My ritual trawl through today`s Hearts stories on the internet has thrown up a strange one – this time, it`s nothing to do with players not being paid, or George Foulkes stating the obvious. Apparently, Spanish midfielder Ruben Palazuelos has given a press interview in the last couple of days in which he seems to be saying that unless he starts getting a regular game at Tynecastle, he may consider leaving in January !!
It`s hard to know where to start offering up a reaction to this – but I’ll give it a go !!
To be fair to the lad, it`s not clear what question was asked to prompt the following comments –
‘I don’t know how long I can wait. In football, anything is possible. I am very happy here and I want to stay, but football is difficult and it’s not possible for me to stay one year here and not play. It’s too early to speak about this now, maybe after one month or two months more we will speak about it.
‘I don’t know what will happen in one week or two weeks, maybe the situation will change and become better for me. In eight games I have played almost nothing, only little bits. I’m finding it hard but this is a question for the manager. It’s important for me to play in the team.’
I`m sure no player likes to be seen by his manager as not quite good enough to be an automatic starter. And if a journalist asks ” Are you happy at not getting a starting place in the team ?” , then it’s likely that ANY player at ANY club in that position would give a similar answer. Palazuelos is not the only player who has had limited opportunity at Hearts this season. McDonald, Nade, Cesnauskas, Balogh and Glen have been sparingly used too.
Ruben has shown he is a competent player. Competent – but nothing more than that. He has one clever trick where he pretends to pass one way, then drags the ball back and passes the other way – it foxes his opponent for a few seconds, allowing him to look for a better option. However he is very one-footed, with work rate and drive not exactly strong aspects of his game, and I can`t recall any worthwhile goalmouth incidents stemming from his party-trick last season.
With Hearts hopes of winning games completely dependant on attacking midfielders just now, I hope Csaba makes it clear to Ruben that he has to do a lot more in games to justify a place. Mind you, that could apply to Messrs Kingston and Ksanavicius, among others, too !!
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Call me old fashioned but what happened to getting your head down and working hard to try to impress the manager and get your place back in the team. That?s how football used to work. It?s not like Palazuelos was playing a blinder every week for Frail and the new manager has taken an inexplicable dislike to him. He is a very ordinary player trying to get back into a very ordinary side. It?s not just a ?question for the manager? it?s surely up to Palazuelos himself to prove his worth.
Ruben has denied saying any of the above at the Hearts website, he states that it would be daft to upset a manager he really likes. It makes me wonder about the journalistic ethics, but it shouldn?t really surprise me even if the article was written in Edinburgh paper. All I can say is that it reeks of sensationalism and a need to found faults in a ok functioning squad. In regards to Ruben?s performances, I do think he is an ordinary player, but as you say so is many others in the squad. What I like about him is that he is consistent and works hard, which is more than one can say of some….
I’m pleased that Ruben has denied it on the HMFC website. Not just because I think he is one of our better midfielders, but because yet again, after the newspapers have printed their sensationalist & potentially destabilising headlines – Hearts have been quick off the mark to set the record straight. It’s a far cry from the stoney silence followed by ridiculous spin we witnessed during the Charlie Mann days. Shells cracked… egg everywhere…
I suppose all this just shows how a newspaper can put a deliberate spin on some innocent (and run of the mill) comments from a footballer !! Sorry SJ – I have to disagree with your view that he is one of our better midfielders. As I said in the article, he’s competent – but thats about it. A midfield of Ruben “clones” would have us in relegation trouble. Oh for a Cameron or Hartley !!
Michael Stewart is the closest we have to either of those, SH. And no need to apologise – football is a game of opinions. I just like Ruben and think he’s got something about him… I don’t think we’ve seen anything like the best of him yet either. Anyway, a team of clones of ANY type of player would have us in relegation trouble. You need all kinds of players to make a team – the truly great teams have both skill AND muscle, and not neccessarily from the same players either. He’s not Colin Cameron – but he’s not trying to be either.
I’d actually quite like to know what position that Ruben himself feels he’s best suited to. He seems like the sort of guy who prefers to play deep in midfield, but he certainly isn’t a defensive midfielder…….well, on the evidence we’ve seen he’s not a good one anyway. He doesn’t seem to have much strength or presence, both of which are required to be the ‘spoiler’, so does that mean he’s more of a creator? I’m not sure, but I don’t think he’s done anything like enough so far to be a first-team regular, although perhaps we could say the same about the likes of Kingston.
I think you’ll find he considers himself to be a defensive midfielder, MrH. Btw, welcome back!
Thanks!