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TheFamous1875
01-04-2014, 01:51 PM
I'm sure he used to play at centre half for Inverness every once in a while, hopefully he can do this competently for us too. We need the numbers!

Fenlon's assembled an embarrassment of a squad. No balance, no options, and very little versatility.

Elephant Stone
01-04-2014, 01:59 PM
I'm sure he used to play at centre half for Inverness every once in a while, hopefully he can do this competently for us too. We need the numbers!

Fenlon's assembled an embarrassment of a squad. No balance, no options, and very little versatility.

Williams

Forster McPake Hanlon McGivern

Stanton Robertson Thomson Harris

Heffernan Collins

Options
Craig
Cairney
Taiwo
Tudur Jones
Stevenson
Handling
Nelson
Murdoch
Maybury

There is no way on earth that squad should be in a relegation battle. Your anger is misdirected, in my humble opinion!

SlickShoes
01-04-2014, 02:03 PM
Hahaha I forgot he was even here.

BOB MARLEYS DUG
01-04-2014, 02:10 PM
He has played there before in his career. Butcher said in an interview a while back that he hasld OTJ playing as a CB in training.

PeterboroHibee
01-04-2014, 02:20 PM
Where is OTJ? Seems like he hasnt even been on the bench for ages!

If he can (and has) played at CB before Im a bit surprised it hasnt been tried. As a midfielder youd hope he would be slightly more comfortable on the ball as well. Hes hardly played for us though so I honestly dont know how he would cope with the role in our team (its slightly different filling in in a good team, than being a solution in a team thats struggling...).

jacomo
01-04-2014, 02:54 PM
This is a decent shout. Maybe we should go 3-5-2 with OTJ as the extra centre back, Lewis wide left, er... not sure who wide right mind!

TheFamous1875
01-04-2014, 03:34 PM
Williams

Forster McPake Hanlon McGivern

Stanton Robertson Thomson Harris

Heffernan Collins

Options
Craig
Cairney
Taiwo
Tudur Jones
Stevenson
Handling
Nelson
Murdoch
Maybury

There is no way on earth that squad should be in a relegation battle. Your anger is misdirected, in my humble opinion!

My anger SHOULD be misdirected, but unfortunately it's not. Fenlon brought in good players, I'm not denying that, but he brought in good and similar players instead of players who could play together in a team. Players aren't worth a **** if they're not set up properly as a team, apart from truly special players such as Sparky, for example. None of the players listed are of that quality, not one of them.

A team of our best starting XI by 'best players Fenlon brought in' [sans Paul Hanlon - sorry Scoopyboy!] would look like this:

Williams.

McPake. Hanlon. McGivern.

Tudur Jones.
Robertson. Thomson.
Cairney. Craig.

Heffernan. Collins.


It'd be a narrow 3-5-2 diamond and we'd get annihilated down the flanks in every play. Three centre backs, one crocked beyond repair, who was replaced by the autumnal Michael Nelson, a no nonsense centre half who can apparently defend but categorically cannot play football. Paul Hanlon who is undoubted of our best performers and would be leagues better if he ever had a competent centre back partner (he's 24 and still waiting..). McGivern, who is registered as a left back, is the only other left footed player who can play centre half, and the only player who could be alleged to be a full back in the squad (Fenlon had Hanlon at left back against Malmo and Stevenson at right back!)

Fraser Mullen, an untried 19-year old was brought in as understudy to the perennially injured Tim Clancy, therefore immediately catapulting Mullen to starting right back. He was a bairn, with far too much pressure on his soldiers, fresh from a serious injury. It's as if he was set up to fail. I truly felt sorry for him, for one, having to cross the city divide, and two, for being left out to dry by a clueless manager! What a set back for the guy. I'm not even going to mention Maybury as he should be retired by now and only registered as a player for the cause that Fenlon did not resolve.

A five-man diamond consisting of 5 central players. Two defensive, two box-to-box and one attacking midfielder. Taiwo and Stevenson on the bench just incase we don't have enough central midfielders to win the match! Tudur Jones has been out injured and hasn't made much of a mark or had much game time this season. Thomson more of the same.

Robertson is about the only success story of Hibs' midfield malaise. He brings something every team and every system needs. Energy, drive and tenacity. He can get the ball forward and gets stuck in. In a way, he's similar to the wrongly maligned Stevenson.

Liam Craig's the big question mark though. He's been deployed in the Kevin Thomson role and doesn't have the composure, the passing or the tackling required to be Kevin Thomson. His goals from midfield, his attacking play is all but a distant memory.
Everything he can't do, he is being asked to do and it's a shame for him, in my opinion.

Paul Cairney is a hot and cold player, a tricky attacker. What you see is what you get, and I'm glad we have him. Another thing that seems to have stalled his Hibs career is the way he's been used. He's not a winger. Never has been, never will be. He's a #10. You need him in the 'hole' to get the best out of him, like Partick Thistle did two years ago. Another player let down by the management(s).

No width. None. He was lucky the Academy reared Harris, who was immediately to replace Sparky as Hibs' talisman. The untried, untested and embryonic Harris to usurp the highly touted, prolific and imminent international in Leigh Griffiths. A responsibility so strong he looked to buckle under it, Harris was understandably caught in the headlights and his influence nullified. He was also injured on the first day of the season. Doh!

Up front, James Collins, Rowan Vine and Paul Heffernan. Vine, a successful bit-part player for St Johnstone, Collins a highly touted, but yet to be tested bit-part player for Swindon Town and Paul Heffernan, a reliable, traditional centre forward who can get goals if given the correct service.

Not an inch of pace on any of them, not one of them lived up to the gap left behind by Leigh. Not that they ever would've, but the gap wasn't eroded, it was plastered shut, it was left wide open, like an operation in the middle of a lunch break. Only Heffernan has a bit of specialness about him, and he's not really shown it to us through injury and being left bereft of game time for reasons unbeknownst to most of us.

Collins seems another one who needs a certain style of football and service to him. He's been left hung out to dry by his managers and doesn't seem to have the individual talent to make very much of the deal he's been made. We don't know if he's a good or a bad player. He seems bad just now, but next season will be the real assessment of his talents.

No even gonnae mention the other weirdo!

So, I do get the point about this squad having the makings of a good team, I agree with that notion. However, the players we have are all shouting out for players to compliment them. The wingers, the play makers, the full backs. We don't have anything like that and that's where Fenlon receives my full blame for this.

There's only so much Butcher can do with this squad, and he's tried to bring in players who could make their mark, and so far that's still to be seen, but this, for want of a better word, 'disabled' squad Fenlon has assembled is the reason we have no plan B, no options, and why Butcher and Co. are going to have a real building (not 're' because Fenlon never built anything) job on their hands this summer.


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Time For Heroes
01-04-2014, 03:36 PM
You should have stopped the title after 'play'
:D

Elephant Stone
01-04-2014, 04:05 PM
My anger SHOULD be misdirected, but unfortunately it's not. Fenlon brought in good players, I'm not denying that, but he brought in good and similar players instead of players who could play together in a team. Players aren't worth a **** if they're not set up properly as a team, apart from truly special players such as Sparky, for example. None of the players listed are of that quality, not one of them.

A team of our best starting XI by 'best players Fenlon brought in' would look like this:

Williams.

McPake. Hanlon. McGivern.

Tudur Jones.
Robertson. Thomson.
Cairney. Craig.

Heffernan. Collins.


It'd be a narrow 3-5-2 diamond and we'd get annihilated down the flanks in every play. Three centre backs, one crocked beyond repair, who was replaced by the autumnal Michael Nelson, a no nonsense centre half who can apparently defend but categorically cannot play football. Paul Hanlon who is undoubted of our best performers and would be leagues better if he ever had a competent centre back partner (he's 24 and still waiting..). McGivern, who is registered as a left back, is the only other left footed player who can play centre half, and the only player who could be alleged to be a full back in the squad (Fenlon had Hanlon at left back against Malmo and Stevenson at right back!)

Fraser Mullen, an untried 19-year old was brought in as understudy to the perennially injured Tim Clancy, therefore immediately catapulting Mullen to starting right back. He was a bairn, with far too much pressure on his soldiers, fresh from a serious injury. It's as if he was set up to fail. I truly felt sorry for him, for one, having to cross the city divide, and two, for being left out to dry by a clueless manager! What a set back for the guy. I'm not even going to mention Maybury as he should be retired by now and only registered as a player for the cause that Fenlon did not resolve.

A five-man diamond consisting of 5 central players. Two defensive, two box-to-box and one attacking midfielder. Taiwo and Stevenson on the bench just incase we don't have enough central midfielders to win the match! Tudur Jones has been out injured and hasn't made much of a mark or had much game time this season. Thomson more of the same.

Robertson is about the only success story of Hibs' midfield malaise. He brings something every team and every system needs. Energy, drive and tenacity. He can get the ball forward and gets stuck in. In a way, he's similar to the wrongly maligned Stevenson.

Liam Craig's the big question mark though. He's been deployed in the Kevin Thomson role and doesn't have the composure, the passing or the tackling required to be Kevin Thomson. His goals from midfield, his attacking play is all but a distant memory.
Everything he can't do, he is being asked to do and it's a shame for him, in my opinion.

Paul Cairney is a hot and cold player, a tricky attacker. What you see is what you get, and I'm glad we have him. Another thing that seems to have stalled his Hibs career is the way he's been used. He's not a winger. Never has been, never will be. He's a #10. You need him in the 'hole' to get the best out of him, like Partick Thistle did two years ago. Another player let down by the management(s).

No width. None. He was lucky the Academy reared Harris, who was immediately to replace Sparky as Hibs' talisman. The untried, untested and embryonic Harris to usurp the highly touted, prolific and imminent international in Leigh Griffiths. A responsibility so strong he looked to buckle under it, Harris was understandably caught in the headlights and his influence nullified. He was also injured on the first day of the season. Doh!

Up front, James Collins, Rowan Vine and Paul Heffernan. Vine, a successful bit-part player for St Johnstone, Collins a highly touted, but yet to be tested bit-part player for Swindon Town and Paul Heffernan, a reliable, traditional centre forward who can get goals if given the correct service.

Not an inch of pace on any of them, not one of them lived up to the gap left behind by Leigh. Not that they ever would've, but the gap wasn't eroded, it was plastered shut, it was left wide open, like an operation in the middle of a lunch break. Only Heffernan has a bit of specialness about him, and he's not really shown it to us through injury and being left bereft of game time for reasons unbeknownst to most of us.

Collins seems another one who needs a certain style of football and service to him. He's been left hung out to dry by his managers and doesn't seem to have the individual talent to make very much of the deal he's been made. We don't know if he's a good or a bad player. He seems bad just now, but next season will be the real assessment of his talents.

No even gonnae mention the other weirdo!

So, I do get the point about this squad having the makings of a good team, I agree with that notion. However, the players we have are all shouting out for players to compliment them. The wingers, the play makers, the full backs. We don't have anything like that and that's where Fenlon receives my full blame for this.

There's only so much Butcher can do with this squad, and he's tried to bring in players who could make their mark, and so far that's still to be seen, but this, for want of a better word, 'disabled' squad Fenlon has assembled is the reason we have no plan B, no options, and why Butcher and Co. are going to have a real building (not 're' because Fenlon never built anything) job on their hands this summer.


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I disagree with quite a lot of that but I'd be here all day taking it bit by bit so I'll pick the main things. I don't think it's fair to say we had no width and that he was lucky with Harris. It was PF who saw potential in Harris, gave him his debut and had him playing well. If we didn't have Harris then who's to say he wouldn't have signed a wide player? He gave Harris number 7 and was his first choice winger, so Fenlon's team did have width.

There's only so much Butcher can do with the sqaud? It surely must be a hell of a lot more than he currently is. I've said it so many times on here and don't want to seem like I'm repeating myself but when he left we were something like 2 points behind Aberdeen and we had the second best defence in the league, it's not as if this was only a few games into the season, it was nearer 3 months. So clearly the squad we have should not be in danger of relegated, or anywhere near it.

snooky
01-04-2014, 04:27 PM
I'm sure he used to play at centre half for Inverness every once in a while, hopefully he can do this competently for us too. We need the numbers!

Fenlon's assembled an embarrassment of a squad. No balance, no options, and very little versatility.

FFS, can Duncan play CH? Anybody!

TheFamous1875
01-04-2014, 04:44 PM
I disagree with quite a lot of that but I'd be here all day taking it bit by bit so I'll pick the main things. I don't think it's fair to say we had no width and that he was lucky with Harris. It was PF who saw potential in Harris, gave him his debut and had him playing well. If we didn't have Harris then who's to say he wouldn't have signed a wide player? He gave Harris number 7 and was his first choice winger, so Fenlon's team did have width.

There's only so much Butcher can do with the sqaud? It surely must be a hell of a lot more than he currently is. I've said it so many times on here and don't want to seem like I'm repeating myself but when he left we were something like 2 points behind Aberdeen and we had the second best defence in the league, it's not as if this was only a few games into the season, it was nearer 3 months. So clearly the squad we have should not be in danger of relegated, or anywhere near it.

It's great that Fenlon saw the potential in Harris to bring him into the first team and let him flourish, I'd never contest that. However, I will say it was a bad decision to not bring in another winger or two to take the pressure of Harris. We only have one winger in the squad (we now have Watmore thanks to Butcher) and that's not enough considering you need two on the pitch, and at least one on the bench. Harris was injured in the first match of the season and we had no answer to that. He's a young lad and instead of letting him grow into the game and express himself, he was billed as the star player of which all of our attacks were to go through.

I find that lack of protection irresponsible of Fenlon, who was looking for the answer in a young, untested boy with obvious potential, due to his own failure or lack of know how when it comes to building and shaping a team.

We've seen numerous talented players come through our ranks at this club, only for their development to be stunted by the pressure to be the next Leigh Griffiths, or Scott Brown or Steven Whittaker. They need nurtured into the game, not thrust into the limelight.


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Elephant Stone
01-04-2014, 04:59 PM
It's great that Fenlon saw the potential in Harris to bring him into the first team and let him flourish, I'd never contest that. However, I will say it was a bad decision to not bring in another winger or two to take the pressure of Harris. We only have one winger in the squad (we now have Watmore thanks to Butcher) and that's not enough considering you need two on the pitch, and at least one on the bench. Harris was injured in the first match of the season and we had no answer to that. He's a young lad and instead of letting him grow into the game and express himself, he was billed as the star player of which all of our attacks were to go through.

I find that lack of protection irresponsible of Fenlon, who was looking for the answer in a young, untested boy with obvious potential, due to his own failure or lack of know how when it comes to building and shaping a team.

We've seen numerous talented players come through our ranks at this club, only for their development to be stunted by the pressure to be the next Leigh Griffiths, or Scott Brown or Steven Whittaker. They need nurtured into the game, not thrust into the limelight.


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He probably did bring in too many central players but you're harsh about Harris I think, it's not Fenlon's fault he was billed as the next star and he certainly showed enough potential to merit a first team place. If a young player has potential and has shown they're capable then there's no reason why they shouldn't be first choice, we've done it with so many young players and have got probably the best record in the country for it in recent years.

Onceinawhile
01-04-2014, 05:03 PM
Id rather have butcher or malpas at cb before tudur-jones!

scoopyboy
01-04-2014, 05:05 PM
My anger SHOULD be misdirected, but unfortunately it's not. Fenlon brought in good players, I'm not denying that, but he brought in good and similar players instead of players who could play together in a team. Players aren't worth a **** if they're not set up properly as a team, apart from truly special players such as Sparky, for example. None of the players listed are of that quality, not one of them.

A team of our best starting XI by 'best players Fenlon brought in' would look like this:

Williams.

McPake. Hanlon. McGivern.

Tudur Jones.
Robertson. Thomson.
Cairney. Craig.

Heffernan. Collins.




It'd be a narrow 3-5-2 diamond and we'd get annihilated down the flanks in every play. Three centre backs, one crocked beyond repair, who was replaced by the autumnal Michael Nelson, a no nonsense centre half who can apparently defend but categorically cannot play football. Paul Hanlon who is undoubted of our best performers and would be leagues better if he ever had a competent centre back partner (he's 24 and still waiting..). McGivern, who is registered as a left back, is the only other left footed player who can play centre half, and the only player who could be alleged to be a full back in the squad (Fenlon had Hanlon at left back against Malmo and Stevenson at right back!)

Fraser Mullen, an untried 19-year old was brought in as understudy to the perennially injured Tim Clancy, therefore immediately catapulting Mullen to starting right back. He was a bairn, with far too much pressure on his soldiers, fresh from a serious injury. It's as if he was set up to fail. I truly felt sorry for him, for one, having to cross the city divide, and two, for being left out to dry by a clueless manager! What a set back for the guy. I'm not even going to mention Maybury as he should be retired by now and only registered as a player for the cause that Fenlon did not resolve.

A five-man diamond consisting of 5 central players. Two defensive, two box-to-box and one attacking midfielder. Taiwo and Stevenson on the bench just incase we don't have enough central midfielders to win the match! Tudur Jones has been out injured and hasn't made much of a mark or had much game time this season. Thomson more of the same.

Robertson is about the only success story of Hibs' midfield malaise. He brings something every team and every system needs. Energy, drive and tenacity. He can get the ball forward and gets stuck in. In a way, he's similar to the wrongly maligned Stevenson.

Liam Craig's the big question mark though. He's been deployed in the Kevin Thomson role and doesn't have the composure, the passing or the tackling required to be Kevin Thomson. His goals from midfield, his attacking play is all but a distant memory.
Everything he can't do, he is being asked to do and it's a shame for him, in my opinion.

Paul Cairney is a hot and cold player, a tricky attacker. What you see is what you get, and I'm glad we have him. Another thing that seems to have stalled his Hibs career is the way he's been used. He's not a winger. Never has been, never will be. He's a #10. You need him in the 'hole' to get the best out of him, like Partick Thistle did two years ago. Another player let down by the management(s).

No width. None. He was lucky the Academy reared Harris, who was immediately to replace Sparky as Hibs' talisman. The untried, untested and embryonic Harris to usurp the highly touted, prolific and imminent international in Leigh Griffiths. A responsibility so strong he looked to buckle under it, Harris was understandably caught in the headlights and his influence nullified. He was also injured on the first day of the season. Doh!

Up front, James Collins, Rowan Vine and Paul Heffernan. Vine, a successful bit-part player for St Johnstone, Collins a highly touted, but yet to be tested bit-part player for Swindon Town and Paul Heffernan, a reliable, traditional centre forward who can get goals if given the correct service.

Not an inch of pace on any of them, not one of them lived up to the gap left behind by Leigh. Not that they ever would've, but the gap wasn't eroded, it was plastered shut, it was left wide open, like an operation in the middle of a lunch break. Only Heffernan has a bit of specialness about him, and he's not really shown it to us through injury and being left bereft of game time for reasons unbeknownst to most of us.

Collins seems another one who needs a certain style of football and service to him. He's been left hung out to dry by his managers and doesn't seem to have the individual talent to make very much of the deal he's been made. We don't know if he's a good or a bad player. He seems bad just now, but next season will be the real assessment of his talents.

No even gonnae mention the other weirdo!

So, I do get the point about this squad having the makings of a good team, I agree with that notion. However, the players we have are all shouting out for players to compliment them. The wingers, the play makers, the full backs. We don't have anything like that and that's where Fenlon receives my full blame for this.

There's only so much Butcher can do with this squad, and he's tried to bring in players who could make their mark, and so far that's still to be seen, but this, for want of a better word, 'disabled' squad Fenlon has assembled is the reason we have no plan B, no options, and why Butcher and Co. are going to have a real building (not 're' because Fenlon never built anything) job on their hands this summer.


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Am I reading your post wrong or are you claiming Fenlon signed Paul Hanlon.

Do you get five sided diamonds? I have always thought when people talk about a diamond especially in football they are referring to four.

TheFamous1875
01-04-2014, 05:07 PM
Am I reading your post wrong or are you claiming Fenlon signed Paul Hanlon.

You're reading it correctly - I am guilty of continuity error! Apologies.


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scoopyboy
01-04-2014, 05:48 PM
You're reading it correctly - I am guilty of continuity error! Apologies.


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I wasn't sure if I had the correct understanding.

Anyway back to the original question.

I'm not sure about OTJ playing centre half.

With McPake (injury against Malmo) and Forster (suspended) out for the first league match of the season against Motherwell we were struggling for central defenders.

OTJ was sounded out by Fenlon but said he wasn't particularly strong at centre half.

Thing is I can't remember who played there against Well.

craigmounthibby
01-04-2014, 05:52 PM
I wasn't sure if I had the correct understanding.

Anyway back to the original question.

I'm not sure about OTJ playing centre half.

With McPake (injury against Malmo) and Forster (suspended) out for the first league match of the season against Motherwell we were struggling for central defenders.

OTJ was sounded out by Fenlon but said he wasn't particularly strong at centre half.

Thing is I can't remember who played there against Well.
Nelson and Hanlon did. Nelson was signed a day or so before the game.

scoopyboy
01-04-2014, 06:19 PM
Nelson and Hanlon did. Nelson was signed a day or so before the game.

Ah right, I was under the impression he came in late August. Must have been getting mixed up with Heffernan.

Ronniekirk
01-04-2014, 07:46 PM
Williams

Forster McPake Hanlon McGivern

Stanton Robertson Thomson Harris

Heffernan Collins

Options
Craig
Cairney
Taiwo
Tudur Jones
Stevenson
Handling
Nelson
Murdoch
Maybury

There is no way on earth that squad should be in a relegation battle. Your anger is misdirected, in my humble opinion!
Robertson is still not fit enough to play . Did T B not say OTJ protected the back four at Inverness but could also break forward and offer goal threat He has been playing him in under 20 s recently and he played again full 90 minutes so he must be thinking of brining him into squad .Ask Billy Whizz what position he played today and how he performed .

Hibercelona
01-04-2014, 07:54 PM
I'm sure he used to play at centre half for Inverness every once in a while, hopefully he can do this competently for us too. We need the numbers!

Fenlon's assembled an embarrassment of a squad. No balance, no options, and very little versatility.

With the way the tactics have been going, we'll no doubt find out if he is or not soon enough. James Collins could be playing along side of him at the back in the next game for all we know.

Ronniekirk
01-04-2014, 08:07 PM
With the way the tactics have been going, we'll no doubt find out if he is or not soon enough. James Collins could be playing along side of him at the back in the next game for all we know.

No I think we can safely say that won't be happening :wink:

Hibercelona
01-04-2014, 08:27 PM
No I think we can safely say that won't be happening :wink:

I didn't think McGivern, Maybury, Collins and 4-4-1-1 would be happening in the derby, but it happened anyway. :boo hoo:

GreenLake
01-04-2014, 08:48 PM
I'm sure he used to play at centre half for Inverness every once in a while, hopefully he can do this competently for us too. We need the numbers!

Fenlon's assembled an embarrassment of a squad. No balance, no options, and very little versatility.

Or, can he play left back? I would have him there instead of McGivern if Butcher doesn't fancy him at CB.

leggeto
01-04-2014, 08:49 PM
I'm sure he used to play at centre half for Inverness every once in a while, hopefully he can do this competently for us too. We need the numbers!

Fenlon's assembled an embarrassment of a squad. No balance, no options, and very little versatility.

no way,too slow,maybury is faster

Aldo
01-04-2014, 08:50 PM
Hope not cos he can't even play midfield

Lester B
01-04-2014, 09:26 PM
My anger SHOULD be misdirected, but unfortunately it's not. Fenlon brought in good players, I'm not denying that, but he brought in good and similar players instead of players who could play together in a team. Players aren't worth a **** if they're not set up properly as a team, apart from truly special players such as Sparky, for example. None of the players listed are of that quality, not one of them.

A team of our best starting XI by 'best players Fenlon brought in' [sans Paul Hanlon - sorry Scoopyboy!] would look like this:

Williams.

McPake. Hanlon. McGivern.

Tudur Jones.
Robertson. Thomson.
Cairney. Craig.

Heffernan. Collins.


It'd be a narrow 3-5-2 diamond and we'd get annihilated down the flanks in every play. Three centre backs, one crocked beyond repair, who was replaced by the autumnal Michael Nelson, a no nonsense centre half who can apparently defend but categorically cannot play football. Paul Hanlon who is undoubted of our best performers and would be leagues better if he ever had a competent centre back partner (he's 24 and still waiting..). McGivern, who is registered as a left back, is the only other left footed player who can play centre half, and the only player who could be alleged to be a full back in the squad (Fenlon had Hanlon at left back against Malmo and Stevenson at right back!)

Fraser Mullen, an untried 19-year old was brought in as understudy to the perennially injured Tim Clancy, therefore immediately catapulting Mullen to starting right back. He was a bairn, with far too much pressure on his soldiers, fresh from a serious injury. It's as if he was set up to fail. I truly felt sorry for him, for one, having to cross the city divide, and two, for being left out to dry by a clueless manager! What a set back for the guy. I'm not even going to mention Maybury as he should be retired by now and only registered as a player for the cause that Fenlon did not resolve.

A five-man diamond consisting of 5 central players. Two defensive, two box-to-box and one attacking midfielder. Taiwo and Stevenson on the bench just incase we don't have enough central midfielders to win the match! Tudur Jones has been out injured and hasn't made much of a mark or had much game time this season. Thomson more of the same.

Robertson is about the only success story of Hibs' midfield malaise. He brings something every team and every system needs. Energy, drive and tenacity. He can get the ball forward and gets stuck in. In a way, he's similar to the wrongly maligned Stevenson.

Liam Craig's the big question mark though. He's been deployed in the Kevin Thomson role and doesn't have the composure, the passing or the tackling required to be Kevin Thomson. His goals from midfield, his attacking play is all but a distant memory.
Everything he can't do, he is being asked to do and it's a shame for him, in my opinion.

Paul Cairney is a hot and cold player, a tricky attacker. What you see is what you get, and I'm glad we have him. Another thing that seems to have stalled his Hibs career is the way he's been used. He's not a winger. Never has been, never will be. He's a #10. You need him in the 'hole' to get the best out of him, like Partick Thistle did two years ago. Another player let down by the management(s).

No width. None. He was lucky the Academy reared Harris, who was immediately to replace Sparky as Hibs' talisman. The untried, untested and embryonic Harris to usurp the highly touted, prolific and imminent international in Leigh Griffiths. A responsibility so strong he looked to buckle under it, Harris was understandably caught in the headlights and his influence nullified. He was also injured on the first day of the season. Doh!

Up front, James Collins, Rowan Vine and Paul Heffernan. Vine, a successful bit-part player for St Johnstone, Collins a highly touted, but yet to be tested bit-part player for Swindon Town and Paul Heffernan, a reliable, traditional centre forward who can get goals if given the correct service.

Not an inch of pace on any of them, not one of them lived up to the gap left behind by Leigh. Not that they ever would've, but the gap wasn't eroded, it was plastered shut, it was left wide open, like an operation in the middle of a lunch break. Only Heffernan has a bit of specialness about him, and he's not really shown it to us through injury and being left bereft of game time for reasons unbeknownst to most of us.

Collins seems another one who needs a certain style of football and service to him. He's been left hung out to dry by his managers and doesn't seem to have the individual talent to make very much of the deal he's been made. We don't know if he's a good or a bad player. He seems bad just now, but next season will be the real assessment of his talents.

No even gonnae mention the other weirdo!

So, I do get the point about this squad having the makings of a good team, I agree with that notion. However, the players we have are all shouting out for players to compliment them. The wingers, the play makers, the full backs. We don't have anything like that and that's where Fenlon receives my full blame for this.

There's only so much Butcher can do with this squad, and he's tried to bring in players who could make their mark, and so far that's still to be seen, but this, for want of a better word, 'disabled' squad Fenlon has assembled is the reason we have no plan B, no options, and why Butcher and Co. are going to have a real building (not 're' because Fenlon never built anything) job on their hands this summer.


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Aside from the mistake about Hanlon, which you have acknowledged, that is a near perfect distillation of what I have been saying to anyone who will listen for ages. Thanks for posting it :thumbsup:

J-C
02-04-2014, 09:30 PM
I'm sure he used to play at centre half for Inverness every once in a while, hopefully he can do this competently for us too. We need the numbers!

Fenlon's assembled an embarrassment of a squad. No balance, no options, and very little versatility.

The question you have to ask yourself is, can OTJ play?