Squad on paper

[CMurdoch]

Hibs are a good squad but are badly missing a second quality striker and free kick specialist.
If we could combine the two in one player that would be perfect but a thumb quality player would be outside our price range. Would settle for Moult quality meantime.
At the start of the season I said we should be looking to finish 4th. Nothing has changed.

[J-C]

I don't think Lennon knows his best formation yet and is still playing around with players in different positions, he's definitely not getting the best out of Dylan, Slivka and Stokes and for me Gray is a better RB than Whittaker who is started to show his age, looked slow and ponderous yesterday.

[eastcoasthibby]

We dont have enough up front its blatantly obvious Stokes is never a one up top striker he needs someone to play with or off ! The two we have Murray and Big Dave would be.decent.enough 3rd choices ..but a bit off whats needed at the level we are playing at.
The.left back position continues.to be an ongoing weakness in the all round ability of whats needed in that position .

[Heisenberg]

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I don't think Lennon knows his best formation yet and is still playing around with players in different positions, he's definitely not getting the best out of Dylan, Slivka and Stokes and for me Gray is a better RB than Whittaker who is started to show his age, looked slow and ponderous yesterday.

If Whittaker is getting picked out for criticism yesterday then I think it’s only fair Stevenson does as well. GMS had him in his pocket. A rare off day for Lewis.

[neil7908]

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I like Slivka, but he should be in the centre. If he’s not playing there, don’t play him.

Agree with this completely. We had 4 central midfielders playing yesterday and it didn't give us the right balance. They felt shoehorned in.

Time to make some tough decisions and except that we'll need to drop at least one of them.

I'd like to see us go 4-3-3 and that way only one has to go and we can get a partner up front for Stokes.

[neil7908]

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If Whittaker is getting picked out for criticism yesterday then I think it’s only fair Stevenson does as well. GMS had him in his pocket. A rare off day for Lewis.

Yup, a couple of misplaced passes by Whittaker but otherwise than that he looked very solid and as always, gives us a attacking threat going forward (he set up Slivka for his shot against the post).

I like Lewis and he had a hard job yesterday so I don't think there is any need to lay into him but Whittaker has been good in the last few games.

[Borderhibbie76]

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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

Can't agree on Whittaker for me should be nowhere near the team mate. He looks like his legs have gone and I'm amazed we gave him a 3 year deal. It a scandal He is in the starting 11 before our club capt imo

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[Borderhibbie76]

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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.

Spot on mate talk of 2nd and 3rd is just u realistic after 3 years away...it takes time. Yes hearts got 3rd their first season back up (before anyone shoots me down) but that was a top flight minus us and Sevco.

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[Borderhibbie76]

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If Whittaker is getting picked out for criticism yesterday then I think it’s only fair Stevenson does as well. GMS had him in his pocket. A rare off day for Lewis.

At least Lewis gives 100% yes he was at fault for goal yesterday but there was a point in 2nd half were Aberdeen broke on us and Whittaker was stranded up field and just gave up...he didn't even try to get Back!! His legs look gone to me mate...he just doesn't look fit enough

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[J-C]

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Can't agree on Whittaker for me should be nowhere near the team mate. He looks like his legs have gone and I'm amazed we gave him a 3 year deal. It a scandal He is in the starting 11 before our club capt imo

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At least Lewis gives 100% yes he was at fault for goal yesterday but there was a point in 2nd half were Aberdeen broke on us and Whittaker was stranded up field and just gave up...he didn't even try to get Back!! His legs look gone to me mate...he just doesn't look fit enough

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Stevenson was caught between a rock and a hard place with the goal, the midfield allowed the player to come through and then had 2 men to cover, the ball through was precise and really nothing Lewis could've done about it, other than that GMS hardly troubled him all day, did a fair bit of moaning due to not getting it all his way.

[SingaporeHibs]

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Can't agree on Whittaker for me should be nowhere near the team mate. He looks like his legs have gone and I'm amazed we gave him a 3 year deal. It a scandal He is in the starting 11 before our club capt imo

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I certainly agree that SDG should be playing right back before Whittaker. My only real point on Whittaker is the best of his game is further up the park. Whether he should be playing further up on the right or someone else is a different debate. I'm fairly sure Slivka isn't the answer on the right but of course there are other options.

[superfurryhibby]

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Stevenson was caught between a rock and a hard place with the goal, the midfield allowed the player to come through and then had 2 men to cover, the ball through was precise and really nothing Lewis could've done about it, other than that GMS hardly troubled him all day, did a fair bit of moaning due to not getting it all his way.

This.

I'm amazed that anyone thinks GMS gave Lewis a torrid time. They had a good ding-dong and with GMS scoring you could argue he gor the better of Stevenson. I can't say I thought GMS was particularly good yesterday.

Equally surprised that there is a comment about our players efforts and being second to the ball etc. Eh, we dominated the second half against a very good side and were worthy of a point. We struggled first half and I accept that we never created many direct chances but the Sheep knew they were in a game yesterday.

[crash]

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Stevenson was caught between a rock and a hard place with the goal, the midfield allowed the player to come through and then had 2 men to cover, the ball through was precise and really nothing Lewis could've done about it, other than that GMS hardly troubled him all day, did a fair bit of moaning due to not getting it all his way.

He didn't have 2 men to cover,his job yesterday was to mark GMS and it was a total mismatch.Mcinnes got his tactics right by attacking our weak left side.GMS was mom yesterday.

[ancient hibee]

Gray is a better defender than Whittaker who is a far better user of the ball than Gray-all depends what the manager wants from them.If he plays Slivka wide where he tries hard he might be as well playing both Gray and Whittaker wide right instead.

[J-C]

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He didn't have 2 men to cover,his job yesterday was to mark GMS and it was a total mismatch.Mcinnes got his tactics right by attacking our weak left side.GMS was mom yesterday.

I take it you missed Hanlon moving forward and getting caught out of position, it was highlighted on Sportscene, thus leaving Stevenson exposed for the through ball to GMS.

[Brightside]

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Yup, a couple of misplaced passes by Whittaker but otherwise than that he looked very solid and as always, gives us a attacking threat going forward (he set up Slivka for his shot against the post).

I like Lewis and he had a hard job yesterday so I don't think there is any need to lay into him but Whittaker has been good in the last few games.

Whittaker takes an age to get back in position when he does attack. We are always open on that side.

[Brightside]

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He didn't have 2 men to cover,his job yesterday was to mark GMS and it was a total mismatch.Mcinnes got his tactics right by attacking our weak left side.GMS was mom yesterday.

GMS was nowhere near MOM yesterday. Their RB was different gravy for them.

[carnoustiehibee]

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I take it you missed Hanlon moving forward and getting caught out of position, it was highlighted on Sportscene, thus leaving Stevenson exposed for the through ball to GMS.

Said the exact same at the game. That was GMS only run all day across the back, player who couldn't get a kick at Celtic and hardly played this season was ripping Stevenson apart. Hanlon has to see this and help out and cover not wander forward. If Ambrose done it they'd be s thread about it. Lennon shoulda also taken Stevenson off after being booked. Mcinnes knew are weak spot at targeted it well

[patlowe]

I think the suggestion that we have a better squad than Aberdeen, or even one equal to theirs, is stretching it a bit IMO. Lewis, Shinnie, Logan, Christie, May, Stewart, GMS, Rooney and McLean would all get into our first 11 pretty comfortably IMO. Not seen enough of their central defence or the boy who sits in midfield but they also looked very comfortable. We have a decent squad but it's certainly lacking in certain areas, most notably in attacking positions.

I also feel we are behind Aberdeen in terms of know-how and game intelligence. It was a very tight game on Saturday and Aberdeen didn't do anything particularly special but they knew how to win the game. We are not savvy enough yet IMO.

Having seen most of the teams now I think a great achievement would be winning the mini-league likely to be between ourselves, Well, St Johnstone and Hearts - ie 4th.

[madhibee_again]

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Whittaker takes an age to get back in position when he does attack. We are always open on that side.

This.

His lack of effort to even attempt to get back is shocking. If he's not fit enough to do so he shouldn't be in the side.

[number9dream]

We need to start keeping clean sheets. Am I right in thinking we have conceded the first goal in all but two league matches and only kept a blank once in nine? It's asking too much to come back every time.
Is Porteous ready? A back three might steady things, with wing-backs and three of our four central midfielders playing, allowing Boyle or Murray to support Stokes.
Not sure a Hampden semi-final against the champions or a derby is the right time to throw in a teenage defender though...

[pacoluna]

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At least Lewis gives 100% yes he was at fault for goal yesterday but there was a point in 2nd half were Aberdeen broke on us and Whittaker was stranded up field and just gave up...he didn't even try to get Back!! His legs look gone to me mate...he just doesn't look fit enough

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Give it a break. Stevenson offered absolutely nothing yesterday where as whittaker at times looked dangerous going forward. I would rather have a player who is attack minded and drives forward than a slow and ponderous defensive minded player who "gives 100%" but heehaw going forward. If that goal came from whittakers side on sat there would be a 10 page thread about it. On another note Ambrose who also gets laid into a lot compared to others along with Whitty was excellent yesterday and showed why when on the ball he is ne of the most natural footballers we have.

[Borderhibbie76]

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Give it a break. Stevenson offered absolutely nothing yesterday where as whittaker at times looked dangerous going forward. I would rather have a player who is attack minded and drives forward than a slow and ponderous defensive minded player who "gives 100%" but heehaw going forward. If that goal came from whittakers side on sat there would be a 10 page thread about it. On another note Ambrose who also gets laid into a lot compared to others along with Whitty was excellent yesterday and showed why when on the ball he is ne of the most natural footballers we have.

Your entitled to your opinion like the rest of us but for me Whittaker doesn't look fit. When he does go forward...and I don't agree he was that dangerous as he out over several poor balls in 2nd half on Sat when in good positions, but when he does venture forward he doesn't exactly bust a gut to get back...keaving us exposed in defence which happened all 2nd half on Sat...the whole East stand could see that on Sat mate. He may be better suited playing further forward but against the better teams in the league, for me Gray should always be our right back

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