Selection headache

[Unseen work]

When everyone is fully fit who do you think will start?

For me he has some massive decisions to make. A couple of players returning from injury who on form are brilliant, a couple on good form right now. Who will fit in where?

Harris handling zoubir and cairney are all our wingers (even tho Danny is a striker) having not seen zoubir play it's hard to make a comment about him, cairney start of last season caused mayhem for every defender he played as did Harris at the end of the season. Danny has done very well this season until he got injured, was the only person beating players, creating chances and looking comfortable on the ball.

Which leaves centre mid? Taiwo, Thomson, Robertson Craig, Tudor jones. Craig has been playing out wide but once everyones fit can see him moving in but you have Thomson who IMO is our best central midfielder, Robertson who had looked very good, creates and scores goals and is box to box, taiwo who IMO is very underrated and makes a massive difference every game he plays, very neat and tidy and great defensively. Then you have jones who hasn't had a great start according to most, but I think he has done what his normal role is which is defending and breaking play up play well it's just the fact we've had no attacking players he looks limited. If he goes with 2 wingers such as Harris and zoubir will he want jones in to keep balance and shape to break up play if the opposition is on the counter?

Think alot will depend on the shape, if he plays 442 or 4231. If he plays with 1 up top you would wonder which striker would get the nod Collins vine or heffernan?

Either way we have VERY good choices when everyone is fit

[Iain G]

I think his first choice starting eleven will be along the lines of:

Williams

Clancy McPake Hanlon McGivern

Zoubir Robertson Thomson Craig

Heffernan Collins


Which leaves us a bench of subs from:

Murdoch
Maybury
Mullen
Foster
Nelson
Stevenson
Harris
Tudur-Jones
Taiwo
Cairney
Stanton
Handling
Vine
Caldwell

[Stewboy]

McPake? How many goals we let in, why change it?

[Aldo]

Sorry but unless we conceded loads then Nelson, Hanlon, Maybury (Lewis) and McGivern (Lewis)

Are the back 4 for me.

The same team that started on Sat should start again against St Midden. That's if they are all fit.

Will make places in the team hard to come by if folk play well. Good incentive.

[lucky]

Nelson is a first pick for me every week. He plays how Mcpake use to play. As has been said we do have competition for places but depends how PF sets them up

[GreenOnions]

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Nelson is a first pick for me every week. He plays how Mcpake use to play. As has been said we do have competition for places but depends how PF sets them up

Our defensive record has been quite good so far and credit to the guys for that. However - I think we've been set up pretty conservatively and the whole team has contributed more to not conceding than scoring. If we play more attack-minded players our defence may have more concerns.

Nelson has been solid and is good in the air. However - he is incredibly slow - more so than any of our other defenders - and I fear that this will be exploited over the course of the season. It's already been expoloited very effectively by both Motherwell and Dundee United - costing us a goal each time.

A fit James McPake for me every time or, if he's ready, Jordan Forster.

I agree with the Iain G about our "best" starting 11 - especially given injuries to the likes of Harris at the moment. However - the main good news is that we do have quite a number of options and you can see different players coming in for different games without our performances dipping.

If we were looking to have greater numbers in midfield for particular games for example whilst still posing an attacking threat you could see us going:

.....................Williams

Clancy.....McPake....Hanlon....McGivern

....................Thomson

Zoubir.....Robertson......Craig.....Harris

......................Collins

[Jones28]

Williams
Stevenson Nelson Hanlon McGivern
Zoubir Robertson Thomson Craig
Collins heffernan

Alternatively with that team you could drop a striker and have Harris play wide left for a 4-5-1

[Unseen work]

Finding it very hard to put together a starting 11, everyone I come up with feels like I'm being very harsh to one or two players. Very good position to be in mind. Suprised at the lack of chance Forster has had as he was brilliant end of last season. Sayin that he. Started off banned and the defence has been not bad so far!

[Brightside]

I love how Zouby is in everyones starting 11. He's played 10 mins!

That squad is prob the best "headache" a Hibs manager will ever have.

[TheFamous1875]

On paper the best players would be:

Williams.
Nelson. Hanlon. McGivern.

Zoubir. Robertson. Thomson. Harris.
Craig.
Heffernan. Collins.

But I can't see that working, given the wide players' attacking tendencies. Maybe a 4-1-3-2 is our best bet..

Williams.

Stevenson/Maybs. Nelson. Hanlon. McGivern.
Mullen/ Taiwo.
Thomson.
Zoubir. Robertson/ Craig. Harris.

Heffernan. Collins.

I really do recoil thinking about our RB berth, where's Tom "I'm a midfielder trapped in right backs body" Hateley these days? I reallythink Taiwo is worth a pop there, honestly. He's fast, defensive and reliable (and right footed!) and it's a sin to leave such a good player out of our squad at times.

They do it for Lewis, why not Tom?

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[18/03/07]

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I think his first choice starting eleven will be along the lines of:

Williams

Clancy McPake Hanlon McGivern

Zoubir Robertson Thomson Craig

Heffernan Collins


Which leaves us a bench of subs from:

Murdoch
Maybury
Mullen
Foster
Nelson
Stevenson
Harris
Tudur-Jones
Taiwo
Cairney
Stanton
Handling
Vine
Caldwell

I think you can take Clancy out of that team and Mullen out of your subs list, for what it worth, in my opinion neither will play for 1st team again

[Stringer]

Pat should set up a squad rotation system. It would stop our post new year slump

[TheFamous1875]

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Pat should set up a squad rotation system. It would stop our post new year slump

I like this idea. As long as it's smooth, you can grind out results/keep players away from fatigue and blood mo youth.


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[LeithBoozy]

It is a certainty we will have more injury's and suspensions over the season. Now for the first in a long time we have decent cover, so to me its all about the squad, we will need them all over the course of the season, they better be ready as anyone playing poorly wont last long this year.

[Unseen work]

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I think you can take Clancy out of that team and Mullen out of your subs list, for what it worth, in my opinion neither will play for 1st team again

Have you heard anything or just guessing? Could understand Clancy as he is never fit. Would be shocked about Mullen as he is young with potential and only played 2 games

[18/03/07]

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Have you heard anything or just guessing? Could understand Clancy as he is never fit. Would be shocked about Mullen as he is young with potential and only played 2 games

Just my opinion mate,Mullen was in the stand against Ross County and last week was playing in the EOS league against Duns,where he got booked again

[Unseen work]

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Just my opinion mate,Mullen was in the stand against Ross County and last week was playing in the EOS league against Duns,where he got booked again

I think the lads just shot of all confidence, always going to be hard coming from hearts and his start for us hasn't been great. When I seen him play for hearts I was really impressed as he was calm on the ball and a attacking full back with good delivery. Think he just has to work on his defensive duties and could learn alot from maybury.

Really hope we stick with him as think he could be very good

[jacomo]

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I think the lads just shot of all confidence, always going to be hard coming from hearts and his start for us hasn't been great. When I seen him play for hearts I was really impressed as he was calm on the ball and a attacking full back with good delivery. Think he just has to work on his defensive duties and could learn alot from maybury.

Really hope we stick with him as think he could be very good

Let's hope Mullen comes good but by all accounts he is some way from the first team at present. Not unusual for young players to make a good start in the first team and then suffer a dip - it's happened to us often enough. He's having to adjust to being at a new club too.

I still wonder why we signed OTJ and I am not sure the balance of the squad is quit right but overall the competition for places is healthy.