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Thread: Squad on paper

  1. #1
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    Squad on paper

    I do have to say I am a bit disappointed to be 10pts behind Aberdeen at this juncture. I thought and still do we had a squad very capable of pressing for 2nd.

    Of course it is my opinion that the squad was of the quality I think some others may think it isn't as good. Perhaps then some players are not as good as I thought?

    I think we can come good but thus far and thats the annoying part we have had a few very good results.


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  3. #2
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    Central midfield is brilliant. Bartley, Slivka, McGeouch and McGinn are all quality players.

    Equally the defence are beginning to come together, although we need some competition for Lewis.

    We definitely need more going forward. Out wide Barker and Boyle aren't really doing enough week in week out. Stokes has looked good but we don't have an effective partner for him.

    I don't think we're miles away but I'd like to see us bring in a forward in January and possibly a left winger.

  4. #3
    Strikers are poor IMO. We needed a big target man like Rooney and ended up with Devydas

  5. #4
    On paper we have an incredibly strong-looking squad, but are lacking that cutting edge and guile that both Celtic and Aberdeen are demonstrating regularly.
    We have drawn games we have dominated because of these failings.
    This coupled with inexplicable defensive and collective lapses in concentration against both Hamilton and Motherwell have seen us collect far fewer points than we might have at this stage.
    There is absolutely no way that Hearts have anywhere near our collective quality, yet a single point separates us from their mediocrity.
    We have kept 1 clean sheet in the league and this tells its own story.
    On the plus side, we have not yet played the first round of fixtures.
    Neil Lennon is seeing our failings and I have every confidence that, come the seasons end, he will have us a lot closer to Aberdeen than we currently are.

  6. #5
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    I think the starting line ups in some games have not been right and we just are not getting away with it if we make any errors.

    For me we should start matches with 2 strikers.

  7. #6
    @hibs.net private member Golden Bear's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by S4uzee View Post
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    Strikers are poor IMO. We needed a big target man like Rooney and ended up with Devydas
    Having a big mobile striker would bring that extra something to the squad. Its all about genetics I dare say.

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Golden Bear View Post
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    Having a big mobile striker would bring that extra something to the squad. Its all about genetics I dare say.
    A younger, fitter and faster Grant Holt would make a huge difference.
    He would compliment our current strike force no end.

  9. #8
    @hibs.net private member danhibees1875's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by S4uzee View Post
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    Strikers are poor IMO. We needed a big target man like Rooney and ended up with Devydas
    Has he had a chance to be disregarded?

    Today was screaming out for us to go 2 up top to stop Stokes being so isolated. Lennon again confused me with his decision making at the subs.
    Mon the Hibs.

  10. #9
    worryingly Lennon doesn't seem to know our best\preferred formation. our home results have been very poor although I don't think we played to badly today

  11. #10
    Coaching Staff emerald green's Avatar
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    I'm not trying to be funny, and I know it's an old cliche, but it doesn't matter how good people think a squad is on paper. It's how good they are on grass that counts.
    Last edited by emerald green; 14-10-2017 at 06:15 PM.

  12. #11
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    Our squad is good on paper because people have overrated them. We are not that good and our squad is unbalanced. Chuck in the fact people think our manager is a god, when he's actually quite average and we are probably about right in 6th place.

  13. #12
    @hibs.net private member BT58's Avatar
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    SJM showed that if you shoot you may score. Today we looked like we never learnt that lesson. We played well but never really troubled their goalie. Thought Murray should have been on earlier rather than Barker. Its like the team prefer to play away from ER for some reason. I dont get the short corners when our Defenders are waiting for a cross that never comes.


  14. #13
    Testimonial Due Davy Mac's Avatar
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    Due to work commitments this was my second game of the season so not really in a great position to comment to harshly but what I watched today was a bit disappointing TBH.

    Positives:

    Hanlon & McGinn were excellent and great crowd of 19k

    Negatives:

    Shape and formation was a mess at times and player changes were too late in the day
    Too many players did not fight for the 2nd ball, ball watched all day, naive (Aberdeen were so streetwise), played like individuals
    Outfought, out-thought and we lacked creativity

    Needs:

    Need a left back and another striker, play Stokes just in behind main striker (Adam Rooney please)
    Singing section look like they have sent to the naughty corner and the atmosphere is scattered
    NL needs to accept that he will get it wrong from time to time and stop looking for a scrap, waving at Aberdeen fans was quite funny but having spats with the crowd is not good IMO.

    Any confidence I had for the semis (I'm going) is dwindling and NL needs to spring a surprise

  15. #14
    Coaching Staff Smartie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lennon's Lip View Post
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    A younger, fitter and faster Grant Holt would make a huge difference.
    He would compliment our current strike force no end.
    Last season's Grant Holt would make a huge difference, the 35 year old slow one that we had.

    He turned the semi-final last season against the same team that we couldn't even get close to breaking down today.

    Matulevicius doesn't look a patch on Holt to me, who was fairly under-appreciated last season.

    I'm sure Stokes would rather be up there with Holt rather than trying to do his job.

  16. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by Smartie View Post
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    Last season's Grant Holt would make a huge difference, the 35 year old slow one that we had.

    He turned the semi-final last season against the same team that we couldn't even get close to breaking down today.

    Matulevicius doesn't look a patch on Holt to me, who was fairly under-appreciated last season.

    I'm sure Stokes would rather be up there with Holt rather than trying to do his job.
    I loved Grant Holt and thought he did a fantastic job for us last season, but the inferior quality of the championship allowed him to prosper. The SPL is that bit faster and I really think that he would struggle against fitter, quicker defenders.

  17. #16
    Coaching Staff Smartie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lennon's Lip View Post
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    I loved Grant Holt and thought he did a fantastic job for us last season, but the inferior quality of the championship allowed him to prosper. The SPL is that bit faster and I really think that he would struggle against fitter, quicker defenders.
    I thought he looked better against the good teams that we came up against in the cups than he did against the duffers in the league.

  18. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Smartie View Post
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    I thought he looked better against the good teams that we came up against in the cups than he did against the duffers in the league.
    Funny enough he did. I would like big Davy get a run to give proper judgement.

  19. #18
    @hibs.net private member cabbageandribs1875's Avatar
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    Lennon seriously p****s me off sometimes with very late subs, chasing a game and he brings on a fresh striker with 5 ******g mins left, WTF is that all about, and i hate seeing stokes having to come so far back to get a touch of the ball, it was the same with cummings, at least twice stokes was waving other players to come further up the park, i bet that seriously pees him off
    Last edited by cabbageandribs1875; 14-10-2017 at 06:34 PM.

  20. #19
    I agree with the opening paragraph of the OP. We certainly have the 2nd best group of players in the league and play the 2nd best Football in the league. On our day we should be able to beat anyone. However, there is certainly something not right about our formation or the players that are being played in that formation. This sits with Lennon. I don't think he has worked out how to get the best of the players. Slivka is wasted on the right, he is a middle of the park player. I like him but I wouldn't start him before McGinn or Dylan. Therefore he wouldn't start for me. Square pegs in round holes has rarely worked well. Which formation we play or who fills the roles could be argued about. Injuries at the back haven't helped. If McGregor or Fonts were fit I would have played 3 CHs today. Not possible tho. So with a 4-4-2, I would have had SDG at right back at Whittaker right mid. Whittaker is at his best further up the pitch, he can't tackle. Barker is direct and dangerous so I probably would have started him left mid. Front 2, should Murray get the nod? I like the speed of Boyle but are we getting anything significant today from that? Prob not. Stokes needs to be quicker to pull the trigger, too often running with the ball at a wall of defenders after taking one or two touches too many and getting no where. We certainly aren't streetwise on the pitch. Aberdeen were taking yellows when needed, don't have the stats in front of me but they must have made way more fouls than us and a lot of them at important moments. The ref was terrible today. McGinn was getting plenty treatment. Aberdeen are not better than us but they have a system that works and Mcinnes has them drilled in it. That's the difference. 1st half they closed us down quick, didn't let us get into our game. 2nd half they played a lot like the championship teams did at ER, sat back in numbers and tried to break. Was it good Football in its pure sense, no. Did it work, yes. Are they happy tonight, you bet. We need to get our mix correct. Has Lennon worked it out, absolutely not. Does it sit with him, absolutely does. He needs to get more from this group. Formation and the best starting 11 are the first challenges. We should be way better than 1 point ahead of a poor Hearts team. Are we too easy to play, I think so far the proof is that we are. We have run over teams and only got a point. Today, we deserved something and got nothing. It all points to a problem that needs solved. I hope Lennon makes the changes to get it right. If he does that I have no doubt we can be strong from here but the clock starts ticking pretty quickly and before you know it we are either fighting for 3/4th or we're fighting to stay in the top 6. Over to Lennon

  21. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by neil7908 View Post
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    Central midfield is brilliant. Bartley, Slivka, McGeouch and McGinn are all quality players.
    They're all excellent players in the role they perform, but none of them scores many goals so maybe the blend isn't right and that's why we don't convert possession into points. We don't have the equivalent of McGregor at Celtic or Davidson at St Johnstone or Pat McGinlay in the past.

  22. #21
    Coaching Staff Smartie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ballengeich View Post
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    They're all excellent players in the role they perform, but none of them scores many goals so maybe the blend isn't right and that's why we don't convert possession into points. We don't have the equivalent of McGregor at Celtic or Davidson at St Johnstone or Pat McGinlay in the past.
    Danny Swanson?

    It's not happened for Danny yet, but surely he's that kind of player?

    I thought he showed great feet on a couple of occasions today, but that overhit cross he put over right on the final whistle was inexcusable. You can't excuse a professional footballer with that much time and space to put in a good cross on their strong foot not doing better than that when it really mattered.

    I remember Brian Hamilton just about getting lynched for something similar.

  23. #22
    Swanson needs more time on the pitch. He is the type of player that the Aberdeen team (as today's example) is full of. Maybe I would have started him left mid before Barker as I suggested in my previous post. He is a smart hard working type player and capable of being the Pat Mcginlay of the current side. i don't know the guy but on the pitch he looks like he needs to believe in himself a little more. I hope the pressure of joining his boyhood heroes hasn't placed to much pressure on his shoulders. He is certainly capable of being a very important player for us. Again, back to my last post, a lot of it is maybe finding the correct role & position for him on the pitch rather than just having him on the pitch and expecting something from him.

  24. #23
    @hibs.net private member SRHibs's Avatar
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    I like Slivka, but he should be in the centre. If he’s not playing there, don’t play him.


  25. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by Smartie View Post
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    Danny Swanson?

    It's not happened for Danny yet, but surely he's that kind of player?
    Another good player and more of a goalscorer but one who works wide rather than one who gets into the box to support the forwards.

  26. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by Captain Trips View Post
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    I think the starting line ups in some games have not been right and we just are not getting away with it if we make any errors.

    For me we should start matches with 2 strikers.
    I thought so too. Consensus on here was to keep the same team v Celtic

  27. #26
    @hibs.net private member AgentDaleCooper's Avatar
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    IMO, if we sell mcginn and bring in moult, we'd be a better overall team

  28. #27
    Testimonial Due lugz's Avatar
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    I think peoples expectations including the media were far too high for this season. It's our first year back after 3 years away and it's a different level. Over a season we're not ready to compete with Aberdeen and probably rangers. Realistically we should be aiming for top 6 then competing with Motherwell, StJ and hearts for 4th.

  29. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by SRH View Post
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    I like Slivka, but he should be in the centre. If he’s not playing there, don’t play him.
    100%

  30. #29
    Professional thread starter Diclonius's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by S4uzee View Post
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    Strikers are poor IMO. We needed a big target man like Rooney and ended up with Devydas
    He's barely got a game. We have no idea if he's good or not.

  31. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by SingaporeHibs View Post
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    I agree with the opening paragraph of the OP. We certainly have the 2nd best group of players in the league and play the 2nd best Football in the league. On our day we should be able to beat anyone. However, there is certainly something not right about our formation or the players that are being played in that formation. This sits with Lennon. I don't think he has worked out how to get the best of the players. Slivka is wasted on the right, he is a middle of the park player. I like him but I wouldn't start him before McGinn or Dylan. Therefore he wouldn't start for me. Square pegs in round holes has rarely worked well. Which formation we play or who fills the roles could be argued about. Injuries at the back haven't helped. If McGregor or Fonts were fit I would have played 3 CHs today. Not possible tho. So with a 4-4-2, I would have had SDG at right back at Whittaker right mid. Whittaker is at his best further up the pitch, he can't tackle. Barker is direct and dangerous so I probably would have started him left mid. Front 2, should Murray get the nod? I like the speed of Boyle but are we getting anything significant today from that? Prob not. Stokes needs to be quicker to pull the trigger, too often running with the ball at a wall of defenders after taking one or two touches too many and getting no where. We certainly aren't streetwise on the pitch. Aberdeen were taking yellows when needed, don't have the stats in front of me but they must have made way more fouls than us and a lot of them at important moments. The ref was terrible today. McGinn was getting plenty treatment. Aberdeen are not better than us but they have a system that works and Mcinnes has them drilled in it. That's the difference. 1st half they closed us down quick, didn't let us get into our game. 2nd half they played a lot like the championship teams did at ER, sat back in numbers and tried to break. Was it good Football in its pure sense, no. Did it work, yes. Are they happy tonight, you bet. We need to get our mix correct. Has Lennon worked it out, absolutely not. Does it sit with him, absolutely does. He needs to get more from this group. Formation and the best starting 11 are the first challenges. We should be way better than 1 point ahead of a poor Hearts team. Are we too easy to play, I think so far the proof is that we are. We have run over teams and only got a point. Today, we deserved something and got nothing. It all points to a problem that needs solved. I hope Lennon makes the changes to get it right. If he does that I have no doubt we can be strong from here but the clock starts ticking pretty quickly and before you know it we are either fighting for 3/4th or we're fighting to stay in the top 6. Over to Lennon
    good points.
    I also dont think we worked hard enough off the ball to get into spaces and support. Aberdeen worked a lot harder than we did I thought.

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