Height - Does it really matter

[Aldo]

Look I have been thinking (dangerous I know) and this question of height, especially in the MF. A lot teams at the moment are not blessed with height. for example

Barca - Xavi, Iniesta, Messi
Man U - Scholes, Park, Rooney, Nani
Hibs - Miller, Rankin, Stevenson, Zuma, wotherspoon etc

Look height doesnt matter IMHO maybe if you area a CH or a Crouch style striker but I think we have shown that we can play footie, and when played on the deck then we are a match for any team in the League.

We may feel we are being bossed on a regular basis but the first quarter or so of the season showed what we are capable of.

So at the end of the day do we need to be 6ft plus to be any good....In a word NO.

[nribs]

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Look I have been thinking (dangerous I know) and this question of height, especially in the MF. A lot teams at the moment are not blessed with height. for example

Barca - Xavi, Iniesta, Messi
Man U - Scholes, Park, Rooney, Nani
Hibs - Miller, Rankin, Stevenson, Zuma, wotherspoon etc

Look height doesnt matter IMHO maybe if you area a CH or a Crouch style striker but I think we have shown that we can play footie, and when played on the deck then we are a match for any team in the League.

We may feel we are being bossed on a regular basis but the first quarter or so of the season showed what we are capable of.

So at the end of the day do we need to be 6ft plus to be any good....In a word NO.

Am i right in thinking you just compared Miller, Rankin, Stevenson, Zuma, wotherspoon with the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Scholes & Rooney?

[Baldy]

height doesn't matter at places like Man U and Barca .. because they have a pitch they can pass the ball along the grass ... we don't

[drumatic44]

Have to disagree with the above in terms of the SPL. it's very important. Whenever we come up against bigger teams (height-wise) we struggle.Certain managers always pick big, Levein,O'Neill, etc we are lucky if we have two tall guys on the pitch (Bamba,Nish) at any one time.
Also we don't seem to produce them, I don't know whether last years under 19s currently out on loan (Booth,Moyes etc.) are tall (ie.over 6'2') ??
In fact I can't remember us producing any really big guys since Tweed and Dodds, O'Connor being stocky and well built rather than tall.
Allez les Verts

[Bob1875]

Ofcourse height doesnt matter if your Xavi, Iniesta or Messi. Are you been serious?

We need height in the midfield, thats for sure. We need to try Bamba in the middle, but that doesnt look like it will happen.

[Danderhall Hibs]

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height doesn't matter at places like Man U and Barca .. because they have a pitch they can pass the ball along the grass ... we don't

Don't you wonder why the opposition don't take advantage of the lack of height against Barca, Sapin, Man U etc though?

[Danderhall Hibs]

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Am i right in thinking you just compared Miller, Rankin, Stevenson, Zuma, wotherspoon with the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Scholes & Rooney?

He did - but you've misunderstood what he's comparing.

[Cocaine&Caviar]

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A lot teams at the moment are not blessed with height. for example

Barca - Xavi, Iniesta, Messi
Man U - Scholes, Park, Rooney, Nani



So at the end of the day do we need to be 6ft plus to be any good....In a word NO.

I think you are missing something. Barcelona always play with one of Toure, Keita or Busquets playing behind Xavi and Iniesta, all of which are 6'1 - 6'4.

Also, Man Utd more often that not play with Carrick and Fletcher in their midfield, again both huge guys and well over 6'.

There are plenty of examples out there,

Arsenal, one of the greatest footballing sides on the planet, have Song and Diaby in their midfield, again both well over 6'.

Chelsea: Mikel, Lampard, Ballack
Everton: Fellaini, Cahill

There are teams out there such as West Ham that have small guys such as Parker and Noble, or madrid with Diarra and Alonso, but usually you'll find a giant somewhere in a successful side.

[easty]

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I think you are missing something. Barcelona always play with one of Toure, Keita or Busquets playing behind Xavi and Iniesta, all of which are 6'1 - 6'4.

Also, Man Utd more often that not play with Carrick and Fletcher in their midfield, again both huge guys and well over 6'.

There are plenty of examples out there,

Arsenal, one of the greatest footballing sides on the planet, have Song and Diaby in their midfield, again both well over 6'.

Chelsea: Mikel, Lampard, Ballack
Everton: Fellaini, Cahill

There are teams out there such as West Ham that have small guys such as Parker and Noble, or madrid with Diarra and Alonso, but usually you'll find a giant somewhere in a successful side.

Cahill is a short arse

[FRes Hibbie]

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I think you are missing something. Barcelona always play with one of Toure, Keita or Busquets playing behind Xavi and Iniesta, all of which are 6'1 - 6'4.

Also, Man Utd more often that not play with Carrick and Fletcher in their midfield, again both huge guys and well over 6'.
There are plenty of examples out there,

Arsenal, one of the greatest footballing sides on the planet, have Song and Diaby in their midfield, again both well over 6'.

Chelsea: Mikel, Lampard, Ballack
Everton: Fellaini, Cahill

There are teams out there such as West Ham that have small guys such as Parker and Noble, or madrid with Diarra and Alonso, but usually you'll find a giant somewhere in a successful side.

A few inaccuracies here, Fletcher and Carrick are 6' and 6'1 respectively, not "well" over 6 foot and neither are exactly of massive build - both quite skinny actually.

Song is 6'1 and Tim Cahill is only 5'10, not quite the giants implied above, especially when you think that Chris Hogg and Ian Murray are both around 6ft and Deek is about 5'11.

Apologies for being pedantic, but it annoyed me.

[J-C]

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Look I have been thinking (dangerous I know) and this question of height, especially in the MF. A lot teams at the moment are not blessed with height. for example

Barca - Xavi, Iniesta, Messi
Man U - Scholes, Park, Rooney, Nani
Hibs - Miller, Rankin, Stevenson, Zuma, wotherspoon etc

Look height doesnt matter IMHO maybe if you area a CH or a Crouch style striker but I think we have shown that we can play footie, and when played on the deck then we are a match for any team in the League.

We may feel we are being bossed on a regular basis but the first quarter or so of the season showed what we are capable of.

So at the end of the day do we need to be 6ft plus to be any good....In a word NO.

Height is only a problem when you're up against a big team who uses their height, so you then have to have bigger guys in there to match them. If we had a good pitch to play our passing game then height means nowt and we would be the dominant team and therefore other teams would have to change to our style.

I think it's important to have to fairly big CH's and Hogg as can be seen most of the time isn't big or dominant enough, even when young Hanlon came on last week he won nearly every ball he went for and he's only around the 6'1" mark.

In midfield I think you need a blend, a couple of average size but skillful ball players and a couple of larger ball winning passers around the 6' mark, Man utd has about the perfect mix, Carrick/Fletcher/Nani/Valencia.

[Delboy*]

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height doesn't matter at places like Man U and Barca .. because they have a pitch they can pass the ball along the grass ... we don't

exactly

[Cocaine&Caviar]

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In midfield I think you need a blend, a couple of average size but skillful ball players and a couple of larger ball winning passers around the 6' mark, Man utd has about the perfect mix, Carrick/Ferguson/Nani/Valencia.

I thought he went to Birmingham?

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A few inaccuracies here, Fletcher and Carrick are 6' and 6'1 respectively, not "well" over 6 foot and neither are exactly of massive build - both quite skinny actually.

Song is 6'1 and Tim Cahill is only 5'10,

However, in comparison to a 5'9 Xavi, Iniesta, Miller etc, there is a huge difference.

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Cahill is a short arse

Although Cahill is under 6', his ability to jump makes him appear about 6'3/

[blackpoolhibs]

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Height is only a problem when you're up against a big team who uses their height, so you then have to have bigger guys in there to match them. If we had a good pitch to play our passing game then height means nowt and we would be the dominant team and therefore other teams would have to change to our style.

I think it's important to have to fairly big CH's and Hogg as can be seen most of the time isn't big or dominant enough, even when young Hanlon came on last week he won nearly every ball he went for and he's only around the 6'1" mark.

In midfield I think you need a blend, a couple of average size but skillful ball players and a couple of larger ball winning passers around the 6' mark, Man utd has about the perfect mix, Carrick/Fletcher/Nani/Valencia.

Spot on.

[Hakim Sar]

I'd love to see xavi and iniesta play up on the beach that is pittodrie or the big rectangular ****** stain that is Easter roads pitch. maybe that is when ur lampards and ballacks of this world would use their height and strength to bully them.

Horses for courses innit?

[NadeAteMyLunch!]

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Cahill is a short arse

Unbelievable in the air tho!!! Some of the headers he scores for his height are incredible!! Somehow I cant ever see Miller, Zouma et al scoring similar goals unfortunately...

[bobbyhibs1983]

i think the problem is not height but more than strength, for example maradonna was very strong, as in strangth wise, but he was aroun 5 5"


I tihnk strength is more than inportant than height, unless you need height in defence or attack

[sahib]

This is a good thread with valid opinions being expressed. Congratulations to the original poster for questioning, the often expressed belief, that we are too short assed in midfield.

[Tyler Durden]

I don't think height matters a jot, and putting aside the Man Utd or Barca examples, let's look at our direct competition, Dundee Utd, who are always viewed as a big physical side.

They started last weekend with Conway, Swanson, Gomis and Buaben in midfield. I doubt their fans were moaning afterwards that they were bullied due to their lack of height.

It's a misleading excuse for any problems we have.

[Aldo]

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This is a good thread with valid opinions being expressed. Congratulations to the original poster for questioning, the often expressed belief, that we are too short assed in midfield.

Thank you. We we all complaining at the start of the season when we were doing well....answer NO.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion hence the reason for the post.

What about this team

Stack
Wotherspoon Hogg Hanlon Murray
Bamba Miller
Zemmama
Stoke Nish Riorden

Do we drop McBride for Bamba to give us the height everyone wants. This is the burning question.
We have been spoilt in the past Ie Le God, Fenwich, Uli, Jack, Mixu etc however had little pocket dynamo's ie Russell and O Neil.

It has to be about the balance of the team. Do you drop Messi cos he is playing against someone who is 6ft 5 no play to his strengths. That is what we should be doing.

Do we go out and buy 8 6ft 2 plus players for next year??? Do we buy a couple of crackers like Russell or would he be too small.... Hard to decide what would be best for the team isnt it.

[stubru59]

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i think the problem is not height but more than strength, for example maradonna was very strong, as in strangth wise, but he was aroun 5 5"


I tihnk strength is more than inportant than height, unless you need height in defence or attack

Spot on.

And, this is exactly where we are lacking.

[Speedy]

In a word...sometimes.

Height matters when you come against teams that use their height and strength to their advantage e.g. Stoke but at other times it doesn't matter as much.

Comparing us to the Barca and Man Utd midfields is daft imo because,as pointed out, they have big guys in there as well.

[Aldo]

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In a word...sometimes.

Height matters when you come against teams that use their height and strength to their advantage e.g. Stoke but at other times it doesn't matter as much.

Comparing us to the Barca and Man Utd midfields is daft imo because,as pointed out, they have big guys in there as well.

Why??? Its an obvious example so why should I not use it??? Man U are not a big physical side unlike Stoke, who are a big physical side who play to their strengths. Man U have a well balanced side and are not the biggest...same can be said about Arsenal as well

[Speedy]

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Why??? Its an obvious example so why should I not use it??? Man U are not a big physical side unlike Stoke, who are a big physical side who play to their strengths. Man U have a well balanced side and are not the biggest...same can be said about Arsenal as well

The criticism comes because we do not have a balance in midfield, Man Utd, Barca and Arsenal do.

[Aldo]

Fair point and not criticising your comment just wanted a wee bit of banter and a discussion what i think is fair considering there have been loads of debate about our height issue.

Cheers dude

[J-C]

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I thought he went to Birmingham?

Look at post, been editted.

However, in comparison to a 5'9 Xavi, Iniesta, Miller etc, there is a huge difference.



Although Cahill is under 6', his ability to jump makes him appear about 6'3/

.

[Broken Gnome]

It would've made a hell of a difference today.

[SalfordHibs]

I highlighted this before and Danderhall didn't agree which is fine as everyone has their own opinion, personally i feel we are far too light in the midfield however you cant compare our Rankin, McBride, Zouma with the likes of Scholes, Xavi etc

I said it before i think if we put Thicot sitting just in front of the back four leaving Miller Zouma and McBride with Stokes and Riordan up front.

Make no excuses as people will say why did we manage to win games when we went on a decent run, i am honest enough to admit that some of they results were lucky ones, now we have been found out by teams and again we have no plan B to sort it.

Rankin, Nish, & Hogg are not good enough for Hibs and if Yogi cant see that we are in serious trouble