Michael Nelson

[Bronson]

How did he make it as a pro footballer? Without doubt the least talented player I have ever been unfortunate enough to witness.

First out the door in summer for me.

[Simkin911]

I'm not going to bash the player but I do think it's astonishing that we have a player who struggles to make 30-40 yard straightforward passes. I'm not expecting him to ping passes all over the pitch but as a pro he should manage the easy stuff...

There seemed to be more midfield involvement today compared to previous weeks which probably meant there were less obvious stray passes today from him.

[TheGreenMan]

Have said similar all season, frustrates the life out of me that a guy can make it to 33 years old, have a career in the game and never develop the slightest bit of technical ability to make the most simple of passes. Consistently concedes possession and most of the time doesn't even look for a pass.

[Ronniekirk]

How did he make it as a pro footballer? Without doubt the least talented player I have ever been unfortunate enough to witness.

First out the door in summer for me.
Who would take him .has another year on contract He looks exhasted but with Foster Suspended for thistle game he will probably have to play .

[col02]

I recall watching him quite a few years ago now in the league one play offs I think for S****horpe and to be fair to him he looked a proper old school centre back. Up until his injury sustained against Celtic he was part of a pretty decent defence. Barely had a settled defence in recent times either.

[dmc1875]

He is a no nonsense centre half. The bashing he gets isn't always deserved. He had a decent partnership going with hanlon to be fair

[snooky]

He is a no nonsense centre half. The bashing he gets isn't always deserved. He had a decent partnership going with hanlon to be fair

I would disagree.
I'm sure he's an honest guy and tries his best however, I've thought he was a paling stab since day one. But, that's just my opinion.

[seanshow]

Are we forgetting Forster has just lost us 4 goals in 2 games! the whole defence is horrible.

[Bronson]

Are we forgetting Forster has just lost us 4 goals in 2 games! the whole defence is horrible.

Forster has potential, only 20 and still learning the game, he's a good player IMO. Astonishes me that Nelson plays football for a living.

[trev the hat]

How did he make it as a pro footballer? Without doubt the least talented player I have ever been unfortunate enough to witness.

First out the door in summer for me.

How about we get behind the least talented player you have ever been unfortunate to witness along with any other who starts in our remaining 3 games.

[stewpot]

How about we get behind the least talented player you have ever been unfortunate to witness along with any other who starts in our remaining 3 games.

Yeah your right, but then hold the door open for him and tell him to take craig with him and please don't come back

[easty]

Are we forgetting Forster has just lost us 4 goals in 2 games! the whole defence is horrible.

I think it's a real shame Forster is having to learn his trade playing alongside Nelson. It'll not bring him along to fulfil his potential well at all.

For all of McPakes flaws, I can't deny he made a good impact on Hanlon. Forster needs someone like that beside him. A Russell Anderson or Steven McManus would help him so much.

[Hermit Crab]

Are we forgetting Forster has just lost us 4 goals in 2 games! the whole defence is horrible.


The he way he's going he'll end the season top scorer. :greengrin

[Scouse Hibee]

I think it's a real shame Forster is having to learn his trade playing alongside Nelson. It'll not bring him along to fulfil his potential well at all.

For all of McPakes flaws, I can't deny he made a good impact on Hanlon. Forster needs someone like that beside him. A Russell Anderson or Steven McManus would help him so much.

Hanlon has learnt from many players in his time at Easter Road.

[emerald green]

Nelson is pash. But more to the point Hibs, as a team, just cannot defend properly. Every time a high ball is punted into our box it looks like ending in the back of our net. Twice today. One last week against St Mirren. The list is endless. What are TB/MM doing about it? Or are they simply not able to do anything about it because of the inadequacies of the players at their disposal? It's not just Nelson.

[easty]

Hanlon has learnt from many players in his time at Easter Road.

I know, but I thought McPake really helped him.

[Scottie]

How did he make it as a pro footballer? Without doubt the least talented player I have ever been unfortunate enough to witness.

First out the door in summer for me.
Get a grip man
Where you been for the last 40 years if he is the worst Hibs player you've seen ?

[Winston Ingram]

How did he make it as a pro footballer? Without doubt the least talented player I have ever been unfortunate enough to witness.

First out the door in summer for me.

Awful player. I'm struggling to think of a worse centre half we've had than him. I'm currently trying to remember if he's worse than Klaus Dietrich.

[mmmmhibby]

Get a grip man
Where you been for the last 40 years if he is the worst Hibs player you've seen ?

He's certainly playing in the worst hibs team in 40 years, so he may be right

[IberianHibernian]

Even in "good" years with Mowbray fans were saying we needded a hard / dirty midfielder and a no - nonsense centre half . Successive managers signed McBride , Scott , Deegan etc for first and Jones , Stephens , McPake , Nelson etc for second . Nelson never was and never will be Beckanbaur or Blackley but was signed as cover in a key position where there are always suspensions and injuries. His distribution is poor but probably no worse than that of other defenders I mentioned ( except Beck and Bl obviously ) and isn`t helped by having noone to pass to anyway - in first half today , poor distribution didn`t matter much since we were passing but in second half once we returned to Butcher hoofball Nelson was caught wanting . Sadly, Nelson and Forster at setpieces are main attacking force in Butcher`s Hibs whoever is playing in attack . IF we are relegated I certainly won`t single out Nelson for blame . Hopefully down at East Mains , youth coaches are working on teenage defenders to encourage them to pass and become good defenders and good passers that will help the first team in 4 or 5 years`time .

[IberianHibernian]

Awful player. I'm struggling to think of a worse centre half we've had than him. I'm currently trying to remember if he's worse than Klaus Dietrich.Can you tell me a good one we`ve had ? Rob Jones scored in a final but was surrounded by a great team and his positioning and passing was far from great ( not to mention doubtful leadership with goalies ) , Martis was good and showed it after in England but was criticised here , Doumbe was also good , Chris Hogg ........ all obviously had weaknesses . I`ve watched Hibs since 1968 and apart from Sauzee and Stanton on odd occasion he played at centre half for us don`t remember a great central defender who dominated in air AND passed well but that`s probably the same at other clubs in Scotland too . If we want cultured central defenders we have to produce them ourselves ( coincidentally I`d always used Butcher in his England days as an example of defender we didn`t want since I`d been brought up on Blackley , Stanton etc ) or sign quality from abroad ( Doumbe was a good signing for example so not talking of unrealistic , expensive signings ) .

[dmc1875]

I honestly am at a loss as to why everyone is slating Nelson above everyone else. What exactly did he do today that cost us the game? Sure his passing was poor but he defended OK.

[Scottie]

Can you tell me a good one we`ve had ? Rob Jones scored in a final but was surrounded by a great team and his positioning and passing was far from great ( not to mention doubtful leadership with goalies ) , Martis was good and showed it after in England but was criticised here , Doumbe was also good , Chris Hogg ........ all obviously had weaknesses . I`ve watched Hibs since 1968 and apart from Sauzee and Stanton on odd occasion he played at centre half for us don`t remember a great central defender who dominated in air AND passed well but that`s probably the same at other clubs in Scotland too . If we want cultured central defenders we have to produce them ourselves ( coincidentally I`d always used Butcher in his England days as an example of defender we didn`t want since I`d been brought up on Blackley , Stanton etc ) or sign quality from abroad ( Doumbe was a good signing for example so not talking of unrealistic , expensive signings ) .
You missed Gordon Rae. He dominated in the air and passed well and was no nonsense. :aok:

[IberianHibernian]

I honestly am at a loss as to why everyone is slating Nelson above everyone else. What exactly did he do today that cost us the game? Sure his passing was poor but he defended OK.Exactly . When we signed him , most here acknowledged it as a good signing to provide cover in an important position and when he started playing people were saying how he was helping younger defenders etc . Don`t think pat signed him to play in every match till end of season but he`s ended up playing a lot . If we aren`t relegated I suspect Nelson will have had a big part to play since I don`t see much leadership elsewhere in the team and even less on the bench .

[Bayern Bru]

I honestly am at a loss as to why everyone is slating Nelson above everyone else. What exactly did he do today that cost us the game? Sure his passing was poor but he defended OK.

Because everyone wants a scapegoat.

There were guys near me who got on Forster's back from the kick off.

Before Forster, it was Taiwo. Before Taiwo it was Mullen. Before Mullen it was Vine. And so on and so forth.

[dmc1875]

Because everyone wants a scapegoat.

There were guys near me who got on Forster's back from the kick off.

Before Forster, it was Taiwo. Before Taiwo it was Mullen. Before Mullen it was Vine. And so on and so forth.

I am not for one second saying that Nelson doesn't deserve any criticism and there have been plenty games this season that he has, I just don't see it today.

[Hermit Crab]

Because everyone wants a scapegoat.

There were guys near me who got on Forster's back from the kick off.

Before Forster, it was Taiwo. Before Taiwo it was Mullen. Before Mullen it was Vine. And so on and so forth.

Not Nelsons fault there's a poor team on the park. It's petries.

[hibsbollah]

Nelson isnt good enough in my opinion.

On the other hand, from now on im concentrating all my energies on getting behind the players for the remaining games. Slagging them either online or audibly during the game isn't going to help.

[BOB MARLEYS DUG]

Nelson isnt good enough in my opinion.

On the other hand, from now on im concentrating all my energies on getting behind the players for the remaining games. Slagging them either online or audibly during the game isn't going to help.

:agree:

[we are hibs]

One word to describe michael nelson is "hooooof".

[Brightside]

Hanlon has learnt from many players in his time at Easter Road.

Hanlon learnt the hard way! He's played next to some utter shiyite...

[marinello59]

I honestly am at a loss as to why everyone is slating Nelson above everyone else. What exactly did he do today that cost us the game? Sure his passing was poor but he defended OK.

I don't get it either. Maybe people pick their scapegoat before a ball is kicked then become blind to the actual performance put in by that player.

[Brightside]

I don't get it either. Maybe people pick their scapegoat before a ball is kicked then become blind to the actual performance put in by that player.

Really? The reason our team plays so deep is to cover for his lack of pace. Forster has to step in to cover his mistakes and lack of mobility all day. Hanlon used to do the exact same thing with him and with McPake. I'm 42 yrs old and i tell you i could out run him easily. Next is his passing out of defence - almost every pass goes to an oppo player, normally after being 100ft in the air. McGivern's distribution is the same. We were playing with two holding midfielders yesterday yet we ignore them and just pump it up. Are we wrong to expect our defence to play the ball into these guys?

[TheFamous1875]

Hanlon learnt the hard way! He's played next to some utter shiyite...

I'm surprised he's as good as he is with the amount of ***** he's had to play alongside: O'Hanlon, Stephens, etc.


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[eggbamyasi]

Nelson isnt good enough in my opinion.

On the other hand, from now on im concentrating all my energies on getting behind the players for the remaining games. Slagging them either online or audibly during the game isn't going to help.

Agree . We got potentially 5 games to stay up . We got to stop ripping the piss out our players and as hard as it is get behind the team big time .

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[Winston Ingram]

Can you tell me a good one we`ve had ? Rob Jones scored in a final but was surrounded by a great team and his positioning and passing was far from great ( not to mention doubtful leadership with goalies ) , Martis was good and showed it after in England but was criticised here , Doumbe was also good , Chris Hogg ........ all obviously had weaknesses . I`ve watched Hibs since 1968 and apart from Sauzee and Stanton on odd occasion he played at centre half for us don`t remember a great central defender who dominated in air AND passed well but that`s probably the same at other clubs in Scotland too . If we want cultured central defenders we have to produce them ourselves ( coincidentally I`d always used Butcher in his England days as an example of defender we didn`t want since I`d been brought up on Blackley , Stanton etc ) or sign quality from abroad ( Doumbe was a good signing for example so not talking of unrealistic , expensive signings ) .

I can. Off the top of my head, Gordon Hunter, Rob Jones, Gary Smith, Hanlon, Fenwick wasn't bad, Caldwell, Doumbe, McPake (pre-injury)...

[Flanny boy]

I,ve saw better players in leith links than Nelson

[marinello59]

I,ve saw better players in leith links than Nelson

Constructive criticism is one thing. This type of post does nothing other than make the poster feel better about themselves. Sad stuff.

[GreenOnions]

Really? The reason our team plays so deep is to cover for his lack of pace. Forster has to step in to cover his mistakes and lack of mobility all day. Hanlon used to do the exact same thing with him and with McPake. I'm 42 yrs old and i tell you i could out run him easily. Next is his passing out of defence - almost every pass goes to an oppo player, normally after being 100ft in the air. McGivern's distribution is the same. We were playing with two holding midfielders yesterday yet we ignore them and just pump it up. Are we wrong to expect our defence to play the ball into these guys?

This is exactly my view. Nelson has directly cost us quite a number of goals this season - more than any other player. I also agree about his terrible passing.

However, it's the effect that his completely unbelievable lack of pace has on the way the team sets itself up that I think is the single biggest impact. Our defence has to sit so deep because they know we can't allow a ball over Nelson's head - it would be (and has been) a certain goal.

Sitting so deep makes far more space for the opposition to pass the ball in attack and gives our midfield much greater areas to cover defensively. The end result is that it's easier for the opposition to retain possession going forward than it is for us because you can be sure other teams will not allow as much space when we have the ball as our own set-up does for them. It is a recipe for playing football on the back foot and that is exactly what has happened since the first league game of the season.

Having said all that - it's not Nelson's fault that he's picked. He is definitely doing his best

[WestEndHibee]

I,ve saw better players in leith links than Nelson

That dig was so low your apostrophe became a comma

[Bronson]

His passing is without doubt the worst I've ever seen, distribution that is frowned on at boys club level.

[Pete]

One word to describe michael nelson is "hooooof".

...If you're a fud.

[we are hibs]

...If you're a fud.

aye because he is a great passer of the ball right enough


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[Ricky Bobby]

I was dissappointed with the central defenders yesterday,but more for the fact that they conceded goals from set plays. Paterson was about the only danger that they had from set plays and we failed to deal with him.That for me was much more dissapointing than the fact he can't pass to anyone in a green jersey.
The fact that our captain yesterday could not make a pass is more worrying on that front.

[WestEndHibee]

I was dissappointed with the central defenders yesterday,but more for the fact that they conceded goals from set plays. Paterson was about the only danger that they had from set plays and we failed to deal with him.That for me was much more dissapointing than the fact he can't pass to anyone in a green jersey.
The fact that our captain yesterday could not make a pass is more worrying on that front.

Are you referring to Craig? He had some sublime passes across the pitch and over the Hearts defence and was generally calm and composed on the ball.

In a derby that was as little time on the ball as yesterday's did I'd say his passing was pretty commendable.

[Ricky Bobby]

Are you referring to Craig? He had some sublime passes across the pitch and over the Hearts defence and was generally calm and composed on the ball.

In a derby that was as little time on the ball as yesterday's did I'd say his passing was pretty commendable.


Just goes to show how people see things differently, sorry mate but for me his passing is the poorest i have seen from ANY midfielder i have seen at ER this season. I wish i could say i see things differently because i thought he would be a decent signing for us, but for me he has one of the main reasons we are in this position.

[hibsbollah]

Blaming individuals aside, my main concern is how our defence 'collectively' is going to handle the kind of quality Kris Boyd or Higginbotham has over the next few weeks, when picking up a huddy like Paterson from a corner was beyond them.

Id expect Butcher, who got to the highest level as a centre back remember, to drill some basics into them. If we can't stop conceding these ****ing stupid goals we deserve to go down.

[Ricky Bobby]

Blaming individuals aside, my main concern is how our defence 'collectively' is going to handle the kind of quality Kris Boyd or Higginbotham has over the next few weeks, when picking up a huddy like Paterson from a corner was beyond them.

Id expect Butcher, who got to the highest level as a centre back remember, to drill some basics into them. If we can't stop conceding these ****ing stupid goals we deserve to go down.


Unfortunately our defence is so fragile that the only tactic worth employing is to score more than the opposition.

[Flanny boy]

That dig was so low your apostrophe became a comma
I admit my education was not the best
but I still know a poor player when I see one :na na:

[Flanny boy]

Constructive criticism is one thing. This type of post does nothing other than make the poster feel better about themselves. Sad stuff.
It does not make me feel better about myself tbh
do you rate him much yourself my friend ?

[WestEndHibee]

I admit my education was not the best
but I still know a poor player when I see one :na na:

:greengrin

[Flanny boy]

:greengrin
I know we should not be critical of the team but
It is difficult when what is on show is so poor eh mate

[WestEndHibee]

I know we should not be critical of the team but
It is difficult when what is on show is so poor eh mate

Yeh I know, I try my utmost to stay positive but there are always head in hand moments.

It is different venting anger and annoyance on here than it is to a players face too.

[Kaiserclem]

Nelson's passing is dodgy to say the least but is a no nonsense centre half so doesn't proclaim to be any different. Forster is still young and hopefully learning but he cannot track a player, lost us 4 goals recently. Nelson is getting on too so don't expect pace from him, he's a leader though. The fact we persist on playing 1 up front every week is a more worrying problem for us IMO

[Flanny boy]

Yeh I know, I try my utmost to stay positive but there are always head in hand moments.

It is different venting anger and annoyance on here than it is to a players face too.
That is true mate.hopefully we get enough points to keep us up eh

[dmc1875]

Nelson's passing is dodgy to say the least but is a no nonsense centre half so doesn't proclaim to be any different. Forster is still young and hopefully learning but he cannot track a player, lost us 4 goals recently. Nelson is getting on too so don't expect pace from him, he's a leader though. The fact we persist on playing 1 up front every week is a more worrying problem for us IMO

:agree: I'm sticking up for Nelson because he didn't really do anything of note wrong yesterday. He didn't cost us goals. He was slow (what would you expect exactly?), but committed (the second half when he was down with a head injury, got up and won a header springs to mind).

We need to be together at a time like this. Nelson is a leader, coming to the end of his career. You know what you are going to get from him, and its not a cultured centre back approach. I'm not sure what the stats were when Butcher first came in and him and Hanlon were the CB pairing re goals conceded but I remember us being quite hard to score against for a while. He was part of that.

Forster has a lot of potential, but has cost us four goals in the last two weeks from poor marking/decision making. No doubt he attacks the ball tremendously in the opposition box though. Lots to work on.

[mcfly]

Are you referring to Craig? He had some sublime passes across the pitch and over the Hearts defence and was generally calm and composed on the ball.

In a derby that was as little time on the ball as yesterday's did I'd say his passing was pretty commendable.

Sublime passing???

Deary me

[Spike Mandela]

None of our back four on Sunday are strangers to a blunder this season. A very poor defence but strangely we have lost less goals than anyone else in the bottom six this season.:cb

[Hermit Crab]

Sniff sniff.

[mcfly]

Our defence is awful...

But why is boateng not playing??

We signed 3 players in jan. none make a difference to the team.

Total waste of money. We should have signed a proper centre half in jan ie a leader to organise.

Michael nelson is an honest pro but sadly not very good.

[dmc1875]

Our defence is awful...

But why is boateng not playing??

We signed 3 players in jan. none make a difference to the team.

Total waste of money. We should have signed a proper centre half in jan ie a leader to organise.

Michael nelson is an honest pro but sadly not very good.

Watmore definitely makes a difference. Boateng well jury is out on him.

Haynes is a strange one. First few games (Ross County, Killie) I thought he looked pacy and decent...

[Ronniekirk]

None of our back four on Sunday are strangers to a blunder this season. A very poor defence but strangely we have lost less goals than anyone else in the bottom six this season.:cb

Which means if we had a goalscorer we would be fine but sadly we have scored the least goals of all the Teams in the League

[erin go bragh]

Can you tell me a good one we`ve had ? Rob Jones scored in a final but was surrounded by a great team and his positioning and passing was far from great ( not to mention doubtful leadership with goalies ) , Martis was good and showed it after in England but was criticised here , Doumbe was also good , Chris Hogg ........ all obviously had weaknesses . I`ve watched Hibs since 1968 and apart from Sauzee and Stanton on odd occasion he played at centre half for us don`t remember a great central defender who dominated in air AND passed well but that`s probably the same at other clubs in Scotland too . If we want cultured central defenders we have to produce them ourselves ( coincidentally I`d always used Butcher in his England days as an example of defender we didn`t want since I`d been brought up on Blackley , Stanton etc ) or sign quality from abroad ( Doumbe was a good signing for example so not talking of unrealistic , expensive signings ) .

Sol Bamba .

Ggtth

[Ricky Bobby]

Which means if we had a goalscorer we would be fine but sadly we have scored the least goals of all the Teams in the League


Not just down to a goalscorer, we are not making any chances and there is seldom a supporting run from midfield.

[Pretty Boy]

He is what he is.

He's not going to spray Beckhamesque passes 70 yards to feet, he's not going to be a cultural centre back from the Costacurta or Maldini school of football.

I've said my piece on him before but booing and jeering every 2nd pass of his isn't helping. He's what we have so we should get behind him. Same with every other member of the squad

[Bayern Bru]

He is what he is.

He's not going to spray Beckhamesque passes 70 yards to feet, he's not going to be a cultural centre back from the Costacurta or Maldini school of football.

I've said my piece on him before but booing and jeering every 2nd pass of his isn't helping. He's what we have so we should get behind him. Same with every other member of the squad

Aye.

Fact remains, if Hanlon - and possibly McPake - were fit, Nelson might not even be playing depending on TB's preference.

He does what he has to and mostly does it without any hassle.

[lucky]

Time is a healer it would appear, McPake has been awful since he sign on permanently but appears he is our salvation. Nelson is a solid defender but his better days are behind him. True, he can't pass a ball but is decent enough at the back. It was Forster who had a mare on Sunday. But the reality we are stuck with them both and we need results and need them to perform.

[FitbaFolkKen]

Can you tell me a good one we`ve had ? Rob Jones scored in a final but was surrounded by a great team and his positioning and passing was far from great ( not to mention doubtful leadership with goalies ) , Martis was good and showed it after in England but was criticised here , Doumbe was also good , Chris Hogg ........ all obviously had weaknesses . I`ve watched Hibs since 1968 and apart from Sauzee and Stanton on odd occasion he played at centre half for us don`t remember a great central defender who dominated in air AND passed well but that`s probably the same at other clubs in Scotland too . If we want cultured central defenders we have to produce them ourselves ( coincidentally I`d always used Butcher in his England days as an example of defender we didn`t want since I`d been brought up on Blackley , Stanton etc ) or sign quality from abroad ( Doumbe was a good signing for example so not talking of unrealistic , expensive signings ) .

Gary Caldwell and Sol Bamba, those two together would have been superb

[ManBearPig]

Can you tell me a good one we`ve had ? Rob Jones scored in a final but was surrounded by a great team and his positioning and passing was far from great ( not to mention doubtful leadership with goalies ) , Martis was good and showed it after in England but was criticised here , Doumbe was also good , Chris Hogg ........ all obviously had weaknesses . I`ve watched Hibs since 1968 and apart from Sauzee and Stanton on odd occasion he played at centre half for us don`t remember a great central defender who dominated in air AND passed well but that`s probably the same at other clubs in Scotland too . If we want cultured central defenders we have to produce them ourselves ( coincidentally I`d always used Butcher in his England days as an example of defender we didn`t want since I`d been brought up on Blackley , Stanton etc ) or sign quality from abroad ( Doumbe was a good signing for example so not talking of unrealistic , expensive signings ) .

:cup::cup::cup:
Totally agree Nelson was brought in as cover and I also remember people moaning about McPake passing out too much and lunging in Now Nelson is the opposite.

Wasnt too long ago we had great defensive record for few games in a row with Nelson Hanlon and Williams at the heart of it. Not saying he is a great player but certainly not in the top ten worst players I've seen at ER lots of drama queens on here or people with only short term memory recall.