Striking a blow for the
Hibernian tradition!
Mike Small looks at the Easter Road strike force, past and present
Greek
Civilisation
AFTER THE DEPARTURE
of Kenny
Miller, many Hibees despaired that we wouldn't have the fire power to compete
in the SPL, never mind in Europe. Then when Mixu left it seemed as if a
figure, symbolic of a fighting spirit and a hero of the 6-2 game had gone, and
we might be in trouble. Finally, after the Marc Libbra saga left McLeish with
no option but to find alternative cover, I for one wasn't optimistic about our
goal threat.
But with McManus looking like a much more
confident player this year, and Luna, Brewster and Zitelli fighting for
places, things are looking up. What's good is we have players throughout the
team who can score goals - John O'Neill, Franck Sauzee, Ulrich Laursen, Ulises
de la Cruz. But I still feel that we need more from our forwards who need to
break down effective tight defences. This means three things: effective
partnerships; ruthless finishing; and good supply from the midfield.
Partners in Crime
It was great to see Luna and Brewster get goals
last week against Dunfermline, but we need to score at the highest level, in
Glasgow against the Old Firm, and in Europe against top defences. Last year
Mixu scored 12, the year before Miller scored 13, Stevie Crawford scored 14 in
1999 and Darren had his last blast of 14 in 1997. Not since Keith Wright
scored 16 in 1994 have we had an out and out striker banging the goals away.
Now we have a great set of strikers, undoubtedly with more imagination and
penetration than Mixu and Dick Lehmann. But is McLeish's chosen combo of
Brewster and McManus the way forward? I don't think so. I'd like to see
McManus as a permanent fixture but his partner varied. We need both to have
some stability and to keep the opposition guessing. In the early 80s Mark
McGhee went 28 games in a row without scoring in the Aberdeen side - without being dropped by
Ferguson. McLeish needs to nurture McManus in this same way, he's a great
player who should have learned by watching the mistakes his former partner
made in moving too soon.
Brewster - finally off the mark (sns)
Brewster may prove a great buy and he has
replaced the fantastic Finn's role as Hibs hit man. Although Chris Sutton and
Emile Heskey disprove my theory I just don't think that having a little and
large combo - a big target man and a wee speedy guy is a complex enough
partnership. I'd like to see times when we had McManus and Luna or McManus and
Zitelli. This keeps strikers on their toes fighting for places and sharp
enough with match practice.
Midfield
All great strikers have good supply.
Denis Law for Man U had it, Ian Rush at Liverpool had it. All the best Hibs
sides have passed the ball, had width, had payers who ran at defences and
split defences. Turnbull's Tornadoes had a midfield that connected with it's
frontline, and in doing so was able to defeat a quality Celtic side on more
than one occasion, again, at the highest level. The quality that McLeish has
brought in to strengthen the middle of the park is excellent, and no doubt
Orman (as he's already proved) and de la Cruz will prove key players. Ian
Murray played a blinder in the Cup Final and there's more from to come. I have
to say that we haven't really replaced Latapy, and that Jack, Brebner,
Andrews, Arpinon and O'Neill aren't, in my opinion, of sufficient quality for
us to compete in Europe and to win domestic trophies. It may be that time
will prove me wrong, that McLeish and team mates will excel and develop into a
real team capable of more than we imagined this season. Let's hope so.
Alen Orman - a bargain buy (sns)
Finishing School
From talking to Dundee fans and seeing videos
of Luna playing in Mexico I think we have yet to see the best of Paco. Dundee
offered him terms and he'd of been partnering Javier Artero or Claudio
Caniggia if his wife hadn't been pregnant at the wrong time. You may also
remember he played a blinder in a Dundee draw against Celtic in his short
spell on Tayside. We need players that can unlock defences and I think Zitelli
and Luna have these qualities of subtlety and guile that we'll need if we can
put together a decent run in the UEFA Cup. Who can forget Zitelli's goal
against Dundee, and the shame that it wasn't featured as a Goal of the Season,
never mind Goal of the Month? I've heard that he's unsettled off the park and
this is the real reason for his exclusion. Let's hope that this gets resolved
before too long as we desperately need the Frenchman on form and pressurising
the other strikers. Let's also not forget the great form that Garry O'Connor
was in prior to his injury. Let's hope he's back soon. If he comes back fit
and able, then let him compete in the first team. Scotland has a terrible
record of holding young players back. In this we should look to what Hearts
are doing and blood our best young players as soon as we can.
If Hibs are to develop a tight squad, as seems
to be the plan, then let us consider whether we are top-heavy. Maybe we
need to buy midfield players who can deliver to forwards and attack the
penalty box. We were beaten fair and square by AEK last night. We lost because
of defensive mistakes. But we also had opportunities up front. I was never
convinced that Brewster's local knowledge would make any difference other than
for getting a table after the match. He looked slow, clumsy and one
dimensional, and I think Luna and Zitelli are better all round players. Let's
be ambitious, let's be contemporary, let's play with style. |
