Sheepies - A must win?

[seanshow]

A combination of missed opportunities and the dons fixture list leaves us 7 points behind them,does that make this a must win game for us already.
They have yet to play ourselves and both the bigot bros. They go a full round of fixtures without playing sevco for some reason.( maybe due to league cup or europa fixtures)
Imo if we want to finish high up in the league, it won't be easy but this is the ideal game to make our intentions known and hand Aberdeen their first league defeat.


GGTTH

[Roxyhibee]

Wouldn't say it's a must win but I've been pretty certain we can beat them for a long time now without it being a shock. We can match them player for player and I'd take Lennon over the overrated McInnes any day.

Due to the p!shness of Yams, Sevco, etc, they've had things quite easy as the 'second club'.

[green day]

Think the dandies have done really well this season - level with Celtic at this stage is not to be sniffed at.

Appreciate the full round has not been played yet, but they still look good.

I dont think it is a must win match though.

[MyJo]

No, Aberdeen are the 2nd best country in the team and clear favourites to finish behind Celtic in the league as it stands. The games we need to be winning are against Motherwell, St Johnstone and Hearts who we will likely be competing with to get into the top 4, that's what will make or break our season while points picked up against Celtic, Aberdeen and Rangers are great to have.

[neil7908]

If our aim is to be the 2nd best team in the country then yes.

If we're shooting for top 4 then no.

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

Not sure that it is a must win but it is certainly a can win.

As long as the players treat it as a "big game", then we will be more than ok......

[LaMotta]

The term "must win" should be banned from use.

[Sir David Gray]

If we have any aspirations of finishing 2nd then I would say that it is. Going 10 points behind them, even at this early stage, will be hard to claw back.

It will be a very exciting and tight game if last season's semi is anything to go by.

[Brightside]

Top 6 - good
Top 4 - excellent
Top 2 - simply outstanding.

No games are a must win unless it looks like we aren't going to make top 6. Doesnt mean we still dont want to win them all.

[JimBHibees]

Top 6 - good
Top 4 - excellent
Top 2 - simply outstanding.

No games are a must win unless it looks like we aren't going to make top 6. Doesnt mean we still dont want to win them all.

This pretty much nails it.

[Lancs Harp]

Top 6 - good
Top 4 - excellent
Top 2 - simply outstanding.

No games are a must win unless it looks like we aren't going to make top 6. Doesnt mean we still dont want to win them all.


Think I'd be a tad disappointed with 6th. We're not a million miles behind Aberdeen and the only difference between us and Rangers is they are a little more consistent in beating bottom half teams where we sometimes stumble. We are better than Hearts, St Johnstone and Motherwell IMO.

[Libby Hibby]

The Aberdeen game is a very important game that I would love to win.

The semi final I would like to win.

The Hearts game is a ‘must not get beat’ game.

[Billy Whizz]

Yes it’s a must win, too many draws of late, and only one league win at home so far this season

[Keith_M]

Practically every game we play nowadays is classed as a 'must win'.


Sorry to disagree, but we're only 8 games into the league season, with another 30 still to play.

[Vini1875]

Not a must win, but it would be a confidence booster going into the semi, which in turn would set us up nicely for the visit of the half wits.

[Sir David Gray]

Top 6 - good
Top 4 - excellent
Top 2 - simply outstanding.

No games are a must win unless it looks like we aren't going to make top 6. Doesnt mean we still dont want to win them all.

I would be disappointed if we finish 6th this season. We have a squad more than capable of a top 4 finish.

[Sir David Gray]

A combination of missed opportunities and the dons fixture list leaves us 7 points behind them,does that make this a must win game for us already.
They have yet to play ourselves and both the bigot bros. They go a full round of fixtures without playing sevco for some reason.( maybe due to league cup or europa fixtures)
Imo if we want to finish high up in the league, it won't be easy but this is the ideal game to make our intentions known and hand Aberdeen their first league defeat.


GGTTH

They were meant to play them on the weekend of the League Cup semi finals but it's been rearranged for the end of November after Sevco obviously got through.

[SirDavidsNapper]

I'd always regard playing Aberdeen at home as a must win. I'd be dissapointed with anything else.

[Jack Hackett]

Not a must win, but it would be a confidence booster going into the semi, which in turn would set us up nicely for the visit of the half wits.

This is where I am. We've proved we can match the best in the country, and turning the Sheep over would be a severe blow to them, as they've had an easy(ish) run of games. It would put down a marker that we are the team to put your money on for 2nd. So, not a 'must' win, but very valuable game 'to' win... and we owned them the last time they visited. More of the same please

Edit:

We're 14-1 for 2nd btw... hertz are 40-1... Just saying likes :greengrin

Further Edit:

Beat the Sheep, and I think it's probable that those odds would shorten. Get your money on now.

[southern hibby]

No definately not a must win game. Reason I think this is how many teams this season will play both the bigot twins in Glasgow and come away with 4 points?

We play well against big teams as we have proved so many times over the years but we have to sort our defence out and start putting smaller teams away by scoring some of the chances we make. If we do then looks like my bank manager will hate me again at end of the season with European football awaiting us.

GGTTH

[wookie70]

Top 6 - good
Top 4 - excellent
Top 2 - simply outstanding.

No games are a must win unless it looks like we aren't going to make top 6. Doesnt mean we still dont want to win them all.

Bottom 6 Must do better
Top 6 Expected
Top 4 Good
3rd Very Good
2nd Excellent
Win Top of the class

With the money we have spent we should be in the top 6. Lennon seems to have got most of the ingredients for a successful season. The board have certainly furnished him with a good few quid to do the messages. However, he hasn't been able to get the recipe quite right yet. The problem we have is consistency. There have been just as many fluffy sponges as soggy bottoms from the Team and Lennon this year. No doubting there is potential though and a wee cup win would be icing on the cake.

[ekhibee]

Too early to say it's a must win game. Unlike some others on here I don't rate Aberdeen nearly as high as they do. The last 2 games against them we beat them easily in the league cup (when they were top of the Premiership) and then lost to a flooky goal in the Scottish Cup. They're a long way from being unbeatable IMO but they're easily 1 of the most consistent teams in recent years, so our performance against them will hopefully give us an indicator of how we've progressed. Should be a cracking game and I think we'll beat them but that's just my opinion.

[Andy74]

Yes it’s a must win, too many draws of late, and only one league win at home so far this season

So what happens if we don’t?

[easty]

Bottom 6 Must do better
Top 6 Expected
Top 4 Good
3rd Very Good
2nd Excellent
Win Top of the class

.

Aye, that's my thinking tae. Maybe change bottom 6 from 'must do better' to 'completely unacceptable' though.

[Billy Whizz]

So what happens if we don’t?

We go into the Hearts game under pressure
We’ve got to start winning sometime Andy if we want to get up this league

[Borderhibbie76]

Top 6 - good
Top 4 - excellent
Top 2 - simply outstanding.

No games are a must win unless it looks like we aren't going to make top 6. Doesnt mean we still dont want to win them all.Excellent summary [emoji106]

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[Borderhibbie76]

We go into the Hearts game under pressure
We’ve got to start winning sometime Andy if we want to get up this leagueWhat a nonsense post...u make it sound like we are struggling? We doze of reality needed mate...we are 8 games back into the premiership after a 3 year absence. And we were 13 mins away from beating theinvincibles in their own backyard. Lighten up a bit

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[Billy Whizz]

What a nonsense post...u make it sound like we are struggling? We doze of reality needed mate...we are 8 games back into the premiership after a 3 year absence. And we were 13 mins away from beating theinvincibles in their own backyard. Lighten up a bit

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Stupid reply
Thought the thread was about was, is the Sheep game a must win. I actually think we need to be winning these games to get up to the higher places in the Lwague
I’m hoping Lennon thinks we must win it

[B.H.F.C]

If we are serious about competing towards the top of the league then, yes, we need to win. If we don't we'd only have won 3 out of 9 and that type of form wouldn't have us competing for one of the European places, which is what we should be aiming for IMO.

We might just have been promoted but the squad we have isn't your average championship promotion winning squad.

[NAE NOOKIE]

I don't know if its a must win ..... but if we are to stay in contention for the top four its a game where a win would be a huge step in the right direction, as will a win against premiership giants Heart of Midlothian ... they play St Johnstone at Murrayfield before coming to ER, if they lose that one and we can beat Aberdeen we will be seven points ahead of them with the possibility of making it ten, a cheery thought indeed :greengrin

[ancient hibee]

I hope the manager and squad treat every game as a must win.

[Nicho87]

Aberdeen are no pushovers but seeing them in the league cup game at Motherwell they are certainly beatable. A win to squeeze the gap above will be pleasing. Only beaten once so far is fantastic. Few more draws turned to wins and we will move nicely up the table.

[heretoday]

Well if we play like we did on Saturday it should be a cracking match.

[Andy74]

I hope the manager and squad treat every game as a must win.

Yes but the concept of ‘must win’ games is that it’s the end of something if that doesn’t happen.

That’s not really the case here.

[Hibernia&Alba]

It's a big game, but hardly a must win. We already have a win at Ibrox and a draw at Parkhead. Aberdeen are the other really big test in the league (along with the derby) so it's another good measure of where we are. It will be a tough game, given their terrific start to the season, and we'll need to be near the top of our game. A difficult one to call; let's see which Hibs side turns up on the day: hopefully the team against Celtic, not the one against Hamilton.

[lord bunberry]

The sheep are probably going to be our benchmark for this season, as a result this game is one of the biggest games of the season for us. It’s too early to call it a must win game, but we need to approach it in the same manner we’d approach a derby or a game like last Saturday. We’ve got a very good squad, we’re not the plucky underdog in this league, we’re one of the big players. We need to go out and show the sheep how good we are.

[ekhibee]

A bit more of this will do nicely:

https://youtu.be/0uJ-zopNKVU

[Billy Whizz]

A bit more of this will do nicely:

https://youtu.be/0uJ-zopNKVU

What a night that was, and 2 fantastic goals

[SirDavidsNapper]

A bit more of this will do nicely:

https://youtu.be/0uJ-zopNKVU

Miss you King Dom

[Pete]

The term "must win" should be banned from use.

:agree:

Until March at least.

[Steve-O]

1-1 written all over it

[Thecat23]

Every game I want a win no matter who it’s against. But as for must win, no this isn’t a must win because we win the league or go down if we don’t!

I still think Hibs will win it though 2-0.

[Nicho87]

Saw on news now. Aberdeen have sold out their initial allocation and asked us for more.

[Lancs Harp]

Saw on news now. Aberdeen have sold out their initial allocation and asked us for more.

I think the number of tickets Aberdeen get is dependent on how many tickets we sell, not how many they sell.

[Dashing Bob S]

No. A victory highly desirable but no league game at this point in the season can be termed a ‘must win’. Even Hearts back in 86 would describe their last League game of the season as a ‘must not be defeated’ rather than a ‘must win.’

[lyonhibs]

It's a game that Lennon and the team will be aiming to win and we should always seek to win our home games.

I just can't be having this term "must win". It's so needlessly fatalistic. Like what's the grim consequence if we don't??

Sounds like people preparing their grumbles in advance for if we don't win as they'd classified the game as a "must win"

[ajf]

I expect an Aberdeen team with a "we must not lose " attitude and a recent Motherwell league game set of tactics

[Lancs Harp]

A win would be a tremendous plus point (well three actually :wink:) but in terms of where we will end up at the end of the season it isnt a must win game, in fact no game in isolation is in that respect in a 38 game season. To put that into some sort of context last season Aberdeen finished second and lost 10 games. Rangers 3rd and lost 9 and St Johnstone finished 4th and lost 14 games, Hearts finished 5th and lost 4 more games than they won.

What the game is, however IMO, is a great yardstick and a big test, there's little doubt that right now in Scottish football that Aberdeen are the number 2 club behind Celtic having been runners up to Celtic for the last 3 seasons. We ticked more than a few boxes against Celtic, lets see what we can do against the Dons.

[eastcoasthibby]

Bottom line we need to be winning more games, and ut takes away the must win situations if we had done the.business with wins against ST J , Dundee, not thrown it away against Motherwell we would be 6 points better off ...and thats not tomention a dire performance against Hamilton, so the story goes take more chances and stay switched on defensively and we are more than capable of top 4 ...and then who knows !!

[The Leith Dutch]

Not a must win.

Assuming we're targeting 2nd, 3rd or 4th and assuming our rival teams for those places are Aberdeen, St Johnstone and the Zombie Huns.
We can split the games into games that we know dropping points is a distinct possiblity and ones we should be unhappy at not winning.

The dropped points category are games against those rivals and against Celtic.
You might even throw in some of the trickier away games like Ross County.

I actually think those games are less important than the ones we should be winning as I reckon it will be how we do in those that'll have a bigger say in determining where we finish up.

Take Celtic out the picture and assume that us and our rivals pick up a couple of points at most from those 4 games and you're left with 12 matches in the droppable category - or 36 points. I see those games being tight - a lot of draws and a fairly even split of wins with somewhere around 6 points plus or minus once the dust settles.

The other matches are, what, 70 odd points?
It's the lost points there (Hamilton and Motherwell at home for example) that I think will decide it.
That's what will make the difference between a tilt at 2nd and a disappointing 5th or 6th place finish.