James Keatings Leaves Hearts.

[J-C]

Malonga was a last minute signing doe to Farids injury, he wasn't scouted enough before we signed him and although his goal return is good, he can be very moody and lazy at times on the pitch.

Dje dje was brought in as cover for Malonga being away in Africa, he came with a decent pedigree and plays out wide or through the middle, I do think it's taken him a while to settle and unsure as to whether his lack of English has hampered him, he does have a fair bot of pace too.

Farid's importance was shown when he came on against Rangers in the 2nd game, his ability to rough up defenders and make space for others is very important and he has proved he can score a fair amount of goals.

[Andy74]

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Malonga was a last minute signing doe to Farids injury, he wasn't scouted enough before we signed him and although his goal return is good, he can be very moody and lazy at times on the pitch.

Dje dje was brought in as cover for Malonga being away in Africa, he came with a decent pedigree and plays out wide or through the middle, I do think it's taken him a while to settle and unsure as to whether his lack of English has hampered him, he does have a fair bot of pace too.

Farid's importance was shown when he came on against Rangers in the 2nd game, his ability to rough up defenders and make space for others is very important and he has proved he can score a fair amount of goals.

You keep repeating this lack of scouting line.

Stubbs said at the time he had been on the radar for weeks and was looking at a striker before Farid was injured.

He is probably in our top 3 or 4 players. His attitude seems more of an issue with one or two of you as the manager and his team mates seem to have no problem with him.

If Kestings is a proven Championship striker then Malonga certainly is!

[J-C]

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You keep repeating this lack of scouting line.

Stubbs said at the time he had been on the radar for weeks and was looking at a striker before Farid was injured.

He is probably in our top 3 or 4 players. His attitude seems more of an issue with one or two of you as the manager and his team mates seem to have no problem with him.

If Kestings is a proven Championship striker then Malonga certainly is!

He was being looked at yes but due to Farid's injury things had to be pushed through a lot quicker, so his scouting wasn't complete, you understand so far ??

I never said he had an attitude, I said appears moody and lazy at times on the pitch, in future please quote what I actually say not something you think I said, it'll save any hassle. I also never mentioned anything about problems with his team mates, AFAIK he gets on well with the rest of the squad.


Don't know who Kestings is but yes Keatings is a proven striker like Malonga, what my post was about was to show the difference and variation between 3 of our strikers and what they all bring to the table, I'd assume one will leave to make way for Keatings, which one is guess work.


As an aside, please don't turn this into a tit for tat reply, anything like that will be reported to admins, please keep this thread on the subject of Keatings.

[hfc rd]

Very good signing by Hibs. A proven goalscorer and a player the yams liked and looking at their reaction to us signing their top-goalscorer, they ain't pleased at all!

[Thecat23]

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You can give him the photo back now?? ;-)

Haha do I have too?

[Andy74]

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He was being looked at yes but due to Farid's injury things had to be pushed through a lot quicker, so his scouting wasn't complete, you understand so far ??

I never said he had an attitude, I said appears moody and lazy at times on the pitch, in future please quote what I actually say not something you think I said, it'll save any hassle. I also never mentioned anything about problems with his team mates, AFAIK he gets on well with the rest of the squad.


Don't know who Kestings is but yes Keatings is a proven striker like Malonga, what my post was about was to show the difference and variation between 3 of our strikers and what they all bring to the table, I'd assume one will leave to make way for Keatings, which one is guess work.


As an aside, please don't turn this into a tit for tat reply, anything like that will be reported to admins, please keep this thread on the subject of Keatings.

What a strange reply. If I respond to the points you brought up in the first place you will report it to admins??

[Aldo]

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Haha do I have too?

Keep it for next time!

[Hibs History]

Some of those puddle-drinkers across in kickback seem CONVINCED that Keatings signing for us means Scott Allan is going to them



Yam logic at it's finest

[J-C]

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What a strange reply. If I respond to the points you brought up in the first place you will report it to admins??

No I've had problems with you before on other threads and you do go on and off on a tangent, almost to the point of being personal, I wasn't wanting this thread to be like that, which it is now because I'm replying to you about nothing to do with Keatings.

[Andy74]

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No I've had problems with you before on other threads and you do go on and off on a tangent, almost to the point of being personal, I wasn't wanting this thread to be like that, which it is now because I'm replying to you about nothing to do with Keatings.

Dearly me. You posted about Malonga and I replied.

You then got a bit a bit pissy about the difference in some wording. Laziness and moodiness appear quite different to attitude I suppose.

You also decided to make a deal of a one letter typo.

And you warn me about being personal? No idea why this was needed on this thread.

If you don't want the tangents discussed then maybe go back and delete your post where you introduced those tangents.

[J-C]

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Dearly me. You posted about Malonga and I replied.

You then got a bit a bit pissy about the difference in some wording. Laziness and moodiness appear quite different to attitude I suppose.

You also decided to make a deal of a one letter typo.

And you warn me about being personal? No idea why this was needed on this thread.

If you don't want the tangents discussed then maybe go back and delete your post where you introduced those tangents.

The thread had already gone off in a tangent when people were curious as to who would leave seeing as Keatings had signed and we had too many strikers.

There were many threads on here regarding Malonga's lazy playing and moodiness when he scored, this seemed to change in the last 2-3 games where he was playing fairly well but his attitude on the pitch has been discussed many many times on here.

Picked you up on the typo as you were quick to have a go at me, simple as.


P.S. Don't bother replying as I have now put you on ignore.

[Andy74]

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The thread had already gone off in a tangent when people where curious as to who would leave seeing as Keatings had signed and we had too many strikers.

There were many threads on here regarding Malonga's lazy playing and moodiness when he scored, this seemed to change in the last 2-3 games where he was playing fairly well but his attitude on the pitch has been discussed many many times on here.

Picked you up on the typo as you were quick to have a go at me, simple as.


P.S. Don't bother replying as I have now put you on ignore.

That's good. Strange behaviour like that I could do without.

[Thecat23]

I like Malonga but he can have a problem with his attitude during games! It's been seen before and I'm not talking about not celebrating. He may well leave and I'm fine with that to be fair.

But if he does stay then I'm fine with that also. Id like to see him put in more effort during games and not just now and then. He could have been top scorer IMO if he had done.

This isn't a dig it's clearly an observation and my opinion before anyone gets carried away!!

[Danderhall Hibs]

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The thread had already gone off in a tangent when people where curious

"Were" curious.

[HIBERNIAN-0762]

Anyway!

Deluded yaks over on EEN football forum pure comedy gold at the moment, apparently now he's only a championship player...

They just can't help being liars...

[Thecat23]

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Anyway!

Deluded yaks over on EEN football forum pure comedy gold at the moment, apparently now he's only a championship player...

They just can't help being liars...

It's brilliant it really is! Same on Kickback. Like when your 5 and you get a bouncy ball, your mate doesn't have it and you are loving it. Then you lose yours and he buys one and he says it didn't bounce that great anyway while gasping in breath trying not to cry!

[HibbyKeith]

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It's brilliant it really is! Same on Kickback. Like when your 5 and you get a bouncy ball, your mate doesn't have it and you are loving it. Then you lose yours and he buys one and he says it didn't bounce that great anyway while gasping in breath trying not to cry!

Had the same problem when I was 5. Turned out to be a marble.

[B.H.F.C]

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I like Malonga but he can have a problem with his attitude during games! It's been seen before and I'm not talking about not celebrating. He may well leave and I'm fine with that to be fair.

But if he does stay then I'm fine with that also. Id like to see him put in more effort during games and not just now and then. He could have been top scorer IMO if he had done.

This isn't a dig it's clearly an observation and my opinion before anyone gets carried away!!

I think when Malonga is on his game we are a better team. He's got a great touch and brings others in to the game well.

I don't think it was his attitude that stopped him being top scorer. He only came in 5 games in to the season then missed 6 weeks when he was away to Africa. That said, I do think there are times when he's been completely invisible in games.

[Jim44]

There are 13 pages of Jambo utterings about their indifference towards our signing of their 'reject'. A united silence would be more convincing.

[J-C]

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"Were" curious.

Ah! good spot, note to self always check spelling when typing angrily

[The_Horde]

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There are 13 pages of Jambo utterings about their indifference towards our signing of their 'reject'. A united silence would be more convincing.

"Aye but 5-1"

[Bad Martini]

**** sake. Everyone's allowed an opinion; nae bother with that...
On a forum based on opinions (Differing), nae bother with that either...
Even revisionism is to be expected

But some folk are just stone radge

So, we have in Cummings the top (top) scorer in the league and the 4th top scorer in the league with Malonga. Thats not bad. We didnt pay stupid money and we dont pay stupid money for these players. Malonga missed lots of the season due to the international call ups or I'd wager he'd have been even further up that top scorer list.

FFS! Why would we empty either of these? I wondered how long it'd take to blame the forwards. We done the same with ****ing Riordan and O'Connor. Between them they'd scored ****loads and saved our ass - basic physics. You score more than you conceede, you dont lose games. Same rules apply now.

Our problem (notwithstanding the rangers game at Ibrox where our forwards were pretty ****), is not up front. Our problem is losing stupid ****ing goals and it always has been. Fact. Not "hibs.net" fact or something you will be getting a source for....use yer eyes!!

So, lets not talk pish and blame our forwards for our position. Yes, its true, they squandered lots of chances at hunbrox. They didnt let in the goals now did they? I AGREE, 15 corners and 2 or3 shots on target is not good enough. Had Cummings and Malonga not burried so many, we wouldnt be in the position to be moaning about them missing the chances at hunbrox. The TEAM was **** at hunbrox Im afraid...pretty much all of them didnt do what they had all season and that, with some bad luck and an offside miller goal (it was offside) killed us.

If moving anyone on for this laddie, it wouldnt be the league's top and 4th top scorer with anyone who hasnt been labotomised, regardless of perceived "huffyness" and "laziness". As I said, same **** was levelled at Riordan and he was and still is one of the best goalscorers you will see before you die, at Easter Road. Also, a fact.

Anyways, lets fight aboot it cause we're bringing players IN....FFS, at least lets wait til we empty someone before we start hammering the club with imparted wisdom.

[Callum_62]

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**** sake. Everyone's allowed an opinion; nae bother with that...
On a forum based on opinions (Differing), nae bother with that either...
Even revisionism is to be expected

But some folk are just stone radge

So, we have in Cummings the top (top) scorer in the league and the 4th top scorer in the league with Malonga. Thats not bad. We didnt pay stupid money and we dont pay stupid money for these players. Malonga missed lots of the season due to the international call ups or I'd wager he'd have been even further up that top scorer list.

FFS! Why would we empty either of these? I wondered how long it'd take to blame the forwards. We done the same with ****ing Riordan and O'Connor. Between them they'd scored ****loads and saved our ass - basic physics. You score more than you conceede, you dont lose games. Same rules apply now.

Our problem (notwithstanding the rangers game at Ibrox where our forwards were pretty ****), is not up front. Our problem is losing stupid ****ing goals and it always has been. Fact. Not "hibs.net" fact or something you will be getting a source for....use yer eyes!!

So, lets not talk pish and blame our forwards for our position. Yes, its true, they squandered lots of chances at hunbrox. They didnt let in the goals now did they? I AGREE, 15 corners and 2 or3 shots on target is not good enough. Had Cummings and Malonga not burried so many, we wouldnt be in the position to be moaning about them missing the chances at hunbrox. The TEAM was **** at hunbrox Im afraid...pretty much all of them didnt do what they had all season and that, with some bad luck and an offside miller goal (it was offside) killed us.

If moving anyone on for this laddie, it wouldnt be the league's top and 4th top scorer with anyone who hasnt been labotomised, regardless of perceived "huffyness" and "laziness". As I said, same **** was levelled at Riordan and he was and still is one of the best goalscorers you will see before you die, at Easter Road. Also, a fact.

Anyways, lets fight aboot it cause we're bringing players IN....FFS, at least lets wait til we empty someone before we start hammering the club with imparted wisdom.

I dont get the Malonga hate

[Ozyhibby]

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**** sake. Everyone's allowed an opinion; nae bother with that...
On a forum based on opinions (Differing), nae bother with that either...
Even revisionism is to be expected

But some folk are just stone radge

So, we have in Cummings the top (top) scorer in the league and the 4th top scorer in the league with Malonga. Thats not bad. We didnt pay stupid money and we dont pay stupid money for these players. Malonga missed lots of the season due to the international call ups or I'd wager he'd have been even further up that top scorer list.

FFS! Why would we empty either of these? I wondered how long it'd take to blame the forwards. We done the same with ****ing Riordan and O'Connor. Between them they'd scored ****loads and saved our ass - basic physics. You score more than you conceede, you dont lose games. Same rules apply now.

Our problem (notwithstanding the rangers game at Ibrox where our forwards were pretty ****), is not up front. Our problem is losing stupid ****ing goals and it always has been. Fact. Not "hibs.net" fact or something you will be getting a source for....use yer eyes!!

So, lets not talk pish and blame our forwards for our position. Yes, its true, they squandered lots of chances at hunbrox. They didnt let in the goals now did they? I AGREE, 15 corners and 2 or3 shots on target is not good enough. Had Cummings and Malonga not burried so many, we wouldnt be in the position to be moaning about them missing the chances at hunbrox. The TEAM was **** at hunbrox Im afraid...pretty much all of them didnt do what they had all season and that, with some bad luck and an offside miller goal (it was offside) killed us.

If moving anyone on for this laddie, it wouldnt be the league's top and 4th top scorer with anyone who hasnt been labotomised, regardless of perceived "huffyness" and "laziness". As I said, same **** was levelled at Riordan and he was and still is one of the best goalscorers you will see before you die, at Easter Road. Also, a fact.

Anyways, lets fight aboot it cause we're bringing players IN....FFS, at least lets wait til we empty someone before we start hammering the club with imparted wisdom.

I personally feel we did not score enough goals this season and thankfully Alan Stubbs agrees as his first new signing is a striker.

[Bad Martini]

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I personally feel we did not score enough goals this season and thankfully Alan Stubbs agrees as his first new signing is a striker.

You can only make a signing decision depending on who is available when so is this not a matter of timing? I would be rather surprsied if that's the start and end of it...

In addition, by that logic perhaps its more important or telling that Gray extended his deal and Fyvie was signed up before our new striker?

Craig is out the door (was he the most pressing departure?) and Cerny has just followed him, signing for Partick...

[Smartie]

I don't think we scored enough goals last season either but I've found it quite hard to put my finger on why. It's way too simplistic just to blame the strikers.

I'd say it was a combination of -

The strikers - sometimes their movement wasn't good enough. And some games we missed bucket loads of chances.
The tactics. We lacked "directness" too often, passing the ball sideways without ever having a cutting edge.
The midfield. We didn't have a scorer from midfield who would get past the strikers.
Width. We relied on the fullbacks for our width, preferring to go without wingers for much of the season. We played too narrow at times.
Set-pieces. We didn't score enough from set-pieces. We sometimes had a lack of height in the box and often the deliveries were poor.
Reluctance to pull the trigger from distance. How many goals did we score from outside the box?
Pace and ability to beat a man. We were too easy to defend against at times, teams could sit deep knowing we didn't have enough players who could do this.

So, in essence, I agree that if we simply took Malonga and Cummings out and replaced them with another 2 strikers we would probably end up having the same problems. But I would say that they were part of the problem at times and that we do need different options up front next year.

What is most encouraging is that our early transfer activity seems to be addressing many of the factors I have mentioned above.


On another note, I find the criticism of the defence a bit strange even though I agree we lost too many silly goals. The consensus seems to be that we're delighted Gray has extended his contract. Most of us are desperate that Fontaine is the next one to extend his stay. Hanlon had a very steady season (as usual) and we want Stevenson to stay after having a very good season. Nobody in their right mind would want to see Forster leave, imo he showed his worth when he got back in the team towards the end of the season (and we missed him when he was out).

So what do we do differently there? Was it all Oxley's fault? Everyone seems to think that Robertson had a good season as a holding midfielder. Did the midfield help the defence enough?

[patlowe]

I really like what Malonga brings, when he is on it we are 100% a better team. I also think Cummings has huge potential, while Farid gives us a great option when going direct.

However, there is no doubt that despite the number of goals the forwards scored, missed chances really did hold us back at crucial points in the season. There were so many games where we dominated possession and an early goal would have killed the opposition off but we contrived to miss hatloads. How many times did we miss chances in the first half, only to see the opposition gain confidence and nick a goal/points? I think Hearts won so many games by getting that first goal by hook or by crook before going on to steamroller teams.

Both legs of the Rangers game and the Falkirk semi were cases in point. A bit more composure and clinical finishing early on in either tie and we would have gone through relatively comfortably IMO. The Cummings miss at Ibrox was a massive turning point in hindsight. Rangers got the first goal, gained confidence and had something to defend. Vice versa against Motherwell.

As I say, I like the forwards we have, but there's no doubt that we could do with better on the finishing front. If Keatings brings that then I'm happy. What a difference compared to our forward line when we were relegated and what Stubbs inherited. Collins, Heffernan, Vine and a very raw Cummings VS Cummings, Malonga, Keatings and Farid (plus Dje Dje and the kids).

[SunshineOnLeith]

I'm surprised by the signing of Keatings as, for me, he'd be behind Cummings, Malonga and Farid in the queue. Suspect he's taking Djedje's place in the squad which is fine but can't help but feel there might have been a better use of a first team wage - strikes me as needlessly opportunistic that we've just snapped up someone who's local and been released.

[Sergio sledge]

All forwards are going to miss chances, ours were more obvious because we were almost wholly reliant on our forwards for goals. The main difference between us and Hearts this season was that our midfield didn't chip in with many goals where they had a couple of midfielders into double figures.

If we can add that then we'll be fine this season. I don't particularly see defence as a massive issue (of course it can get better) as we were second in the league last season.

[Scouse Hibee]

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I'm surprised by the signing of Keatings as, for me, he'd be behind Cummings, Malonga and Farid in the queue. Suspect he's taking Djedje's place in the squad which is fine but can't help but feel there might have been a better use of a first team wage - strikes me as needlessly opportunistic that we've just snapped up someone who's local and been released.

Strikes me as an opportunity to snap up a proven championship goal scorer to improve a team that struggled to put the ball in the net at times last season.