Give porteous a go alongside hanlon

[AgentDaleCooper]

IMO this could be a great pairing. Hanlon is calm and experienced, and porteous looks very promising. As much as i love ambrose and rate him in terms of ability, he plays like he's just had a joint and costs us a goal a game. Wtf was he doing for livi's first?

[JimBHibees]

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IMO this could be a great pairing. Hanlon is calm and experienced, and porteous looks very promising. As much as i love ambrose and rate him in terms of ability, he plays like he's just had a joint and costs us a goal a game. Wtf was he doing for livi's first?

Still very young and inexperienced though looks good. Happy to leave that decision to the coaching team who see the players every day.

[Smartie]

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Still very young and experienced though looks good. Happy to leave that decision to the coaching team who see the players every day.

Whilst that is true and fair, they really need to be looking at the goals we're losing in games and working out what to do stop them from continuing to happen.

Ask Stokesy - it's not what you do on the training pitch, it's what you do on a Saturday that counts.

We don't see the players every day but we see them when it matters most - match day, and the loss of silly goals needs to be eradicated right now.



(BTW - I've been very critical of Ambrose, both his defensive play and his use of the ball from the back. I thought he looked much better in possession, as did everyone, once McGeouch went on. We still need to sort out our defending, we look like we could lose a goal at any moment these days.)

[madhatter]

Our best pairing is probably McGregor + Hanlon (or Efe). Problem with Hanlon and Efe is that they are quite similar. Defenders who like to play a little bit and are a wee bit less physical.

Having said that we are far too easy to counter against, our fullbacks push on and we are so narrow up top. Long ball into the wings and before you know it our CBs are in a place they don't want to be in.

Balance of the team still needs some work. Pretty sure Stevenson crossed and Whittaker was the guy attacking it back post. That's OK if you are playing 3 at the back and cover but most of the time we are so narrow the wings are easy targets.

[calumhibee1]

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Whilst that is true and fair, they really need to be looking at the goals we're losing in games and working out what to do stop them from continuing to happen.

Ask Stokesy - it's not what you do on the training pitch, it's what you do on a Saturday that counts.

We don't see the players every day but we see them when it matters most - match day, and the loss of silly goals needs to be eradicated right now.



(BTW - I've been very critical of Ambrose, both his defensive play and his use of the ball from the back. I thought he looked much better in possession, as did everyone, once McGeouch went on. We still need to sort out our defending, we look like we could lose a goal at any moment these days.)

This is what always pops into my head every time someone says about seeing the players in training every day. You're no use to anyone being incredible in training. All that matters is that you turn up on a Saturday and turn it on. Your performances in training during the week are irrelevant.

[Andy74]

I think in reality Ambrose is still going to be a fair bit ahead of Porteous.

Ambrose was outstanding last year with us, and fine, we've had some pretty bad moments at the back, but with missing two experienced centre halfs already I don't think the situation would be improved by sticking a young guy in.

[JimBHibees]

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This is what always pops into my head every time someone says about seeing the players in training every day. You're no use to anyone being incredible in training. All that matters is that you turn up on a Saturday and turn it on. Your performances in training during the week are irrelevant.

Hardly irrelevant it is how players tend to impress enough to get a game. They will also be playing games such as bounce games, friendlies, development games to also give them the opportunity to impress.

[JimBHibees]

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I think in reality Ambrose is still going to be a fair bit ahead of Porteous.

Ambrose was outstanding last year with us, and fine, we've had some pretty bad moments at the back, but with missing two experienced centre halfs already I don't think the situation would be improved by sticking a young guy in.

Agree the risk being also that you stunt a young players development by throwing them in too early and he has a mare.

[DavidDavidGray]

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I think in reality Ambrose is still going to be a fair bit ahead of Porteous.

Ambrose was outstanding last year with us, and fine, we've had some pretty bad moments at the back, but with missing two experienced centre halfs already I don't think the situation would be improved by sticking a young guy in.

Ambrose had moments last year but was overall good, however he has been horrendous since the Rangers game. Giving Porteous a go could be that little wake up call for him that even though he's Lennys boy, his place is not secure. I reckon it would be worth it giving Ryan a go

[MWHIBBIES]

Bartley gave away the free kick and Grays man scored, lets drop Ambrose...

Ambrose will keep his place and rightfully so.

[AgentDaleCooper]

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Bartley gave away the free kick and Grays man scored, lets drop Ambrose...

Ambrose will keep his place and rightfully so.

sorry...i meant the second goal.

[pacoluna]

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Bartley gave away the free kick and Grays man scored, lets drop Ambrose...

Ambrose will keep his place and rightfully so.

McG gave away a sloppy penalty for first goal, Hanlon plays a sloppy pass leading to Hamilton's second, killing that match... lets blame Ambrose.

[LithgaeHibby]

One other thing I've noticed is that Hanlon and Ambrose seem to be arguing with each other quite a bit on the park these days... Maybe that's football when you've just lost a goal and you look round to see who should have been marking the scorer, but maybe it's not a central defensive pairing made in heaven?

[edwards]

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IMO this could be a great pairing. Hanlon is calm and experienced, and porteous looks very promising. As much as i love ambrose and rate him in terms of ability, he plays like he's just had a joint and costs us a goal a game. Wtf was he doing for livi's first?

Just had a joint ma sides, I have watched Effe no on a few occasions and for me he doesn't have that bit of steel for the centre of defence, he read the move wrong for the partick first goal and gave away a needles free kick which led to the Motherwell first and last nights attempt to clear was poor and this led to Livi's second can;t complain about the finish though.
I would like to see Porteous given a chance but it's a hard choice for Neil.

[LaMotta]

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I think in reality Ambrose is still going to be a fair bit ahead of Porteous.

Ambrose was outstanding last year with us, and fine, we've had some pretty bad moments at the back, but with missing two experienced centre halfs already I don't think the situation would be improved by sticking a young guy in.

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Bartley gave away the free kick and Grays man scored, lets drop Ambrose...

Ambrose will keep his place and rightfully so.

[Kavinho]

Give him an occasional 10 here and there. Revisit in 2 months, not before

[WhileTheChief..]

He's miles away from a regular start.

Hanlon and Ambrose will be our centre pairing until McGregor is back and rightly so.

[lyonhibs]

I'm always wary of the phrase "let's give <insert player here> a go"

This is professional football in Scotland's top flight we're talking about here, not mucking about having shots as the goalie on the training pitch or whatever. If Neil Lennon thinks Porteous has the ability and shows he has the goods in training then he'll replace Ambrose with Porteous until Ambrose wins his place back.

He's not just going to flippantly go "may as well give this a shot" and chuck in a young lad to see what happens.

Ambrose made a mistake in the Livi game and personally I'm not a huge fan of his laid back style, at centre back anyway. But he's a 28 year old Nigerian Internationalist with experience and a good player to boot. If he was conistently Franco Baresi-esque, he wouldn't be at Hibs.

[Allant1981]

sorry but playing porteous just now when the whole defence hasnt been great is just mental, hopefully the back line get things sorted and then when they have confidence as a unit start giving him some playing time, just now he is a back up and when all are fit i cant see him making the bench

[Smartie]

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I'm always wary of the phrase "let's give <insert player here> a go"

This is professional football in Scotland's top flight we're talking about here, not mucking about having shots as the goalie on the training pitch or whatever. If Neil Lennon thinks Porteous has the ability and shows he has the goods in training then he'll replace Ambrose with Porteous until Ambrose wins his place back.

He's not just going to flippantly go "may as well give this a shot" and chuck in a young lad to see what happens.

Ambrose made a mistake in the Livi game and personally I'm not a huge fan of his laid back style, at centre back anyway. But he's a 28 year old Nigerian Internationalist with experience and a good player to boot. If he was conistently Franco Baresi-esque, he wouldn't be at Hibs.

Some of us have simply formed opinions based on what we've seen.

I've not seen much of Porteous - but everything I've seen I've liked. You only need to look at him to know he's got the physical attributes that are required, he's a big , strong laddie (sometimes youngsters aren't ready for the physical aspect of the game, so they represent a risk).

He played in a friendly (yes, I know) against Sunderland, against some big money signings and players of repute, and didn't look remotely out of place. He's played for us in the league cup against senior Scottish League sides and really looked the part. Last season he played a lot of games on loan, so it's not like he's never played a senior fixture. Porteous is the captain of his age group at International level, so someone must recognise leadership qualities in there.

There is a problem in our defence and I've just been uneasy about how bad we look (not just the goals we've lost) from that RCB position - the position that has consistently been Efe's since the start of the season. It's happening week in week out, and last night we lost another 2 goals, this time at home to Championship opposition.

I loved Efe last season and I was delighted we signed him, but that defence, with him in the middle of it, gives me a heart attack every time the ball goes near it.

I question Efe's defensive abilities. Yes, he's good on the ball, but he needs to defend better of be dropped. I know less about Porteous, but I know he's a big, strong lad who has impressed me every time I've seen him. He needs a chance at some point - if it doesn't happen at a time when you have 2 players out injured, and the guys playing his position are struggling for form in the achilles heel of our team, when is he going to get a chance?

[blackpoolhibs]

With the amount of goals we are losing, it might be a good idea to get him in alongside Hanlon and Ambrose?

[Smartie]

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With the amount of goals we are losing, it might be a good idea to get him in alongside Hanlon and Ambrose?

That might work.

Hanlon sweeping, Ambrose on the right, Porteous on the left (iirc that's where he played most of the pre-season games).

Gives a bit more cover for Ambrose to try the fun stuff, we get the height of the 3 of them to defend set-pieces so we don't have the likes of Whittaker picking up the opposition number 9?

Whitty's a natural RWB.

We'd just need to stop crucifying Lewis Stevenson any time his ball into the box was less than perfect.

Also - I'm not mad on Bartley with 3 CBs.

[Thecat23]

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I think in reality Ambrose is still going to be a fair bit ahead of Porteous.

Ambrose was outstanding last year with us, and fine, we've had some pretty bad moments at the back, but with missing two experienced centre halfs already I don't think the situation would be improved by sticking a young guy in.

I'm a huge fan of Ambrose but he's far to slack at times just now. Last year you could get away with it, the standard is far better in this league and that's why Celtic eventually let him go. He has to be quicker at clearing his lines and find a better understanding with Hanlon.

[lenny leith]

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IMO this could be a great pairing. Hanlon is calm and experienced, and porteous looks very promising. As much as i love ambrose and rate him in terms of ability, he plays like he's just had a joint and costs us a goal a game. Wtf was he doing for livi's first?

100% and I agree. Ambrose is capable of costing us
calm collective and a bomb scare :

[Andy74]

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I'm a huge fan of Ambrose but he's far to slack at times just now. Last year you could get away with it, the standard is far better in this league and that's why Celtic eventually let him go. He has to be quicker at clearing his lines and find a better understanding with Hanlon.

Celtic didn't let him go because he isn't good enough for this league - he played for five years with them at that level. He also made the team of the African Nations Cup which they won.

I'd say we were pretty lucky to have him here at all given the interest in him from better leagues than this - he might have had a bit of a dip in form but there's no danger we can be at the stage where he isn't good enough for this league.

Celtic have better players now and ambitions beyond just the SPL. They didn't want Stokes either, don't play Henderson, and both are more than good enough for this league.

[Brooster]

Difficult one. When players under perform the should be dropped. You get a dangerous situation if they know they cant be dropped. Young Porteous will be thinking he should get a chance and rightly so. Personally I would go with this back 5 for RC based on current form and assuming Sir David is injured. Laidlaw Whittaker Porteous Hanlon Stevenson.

[Dashing Bob S]

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Difficult one. When players under perform the should be dropped. You get a dangerous situation if they know they cant be dropped. Young Porteous will be thinking he should get a chance and rightly so. Personally I would go with this back 5 for RC based on current form and assuming Sir David is injured. Laidlaw Whittaker Porteous Hanlon Stevenson.

Agree with this 100%. Rocky and Efe are big signings but if they ain't performing they shouldn't be in the team. End of. Football is a performance based activity. You can't mollycoddle senior pros. Laid law and Porteous deserve their chance.