Saw this article today by Agent Scotland (I know) but it has interesting views on our team, thinks that Hibs have the potential to finish 2nd but that it’ll only be when Pat Fenlon is replaced that Hibs will begin to see an improvement in performance and results.
http://insidescottishfootball2012.wo...an-finish-2nd/
Hibernian: the club that can finish 2nd
Having looked at the strengths and weaknesses of each individual club in the new SPFL Premiership I came to the conclusion that Hibs have a serious shot at finishing 2nd, after the start they’ve had to the season though its completely understandable that any optimism the fans had before the start of the campaign has been quickly evaporated, the destruction at home to Malmo set the tone for the opening to League fixtures, a home loss to the team thats been ‘best of the rest’ for a few seasons now in Motherwell is no real shame and an away defeat to Hearts is another that on the face of it shouldn’t be shocking but when you delve into the circus that is Hearts then losing to them simply wasn’t an option, not in the manor it happened anyway.
Now morale among the fans is low, there’s bad feeling directed at the manager Pat Fenlon, Rod Petrie and Tom Farmer and the players are only one mistake away from becoming this weeks scapegoat, the season ahead really shouldn’t look so promising but when you disect the Hibernian squad there really is no reason why they can’t make a serious challenge for 2nd place.
Lets look at their squad, in Ben Williams they have a very decent goalkeeper, he’s not the beat in the country but I’d say there’s only 2 or 3 better than him in the Premiership.
In defence they have Mullen and McGivern, both have potential to be very decent players, they also have Clancy if they can get and keep him fit, in the centre of defence they have James McPake, he hasn’t quite lived up to his early form for Hibs but he did have to carry a poor Hibs defence last year with an injury, another they desperately need to stay fit, alongside him they have Michael Nelson, he’s not a star and he's not flash but he’s the type of defender Hibs have lacked since Rob Jones left, this guy could bring the best out in McPake.
In midfield Hibs are really strong, Thomson who if he gets back to his best could easily play EPL football, Robertson, Tuder-Jones is a player who was consistently good for an Inverness side that finished well in front of Hibs last season, Taiwo, Cairney who was a star in SFL1 and Liam Craig who for me was St Johnstone’ s best player last season, the club that finished 3rd.
That's not forgetting young Alex Harris who needs time to develop but already has shown he has the talent and pace to change a game.
Up front Hibs lost Leigh Grifffiths, he may be a Hibee but he was never their player so while they may feel they lost him he was never theirs to lose so they replaced him and Doyle with Rowan Vine who was one of St Johnstone's 3 best players and James Collins who they paid in the region of £200,000 for, Vine for me is head and shoulders better than Doyle although with a very healthy 14 goals last season he has a big target to match, Collins is one that should excite the fans, 18 goals last season in 29 starts (21 sub apps) which included a hat trick against Premiership bully boys Stoke City, this lad knows how to put the ball in the back of the net.
When you break down the squad Hibs along with Aberdeen are one of a short selection of clubs who can rely on seasoned Pros who have done well in what was formerly known as the SPL, so the talent is there and the players within the squad have proven in this environment that they are more than capable to succeed.
The problem is the negativity in the way the team sets up, my biggest gripe with Pat Fenlon is that his first instinct is to try not lose a game rather than to go out and take the game to the opposition, you can just about get away with that when you have a maverick like Leigh Griffiths who can score a goal from nothing regularly.
Hibs need a wide man badly Paddy McCourt was invited to train with Hibs from the day his Celtic contract expired, hes got options, Hibs can’t afford to hang around though, Paddy is a very talented player but I don’t believe he’s the be all and end all for Hibs, if they’ve still got money to spend and from what I’ve heard they do then Fenlon must look to get pace down the wing before he coaches himself out of a job.
Do I think Hibs will finish 2nd? No
Do I think Hibs have a squad that could finish 2nd? Yes
Personally I don't like to see genuinely nice guys lose their jobs so I do want to see Pat Fenlon turn it around at Hibs, however I truly don't believe he’s got what it takes, he got majorly lucky with Leigh Griffiths and in my opinion would already be out of a job if it weren’t for #LG9
I think Hibs need a manager who wants to play attack minded football and more importantly a manager who wants to play a style of football that will suit the players already at the club
Before a ball was kicked I predicted Hibs will finish 4th or 5th, unfortunately the reason it wasn’t higher is because I thought that Hibs would start so poor that it’ll only be when Pat Fenlon is replaced that Hibs will begin to see an improvement in performance and results
Results 1 to 26 of 26
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16-08-2013 02:37 PM #1
Hibernian: the club that can finish 2nd
Last edited by YehButNoBut; 16-08-2013 at 02:40 PM.
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16-08-2013 02:45 PM #2
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If I had written an article myself that's what it would have been.
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16-08-2013 02:47 PM #4This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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16-08-2013 02:50 PM #5
fair. my only really reluctance to say sack fenlon now is the fact i dont trust the board to replace him correctly yet again.
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16-08-2013 02:51 PM #6This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
Personally it's spot on from my point of view. With another wide man and a manager with an attacking mindset we could do very well this year IMHO.
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16-08-2013 02:53 PM #7
The club that "should" finish 2nd.
Unfortunately we can't, because we never actually deal with any of the real issues surrounding the club. We target the front men (mangers/players), when it's the back men that are the real issue.
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16-08-2013 02:59 PM #8
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So, the schools are just going back, and that's what he's got to show for his summer holidays?
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16-08-2013 03:21 PM #9
He seems to be getting "really strong" midfield confused with just having loads of midfielders.
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16-08-2013 03:31 PM #10
I agree with him. I think the squad is much better than it is performing under Fenlon but I thought that last season too.
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16-08-2013 03:39 PM #12
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It's a fair article. We have strengthened with players from a decent level
Sadly though we have no direction from the touch line and until this is addressed we will continue to amble on weekly
Sometimes you look at teams and wonder how they are doing so badly then the manager is replaced and instantly it clicks. Here is hoping that is us
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16-08-2013 04:01 PM #14
We do have a good squad IMO. Thats what makes this hard to take. We are a top winger or top creative midfielder from being really good. We cant create chances and its so annoying Fenlon cant see that.
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16-08-2013 04:18 PM #15
There are a number of fair points in the piece, but I really don't see a squad capable of finishing second. To me that's unrealistic because the creativity required to open teams up isn't there.
HIBERNIAN FC - ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY SINCE 1875
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16-08-2013 05:16 PM #17This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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16-08-2013 05:16 PM #18
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Agent Scotland usually talks absolute pants but have to agree with his assessment
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16-08-2013 05:30 PM #19
As soon as I saw 'manor' instead of 'manner' I stopped reading.
Whether or not you agree with the content of the article, the fact that Agent Scotland tweets and now writes like a 12 year old means that I don't give much weight to what he says.
At the end of the day we all know the strengths and weaknesses of the individual players, the squad as a whole and the manager. I don't need to read the musings of someone who has no affiliation with the club whatsoever, especially when it's about what could happen, not what will happen.
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16-08-2013 05:49 PM #20
I said this today at work and they chuckled spluttered at the idea of it and started to make the usual jokes. I genuinely believe we have one of the best squads in the spfl outside celtc. One or two more players, with decent tactics applied and we should be right in with a chance. We are strong in midfield with multiple players who were and would be first picks at the other top premier league clubs. We have numbers in defence but maybe not the strength in depth. We have a good goalie. I think collins looks like a complete spfl forward who could be brilliant with the right partner and vine has proven he can score goals in this league.
Another striker and winger and our squad should be considered as very strong, while also having good youth prospects
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16-08-2013 06:19 PM #21
A good article IMO.
Have said before we have a very decent squad on paper, once on the pitch they look anything but decent................PF!!!!
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16-08-2013 06:47 PM #22
Agentscotland gets the majority of his info from the Celtic fans website - you should see some of his tweets they are priceless!
Most of what he states in the article is reflected in views from many of our own that can be found on several threads on this website!
He also states in the article that he thinks we can finish 2nd or 4th or 5th so he is covering a few bases there, albeit a bit on the high side giving our sluggish start! On a pedantic point his use of the word manor is also a bit weird in the early part of his story!
I for one don't listen to anything he slavers about .......
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16-08-2013 07:01 PM #23
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Sums it up for me fenlon is the weak link
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16-08-2013 07:17 PM #25This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show QuoteThis quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
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17-08-2013 10:23 AM #26
Agree with the point that the squad is good enough to finish second but watching last week against Hearts was like watching a team that had no idea what to do once they got past the half-way line and maybe that is Fenlon's fault.
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