Not one of your better afternoons .
Was previously impressed with your performances after you came into the team last season and hope yesterday was a one off .
Young keeper played well when he came on stopped a few chances
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Not one of your better afternoons .
Was previously impressed with your performances after you came into the team last season and hope yesterday was a one off .
Young keeper played well when he came on stopped a few chances
I found the criticism he received on the match day thread mental
Nowhere near as bad as some made out and definitely not worthy of a thread about it imo
A dodgy kick out or two but that was it
A thread singling a player out for criticism after an early pre season friendly seems a bit harsh. These games are only a small step up from a training session.
Read the updates on here and thought he must have chucked in a couple of howlers. Watched the highlights and they were just good finishes. Kicking out can be difficult against a press as intense and well coordinated at Ajax's
The finishing from Ajax was top drawer.
The 'open letter to Mr Smith' nature of the opening post makes this seem ever so slightly unfair...
Didn’t look like he covered himself in glory but that could be said about the defence as a whole. Ajax were given too much space and as others have said were extremely clinical with their finishing. Don’t recall anything going through him but buried into the corners for the most part. Tough day at the office for sure
It was a kickabout to blow away the cobwebs. No one is up to speed. It's why we are playing these games rather than going into a European game cold.
He's a good goalkeeper. There is competition for number 1 now and if Sallinger gets the nod it means we have an excellent one and a more than capable back up.
And so it begins ….unbelievable 😞
What goals should he have prevented out of interested?
I really don't get it.
Smith confounded all expectations last season and played a key role in not only salvaging it but turning it into one of the best we've had in many a year.
Said it yesterday, but I get the impression some people are a bit snooty about him because he's perceived to be some sort of journeyman/reserve keeper who had a lucky streak.
His pedigree is actually pretty decent. He was Forest's No 1 for a sustained spell and the Forest fans I've seen commenting on him seemed to reckon he was a good player. It's not just his ability that's important, it's the fact you can see his team-mates are confident with him behind them and he's a popular member of the squad. Team spirit's a hugely valuable asset.
Goalkeeping's a position where, if your confidence takes a knock, you can seriously struggle no matter who you are. Witness Jim Leighton or Craig Gordon (who people tend to forget was out of the game for two years, primarily down to injury but he was also battling confidence issues).
Smith's not had the career those two have obviously but we should be celebrating unearthing something of a hidden gem without having to pay a fee, rather than finding ways to belittle him.
Having seen the criticism I was expecting something totally different from the highlights.
Are there still a few determined to have their preconceptions proved right? It seems very harsh anyway.
He was great for us most of the time last season and hopefully we now have decent competition which is good.
Oh to have two decent goalkeepers to choose from………wait a minute 🤔……
What a needless thread.
Don’t mind getting beat in preseason friendlies,gets mistakes rectified & shows upstairs where we’re lacking so hopefully sways them to step up the player intake
I think there’s been talk about criticism than there has been actual criticism.
There has been quite a few folk, me included, who think Sallinger will be number one, but that’s not really a criticism of Smith and a view probably held before yesterday. Think there is a handful of post really, properly criticising him for not stopping anyone of the goals.
Overly critical posts, what I took from watching the highlights was how much our defence were struggling and being pulled all over the place, giving space for quality players to score some very good goals into the corners, 3 or 4 of which even 6ft 4 Salinger wouldn't have saved.
More worried about our defensive shape and structure than Smith. We need a Triantis type player in front of them providing more of a shield and breaking up play/intercepting.
This is a ridiculous thread and exactly why closed door pre-season friendlies should stay completely behind closed doors. He had a few dodgy kicks. It’s a pre season friendly, all about getting a bit of rust out the way. Shouldn’t be criticizing players at this time unless they look ridiculously unfit.
We rocketed up the table when smudge got the gloves, had a very good season in the sticks. Distributes ball well, switched on and if protected by his defence is exactly the type of keeper we need. Also a top top lad! Think folk starting threads in pre season like this need to have a think. So unnecessary and negative. You’re about to watch hibs in Europe and a massive part of that is us changing from Bursik to Smith midway. If your a “mature” hibby you’ll know exactly what a bad keeper looks like in goal, Smith definitely isn’t one all attributes considered.
OP lobs in controversial post then disappears without trace. No surprise.
it's an odd person that would want to dismiss the evidence of 28 competitive games where we were beaten only once by a team that wasn't Celtic and instead go with 45 minutes of a closed doors friendly when assessing a keeper.
He did play the ball to them and they ran up the park to score one, but other than that, don’t think he deserves much criticism at all.
Ajax were super clinical in picking their spot while our defenders laid off them and gave them the opportunity to put it in the net.
Indeed. The guy has done nothing that would justify dropping him. But the other side of that coin is that clubs like Hibs don't pay £300,000 for a keeper without intending him to be a starter.
It's been mentioned on here a number of times that if the club want's to move forward and be successful there can't be any room for sentiment. If SDG thinks Sallinger is the best option, not based on pre season, but on his record and performances in Austrian football, then he'll be our starter. Not a reflection on Smith, who has proved his worth and will be a more than capable No2.
I think Smith did us a really good turn last season but I can also see why we think we can improve on him. I think there’s a bit middle ground to be had between thinking he in no way deserves to be dropped and thinking he’s rubbish. IMO, neither position is the case but I think it’s a position we can improve.
We’ll find out in a fortnight what Gray’s thinking is. I think Sallinger will play, I just don’t think Hibs spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on a second choice keeper. Have also read a lot about how nobody is really in possession of the jersey and whatever, but managers sign players with a clear intention on whether they’ll play or not all the time. I think Gray will already know what way he’s going and whatever happened on Saturday, or what happens on Wednesday or whenever won’t make too much difference.
Got to love the gadgie.
https://youtu.be/y9KbhMqt9bE
Have attended ER as a boy man and now a old timer and think I have seen my fair and not so fair share of Hibs goalies coming through the ranks and if I was to put them in order Smith would not be in the top ten .
If you read what I said I complimented his performances when he came into the team and as a person who played as a goalie in my younger days granted not to premier level
I think that his positioning vAjax if in a game here we would have lost a couple of goals.
My opinion only.and as far as I know I'm entitled to put it on the blog .and over the many years I have been on this forum have never felt it necessary to make derogatory
comments on any other poster
Such is the feel good factor associated with the second half of last season that a discouraging word is triggering.
There's middle ground in every discussion. We could critically appraise every Hibs player and find room for improvement, some more than others tbf.
Smith exceeded expectations and did a fine job. He has to be considered to be a very good signing, especially good when you consider value for money.
Players performance levels vary game to game and across a team. The better players perform to higher standard week in-week out. Hibs probably don't have that many of those guys. Perhaps Iredale, Boyle and Triantis could claim that they mostly performed near the peak of their abilities consistently. Players like Cadden N, Rocky, came close, with others like Smith, Miller, Cadden C, Hoilett, Gayle, Obita, were good overall (Miller more so at RCB).
I see areas of the team which need improvement more than others. As you say, based on not just one game. RWB, CF and GK are where we would elevate our performance levels if we could improve (on Smith, Myko and Cadden C).
It's possible to like Smith and feel that is an area to improve on. It's also entirely possible that Smith can elevate his game this coming season. he's not played much football for a good few years before he came into the first team. Further development is possible.
Thanks for that . Smudge really comes across as a top guy as well as being a top keeper too who played an important part in our success last season …
https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.c...linger-5212338
We probably paid a fair whack in loan fees for Bursik to watch Smith play last season.
Only contentious part of Smith taking over from Bursik ended up being that it didn’t happen sooner.
Pros and cons to both Salinger and Smith, the better goalkeeper plays and the other always has the possibility of coming in if the incumbent’s performance level drops.
What does his Ma think.
There was nothing wrong with his positioning in any of them as the shots were all well placed and some hit with a fair bit of power . Some of the defending wasn’t great on them but seeing as it was only our 2nd pre-season game which is about fitness and getting the players sharp I think it’s really harsh to be pointing fingers at any of the players at all …
Blaming the keeper for his positioning is a classic . What if I said to you that if Salinger had been a little further to his left maybe he would have saved the 6th goal as he’s 6’5 , positioning again? . You blamed one keeper and praised the other and yet one faced a quality team near full strength and the other what was basically a reserve one . I think a bit of common sense is needed regarding the type of game it was , teams we played etc ..
10/10
Whilst I might not agree with your original post, you’re absolutely right to post your own thoughts.
There are folk on here that like nothing better than pouncing on any perceived negative post.
Don’t let them put you off, the forum is much better and livelier when we can all post what we think.
I watched the highlights again in trying to see what the other poster sees about the keepers ‘ positioning’ and I just don’t see anything other than some really could shots that are right in the corner much like the one Salinger lost .
Spoke to another Hibs fan and he said that we have played against the OF at times were they’ve had even more shots then Ajax had but what Ajax were was totally clinical in some really good finishing .
https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.c...1-role-5212800