"Good football"

[Diclonius]

I've noticed that in the past few years this association with us playing passing, flowing, football has disappeared. Is this because under Lennon we don't play that way in the technical sense? I'm no expert on tactical nous or styles of play by any means but as I see it Lennon's Hibs play with a lot more steel with the impetus to get the ball forward quickly and out wide. It isn't industrial defensive Allardyce/Pulis football but it isn't free-flowing Guardiola-esque stuff either, or what we used to play under Mowbray - I guess the best comparison would be Klopp's Liverpool?

To be honest - and I don't say this lightly - I'm not that bothered we've lost that association. The only "good footballing" Hibs teams I remember were the ones we had under Mowbray and Collins who would far too often beat St Mirren or equivelant 6-0 one week and barely lay a scratch on Hearts/Aberdeen the next. Lennon's team is the first I've seen that will give any team a challenge, and if necessary win the physical game in the middle of the park. Give me winning football (and not boring football disguised as winning football ala Calderwood/Fenlon) over "good" football any day.

[matty_f]

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I've noticed that in the past few years this association with us playing passing, flowing, football has disappeared. Is this because under Lennon we don't play that way in the technical sense? I'm no expert on tactical nous or styles of play by any means but as I see it Lennon's Hibs play with a lot more steel with the impetus to get the ball forward quickly and out wide. It isn't industrial defensive Allardyce/Pulis football but it isn't free-flowing Guardiola-esque stuff either, or what we used to play under Mowbray - I guess the best comparison would be Klopp's Liverpool?

To be honest - and I don't say this lightly - I'm not that bothered we've lost that association. The only "good footballing" Hibs teams I remember were the ones we had under Mowbray and Collins who would far too often beat St Mirren or equivelant 6-0 one week and barely lay a scratch on Hearts/Aberdeen the next. Lennon's team is the first I've seen that will give any team a challenge, and if necessary win the physical game in the middle of the park. Give me winning football (and not boring football disguised as winning football ala Calderwood/Fenlon) over "good" football any day.

I don't think we've lost the association at all, if anything is becoming more appropriate.

After the game on Tuesday night, Willie Miller (IIRC) said something along the lines of "if you're going to pay money to go and watch football, you'd pay to watch Hibs" because of the quality of our game.

[I'm Spartacus]

For me that's as good as we've played!!

[Stevie Reid]

When we're in full flow - which we have been for the vast majority of this calendar year - our quick, one touch football is as good as I've seen in my lifetime. Some breathtaking football played at a furious tempo. When we can't do things quickly, we are great at patiently working the ball from side to side (often via a centre forward dropping deep, and/or two of our centre halfs advancing) until eventually we pull the opposition out of their shape and get in behind.

Surprised at the OP. Difference from the Collins/Mowbray era is the physicality of the team and ability to bully teams as well - not the style of football.

[Smartie]

I love the football that Lennon's Hibs team plays.

We have a plan A, but we can also mix it up when necessary.

Whoever we play, we don't park the bus - we go out attempting to score goals and any team that tries to do that imo plays good football (if not necessarily in the purist's sense).

There have been a few teams who have attempted to play good football in the Scottish Premier League in recent years and I've seen some brilliant stuff played over the last season and a bit. We've had some immense games against Sevco and Kilmarnock in particular that are a credit to the Scottish game.

Then we've got the games against Aberdeen and Hearts which are pretty much x-rated, but that seems to be the way their respective managers want the game to be played, which they've both managed to have reasonable success levels with to be fair to them.

[Austinho]

Hibs are as exciting to watch as I can remember. I’ve been compelled to get up in the middle of the night to watch every single game this season, expect v St Johnstone (and that was because it wasn’t broadcasted anywhere). Whereas at the start of last season, I wouldn’t have bothered.

There’s a difference between passing balls at the back pointlessly and calling it ‘flair football’ like we did under Collins for example, and the exciting attacking stuff we play now.

[where'stheslope]

Free flowing football is great to watch, but there are times you have to mix it up with long balls or opposing teams will just flood midfield with players.

Playing out from the back is another, when it works its great, but if the opponents press high up the pitch then the best out ball is over the top.

Most teams have both types in their play, except maybe Livvie, they seem to be route 1 everytime!!

Playing with free flowing football is only great when your winning, when you lose, just watch on here!!!!!!

[bigwheel]

Lennon is a bit More direct than Stubbs..but we still have possession football at the heart of our style..watch any Hibs game and you will see the patience of our passing game from defence to attack ... it’s a style I like..keep the ball, always probing for ways forward..and the fact we have the pace to break quickly is exciting to watch..

As a contrast..I recall a midweek winning match under Fenlon, at Partick Thistle, which was the opposite of good football...eye bleeding one nil win..although the winning goal was a beauty, our performance that night was everything I dislike about football..industrial at best ...

[Keith_M]

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I don't think we've lost the association at all, if anything is becoming more appropriate.

After the game on Tuesday night, Willie Miller (IIRC) said something along the lines of "if you're going to pay money to go and watch football, you'd pay to watch Hibs" because of the quality of our game.

Funnily enough, Tuesday's game immediately sprung to mind for me as well.

I'm as disappointed as anybody else that we couldn't put the ball in the net (I even started a whingey thread on the subject ;-) ) but some of our passing play was amazingly good to watch.

I do agree with the OP that we play with more steel than we often have in the past. We meet a lot of teams that could well be described as 'cloggers' but stand up to them in a way that's quite refreshing.

[Iggy Pope]

Where was I all those six nils?
It's no coincidence there are more fans (regularly) watching us at home now than there have been for 40 or 50 years, Tornadoes, Mowbray et al. Hibs are good to watch and I attend no game anywhere now with the thinking that we will probably get beat. Wasn't always the case and I've been at it for a while. And at Easter Road I expect to beat allcomers.

[My_Wife_Camille]

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Where was I all those six nils?
It's no coincidence there are more fans (regularly) watching us at home now than there have been for 40 or 50 years, Tornadoes, Mowbray et al. Hibs are good to watch and I attend no game anywhere now with the thinking that we will probably get beat. Wasn't always the case and I've been at it for a while. And at Easter Road I expect to beat allcomers.

Was starting to worry that we wouldn’t get the pedantic ‘when did we beat St Mirren 6-0’ type post but there it is

[proud_and_green]

I think this is the best I have seen at ER in a long while. The difference I think between this and good teams of the past is that the whole team is involved and movi g for each other which allows one touch passing and ups the tempo, so that on many occasions the other night. We just need to speed up the end bit to match it.
Happy days, I'll take good exciting games even if we don't win anytime after the Fenlon and Butcher days.

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[RoYO!]

In the recent bbc match report we were regarded as ‘the great entertainers’. I’ll take that.

[horseflesh]

I would say we are much a “flowing, passing team” and I would also suggest that our reputation for this has been enhanced further iunder Neil Lennon

[lyonhibs]

To be frank, this misty eyed prattle about the "Hibs way" was a bugbear of mine for years, simply because it was rarely reflected actually on the pitch and used as a bizarre superiority complex "comfort blanket" by some after another defeat from Hearts or whomever.

Only, in my lifetime, have Mowbray's, McCleish's and - before it all went Pete Tong, Collins' teams actually achieved it out on the pitch and they were all more than capable of getting their ***** handed to them from time to time.

We play some great stuff, actually quite often, under Lennon and if that passes under the radar of the more "poetically inclined" on this board/in the media then that's fine by me.

[Wakeyhibee]

my son txt "typical" to me after the game on Tuesday. I txt to say whilst the result wasn't what we wanted. You'd have to go back to Mowbray era, possibly McLeishs then the 70s, to compare the football played.

We've just replaced a full midfield. I'm amazed how entertaining we still are. Results will come given time.

[One_Sauzee]

The football we have been playing under Lennon has been fantastic to watch. The link up play with the forwards and the midfield at times is of as high standard as you'll see.

Thats great football coupled with winning theres not much more that can be asked for. With Lennon I fancy our chances against anyone and I mean anyone. Had we managed to get through and play Zenit I'd have backed us to get a result at Easter Road!!

[Hiber-nation]

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I've noticed that in the past few years this association with us playing passing, flowing, football has disappeared. .

Every time I tune into Radio Scotland after a Hibs win they are waxing lyrical about the passing, flowing football Hibs are playing.

[jacomo]

The 3-2 victory v Celtc at ER was a great example of good football.

We set up 4-4-2 with a game plan to outplay them. Fantastic stuff. It’s the difference between wanting the ball and just keeping the ball as far away from your own goal as possible.

[The Spaceman]

The style we play just now and for the past 2 years is up there with the Mowbray days for me - it is high quality and very entertaining. Difference now though is we are even more unpredictable, so never ever know what to expect out of a game/end up with some astonishing scorelines!

[jgl07]

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To be frank, this misty eyed prattle about the "Hibs way" was a bugbear of mine for years, simply because it was rarely reflected actually on the pitch and used as a bizarre superiority complex "comfort blanket" by some after another defeat from Hearts or whomever.

Only, in my lifetime, have Mowbray's, McCleish's and - before it all went Pete Tong, Collins' teams actually achieved it out on the pitch and they were all more than capable of getting their ***** handed to them from time to time.

We play some great stuff, actually quite often, under Lennon and if that passes under the radar of the more "poetically inclined" on this board/in the media then that's fine by me.

The Collins team started out ok largely because they carried out doing things the Mowbray Way. When Collins finally got the team to play the way he wanted them to, it all went wrong. I have spent too many years watching Hibs play under ‘pragmatic’ managers including Alex Miller, Jockie Scott, Bobby Williamson, Mixu, John Hughes, Calderwood and to some extent Fenlon. McLeish had a strand of pragmatism but did get results.

Mowbray and Stubbs did try and play things the right way and got some results. Lennon is a upgrade on McLeish and seems to be getting results with a fair degree of flair.

[wookie70]

I think the association was warranted under Stubbs but lost for the first year under Lennon. We were very direct and often poor to watch. However, the last year plus has saw us become fast, expansive and skilful and I love some of the stuff he has us playing now. I am nowhere near Lennon's biggest fan but I have to admit that we have been brilliantly entertained for over a year now and even in game like Tuesday no-one can complain about the way we play.

[jacomo]

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I think the association was warranted under Stubbs but lost for the first year under Lennon. We were very direct and often poor to watch. However, the last year plus has saw us become fast, expansive and skilful and I love some of the stuff he has us playing now. I am nowhere near Lennon's biggest fan but I have to admit that we have been brilliantly entertained for over a year now and even in game like Tuesday no-one can complain about the way we play.

Tbf we had Grant Holt and I think the brief was just to bludgeon our way out of the championship.

Last season saw real potential. Shame that midfield was broken up but that’s life. Lenny has signed some footballers who seem to be building a new understanding.

[ehf]

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I've noticed that in the past few years this association with us playing passing, flowing, football has disappeared. Is this because under Lennon we don't play that way in the technical sense? I'm no expert on tactical nous or styles of play by any means but as I see it Lennon's Hibs play with a lot more steel with the impetus to get the ball forward quickly and out wide. It isn't industrial defensive Allardyce/Pulis football but it isn't free-flowing Guardiola-esque stuff either, or what we used to play under Mowbray - I guess the best comparison would be Klopp's Liverpool?

To be honest - and I don't say this lightly - I'm not that bothered we've lost that association. The only "good footballing" Hibs teams I remember were the ones we had under Mowbray and Collins who would far too often beat St Mirren or equivelant 6-0 one week and barely lay a scratch on Hearts/Aberdeen the next. Lennon's team is the first I've seen that will give any team a challenge, and if necessary win the physical game in the middle of the park. Give me winning football (and not boring football disguised as winning football ala Calderwood/Fenlon) over "good" football any day.

Really

[Stevie Reid]

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The Collins team started out ok largely because they carried out doing things the Mowbray Way. When Collins finally got the team to play the way he wanted them to, it all went wrong. I have spent too many years watching Hibs play under ‘pragmatic’ managers including Alex Miller, Jockie Scott, Bobby Williamson, Mixu, John Hughes, Calderwood and to some extent Fenlon. McLeish had a strand of pragmatism but did get results.

Mowbray and Stubbs did try and play things the right way and got some results. Lennon is a upgrade on McLeish and seems to be getting results with a fair degree of flair.

I don't think you can call Yogi a pragmatist. His time was split into two halves : first, the period up until the end of January 2010 when we were playing well, scoring goals, hardly conceding any, were 3rd in the league (two points behind Celtic) and had 42 points from 22 games; 1.9 points per game, on track for 72 points over the season.

From that point on it started to fall apart - from our remaining 16 games we won only three times, drew three, and lost 10, including a losing runs of three and six games. We also lost 36 goals in those 16 games. In the first part the league record was P 22 W 12 D 6 L 4 - the last 23 games he was in charge of saw P 23 W 4 D 5 L 14; on track for 28 points a season.

Yogi's team at its best was spirited, defensively solid, full of attacking threats and pretty free scoring. At its worst it was mentally weak, easily dominated physically, and the most vulnerable I've seen a Hibs team looking (Motherwell scored six against us, St. Johnstone put five past us, Dundee Utd and Hamilton four). It was genuine relegation form at the end after an amazing start.

I read an interview with Ian Murray about that season where he said that simply teams worked out how to play against us and we couldn't adapt - that would seem to be accurate as we were exactly two rounds of fixtures in when the wheels came off. Yogi was anything but a pragmatist.