Lennon not a happy chappy !!!

[Super_JMcGinn]

I have said the same for the past 2 seasons, hopefully it has the desired effect. Lennon's post match thoughts on Jason.


“My attacking players were poor and this needs to be addressed,” said a frustrated Lennon. “Jason missed two gilt-edged chances – a header from five yards, and one from a corner where the ball dropped to him two yards from goal. All he had to do was make decent contact and we would have been a goal up.
“We should be doing better in the final third. These chances all seem to fall to Jason. He is a good goalscorer but, if he isn’t scoring goals, then he isn’t bringing much to the team at the minute. He needs to do better.
“We are dominating games and creating chances and the vast majority come to Jason. So, we can also ask the others ‘where are you? Why is everything falling to Jason?’.”

[Heisenberg]

Jason does tend to need a few chances a game before he scores. Can't doubt his record though. We badly need others to step up, hopefully Shinnie can be that type of midfielder for us.

[J-C]

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I have said the same for the past 2 seasons, hopefully it has the desired effect. Lennon's post match thoughts on Jason.


“My attacking players were poor and this needs to be addressed,” said a frustrated Lennon. “Jason missed two gilt-edged chances – a header from five yards, and one from a corner where the ball dropped to him two yards from goal. All he had to do was make decent contact and we would have been a goal up.
“We should be doing better in the final third. These chances all seem to fall to Jason. He is a good goalscorer but, if he isn’t scoring goals, then he isn’t bringing much to the team at the minute. He needs to do better.
“We are dominating games and creating chances and the vast majority come to Jason. So, we can also ask the others ‘where are you? Why is everything falling to Jason?’.”

It's what Jason is, scores loads but misses even more, in this league he should've been well into 30+ goals a season but he hasn't only 18 goals in the league the past 2 seasons, with 21 & 25 in total. Our shots on target to goals scored is and has been one of the worst in this league this past 2 seasons and it needs improved quickly.

[Hi Heid Yin]

I was wondering when our failings of the past two years would get to Neil Lennon.
Now, maybe now, he can see with his own eyes the collective weakness of the team he has inherited - lots of possession, lots of chances created, but a very, very poor goals return.
Jason is, ironically, the biggest culprit in missing chance after chance. Without question he is a natural scorer, but he gives the impression that once he scores that he can down tools and become a bit of a flash showman with tricks and flicks and trying to put the ball in the back of the net in a spectacular fashion, rather than focus on hitting the ball cleanly. There is no way we can afford to drop him, especially when no one but no one else is stepping up to the plate. Because of this collective failing, we have as much chance of missing out on automatic promotion as the rest of the teams in the current mix at the top. Pretty football without a ruthlessness in front of goals (ie Hearts and The Rangers automatic promotion-winning teams)and no cutting edge has led to us failing to reach our objective these past 2 seasons.
Come on Neil: please sort it out

[Ronniekirk]

He must be hoping his direct criticism ofJason gets his goalscoring form back on track But interesting that he is pointing out that when missing chances and not scoring , he isnt contributing an awfull lot else at present to the team
Also asking why all the chances are falling to Cummings and why aren't others getting onto good positions

[Sir David Gray]

OK so he's noticing our failings, that's the easy part.

It's slightly harder to rectify them, which is what he needs to do.

2 goals from 3 games against Dumbarton, Ayr Utd and Queen of the South (one of which was a penalty) isn't really good enough.

[Keith_M]

Two of the most prolific Scottish strikers of the 80s and 90s, McCoist and Robertson, would miss a barrowload of chances but still score enough to be valuable to the team.

Yes, Cummings has to try to convert more of the chances presented to him (we're in the 1st division, theoretically it should be easier to score) but other players need to step up to the mark and not leave it all to Jason.

[calumhibee1]

If Jason scored even more than he already does then he wouldn't be at Hibs.

[Highland_Hibee]

For some reason that kind of reaction in the public eye endears Lennon to me a little more. Can you imagine Warburton in charge? He would be coming out and telling us "from start to finish we were good in parts". Guarantee our midfield are getting a bollocking for not putting away chances themselves and are now looking at ways to get some of them more involved around the penalty area. Hopefully have Lennon after the game on Sunday praising the response from our midfield after one of them gets on the scoresheet vs the Arabs.

[Viva_Palmeiras]

Sounds like he's also saying its up to the others to get into alternative positions; make the right decisions; be clinical when we're presented with the chance.

[superfurryhibby]

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Two of the most prolific Scottish strikers of the 80s and 90s, McCoist and Robertson, would miss a barrowload of chances but still score enough to be valuable to the team.

Yes, Cummings has to try to convert more of the chances presented to him (we're in the 1st division, theoretically it should be easier to score) but other players need to step up to the mark and not leave it all to Jason.

Agree, but both Robertson and McCoist contributed way more in terms of build up, in the last third or through linking with others.

Strongly endorse the last point. Lack of goals elsewhere in the team is not good. Heaps pressure on Cummings and means we are always vulnerable to losing /drawing games where our general play should have seen us out of sight.

[Libby Hibby]

Good comments from Lennon and shows he sees like the rest of us, if Jason isn't scoring, he offers very little to the side.

[Keith_M]

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If Jason scored even more than he already does then he wouldn't be at Hibs.

Doesn't mean he shouldn't try harder.

If he does, and ends up scoring 30 goals then leaves for better things at the end of the season, I'm sure he'll leave with all our best wishes... and a barrowload of cash coming in the opposite direction.

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

Nothing earth shattering from NL. The wider point is that when your main striker is having a lean time it really exposes where the rest of the goals come from.

[B.H.F.C]

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Nothing earth shattering from NL. The wider point is that when your main striker is having a lean time it really exposes where the rest of the goals come from.

He's not been having a lean time though. He's only failed to score in one league game. Unless others start to step up we will be in some state if he does have a lean spell.

[brog]

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I have said the same for the past 2 seasons, hopefully it has the desired effect. Lennon's post match thoughts on Jason.


“My attacking players were poor and this needs to be addressed,” said a frustrated Lennon. “Jason missed two gilt-edged chances – a header from five yards, and one from a corner where the ball dropped to him two yards from goal. All he had to do was make decent contact and we would have been a goal up.
“We should be doing better in the final third. These chances all seem to fall to Jason. He is a good goalscorer but, if he isn’t scoring goals, then he isn’t bringing much to the team at the minute. He needs to do better.
“We are dominating games and creating chances and the vast majority come to Jason. So, we can also ask the others ‘where are you? Why is everything falling to Jason?’.”

Maybe Lennon should have a look at himself, he signed both of JC's co-strikers & they certainly haven't delivered. He seems to prefer a big target man beside JC but personally I would like to see the much more mobile Keatings get an opportunity.

[hibsbollah]

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Two of the most prolific Scottish strikers of the 80s and 90s, McCoist and Robertson, would miss a barrowload of chances but still score enough to be valuable to the team.

Yes, Cummings has to try to convert more of the chances presented to him (we're in the 1st division, theoretically it should be easier to score) but other players need to step up to the mark and not leave it all to Jason.

Exactly. Centre forward play is 75% getting in the right positions, a lot of it being instinctive, you just cant coach the timing of the run. One of the worst allround footballers ever to pull on a Hibs shirt was Colin Nish in my opinion, yet he had a very good scoring record because he had the knack of being at the back post at the right time. If Jason is getting 5 chances and missing 3 of them hes still creating those 5 by making the correct runs. That's what the 'assist' stat doesn't recognise.

[greenlex]

Lennon needs to keep these thoughts and remarks in house and to the player/players concerned. A straight "I'd like to see him take more of his chances" and "the others need to step up to the plate too" would suffice if asked the question.

[BlackSheep]

Lennon's comments can have one of two effects-

1. Cummings is fired up by them and gets his head down and starts working to rectify what Lennon has criticised.

2. His head drops and he starts to try too hard and his game is affected.

I would assume that by now Lennon has a good handle on how the team and individual players think, so I would assume the former is what he expects.

Cummings knows he is a goalscorer, but he is definitely not the finished article, all the speculation over a move in the summer may have gone to his head and these comments are Lennon's way of keeping him grounded.

[RIP]

If Neil Lennon wants things to be improved he should speak to the Hibs first team coach.

It is that person's job to sort that **** out!

[Big L]

If Lennon had checked JC's stats he would have seen that he scores about 20% of his chances, which is quite low. He has missed a hell of a lot of really easy chances and that's the one thing he really has to improve on. In all the years I have watched The Hibs I have neve seen a striker miss so many certs. The lad is a talent and he is still young, so time is on his side but it's not on ours!

[brog]

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If Lennon had checked JC's stats he would have seen that he scores about 20% of his chances, which is quite low. He has missed a hell of a lot of really easy chances and that's the one thing he really has to improve on. In all the years I have watched The Hibs I have neve seen a striker miss so many certs. The lad is a talent and he is still young, so time is on his side but it's not on ours!

You'll have to tell me where to find these stats, I've never seen them. How do you define a chance? JC scored a wonder goal last week, if he had hit the bar, or if he didn't even shoot from 25 yards would that have been a chance missed? For your comment to be accurate JC would have had to have had about 300 chances in the last couple of seasons & that's just not feasible.

[Big L]

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You'll have to tell me where to find these stats, I've never seen them. How do you define a chance? JC scored a wonder goal last week, if he had hit the bar, or if he didn't even shoot from 25 yards would that have been a chance missed? For your comment to be accurate JC would have had to have had about 300 chances in the last couple of seasons & that's just not feasible.

The stats I read quoted approx 100 chances/ shots, lper season. 40% on target and around 20% resulted in a goal. I have said since he hit the first team that he needs to be more clinical. I have never in over 60 yrs of supporting The Hibs seen a striker miss so many glaring certs, yet he scores some smashing goals. His strike rate in the past two and half seasons has not improved and I have to wonder if it ever will, in saynig that he will get 20 plus goals this season again and we have no one else who will get near that. He must have played 50 games last season, it's not difficult to assume that he would get at least a couple of chances a game!

[Edson Arantes]

Jason should do better.

Knows where the goal is but sometimes takes too long. Not the brightest stone in the ring.

GGTTH

[Edson Arantes]

If you actually do a concise analysis of his goals versus chances it's 18.93%.

Less than a fifth.

[snooky]

NL makes a good point.
Fat Sally was a terrible goalscorer missing many easy chances BUT it was he who got himself into the right position to miss all those chances.

[Sir David Gray]

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If you actually do a concise analysis of his goals versus chances it's 18.93%.

Less than a fifth.

If he had scored every one of his chances last season he would have scored over 100 goals and would currently be employed by one of the top clubs in Europe.

[snooky]

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If he had scored every one of his chances last season he would have scored over 100 goals and would currently be employed by one of the top clubs in Europe.

He already is.

[Smartie]

I remember someone on here referring to "the Cummings conundrum".

It's strange - he scores plenty of goals but the team consistently fail to score enough. It seems unthinkable to drop him but I wonder if that is exactly what we need to do. We need goals from more sources but when he plays it all seems to go through him. We've tried sticking a big target man up there with him but that does't seem to have us scoring any more.

We've got Keatings in the squad who started the season well and has a track record of scoring lots of goals at this level and we've got Boyle - on here we often look back at Hearts and Rangers winning the league in style and mention the pace and directness they used yet we rarely start Boyle.

I really don't know what the answer is but at the moment I'm a bit apprehensive and there have been many signs in the past 3 games that we look the same as we did the past few years.

FWIW I still think we'll go up (we were fine in our first 4 games) but unless we solve this conundrum then I suspect it'll be a lot closer than it might/should have been.

[Dunbar Hibee]

Slate our only goalscorer (who's very young) aye very good Lennon.