The generic Hearts thread

[Gypsy King]

Hilarious reading all this - they are in absolute turmoil and its only getting worse.

What is it they say? Satisficao, Pleasing etc

Hearts are going Down

Uche uche uche uche nananana

[Kaff]

Whereas the Whelan press piece is definitely that of a disgruntled player venting anger at publicly being accused of not pulling his weight the Berra one is interesting as its a TV piece done at Oriam/Riccarton after training or similar, my thinking is its the TV crew doing their 'documentary' and sold it to the BBC, who have commissioned the documentary.
This may well be standard after training or matches that they would pull over a player, particularly the captain, for a quick chat about things. Berra may have thought this would be a piece for the documentary but all of a sudden its all over the news, supporters are calling him out for it and the club are looking as though they have treated a loyal servant to the club badly. Dr Budge and the documentary creating another sh#tstorm haha, it's one laugh after another

[Since452]

Berra and Wheelan going through Stendel says a lot. Can't recall players publicly having a go at a manager like that before up here. Almost unheard of. From the outside looking in his treatment of Berra looks odd to say the least and the Whelan one seems to have been handled just as poorly. Interesting to see if it has a positive or negative impact on the team. By all accounts Berra was well respected and well liked by the players. Just a strange club.

[lapsedhibee]

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Aidan Fitzmaurice

January 7 2020 23:30 PM





Way up in Edinburgh, 200 miles from his Manchester base, there is an apartment full of his things which Glenn Whelan needs to clear out.

The eight-hour round trip is the least of his worries right now as Whelan, probably Ireland’s best player in 2019, is a man without a club.

He doesn’t need a bed in the Scottish capital any more as his recent employers, Hearts, have decided they don’t need Whelan.

The divorce came through yesterday, a 35-word statement from the SPL club confirming that Whelan had left “by mutual agreement”, the player asking to be relieved of his contractual duties.

Devoting to him a mere two words for every game he played for the club says more than the last line of that statement: “The club wishes Glenn well in the future”.

undefined
Hearts manager Daniel Stendel
Whelan had high hopes for himself, and the club, when he joined Hearts in the summer from Aston Villa.

Offers from sunnier spots in the far east were rejected as Mick McCarthy had told Whelan he needed to be playing at a high level to stay in the Irish squad. Bali could wait.

But halfway through his one-year deal, his time is up, and Whelan is sore about how it all happened, his demise coming with the arrival last month of new manager Daniel Stendel.

"I do feel let down. The way my name is out there now it feels like I have been thrown under a bus," he told Independent.ie.

"There are a lot of players at Hearts who have not been fit, I have tried my best with the quality that is around us and if that wasn’t good enough, it was certainly not my fault."



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Craig Levein, who signed Whelan in the summer, was sacked in October after a poor run left Hearts deep in relegation trouble.

A six-game run under a caretaker offered no relief and in mid-December Hearts brought in German coach Stendel.

And from the off, there was trouble for Whelan.

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Glenn Whelan injured his hamstring while playing for Hearts in a Scottish League Cup semi-final. Photo: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
"When the new manager came in, the first person he spoke to was me. He was already having a bit of a go," he says.

"My reaction was, you have just walked in the door, you’ve not seen anything.

"In training, I think he did things to show the other players, especially the younger players, that he was the boss, he was nit-picking with things I was doing in training."

Whelan did start in the new manager’s first game, at home to St Johnstone.

"We conceded a late set-piece and lost the game 1-0, but I think I did OK. And then he dropped me for the next game, Celtic at home," he recalls.

"I wasn’t going around the place grumpy or banging down his door. I kept my head down and trained hard, I did all that was asked of me, I was professional.

"If you ask any Hearts fan who had seen our games, I’d like to think they’d say I was willing, trying.

"I played eight home games and got five man-of-the match awards.

"Results weren’t great and form had dipped, some of the lads their heads dropped, but I don’t think I played badly.

"We played Celtic at home, we were 2-0 down at half-time when he brought me on. After the game he had a pop at me. We were 2-0 down when I came on and we lost 2-0, how can that be my fault?" Whelan asked his boss.

Within days, Stendel had a pop at Whelan in the media. He said the experienced players such as Whelan "cannot handle the situation at the moment."

Asked if Whelan had leadership qualities, he said: "A real leader in the centre of the pitch? Sorry. Maybe I missed it." Ouch.

On Christmas Day, eve of their derby with Hibs, Whelan was hit with a real blow.

"At 9.10pm on Christmas night there was a message in the players' group chat, that they only wanted 18 players in the squad for the next day. And I wasn't in it, that was the first I knew," he says.

undefined
Aston Villa's Conor Hourihane, Henri Lansbury and Glenn Whelan celebrate after winning yesterday's Championship play-off final at Wembley. Photo: Reuters/Ed Sykes
"So they played Hibs on St Stephen’s Day and I wasn't involved. I had the kids up there with me, I was more than happy to go and be part of the game.

"Things were being said about me, that I didn’t fancy it, I was laying down the tools. No way was that the case on my part.

"I don’t think he was watching the games if the manager felt like that.

"My form was good for the last few months but the manager came in and wanted to show his power, show the other players that he’s the boss, he’s the main man."

Worse was to come on the day after the derby.

"I went in to train on the 27th, there were two groups: a recovery group of the lads who had played and another group of players who hadn’t played and those not in the squad. I wasn't in either group. My name wasn't even on the sheet," he says.

"I went to the manager to try and have a word.

"He was watching videos of the Hibs game and said he didn’t have time to speak to me.

"I went to the gym, did a bit of work on my own, got showered and went back to my apartment. That was the last of it for me at Hearts."

His treatment by the manager hurt.

"I can’t accept him coming out and questioning my leadership skills or saying I didn’t do the job, I did the job he asked," he says.

But, whatever about being dropped, Whelan feels let down by how the club treated an employee in the days after.

"They call themselves a professional football club, but I never heard anything from anyone at Hearts," he says.

"On Monday night, I got an email from someone at the club with the contract details, asking me to sign so we could go our separate ways.

"I didn’t ask for any money, I was happy to just go. But it was all very amateurish from their side.

"When I left Villa, they went on to the Premier League and I class that as a success, I’d class my time at Stoke as a success.

"New managers can come in with new ideas, that’s football, but to be let down the way I was and be treated the way I was, with no one at Hearts having the decency to speak to me or give me a call: that’s disappointing."


Copied that off JKB
Full interview from Irish Independent (I think)

No mention of being racially abused by fans, so looks like he got off lightly during his time in The Cauldron.

[davhibby]

I don’t think getting rid of Whelan would have been much of an issue but Berra is a different story. You’d imagine he’ll be quite a well liked figure in the dressing room and seems like a very similar issue to the one we had with McPake when we got relegated

[Since452]

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I don’t think getting rid of Whelan would have been much of an issue but Berra is a different story. You’d imagine he’ll be quite a well liked figure in the dressing room and seems like a very similar issue to the one we had with McPake when we got relegated

Screams of McPake and KT

[CloudSquall]

I don't see what the problem is, the 1 all draw Vs Aberdeen saw a heroic performance not witnessed since "are boys" took back the Falklands from the Argies and dare I say even McCraes batallion would have been in awe of what was on display at Tynecastle that special day.

If Budge wants to make up the short fall on the stand I hope she shows some more saavy business by releasing a DVD of that glorious day.

[matty_f]

I can't believe that Hearts, with Budge and Potter there, would feel that it was appropriate to treat Berra and Whelan like that, Berra especially. You would have thought one of them would have had a word with Jerry Butcher to say "hold on a minute, that's not really on..." But then I remember it's Hearts and I do believe it.

[The Captain....]

Kickback is absolute comedy gold at the moment. They're talking about planning a German flag waving frenzy in the Wheatfield to show the media they are behind Stendel (I kid you not). I suppose it will make a change from them waving the white flag at the PBS. The delusion on there is actually frightening.

Long may Queen Ann and Stendel the Jakeball reign.

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[HoboHarry]

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I can't believe that Hearts, with Budge and Potter there, would feel that it was appropriate to treat Berra and Whelan like that, Berra especially. You would have thought one of them would have had a word with Jerry Butcher to say "hold on a minute, that's not really on..." But then I remember it's Hearts and I do believe it.

That's where I'm at - I'm really struggling to imagine Ann Budge thinking that was a fair way to treat employees and she must be desperate to save cash if she's allowing that. CL not so much, I doubt he has any influence with the new Deutscher landstreicher in town.......

[bingo70]

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I can't believe that Hearts, with Budge and Potter there, would feel that it was appropriate to treat Berra and Whelan like that, Berra especially. You would have thought one of them would have had a word with Jerry Butcher to say "hold on a minute, that's not really on..." But then I remember it's Hearts and I do believe it.

Hearts fans I know seem to be missing the point completely.

Getting rid of two players who haven’t been performing well is absolutely fine.

Doing it in such an unprofessional way isn’t.

Out of all the comments on Twitter, Facebook and from speaking to people none of them seem to be grasping that at all.

If the manager is a dick, he will struggle to get the players to play for him, especially when his credibility is completely shot to pieces after the Christmas Day debacle.

[matty_f]

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Hearts fans I know seem to be missing the point completely.

Getting rid of two players who haven’t been performing well is absolutely fine.

Doing it in such an unprofessional way isn’t.

Out of all the comments on Twitter, Facebook and from speaking to people none of them seem to be grasping that at all.

If the manager is a dick, he will struggle to get the players to play for him, especially when his credibility is completely shot to pieces after the Christmas Day debacle.

Exactly, what would have been wrong with the manager meeting the players and explaining that they weren't in his plans and he was going to try and move them on?

A bit of common courtesy goes a long way. Anyone who's been in football for any length of time will know how it works, you can let players go without being a total tool about it.

[Bostonhibby]

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Exactly, what would have been wrong with the manager meeting the players and explaining that they weren't in his plans and he was going to try and move them on?

A bit of common courtesy goes a long way. Anyone who's been in football for any length of time will know how it works, you can let players go without being a total tool about it.

Common courtesy or similar isn't even on their radar, these are the people who stiffed causes they also glory in without a backwards glance.

Football equivalent of Frank Gallagher from Shameless.

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[Barman Stanton]

The Berra one is a strange one. He is one of their Scottish Cup winners. Amazing how much the fans are sticking up for a manager they had never even heard of a few months ago. I personally would be gutted if we treated the likes of Paul Hanlon like this.

But the Hearts fans are desperate. They know that Stendel is the last throw of the dice and if it doesn’t work they are relegated.

[Billy Whizz]

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I can't believe that Hearts, with Budge and Potter there, would feel that it was appropriate to treat Berra and Whelan like that, Berra especially. You would have thought one of them would have had a word with Jerry Butcher to say "hold on a minute, that's not really on..." But then I remember it's Hearts and I do believe it.

Think Budge is away on hols at the moment

[grunt]

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Think Budge is away on hols at the moment

That is even funnier. "Look after the place while I'm away, Dan, will you? Try not to wreck the place."

[Waxy]

I guess it doesnt matter to them if they get relegated because it will never take away that draw with Aberdeen.
Nothing can take that away now

[04Sauzee]

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Think Budge is away on hols at the moment

Think i read something similar, only Hearts eh

[Real Emerald]

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The Berra one is a strange one. He is one of their Scottish Cup winners. Amazing how much the fans are sticking up for a manager they had never even heard of a few months ago. I personally would be gutted if we treated the likes of Paul Hanlon like this.

But the Hearts fans are desperate. They know that Stendel is the last throw of the dice and if it doesn’t work they are relegated.

Totally agree, the majority of them are right on the guys case. Maybe Berra should be dropped and let go as he does seem a bit passed it but the bile getting spewed out against him is crazy. The new manager’s just in the door, very little management experience, no idea about Scottish football and has taken one point from five games. As you say 95% of them probably never heard of Stendel a few months back but he gets overwhelming backing for rubbishing and humiliating their current captain and top servant of the club. Desperate and deluded doesn’t even start to describe them. Hope they go down.

[truehibernian]

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Exactly, what would have been wrong with the manager meeting the players and explaining that they weren't in his plans and he was going to try and move them on?

A bit of common courtesy goes a long way. Anyone who's been in football for any length of time will know how it works, you can let players go without being a total tool about it.

What's even more astonishing is the leeway they are giving Stendel and this siege mentality going on amongst them that the whole if Scottish football is conspiring against them. He has come into a club who have overspent on a main stand to the tune of millions, still have a previous coaching team milling around, have senior players who don't rate the guy on first impressions, have lost 4 and drawn 1 in their last 5 - yet a 'spirited showing' v Celtic in defeat seems to have convinced them all he's the German Pep Guardiola, and are rooted to the bottom of the league - and were pumped at home in a home derby

To not even sit their club captain down and fully explain the reasoning for his omission and imminent departure, and for players to be informed of their position via a players' social media group page is embarrassing and amateur in the extreme.

And this 'gegenpressing' nonsense - you'd think chasing to get a football back was a novel concept in sport the way they are banging on about it. Total spin and rhetoric and their media jumping on a Klopp-esque coaching manual. It's what good teams and players do (and should do) instinctively and without being told (closing down, pressing, winning possession back).

They are all in the 'too big to go down' mindset and teams like Hamilton (as we know) and County, etc. are not going to lie down and let them play - they are used to being in the predicament of relegation and trying to achieve safety. This is a whole new football environment for them and their players. And whilst it's not new to have players training with reserves to try and convince them to leave, it's extremely divisive especially when said players have good relationships with other first team players.

Be interesting if the BBC (Sportsound) have John Rankin on again and ask him his PFA opinion on how players are being treated

I'm just glad we have the senior management team we do and a new manager who looks and talks like he knows what he is doing. And who has the measure of Stendel

[Since452]

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Kickback is absolute comedy gold at the moment. They're talking about planning a German flag waving frenzy in the Wheatfield to show the media they are behind Stendel (I kid you not). I suppose it will make a change from them waving the white flag at the PBS. The delusion on there is actually frightening.

Long may Queen Ann and Stendel the Jakeball reign.

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They are the most delusional fans in world football.

[Billy Whizz]

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Think i read something similar, only Hearts eh

It is the winter break

[Bostonhibby]

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That is even funnier. "Look after the place while I'm away, Dan, will you? Try not to wreck the place."

Just leave the keys under the plant pot on the plaza. Craig will open up in the evening.

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[007]

They've got 2 Sporting Directors at the moment, surely one of them could have told Whelan to his face he was not in Stendel's plans. Did they not say a few weeks back that Levein and MacPhee would be dealing with the ins and outs?

[hibbyfraelibby]

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"We didnt want the tunnel in the centre of the pitch, it's off centre so the home dugout is centred, giving our management team the best possible view. "

Innovative as usual.

You do realise the Easter Road tunnel is also slightly off set...they're just following the fashions we set

[Jack Hackett]

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I guess it doesnt matter to them if they get relegated because it will never take away that draw with Aberdeen.
Nothing can take that away now

Statue in the Piazza/Plaza/Square in front of the office block if Daniel gets them past Airdrie

[04Sauzee]

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It is the winter break

New assistant being appointed
Players getting shunted out the door
New players being targeted

Guess Levein and McPhee will be ok overseeing that

[Aldo]

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Statue in the Piazza/Plaza/Square in front of the office block if Daniel gets them past Airdrie

You do know that if the beat L1 Airdrie, DannyBoy will be portrayed as the saviour of all saviours.


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[G B Young]

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What's even more astonishing is the leeway they are giving Stendel and this siege mentality going on amongst them that the whole if Scottish football is conspiring against them. He has come into a club who have overspent on a main stand to the tune of millions, still have a previous coaching team milling around, have senior players who don't rate the guy on first impressions, have lost 4 and drawn 1 in their last 5 - yet a 'spirited showing' v Celtic in defeat seems to have convinced them all he's the German Pep Guardiola, and are rooted to the bottom of the league - and were pumped at home in a home derby

To not even sit their club captain down and fully explain the reasoning for his omission and imminent departure, and for players to be informed of their position via a players' social media group page is embarrassing and amateur in the extreme.

And this 'gegenpressing' nonsense - you'd think chasing to get a football back was a novel concept in sport the way they are banging on about it. Total spin and rhetoric and their media jumping on a Klopp-esque coaching manual. It's what good teams and players do (and should do) instinctively and without being told (closing down, pressing, winning possession back).

They are all in the 'too big to go down' mindset and teams like Hamilton (as we know) and County, etc. are not going to lie down and let them play - they are used to being in the predicament of relegation and trying to achieve safety. This is a whole new football environment for them and their players. And whilst it's not new to have players training with reserves to try and convince them to leave, it's extremely divisive especially when said players have good relationships with other first team players.

Be interesting if the BBC (Sportsound) have John Rankin on again and ask him his PFA opinion on how players are being treated

I'm just glad we have the senior management team we do and a new manager who looks and talks like he knows what he is doing. And who has the measure of Stendel

Spot on. I don't get what Stendel has done so far to convince anyone he's some sort of messiah. Mind you, to even consider the alternative - ie that his appointment is going to turn out to be another monumental Budge mistake - must be unthinkable for the yams.

[G B Young]

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Think Budge is away on hols at the moment

If true it would explain the silence from Hearts about the flak they're taking. Otherwise I'd have expected another rambling Budge statement about it all by now.