One year of JJ at Hearts

Is it just me, or did 2010 seem to just fly by ? Where does the time go, eh ? One minute we`re watching our team play an unconvincing and inconsistent style of safety-first football ?. the next we`re being treated to fast attacking play with loads of goals !!

Poor old Csaba Laszlo. The 3rd place SPL finish in 2008-09 meant that the likeable Hungarian was held in high regard by most fans – yet his inability to trust and deploy the promising top U-19 youngsters into the first team was starting to look odd. He was forced to bring in Craig Thomson and Gordon Smith against Dinamo Zagreb because of injuries, but somehow the team tactics didn`t seem to capitalise on the natural enthusiasm and energy of young players eager to make their mark – while very few opportunities were given to Templeton, Novikovas or Glen.

It all came to a head in December 2009 when Csaba put his faith in a couple of out-of-favour forwards from the lower English Championship who were invited for trials at Riccarton. With new Football Director Alexandr Metlitski observing, Csaba`s straw-clutching plan was doomed – and the regime decided enough was enough following a 3-0 home defeat by Aberdeen.

Was this yet another knee-jerk reaction from the regime, taken on a whim ? Would another unknown coach be conjured up from goodness knows where ? No – not this time. This time, the regime knew exactly who they wanted as manager – a Hearts man with a proven track record who wouldn`t be looking for a better job if things turned out well.

And so Jim Jefferies started a second spell as Hearts manager, just 3 days before a League Cup semi-final against St Mirren. The team`s low morale and in-grained stiffling game-plans meant that the team lost 3 matches on the trot. I found it incredible that some fans even wondered if JJ was “past it” after this poor start – perhaps they had forgotten the circus events at Hearts during late 2006 and throughout 2007 which had largely caused this malaise. Hearts needed sorting out with a long-term plan for regular youth promotion, and it was obvious to me that JJ was the ideal man to do it. Romanov backed Jefferies by appointing Billy Brown and Gary Locke as assistants, and agreeing to bring in JJ`s first signing (Ryan Stevenson from Ayr United) – and it wasn’t long before they were making progress with the playing squad.

First, they had to deal with highly-paid under-performers Laryea Kingston and Christian Nade. The management team tried to coach the former into performing a bit better (with a degree of success) – while deciding the latter was a lost cause. Next, Jose Goncalves refused to sign a new contract and JJ seemed to be on Romanov`s wavelength by refusing to select him for most of the remaining matches – despite admiring the Portugese defender. Finally, they reckoned that Michael Stewart was not playing a proper captain`s role – he was dropped, and the captaincy given temporarily to Lee Wallace.

Even in the last few months of that season, the improved spirit and style within the team was evident – with players like Suso, Elliot, Black, Glen and Obua looking more effective than they had done under Csaba, while Templeton and Novikovas were given valuable game time. Of course, 2 victories against Hibs were most welcome and got the fans anticipating even better things after the summer transfer window.

JJ`s summer signing activity reminded us what a shrewd manager he is. Primarily, we needed strikers – and the manager quickly brought in Kevin Kyle from his old club. He followed this up by signing Stephen Elliott (who had played alongside Kyle at Sunderland). The Irishman had played for several good English sides and had lost his way slightly following injuries – but he was just the type of player eager to claw his way back up the ladder. Darren Barr was already signed on a pre-contract, and Romanov backed JJ`s attempt to buy Craig Bryson from Kilmarnock. Although Hearts offer wasn`t enough to tempt Killie to sell, Vladimir was instrumental in providing the other 2 signings – Adrian Mrowiec (who had played for part of the previous season on loan from Kaunas) and then a certain Mr Skacel. JJ may have appeared lukewarm to the Czech`s arrival at first – perhaps due to the collapse of his attempt to bring in Paul Hartley – but it didn`t last long once Rudi got into his stride, knocking in goals and making great runs.

A mixed start to the season gave way to a fantastic November, December and January – with the team playing attractive passing football with a cutting edge as they surged to within a few points of the Old Firm. It`s significant that Hearts` fine run has coincided with Marius Zaliukas returning to the team after signing a new contract when his initial demands made negotiations difficult – another victory for JJ`s management skills.

As well as keeping the team prepared and focused on winning games, JJ`s other main objective is to reduce the wage bill by several million pounds. Although the removal of Kingston/Goncalves/Nade/Stewart has already helped in this respect, this probably means reducing the number of players (U-19 and first team squads) by at least another 10, which will also allow a faster promotion path for the best young Academy players into the first team squad. Having brought John Murray to Hearts in the late 1990s as Academy Director, it is fitting that JJ is now able to reap the benefits of Academy products Wallace, Jonsson, Templeton and Novikovas – with more such as Robinson, Ridgers, Holt, Prychynenko and Walker coming down the line.

What are your thoughts on JJ`s first 12 months ? Do you think he can bring another trophy to Hearts ?