Post by STILETT0 on May 14, 2023 1:33:06 GMT
Hello! So I've decided that I'm going to be doing updates here for my Heart Of Midlothian save in FM23.
Season Preview
After finishing 3rd in the 21/22 season, Heart Of Midlothian has qualified for Europa League Playoffs. We faced FAK Vienna, 39 year old goalkeeper Craig Gordon had a stinker in the first leg, causing us to lose the match, and while we won the 2nd leg at home, we narrowly missed out on the Europa League after being defeated on penalties.
Transfers
Hearts had lots of incomings, and outgoings. Most notable arrivals were the signing of Ryan Edwards, Callum Slattery, and Kieran Freeman all from Motherwell, as well as the later arrivals of Shayne Lavery and Valentin Mihailia, and the best arrival being a loan signing of 17 year old wonderkid Jamie Bynoe-Gittens from Borussia Dortmund.
To make up for all of this money, Josh Ginelly, Gary Mackay-Steven, Chris Halkett, and Andy Halliday all left the club.
We started off very well, going on a 21 game unbeaten run including 6-0 and 5-0 shaftings of Queen Of The South and Raith Rovers. We unfortunately dropped points to Ross County and Motherwell, but we were still very much in the title race. We were 4th but also had 4 games in hand on Celtic and Rangers in 1st and 2nd.
This is the early season state of affairs. Up to the draw with County, never missing a beat.
It seemed Shayne Lavery and Lawrence Shankland were doing their collective jobs, scoring a combined 20 goals halfway through the season
As for Europe, we were drawn into a group of Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic), Zrnjiski Mostar (Bosnia), and Pyunik Yerevan (Armenia). We got incredibly lucky with the draw and because of that we graduated from the group with maximum points one of the matches including a 5-1 demolition of Pyunik.
Here's my usual Starting XI
Here's my subjective ratings of my players so far into the season:
Zander Clark 6.8-When I started him in Europe and the cup games he hardly put a foot wrong. When the club legend that's the goalkeeper now retires, the Hearts shot stopper role is in good hands.
Craig Gordon (c) 7.0-Struggled with mistakes and blunders in a few games, but the amount of class saves he makes at the ripe age of 39 is incredible. Truly a club legend and he will be horribly missed when he is no longer Scottish Premiership level.
Peter Haring 7.3-whether at Centre Back or Centre mid, this guy has consistency as his middle name. Glad we have someone as versatile as him in the team.
Ryan Edwards 6.9-while he is the most nervous out of our centre backs that doesn't mean much as he still performs really well. Not as consistent as most of the squad, but still a constant aerial threat and he's definitely outplayed his worth coming in at the paltry sum of 360K
Mike Smith 6.7-he's 33 now, and nowhere near as good as he used to be, but in the few times I have played him he did well, especially in the 3-3 draw vs Celtic
Toby Sibbick 7.0-I can't hate a guy with my first name. Starts almost every game and hasn't put a foot wrong in any of them. Making his deal permanent from Rotherham was worthwhile.
Kye Rowles 6.9-Australian #1 does everything that a Centre back needs to do, and is the only player to have not scored so far this season. He was excellent during our winning run, but still fell off a bit after the Ross County draw.
Alex Cochrane 7.6-as our sole specific left back, he has lit the room on fire. This man is definitely headed for big things, and Brighton are missing out on an incredible player.
Nathan Atkinson 7.3- almost as good as Alex, except that he hasn't had the playing time to truly blow the roof off. Still starts every other game though, and is a bright part of our team
Kieran Freeman 7.0-a bit more raw than Nathan, but he's improving steadily and has already started off as a top class Scottish Premiership fullback.
Cameron Devlin (vc) 6.7-hasn't been nearly as good enough as I expected from him. Still, Vice Captain at 23 is a lot to handle, and he's been improving throughout the season
Orestis K. 7.0-solid defensive midfielder, and while he doesn't burn down the house, he's one of the most reliable players in the team.
Callum Slattery 8.0-signing of the season right here. Highest average rating as central midfielder, and is already doing bits against teams such as Rangers and Celtic.
Beni Baningime 6.8-injured for most of the season, but clearly still knows how to play ball in the small amount of time he was available. Look forward to playing him more.
Robert Snodgrass 6.8-at 34, this man can run. Our hardest working midfielder, and he doesn't even start. Helluva playmaker and will be gutted when he retires.
Stephane Omeonga 6.9-not as consistent as Kiomourtzoglou, but definitely more impactful
Jorge Grant 7.0-suffered the same problems as Alan Forrest, except now he's really kicking on and becoming a must-start for us.
Alan Forrest 6.6-is fantastic at times but incredibly inconsistent. He will definitely be leaving in the summer if he doesn't show a marked improvement.
Barrie McKay 7.4-what a playmaker. This man's crosses are the stuff that would make Vini Jr drool. He's had some consistency issues but he's always a reliable alternative to Jamie
Jamie 7.2-Pacey, can control the ball, but lacks the finish. Forever the story of exciting young players. Still, he cuts through the opposition's box like a hot knife through butter and is beautiful to watch.
Valentin Mihaila 7.0-not as impactful or consistent as Jamie, but damn can this man control the ball. 3/6 goals have been him chesting down longballs, rounding the keeper and walking it into the back of the net without losing speed. Romanian Messi.
Lawrence Shankland 7.8-if there is a single reason why we look so good as we do right now, it's Lawrence Shankland. He is the man that fits into place and makes this team's attack work like a well-oiled machine. Liam Boyce is going to have a tough time getting back into the team if Shankland keeps this up.
Shayne Lavery 7.2-is world class on his day, but he's still very, very inconsistent. Still when Shankland isn't working out he's always an improvement off the bench just like he showed against Celtic.
Liam Boyce n/a-man hasn't played a minute of football this season.
Season Preview
After finishing 3rd in the 21/22 season, Heart Of Midlothian has qualified for Europa League Playoffs. We faced FAK Vienna, 39 year old goalkeeper Craig Gordon had a stinker in the first leg, causing us to lose the match, and while we won the 2nd leg at home, we narrowly missed out on the Europa League after being defeated on penalties.
Transfers
Hearts had lots of incomings, and outgoings. Most notable arrivals were the signing of Ryan Edwards, Callum Slattery, and Kieran Freeman all from Motherwell, as well as the later arrivals of Shayne Lavery and Valentin Mihailia, and the best arrival being a loan signing of 17 year old wonderkid Jamie Bynoe-Gittens from Borussia Dortmund.
To make up for all of this money, Josh Ginelly, Gary Mackay-Steven, Chris Halkett, and Andy Halliday all left the club.
We started off very well, going on a 21 game unbeaten run including 6-0 and 5-0 shaftings of Queen Of The South and Raith Rovers. We unfortunately dropped points to Ross County and Motherwell, but we were still very much in the title race. We were 4th but also had 4 games in hand on Celtic and Rangers in 1st and 2nd.
This is the early season state of affairs. Up to the draw with County, never missing a beat.
It seemed Shayne Lavery and Lawrence Shankland were doing their collective jobs, scoring a combined 20 goals halfway through the season
As for Europe, we were drawn into a group of Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic), Zrnjiski Mostar (Bosnia), and Pyunik Yerevan (Armenia). We got incredibly lucky with the draw and because of that we graduated from the group with maximum points one of the matches including a 5-1 demolition of Pyunik.
Here's my usual Starting XI
Here's my subjective ratings of my players so far into the season:
Zander Clark 6.8-When I started him in Europe and the cup games he hardly put a foot wrong. When the club legend that's the goalkeeper now retires, the Hearts shot stopper role is in good hands.
Craig Gordon (c) 7.0-Struggled with mistakes and blunders in a few games, but the amount of class saves he makes at the ripe age of 39 is incredible. Truly a club legend and he will be horribly missed when he is no longer Scottish Premiership level.
Peter Haring 7.3-whether at Centre Back or Centre mid, this guy has consistency as his middle name. Glad we have someone as versatile as him in the team.
Ryan Edwards 6.9-while he is the most nervous out of our centre backs that doesn't mean much as he still performs really well. Not as consistent as most of the squad, but still a constant aerial threat and he's definitely outplayed his worth coming in at the paltry sum of 360K
Mike Smith 6.7-he's 33 now, and nowhere near as good as he used to be, but in the few times I have played him he did well, especially in the 3-3 draw vs Celtic
Toby Sibbick 7.0-I can't hate a guy with my first name. Starts almost every game and hasn't put a foot wrong in any of them. Making his deal permanent from Rotherham was worthwhile.
Kye Rowles 6.9-Australian #1 does everything that a Centre back needs to do, and is the only player to have not scored so far this season. He was excellent during our winning run, but still fell off a bit after the Ross County draw.
Alex Cochrane 7.6-as our sole specific left back, he has lit the room on fire. This man is definitely headed for big things, and Brighton are missing out on an incredible player.
Nathan Atkinson 7.3- almost as good as Alex, except that he hasn't had the playing time to truly blow the roof off. Still starts every other game though, and is a bright part of our team
Kieran Freeman 7.0-a bit more raw than Nathan, but he's improving steadily and has already started off as a top class Scottish Premiership fullback.
Cameron Devlin (vc) 6.7-hasn't been nearly as good enough as I expected from him. Still, Vice Captain at 23 is a lot to handle, and he's been improving throughout the season
Orestis K. 7.0-solid defensive midfielder, and while he doesn't burn down the house, he's one of the most reliable players in the team.
Callum Slattery 8.0-signing of the season right here. Highest average rating as central midfielder, and is already doing bits against teams such as Rangers and Celtic.
Beni Baningime 6.8-injured for most of the season, but clearly still knows how to play ball in the small amount of time he was available. Look forward to playing him more.
Robert Snodgrass 6.8-at 34, this man can run. Our hardest working midfielder, and he doesn't even start. Helluva playmaker and will be gutted when he retires.
Stephane Omeonga 6.9-not as consistent as Kiomourtzoglou, but definitely more impactful
Jorge Grant 7.0-suffered the same problems as Alan Forrest, except now he's really kicking on and becoming a must-start for us.
Alan Forrest 6.6-is fantastic at times but incredibly inconsistent. He will definitely be leaving in the summer if he doesn't show a marked improvement.
Barrie McKay 7.4-what a playmaker. This man's crosses are the stuff that would make Vini Jr drool. He's had some consistency issues but he's always a reliable alternative to Jamie
Jamie 7.2-Pacey, can control the ball, but lacks the finish. Forever the story of exciting young players. Still, he cuts through the opposition's box like a hot knife through butter and is beautiful to watch.
Valentin Mihaila 7.0-not as impactful or consistent as Jamie, but damn can this man control the ball. 3/6 goals have been him chesting down longballs, rounding the keeper and walking it into the back of the net without losing speed. Romanian Messi.
Lawrence Shankland 7.8-if there is a single reason why we look so good as we do right now, it's Lawrence Shankland. He is the man that fits into place and makes this team's attack work like a well-oiled machine. Liam Boyce is going to have a tough time getting back into the team if Shankland keeps this up.
Shayne Lavery 7.2-is world class on his day, but he's still very, very inconsistent. Still when Shankland isn't working out he's always an improvement off the bench just like he showed against Celtic.
Liam Boyce n/a-man hasn't played a minute of football this season.
