Pre-season

[Helensburghhibs]

I can't help but think heckys attitude to pre-season and the league Cup has contributed massively to where we are now. We arrived at the first game of the season without playing anywhere near the same starting 11 twice. He kept saying it was all about fitness but surely it would have been beneficial to get the bulk of his starting 11 match fit in the first instance,

That obviously leads on to another point that, even now, I don't think he knows what our best formation, and starting line up is. I personally think 3.5.2 could work but this is all stuff that should have been tried and tested before the league opener.

If he does go, and I can't see a road back for him now then he has no one to blame but himself.

[B.H.F.C]

Absolutely. Pre season was terrible.

You don’t need to win pre season games but you need to implement your ideas, style of play etc. With the friendlies, and the league cup games, he basically treated them as a run around. We got through the league cup group because we were playing painters, postmen and the like but the warning signs were there right from the Arbroath friendly at the start of July.

We just have a collection of players, not a team.

[truehibernian]

The signings are garbage, pure and simple - not one decent player amongst them. Vela, Newell, Doidge and Jackson are woeful and have added no quality to the squad. Kamberi raised his game because his head was turned and teams were interested, Horgan started preseason well and has tailed off badly. Hanlon is as good a goal a start for the opposition and Marciano likewise - I've not seen a poorer keeper with his feet despite him being a great shot stopper, but even then his form has been poor.

The squad is in a dreadful state and any new manager has a huge task on his hands to turn this lot into anywhere near a top 6 side. The manager and recruitment team need their jotters - the last three windows, McNulty and Omeonga aside, have been atrocious (Nelom, Mavrias, Bigirimana, Spector, Johnson, etc.).

Losing two top targets through penny pinching despite a new multi-millionaire owner who comes in promising top 3 challenge, then the Ojo fiasco........not pursuing Dylan when he was available........4 year contracts for perennially crocked players through sentiment.......shambles from start to finish.

That's where I am with the club at present. We need change, quickly, and creativity in all departments of the club to regain the momentum that the club had not had in decades. We were on the crest of a wave and now slipping below the waterline without even a hint of a doggy paddle.

[WoreTheGreen]

Bang on the money

[The 90+2]

Top post.

[B.H.F.C]

Losing two top targets through penny pinching despite a new multi-millionaire owner who comes in promising top 3 challenge, then the Ojo fiasco........not pursuing Dylan when he was available........4 year contracts for perennially crocked players through sentiment.......shambles from start to finish

Losing out on targets is something we’ve been good at this year when you remember Heckingbottom was our second choice, despite them trying to spin it to the contrary.

Everything has been so poor, on and off the pitch in 2019. Dempster is managing to throw away all the good work of 2014-2018.

[Hibeesmad]

Also lost out on 3 of our top targets- Omeonga, McNulty and Ojo. Something isn't right from the top right down to the bottom.

[BlackSheep]

The signings are garbage, pure and simple - not one decent player amongst them. Vela, Newell, Doidge and Jackson are woeful and have added no quality to the squad. Kamberi raised his game because his head was turned and teams were interested, Horgan started preseason well and has tailed off badly. Hanlon is as good a goal a start for the opposition and Marciano likewise - I've not seen a poorer keeper with his feet despite him being a great shot stopper, but even then his form has been poor.

The squad is in a dreadful state and any new manager has a huge task on his hands to turn this lot into anywhere near a top 6 side. The manager and recruitment team need their jotters - the last three windows, McNulty and Omeonga aside, have been atrocious (Nelom, Mavrias, Bigirimana, Spector, Johnson, etc.).

Losing two top targets through penny pinching despite a new multi-millionaire owner who comes in promising top 3 challenge, then the Ojo fiasco........not pursuing Dylan when he was available........4 year contracts for perennially crocked players through sentiment.......shambles from start to finish.

That's where I am with the club at present. We need change, quickly, and creativity in all departments of the club to regain the momentum that the club had not had in decades. We were on the crest of a wave and now slipping below the waterline without even a hint of a doggy paddle.

I have to agree, perhaps not with all your points but definitely most.

I think some of the new signings could come good, they just need played correctly and a little more consistent time on the pitch. They’ve not been afforded that as Heck doesn’t know what to do with the squad!

Marciano needs a proper challenge to bring out the best in him... Maxwell doesn’t offer that, Bogdan did.

Kamberi did raise his game with the view to getting a big move, but he also played a good few games in that run with a strike partner....

As for the penny pinching, perhaps the recruitment team were given a lesser budget as the players identified by Heckingbottom were not up to standards, but they needed to show a little faith otherwise it’s a doomed relationship.... it’s not turned out well for Heckingbottom so far and they’ve closed the safe and taken away his credit card!!!

There could be infinite reasons to speculate why our recruitment was poor this summer, not sure we will ever know...?