Shaw & Stokes as a front two pairing

[Springbank]

Just wanted to start a thread to mention I would like to see Stokes and Shaw get a run together as a front two.

I've seen some criticism of Stokes recently that, I'll be honest, I think has been OTT. His ball to Stevenson, that led to Shaw's goal v Celtic, was an absolute joy.

However, I think Stokes & Murray doesn't click for me, and Shaw and Murray didn't click the other night, possibly because Murray tries to stay offside all the time (something that I personally wish he would cut out of his game, as he has the natural pace to give most defenders a head start and still beat them...from an onside starting point).

But for 30 mins at Hampden and 20 mins v Celtic (or whatever the timings were) I saw enough to think a front pairing of Shaw as spearhead, and Stokes in a wily withdrawn role, could well do a bit of damage.

I'd keep Simon Murray on the bench at the moment, and run with the Stokes & Shaw show. Interested to hear if others have any thoughts/disagreement/agreement?

[Firestarter]

I agree they played too far away from each other on Weds.

[Big_Franck]

Just wanted to start a thread to mention I would like to see Stokes and Shaw get a run together as a front two.

I've seen some criticism of Stokes recently that, I'll be honest, I think has been OTT. His ball to Stevenson, that led to Shaw's goal v Celtic, was an absolute joy.

However, I think Stokes & Murray doesn't click for me, and Shaw and Murray didn't click the other night, possibly because Murray tries to stay offside all the time (something that I personally wish he would cut out of his game, as he has the natural pace to give most defenders a head start and still beat them...from an onside starting point).

But for 30 mins at Hampden and 20 mins v Celtic (or whatever the timings were) I saw enough to think a front pairing of Shaw as spearhead, and Stokes in a wily withdrawn role, could well do a bit of damage.

I'd keep Simon Murray on the bench at the moment, and run with the Stokes & Shaw show. Interested to hear if others have any thoughts/disagreement/agreement?

I think Shaw showed the other night that he isn't quite ready. He was never in the game. I'd go with Murray through the middle, Stokes on the left of a front 3 and Boyle on the right. I disagree that Murray and Stokes doesn't work. I thought earlier in the season they seemed to link up well although they do seem to have gone off the boil a bit recently.

[Northernhibee]

I don't think Murray deserves to be dropped for Stokes and Shaw should be drip fed in. Murray up front with our wingers pinging balls in for me.

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

If we are going to play three up front again then one of the two who plays in front of Stokes has to be a poacher-finisher and nothing else. For other oldies, a bit like Steve Cowan. Put away chances and not be looking for a pass or a link up play .

[The_Horde]

I think Shaw showed the other night that he isn't quite ready. He was never in the game. I'd go with Murray through the middle, Stokes on the left of a front 3 and Boyle on the right. I disagree that Murray and Stokes doesn't work. I thought earlier in the season they seemed to link up well although they do seem to have gone off the boil a bit recently.

Shaw didn't do badly at all. And should've had an assist which is more than Murray did. Can't believe the easy time Murray is getting of it on here at times!

[Heisenberg]

Shaw didn't do badly at all. And should've had an assist which is more than Murray did. Can't believe the easy time Murray is getting of it on here at times!

Murray got an assist....

[Jack Hackett]

Shaw didn't do badly at all. And should've had an assist which is more than Murray did. Can't believe the easy time Murray is getting of it on here at times!

Sooo... we're just ignoring him setting up Lewis then?

[stantonhibby]

Shaw didn't do badly at all. And should've had an assist which is more than Murray did. Can't believe the easy time Murray is getting of it on here at times!

Murray assist for the goal doesn't count then?

[Jack Hackett]

Murray assist for the goal doesn't count then?

I think it depends on whether or not you want to give him an easy time :greengrin

[Elephant Stone]

I think Murray should be starting. Him and Stokes should be able to create a decent partnership anyway, Stokes' passing and link up play is very good and so is Murray's movement.

[shetlandhibee]

I think Shaw showed the other night that he isn't quite ready. He was never in the game. I'd go with Murray through the middle, Stokes on the left of a front 3 and Boyle on the right. I disagree that Murray and Stokes doesn't work. I thought earlier in the season they seemed to link up well although they do seem to have gone off the boil a bit recently.agree with this.. shaw was the weakest link .could of given a needless penalty in first half for pulling shirt in box when he didnt need to ,and was muscled of the ball a lot(especially 2nd goal when he went down looking for a foul)im a big fan but the other night wasnt his best performance.last 20 in games when teams are more stretched is when i think he,ll make more impression on games IMO. exellent talent tho:agree:

[The_Horde]

Haha. To be fair I'll put my hands up with that one. Even if Stevenson did still have a lot to do from where murray passed it to him.

Shaw has cut open the defence with that ball to Boyle leaving him 1 on 1 with the goalie and Boyle had a lot less to do than lewy did.

So I guess their contributions to the game were similar. Both laid on one opportunity. Murray must do more.

[Lago]

Haha. To be fair I'll put my hands up with that one. Even if Stevenson did still have a lot to do from where murray passed it to him.

Shaw has cut open the defence with that ball to Boyle leaving him 1 on 1 with the goalie and Boyle had a lot less to do than lewy did.

So I guess their contributions to the game were similar. Both laid on one opportunity. Murray must do more.

Murray played a classic cut back for Stevenson's goal.

[Jack Hackett]

Murray played a classic cut back for Stevenson's goal.

:agree:

I (and probably a few others) thought he was going to have a pop at the side netting :greengrin

[heretoday]

Is there any way Stephen Dobbie could do half a season here? He is scoring for fun.

[Michael]

Is there any way Stephen Dobbie could do half a season here? He is scoring for fun.

18 goals! Sign him up.

[eastmainsmsh]

think Stephen Dobies family are in lytham be great to get him tho

[Captain Trips]

If we are going to play three up front again then one of the two who plays in front of Stokes has to be a poacher-finisher and nothing else. For other oldies, a bit like Steve Cowan. Put away chances and not be looking for a pass or a link up play .

Spot on that poacher type I expect to contribute very little except getting on end of things. Murray is too busy for that and that's not Stokes game either.

[Bob1875]

What’s Shaw done to merit a starting place? He looked way out his depth against the huns and shouldn’t be near the team just now.

[Onion]

Normally takes time for partnerships to form. It's obvious Stokes enjoys playing alongside Barker, just as he did Henderson and they form a more natural pairing. It might help if Neil played a consistent front 2 for a few games to help them along, but modern footie usually demands changing formations and rotating players.

[wookie70]

Murray is missing a good few chances but at least he is getting into the box. He seems to be a bit of a streaky striker so he may just be a goal away from a decent run. At least you know you will have a very useful player on the park with Murray as he will defend from teh front and move defenders around creating space for others. He also makes runs in behind and has pace which tends to keep defenses honest and stop them pushing up and contracting the game. I don't think we have any striker who is playing well at present but Murray would be the first one on my team sheet and I would want to play Barker and Boyle. That gives us huge pace and movement and that will worry most teams. Stokes and Shaw may be better coming off the bench

[Zazu62]

What’s Shaw done to merit a starting place? He looked way out his depth against the huns and shouldn’t be near the team just now.

Scored twice against Celtic?

[hibby6270]

Is there any way Stephen Dobbie could do half a season here? He is scoring for fun.

Think he’s already done that in the 2 years he was with us (played overall for half a season). :wink::wink:

Only scored 2 goals in 30 odd games. Plus he was about 3 or 4 stone heavier back then. Skilful player though and has matured over the years.

That said, he’s 35 now. Is he our future? Nope.
Also if you look at his stats he’s only prolific with QotS. 149 games, 91 goals.

Add up the rest over about a dozen different teams. Approx 250 games. Only around 50 goals he hasn’t exactly set the heather on fire anywhere else he’s been.

[Onion]

What’s Shaw done to merit a starting place? He looked way out his depth against the huns and shouldn’t be near the team just now.

Agree with that, and it will have been insightful for Lennon too. I thought this lad was the new Kenny Miller who broke into the Hibs team at a similar age but produced it on the big stage. He looked well out of his depth, dominated by the Sevco CHs. Bench player at best.

[beensaidbefore]

Agree with that, and it will have been insightful for Lennon too. I thought this lad was the new Kenny Miller who broke into the Hibs team at a similar age but produced it on the big stage. He looked well out of his depth, dominated by the Sevco CHs. Bench player at best.


Maybe a bit early to be judging him that harshly. He can't have gone from hero to zero in 4 days.

Let's give the guy a few run outs and see how he gets on . He might be the new Kenny Miller yet!

[hibsbollah]

Agree with the OP. Shaw and Stokes would be my front two.

[hibsbollah]

Agree with that, and it will have been insightful for Lennon too. I thought this lad was the new Kenny Miller who broke into the Hibs team at a similar age but produced it on the big stage. He looked well out of his depth, dominated by the Sevco CHs. Bench player at best.

I watched him throughout that first half and he won absolutely everything against the Sevco centre backs. Brought others into play and played a brilliant through ball. Dunno what else you were wanting from a young player :dunno:

[wookie70]

I watched him throughout that first half and he won absolutely everything against the Sevco centre backs. Brought others into play and played a brilliant through ball. Dunno what else you were wanting from a young player :dunno:

I thought the same. I was amazed he was the one taken off. I think he showed that he definitely deserved more game time and we would definitely benefit from more competition for the striker berths.

[ajf]

I watched him throughout that first half and he won absolutely everything against the Sevco centre backs. Brought others into play and played a brilliant through ball. Dunno what else you were wanting from a young player :dunno:

Did you also see him lay the ball off for stevensons goal , the game passed him by unfortunately.

[Springbank]

Agree with that, and it will have been insightful for Lennon too. I thought this lad was the new Kenny Miller who broke into the Hibs team at a similar age but produced it on the big stage. He looked well out of his depth, dominated by the Sevco CHs. Bench player at best.

For me the problem was Simon Murray.
Sure he moves around a lot but he's constantly offside, which puts the handcuffs on our passing midfielders, making it hard to work up top with him if you're Shaw.

Stokes in the Beardsley role and Shaw as the ian rush type looks more potent to me

[eastcoasthibby]

Murray is missing a good few chances but at least he is getting into the box. He seems to be a bit of a streaky striker so he may just be a goal away from a decent run. At least you know you will have a very useful player on the park with Murray as he will defend from teh front and move defenders around creating space for others. He also makes runs in behind and has pace which tends to keep defenses honest and stop them pushing up and contracting the game. I don't think we have any striker who is playing well at present but Murray would be the first one on my team sheet and I would want to play Barker and Boyle. That gives us huge pace and movement and that will worry most teams. Stokes and Shaw may be better coming off the bench

Boyle also missing quite a few one on one chances, he should have squared.to Shaw.on Wednesday he has little composure in situations when he gets in on goal, behind defenders, and what happwned.to the training.principle of shooting across the keeper when on an angle ie.Windass the other night but mainly in case of keeper spilling or parrying ...Reality we miss too many chances.

[Springbank]

Just bumping this thread :)

[hibsbollah]

Just bumping this thread :)

Yes please.

[Northernhibee]

Stokes was pretty good today. Needs to be more clinical but otherwise looked a threat.

Well done to him.

Oli Shaw is a gem.

[Mr White]

Good to see them both scoring today and I hope they both start at tiny. Simon is a good option off the bench if it's not working after an hour or so.

[Carheenlea]

We know what Stokes can do, and he was well deserving of his MOTM award, but I was really impressed with Shaw. An elegant footballer and gets into good positions. As his strength builds up he should improve into a terrific player for us. Looking forward to watching his progress. If it's alongside a Stokes on that kind of firm there is lots to look forward to.

[660]

Stokes was pure class today.

[bingo70]

Stokes was pretty good today. Needs to be more clinical but otherwise looked a threat.

Well done to him.

Oli Shaw is a gem.

You can’t think Stokes was only pretty good today? He was absolutely superb.

I thought Shaw was alright first half but struggled second half, I sit in the West beside where the second was scored from and I thought it was an own goal, If it was Shaws he deserves a lot of credit for it.

[California-Hibs]

Stokes was pretty good today. Needs to be more clinical but otherwise looked a threat.

Well done to him.

Oli Shaw is a gem.

By ‘pretty good’ you meant outstanding right?

[Hiber-nation]

Stokes was pretty good today. Needs to be more clinical but otherwise looked a threat.

Well done to him.

Oli Shaw is a gem.

Stokes was way way more than pretty good today.

[we are hibs]

Shaw Is a bit gangly and awkward and his first touch at times is poor but you'd expect that from a young player. Looks like they've got a bit of an understanding between them, second half especially today they are outstanding at times

[Brightside]

By ‘pretty good’ you meant outstanding right?

I thought he was pretty good too. A brilliant goal. And a worldie pass and at times some great work off the ball. But it wasn’t like that the whole game.

[Northernhibee]

By ‘pretty good’ you meant outstanding right?

No, pretty good. If his finishing was outstanding then he'd have had two or three. An 8/10 performance.

But he was pretty good today, deserved his goal and it was very pleasing to see. Long may it continue.

[bingo70]

I thought he was pretty good too. A brilliant goal. And a worldie pass and at times some great work off the ball. But it wasn’t like that the whole game.

Yes it was imo.

Everything he touched came off today, maybe apart from a couple of slack finishes but even the effort he put in was outstanding

[Brightside]

Yes it was imo.

Everything he touched came off today, maybe apart from a couple of slack finishes but even the effort he put in was outstanding

It wasn’t otherwise we’d have won much easier.

[Billy McKirdy]

BBC giving Oli’s goal as an own goal??

[Pretty Boy]

I liked what I saw of Shaw today. He’s obviously still quite raw and inexperienced but his thought process was excellent.

What I particularly liked was when he had to drop deep and lay it back his 1st thought was to spin off and try and get in behind or in a position to receive a cross. Stevie May was the master of that when he was at St Johnstone. He also lingered about on the shoulder of the last man a lot, if the midfield can start picking him out he’ll get in on goal a lot. It may be he frustrates from time to time by being offside but the best poachers always play right on the edge.

He’s going to be a star for us.

[bingo70]

It wasn’t otherwise we’d have won much easier.

So if Boyle had finished his chance and we’d defended their goal better Stokes would have had a better game?

[bingo70]

BBC giving Oli’s goal as an own goal??

I was right beside it and pretty sure it was an og

[Wheat Hound]

Everyone bar the BBC and Bingo70 crediting Oli with the goal 😉

[bingo70]

Everyone bar the BBC crediting Oli with the goal

And me

[R'Albin]

It looked an obvious OG to me? Was surprised there was even a debate.

Shaw played well today and has a load of potential, but I really hope Lennon is sensible and plays three in midfield on Wednesday. We won't get away with the midfield performance that we had today in a derby.

[Stuart93]

Look at the difference in stokes when he plays beside a striker who plays as a striker and doesn't go chasing the ball like Murray tends to do. And his ball to Boyle 😍

[Col2]

The issue is going to be who does he drop for Wednesday. Boyle deserves to start and consistently our best player, Barker pace will give them nightmare before hand and I think needs to start, Stokes was superb today so must start but we know he doesn't do well on his own up front. So if it's with Shaw then can we honestly see Dylan's And off form SJM bossing a midfield that Potter will crowd with some cloggers and probably 5 of them?

[WhileTheChief..]

Shaw will drop to the bench and Bartley will come in.

[wookie70]

It looked an obvious OG to me? Was surprised there was even a debate.

Shaw played well today and has a load of potential, but I really hope Lennon is sensible and plays three in midfield on Wednesday. We won't get away with the midfield performance that we had today in a derby.

I thought Shaw played like an experienced striker and great to see one of our strikers attack the near post. We hardly ever do that. I think it must have been an OG judging by Shaw's interview on HibsTV.

[Northernhibee]

I thought Shaw was fantastic in the second half. Some very clever play from him.