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Ell_Chrisso
24-07-2011, 01:32 PM
First game. Depleted squad. Probably against the likely league winners.I thought we didnt play too badly. Both O'Hanlon & Hanlon played very well. Palsson is wasted at RB, but we dont have much choice till we sign one. Stack made me feel a little better with a terrific pen save. O'Connor needs more help, still looks a good player. Booth is a fantastic full back. Reminds me of Murphy.All in all, lets judge ourselves against realistic opposition.

Lofarl
24-07-2011, 01:35 PM
Played okish until Stacks rare error, he is still the best number 1. We lost our shape after O'Hanlon went off. We never had any decent attacking chances, some decent passes and we did ok in the midfield. We should never play 4-5-1 at home, the times when we did get service in the box we only had one striker. Good to see Sproule back and I just wish CC would either go or commit.

SteveHFC
24-07-2011, 01:38 PM
Good to see Ivan and O'Connor back at ER. But CC can GTF!

Ell_Chrisso
24-07-2011, 01:41 PM
Do we really need to listen to Hartson go on about how amazing Celtic are all season? Does he forget how to analize a game rather than sit there and be a complete bias!

hibee_girl
24-07-2011, 01:43 PM
I thought we weren't as bad as everyone feared we would be! 1st half we were the better team and there was a massive improvement from what we were watching last season. We were creating plenty of chances, we just need someone to be on the end of them!

We lost the way when O'Hanlon went off. The real test is this Saturday against Inverness.

Callum_62
24-07-2011, 01:43 PM
Do we really need to listen to Hartson go on about how amazing Celtic are all season? Does he forget how to analize a game rather than sit there and be a complete bias!

they did give us a football lesson to be fair.

actually dont mind Hartson at all.

no shots on taget is a joke.

CC has to come out and say "im here for the season at least" or he may aswel walk

WellingtonHibby
24-07-2011, 01:44 PM
Calderwoods Cardigan....Not Hibs Class.

Bob Box Fish
24-07-2011, 01:44 PM
Pretty poor overall, don't think we had a shot on target or a corner?

Current squad will probably fare worse than last year once the injuries / suspensions come to fold.

Sproule showed heart and Booth looks to have lots of ability. Would be interesting to play 442 with the aforementioned on each wing if we had another striker.

I reckon CC will be away by Xmas in one shape or form. . .

McKenzie
24-07-2011, 01:44 PM
Thought we played well first half and were unlucky to go in behind, only a couple of players - a creative player, big bruiser in midfield, right back and strikers - from being a decent side. O'Hanlon was good and we were hopeless after he went off.

Keith_M
24-07-2011, 01:49 PM
Playing at home, no shots on target, no corners.

I'm not sure anything else needs to be said.

Greenblood70
24-07-2011, 01:51 PM
Better in the first half than second I thought.

Competed ok but really lack a final ball and didn't ever trouble their goalkeeper..which was disappointing but maybe not surprising given the situation with only having one semi-fit centre forward .

Booth did well and I thought the Hanlon O'Hanlon pairing looked very promising.

We really lacked any creativity in midfield and thought Celtics central midfield two dictated things in there second half.

We need at least another 3 decent signings to avoid a repeat of last season imo, some creativity in midfield, more pace up front, and a clone of Booth at right back.

SlickShoes
24-07-2011, 01:52 PM
Playing at home, no shots on target, no corners.

I'm not sure anything else needs to be said.

.

blackpoolhibs
24-07-2011, 01:53 PM
We competed well in the first half, but the longer the game went on the more you saw the same mistakes and failures we saw last season.

truehibernian
24-07-2011, 01:58 PM
Today proved we are at least 4 players short. Decent first half, midfield did their jobs, got in behind them a couple of times, final ball poor though, especially Wotherspoon who dallied too long. Poor keeping but to be fair, good finish.

Second half, awful football. Basics all wrong, lost possession cheaply, Stevenson three times before his slack pass led to their second. Midfield lost their energy, combination of Cetic raising tempo markedly, hot weather, and Hibs players too often hurrying passes into wrong areas. Great penalty save by Stack. He was the only one showing real urgency second half.

Poor stats, coupled by a worrying 90 minute showing for me. Significant transfer activity needed, and immediately IMHO.

I honestly think Celtic didn't get out of second gear today.

steakbake
24-07-2011, 01:58 PM
On the whole, not totally hopeless and there were good things to be seen though I have to say, Celtic were not good and could have been there for the taking.

The good: O Hanlon, Booth, Sproule and Pallson did okay.

The bad: We cannot seriously expect O Connor to do it all. Stack was at fault for the first goal, but the penalty save was incredible, so I think he's on evens there. I thought we lost heart. I also thought some of the fans around me were just itching to turn on the team - which, ultimately, they did.

The ugly: Stevenson had a nightmare today. He runs the risk of being this year's whipping boy, especially with the fans getting on his back THEN being at fault for the second goal.

I'm not going to get into this CC GTF stuff because I don't think he's going anywhere until he or Petrie wants him to. I don't think we are relegation material - and it is still very early to tell.

I think we miss Towell or someone like him. I also think we could do with an experienced MF and some company for O Connor.

I didn't expect a win today so I don't think it's fair on the team to judge them on that point.

J-C
24-07-2011, 02:00 PM
As said, no shots on target, no corners, unable to pass 10-15 yds, no bite in midfield, no flair, no right back, only one real fit striker, depleted squad, no motivation from managerial summer problems.The team looked flat and totally uninspiring, 2 cb's looked solid enough, Booth adventurous but goes missing in defense, Thornhill tried but too lightweight, as with Stevenson, Wotherpoon looks like he's went backwards an awful lot in 2 years, poor passing and seems unable to take a man on. some good glimpses from Sproule and GOC worked tirelessly but to no avail, need a partner asap. Stack made a bad error for 1st Goal but made up for it with the penalty save.

lucky
24-07-2011, 02:03 PM
First half very decent but fell out of the game in the second half. O hanlon looks to be a good signing. Booth was excellent. Spoony very poor in first half and hid in the second. Stevenson was terrific in the first half and was shocking in second. Overall we tried hard but very little creativity. Bettet than I expected

Hermit Crab
24-07-2011, 02:03 PM
Very poor today. Celtic were not much better. They took their chances from 2 mistakes from Stack and Stevenson. Wotherspoon and Stevenson had howlers. At times it seemed we could not string 2 passes together which is school boy stuff also a 451 at home??. Big improvement needed next Saturday then again it was only the first game of the season so we have got to give them a chance to gel.

What happened to O'Hanlon?? Was it just a knock or a bad one?

Thecat23
24-07-2011, 02:04 PM
As said, no shots on target, no corners, unable to pass 10-15 yds, no bite in midfield, no flair, no right back, only one real fit striker, depleted squad, no motivation from managerial summer problems.The team looked flat and totally uninspiring, 2 cb's looked solid enough, Booth adventurous but goes missing in defense, Thornhill tried but too lightweight, as with Stevenson, Wotherpoon looks like he's went backwards an awful lot in 2 years, poor passing and seems unable to take a man on. some good glimpses from Sproule and GOC worked tirelessly but to no avail, need a partner asap. Stack made a bad error for 1st Goal but made up for it with the penalty save. Mate you have pretty much said exactly what I would say agree with the whole of ur post.

Supraninja
24-07-2011, 02:04 PM
The ugly: Stevenson had a nightmare today. He runs the risk of being this year's whipping boy, especially with the fans getting on his back THEN being at fault for the second goal.

Really? I thought he was doing pretty well until he gave the ball away for the second, aside that he passed to noone once, but generally his passing was fine and I would have said Wotherspoon had a far worse day than Stevenson.

Nailrod
24-07-2011, 02:05 PM
Playing at home, no shots on target, no corners.

I'm not sure anything else needs to be said. .

hibee_girl
24-07-2011, 02:05 PM
Really? I thought he was doing pretty well until he gave the ball away for the second, aside that he passed to noone once, but generally his passing was fine and I would have said Wotherspoon had a far worse day than Stevenson.

:agree:

SneakersO'Toole
24-07-2011, 02:05 PM
Just back. Thought we did OK first half but ultimately 2 individual errors have given Celtic their goals.

Thought Stephenson was our best player first half but he like many others faded 2nd half.

O'Connor will never be suited to playing up front on his own. We were toothless in attack all game. Unforgivable that we can start the season with such a lack of attacking options.

Wotherspoon is murder and should have been hooked at half time. He looks very unfit and I'm almost he won't progress like we all think he would. He lacks so many attributes for the Scottish game.

Overall not too despondent given our circumstances. New signings are imperative for this week though. It should never have come to this and I feel the lack of urgency shown by the board in terms of recruitment will cost us dearly in early season points.

blaikie
24-07-2011, 02:06 PM
We need a bit more pace in the attacking areas, O'Connor looks a bit out of shape still. Booth seems to be decent going forward but gets caught out time to time. Some more signing and we will have a decent side who could reach top 6. :agree:

Musselbound
24-07-2011, 02:06 PM
Today proved we are at least 4 players short. Decent first half, midfield did their jobs, got in behind them a couple of times, final ball poor though, especially Wotherspoon who dallied too long. Poor keeping but to be fair, good finish.

Second half, awful football. Basics all wrong, lost possession cheaply, Stevenson three times before his slack pass led to their second. Midfield lost their energy, combination of Cetic raising tempo markedly, hot weather, and Hibs players too often hurrying passes into wrong areas. Great penalty save by Stack. He was the only one showing real urgency second half.

Poor stats, coupled by a worrying 90 minute showing for me. Significant transfer activity needed, and immediately IMHO.

I honestly think Celtic didn't get out of second gear today.

Agree with your other points, but the weather was the same for both teams and one of them even managed to raise the tempo. Poor second half from Hibs. Simple as.

Frazerbob
24-07-2011, 02:06 PM
Do we really need to listen to Hartson go on about how amazing Celtic are all season? Does he forget how to analize a game rather than sit there and be a complete bias!

The state our club is in and this is your main concern?

steakbake
24-07-2011, 02:07 PM
Really? I thought he was doing pretty well until he gave the ball away for the second, aside that he passed to noone once, but generally his passing was fine and I would have said Wotherspoon had a far worse day than Stevenson.

I think they might have to share that honour.

Some of the folk around me were doing their nut at him even before the 2nd goal.

smurf
24-07-2011, 02:09 PM
We competed well in the first half, but the longer the game went on the more you saw the same mistakes and failures we saw last season.

I was encouraged in the first half. Nice play up the left hand side.

But we really didn't pose any threat if truth be told.

As you say second half we were well exposed.

The players deserved their applause at full time for their 100% effort but its a sign of the times...

Horse
24-07-2011, 02:13 PM
O'Hanlon looked good and looked exactly the sort of calming influence we have lacked since Rob Jones. The defence seemed to go to pot when he went off injured which highlights the serious lack of depth we have in that area. We are also very obviously lacking in attacking options. The signings that CC has made do look to a big improvement and I think we are slowly but surely heading in the right direction however we need at least 3 or 4 more signings of a similar standard to O'Hanlon, Thornhill, Palsson, Sproule and O'Connor if we are to have any chance of competing over the course of this season. Hibs fans will have to be realistic, we got rid of a huge amount of players (which was essential as they were all crap) and it will take time to rebuild. I like the sort of player CC is bringing in though and through time I think we'll have a decent side.

col02
24-07-2011, 02:14 PM
I actually expected us to be worse than we were to be honest. Team that finbished if you take Stack, Sproule and O'Connor out must all be under 21 players is it not? That imho is where we might need to accept there is going to be a learning curve for many a player this season. Impressed with Sproule has to be said as on todays showing he has learned more than just to run with the ball. Booth played well and I also thought Thornhill has the makings of a really good player once he is up to full sharpness. Overall the fact we only have one fit striker showed today and hopefully we will address that soon!

truehibernian
24-07-2011, 02:16 PM
Agree with your other points, but the weather was the same for both teams and one of them even managed to raise the tempo. Poor second half from Hibs. Simple as.

True mate, but my point about the weather was in relation to the game as a whole. Hibs defended well first half, from the midfield, but this took it's toll when Celtic raised the tempo, and started to play with more width. Hibernian players ran more and covered more ground, and the weather does become energy sapping, especially when you are chasing the game.

I thought Boothy was head and shoulders our best player on the pitch. In fact, he didn't deserve to be on the losing side. Ivan covered a hell of a lot of ground today.......I know he was not signed to defend, but that's the quietest I have seen Izaguirre in a long time. Ivan was tracking him a lot today.

We just became horribly pedestrian again, side to side and then passes literally straight out the pitch. We need a right back, creative midfielder and two strikers. Oh and I se we are back to not being able to control a ball from our attacking throw in again........huge huge bug bear of mine that. Lost easy possession in top end areas of the pitch. That for me is unforgiveable to do it time and time again.

Bobo
24-07-2011, 02:16 PM
We had no threat with playing one striker up top and the poor standard of our crosses into the area never gave O'connor much of a chance. We needed to contest the 2nd or loose ball better and move it quicker when we had it but if truth be told there wasn't much between the two teams. Celtic were no great shakes themselves and only won the game through two self-inflicted mistakes, whenever in possession they never really put us under too much pressure.

For a very young team we did reasonably well but need to improve our distribution and final ball into the area. Playing with 2 strikers is a must if we want to gain anything from games. Playing a 4-4-2 next week will give a good idea of how we'll do for the rest of the season as, IMO, these are the types of game we need to get into the habit of winning.... more so than those against the tattie munchers and their unwashed twin.

Virginia Hibs
24-07-2011, 02:16 PM
Very poor today. Celtic were not much better. They took their chances from 2 mistakes from Stack and Stevenson. Wotherspoon and Stevenson had howlers. At times it seemed we could not string 2 passes together which is school boy stuff also a 451 at home??. Big improvement needed next Saturday then again it was only the first game of the season so we have got to give them a chance to gel.

What happened to O'Hanlon?? Was it just a knock or a bad one?

From my limited lip reading skills the cameras were close up on O'Hanlon when Hanlon went over to him and SO'H said 'I've broken my toe'. Physio was definitley having a good poke around and said no when SO'H asked to put strapping on it.

I thought we were OK at times but seemed slow to press and move. Too many passes astray. Celtc weren't much better but obviously have more quality than us. From this far and watching on the telly I thought that today's and yesterdays games had a pre-season feel about them with regard to pace. None of the sides seem to be where they want to be. As far as personal performances I though Boothy was our MoM by a mile. Wotherspoon was never at the races and Lewis did a lot of unseen work but the bits that were seen were the passes that went nowhere! O'Connor had little to do but when he did have the chance in the second half he fluffed it! I'll put it down to early season rustiness rather than anything else.

All in all, better than expected.

hibeedonald
24-07-2011, 02:21 PM
Not too bad but very frustrating, some basic errors when going forward when passing was especially annoying. On the bright side we looked a better side than last season, and with 2 or 3 new players we may have a good team on our hands.

GreenPJ
24-07-2011, 02:27 PM
Strikers and a right back. That would release paulson back into midfield to give us some more physicality. We also need a confidence boost but they are harder to come by.

A shock win at caley would help

Westie1875
24-07-2011, 02:31 PM
I actually expected us to be worse than we were to be honest. Team that finbished if you take Stack, Sproule and O'Connor out must all be under 21 players is it not? That imho is where we might need to accept there is going to be a learning curve for many a player this season. Impressed with Sproule has to be said as on todays showing he has learned more than just to run with the ball. Booth played well and I also thought Thornhill has the makings of a really good player once he is up to full sharpness. Overall the fact we only have one fit striker showed today and hopefully we will address that soon!

Agree with this, I thought we played some really nice football at times but the lack of options up front was our downfall. I also worry about Wotherspoon as he looks lost at times and some fans can't wait to get on his back. As you say we have quite a few young inexperienced players so they are going to make mistakes at times.

Booth was excellent and is the real stand out in our team, Hanlon was back to his best today as well - looking forward to seeing him and O'Hanlon develop a good partnership (fingers crossed the injury doesn't keep him out long).

Overall better than I expected, but we need to sign at least one striker, preferably two and a right back. Palsson is wasted at right back, we need his passing ability in midfield.

BroxburnHibee
24-07-2011, 02:35 PM
From what I watched it didn't look like we had an attempt at goal - is that right?

I don't get this pish about stack making up for his mistake either - he made a mistake that cost us a goal

That should not have happened - nothing makes up for it.

I thought it was terrible

Beefster
24-07-2011, 02:36 PM
We played okay first half. Rubbish in the second.

Stack made a howler for the first goal. Didn't do great for the second goal. Great save for the penalty.

Thornhill was impressive and could be an important player.

O'Connor is nowhere near match-fitness.

Sproule did okay.

Stevenson was at fault for the second goal, my heart sank when I saw he was in the team and he's not good enough.

Wotherspoon needs to work on his concentration because it is terrible.

I thought Booth wasn't up to his usual standard.

I'm still waiting to see what the hype about Hanlon is all about.

Them's my thoughts.

heretoday
24-07-2011, 02:36 PM
Hibs did okay against the likely league winners. Once they have got a bit fitter and work out some clever moves there could be some fun this season.

Can I get on with my holidays now?

Ferryhibby
24-07-2011, 02:41 PM
Wasnt too bad, still need right back,striker and a coolheaded midfielder, didnt create much but then again didnt think sellik did either,iff
we get these players in then its all about learning each others play and gelling together its a 38 game season wel judge at the end how well weve done, the same as any other season wel get beat of some of the smaller teams, cause the OF a bit of a problem, be cronic one game and brilliant the next my only gripe was the crowd today pathetic numbers for the first game of the season, cant be very encouraging for the players to run out and see a support so low.

down-the-slope
24-07-2011, 02:43 PM
In the great scheme of things quite encouraged by today...decent enough match and until the error by Stack pretty even as team cancelled out attacking threat...When we played how the manager was asking - with pace down the flanks we lokked quite good. But when we got behind and after Hanlon went off the shape and way of playing got ragged.

As we probably knew the subs (first being forced) weakened us badly...while its difficult to expect subs to be right up with first 11 standard...the gap is way too big for a season where injury (1 game 1 key player injured) and suspension will mean the squad players will be needed

Broken Gnome
24-07-2011, 02:45 PM
The 'no shots on goal' line isn't the be all and end all. You could have 5 chances like De Graaf's open goal against Rangers and they still wouldn't be technically shots on goal. We had Sproule's chance, O'Connor's scuffed effort, few promising openings in the first half... Nowhere near enough ideally, but we knew we'd be limited today and were enterprising enough without ever looking capable of winning.

Stood off a lot, but most of the time pressed quite well and intelligently. Defence looked fine until O'Hanlon went off and the rest tired. Had Hooper scored the penalty things could've got ugly, but by and large that was better than I thought it would be. Bizarre at times, you could never say Wotherspoon or Stevenson had good games as such, but some of their link up with Booth was great.

Still had a pretty depressing air to it, decent support in voice if not in number but a glaring lack of belief which is understandable given the last few weeks. Reckon Hibs just about kept who was there on side today, with things taking a major turn for the worse if defeat had been much heavier. Now Hibs owe us a really good week of player recruit and good press (maybe talking up a young team instead of bracing everyone for future horrors....) and we can get going. The positional deficiencies remain clear for all to see though...

Cropley10
24-07-2011, 02:49 PM
The 'no shots on goal' line isn't the be all and end all. You could have 5 chances like De Graaf's open goal against Rangers and they still wouldn't be technically shots on goal. We had Sproule's chance, O'Connor's scuffed effort, few promising openings in the first half... Nowhere near enough ideally, but we knew we'd be limited today and were enterprising enough without ever looking capable of winning.

Stood off a lot, but most of the time pressed quite well and intelligently. Defence looked fine until O'Hanlon went off and the rest tired. Had Hooper scored the penalty things could've got ugly, but by and large that was better than I thought it would be. Bizarre at times, you could never say Wotherspoon or Stevenson had good games as such, but some of their link up with Booth was great.

Still had a pretty depressing air to it, decent support if voice if not in number but a glaring lack of belief which is understandable given the last few weeks. Reckon Hibs just about kept who was there on side today, with things taking a major turn for the worse if defeat had been much heavier. Now Hibs owe us a really good week of player recruit and good press (maybe talking up a young team instead of bracing everyone for future horrors....) and we can get going. The positional deficiencies remain clear for all to see though...

Yep :agree: let's keep our fingers crossed we suddenly start signing some new players.

Hibs On Tour
24-07-2011, 02:51 PM
Not there so only got text commentary and stats to go by - and the postings on here... - but for me...

41% possession, no corners and no shots at goal for *any* home game is a long way from acceptable...

Sounded like there were some good signs from certain players but we're a long way from being anything approaching a decent team. IMHO CC has been paying far too much attention to his own situation throughout the summer and not nearly enough on our team's - we've needed a RB for donks, we've needed another striker or two since the end of last season. We've needed some steel and creativity in midfield likewise. NONE of which is news to either CC or RP. To give it the pishy 'the transfer window is still open' is a load of ***** - season started today and that's the only deadline we should have been working to.

For me, we have some green shoots there but given that CC is still refusing to commit even for the rest of this season [his quote today as more of the 'for the moment I'm happy' *****, which says absolutely **** all] I don't think he's the man who should be getting entrusted to cultivate them. For me, gardening leave for him, someone in who *wants* to be here and we move on. This season is too important to have it mucked up by pussy-footing around him on this and the longer we leave it the worse it will be when he eventually jumps.

All IMHO of course :wink:!

Hibstrooper
24-07-2011, 02:53 PM
Thought we looked good in the first half but didn't make enough of being on top and it was always going to be a different Celtic team in the second.

If you are rebuilding a team does it not make sense to build from the back. I thought we limited Celtic today and prior to SOH going off we looked solid which gives us a platform to build from.

If we can limit the other teams in the same way as we did Celtic we'll concede a lot less this season. Expect a lot more 0 0's and 1 0's this season.

Hibs Class
24-07-2011, 02:58 PM
Just back. Thought we did OK first half but ultimately 2 individual errors have given Celtic their goals.

Thought Stephenson was our best player first half but he like many others faded 2nd half.

O'Connor will never be suited to playing up front on his own. We were toothless in attack all game. Unforgivable that we can start the season with such a lack of attacking options.

Wotherspoon is murder and should have been hooked at half time. He looks very unfit and I'm almost he won't progress like we all think he would. He lacks so many attributes for the Scottish game.

Overall not too despondent given our circumstances. New signings are imperative for this week though. It should never have come to this and I feel the lack of urgency shown by the board in terms of recruitment will cost us dearly in early season points.

I thought Booth was our best player in both halves and a deserved MOTM by some distance.

Gatecrasher
24-07-2011, 03:14 PM
Thought we looked good in the first half but didn't make enough of being on top and it was always going to be a different Celtic team in the second.If you are rebuilding a team does it not make sense to build from the back. I thought we limited Celtic today and prior to SOH going off we looked solid which gives us a platform to build from.If we can limit the other teams in the same way as we did Celtic we'll concede a lot less this season. Expect a lot more 0 0's and 1 0's this season. Considering the age of the back 4 it looked good until o'hanlon went off, even then we limited Celtic. The lack of chances is a concern but we were playing celtic where chances would be limited anyway. Overall I am quite happy from what I saw, better than some predicted and it will be more interesting how we get on against ICT.

Russ
24-07-2011, 03:27 PM
On the whole, not totally hopeless and there were good things to be seen though I have to say, Celtic were not good and could have been there for the taking.

The good: O Hanlon, Booth, Sproule and Pallson did okay.

The bad: We cannot seriously expect O Connor to do it all. Stack was at fault for the first goal, but the penalty save was incredible, so I think he's on evens there. I thought we lost heart. I also thought some of the fans around me were just itching to turn on the team - which, ultimately, they did.

The ugly: Stevenson had a nightmare today. He runs the risk of being this year's whipping boy, especially with the fans getting on his back THEN being at fault for the second goal.

I'm not going to get into this CC GTF stuff because I don't think he's going anywhere until he or Petrie wants him to. I don't think we are relegation material - and it is still very early to tell.

I think we miss Towell or someone like him. I also think we could do with an experienced MF and some company for O Connor.

I didn't expect a win today so I don't think it's fair on the team to judge them on that point.

You must have Spoony mixed up with Stevenson, apart from a 10 min spell in the second half Stevenson was ok, Spoony had a nightmare from the first touch, he looked totally lethargic and unfit, he should have been hooked after 20 mins. We were the better team until Stack had a rush of blood to the head and tried to catch a ball instead of his usual punch Sproule has to get his temperment in check when things are going against us, he should have been booked for his hook at the penalty and another one shortly afterwards, you can bet your bottom dollare if he does that in the Derby he'll be off. The best thing about today was the fans in the east, well done lads.

malcky
24-07-2011, 03:32 PM
Agree with this, I thought we played some really nice football at times but the lack of options up front was our downfall. I also worry about Wotherspoon as he looks lost at times and some fans can't wait to get on his back. As you say we have quite a few young inexperienced players so they are going to make mistakes at times.

Booth was excellent and is the real stand out in our team, Hanlon was back to his best today as well - looking forward to seeing him and O'Hanlon develop a good partnership (fingers crossed the injury doesn't keep him out long).

Overall better than I expected, but we need to sign at least one striker, preferably two and a right back. Palsson is wasted at right back, we need his passing ability in midfield.

thought thornhill was poor today but happy with 3 signings

Spike Mandela
24-07-2011, 03:35 PM
Relegation beckons unless we deal with this malaise permeating our club. From the board, through the managemant team, the players and the supporters the incompetence and apathy is killing our club.

The downward spiral is so evident and I just don't know what we can do to reverse it. I despair.

**** it I'm going to the bar, it's all inclusive you know!!

Hiber-nation
24-07-2011, 03:36 PM
No shots, no corners but not unhappy.

Just goes to show what our expectations are now I suppose.

aunty joyce
24-07-2011, 03:37 PM
On the whole, not totally hopeless and there were good things to be seen though I have to say, Celtic were not good and could have been there for the taking.

The good: O Hanlon, Booth, Sproule and Pallson did okay.

The bad: We cannot seriously expect O Connor to do it all. Stack was at fault for the first goal, but the penalty save was incredible, so I think he's on evens there. I thought we lost heart. I also thought some of the fans around me were just itching to turn on the team - which, ultimately, they did.

The ugly: Stevenson had a nightmare today. He runs the risk of being this year's whipping boy, especially with the fans getting on his back THEN being at fault for the second goal.

I'm not going to get into this CC GTF stuff because I don't think he's going anywhere until he or Petrie wants him to. I don't think we are relegation material - and it is still very early to tell.

I think we miss Towell or someone like him. I also think we could do with an experienced MF and some company for O Connor.

I didn't expect a win today so I don't think it's fair on the team to judge them on that point.

Totally agree with your comments Steakbake and as for the SOME of the so called 'fans' itching to get stuck into the playes, my friends and I have decided not to argue with them this season but to try to drown out their negative comments with cheers of 'support' (I hope more 'Supporters' do the same).

Given the quality Celtic have 'bought' we should not realistically expect to beat them (although I would be absolutely extatic if we did) . . . I really feel it's time Mr Petrie Splashed the Cash, after all each one of us supporters are splashing our cash to go watch our beloved team!!!

MrRobot
24-07-2011, 03:43 PM
I think we need a cm, rb and striker who will walk straight into the team. Didnt play too bad today tbh, just lacking a bit of flair and attacking options.A rb will allow Palsson back in midfield, I think Murray is a great guy and club captain but he's too slow.

jdships
24-07-2011, 03:52 PM
Really? I thought he was doing pretty well until he gave the ball away for the second, aside that he passed to noone once, but generally his passing was fine and I would have said Wotherspoon had a far worse day than Stevenson.

:agree::thumbsup:

Hibbyradge
24-07-2011, 03:54 PM
Totally agree with your comments Steakbake and as for the SOME of the so called 'fans' itching to get stuck into the playes, my friends and I have decided not to argue with them this season but to try to drown out their negative comments with cheers of 'support' (I hope more 'Supporters' do the same).

Given the quality Celtic have 'bought' we should not realistically expect to beat them (although I would be absolutely extatic if we did) . . . I really feel it's time Mr Petrie Splashed the Cash, after all each one of us supporters are splashing our cash to go watch our beloved team!!!



I'd love it if we spent more on players, but I struggle to understand where will the cash come from?

Splash what cash?

Sir David Gray
24-07-2011, 03:54 PM
I thought we did fairly well in the first half and were certainly no worse than Celtic by half time.

The second half was a different story though, we just didn't really turn up. In fairness we could have played all day and we probably wouldn't have scored today and the situation with the strikers really needs to be sorted out.

Today wasn't as bad as I had expected but that's just an indication of how low everyone's expectations are at the moment.

There is loads for us to work on and I certainly think we need at least another four players but then I don't think we needed to play today's match to know that.

We'll know more when we play against teams who are more at our level. With the best will in the world, Celtic will beat us 99 times out of 100 and they have better players than us so it's quite hard to judge where we're at.

It will be a real sore one if O'Hanlon's going to be out for the next few weeks so hopefully he will be ok.

Ozyhibby
24-07-2011, 03:58 PM
2 seasons ago Lewis Stevenson could not get a look in for a jersey. Now, without improving his own performances at all, he is a starter on the first day of the season.

Is that progress?

0 shots on goal today.

down-the-slope
24-07-2011, 04:05 PM
I'd love it if we spent more on players, but I struggle to understand where will the cash come from?

Splash what cash?

:agree: today we lost in gate money reduction on last years first OF match the equivelent of a years salary for a decent striker......

McD
24-07-2011, 04:07 PM
Just my tu'penny's worth:

Goalkeeper is in a reasonable state, despite any errors today, we can and should be focussing elsewhere first.
Right back is def required (as if we didn't know already) although Palsson was reasonable there today.
O'Hanlon-Hanlon pair looked good, however it is clear there is no one ready to step in when one of them drops out. Stephens may be the answer in time but we need another experienced head in there for injuries and suspensions.
Booth looked very accomplished today, happy to go forward, and comfortable doing that. Was caught out of position once or twice, but could have expected the defensive mid(s) to cover in there.
Ivan was steady on the right, will cause more than a few teams problems.
Centre mid - Thornhill was the only 1 I thought was getting involved at all, and looks like he will be useful in this league. If Stevenson and Murray were combined as 1 player today I still feel we'dve been dissapointed. We had the extra man in there and yet celtics 2 dominated us. We really cry out for a physical bruiser in there. Someone creative is also a huge need.
Wotherspoon was poor today, wanted too many touches and constantly cutting back to his right foot. Seems to have lost all confidence and with a better squad we could bring him out of the firing line for a few games. Galbraith could become a decent-if-not-great SPL winger (certainly has more about him than say driver imo) if he can shake of what seems to be never ending niggly injuries. Its not uncommon for this to happen, but he's getting to the point where players either grow out of the injuries and flourish, or sink with little trace.
O'Connor had an unthankable task today, covered a lot of ground with little service to do damage, think he will do well with either a bruiser beside him to occupy centre halves, or a speedster who he can slide little balls in for/come deep and pull centrebacks with him (booth's throughball for Ivan before Kelvin Wilson hauled him down being an example). A poacher would be very welcome, but we need bodies up front right now, of decent quality.

As for manager, he needs to nail his colours to the mast, or bugger off. We have 4 weeks or so til the window closes, and we need probably at least 4 players.

Hibeesb0unc3
24-07-2011, 04:15 PM
I thought hibs played some good football today with some nice passing football. O'hanlon and booth looked particuarly good. Although hibs didn't create any clear chances we did have a few chances where any contact from one of our players and it would have been a goal. However defensive mistakes cost us today with stack dropping the ball and the defence not closing ki down fast enough. Wotherspoon also had a poor game by giving the ball away cheaply more so than the rest of the team.

So next week i think hibs might get something as inverness if they can improve their game in the final third by getting the striker/s more involved and more support to help them. Plus i would hope the inverness strikeforce wont give our defence as much trouble as celtic's.

patlowe
24-07-2011, 04:24 PM
Pretty poor but not really a surprise or disappointment. It was a typical game against the OF at ER since TM and JC, plenty effort but little quality and in the end it shows. I don't think you can really take much from it to be honest. While I think we're a fair distance off challenging for 3rd/4th, Sproule and GOC looked like they will have enough to trouble most SPL defences, while the younger guys look energetic and motivated. We desperately need a CF to help O'Connor but I'd imagine (and hope) that we'll be slightly more adventurous against the lesser clubs. As I said, not surprised or disappointed, the season really starts in two weeks IMO.

GreenOnions
24-07-2011, 04:26 PM
Just back myself. I see mixed views on the game here. First off I'm as disappointed as anyone that we didn't have a shot on target. However, I think that is misleading. I haven't seen any official stats but I would say Celtic had three efforts on target: Their two goals and their penalty. I think Ki had one other shot that went over and that was it. Ok - so that's more than us but I would say that for the first hour of the game we had more activity in front of their goal than they did in front of ours. As has been mentioned - some support for GOC and some extra creativity in midfield would have helped.

The possession stat quoted her is also a little unfair I think as Celtic had trouble passing thru our midfield and had a load of possession passing the ball amongst each other at the back and not hurting us.

Unfortunately - as has been mentioned - we hurt ourselves with mistakes. That, for me, was the difference between the teams today.

Stack - 5 - Played well but mistake made it comfortable for Celtic and prob cost us any chance of a point or more
Palsson - 5 - defensively ok. No threat going forward
Booth - 9 - I though the best player on the park. Dealt pretty comfortably with Commons (who was substituted) and our most potent attacking threat
O'Hanlon - 7 - I am encouraged by his performance and also by how he played with Hanlon
Hanlon - 7 - I thought he had a good game. Good positioning and blocking tackles
Sproule - 6 - Worked hard defensively and had a couple of promising runs. He was through one on one with Zaluska but it was a difficult ball to control. A key moment in the game tho.
Murray - 5 - Covered well and worked hard but we really need someone with better ball retention skills in there
Stevenson - 6 - His first half display reminded me of when he first appeared in 1st team. Struggled more in second half and at fault for 2nd goal
Thornhill - 5 - not really much in the game but still worked hard. Not effective going forward
Wotherspoon - 4 - Poor David started badly and clearly lost confidence. Crowd didn't help. I think confidence would be helped by playing him on the right
O'Connor - 6 - Impressed by workrate - particularly in 1st half. Only one chance on second

Subs
Galbraith - 5 -Not much time but showed a couple of glimpses of skill
Crawford - very little time. First touch not the best today

I agree that we need more quality - IMO a striker, a creative midfielder and a right back - in that order - are priorities.

I did see several signs for optimism today though

down-the-slope
24-07-2011, 04:34 PM
Just back myself. I see mixed views on the game here. First off I'm as disappointed as anyone that we didn't have a shot on target. However, I think that is misleading. I haven't seen any official stats but I would say Celtic had three efforts on target: Their two goals and their penalty. I think Ki had one other shot that went over and that was it. Ok - so that's more than us but I would say that for the first hour of the game we had more activity in front of their goal than they did in front of ours. As has been mentioned - some support for GOC and some extra creativity in midfield would have helped.

The possession stat quoted her is also a little unfair I think as Celtic had trouble passing thru our midfield and had a load of possession passing the ball amongst each other at the back and not hurting us.

Unfortunately - as has been mentioned - we hurt ourselves with mistakes. That, for me, was the difference between the teams today.

Stack - 5 - Played well but mistake made it comfortable for Celtic and prob cost us any chance of a point or more
Palsson - 5 - defensively ok. No threat going forward
Booth - 9 - I though the best player on the park. Dealt pretty comfortably with Commons (who was substituted) and our most potent attacking threat
O'Hanlon - 7 - I am encouraged by his performance and also by how he played with Hanlon
Hanlon - 7 - I thought he had a good game. Good positioning and blocking tackles
Sproule - 6 - Worked hard defensively and had a couple of promising runs. He was through one on one with Zaluska but it was a difficult ball to control. A key moment in the game tho.
Murray - 5 - Covered well and worked hard but we really need someone with better ball retention skills in there
Stevenson - 6 - His first half display reminded me of when he first appeared in 1st team. Struggled more in second half and at fault for 2nd goal
Thornhill - 5 - not really much in the game but still worked hard. Not effective going forward
Wotherspoon - 4 - Poor David started badly and clearly lost confidence. Crowd didn't help. I think confidence would be helped by playing him on the right
O'Connor - 6 - Impressed by workrate - particularly in 1st half. Only one chance on second

Subs
Galbraith - 5 -Not much time but showed a couple of glimpses of skill
Crawford - very little time. First touch not the best today

I agree that we need more quality - IMO a striker, a creative midfielder and a right back - in that order - are priorities.

I did see several signs for optimism today though

Saves me a match report :greengrin...only thing saw differently is Thorhil was a 7 and for me was the player in the middle who was looking to thread ball forward and link up play - definitley benefitted from injuries clearing up and full pre-season (well other than Blackpool and Sunderland matches to come :rolleyes:)

Dr_Regal
24-07-2011, 04:40 PM
Incredibly frustrated, the amount of times we just kicked the ball away in the game and lost possession was unreal. Made it easy for Celtic.

Stack wasn't even challenged by anyone, large Gk howler, shockarooney! Would still keep him in there though, no chance for the second, some finish. Great pen save.

O'Hanlon and Hanlon looked good for the most part. Get Palsson out of RB, was it just me or did he seem to be totally devoid of any enthusiasm? Get him back in centre mid with Thornhill. Booth is another incredible prospect, had a couple of slack passes but he's easily our best player. Premiership will be calling within a year.

Sproule needs to do more than that for me, he had a nice dribble in the first half and also broke through and should have had a shot, dont know why he crossed it? In second half, how did the celtic centre half manage to catch him? Fluffed the chance, again should have a go. Nice to have some pace back in the side. Ian Murray is slower than me and I am very slow, was generally poor for me. Stevenson done okay in the first half, but the second half was abysmal, what was he doing for the goal. was and never will good enough for hibs imo. Thornhill was a bit lost and spent most of the time getting beat in the air. He has a great touch though, should be player as a deeper playmaker than a numbe 10, like he was in the first half. Wotherspoon, the worst performance I've ever seen, you use to get hooked for performances like that at half time. Put one good ball in the box from about 20 attempts, lost count of the times he lost the ball on the break, which exposed Booth, as booth was busting a gut to get up the line. Very slow and I noticed him trying to beat a guy in the second half, by walking round him. Very disappointing. If Rod is not willing to get the dosh out for a decent right back, then get spoony in at right back, and get Galbraith out on the left.

O'conner, tough shift as usual from a lone front man. Did okay, fitter than his body shape suggests, should have scored when he beat Loovens to Sproules cross. Him and Sodje, might make a decent partnership.

I agree we are 3-4 players away from a top 6 side. Still was good to get football back, although we were very toothless.

TornadoHibby
24-07-2011, 04:45 PM
I thought that Celtc were much fitter than we were today and were much more aggressive in their quest to retrieve the ball when they lost possession than us and these two factors are key in the modern game! They have two excellent creative midfielders in Kayal and Ki and, at the moment, we have no-one like that in our team!

Schoolboy error from Stack for the first goal at a horrible time for a team lacking maturity and confidence against potential league winners to lose a goal!

We did quite well down the left side in the first half offensively but failed with the final ball each time although there were few options for that last ball tbh! Ivan showed signs of things that could be good offensively but again the final ball was not good!

I thought that Murray was hugely influential defensively in "stopping" the superior Celtc midfield from creating more aided ably by Matt Thornhill who looked as though he will do well for us! Stevenson fought very hard too and was unfortunate to misplace the pass which ultimately led to the second goal!

Our defence looked fairly solid though and that is not something that we have been able to say for some time! O'Hanlon was solid if not spectacular and Hanlon and Booth were superb I thought! GOC was never going to do well on his own but tried hard although he looks a few weeks away from full fitness! Wotherspoon didn't really seem to know what he was doing wide left in the first half and too often was left behing in their half when he should have been back defending as a wide midfielder in the formation we played today should be doing!

Overall, they never got going in the final third although we did a lot in midfield to help stop that but we do need to get our fitness levels up and get the three or four team players that we need secured as soon as possible (rb, creative mf X 2 and striker) and I think we might just do ok! Not sure where the "CC looks like he will be away before Xmas" kind of comments are coming from. Was it something he said in prematch interviews etc?

Brebners Bookie
24-07-2011, 04:49 PM
Playing at home, no shots on target, no corners.

I'm not sure anything else needs to be said.

Was'nt that kind of game though. Cant think of one celtic chance before the hour mark other than the first goal. There was a very good shape to the side and some promising performances against a very strong celtic side. I was happy, and once we get another striker and can play 4-4-2 i think we could be good.

GreenOnions
24-07-2011, 04:53 PM
I agree with much of the last couple of posts. I suppose the grounds for my optimism is in the fact that, after today's game - and despite the stats, I feel that I would be happy with 8 of todays first team being starters for us.

malcky
24-07-2011, 05:02 PM
Incredibly frustrated, the amount of times we just kicked the ball away in the game and lost possession was unreal. Made it easy for Celtic.

Stack wasn't even challenged by anyone, large Gk howler, shockarooney! Would still keep him in there though, no chance for the second, some finish. Great pen save.

O'Hanlon and Hanlon looked good for the most part. Get Palsson out of RB, was it just me or did he seem to be totally devoid of any enthusiasm? Get him back in centre mid with Thornhill. Booth is another incredible prospect, had a couple of slack passes but he's easily our best player. Premiership will be calling within a year.

Sproule needs to do more than that for me, he had a nice dribble in the first half and also broke through and should have had a shot, dont know why he crossed it? In second half, how did the celtic centre half manage to catch him? Fluffed the chance, again should have a go. Nice to have some pace back in the side. Ian Murray is slower than me and I am very slow, was generally poor for me. Stevenson done okay in the first half, but the second half was abysmal, what was he doing for the goal. was and never will good enough for hibs imo. Thornhill was a bit lost and spent most of the time getting beat in the air. He has a great touch though, should be player as a deeper playmaker than a numbe 10, like he was in the first half. Wotherspoon, the worst performance I've ever seen, you use to get hooked for performances like that at half time. Put one good ball in the box from about 20 attempts, lost count of the times he lost the ball on the break, which exposed Booth, as booth was busting a gut to get up the line. Very slow and I noticed him trying to beat a guy in the second half, by walking round him. Very disappointing. If Rod is not willing to get the dosh out for a decent right back, then get spoony in at right back, and get Galbraith out on the left.

O'conner, tough shift as usual from a lone front man. Did okay, fitter than his body shape suggests, should have scored when he beat Loovens to Sproules cross. Him and Sodje, might make a decent partnership.

I agree we are 3-4 players away from a top 6 side. Still was good to get football back, although we were very toothless.

Thought oconnor was isolated especially in the first half the mid field sitting too deep never going to create any decent pressure at all definately need help up front.i thought stevenson,thornhill and murry were pretty static impressec with booth also wotherspoon tried hard as did sproule

Baldy Foghorn
24-07-2011, 05:11 PM
A home fixture without so much as a shot at goal or a corner, Splendid stuff....We really have reached a new low.....

Beefster
24-07-2011, 05:23 PM
I'd love it if we spent more on players, but I struggle to understand where will the cash come from?

Splash what cash?

By increasing the revenue.

This is going to be my default answer on here when folk say 'where is the money coming from' as if it's impossible to bring in more money.

PS Not directed at you (though it may apply) but anyone who thought that Stevenson played better than Thornhill today is on a different planet from me.

h1bs4life
24-07-2011, 05:36 PM
Pretty poor , not expecting much wasn't disappointed.Wouldnt have thought it was 1st game of a new season. Not much atmosphere in the FF stand. Could hear a few songs from the east.. Booth had a decent game. O'Hanlon looks like he could be a good addition. Stevenson , Murray and Wotherspoon all poor.Thought Calderwood was a good choice when 1st appointed now think he should be away. Got a feeling he will be away 1st August, compensation going towards 2011 - 2012 accounts ?

ballengeich
24-07-2011, 06:05 PM
I thought it was a poor game. In the first half we passed the ball ok and 0-0 would have reflected the play as a solid but uncreative Celtic could have played until September without scoring if it had not been for our defensive mistakes. They'll probably win the league as the main difference between them and Rangers last season was Walter Smith, but I think they'll quickly be found out in Europe. I don't think we'll be in relegation trouble, but I'm unsure which half we'll be in after the split.

Don Giovanni
24-07-2011, 06:48 PM
I thought, barring a goalkeeping howler, we matched Celtic for most of the first half today. However, the second half was poor. Thier midfield dominated ours and we were slow to change personnel / formation.


Again we lacked creativity, as we have done for most of last season.


The statistics are dreadful. When you consider the most important statistic, the score, could and should have been worse (they had a perfectly good goal chopped off and missed a penalty) it makes for a pretty disappointing day.


Still, onwards and upwards, literally, to Inverness and an opportunity to put another horrible statistic to bed...


GGTTH

NOLA
24-07-2011, 06:55 PM
toothless upfront, strikers need brought in urgently, goals win games!

Albion Hibs
24-07-2011, 06:57 PM
I think a lot of folk on here thought we were going to get hammered by 3, 4 or 5. I was suprised and todays performance actually gave me some optamisim. I thought the first 20 mins we were easily the better team, and probably overall for the first half. Booth/Wotherspoon gave away a stupid free kick and Stack was not the best from the resulting set piece. The second goal was again a little sloppy.

Overall My View was;

Stack - 6 - Cost the first goal, saved a penalty but a bit late for marking up for that, other than that he had little/nothing to do.
Palsson -6- I am not a massive fan but thought he did well in this position, if he is going to be a perminant fixture in this position he needs to work on his delivery.
O'Hanlon - 6- Thought he did okay, my only fear is he is a CH made out of China.
Hanlon - 7 - Thought he did very well, some poor passing, but defended as well as he could have and covered up for some roopy moments from booth
Booth -7- Did not see his stand out man of the match performance, I thought he played well and got forward when he could, passing was debatable though.
Sproule - 6 - Not very involved and his passing was poor, but looked dangerous and showed he still has his pace.
Thornhill - 6 Not very creative, following some of the glowing preseason report I though he may have produced more.
Murray - 7- Thought he was one of the best Hibs players, won everything near him and some decent passing to get things going.
Stevenson - 5- Was on his was to a 9 following his performance for the first 30 mins, but died a bit in the second half. Encouraging none the less.
Wotherspoon - 4- Not a good afternoon for him
O'Connor - should have scored, did not have much to work with all afternoon but never gave up, did well when he dropped to get the ball.

Of the subs I think Galbraith did well, seemed like he wanted to get at the defence and showed a bit of pace, we know he has it, I really hope this season he uses it.

All in all I am very encouraged by this performance. If we play like we played today in the first half I have no doubt we would be beating the majority of the teams in this league. Folk thought we were going to get battered today, I did not see that on todays performance. We played the team that is favourite to win the league, a much better team, with a better squad and depth, its no disgrace to not take points off them.

Celtic look like they have had a better preseaosn than we have, I now actually think the two games against blackpool and sunderland will do us the world of good. I felt at times today we gave the ball away, put it out of the park too easily, but did this when trying to play the right pass. Silly fouls that led to the first goal, and giving the ball away for the second are hopefully things that will be eradicated with a bit more time on the pitch.

Well done finally to the fans that turned up today. I think we saw first hand why teams like Celtic have far more money to put into their playing squads.

JustSimplyHibs
24-07-2011, 07:03 PM
First game. Depleted squad. Probably against the likely league winners.I thought we didnt play too badly. Both O'Hanlon & Hanlon played very well. Palsson is wasted at RB, but we dont have much choice till we sign one. Stack made me feel a little better with a terrific pen save. O'Connor needs more help, still looks a good player. Booth is a fantastic full back. Reminds me of Murphy.All in all, lets judge ourselves against realistic opposition.

Some of our play was ok, our crosses into the box first half troubled Selicks back 4 and only if our wide players attacked the back post we could have created....there was no runners from the central midfield area to come and collect the ball when Selick cleared.

Some of our players, Murray, Sproule (to an extent) Wotherspoon, Pallson were too busy ball watching and lost their players frequently. Sproule on occassion couldnae be bothered back tracking and allowed a player to run 40 yards in the 1st half.

Stevenson did alright first half but his first bad pass in the 2nd half his head went down and from there well we all know what happened.

The gap between Midfield and Attack was too large in the 1st, no constant pressure on the ball and when we did pressure Selicks back 4 passes went astray....ok the weather played a part which meant any team would struggle playing a pressure game but when the afore mentioned players weren't ball watching like the majority of the time and actually played on their pitch awareness and positional play Selick's passing went astray between Def and Mid.

Anyways Selick will be champions this year, next up for us is a league trip away to a place where victories do not come often...the joys eh!!!!

matty_f
24-07-2011, 07:03 PM
I think a lot of folk on here thought we were going to get hammered by 3, 4 or 5. I was suprised and todays performance actually gave me some optamisim. I thought the first 20 mins we were easily the better team, and probably overall for the first half. Booth/Wotherspoon gave away a stupid free kick and Stack was not the best from the resulting set piece. The second goal was again a little sloppy.

Overall My View was;

Stack - 6 - Cost the first goal, saved a penalty but a bit late for marking up for that, other than that he had little/nothing to do.
Palsson -6- I am not a massive fan but thought he did well in this position, if he is going to be a perminant fixture in this position he needs to work on his delivery.
O'Hanlon - 6- Thought he did okay, my only fear is he is a CH made out of China.
Hanlon - 7 - Thought he did very well, some poor passing, but defended as well as he could have and covered up for some roopy moments from booth
Booth -7- Did not see his stand out man of the match performance, I thought he played well and got forward when he could, passing was debatable though.
Sproule - 6 - Not very involved and his passing was poor, but looked dangerous and showed he still has his pace.
Thornhill - 6 Not very creative, following some of the glowing preseason report I though he may have produced more.
Murray - 7- Thought he was one of the best Hibs players, won everything near him and some decent passing to get things going.
Stevenson - 5- Was on his was to a 9 following his performance for the first 30 mins, but died a bit in the second half. Encouraging none the less.
Wotherspoon - 4- Not a good afternoon for him
O'Connor - should have scored, did not have much to work with all afternoon but never gave up, did well when he dropped to get the ball.

Of the subs I think Galbraith did well, seemed like he wanted to get at the defence and showed a bit of pace, we know he has it, I really hope this season he uses it.

All in all I am very encouraged by this performance. If we play like we played today in the first half I have no doubt we would be beating the majority of the teams in this league. Folk thought we were going to get battered today, I did not see that on todays performance. We played the team that is favourite to win the league, a much better team, with a better squad and depth, its no disgrace to not take points off them.

Celtic look like they have had a better preseaosn than we have, I now actually think the two games against blackpool and sunderland will do us the world of good. I felt at times today we gave the ball away, put it out of the park too easily, but did this when trying to play the right pass. Silly fouls that led to the first goal, and giving the ball away for the second are hopefully things that will be eradicated with a bit more time on the pitch.

Well done finally to the fans that turned up today. I think we saw first hand why teams like Celtic have far more money to put into their playing squads.

Totally agree with your assessment of the game, your ratings, analysis and subsequent comments.

All in all, a great post.:top marks

Albion Hibs
24-07-2011, 07:10 PM
Totally agree with your assessment of the game, your ratings, analysis and subsequent comments.

All in all, a great post.:top marks

Thanks mate, albeit I did not mean to not give O'Connor a mark - not a reflection of my thoughts, I would have given him a 6, give it a few weeks, he will be banging them away!

Andy74
24-07-2011, 07:32 PM
No change really is there? Stats adding up. February has kept CC in a job.

Broken Gnome
24-07-2011, 07:40 PM
No change really is there? Stats adding up. February has kept CC in a job.

Unless today was a hammering, it was never going to change anything. If anything, it showed a better style of play which was a lot less aerial and direct than we had previously seen.

If February has kept him in a job, he earned that February wuth a lot of good wins. He now needs to earn his support back with some good recruitment and more positivity. If we get beyond ICT and Kilmarnock with little improvement on the horizon, or into September still short of personnel, then he has little defence. Today didn't do him anymore harm than he'd already brought upon himself.

Tyler Durden
24-07-2011, 08:16 PM
I think a lot of folk on here thought we were going to get hammered by 3, 4 or 5. I was suprised and todays performance actually gave me some optamisim. I thought the first 20 mins we were easily the better team, and probably overall for the first half. Booth/Wotherspoon gave away a stupid free kick and Stack was not the best from the resulting set piece. The second goal was again a little sloppy.

Overall My View was;

Stack - 6 - Cost the first goal, saved a penalty but a bit late for marking up for that, other than that he had little/nothing to do.
Palsson -6- I am not a massive fan but thought he did well in this position, if he is going to be a perminant fixture in this position he needs to work on his delivery.
O'Hanlon - 6- Thought he did okay, my only fear is he is a CH made out of China.
Hanlon - 7 - Thought he did very well, some poor passing, but defended as well as he could have and covered up for some roopy moments from booth
Booth -7- Did not see his stand out man of the match performance, I thought he played well and got forward when he could, passing was debatable though.
Sproule - 6 - Not very involved and his passing was poor, but looked dangerous and showed he still has his pace.
Thornhill - 6 Not very creative, following some of the glowing preseason report I though he may have produced more.
Murray - 7- Thought he was one of the best Hibs players, won everything near him and some decent passing to get things going.
Stevenson - 5- Was on his was to a 9 following his performance for the first 30 mins, but died a bit in the second half. Encouraging none the less.
Wotherspoon - 4- Not a good afternoon for him
O'Connor - should have scored, did not have much to work with all afternoon but never gave up, did well when he dropped to get the ball.

Of the subs I think Galbraith did well, seemed like he wanted to get at the defence and showed a bit of pace, we know he has it, I really hope this season he uses it.

All in all I am very encouraged by this performance. If we play like we played today in the first half I have no doubt we would be beating the majority of the teams in this league. Folk thought we were going to get battered today, I did not see that on todays performance. We played the team that is favourite to win the league, a much better team, with a better squad and depth, its no disgrace to not take points off them.

Celtic look like they have had a better preseaosn than we have, I now actually think the two games against blackpool and sunderland will do us the world of good. I felt at times today we gave the ball away, put it out of the park too easily, but did this when trying to play the right pass. Silly fouls that led to the first goal, and giving the ball away for the second are hopefully things that will be eradicated with a bit more time on the pitch. Well done finally to the fans that turned up today. I think we saw first hand why teams like Celtic have far more money to put into their playing squads.

Really? What exactly leads you to think that? I didn't see any emerging pattern of play to speak of.

Unfortunately I have to disagree with that - losing the ball for the 2nd goal was down to Stevenson. It's something that he'll continue to do regularly as he's not good enough to play midfield for a side with top 6 aspirations. A midfield of Murray and Stevenson will get us nowhere. Also highlights how poor De Graff is that he can't get a game ahead of either.

Albion Hibs
24-07-2011, 08:34 PM
Really? What exactly leads you to think that? I didn't see any emerging pattern of play to speak of.Unfortunately I have to disagree with that - losing the ball for the 2nd goal was down to Stevenson. It's something that he'll continue to do regularly as he's not good enough to play midfield for a side with top 6 aspirations. A midfield of Murray and Stevenson will get us nowhere. Also highlights how poor De Graff is that he can't get a game ahead of either. What would lead me to think of that was our performance I'm the first half - I would have thought that was pretty obvious from my post, which would seem to carry the sentiments of many other posters from the game today. With regards to Murray and Stevenson I will happily agree to disagree.

Devine
24-07-2011, 08:44 PM
What would lead me to think of that was our performance I'm the first half - I would have thought that was pretty obvious from my post, which would seem to carry the sentiments of many other posters from the game today. With regards to Murray and Stevenson I will happily agree to disagree.

We didnt have a single shot on goal (OR corner) at home in the opening game of the season with near enough a full squad to pick from, lost 2 goals should have lost at least one more & the opposition played at about half pace for large parts of the game. How you can take positives out of that I find absolutely bewildering

Murray is a great pro who tries his heart out its just a shame his legs have started to give way and for that reason he should never be a starter in that midfield unless we have a bill of injuries & Stevenson again tries his heart out but lacks the ability necessary to play in our midfield. For those reasons I totally agree with what Tyler is saying

Hibs90
24-07-2011, 08:57 PM
I had a bit of hope we would get something today but with that team I just sadly don't see it happening. Stevenson and Wotherspoon were ****ing terrible and the rest of the midfield were anonymous. No support to G'OC. The times during the game where the pace was slow I thought bringing on De Graaf would have been a good idea, might have suited him and we might have seen some of that Dutch skill he has :greengrin . Unless major signings are made I can safely say I won't be back for a while though.

Stack - 5 - WTF was he doing for their 1st?

Palsson - 5 - Wasted out there
O'Hanlon - 6 - Looked okay until he went off, mini Rob Jones though.
Hanlon - 5 - Meh.
Booth - 7 - Had Commons in his back pocket.

Sproule - 5 - Meh.
Murray - 5 - Meh.
Thornhill - 4.5 - We would have been better playing a snail in his place, probably be faster.
Stevenson - 4 - Woeful.
Wotherspoon - 4 - Woeful.

O'Connor - 5 - No service or support.

Albion Hibs
24-07-2011, 09:15 PM
We didnt have a single shot on goal (OR corner) at home in the opening game of the season with near enough a full squad to pick from, lost 2 goals should have lost at least one more & the opposition played at about half pace for large parts of the game. How you can take positives out of that I find absolutely bewilderingMurray is a great pro who tries his heart out its just a shame his legs have started to give way and for that reason he should never be a starter in that midfield unless we have a bill of injuries & Stevenson again tries his heart out but lacks the ability necessary to play in our midfield. For those reasons I totally agree with what Tyler is saying I am not so bothered for the facts, I di think when I was leaving the game that they would be the focus of hibs net. In the first half we got down the wings well and got a few decent balls into the box, on another day we might have said someone on the end of them. None the less I am sure you will agree last season we were crying out for pace down the wings with balls into the box?In the second half sproule was through on goal and probably should have got a shot off, o'connor had the best chance of the game and should have scored. Therefore on another day we may have had one in the back of the net.

Hiber-nation
24-07-2011, 09:17 PM
O'Hanlon - 6 - Looked okay until he went off, mini Rob Jones though.
.

Well top that for analysis :rolleyes:

DH1875
24-07-2011, 09:59 PM
Really? I thought he was doing pretty well until he gave the ball away for the second, aside that he passed to noone once, but generally his passing was fine and I would have said Wotherspoon had a far worse day than Stevenson.

Totally agree. Has to be the worst I've seen Spoony for us although playing out of position doesn't help.
On the plus side I thought Booth had another good game, O'Hanlon looks like he could be a good buy (hope the injury nothing to serious) and Ivan looked good (time will tell but still think he's a better impact player coming from the bench).

Devine
24-07-2011, 10:00 PM
I am not so bothered for the facts, I di think when I was leaving the game that they would be the focus of hibs net. In the first half we got down the wings well and got a few decent balls into the box, on another day we might have said someone on the end of them. None the less I am sure you will agree last season we were crying out for pace down the wings with balls into the box?In the second half sproule was through on goal and probably should have got a shot off, o'connor had the best chance of the game and should have scored. Therefore on another day we may have had one in the back of the net.

No and no

GreenOnions
24-07-2011, 10:15 PM
I had a bit of hope we would get something today but with that team I just sadly don't see it happening. Stevenson and Wotherspoon were ****ing terrible and the rest of the midfield were anonymous. No support to G'OC. The times during the game where the pace was slow I thought bringing on De Graaf would have been a good idea, might have suited him and we might have seen some of that Dutch skill he has :greengrin . Unless major signings are made I can safely say I won't be back for a while though.

Stack - 5 - WTF was he doing for their 1st?

Palsson - 5 - Wasted out there
O'Hanlon - 6 - Looked okay until he went off, mini Rob Jones though.
Hanlon - 5 - Meh.
Booth - 7 - Had Commons in his back pocket.

Sproule - 5 - Meh.
Murray - 5 - Meh.
Thornhill - 4.5 - We would have been better playing a snail in his place, probably be faster.
Stevenson - 4 - Woeful.
Wotherspoon - 4 - Woeful.

O'Connor - 5 - No service or support.

Have I missed something or should I understand these comments?

I don't know whether you have criticised Hanlon or not but i am assuming "meh" is a negative comment. If it is then it's no bad thing that you wont be back at ER soon. Better watching another sport I think.

Hibs90
24-07-2011, 10:24 PM
Have I missed something or should I understand these comments?

I don't know whether you have criticised Hanlon or not but i am assuming "meh" is a negative comment. If it is then it's no bad thing that you wont be back at ER soon. Better watching another sport I think.

Not really a negative or positive comment, nothing stood out in his performance either way, hence the 'meh'.

Expecting Rain
25-07-2011, 09:00 AM
Would be fair to say that Booth will be seeing a lot of the ball this season, was involved in most of the good link up play on the left in the first half, much of which was spoiled by an out of position Wetherspoon, it is not enough to chase and harrass Celtic all over the pitch if you are just going to give the ball away or knock it out for a throw in, we put a few passes together and some folk percieve that as an improvement, sorry but i expect every team in the SPL or the 1st division to be able to achieve that, there`s a lack of confidence already that must be knocked out the competing eleven against Inverness because lets face it our potential points total is going to come from playing them, St Mirren and Dunfermline.

Dinkydoo
25-07-2011, 10:41 AM
Not all 'doom and gloom' on the back of yesterday's performance.

We retained possession and passed the ball well in the first half. Stack was at fault for the first goal. We had a decent chance to level the game where I think O' Connor squared the ball just inside the Celtic box, but the onrushing player scuffed it.

Second half we held our shape well but weren't closing Celtic down quickly enough which lead to that inevitable second goal - credit where credit is due though, it was a decent strike.

Sproule then crafted out a couple of chances on the break but it unfortunately didn't lead to any shots, which gives the bed wetters all the ammunition they need to continue speculating about relegation.

Honestly, if we play the way we did yesterday against anyone outwith the OF then in all likelihood, we'll come away with a result.

The Sea-gull
25-07-2011, 11:03 AM
Stack - made a bad error but he's not made too many and good save from pen

Palsson - did ok but could do with him in midfield

O'Hanlon - did well for debut v team of Celtic's class. Looks like a League 1 hoofer but notning wrong with a no-nonsence CH.

Hanlon - not the busiest he'll ever be but did ok.

Booth - looks a cracking prospect but we already knew that. Distribution not always great and concerned we'll put too much pressure on him as looks like he's the one true quality player in the squad but is only young.

Sproule - was lively at times and will entertain but won't always deliver final product. Doesn't look to have changed much since last time but happy to see him back as he'll give his all.

Stevenson - showed that he'll always be a squad player, useful to have on the books but not the answer as a first pick.

Thornhill - was really dissappointed as felt he was anonymous and hoping he'll be a player for us this season. That said, I liked him in a couple of games I saw last season and think he could be decent with a good settled spell under his belt.

Murray - actually surprised me. Did ok but same comments as per Stevenson could be applied.

Wotherspoon - not a left sided player for me. Put in some good crosses though but nobody attacking them. Him and Booth got into some good positions but no threat in the box for them to aim for. Distribution was shocking in midfield whenever he came off the flank.

O'Connor - looks willing and interested but also lumbering and unfit. Needs a partner and some time to build up fitness. Always a gamble signing and fear it might take him too long to get up to speed if he ever gets there.

All in all, not great but too early to judge completely given that it was v Celtic. Stats shocking though and squad looks bare. A right back, back up centre half, creative midfielder and at least one striker required asap. There are a few players who have potential to do well in Stack, Booth, the two CHs, Thornhill, Palsson (in midfield), Sproule, GO'C and possibly Wotherspoon and Galbraith. Murray and Stevenson ok for the squad and Sodje can probably do a turn when back fit. They need to be joined by some real quality though who are ready to step into the first team straight away at RB, centre mid and centre forward.

With some addtions (and maybe a change of manager) we could do alright.

PISTOL1875
25-07-2011, 02:47 PM
I was expecting a pasting to be honest but HIbs did do well apart from the goals that they lost... Hibs tightened up in midfield when thye never had the ball and were happy to let Celtic come to half way before pressing.. Celtic had no way of getting through so the were forced to play wide which never really worked for them.. The only real time they did get joy through the middle was when they had that goal chopped off for offside which was a poor call by the linesman as Palsson played everybody on...

Big O'Hanlon looks a good acquisition so hopefully his injury isnt too bad and he'll be back in the side ASAP..

We need to find a new RB pronto I think.. VP is miles better in midfield and maybe moving Wotherspoon back there instead of having him out on the left might be a good move..

Stevenson had a brilliant first half but a few bad passes and giving the ball away which led to the second goal was a bad way to end a pretty good display from him..

More to come from Thornhill I think.. He won't be playing against that type of midfield every week so I think he'll come to the fore when we are playing against teams outwith the old firm..

Its not all doom and gloom as some people make it out to be.. We wont be playing against Celtic every week who obviously have better standard of player than what we do.. I do think we are moving in the right direction but we must sign a RB and another forward to 2 before the window shuts if we are gonna make it to the Top 6..

(((Fergus)))
25-07-2011, 03:01 PM
Agree with your other points, but the weather was the same for both teams and one of them even managed to raise the tempo. Poor second half from Hibs. Simple as.

Calderwood was telling everyone before the game how the players would tire in the second half due to the heat. No doubt he told the players too - and they followed that instruction!

stokesmessiah
25-07-2011, 03:07 PM
Calderwood was telling everyone before the game how the players would tire in the second half due to the heat. No doubt he told the players too - and they followed that instruction!

How do you know this ?

blackpoolhibs
25-07-2011, 04:05 PM
Would be fair to say that Booth will be seeing a lot of the ball this season, was involved in most of the good link up play on the left in the first half, much of which was spoiled by an out of position Wetherspoon, it is not enough to chase and harrass Celtic all over the pitch if you are just going to give the ball away or knock it out for a throw in, we put a few passes together and some folk percieve that as an improvement, sorry but i expect every team in the SPL or the 1st division to be able to achieve that, there`s a lack of confidence already that must be knocked out the competing eleven against Inverness because lets face it our potential points total is going to come from playing them, St Mirren and Dunfermline.

I cant for the life of me understand why he's not being played at right back, when most if not all of his best games have been in that position, and we dont actually have a right back on our books unless you count a kid and a useless REMOVED.

HibbyAndy
25-07-2011, 05:35 PM
GOC ran himself into the ground but was woefully short of support.

Lewy had a great 1st half.

Booth is simply outstanding.

Ohanlon will be a very astute signing for Hibs.

Wotherspoon needs to beat the 1st man with crosses into the box.

PISTOL1875
25-07-2011, 05:55 PM
GOC ran himself into the ground but was woefully short of support.

Lewy had a great 1st half.

Booth is simply outstanding.

Ohanlon will be a very astute signing for Hibs.

Wotherspoon needs to beat the 1st man with crosses into the box.

It was a joke the lack of support GOC was getting Andy.. Time after time , he would press the defense with no help coming from midfield.. Need to get a runner from deep to help him out..

HibbyAndy
25-07-2011, 06:00 PM
It was a joke the lack of support GOC was getting Andy.. Time after time , he would press the defense with no help coming from midfield.. Need to get a runner from deep to help him out..

:agree:

Mega isolated on his own up front, Think Thornhill will be the player that will support him up top in a 4-5-1...Did try to get forward with the odd shot from distance that was charged down tho, We will play better against so called weaker opposition.

PISTOL1875
25-07-2011, 06:05 PM
:agree:

Mega isolated on his own up front, Think Thornhill will be the player that will support him up top in a 4-5-1...Did try to get forward with the odd shot from distance that was charged down tho, We will play better against so called weaker opposition.


I think we played quite well mate.. We had a good shape that went to pot whn SOH went off injured..


There is a good side there but to get the best out of it , we need to have players playing in there correct position for a kick off.. eg. Palsson back into midfield for a starter...

HibbyAndy
25-07-2011, 06:07 PM
I think we played quite well mate.. We had a good shape that went to pot whn SOH went off injured..


There is a good side there but to get the best out of it , we need to have players playing in there correct position for a kick off.. eg. Palsson back into midfield for a starter...

Agree with all that Peter.

Westie1875
25-07-2011, 06:28 PM
One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post on this thread was out set pieces, delivery was abysmal for the few free kicks we got yesterday. It needs worked on a lot and someone needs to take responsibility now that Derek is away.

Expecting Rain
26-07-2011, 08:39 AM
I cant for the life of me understand why he's not being played at right back, when most if not all of his best games have been in that position, and we dont actually have a right back on our books unless you count a kid and a useless REMOVED.

What is with managers playing players totally out of position and having a negative effect on those around them? You would be loathed to do this at pub level, the fixture was difficult enough.