Hecky

[Mojo]

Calm
Humble (doesn't make it all about him)
Tactically astute

When we first appointed him I said he was a poor man's Wilder. I was wrong. He has been absolutely outstanding so far.

After what I witnessed in the prem and earlier this season, I thought this team was finished, I never thought they could press, be aggressive and win tackles like they did last night. How wrong was I and how lovely to see. Huge credit must go to hecky for the turnaround.

 

[DifferentClass]

Ex-pig though so he can do one

 

[Mojo]

One other thing, Hecky saw how wilderball crumbled in the prem when teams went full high press against it, so the tactics last night were absolutely spot on and completely dominated boro from start to finish. Hecky knew if we high pressed them we would gain success and full credit to the players that is the most front foot performance I have seen in a long time.

Boro reminded me of us in that second prem season where we just got totally bullied and penned in and had to just resort to hoofing it down the pitch.

 

[FallowfieldBlade]

Calm
Humble (doesn't make it all about him)
Tactically astute

When we first appointed him I said he was a poor man's Wilder. I was wrong. He has been absolutely outstanding so far.

After what I witnessed in the prem and earlier this season, I thought this team was finished, I never thought they could press, be aggressive and win tackles like they did last night. How wrong was I and how lovely to see. Huge credit must go to hecky for the turnaround.

He is just copying what wilder has done though is that not the case ?

He has done a great job doing that BTW but I will reserve judgement as we haven't consistently performed well and i would say hecky has a far better squad than the one wilder had in the champ season

 

[sufc323]

He is just copying what wilder has done though is that not the case ?

He has done a great job doing that BTW but I will reserve judgement as we haven't consistently performed well and i would say hecky has a far better squad than the one wilder had in the champ season

On the flip side, look at what Jokanovic did or didn't do with this squad. We've seen what can happen if not managed properly.

Hats off to Hecky, he's proved me and many more wrong and long may it continue.

 

[Bladesman]

One other thing, Hecky saw how wilderball crumbled in the prem when teams went full high press against it, so the tactics last night were absolutely spot on and completely dominated boro from start to finish. Hecky knew if we high pressed them we would gain success and full credit to the players that is the most front foot performance I have seen in a long time.

Boro reminded me of us in that second prem season where we just got totally bullied and penned in and had to just resort to hoofing it down the pitch.

I noticed we played through the middle a bit more last night. Hecky is trying to avoid us getting bogged down on the flanks especially with players playing out of position.

 

[Mojo]

He is just copying what wilder has done though is that not the case ?

He has done a great job doing that BTW but I will reserve judgement as we haven't consistently performed well and i would say hecky has a far better squad than the one wilder had in the champ season

No he is not just copying what wilder has done, when did wilder ever play with one striker?

And we havnt consistently performed well??? Apart from milwall and derby away we have been mostly excellent

 

[SUFC Guy]

Calm
Humble (doesn't make it all about him)
Tactically astute

When we first appointed him I said he was a poor man's Wilder. I was wrong. He has been absolutely outstanding so far.

After what I witnessed in the prem and earlier this season, I thought this team was finished, I never thought they could press, be aggressive and win tackles like they did last night. How wrong was I and how lovely to see. Huge credit must go to hecky for the turnaround.

 

[Caseh]

One other thing, Hecky saw how wilderball crumbled in the prem when teams went full high press against it, so the tactics last night were absolutely spot on and completely dominated boro from start to finish. Hecky knew if we high pressed them we would gain success and full credit to the players that is the most front foot performance I have seen in a long time.

Boro reminded me of us in that second prem season where we just got totally bullied and penned in and had to just resort to hoofing it down the pitch.

It did feel like Wilder didn't seem to have learned any lesson from the prem season, as you say they just crumbled under a high press.

 

[Davalon]

Agree.

Although I thought he carried himself well last season and did OK under the circumstances, I was underwhelmed when he replaced Slav.

I was also, probably unfairly, harsh about his PNE post match interview.

His performance so far, and that of his staff and players, has been fantastic.

I was beginning to think plenty of these players were either on the way down or not up to it.

I also thought Hecky's style would tighten us up at the back but we'd struggle to create enough.

Really pleased to have been wrong.

The typical Blade in me still thinks we'll just come up short somehow and rue many points thrown away late in games but equally part of me feels we're also due a bit of luck.

 

[Badger Blade]

We didn't play typical "Wilderball" last night at all.

There was no fannying about playing 6 passes before the ball went in the box. We broke quickly, turned and faced them and played forward balls far more than we used to. Our football was fast and direct, direct in so far that we moved the ball forward quickly and with purpose rather than hoofing it like Boro did because they had no outlet.

Sometimes we went short, others we whacked it down the channels for players to chase. The main thing was that it wasn't predictable, while Boro fans have already been saying that there isn't a plan B which was the problem we had. Playing through the opposition and turning the defence round rather than trying to plot a route around them was the difference last night alongside giving them no time on the ball whatsoever.

Perhaps Wilder was arrogant enough to think that we'd just play like he used to set us up and expect us to pass the ball to death and that we were only capable of doing that. Who knows what he was expecting but the fact we keep finding different ways to win is encouraging, whether its a battle like the Blackburn game or giving Boro a pasting.

Going to 3 at the back may have been an admission of defeat from Slav but that was the first thing to spark the change of fortunes. After that and Hecky taking over, the football has been a breath of fresh air from death by possession and from last season's dross which was reminiscent of Middlesbrough's performance last night.

 

[diode_blade]

Berge, Fleck and MGW Billy and Ozz were briiliant last night, the link up and understanding between them is strating to shine through, Watch Berge's interview on SUTV after the game.

 

[bongleblade]

He is just copying what wilder has done though is that not the case ?

He has done a great job doing that BTW but I will reserve judgement as we haven't consistently performed well and i would say hecky has a far better squad than the one wilder had in the champ season

IMO He has evolved our play to be Wilderball 3.0 (aka Heckyball)

(1.0 being the CAM formation, and 2.0 as the flat 3).

He has done what any good manager would do, play to the squad’s strengths (3x centre halfs) and worked in his own magic. Besides, i never saw Wilder play a lone striker or 2x CAMs, or a 5-3-1-1.

There is only so much you can do with the Back 5 as a base, and imo Hecky has achieved everything he could without completely copying Wilder.

He’s clearly observed the team and it’s weaknesses from a distance, and then has imprinted his own style to our play and it’s worked wonders. He has done what we were crying out for with Wilder, and adapted the tactics for the opposition, i just cant fathom why CW didnt try it

 

[Bladesince59]

Great to witness the real Berge.

 

[Grappler]

Said it on another thread, recently, but after Hecky took over in the Prem, we finally started scoring and winning a few.

Makes you wonder what would have happened if the board had stuck with him at the start of this season, and not brought Slav in?

My money would be on us in second sport, comfortably (Fulham score too many, so would always be top, on goal difference).

 

[McGoaldrick]

Tbh I was disappointed we’d gone from one of the most accomplished managers in the league (slav) to one of the least (hecky) but what can you say except he’s been amazing. Exceeded all expectations so far - what a guy. Hoping and praying we can get promoted so he has some money to keep building this team in his vision

 

[Grappler]

Great to witness the real Berge.

Great to see him in the box for the first goal, and if MGW had slid the pass to Sander, like he did for Billy's goal, instead of taking the keeper on, one-on-one, Berge would have scored two last night.

Plus he has powerful shot, which he has shown in the last two games, both wide of the posts of course, but one of those on target would frighten any keeper.

 

[Bladesman]

It did feel like Wilder didn't seem to have learned any lesson from the prem season, as you say they just crumbled under a high press.

At other clubs Wilder played different formations. That said he is playing the same as he did with us and I am surprised he hasn't factored in a plan B after all this time.

Notice how Hecky has adapted the formation depending on what players he has available. We essentially play 4 in midfield with one up front but it means there is less obligation for the centre backs to get forward.

 

[Swannyblade]

Biggest difference between Heckyball and Wilderball to me is its unpredictability.
Under Wilder our threat was mainly down to creating overloads by the LCB or RCB stepping out of defence and bamboozling the opposition. Brilliant to watch when it's working, but can be sussed out by a quality opposition (see 2nd season in Prem).
Under Hecky we're far less predictable - still carry a threat down the wings, much more play through the centre, LCB/RCB will still step out of defence when the opportunity arises and two AM's supporting a lone striker who will float out of position and cause havoc for the opponent (and carry a counter-attacking threat). We're no longer vulnerable to a high press (although Forest might suggest otherwise but I'm hoping that was just an off night for us). We've got a Plan B and a Plan C and we're willing to use them all in the same game. Under Wilder if Plan A didn't work, we'd descend into sideways passing and hoofing possession away in an attempt to find our isolated strikers.

 

[SwissBlade]

One other thing, Hecky saw how wilderball crumbled in the prem when teams went full high press against it, so the tactics last night were absolutely spot on and completely dominated boro from start to finish. Hecky knew if we high pressed them we would gain success and full credit to the players that is the most front foot performance I have seen in a long time.

Boro reminded me of us in that second prem season where we just got totally bullied and penned in and had to just resort to hoofing it down the pitch.

That performance last night was as close if not better than the performance against Man U in that first season.

You're right, Hecky was not the glamourous choice and of course he wasn't the Prince's first choice either. His performance last season in the Prem was just a little bit 'meh'. The feedback i've had from fans of clubs like Leeds and Hibs were that he wasn't that great...

However, what Hecky has done this season has been remarkable. He's gone into games with the side set up well and correctly in most games, whilst juggling players with niggles and coming back from injuries (which is all what you'd expect but to pull out some big performances as well is a big plus).

As you said, he's humble, but he seems to be loving it. Long may it continue

 

[PageHallBlade]

Berge, Fleck and MGW Billy and Ozz were briiliant last night, the link up and understanding between them is strating to shine through, Watch Berge's interview on SUTV after the game.

also Norwood why Wilder didnt try to nullify him like Forest i cant understand to be fair im struggling to pick out a poor performance from anyone last night

 

[Yogi]

Doing a fabulous job far exceeding my expectations of him reinvigorating the side to new heights he’s clearly a great man manager and his record for improving players is excellent.

One small caveat for me is that he’s doing this with a squad not of his own construction like he did his first season at Barnsley. If he continues to impress next year he’ll have answered all the questions I had about him.

 

[Bladesman]

That performance last night was as close if not better than the performance against Man U in that first season.

You're right, Hecky was not the glamourous choice and of course he wasn't the Prince's first choice either. His performance last season in the Prem was just a little bit 'meh'. The feedback i've had from fans of clubs like Leeds and Hibs were that he wasn't that great...

However, what Hecky has done this season has been remarkable. He's gone into games with the side set up well and correctly in most games, whilst juggling players with niggles and coming back from injuries (which is all what you'd expect but to pull out some big performances as well is a big plus).

As you said, he's humble, but he seems to be loving it. Long may it continue

That said Hecky did manage to get 3 wins and we also didn't get tonked when we lost apart from away at Spurs.

 

[Bladesman]

Doing a fabulous job far exceeding my expectations of him reinvigorating the side to new heights he’s clearly a great man manager and his record for improving players is excellent.

One small caveat for me is that he’s doing this with a squad not of his own construction like he did his first season at Barnsley. If he continues to impress next year he’ll have answered all the questions I had about him.

Billy said post match the mood in the dressing room as back to where it should be.

 

[ATL Recs]

No he is not just copying what wilder has done, when did wilder ever play with one striker?

And we havnt consistently performed well??? Apart from milwall and derby away we have been mostly excellent

Let’s not get to deluded though he is doing an excellent job
Credit goes to how him for how Robinson has improved
Using Osborne at RWB with the remit to
Roam to the left worked brilliantly the last two games

But our game barring last night and Swansea is still littered with this laboured possession ball

But we are definitely a work in progress at the right time and when we play with a press and intensity we move the ball quicker making it difficult for opponents

Cardiff Preston ( both with a man advantage and we nearly threw both away)
Hull slow laboured predictable Huddersfield got away with one picked the wrong starting team
Forest - outplayed for most of the game - got away with one even though it was added time that scuppered us
Blackburn - see Forest thought credit is due being a man short
Last night was a level of performance that I expect not once in 35 games but much more consistently

 

[blades14]

We did what teams did to us last season. Wilder has no plan B as we saw today and as we saw last season. Hecky is no mug, he’s done his research, tactics and analysis. That being said Boro are a carbon copy of what we were. Too many strikers no consistency in playing time. Over ran midfield with no creativity. I must say there keeper is garbage

 

[Hagansbootlaces]

Said it on another thread, recently, but after Hecky took over in the Prem, we finally started scoring and winning a few.

Makes you wonder what would have happened if the board had stuck with him at the start of this season, and not brought Slav in?

My money would be on us in second sport, comfortably (Fulham score too many, so would always be top, on goal difference).

He didn't want to be the one that immediately followed CW, forgot what game it was, but the commentator on Sky mentioned it, said he (Hecky) thought it just wasn't right to replace CW, when CW had brought him to the club, cost the club and him a lot of money, but speaks volumes about his character & determination

 

[Hagansbootlaces]

That performance last night was as close if not better than the performance against Man U in that first season.

You're right, Hecky was not the glamourous choice and of course he wasn't the Prince's first choice either. His performance last season in the Prem was just a little bit 'meh'. The feedback i've had from fans of clubs like Leeds and Hibs were that he wasn't that great...

However, what Hecky has done this season has been remarkable. He's gone into games with the side set up well and correctly in most games, whilst juggling players with niggles and coming back from injuries (which is all what you'd expect but to pull out some big performances as well is a big plus).

As you said, he's humble, but he seems to be loving it. Long may it continue

Think he was the ultimate safe pair of hands in the PL, I also think, no proof,, that he was under orders ( which he may well have bought into 100%) not to rip up the 3 at the back, just tweet things a little

 

[Bladesman]

Let’s not get to deluded though he is doing an excellent job
Credit goes to how him for how Robinson has improved
Using Osborne at RWB with the remit to
Roam to the left worked brilliantly the last two games

But our game barring last night and Swansea is still littered with this laboured possession ball

But we are definitely a work in progress at the right time and when we play with a press and intensity we move the ball quicker making it difficult for opponents

Cardiff Preston ( both with a man advantage and we nearly threw both away)
Hull slow laboured predictable Huddersfield got away with one picked the wrong starting team
Forest - outplayed for most of the game - got away with one even though it was added time that scuppered us
Blackburn - see Forest thought credit is due being a man short
Last night was a level of performance that I expect not once in 35 games but much more consistently

I do think injuries are playing a part too though. Hecky is having to juggle his side around every match and yet again another damn injury last night with Fleck.

We still don't know what our starting 11 is on match days due to all this.

 

[FallowfieldBlade]

No he is not just copying what wilder has done, when did wilder ever play with one striker?

And we havnt consistently performed well??? Apart from milwall and derby away we have been mostly excellent

I would argue that is because of injuries and the players we have that Hecky has changed formation and it is the wilder structure as he has said that before

No I don't think we have , we haven't reached the levels of consistency under wilder

The Derby/Milwall games we were abysmal but we have been very average in other games WBA/Forest/Blackburn/Hull/Huddersfield and scraped results

Id say we have only seen us at full tilt last night and Swansea if we play like that 4 games out of 5 then id be impressed

Its no slight on Hecky he is doing a top job but he is nowhere near the level of Wilder and people saying he is are deluded IMO