend. If he can't build a team that is robust and talented enough to go head to head with Celtic for the title next season - and that means beating them twice at least, then I believe the fans will start to turn on him.

 

I like the guy but he'll need to be absolutely ruthless if he wants to win the title, so I do hope that some of his press conference comments over the last few weeks were not what he really thinks. Otherwise, he is doomed. 

 

 

[PoohBear 1,148]

The time for judging Clement will be after the summer. If he goes into next year relying on the same losers then he'll deserve everything he gets. He has more than enough quality history to suggest he isn't the problem here and is due some time. I'm not particularly enamoured with his winter signings but it's a tough window.

[RANGERRAB 3,654]

1 hour ago, CammyF said:

That's the easy answer, and if it makes you feel better about our capitulation in the closing stages of the season, good on you. 

 

Current manager shoulders some responsibility. Baffling team selections, no real playing style, no width in the team, players unable to perform their basic tasks. We look unfit and poorly coached. 

 

Clement deserves time to get his players in, but he isn't blameless for where we currently are. 

What if ‘his players’ don’t perform & we end up in the same situation we were in with Beale? We sack the manager & bring in someone else and the process starts all over again?

And I feel like banging my head off a brick wall because we find ourselves in the same situation as last season with a lack of fit CB’s. This needs addressed.We are conceding too many goals.

 

[Rousseau 10,604]

10 minutes ago, RANGERRAB said:

What if ‘his players’ don’t perform & we end up in the same situation we were in with Beale? We sack the manager & bring in someone else and the process starts all over again?

And I feel like banging my head off a brick wall because we find ourselves in the same situation as last season with a lack of fit CB’s. This needs addressed.We are conceding too many goals.

 

You know what the solution is, don't you? A DoF.

 

Our defensive issues have come on over the last month or two. Up until then we we had the best defense.

 

The problems are a combination of players out of form (Barisic, Goldson, Tavernier), injuries (Balogun, Goldson, Yilmaz, SOUTTAR - And to those in front) and poor team pressing (that won't improve until PC gets them for a pre-season, IMO). 

[Rousseau 10,604]

I find the criticism of Clement's team selection baffling. 

 

I mean, have you not seen our injury list? 

[Rousseau 10,604]

I am frustrated as to why Fraser (and other youngsters, I suppose) hasn't been given more minutes in a problem position, but Clement explained that when he said our youngsters hadn't been training with the first team properly, which is fair enough; they can't play when they're not up to speed with the style of play. 

 

That goes back to Beale, GvB and SG. 

[CammyF 8,080]

15 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

I find the criticism of Clement's team selection baffling. 

 

I mean, have you not seen our injury list? 

We have had injuries, but his selections have still been baffling. 

 

Anyway, just stopped in Girvan for a Blaggis Supper and town is swimming with unwashed on their way to ferry - put me off my chippy 

[yuddie 1,693]

9 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

I find the criticism of Clement's team selection baffling. 

 

I mean, have you not seen our injury list? 

It's terrible mate.

 

One of the reasons for Guardiola's dominance in the last 15 years is his excellent injury record at clubs and how he can keep rinsing the same 14 players season after season. Outside of cracking the vault at the Etihad Campus for his Snus Recipe or using needles we'll never replicate that.

 

But we should be having a dozen outfield players on 2500+ minutes. That's not unrealistic.

 

Having said that, hopefully the manager will reflect on this season and think about what he could have done better with what he had.