Is The Squad Strong Enough To Finish 3rd?

[HibsTalk]

- Who will be involved in the fight for 3rd?
- How strong is the Hibs squad compared to Dons, Well & Utd?
- Could Docherty Return?
- Could we see Mallan at his best under Ross?

All this covered on this week’s Hibs Talk 🇳🇬

Apple|
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/hibs-talk/id1236445811?i=1000485853944

Spotify|
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6jpAU07hZLjZjJGj4bicr7?si=er-UEl3NRR2_df2ChiVJmA

YouTube|
https://youtu.be/x9BsF5nyG3o

[eastcoasthibby]

- Who will be involved in the fight for 3rd?
- How strong is the Hibs squad compared to Dons, Well & Utd?
- Could Docherty Return?
- Could we see Mallan at his best under Ross?

All this covered on this week’s Hibs Talk 🇳🇬

Apple|
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/hibs-talk/id1236445811?i=1000485853944

Spotify|
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6jpAU07hZLjZjJGj4bicr7?si=er-UEl3NRR2_df2ChiVJmA

YouTube|
https://youtu.be/x9BsF5nyG3o

I hope so is the answer to all the questions.. An issue that I still have is that although we have signed Gofic we still have the same defenders that were poor for big parts of last season.. The full back positions are both a problem especially left back and I am not convinced at all we will see much of the old David Gray.. Its a gamble as to whether Mackie and Josh Doig are improvements on Stevenson who was targeted in every game by the opposition as the weakest link.. So for me the defence may well be our undoing and I can also see the twisted Septic come in and take Boyle at a time where we struggle to replace him.. Weakening us there as well... Lawell is a twisted nasty individual that will still see that he is due us one for the mcginn situation...

[Diclonius]

The defence isn't. The rest of the squad is.

[Saint Hibee]

Possibly. Probably not.

[Stuart93]

The defence isn't. The rest of the squad is.

Good assessment. I agree

[Pretty Boy]

The defence was the weak link last seas2on. It's not obviously improved albeit the addition of a midfielder who can tackle may help.

Probably not is the answer to the OP .

[Vault Boy]

Stranger things have happened, but I think we're still two or three quality additions away at the moment.

Defence needs a face-lift and we need another midfielder.

I think we're more than good enough to be set for the top six though.

[Ronniekirk]

Naismith got injured just when he was in good form
Porteous has missed so many janes it will take him a while to bed back in and we need to see if he can stay injury free
McGregor and Gray another year older and who knows what contribution they will be able to make
Both Hanlon and Stevenson didn’t hit the heights consistently they way they have done in previous seasons
So defensively nothing to indicate we will be any stronger


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MWHIBBIES]

If the manager is good, then yes. If hes another Hecky then no. Hes the most important one, the quality of player is there IMO.

[The 90+2]

The defence isn't. The rest of the squad is.

Yep.

[Stuart93]

If the manager is good, then yes. If hes another Hecky then no. Hes the most important one, the quality of player is there IMO.

Eh? Think we seen enough of JR last season to know he’s not another Hecky?

[JohnM1875]

If the manager is good, then yes. If hes another Hecky then no. Hes the most important one, the quality of player is there IMO.


I actually agree. Don't think anyone outside the OF has a better starting 11 than us, or if they do, it's not so much stronger that they'd clearly get third ahead of us.

I also think we have some really good cover options compared to other teams as well.

Over to JR to hopefully produce the goods.

[Vault Boy]

Eh? Think we seen enough of JR last season to know he’s not another Hecky?

In fairness, Hecky didn't look like a Hecky when he took charge for the latter half of his first season.

I'd agree that this is the chance for Jack Ross to show his talents and mould his own style of play. I think he'll turn out strong for us, but I wouldn't quite say that's proven yet.

[Stuart93]

In fairness, Hecky didn't look like a Hecky when he took charge for the latter half of his first season.

I'd agree that this is the chance for Jack Ross to show his talents and mould his own style of play. I think he'll turn out strong for us, but I wouldn't quite say that's proven yet.

Which is all true but I still think there’s been enough evidence to suggest he isn’t another Hecky. Playing styles and tactics are completely different.

[The 90+2]

Where’s the pub the show was in?

[MWHIBBIES]

Eh? Think we seen enough of JR last season to know he’s not another Hecky?

Have we? Rubbish results vs Livi, Rangers, Hearts, Aberdeen. Some brilliant ones vs Aberdeen, Hearts, Motherwell.

Not proved much either way tbh.

[Franck Stanton]

Think a lot of our problems last season stemmed from having a soft midfield that the opposition just waltzed through. I know we have , at present, added Gogic to resolve this, but genuinely believe he will provide enough cover. In an ideal world, two, or even one (left) back coming in would be pleasing. Ross is switched on & if we, as fans, can see what is needed, so can he. Have faith guys.

[1van Sprou7e]

A ***** defence might not stop us from getting too 3 to be fair

We tend to be at our best when we sacrifice a bit of defensive solidity for attacking prowess

[04Sauzee]

Have we? Rubbish results vs Livi, Rangers, Hearts, Aberdeen. Some brilliant ones vs Aberdeen, Hearts, Motherwell.

Not proved much either way tbh.

10 wins in 22 for JR
11 in 32 for PH

Doesn't tell us loads but i feel more comfortable with Ross and the manager than Heckingbottom

[The 90+2]

Think a lot of our problems last season stemmed from having a soft midfield that the opposition just waltzed through. I know we have , at present, added Gogic to resolve this, but genuinely believe he will provide enough cover. In an ideal world, two, or even one (left) back coming in would be pleasing. Ross is switched on & if we, as fans, can see what is needed, so can he. Have faith guys.

Teams hit us down the flanks more often than not and won the majority of crosses into the box when they weren’t cutting inside the box.

[Green_one]

If we hold onto Boyle then maybe have a decent season

Have not seen the new signings in the league, though I believe our midfield will be harder now

No way will we be third.

Cup final and fifth. Hope for top 4 . Come on Nisbet

[delbert]

Good assessment. I agree

Spot on, the defence has needed major work for 18-24 months, and another forward to combat suspensions or injuries wouldn’t go amiss either!

[H18S NX]

Hoping for top six,but think 7th or 8th,just think we need a better defence,sorry.

[04Sauzee]

Said it before every squad will change between now and when the window closes in October, impossible to predict where the we will finish even with the squad we have as we have no idea who will improve and who will be weekend

[Fergus52]

We're weak at fullback but porteous Jackson Hanlon and macgregor are good enough at CB to get at least 4th imo.

The addition of gogic will help them out a lot as well

[Speedway]

Not yet, maybe 3 signings away from being.

[Fergus52]

Hoping for top six,but think 7th or 8th,just think we need a better defence,sorry.

You really think there are 7 squads better than ours in the league?

Even accounting for a dodgy defense that's just being miserable for the sake of it.

Since heckingbottom got sacked we picked up the 4th most points in the league and have strengthened significantly since then. Predicting a bottom 6 finish is complete nonsense.

[supermcginn]

You really think there are 7 squads better than ours in the league?

Even accounting for a dodgy defense that's just being miserable for the sake of it.

Since heckingbottom got sacked we picked up the 4th most points in the league and have strengthened significantly since then. Predicting a bottom 6 finish is complete nonsense.

It's not nonsense in the slightest really is it? We haven't strenghened a poor defence at all after a 7th place finish and 4 or 5 of them are on the decline.

[Franck Stanton]

You really think there are 7 squads better than ours in the league?

Even accounting for a dodgy defense that's just being miserable for the sake of it.

Since heckingbottom got sacked we picked up the 4th most points in the league and have strengthened significantly since then. Predicting a bottom 6 finish is complete nonsense.

Correct!

[Seveno]

Yep.

I think that is too simplistic. We lost so many goals because midfielders were not tracking back. Other teams knew that if they gained possession then they should get players up quickly and flood an exposed Hibs defence.

[Fergus52]

It's not nonsense in the slightest really is it? We haven't strenghened a poor defence at all after a 7th place finish and 4 or 5 of them are on the decline.

Porteous being fit and gogic signing already improves the defense that played most of last season massively.

We were the 4th best team in the league after Ross came in, as shown by the points we won during that time compared to the teams around us.

We've then made a couple of signings addressing key weaknesses, I don't see how that suddenly makes us a bottom 6 side.

[The Leith Dutch]

You really think there are 7 squads better than ours in the league?

Even accounting for a dodgy defense that's just being miserable for the sake of it.

Since heckingbottom got sacked we picked up the 4th most points in the league and have strengthened significantly since then. Predicting a bottom 6 finish is complete nonsense.

The problem for us often is that we often find ourselves finishing behind teams that, on paper at least, I wouldn't swap our squad for.
That said I'd be surprised if we wind up in the lower half.

I'd say the squad isn't strong enough to finish 3rd though it's possible we could get there if Ross gets them playing as more than the sum of their parts.

If I was putting money on it I'd have us 5th with some combination of Aberdeen, Motherwell and Killie getting the places above us.
Not to say I think those teams are anything to write home about but Aberdeen in particular have an annoying habit of picking up more points than I feel their team or playing style merit.

[Stuart93]

Porteous being fit and gogic signing already improves the defense that played most of last season massively.

We were the 4th best team in the league after Ross came in, as shown by the points we won during that time compared to the teams around us.

We've then made a couple of signings addressing key weaknesses, I don't see how that suddenly makes us a bottom 6 side.

Correct

People tend to forget that it isn’t just the defence who let down the defensive side of our game. The midfield done virtually nothing to help our defence out at times last season

[B.H.F.C]

Not strengthening defensively will stop us getting third IMO.

Gogic might stop folk strolling through the middle of the park. And Marciano is a better keeper than he showed last season, if he can get his form back, which should help.

We’ll score plenty goals but we can’t be having to score two goals just to get a point at home.

[Fergus52]

The problem for us often is that we often find ourselves finishing behind teams that, on paper at least, I wouldn't swap our squad for.
That said I'd be surprised if we wind up in the lower half.

I'd say the squad isn't strong enough to finish 3rd though it's possible we could get there if Ross gets them playing as more than the sum of their parts.

If I was putting money on it I'd have us 5th with some combination of Aberdeen, Motherwell and Killie getting the places above us.
Not to say I think those teams are anything to write home about but Aberdeen in particular have an annoying habit of picking up more points than I feel their team or playing style merit.

Think that's a pretty fair assessment.

If Motherwell can keep up last season's performances I can see why one might think they'll probably come ahead of us, even if I disagree.

We'll 100% be ahead of Killie though imo, they can barely field a squad at the moment.

[bigwheel]

It’s too early to assess squads..as someone said earlier the squads will all change between now and October when the window closes .

[Sir David Gray]

Hoping for top six,but think 7th or 8th,just think we need a better defence,sorry.

Never mind refunds for Covid-19, if we finish as low as 8th next season, I'll be asking for my season ticket money back.

That would be pathetic.

[Scouse Hibee]

Will be happy if we manage to finish fourth but I think even that may be a tough ask given our defensive frailties.

[The 90+2]

I think that is too simplistic. We lost so many goals because midfielders were not tracking back. Other teams knew that if they gained possession then they should get players up quickly and flood an exposed Hibs defence.

Possibly, but like I said on another thread our defence lost loads from corners or crosses into the box when our full backs made it far too easy. We did get overran at times, of course but I would counter it’s too simplistic to think Gogic will be the saviour our defence needed. The defence didn’t need Bartley half the time in the team when we went for second because it was solid. Consistency in front of the full backs down the left and right midfield would also help them too obviously.

[supermcginn]

Porteous being fit and gogic signing already improves the defense that played most of last season massively.

We were the 4th best team in the league after Ross came in, as shown by the points we won during that time compared to the teams around us.

We've then made a couple of signings addressing key weaknesses, I don't see how that suddenly makes us a bottom 6 side.
Biggest weakness is at the back and we've done nothing about it. Far too much sentiment when it comes to our longer serving defenders, great servant's but they are going backwards rapidly. Porteous has it all to prove.

[Dashing Bob S]

A’deen will be weaker, not sure about Motherwell’s new signings. Them and us are the only clubs in the mix for 3rd.

[Brightside]

Yes

[oneone73]

Yes, definitely

[hibbydog]

Eh? Think we seen enough of JR last season to know he’s not another Hecky?

Difficult to tell. Results improved significantly under JR but you could argue that could have been down to

A/ Doidge actually scoring goals
B/ Boyle returning from injury
C/ The new manager

Still too early to make any conclusions.

[The 90+2]

Difficult to tell. Results improved significantly under JR but you could argue that could have been down to

A/ Doidge actually scoring goals
B/ Boyle returning from injury
C/ The new manager

Still too early to make any conclusions.

I think Jack Ross is a fantastic up and coming manager I really do but we improved even before he came in. From January we where pretty poor even against the likes of Hamilton and St Mirren. The squad for me is congested with not a lot of players in there signed to do a specific role in the team except all the new signings (well done RM and JR) people living Halberg then blaming the midfield for the defence being rubbish all season. Whitaker was better than Halberg last season for me.

[Vini1875]

I feel we need leaders, often with Hibs teams we have good football players with fragile personalities. The numbers of losses with Gray missing for example. When he is there he drives others on, but his own abilities are on the wane. Daz is also in the same boat. I see Porteous as the type of player who will lead others but we need them all over. Leaders also push players in training and in the dressing room. We have plenty of talent, but these types of players are fine when everything is flowing. We need guys who can and will dig deeper to find a way to win. I don't know the character of the new guys, but we need players who can improve the players around them. I don't believe we have enough of those guys yet. I hope JR is not finished recruiting.

[Hakim Sar]

When Hibs are presented with an opportunity we generally have a shocker.

6th for me.

Another frustrating campaign ahead.

[jacomo]

Have we? Rubbish results vs Livi, Rangers, Hearts, Aberdeen. Some brilliant ones vs Aberdeen, Hearts, Motherwell.

Not proved much either way tbh.


It’s night and day between them. JR knows what he’s doing.

[MWHIBBIES]

It’s night and day between them. JR knows what he’s doing.

We'll see, as I said, some very poor results, some very good ones. Way too early to be judging either way.

[stoneyburn hibs]

Yes, i think we'll score for fun this season.
Positivity in a sea of negativity.

[S4uzee]

It’s night and day between them. JR knows what he’s doing.

He makes a fair point though. Very up and down results. The game vs Rangers at ER in December I couldn’t believe he persisted with the diamond. It could’ve been about 6-0 at HT