jamboinglasgow

I never felt Tapping really had a chance to show his ability, his first game was in the league cup semi where he was Holt and Robinson in midfield, two players that allowed him to play his natural role of pushing forward and passing it off the other two. Then McGlynn panicked after the a couple results, thought Tapping had done well and kept him as a midfield partner to Hamill (please note to anyone who signs Hamill, dont play him in midfield.) He was expected to be a ball winner and defensive so it denied him what he is best at, which is the ball at his feet. Thus after praise from the fans, the fans then thought he was offering little. Locke kept it the same for the rest of the season then dropped him. This season when Holt was originally dropped out as he had a problem of the ball flying over his head rather than played in the middle, Locke put Tapping in and expected a midfield three of Tapping, Robinson and Hamill to just grind it out in midfield and show no creativity. I think he would suit Falkirk, I think they will use him better and allow him to make forward runs and move the ball around (think he would have been able to do that at Hearts now but can understand the clear out.)

I can give you a bit more info about Chris Kane. He (if it hasn't been mentioned already) is a defensive midfielder though he played quite a few games for the under 19s this season at center back. He is great defensively, I would say he is a good tackler and is a strong player. However he is also good on the ball, he is a good passer and will work well in a midfield that likes to move the ball around. I think he will do well in the first division but unsure if he is quite ready to start. Would say he will be eased in by JJ. I would say in praise of Kane that was surprised and a bit gutted to see him not get a new contract but we have a surplus of central midfielders around his age and so had to clear him and a few others out. Kane can do well given the right chances and help around him. Hope he does well as he seems a likable lad, also gives me a reason (apart from JJ) to keep an eye on Dunfermline. I would correct you (though I wish it was true) that we didn't walk the under 19 league as Celtic finished top, but until a collapse in the last games of the season it was a very strong run including beat Ranges twice and Celtic once.

Thats interesting, it shows you cant judge how a player is playing by the number of apperances they have, I keep seeing him coming off the bench and thought he must not be doing well when he plays. It sounds like he hasn't changed too much from U19.

heh, thats ok. I am a bit of a rambler and do talk them up a bit. As I say, the problem with loan deals of inexperienced youngsters is you never know how they are going to cope, all I can do is hope they work hard and adapt quickly to playing in the first division as it looks like we need them to play SPL football from January.

Danny Thomson was a decent player for our 19s, though missed a whole season after getting a very bad injury first game of the season, he was good attacking player and useful in midfield. I think spending nearly the whole year last season not playing until he went on loan to Clyde for a month and even then didn't get many chances to play did not help his development (which I wont go into the rant but I still cant get over how stupid (or probably better saying how short sighted) some SPL chairmen were to scrap the reserve league.) It may be as FF says earlier on the style of football you play McGlynn doesn't think he is suited to it (which would beg the question why take him on loan in the first place) but should he change your style to one played more on the ground with quick passing, hitting the opposition at pace in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-2-2-1 then Danny can fit very nicely into that.

It has been officially announced today, you have the three till January. http://www.heartsfc....2241384_2523171 If you dont mind as a jambo, putting some information about the three. I regularly attend the Hearts under 19s game (place to go if you want to see a Hearts team playing well and usually beating teams.) The three players you have are the best 3 players in our 19s (a team currently topping the table.) I cant confess to have followed Raith Rovers too closely this season, however it was interesting to hear on the Terrace podcast that part of your problem is that McGlynn has failed to adapt the team without Tade and instead just launches the ball up the park. Well the good news is you have 3 players that allow you to play a different system. The three players are used to playing with the ball on the ground, with quick passing and movement. And can also press quickly upon the opposition when the opposition has the ball. Jason Holt is the pick of the three, Scottish under 19 player of the year last season. He has played a number of times for the Scotland under 19s and was also called up last month as a replacement in the Under 21 side. He is a CM who can be sitting alongside a defensive midfielder or more attacking behind the striker. Though he is tiny and looks like the side of a piece of paper he has been able to hold his own against guys much bigger then himself (though I imagine it may be a sharp learning curve for the first game or two.) He is a skillful player, has been compared to Barry Ferguson (before he went to Blackburn and was actually an amazing player.) He can hold onto the ball then pass it to the right person and nearly all the time it will go to that player. He also is very good running with the ball with at his feet and go direct through the centre of the park. He also is good at striking it outside the box (though he hasn't scored this season from that position.) Last season he scored 7 goals for the under 19s. He is an intelligent player and has good movement. Jamie Walker is a player who can play on the wings, upfront or even in the middle in an attacking midfield role. He was described two seasons ago by the head of our Youth Development as the best player he had seen through the academy in 15 years. Unfortunantly last season he missed most of the season with a bad injury (but in a handful of games (6 or 7) still scored 5 goals), but after missing the first few games this season has been getting better with each game. He is a player who likes to go forward, can be quite tricky and like most Wingers can be greedy at times. He is great ability and will always be looking for a chance to score or set others up. He has a great strike on him. David Smith is another player who can play in the middle of midfield but is mainly used as a left winger or a striker. He may not be quite as skillful as the other two but he still has plenty of ability. He is quick and is quite direct with his running at defences. He is a decent passer of the ball and has a great shot on him. He is an Scotland Under 19 internationalist (has also been an U17 and U16.) I see from reports that Denis Prychnenko has had a poor start for you since he came in. I would say dont write him off too quickly yet, a few times when he has been with competitive football for a few weeks (or in his case 6 months) he has been quite poor to start of, but over a few games he picks it up and is a handy player. I think he has found the first division a shock, but if he fails it wont be for not trying as he is a very hard worker, last season there were plenty of stories of coaches having to force him off the training ground as he had been staying behind so late to work on things and it also rubbed off on the other 19s players who upped the training level to be like him. I would caution expecting anything too quickly from these players, for the 3 new guys it is there first full experence of senior football (though Jason Holt and David smith got 10 and 20 minutes respectively in the last game of last season against Dundee United) so it may take a few games before they are up and running. With our policy from January looking like it is scrap most first team players and bring in youth, hopefully the loan period at Raith is very fruitful for them and hopefully gets you points to move up the table. Hopefully we can send more top youngsters to help you (and you help us by aiding their development) as there are a few other under 19s close to making the step up (I think one or both of our full backs will be the next to go up, you dont happen to need one do you (even a left back who used to be a Dunfermline youngster...) edit: just noticed my fellow youth reporter from Hearts has already posted with much the same, oh well, hope this adds anything on top of what he says.