wotherspoon

[strummbo]

been ropey of late, he would admit that...

but now, with settled and experience around him

he will blossom into a fantastic player for us

c'mon spoony... wake up and smell the coffee :)

[Seveno]

I thoughts he had a great first half, a real threat down the left along with Kujabi. PF clearly has faith in him and I think we'll soon see him display all tha potential on a regular basis.

[S.sct]

Still think Spooney could be a player (as with Hanlon) but would rather he was playing on the right. Don't like to see guys playing out of position, particularly when they are short of confidence.

[NAE NOOKIE]

Theres nothing wrong with Wotherspoon's ability. What bothers me is his total lack of pace. Watch him run, it looks like he has been given the hamstrings of somebody 5 inches shorter than him.

I genuinely think Hibs should introduce him to a Yoga teacher, it would probably add a yard to his pace.

[steviehibsleith]

Theres nothing wrong with Wotherspoon's ability. What bothers me is his total lack of pace. Watch him run, it looks like he has been given the hamstrings of somebody 5 inches shorter than him.

I genuinely think Hibs should introduce him to a Yoga teacher, it would probably add a yard to his pace.

Agree on yesterdays performance about his pace he was slow to every ball and looked on his heels all the time. Also the posts about great up the left IMO left back Kujabi did more when he went forward not Wotherspoon.

In his defence though yet again being played out of position he is right sided .

[The Harp Awakes]

I thoughts he had a great first half, a real threat down the left along with Kujabi. PF clearly has faith in him and I think we'll soon see him display all tha potential on a regular basis.

Apart from a couple of decent runs down the wing and crosses, I thought Spoony was poor yesterday. He was very slow to close down players and was left for dead at times by opposition players just running past him. He definitely has ability and I take others point about being played out of position but he's still not the player he was for us when he first came on the scene.

Hopefully he'll come good again.

[Love the Green]

Apart from a couple of decent runs down the wing and crosses, I thought Spoony was poor yesterday. He was very slow to close down players and was left for dead at times by opposition players just running past him. He definitely has ability and I take others point about being played out of position but he's still not the player he was for us when he first came on the scene.

Hopefully he'll come good again.

Agree fully looked out of sorts and the manager should have done him a favour and subbed him muchearlier for fresher legs.
think the intorduction of the better players with more fight may just let him settle a little and not be expected to work so hard on his own at times.
keep the faith

[Alex Trager]

Theres nothing wrong with Wotherspoon's ability. What bothers me is his total lack of pace. Watch him run, it looks like he has been given the hamstrings of somebody 5 inches shorter than him.

I genuinely think Hibs should introduce him to a Yoga teacher, it would probably add a yard to his pace.

Completely agree, looks very unfit at the moment. He's looked this way for some time aswell

[WindyMiller]

Apart from a couple of decent runs down the wing and crosses, I thought Spoony was poor yesterday. He was very slow to close down players and was left for dead at times by opposition players just running past him. He definitely has ability and I take others point about being played out of position but he's still not the player he was for us when he first came on the scene.

Hopefully he'll come good again.
.

[brydekirk]

Completely agree, looks very unfit at the moment. He's looked this way for some time aswell

Also agree, and I truly hope his fitness is the problem, because it looks like he just can't be arsed tracking back.

[Andy74]

Lost a few yesterday that looked 70/30 in his favour.

I think when Claros comes in he will miss out and Stevenson will shift left.

[ahibby]

Lacks pace and should have got to more balls than he did. I think he will be dropped soon. Better at going forward than he is winning the ball in midfield, covering and tracking back. Just not quick enough.

[Andy74]

Still think Spooney could be a player (as with Hanlon) but would rather he was playing on the right. Don't like to see guys playing out of position, particularly when they are short of confidence.

Though it should be noted that he played the majority of his under 19 games at left midfield.

[Dashing Bob S]

Theres nothing wrong with Wotherspoon's ability. What bothers me is his total lack of pace. Watch him run, it looks like he has been given the hamstrings of somebody 5 inches shorter than him.

I genuinely think Hibs should introduce him to a Yoga teacher, it would probably add a yard to his pace.

This is a very smart observation. I've been trying to work out what's wrong with his movement for ages and you've just nailed it for me.

The yoga thing is a very sound idea. I've no idea about how on top of sports science Hibs are, but it's been established that younger athletes across all disciplines have great impatience with and therefore neglect, stretching, as it's not seen as essential to fitness. It's only later on as they approach the end of their careers, they embrace it with a view to prolonging it.

Most of the greatest athletes, and Sugar Ray Leonard springs to mind, extoll the virtues of stretching as was of increasing pace, stamina and power, and, obviously, avoiding injury.

I'm willing to bet that Messi et all at Barca spend a good thirty minutes on extensive stretching exercises before any training session.

I'm at it all the time and that's why the wife calls me Mister Fantastic.

[.Sean.]

Wotherspoon always played on the left for the younger sides, so he's never 'out of position' there.

[ahibby]

[QUOTE=Dashing Bob S;3104576]This is a very smart observation. I've been trying to work out what's wrong with his movement for ages and you've just nailed it for me.

QUOTE]

I don't know if this applies to him but using Cross Trainers a lot can lead to a similar action/movement. If he is training in doors and using a cross trainer then my advice would be to get off it and get on a running machine instead. However, I think he is just slow; maybe because of a niggling injury but maybe he just doesn't naturally have pace.

[delbert]

I think Spoony is a prospect, no doubt, but I agree, his lack of genuine pace for a young guy is surprising. Nonetheless, he looked at his best and far more comfortable on Saturday when he was taking on defenders down the left flank, some decent crosses, but a few rank ones too. However, when Killie moved forward he was constantly sucked out of position, going in near the centre circle, giving the Kilmarnock right winger twenty to thirty yards of space on the right flank every time, he is painfully slow to close down his man and his game awareness in these situations seems to be nil. What worried me most was that for the last 20 mins of the first half this was happening right in front of Fenlon, and it simply was'nt addressed, how both Fenlon and Brown were not doing their nut at him to get closer to his man was unbelieveable, and the Killie right winger must have thought it was Christmas come early. However, the midfield looked a bit better, much more willing to get involved, where possible they tried to be creative, especially in the first 20 mins, but it was disappointing to see us resorting lumping the ball up the park for almost the entire second half, other than breakaways.

The defence was an absolute breath of fresh air, resolute, willing to go in where it hurts, and for the most part reasonably well organised, both new full backs looked fully commited and McPake was immense, our first genuine leader since we lost Rob Jones. Hanlon still does'nt convince me, he dwells on the ball, and his decision making as regards passing is woeful, but the clean sheet was obviously the bonus, with a mention for Stack also, other than one cross where he came out for a better view, he looked solid all day. Ultimately far better than the dross we had to put up with under the latter part of the Hughes era, and pretty much all of the Calderwood debacle, with all of his guisers being quickly kicked out the door, we have a right to be more optimistic with these guys on board, so well done Pat Fenlon, lets hope we can keep this going.

[Spike Mandela]

I'd like to see somebody in our midfield start to add goals to his armoury and Spoony could be the man if he is allowed to play in a more forward thinking role.

Struggle to think of a Hibs midfield that contributed so few goals to the team effort over the season.

[--------]

[QUOTE=Dashing Bob S;3104576]This is a very smart observation. I've been trying to work out what's wrong with his movement for ages and you've just nailed it for me.

QUOTE]

I don't know if this applies to him but using Cross Trainers a lot can lead to a similar action/movement. If he is training in doors and using a cross trainer then my advice would be to get off it and get on a running machine instead. However, I think he is just slow; maybe because of a niggling injury but maybe he just doesn't naturally have pace.



Maybe, but with the right coaching (why not get in a sprint coach to work with him?) he could be faster than he is - he's a young guy and his body's still developing; I'm sure a dedicated sprint coach could add at least a couple of yards to his pace.

FWIW, I thought he did OK on Saturday.

[blackpoolhibs]

The first time i remember seeing Wotherspoon was against St Mirren at home, it may have been his debut. :confused: He scored the winner if my memory is right, and he looked good that day, but a lot thinner.

I wonder if he's been on the weights, as i think he's definitely bulked up a bit, and could be contributing to his slowing up?

[IWasThere2016]

Lost a few yesterday that looked 70/30 in his favour.

I think when Claros comes in he will miss out and Stevenson will shift left.

I agree. LS is out-performing Spoony IMHO.

[HibbyAndy]

I agree. LS is out-performing Spoony IMHO.



He is. Lewis will retain his place and Spoony will drop out for the Honduran.

[Heedersnvolleys]

The first time i remember seeing Wotherspoon was against St Mirren at home, it may have been his debut. :confused: He scored the winner if my memory is right, and he looked good that day, but a lot thinner.

I wonder if he's been on the weights, as i think he's definitely bulked up a bit, and could be contributing to his slowing up?
I used to think that as well but look this years Olympic final 100m final not many skinny ones there I bet! If anything it should improve his explosive speed!

[ancient hibee]

He also lacks speed between the ears-his failure to see what's happening is very surprising.Fenlon was urging him to put more zip into his play on Saturday but it just wasn't there.

I think the newcomers must be surprised at the lack of fitness and effort being put in by the guys who have got us into the present mess-just hope they remain professional.

[RIP]

In midfield it is critical to be fast over 5 to 10 yards (Scotty Broon anyone?) That allows you to close down fast, tackle and burst through gaps.

ATM we have 2 long striding midfielders (Spoony and Ozzy) and off the ball, the game completely passes them by. On the ball, they are creative but when we are ball chasing, as on Saturday, it's like playing 2 men down. It's also not fair on Lewis as it gives him 3 men to mark.

Can we no bring George MacNeil out of retirement as a sprint coach?

[Wotherspiniesta]

The first time i remember seeing Wotherspoon was against St Mirren at home, it may have been his debut. :confused: He scored the winner if my memory is right, and he looked good that day, but a lot thinner.

I wonder if he's been on the weights, as i think he's definitely bulked up a bit, and could be contributing to his slowing up?

That's exactly what I think it is mate. I've actually mentioned this before. It's actually a problem with Scottish/British football IMO. This idea that you can't be a slim player and need to be able to handle yourself in a midfield scrap. If Spoony worked on his sharpness instead of working on the weights, he'd be a much better player at this point in his career. Look at Griffiths, mare fat on a butcher's pencil, but because he's sharper than most of his oppponents, it makes him one of our best players. Steven Fletcher's a good example of a player who was thin, put on weight and still managed to keep his sharpness. He should try taking some pointers off him ( if they even know each other!).

Spoony still shows glimpses of the player he can be. Thought he was one our best performers at Ibrox last week. Some good coaching could see him become a great player for us.

[SMAXXA]

The first time i remember seeing Wotherspoon was against St Mirren at home, it may have been his debut. :confused: He scored the winner if my memory is right, and he looked good that day, but a lot thinner.

I wonder if he's been on the weights, as i think he's definitely bulked up a bit, and could be contributing to his slowing up?

Andy Driver for example