Lennon's post-match quotes and our home form

[G B Young]

A couple of quotes from Lennon post-match made me wonder just whether he knows how to get this team performing as strongly as we feel it should be.

Firstly he stated that he was trying out a different shape, giving the side more width with Harris and Boyle, but said "that wasn't working".

Is half an hour really long enough to make that call? And if so, he must have been deeply unimpressed by the players in question. Which makes you wonder why he bothered trying to play with wide players at all. He never signed any in the summer and even let one go (Carmichael), leaving him with a couple of players in Boyle and Harris who blow hot and cold and are never regular starters. Or did he just go with this line-up in a relatively low key cup tie just to pay lip service to those calling for more width and to prove to them it doesn't work?

Secondly, and perhaps more concerningly, he claimed "not to know what's going through the players' minds". Pre season he made a big play of toughening up his squad both physically and mentally and at the time he seemed to be right on the money when it came to assessing what our weaknesses have been for many years. His quote yesterday implies he's kind of given up on trying to suss out why we remain so mentally weak. Is he failing to get his message across to the players or are they simply failing to respond to his style of management?

In addition to Lennon's quotes, another growing concern is our lacklustre home form. We've now lost all three home cup ties we've played at ER as well as to Ayr in the league. Nowhere near good enough if we want to build up a reputation as uncompromising and tough to beat.

I remain hopeful that Lennon will prove to be just the man we need to haul us out of this league but it's no surprise the doubts are beginning to creep in. The prospect of so quickly losing much of the goodwill banked by the club following the Scottish Cup win is a depressing one and something we must avoid at all costs.

[Deansy]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

A couple of quotes from Lennon post-match made me wonder just whether he knows how to get this team performing as strongly as we feel it should be.

Firstly he stated that he was trying out a different shape, giving the side more width with Harris and Boyle, but said "that wasn't working".

Is half an hour really long enough to make that call? And if so, he must have been deeply unimpressed by the players in question. Which makes you wonder why he bothered trying to play with wide players at all. He never signed any in the summer and even let one go (Carmichael), leaving him with a couple of players in Boyle and Harris who blow hot and cold and are never regular starters. Or did he just go with this line-up in a relatively low key cup tie just to pay lip service to those calling for more width and to prove to them it doesn't work?

Secondly, and perhaps more concerningly, he claimed "not to know what's going through the players' minds". Pre season he made a big play of toughening up his squad both physically and mentally and at the time he seemed to be right on the money when it came to assessing what our weaknesses have been for many years. His quote yesterday implies he's kind of given up on trying to suss out why we remain so mentally weak. Is he failing to get his message across to the players or are they simply failing to respond to his style of management?

In addition to Lennon's quotes, another growing concern is our lacklustre home form. We've now lost all three home cup ties we've played at ER as well as to Ayr in the league. Nowhere near good enough if we want to build up a reputation as uncompromising and tough to beat.

I remain hopeful that Lennon will prove to be just the man we need to haul us out of this league but it's no surprise the doubts are beginning to creep in. The prospect of so quickly losing much of the goodwill banked by the club following the Scottish Cup win is a depressing one and something we must avoid at all costs.

Probably our biggest weakness and has been for years - we just never seem to sign players with the necessary mental-toughness to be successsful !!. More than one poster yeterday mentioned the players don't seem to like Lennon shouting/cajoling/urging etc constantly throughout the game. if that IS the case, then we've been over that road before in Collin's time in charge - a bunch of wee-laddies who don't like being yelled at and so decide to not give a XXXX !.

[brog]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

A couple of quotes from Lennon post-match made me wonder just whether he knows how to get this team performing as strongly as we feel it should be.

Firstly he stated that he was trying out a different shape, giving the side more width with Harris and Boyle, but said "that wasn't working".

Is half an hour really long enough to make that call? And if so, he must have been deeply unimpressed by the players in question. Which makes you wonder why he bothered trying to play with wide players at all. He never signed any in the summer and even let one go (Carmichael), leaving him with a couple of players in Boyle and Harris who blow hot and cold and are never regular starters. Or did he just go with this line-up in a relatively low key cup tie just to pay lip service to those calling for more width and to prove to them it doesn't work?

Secondly, and perhaps more concerningly, he claimed "not to know what's going through the players' minds". Pre season he made a big play of toughening up his squad both physically and mentally and at the time he seemed to be right on the money when it came to assessing what our weaknesses have been for many years. His quote yesterday implies he's kind of given up on trying to suss out why we remain so mentally weak. Is he failing to get his message across to the players or are they simply failing to respond to his style of management?

In addition to Lennon's quotes, another growing concern is our lacklustre home form. We've now lost all three home cup ties we've played at ER as well as to Ayr in the league. Nowhere near good enough if we want to build up a reputation as uncompromising and tough to beat.

I remain hopeful that Lennon will prove to be just the man we need to haul us out of this league but it's no surprise the doubts are beginning to creep in. The prospect of so quickly losing much of the goodwill banked by the club following the Scottish Cup win is a depressing one and something we must avoid at all costs.

I posted similar on another thread. We scored in about 37 minutes & according to Lennon he'd already changed us back to a diamond by them. That's bizarre!

[Borderhibbie76]

If the players don't like being told what to do then show them where the door is and fast....we need to get up at all costs this season and if they don't have the stomach for the fight get rid - sick of these overpaid so called professionals letting us down time and again in them is ****ty league. Lennon is damn right calling them a "disgrace" and if they miss the mamby pamby approach of Stubbsy - send them on a bus to Rotherham to join him

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[MWHIBBIES]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Probably our biggest weakness and has been for years - we just never seem to sign players with the necessary mental-toughness to be successsful !!. More than one poster yeterday mentioned the players don't seem to like Lennon shouting/cajoling/urging etc constantly throughout the game. if that IS the case, then we've been over that road before in Collin's time in charge - a bunch of wee-laddies who don't like being yelled at and so decide to not give a XXXX !.

Why is it the players to blame? These players won the Scottish cup under the previous manager, I'd say the evidence might be in favour of them.

[brog]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Probably our biggest weakness and has been for years - we just never seem to sign players with the necessary mental-toughness to be successsful !!. More than one poster yeterday mentioned the players don't seem to like Lennon shouting/cajoling/urging etc constantly throughout the game. if that IS the case, then we've been over that road before in Collin's time in charge - a bunch of wee-laddies who don't like being yelled at and so decide to not give a XXXX !.

This bunch of players showed enough mental toughness to come back from 2 down against Yams & IIRC displayed great fortitude to win a wee game on 21 May. Maybe they just respond better to encouragement rather than our manager denigrating our players, in particular our 21 year old top scorer, in the press.

[Borderhibbie76]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Why is it the players to blame? These players won the Scottish cup under the previous manager, I'd say the evidence might be in favour of them.

They did but they also let us down time and again against the likes of Alloa Dumbarton and Morton over the last 2 seasons in this league and are doing so again. They can't live off the cup win for evermore mate...we need up!!!

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

[blackpoolhibs]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

They did but they also let us down time and again against the likes of Alloa Dumbarton and Morton over the last 2 seasons in this league and are doing so again. They can't live off the cup win for evermore mate...we need up!!!

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

Exactly, although a new manager has come in and we all hoped he'd take us on and instill a winning mental toughness to get us out this league, a weaker league than previous years.

First signs were good, but things are back to normal now.

[Franck Stanton]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Why is it the players to blame? These players won the Scottish cup under the previous manager, I'd say the evidence might be in favour of them.

They are also the players who failed in the most important goal of last season - promotion.

[allezsauzee]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

This bunch of players showed enough mental toughness to come back from 2 down against Yams & IIRC displayed great fortitude to win a wee game on 21 May. Maybe they just respond better to encouragement rather than our manager denigrating our players, in particular our 21 year old top scorer, in the press.

If they can't take a bit of criticism when it's deserved they're not going to go very far in this game

[Betty Boop]

Lennon should stop commenting on all things Celtic now, so annoying.

[Itsnoteasy]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

If they can't take a bit of criticism when it's deserved they're not going to go very far in this game

Is RP's hoose going to get a visit soon fi a team full of guisers.

[Mr White]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Lennon should stop commenting on all things Celtic now, so annoying.

that would be a good start but I'll be amazed if it happens unfortunately.

[SRHibs]

I said it before in another thread, but I don't really think we benefit that much from playing at home. ER just isn't an intimidating place to come to for opposition teams. The atmosphere is pretty dreadful, and even when we do get a decent amount of singing, it just doesn't hold the same intimidating atmosphere that it did when the old East was still there. Don't get me wrong, we've got a class stadium, but I just wish there was a way to make it retain noise a bit better.

[G B Young]

It does seem daft that professional football players can't handle a bit of a bollocking from the dugout but we've been down that road before with disastrous consequences under Butcher. I'd like to think Lennon is considerably more savvy about dealing with all aspects of man management than Terry was, but then I thought John Collins was just the man to instil a winning mentality and he ended up with a player revolt on his hands despite winning a b****y cup. The players seemed to prefer Mowbray's calmer approach and you could draw parallels now with Stubbs and Lennon. I think we just have to hope that after a mediocre report card so far, Lennon does actually combine all aspects of the sort of mangement required to get the best out of these players and that come next year we'll be glad we gave him time to put his stamp on the team.

[Pete]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Is RP's hoose going to get a visit soon fi a team full of guisers.

Or clowns?

[brog]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

If they can't take a bit of criticism when it's deserved they're not going to go very far in this game

I have no problem with criticism when it's deserved. I do have a problem when it's continually made public, IMO it should stay within the club. Shankly & Ferguson were famous for defending their players to the outside world even if they ripped them up in the dressing room. I also have a problem with misdirected criticism. Why target our young striker who's scored 8 times as many league goals as our 2nd top scorer? For me at present Lennon is more worthy of criticism than the players. He needs to reduce his media obligations, realise he's in a great job at a great club & give the job the attention it deserves.

[G B Young]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

I said it before in another thread, but I don't really think we benefit that much from playing at home. ER just isn't an intimidating place to come to for opposition teams. The atmosphere is pretty dreadful, and even when we do get a decent amount of singing, it just doesn't hold the same intimidating atmosphere that it did when the old East was still there. Don't get me wrong, we've got a class stadium, but I just wish there was a way to make it retain noise a bit better.

I know what you're saying, but I honestly don't think we can blame the stadium. Just think back to recent wins over Hearts or The Rangers. There's a terrific atmosphere when there's a product on the pitch worth getting excited about and with the crowds we're getting at present there's the potential for plenty of noise if the the football on the park wasn't so dull. I know the big games tend to generate their own atmosphere but if we were witnessing a Hibs team which looked like it was going to blow teams off the park in this league rather than tip tapping around uncertainly then we'd hear more than enough backing from the stands.

[brog]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

I said it before in another thread, but I don't really think we benefit that much from playing at home. ER just isn't an intimidating place to come to for opposition teams. The atmosphere is pretty dreadful, and even when we do get a decent amount of singing, it just doesn't hold the same intimidating atmosphere that it did when the old East was still there. Don't get me wrong, we've got a class stadium, but I just wish there was a way to make it retain noise a bit better.

We lost 1 home game all last season, beat Yams, Sheep & Sevco twice. We've lost 4 home games this season, 3 when we've had a lead. The crowd & the stadium aren't to blame.

[allezsauzee]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

I have no problem with criticism when it's deserved. I do have a problem when it's continually made public, IMO it should stay within the club. Shankly & Ferguson were famous for defending their players to the outside world even if they ripped them up in the dressing room. I also have a problem with misdirected criticism. Why target our young striker who's scored 8 times as many league goals as our 2nd top scorer? For me at present Lennon is more worthy of criticism than the players. He needs to reduce his media obligations, realise he's in a great job at a great club & give the job the attention it deserves.

yes maybe Lennon should give the outside world the impression that we'll settle for getting beat by the likes of St Mirren and Ayr United at home.

[CRAZYHIBBY]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

Lennon should stop commenting on all things Celtic now, so annoying.

Exactly im sick to the back teeth of him and his celtic chat

[brog]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

yes maybe Lennon should give the outside world the impression that we'll settle for getting beat by the likes of St Mirren and Ayr United at home.

I'm pretty sure I didn't say that. The template for good management, whether in business or sport should be that the manager takes the responsibility for success or failure. The sign of bad management is when the manager abdicates that responsibility & publicly blames his staff or players. So far this season Jason Cumming's performance is significantly better than NL's.

[Peanut Shaz]

I may be wrong with my thoughts on the situation and expect to find a few people will disagree with me. However I think that Lennon may be struggling as he has always managed at a higher level with more talented and experienced players. I honestly don't think he knows how to manage at this level. I know he probably should be able to adapt but I have my doubts. It wouldn't surprise me if he walked before the end of the season.

[MWHIBBIES]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

They did but they also let us down time and again against the likes of Alloa Dumbarton and Morton over the last 2 seasons in this league and are doing so again. They can't live off the cup win for evermore mate...we need up!!!

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

The players didn't let me down once. I couldn't fault the effort of a single one of them at any point under Stubbs. Sometimes they had poor games, that happens. Sometimes Stubbs got it wrong, the 3 major injuries during that run of hard away games didn't help either.

As things stand Stubbs was getting far more out of these players than Lennon is, that is worrying.

[allezsauzee]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

I'm pretty sure I didn't say that. The template for good management, whether in business or sport should be that the manager takes the responsibility for success or failure. The sign of bad management is when the manager abdicates that responsibility & publicly blames his staff or players. So far this season Jason Cumming's performance is significantly better than NL's.

If tactical inepititude or lack of preparation is the reason for a poor result then I would say yes the manager should take the blame. If players haven't performed to their capabilities or carried out a realistic expectation of the manager then the manager is within his rights to criticise players.

[emerald green]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

If tactical inepititude or lack of preparation is the reason for a poor result then I would say yes the manager should take the blame. If players haven't performed to their capabilities or carried out a realistic expectation of the manager then the manager is within his rights to criticise players.

Yes, but do the criticism in private. Not in the newspapers, some of whom will possibly twist and sensationalise things.

Remember Butcher? That didn't work out well.

[familyman]

This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote

I may be wrong with my thoughts on the situation and expect to find a few people will disagree with me. However I think that Lennon may be struggling as he has always managed at a higher level with more talented and experienced players. I honestly don't think he knows how to manage at this level. I know he probably should be able to adapt but I have my doubts. It wouldn't surprise me if he walked before the end of the season.

I doubt very much if Neil will go early as I see him as someone who is determined and has a passion, something sadly lacking in his team though.Neil picks the players and yes he has got some of that wrong,Shinnie for example has yet to do anything of note, the old guard who got us relegated are problems still and kinda stuck in their own mind set it seems to me at any rate.
Are we now talking about January signings to lift the deflated mood we are now going through so early in a season I wonder.
Harris was never really good enough for the first team ,my usual concern about left back limitations remain and we seem destined for a long haul unless attitudes change very fast indeed...are payments by results no longer an option these days?
We are supposed to have a team capable of running away with the title according to some, well remember this is football and Hibs..so fasten your seat belts.

[SunshineOnLeith]

You could replace 'Lennon' with 'Butcher' or 'Malpas' in some of the posts in this thread and you'd have some of posts defending the management towards the end of the relegation season.

[QMU-1875]

Lennon is having a mare at the moment but no doubt the players are the main issue. Mentally they are all losers, bar a remarkable Scottish cup win in the last minute last season could have been a disaster. We need up and I don't believe this team is tough enough to be champions. Please prove me wrong...

[Johnny_Leith]

These lads prefer carrot to stick.

Lennon is more of a stick man.