Hanlon to Left Back?

[MB62]

Now that Mitter seems to be a real person and he has signed for us, I am wondering if this will allow C.C. to try Paul Hanlon out left back and move Callum Booth to Left Midfield. Hanlon has taken a bit of criticism recently, probably justifiably so, for his abilities at centre half but I felt he did a reasonable job in the games he played left back.
Similarly, Callum Booth has also taken the same bashing at left back, and again probably justifiably so, so the signing of Mitter might just allow to try things out a bit and see how they work.

[Speedway]

Now that Mitter seems to be a real person and he has signed for us, I am wondering if this will allow C.C. to try Paul Hanlon out left back and move Callum Booth to Left Midfield. Hanlon has taken a bit of criticism recently, probably justifiably so, for his abilities at centre half but I felt he did a reasonable job in the games he played left back.
Similarly, Callum Booth has also taken the same bashing at left back, and again probably justifiably so, so the signing of Mitter might just allow to try things out a bit and see how they work.

No it won't. Mitter's 12 years old. This is a youth signing in the mould of Tom Macready and Ivan Tomatula.

[Broken Gnome]

Wasn't Hanlon NEVER a left back, in the same way Bamba was NEVER a right back, Palsson's NEVER a right back, Murray NEVER was or is a left back, Booth is now NEVER a left back in some eyes...

How do young centre halfs learn to be stronger and iron out mistakes if they are either dropped, or given wee midgets to mark instead? He WILL be good, keep him there unless it's proven otherwise or his long-term development won't be to the overall benefit of the team.

[PeterboroHibee]

Hanlon to LB might have been an option to try and strengthen our defence if the club had bothered to bring in an experienced CB to play alongside O'Hanlon. But nobody knows anything about Mitter, I get the impression that hes someone for the future (Id like to be wrong and hope he could add proper competition though) and not someone whos going to be thrown in at the deep end.

[jdships]

Wasn't Hanlon NEVER a left back, in the same way Bamba was NEVER a right back, Palsson's NEVER a right back, Murray NEVER was or is a left back, Booth is now NEVER a left back in some eyes...

How do young centre halfs learn to be stronger and iron out mistakes if they are either dropped, or given wee midgets to mark instead? He WILL be good, keep him there unless it's proven otherwise or his long-term development won't be to the overall benefit of the team.


Says it all for me. :thumbsup:
Couldn't put it better myself :wink::greengrin

[truehibernian]

Wasn't Hanlon NEVER a left back, in the same way Bamba was NEVER a right back, Palsson's NEVER a right back, Murray NEVER was or is a left back, Booth is now NEVER a left back in some eyes...

How do young centre halfs learn to be stronger and iron out mistakes if they are either dropped, or given wee midgets to mark instead? He WILL be good, keep him there unless it's proven otherwise or his long-term development won't be to the overall benefit of the team.

That's true Richey and yep, it is about opinions which are always divided at times. I agree about moving Paul to left back myself, because at this time of low confidence I think the central pairing is crucial and it has to contain as much experience as possible. Some argue that Hanlon is experienced now, but for me he is still learning and developing. He is not a talker nor an organiser at the back. That's why I think someone like Murray going left side, O'Hanlon right side, will benefit the full backs. I also think Booth is magnificent going forward, and to get a really good balance on both flanks, it would be good to have Towell and Sproule on one side, with Hanlon and Booth on the other. Booth really is penetrating when he gets going, but we are asking a lot of the lad to go up and down the pitch and require him to defend as good as attack. And Hanlon's youth career was as a midfielder, and on occasions last season he got up the pitch quite well too.

Scott Smith looks confident and comfy on the ball and his loan will be of real benefit.

It's not a slight on Hanlon, but I do think his form (and others) are dipping due to low confidence and no one talking them through games. I am really disappointed we didn't bring in two really experienced centre halves, but we have what we have, so we bash on.

[PeterboroHibee]

Wasn't Hanlon NEVER a left back, in the same way Bamba was NEVER a right back, Palsson's NEVER a right back, Murray NEVER was or is a left back, Booth is now NEVER a left back in some eyes...

How do young centre halfs learn to be stronger and iron out mistakes if they are either dropped, or given wee midgets to mark instead? He WILL be good, keep him there unless it's proven otherwise or his long-term development won't be to the overall benefit of the team.

I think moving Hanlon wouldnt be because of how hes getting on as a CB, more that 2 games in a row Booth has been targeted as a weak area of the team and that seems to have been true in both games. I agree that I would rather Hanlon was allowed to continue at CB but we cant keep giving away so many crappy goals from a certain area on the pitch!

[frazeHFC]

Who says he is good enough just now?

[brog]

Now that Mitter seems to be a real person and he has signed for us, I am wondering if this will allow C.C. to try Paul Hanlon out left back and move Callum Booth to Left Midfield. Hanlon has taken a bit of criticism recently, probably justifiably so, for his abilities at centre half but I felt he did a reasonable job in the games he played left back.
Similarly, Callum Booth has also taken the same bashing at left back, and again probably justifiably so, so the signing of Mitter might just allow to try things out a bit and see how they work.

Has he signed? Can't see anything official.

[Albion Hibs]

I dont fancy Hanlon at LB, that was tried before and did not work, and remember him getting a similar experience away at Killie a few seasons ago.

Hanlon is a CB and Booth is a LB, that is the position these guys have always played. Granted there performances have not been the best recently but I dont think either of them would want to get changed into a new position, that is not going to help them. If anything playing them out of there natural position is likely to be worse and perhaps risk a damage of confiedence.

Booth probably needs a rest, he could do with reserve football but due to the farce of the league that is not available. More importantly I think he just needs a bit more protection and with that will come the opportunity for him to get forward and showcase the bit of his game that is strongest, rather than being the full back that is constantly pinned back and targeted.

Hanlon is probably suffering in part from from booth being next to him, alas putting something a bit more protective at left mid would probably help both of them and the team no end. Other than that the only thing I want to see from Hanlon is him being a bit more aggresive. He is decent in the air but I cant remember the last time one of our CH's won the ball in the air at the same time as smashing the opposition CF into a heap on the ground, basically dont come back. A bit of aggression and a bit more protection and I think he can be a good CH for us.

[Andy74]

Hanlon was absolutely murder at left back.

He's a bit better at centre half but still pretty weak. Yes he has some potential and the only way he will learn is to play but let's face it, if he does learn and become decent he'll be off.

Centre half is a crucial area and I'd rather we had a couple of big big, ugly, experienced guys in there.

Still, we don't have any experienced cover there at all so we are stuck with being soft there while he learns his trade. God help us if O'Hanlon either turns out to be mince or gets injured again which h'es done twice so far in the couple of months he's been with us.

Mitter, if he actually is here, is another one for the future. As is Stephens. It's a pity there's not still a reserve league with actual men playing in it.

[smurf]

Hanlon was absolutely murder at left back.

He's a bit better at centre half but still pretty weak. Yes he has some potential and the only way he will learn is to play but let's face it, if he does learn and become decent he'll be off.

Centre half is a crucial area and I'd rather we had a couple of big big, ugly, experienced guys in there.

Still, we don't have any experienced cover there at all so we are stuck with being soft there while he learns his trade. God help us if O'Hanlon either turns out to be mince or gets injured again which h'es done twice so far in the couple of months he's been with us.

Mitter, if he actually is here, is another one for the future. As is Stephens. It's a pity there's not still a reserve league with actual men playing in it.

Spot on.

[scoopyboy]

Has he signed? Can't see anything official.

Mitter has signed.

It is registered on the SFA website.

Mitter has IMO been signed for the 19s.

Hibs probably not announced it because it is for the 19s.

[MB62]

Maybe the fact that I suggested this shows just how much we are struggling for decent defenders.
As I remember it, Booth did not join us as a left back but has been converted to this position in our hour of need. Whilst I agree with a lot of what has been said, it shows the state we are in that we are heavily relying on these young guys to be the business straight away, rather than blooding them in gradually, one or two at a time in odd games. We are sitting at the bottom of the league and depending on young guys pulling us through.
I find it incredible that people are saying we need to rest Booth, rest him why? because he is going throught the mill at the moment or because he is knackered, gees, we have only played 5 league games and he needs rested already!
Hopefully C.C. will come up with one or two others that are free agents and can do a job for us for even six months, we need experienced cover for both centre half and left back positions.

[3pm]

No, stick with him.

He's made some terrible mistakes but he has never had the benefit of a decent back four or a decent midfield to help him since he broke through!

[Franck is God]

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about defence at the moment.

Against Celtic it was a keeper error by dropping the ball and a 25 yard shot, other than that I thought we defended pretty well.

Against ICT we didn't concede and I don't care how lucky some people thought it was, it was still a clean sheet.

Against Killie we had a bit of a mare at the back and all the goals could've and should've been dealt with better.

Against St Mirren two individual errors by Pallson & Booth resulted in their goals, they didn't have a single shot on target in the 90 minutes other than that which suggests we might have defended fairly well.

Against Hearts as well Booth gave the ball away and nobody from midfield tracked Stevenson into the box and he took his chance well and for all the corner that was given away for the second goal it was a cracking ball into the box and a great header from Webster.

The only thing that is going to stop the errors is the experience of playing together every week. I think on Sunday we saw our first choice back five in Stack, Towell, O'Hanlon, Hanlon & Booth and I think only injury or a dreadful drop in form will see it change, also bear in mind that that was the first time they had all played together as a defence.

[CapitalHibs]

Just asking, cos I don't know, but does anybody think "Jimmy" Scott could play left back?

[Andy74]

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about defence at the moment.

Against Celtic it was a keeper error by dropping the ball and a 25 yard shot, other than that I thought we defended pretty well.

Against ICT we didn't concede and I don't care how lucky some people thought it was, it was still a clean sheet.

Against Killie we had a bit of a mare at the back and all the goals could've and should've been dealt with better.

Against St Mirren two individual errors by Pallson & Booth resulted in their goals, they didn't have a single shot on target in the 90 minutes other than that which suggests we might have defended fairly well.

Against Hearts as well Booth gave the ball away and nobody from midfield tracked Stevenson into the box and he took his chance well and for all the corner that was given away for the second goal it was a cracking ball into the box and a great header from Webster.

The only thing that is going to stop the errors is the experience of playing together every week. I think on Sunday we saw our first choice back five in Stack, Towell, O'Hanlon, Hanlon & Booth and I think only injury or a dreadful drop in form will see it change, also bear in mind that that was the first time they had all played together as a defence.

The fuss is about all the defensive errors you have just listed.

We didn't defend well at all against St Mirren, despite any stats on shots, they ripped through us at will at times.

[JimBHibees]

I'm not sure what all the fuss is about defence at the moment.

Against Celtic it was a keeper error by dropping the ball and a 25 yard shot, other than that I thought we defended pretty well.

Against ICT we didn't concede and I don't care how lucky some people thought it was, it was still a clean sheet.

Against Killie we had a bit of a mare at the back and all the goals could've and should've been dealt with better.

Against St Mirren two individual errors by Pallson & Booth resulted in their goals, they didn't have a single shot on target in the 90 minutes other than that which suggests we might have defended fairly well.

Against Hearts as well Booth gave the ball away and nobody from midfield tracked Stevenson into the box and he took his chance well and for all the corner that was given away for the second goal it was a cracking ball into the box and a great header from Webster.
The only thing that is going to stop the errors is the experience of playing together every week. I think on Sunday we saw our first choice back five in Stack, Towell, O'Hanlon, Hanlon & Booth and I think only injury or a dreadful drop in form will see it change, also bear in mind that that was the first time they had all played together as a defence.

St Mirren had other chances on that game especially in the first half. They also didnt need to do anymore than keep the ball moving in the second half so little were we threatening their goal. Hearts second goal O'Hanlon loses Webster and he gets a free header 7 yards out, poor defending. Also Booth was being ripped the second half which only Stack heroics and poor finishing stopped them scoring more.

Like Andy 74 am amazed that the central defence area hasnt been strengthened in terms of experience. A defence which consists of 3 out of 4 19/20 year olds doesnt exactly inspire confidence. I am pretty sure O'Hanlon will get better the more he plays however there is a reasonable risk he will miss games through injury if last season is anything to go by so we could again be looking at an under 21 back four which is at the end of the transfer window IMO unacceptable.

[sunshine1875]

IMO, I would take him out of the firing line for a few games. There have been games when Hanlon has been immense. However, recently he has been poor. Most good managers take their young kids out of the firing line to build up their confidence again and if the player has the right attitude they come back better than before. Keeping Hanlon in the defence is more likely to reduce his confidence that build it.

I also agree that moving him to full back is not the option. He was not great at it before, so why put him there.

I would rather see Murray at centreback with O'Hanlon as a short term move, slowly re-introducing Hanlon back into the team.

[ancient hibee]

In the two home games the central defence were not to blame for any of the goals lost.To be honest I don't remember any of the opposing strikers getting a sniff at goals.I don't see how the fact of the goalie hardly having a save to make can be dismissed as of little account.The real failures of the defence have been out wide with in addition a lack of protection from central midfield and a failure by the midfielders to track runners.The huge weakness in the team is as usual the midfield.

[Dinkydoo]

Tin hat on here but I don't think Booth has been that bad.......

The root of the problem lies at left midfield where we have no natural 'leftie' playing and whoever is placed there seems incapable of providing the fullback with any cover.