Pinball. Machine defending is down to lack of midfield

[familyman]

Lots of effort and determination certainly but this "where has the ball gone ?" jump in to block chaos means our defenders are like flippers on a pin ball machine....The panic shown by some to chuck a high ball up the park anywhere .which 9/10 times comes straight back as we all know is I believe a direct result of a non existent midfield....S Mallon again posted as ineffective ,a shocker of a free kick which is supposed to be his thing and generally brushed aside ,together with poor link up in first half especially made the first half so bad those around me were saying renewing season ticket to watch this stuff yet again is a joke..someone is having a laugh.Well we are where we are and LD needs to show at the season end that Hibs board will in fact put up the funds ON THE PARK as the priority if indeed we are to move onwards and upwards.....we start with the team as the priority.
While it is true our defenders are of an age where radicle changes are required they have been good servants but no-one can go on AT TOP LEVEL forever......A true mixture of youth and experience is required and certainly more robust players as this is not the first season we have had a thread bare team.Injuries are a part of the game and so squad nos need to reflect that.
The new management team will need time to sort out this erratic team and bring in quality for next season..not just patch up loan signings.
We need to be patient I reckon but we will need to hit the ground running next season with no excuses if indeed we are to show true ambition and not just words.We got out of jail this time thankfully..keep the faith!
:agree:

[SChibs]

Rangers are a very good side and got the better of us first half. Hecky found a solution, changed it and we got a positive result. It really isn't the end of the world like folk are making out.

I hate to say it but the huns are a decent side this year and a point isn't a bad result. That's not me saying I don't think we should be going out to beat them at home it's just not going to ruin my weekend that we didn't win.

As for Mallans free kick he's been our highest scorer and assister this season but it's got to the point where everyone thinks he will score every free kick. Ronaldo went through a phase of hitting almost every free kick he took into the wall.

[leith_hibs]

Lots of effort and determination certainly but this "where has the ball gone ?" jump in to block chaos means our defenders are like flippers on a pin ball machine....The panic shown by some to chuck a high ball up the park anywhere .which 9/10 times comes straight back as we all know is I believe a direct result of a non existent midfield....S Mallon again posted as ineffective ,a shocker of a free kick which is supposed to be his thing and generally brushed aside ,together with poor link up in first half especially made the first half so bad those around me were saying renewing season ticket to watch this stuff yet again is a joke..someone is having a laugh.Well we are where we are and LD needs to show at the season end that Hibs board will in fact put up the funds ON THE PARK as the priority if indeed we are to move onwards and upwards.....we start with the team as the priority.
While it is true our defenders are of an age where radicle changes are required they have been good servants but no-one can go on AT TOP LEVEL forever......A true mixture of youth and experience is required and certainly more robust players as this is not the first season we have had a thread bare team.Injuries are a part of the game and so squad nos need to reflect that.
The new management team will need time to sort out this erratic team and bring in quality for next season..not just patch up loan signings.
We need to be patient I reckon but we will need to hit the ground running next season with no excuses if indeed we are to show true ambition and not just words.We got out of jail this time thankfully..keep the faith!
:agree:

I said on another thread that if we play 442 against this lot we would be overrun, I blame the manager for trying to play players to his/this system. Thankfully and unlike against Selick, he was wise enough to change to 433 and we got our reward in the end with some good link up play from midfield to front (if only Horgan had a right foot we’d have a quality player on our hands!). IMO 442 does not cut it in the Scottish league anymore, it’s a formation that is finished (unless you have intelegent and fit enough players which is way out our price league) therefore Heck’s is gonna have to submit to his philosophy on that front.

IMO this season has been a total write off due to injuries and now suspensions. Call me cynical but I Hope the manager gets a chance to identify his own players rather than accept the ones identified by Mathie and Gray, via FM2019. I’m a great believer in what McMichal said “we are Hibs, we do not need to buy stars we will create our own”, start playing the likes of Mackie, Porteous, Shaw te al. I’m all for Loan signings if they are right for the squad but not too many.

As for the Mallan bashing? As a support we have been crying out for a midfielder that will get us near 20 goals and the same amount of assists in a season. Maybe it’s the other players that have to step up!

Anyway, enjoy your Saturday!

[K.Marx]

I said on another thread that if we play 442 against this lot we would be overrun, I blame the manager for trying to play players to his/this system. Thankfully and unlike against Selick, he was wise enough to change to 433 and we got our reward in the end with some good link up play from midfield to front (if only Horgan had a right foot we’d have a quality player on our hands!). IMO 442 does not cut it in the Scottish league anymore, it’s a formation that is finished (unless you have intelegent and fit enough players which is way out our price league) therefore Heck’s is gonna have to submit to his philosophy on that front.

!

Absolutely. Surprised more people haven’t picked up on this. it was hardly a tactical masterclass switching to 3 in midfield because should never have been playing 442 in the first place. 3v2 in centre midfield is always asking for trouble.

[RIP]

Absolutely. Surprised more people haven’t picked up on this. it was hardly a tactical masterclass switching to 3 in midfield because should never have been playing 442 in the first place. 3v2 in centre midfield is always asking for trouble.

442 can be 4 in midfield if they tuck in. Not if they are glued to the touchline though

[Torto7]

Rangers are a very good side and got the better of us first half. Hecky found a solution, changed it and we got a positive result. It really isn't the end of the world like folk are making out.

I hate to say it but the huns are a decent side this year and a point isn't a bad result. That's not me saying I don't think we should be going out to beat them at home it's just not going to ruin my weekend that we didn't win.

As for Mallans free kick he's been our highest scorer and assister this season but it's got to the point where everyone thinks he will score every free kick. Ronaldo went through a phase of hitting almost every free kick he took into the wall.

They really aren't a very good side. They are barely better off points wise than this time last season. 17 wins from 29 games in the SPL with their budget is pretty crappy. Gerrard just gets a pass by the Liverpool fanboys and the usual Hun sycophants in the media.

I think Defoe coming on cost them. They had full control in midfield whilst Arfield was on. Heckingbottom changed things far too late we could have been 4 or 5 down by the time he changed it. For me Mallan plays further up the pitch or not at all. I'm struggling to see where Mallan and Allan will fit into the system/style PH seems to like next season. Although it's early days tbf.

There's no doubt our lack of options are hurting us. Boyle going down and Agyepong practically missing the whole season has severely limited us in the wide areas, this time last year Barker was really showing his worth. I'm surprised we haven't seen more of Fraser Murray. The players looked jaded for the majority of the game but dug deep at the end which was encouraging.

[Forza Fred]

They really aren't a very good side. They are barely better off points wise than this time last season. 17 wins from 29 games in the SPL with their budget is pretty crappy. Gerrard just gets a pass by the Liverpool fanboys and the usual Hun sycophants in the media.

.

The league table doesn't lie.

A look at the respective points total and the gap between the two teams indicates who is the better team

We can kid ourselves on if we choose to though....

[SquashedFrogg]

The league table doesn't lie.

A look at the respective points total and the gap between the two teams indicates who is the better team

We can kid ourselves on if we choose to though....

He's saying they're not a great team and roughly no better off points wise than last season. Why does the 'gap between the two teams' have any relevance when he's not comparing them?