Bojang

[McGruber]

I'm doubling down on my new found happy clappy outlook after spending most of last season in a rage!

Seen some stick for Bojang on some other threads so sticking my oar in - I like this kid. That's not to say he'll make it here or he won't, he is very raw and is the epitome of a punt and has it all to prove.

His miss at the end of the Livi game was awful. To miss target on that chance at that stage in the game was criminal. Still - when he was coming on with minutes to go my gut was telling me he would get a chance. He has great movement and real pace. He gets himself in good positions and is very direct. Along with that though he looks miles away from being ready for being 1st choice starting striker. It's my gut feeling only, there's not really been any time to form judgement either way, probably won't be for half a season. In this short time though I like the initial impression of him (woeful miss yesterday not helping matters but can see past it)

Still need an experienced striker playing through the middle, Doidge sadly not cutting it and I really like the big man

[bingo70]

Completely agree.

It was always said the time to worry about strikers is when they’re not getting opportunities, not when they’re missing them.

Terrible miss yesterday but better strikers than him have missed worse chances than that.

[MWHIBBIES]

He should be starting games if hes any good. We cannot ever play with that front 3 again. Infact, I really just do not think 433 works in Scottish football, not without really good players. 2 strikers, get in forward as much as possible. Bojang and Youan up front next week. Boyle wide left, Cadden wide right.

[Bostonhibby]

Completely agree.

It was always said the time to worry about strikers is when they’re not getting opportunities, not when they’re missing them.

Terrible miss yesterday but better strikers than him have missed worse chances than that.Yep, same here, no problem giving the guy a try in the current situation.

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[SChibs]

Having only seen the chance on Sportscene I don't think it was that bad a miss. The ball was slightly behind him as he was travelling forward so it wasn't that easy to hook his foot round it to direct it back round. Definitely could have done better but it wasn't wasn't sitter either

[JohnM1875]

Having only seen the chance on Sportscene I don't think it was that bad a miss. The ball was slightly behind him as he was travelling forward so it wasn't that easy to hook his foot round it to direct it back round. Definitely could have done better but it wasn't wasn't sitter either

Actually think the same. Slaughtered him at the time but seeing it back it really isn't anywhere near as bad as I first thought.

[BoomtownHibees]

Having only seen the chance on Sportscene I don't think it was that bad a miss. The ball was slightly behind him as he was travelling forward so it wasn't that easy to hook his foot round it to direct it back round. Definitely could have done better but it wasn't wasn't sitter either

Definitely looked a lot worse at the time

[hibee-boys]

Would have him on the pitch before Doidge that’s for sure.

[Since452]

He'll only improve by getting games. Right now offers more than Doidge. Melkersen isn't impressing me either to be honest.

[Not In The Know]

Actually think the same. Slaughtered him at the time but seeing it back it really isn't anywhere near as bad as I first thought.

Same here. He’s as raw as Sproule was when he arrived. It took him a fair while to settle in and that was just moving a couple hunner miles from NI. Not changing continents.

[Trinity Hibee]

He should be starting games if hes any good. We cannot ever play with that front 3 again. Infact, I really just do not think 433 works in Scottish football, not without really good players. 2 strikers, get in forward as much as possible. Bojang and Youan up front next week. Boyle wide left, Cadden wide right.

Agreed. Most SPFL teams don’t have the players to play 433. We need a partnership up top. Too easy to defend against one man through the middle.

[GonzoReturns]

Having only seen the chance on Sportscene I don't think it was that bad a miss. The ball was slightly behind him as he was travelling forward so it wasn't that easy to hook his foot round it to direct it back round. Definitely could have done better but it wasn't wasn't sitter either

Agreed

[hibee-boys]

Agreed. Most SPFL teams don’t have the players to play 433. We need a partnership up top. Too easy to defend against one man through the middle.

Correct, our 4/3/3 is more like 4/5/1 most of the time with our 9 well isolated.

[RIP]

If he was young Hamilton or OConnor coming on he would be cut a lot more slack. The Livi defence was also close in attendance.

I’d have to see a lot more of the laddie before I cast judgement

[davhibby]

He should be starting games if hes any good. We cannot ever play with that front 3 again. Infact, I really just do not think 433 works in Scottish football, not without really good players. 2 strikers, get in forward as much as possible. Bojang and Youan up front next week. Boyle wide left, Cadden wide right.

Nobody that’s any good plays with 2 strikers anymore. A front 3 that involves Boyle and Youan is a good starting point and it’s down to Johnson to come up with a third player that complements them.

[Smartie]

The obvious comparisons for "inexperienced, very quick but raw" when they joined us are Ivan Sproule and Martin Boyle.

Maybe my memory isn't all that but whilst you'd maybe make the argument that both Boyle and Sproule were raw, they actually improved very quickly with us and I never felt they looked particularly out of place. By the time they both left, they were very good players indeed with much more by way of game awareness, touch and skill to go with the pace.

Bojang looks the rawest of the 3 to me, a bit like when Usain Bolt plays in charity games and thinks he's going to become a professional footballer. IMO the sheer bonkersness of him (I don't think he knows what he's going to do next) will make him a nightmare to play against and his pace is blinding.

He looks like with the right coaching etc he could be a cracking player in 2-3 years. But is he ready now? No, not for me, not even close to it.

I'd probably keep him for his loan year, see how he develops training every day, playing for the development and getting the odd cameo in the first team. I'd activate any clause that lets us buy him permanently. Next season he should go out on loan somewhere where he'll play every week, probably the Championship.

After that he might be ready to play for us regularly.

Definitely looks like he has something about him though.

[RossScott1991]

Out of all the new signings I’m more worried about Jair Tavares.

Give the number 10 jersey back to Boyle as this lad doesn’t look ready for the football here atm. Not to say he won’t be alright but worried I get mueller vibes from him.

[Since452]

Out of all the new signings I’m more worried about Jair Tavares.

Give the number 10 jersey back to Boyle as this lad doesn’t look ready for the football here atm. Not to say he won’t be alright but worried I get mueller vibes from him.

Agree. I think he'll be out the side as soon as Boyle is fit enough to play 90 minutes.

[MWHIBBIES]

Nobody that’s any good plays with 2 strikers anymore. A front 3 that involves Boyle and Youan is a good starting point and it’s down to Johnson to come up with a third player that complements them.

I totally agree. No one thats any good plays with 2 strikers. We're certainly not any good. We're hopeless and 433 isn't working.

Youan wasn't close to troubling their 2 centre backs yesterday, he'll get flung about like an empty tracksuit next week by Rangers. He is not looking like hes going to offer anything as a lone striker.

[Unseen work]

It was a sitter but my anger doesn’t sit with him

[Pretty Boy]

He should be starting games if hes any good. We cannot ever play with that front 3 again. Infact, I really just do not think 433 works in Scottish football, not without really good players. 2 strikers, get in forward as much as possible. Bojang and Youan up front next week. Boyle wide left, Cadden wide right.

I said the same after the St Johnstone game. We just look a bit toothless going forward. That 433 with 2 wide, 1 through the middle and a midfielder in behind looks great when you have guys like Salah, De Bruyne or Jesus playing it, less so when you try to ape it with raw young boys like Henderson, Tavares and Melkerson. If we could add a really good striker and get Boyle and Youan as the wide 2 then it might look better. As it stands we don't have that striker though and at this stage Bojang is most definitely not the answer.

It's a huge issue among our attacking options, at least 3 of them look a fair bit away from being ready for regular 1st team football. We are relying on Nisbet and Magennis being back soon and being able to hit the ground running when they are back. I'm not sure either of those things is particularly likely.

That being the case I think changing it up, simplifying it and getting 2 up top might be the way to go in the short term. Pragmatism has bought plenty managers time through the years. There's a post above that says teams that are good don't play 2 up top, a fair point but at this time as an attacking unit we don't fall into the 'any good' category so time to change it up.

[Not In The Know]

Actually think the same. Slaughtered him at the time but seeing it back it really isn't anywhere near as bad as I first thought.

Same here. He’s as raw as Sproule was when he arrived. It took him a fair while to settle in and that was just moving a couple hunner miles from NI. Not changing continents.

[SlickShoes]

The obvious comparisons for "inexperienced, very quick but raw" when they joined us are Ivan Sproule and Martin Boyle.

Maybe my memory isn't all that but whilst you'd maybe make the argument that both Boyle and Sproule were raw, they actually improved very quickly with us and I never felt they looked particularly out of place. By the time they both left, they were very good players indeed with much more by way of game awareness, touch and skill to go with the pace.

Bojang looks the rawest of the 3 to me, a bit like when Usain Bolt plays in charity games and thinks he's going to become a professional footballer. IMO the sheer bonkersness of him (I don't think he knows what he's going to do next) will make him a nightmare to play against and his pace is blinding.

He looks like with the right coaching etc he could be a cracking player in 2-3 years. But is he ready now? No, not for me, not even close to it.

I'd probably keep him for his loan year, see how he develops training every day, playing for the development and getting the odd cameo in the first team. I'd activate any clause that lets us buy him permanently. Next season he should go out on loan somewhere where he'll play every week, probably the Championship.

After that he might be ready to play for us regularly.

Definitely looks like he has something about him though.


Extremely harsh comparing him to someone who isn't even a footballer. Don't really think there is any need for that.

He got in a better position to score in 2 minutes than Doidge managed in every minute since the Clyde game.

[Libby Hibby]

The obvious comparisons for "inexperienced, very quick but raw" when they joined us are Ivan Sproule and Martin Boyle.

Maybe my memory isn't all that but whilst you'd maybe make the argument that both Boyle and Sproule were raw, they actually improved very quickly with us and I never felt they looked particularly out of place. By the time they both left, they were very good players indeed with much more by way of game awareness, touch and skill to go with the pace.

Bojang looks the rawest of the 3 to me, a bit like when Usain Bolt plays in charity games and thinks he's going to become a professional footballer. IMO the sheer bonkersness of him (I don't think he knows what he's going to do next) will make him a nightmare to play against and his pace is blinding.

He looks like with the right coaching etc he could be a cracking player in 2-3 years. But is he ready now? No, not for me, not even close to it.

I'd probably keep him for his loan year, see how he develops training every day, playing for the development and getting the odd cameo in the first team. I'd activate any clause that lets us buy him permanently. Next season he should go out on loan somewhere where he'll play every week, probably the Championship.

After that he might be ready to play for us regularly.

Definitely looks like he has something about him though.

Usain Bolt 😂😂😂😂

[HendoDelivered]

All of our available forward line look extremely raw (except Boyle) which is a worry.

[RIP]

All of our available forward line look extremely raw (except Boyle) which is a worry.

It’s a worry for those expecting results in August and September. If they were still raw at Christmas I’d be a lot more worried

[gaz1875]

It was a sitter but my anger doesn’t sit with him

It was a good chance not a sitter, the ball was bobbling on that atrocious pitch and the defender and keeper were in front of him, hardly an open goal

[cameronw-hfc]

As others have said, he's missing chances in the small times he's been on. Rounded the keeper at Bonnyrigg and had it cleared off the line, missed yesterday in a short time on.

I'd much rather he was missing chances rather than not getting any, he'll put them away eventually. If he wasn't even getting into the right positions for them id be more worried, but he is and it'll come in time.

[BoltonHibee]

Having only seen the chance on Sportscene I don't think it was that bad a miss. The ball was slightly behind him as he was travelling forward so it wasn't that easy to hook his foot round it to direct it back round. Definitely could have done better but it wasn't wasn't sitter either

Agree with this. The problem isn’t the distance he missed from, where the ball was made it pretty difficult to connect and score


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[JammyDoidger]

I'd probably start him through the middle with Boyle and youan either side If I'm honest. Certainly should be on before Doidge now.

[Stubbsy90+2]

It’s a worry for those expecting results in August and September. If they were still raw at Christmas I’d be a lot more worried

We now can’t expect results in August and September? :confused:

Come the end of September we’ll have played over 20% of the season (8 games). Why on earth should we not expect results for more than 20% of the season?

Are we to write off January and February as well since they’re during/straight after a transfer window and just make this up to 16 games where we can’t expect results?

[marinello59]

It’s a worry for those expecting results in August and September. If they were still raw at Christmas I’d be a lot more worried

The season is built on the foundations we put down in August and September. Ours look shaky.

[bingo70]

We now can’t expect results in August and September? :confused:

Come the end of September we’ll have played over 20% of the season (8 games). Why on earth should we not expect results for more than 20% of the season?

Are we to write off January and February as well since they’re during/straight after a transfer window and just make this up to 16 games where we can’t expect results?

We’re not writing these games off, we’ve won one and drawn one as well this season. We’re just accepting it’s realistic we’ll win some and lose some just now but hopefully build momentum as the season goes on.

[Iain G]

We now can’t expect results in August and September? :confused:

Come the end of September we’ll have played over 20% of the season (8 games). Why on earth should we not expect results for more than 20% of the season?

Are we to write off January and February as well since they’re during/straight after a transfer window and just make this up to 16 games where we can’t expect results?

Maybe they should just relegate us now and reduce the anxiety levels and endless stressing for the next 7 months 🤣

[Ronniekirk]

Out of all the new signings I’m more worried about Jair Tavares.

Give the number 10 jersey back to Boyle as this lad doesn’t look ready for the football here atm. Not to say he won’t be alright but worried I get mueller vibes from him.

He wasn’t supposed to be first team regular Lee made it clear we would need to be patient and I expected he would start off in the B Team
Thats where he now needs to go to gain confidence and improve

[Stubbsy90+2]

We’re not writing these games off, we’ve won one and drawn one as well this season. We’re just accepting it’s realistic we’ll win some and lose some just now but hopefully build momentum as the season goes on.

I don’t doubt that we’re not writing them off as thankfully, for all there is to criticise at the club right now, nobody other than the previous poster will be thinking that people shouldn’t be worried about bad results in August and September simply because it’s August and September.

[B.H.F.C]

The season is built on the foundations we put down in August and September. Ours look shaky.

This.

We’re Hibs and we’ll lose games. What we needed to see was some clear, early signs of progress. I don’t think we’re seeing that because the issues that have been staring us in the face are still staring us in the face.

Bringing in guys like Bojang and looking to develop them is fine. But they don’t stand a chance when they’re been brought in to a team that completely lacks a spine.

[bingo70]

This.

We’re Hibs and we’ll lose games. What we needed to see was some clear, early signs of progress. I don’t think we’re seeing that because the issues that have been staring us in the face are still staring us in the face.

Bringing in guys like Bojang and looking to develop them is fine. But they don’t stand a chance when they’re been brought in to a team that completely lacks a spine.

If you’re looking for signs of progress in defeat there were plenty in the second half yesterday. We played quite well second half, totally dominated and went down fighting, it wasn’t to be yesterday but like you say, we will lose some games some times.

I never saw the St Johnstone game but the perception after it seemed to be that we played well and thoroughly deserved the win.

That is signs of progress from last year.

[B.H.F.C]

If you’re looking for signs of progress in defeat there were plenty in the second half yesterday. We played quite well second half, totally dominated and went down fighting, it wasn’t to be yesterday but like you say, we will lose some games some times.

I never saw the St Johnstone game but the perception after it seemed to be that we played well and thoroughly deserved the win.

That is signs of progress from last year.

If you’re comparing against last year then the outcomes were the same as our last visit to St Johnstone and Livingston and last home game against Hearts.

We are better off for having Marshall and Boyle. Beyond that I’m struggling. I was happy with four points from the first two games but I don’t really see any signs of a team coming together because the really apparent issues are still really apparent.

[bingo70]

If you’re comparing against last year then the outcomes were the same as our last visit to St Johnstone and Livingston and last home game against Hearts.

We are better off for having Marshall and Boyle. Beyond that I’m struggling. I was happy with four points from the first two games but I don’t really see any signs of a team coming together because the really apparent issues are still really apparent.

I’m not talking about the outcome, I’m talking about performances.

IMO league performances have been better this season than the end of Last season, that’s progress to me and results will follow that before too long.

[B.H.F.C]

I’m not talking about the outcome, I’m talking about performances.

IMO league performances have been better this season than the end of Last season, that’s progress to me and results will follow that before too long.

I wish I had your optimism. I just see much of the same, with the big things that killed us last season, still killing us now. Bar a half hour spell against Livingston I don’t think there was much difference to the comparative fixtures last season.

[WhileTheChief..]

RG wants us to finish in the top 4. Absolutely no chance he’s thinking we can wait until October to start winning games consistently, where do these theories come from?!

LJ was brought in with plenty of time to have the squad ready for the start of the season. There’s no reason at all that the squad needs 3 or 4 months to learn how to play games against the likes of Livvi.

Excuse after excuse from a lot of our fans on here. There has been nothing to suggest that things will improve given time. That’s purely wishful thinking.

[007]

It was a good chance not a sitter, the ball was bobbling on that atrocious pitch and the defender and keeper were in front of him, hardly an open goal

Have just watched it back for the 1st time and you are spot on, it was a good chance but not a sitter. At the time I was cursing him but looking at it again a few times you can see the ball was bobbling and is coming slightly behind him so he has to check his run and adjust his feet to get the shot away, which he has do quickly as the Livi defender is about to block it. Not helped by the fact he'd only been on the pitch 4 minutes and it was his first touch of the ball.

Boyle did well to bring the ball down from JDH's 40+ yard pass but it did bounce up quite high (probably wouldn't have on grass) which meant he didn't manage to zip the ball along the ground to Bojang, if he had it would have reached him a fraction of a second sooner and would have been more in front of him.

https://youtu.be/L4VWZ8ZDmDA?t=269

[Callum_62]

I just watched Kai Havertz miss possibly a worse sitter against spurs

It happens,. He just needs to get the head down and keep getting into the poisitions

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[cameronw-hfc]

RG wants us to finish in the top 4. Absolutely no chance he’s thinking we can wait until October to start winning games consistently, where do these theories come from?!

LJ was brought in with plenty of time to have the squad ready for the start of the season. There’s no reason at all that the squad needs 3 or 4 months to learn how to play games against the likes of Livvi.

Excuse after excuse from a lot of our fans on here. There has been nothing to suggest that things will improve given time. That’s purely wishful thinking.


I'm not being rude, but I can't believe how far off this is. It doesn't matter if he had all pre-season, it wasn't until a week or two before the season started that we actually had our full strength squad available. Even now, he's missing key parts. If you think he should come in and turn a struggling team into a team that wins when we should straight away then that's just sheer delusion.

We were dreadful last year, things didn't look like getting better. We would come away with 60% possession and 2 shots on target, 5 on goal. It felt like there was no way it could improve.

Yesterday, 23 shots, 5 on target, 14 corners and nearly 65% possession. That's an improvement. Last year under Maloney we would have sat and passed it around for 90 mins sideways not even threatening. In the small time since Lee has been here we've played better(albiet still a bit choppy) football, attacked more and come away from games thinking "how the f did we not score more". Falkirk second half we could and should have had about 4. Yesterday we could and should have had 2/3, Hearts, we could have had a few in the first half.

It's not perfect, and it's going to take some time, we don't go from a few places off of relegation to top 4 in a matter of 3/4 months. Aberdeen look similar to us as well, better, but not quite there. Its not a surprise, it's actually the most logical way this could have panned out. A stop-start first month or two whilst we get up to speed, and it probably won't be until Lee has had another window or two will we actually see a Lee Johnson team. That's not excuses, it's not being a happy clapper accepting mediocrity, it's understanding that we need a lot more work, and it doesn't get done overnight.

We've gone from creating nothing to creating but not scoring, if we turned just one or two of those chances away the last few weeks it would be considered a good start to the season, if not brilliant.

[007]

I'm not being rude, but I can't believe how far off this is. It doesn't matter if he had all pre-season, it wasn't until a week or two before the season started that we actually had our full strength squad available. Even now, he's missing key parts. If you think he should come in and turn a struggling team into a team that wins when we should straight away then that's just sheer delusion.

We were dreadful last year, things didn't look like getting better. We would come away with 60% possession and 2 shots on target, 5 on goal. It felt like there was no way it could improve.

Yesterday, 23 shots, 5 on target, 14 corners and nearly 65% possession. That's an improvement. Last year under Maloney we would have sat and passed it around for 90 mins sideways not even threatening. In the small time since Lee has been here we've played better(albiet still a bit choppy) football, attacked more and come away from games thinking "how the f did we not score more". Falkirk second half we could and should have had about 4. Yesterday we could and should have had 2/3, Hearts, we could have had a few in the first half.

It's not perfect, and it's going to take some time, we don't go from a few places off of relegation to top 4 in a matter of 3/4 months. Aberdeen look similar to us as well, better, but not quite there. Its not a surprise, it's actually the most logical way this could have panned out. A stop-start first month or two whilst we get up to speed, and it probably won't be until Lee has had another window or two will we actually see a Lee Johnson team. That's not excuses, it's not being a happy clapper accepting mediocrity, it's understanding that we need a lot more work, and it doesn't get done overnight.

We've gone from creating nothing to creating but not scoring, if we turned just one or two of those chances away the last few weeks it would be considered a good start to the season, if not brilliant.

Well said.

[Spike Mandela]

Having only seen the chance on Sportscene I don't think it was that bad a miss. The ball was slightly behind him as he was travelling forward so it wasn't that easy to hook his foot round it to direct it back round. Definitely could have done better but it wasn't wasn't sitter either

No point underplaying it. It was a bad miss.

it would be nice if one of our new strikers started hitting the goal trail. A goal like that yesterday would have been a massive boost to his confidence.

[Allant1981]

The season is built on the foundations we put down in August and September. Ours look shaky.

The game at the weekend was a bad result but so far we have won 1, drawn and and lost 1, lets not get carried away that it has been a disaster, league cup was poor i will give you that

[Iain G]

No point underplaying it. It was a bad miss.

it would be nice if one of our new strikers started hitting the goal trail. A goal like that yesterday would have been a massive boost to his confidence.

I have good feelings about that Aussie guy we signed from her Saudi 2nd Division, hopefully he will come good 😁

[SlickShoes]

If you’re comparing against last year then the outcomes were the same as our last visit to St Johnstone and Livingston and last home game against Hearts.

We are better off for having Marshall and Boyle. Beyond that I’m struggling. I was happy with four points from the first two games but I don’t really see any signs of a team coming together because the really apparent issues are still really apparent.

I went to the last game at livi, and I watched this one live on stream, the first half was much the same as last season but the second half was a huge improvement, with the obvious exception of the goal we gave away, that's what made it even more disappointing. The last time we played them there last season was one of the worst games I have ever seen.

[JimBHibees]

No point underplaying it. It was a bad miss.

it would be nice if one of our new strikers started hitting the goal trail. A goal like that yesterday would have been a massive boost to his confidence.

Absolutely was though it being his first touch needs to be taken into account however needs to be scoring that at this level. Shame as would have changed everything about the perception of the game.

[SlickShoes]

RG wants us to finish in the top 4. Absolutely no chance he’s thinking we can wait until October to start winning games consistently, where do these theories come from?!

LJ was brought in with plenty of time to have the squad ready for the start of the season. There’s no reason at all that the squad needs 3 or 4 months to learn how to play games against the likes of Livvi.

Excuse after excuse from a lot of our fans on here. There has been nothing to suggest that things will improve given time. That’s purely wishful thinking.

Dundee United finished 4th last season only winning 12 games total and had a spell where they didn't win a game for about 10 weeks in a row.

There is not much between the teams in the this league, Hearts have a tiny bit more quality/consistency in the way they play and were miles in front of the rest of us, everyone else was basically interchangeable and we had one of our worst seasons for ages.

[JimBHibees]

I went to the last game at livi, and I watched this one live on stream, the first half was much the same as last season but the second half was a huge improvement, with the obvious exception of the goal we gave away, that's what made it even more disappointing. The last time we played them there last season was one of the worst games I have ever seen.

Yep the second half was as dominant as we have been there for a while then we shoot ourselves in the foot the manager must be pulling his hair out at both goals conceded.

[eastmainsmsh]

Keen to get that 1st goal and maybe a start he knew he should've scored think he could be good

[WhileTheChief..]

I'm not being rude, but I can't believe how far off this is. It doesn't matter if he had all pre-season, it wasn't until a week or two before the season started that we actually had our full strength squad available. Even now, he's missing key parts. If you think he should come in and turn a struggling team into a team that wins when we should straight away then that's just sheer delusion.

We were dreadful last year, things didn't look like getting better. We would come away with 60% possession and 2 shots on target, 5 on goal. It felt like there was no way it could improve.

Yesterday, 23 shots, 5 on target, 14 corners and nearly 65% possession. That's an improvement. Last year under Maloney we would have sat and passed it around for 90 mins sideways not even threatening. In the small time since Lee has been here we've played better(albiet still a bit choppy) football, attacked more and come away from games thinking "how the f did we not score more". Falkirk second half we could and should have had about 4. Yesterday we could and should have had 2/3, Hearts, we could have had a few in the first half.

It's not perfect, and it's going to take some time, we don't go from a few places off of relegation to top 4 in a matter of 3/4 months. Aberdeen look similar to us as well, better, but not quite there. Its not a surprise, it's actually the most logical way this could have panned out. A stop-start first month or two whilst we get up to speed, and it probably won't be until Lee has had another window or two will we actually see a Lee Johnson team. That's not excuses, it's not being a happy clapper accepting mediocrity, it's understanding that we need a lot more work, and it doesn't get done overnight.

We've gone from creating nothing to creating but not scoring, if we turned just one or two of those chances away the last few weeks it would be considered a good start to the season, if not brilliant.

You're not being rude at all, I welcome the chat.

Not surprisingly, I think you're wrong though, and will stick with my own thoughts that I posted!

Plenty of managers go into a new club and get an immediate bounce. We've had it ourselves over the years.

How many clubs ever have a full compliment of players to chose from? Very few. Last year you all said the same, "wait until our injuries clear up and we'll be fine". Wew weren't then and we won't be this year.

You're of the opinion that given time, things will click into place. I'm saying they won't. It rarely happens. If LJ thinks he can have 3 or 4 transfer windows to shape the squad how we wants it, he's in the wrong job.

We need a raft of better players and a manager who understands our game if we want to challenge for 4th, which is our stated target.

I'm not being doom and gloom on purpose, I don't have any kind of 'agenda' and I'm not saying this for an argument. Having more possession or shots on target than what we did last year is the smallest possible of improvements and smacks of clutching at straws to me. I bet RG wants and expects a lot more? I definitely do.

You're maybe happy to wait perpetually for improvement. I'm not. I'm bored senseless with Hibs and am crying out for a bit of excitement. I accept it's not going to happen this season though and I fully expect us to continue being rank for another 12 - 18 months.

[WhileTheChief..]

Dundee United finished 4th last season only winning 12 games total and had a spell where they didn't win a game for about 10 weeks in a row.

There is not much between the teams in the this league, Hearts have a tiny bit more quality/consistency in the way they play and were miles in front of the rest of us, everyone else was basically interchangeable and we had one of our worst seasons for ages.

But there should be, no?

We should be way out in front of the smaller clubs going by our budget alone, not trying to keep up with them!

[Stubbsy90+2]

You're not being rude at all, I welcome the chat.

Not surprisingly, I think you're wrong though, and will stick with my own thoughts that I posted!

Plenty of managers go into a new club and get an immediate bounce. We've had it ourselves over the years.

How many clubs ever have a full compliment of players to chose from? Very few. Last year you all said the same, "wait until our injuries clear up and we'll be fine". Wew weren't then and we won't be this year.

You're of the opinion that given time, things will click into place. I'm saying they won't. It rarely happens. If LJ thinks he can have 3 or 4 transfer windows to shape the squad how we wants it, he's in the wrong job.

We need a raft of better players and a manager who understands our game if we want to challenge for 4th, which is our stated target.

I'm not being doom and gloom on purpose, I don't have any kind of 'agenda' and I'm not saying this for an argument. Having more possession or shots on target than what we did last year is the smallest possible of improvements and smacks of clutching at straws to me. I bet RG wants and expects a lot more? I definitely do.

You're maybe happy to wait perpetually for improvement. I'm not. I'm bored senseless with Hibs and am crying out for a bit of excitement. I accept it's not going to happen this season though and I fully expect us to continue being rank for another 12 - 18 months.

:agree:

Hearing that our improvements are that we’ve went from 60% to 65% possession and more shots off target than we used to have is grim to say the least.

From watching us in our 7 competitive games so far this season, I find it hard to say we’ve really improved. I can’t say I expect any different as we’ve still not addressed the two problem areas that hamstrung us last season.

[SlickShoes]

But there should be, no?

We should be way out in front of the smaller clubs going by our budget alone, not trying to keep up with them!

I don't agree, this is sport and money doesn't always determine what the outcome is. The huge gap in Scotland is between Old Firm and everyone else, the gaps between the rest of the clubs is minimal in comparison, with almost everyone shopping in the same market for players.

[WhileTheChief..]

So we can drop our ST prices by half and give out free pies then?!!

Everyman and his dug will say that the more cash you have the more chance of success you have.

RG has repeatedly said it. We hear non stop about trying to improve our turnover in order to have more to spend on players.

Why bother if it makes no difference?

[SlickShoes]

So we can drop our ST prices by half and give out free pies then?!!

Everyman and his dug will say that the more cash you have the more chance of success you have.

RG has repeatedly said it. We hear non stop about trying to improve our turnover in order to have more to spend on players.

Why bother if it makes no difference?

I didn't say it makes no difference, giving you a better chance doesn't mean you will win does it?

[Key West]

I'm doubling down on my new found happy clappy outlook after spending most of last season in a rage!

Seen some stick for Bojang on some other threads so sticking my oar in - I like this kid. That's not to say he'll make it here or he won't, he is very raw and is the epitome of a punt and has it all to prove.

His miss at the end of the Livi game was awful. To miss target on that chance at that stage in the game was criminal. Still - when he was coming on with minutes to go my gut was telling me he would get a chance. He has great movement and real pace. He gets himself in good positions and is very direct. Along with that though he looks miles away from being ready for being 1st choice starting striker. It's my gut feeling only, there's not really been any time to form judgement either way, probably won't be for half a season. In this short time though I like the initial impression of him (woeful miss yesterday not helping matters but can see past it)

Still need an experienced striker playing through the middle, Doidge sadly not cutting it and I really like the big man

I've tried to look at things more positively and honestly I hope all the recruitments make a mockery of what I've been saying but the evidence suggests that I'll still be in a period of transition ( misery ) as a fan.😡

[WhileTheChief..]

I didn't say it makes no difference, giving you a better chance doesn't mean you will win does it?

Well, no, it means you'll have a better chance of winning though which is kinda the whole point!!

Our budget is considerably larger than most clubs in the league. That means we should be able to attract better players which should mean winning more.

You said previously that you don't think the squad is our problem. If it's not the players or manager, what is it?

Do you think the poor performances are just down to players needing time to settle?

Is it maybe possible that our squad isn't as good as you think?

[SlickShoes]

Well, no, it means you'll have a better chance of winning though which is kinda the whole point!!

Our budget is considerably larger than most clubs in the league. That means we should be able to attract better players which should mean winning more.

You said previously that you don't think the squad is our problem. If it's not the players or manager, what is it?

Do you think the poor performances are just down to players needing time to settle?

Is it maybe possible that our squad isn't as good as you think?

I said I don't think the problem is the new players, it's a midfield trio of disaster, Doidge being a shadow of his former self, centre half where we have a will he won't he sign saga with Porto.

If we have a bigger budget than everyone other than Rangers Celtic Hearts Aberdeen, that's great, but it's not going to translate into instant success. It really means we can probably have a squad depth that St Johnstone or St Mirren don't have but it doesn't automatically mean higher level players.