This is how it feels (Killie 01122018)

[Jonnyboy]

I’ve no idea where to start with what I’ve just witnessed. That was diabolical but no real surprise given our starting eleven. What Neil was thinking is a complete mystery and even seemed to baffle his players who looked all at sea in the first half especially.

When I heard the team selection I was naive enough to think that Neil would have been working on that set up during the days before the game. If he was it certainly didn’t show.

Three at the back, with Whittaker and Nelom out wide and Boyle up top with Flo left a midfield three of Milligan, Ambrose and Mallan. The last named was further forward which many had shouted for. Efe was in midfield which many had shouted for. Neither of these changes worked as Efe was like a fish out of water in the first half and Mallan was ineffective throughout.

I’ve concentrated on the players here and make no mistake they share the blame for the outcome but the largest part of the blame lies fairly and squarely at the manager’s door. What on earth possessed him to start with six or seven if you include Milligan, defenders on the park? Was it designed for us not to lose? If so it took only six minutes for that plan to be blown out of the water when Hanlon made a shocking decision not to boot the ball out for a corner, allowing Stewart to pass to the unmarked Brophy who calmly slotted the ball under the advancing Bogdan. That rocked Hibs and Killie continued to make good progress down their left where Whittaker was bailed out by McGregor on more than one occasion.

Hibs were offering nothing in attack where Flo and Boyler seemed hell bent on keeping a huge gap between them, allowing Killie to hoover up any passes through the middle. It was clear to me at that time that the set up wasn’t working and I was disappointed that the manager didn’t change the shape. We paid the penalty, literally, when Daz upended Jones in the box. A few around me screamed ‘cheat’ given Jones’ recent reputation but it was a definite penalty in my view and Brophy struck the ball down the middle as Bogdan dived to his right.

A rare foray forward resulted in Boyler blasting a shot over at the angle of the bar and post but in truth, half time could not come quick enough for a rightly disgruntled travelling support.

Half time substitutions resulted in McGregor and Whittaker departing, to be replaced by Shaw and Horgan. This led to a change in shape with Efe going to the right of a back four with Boyle the wide right of a four and Shaw joining Kamberi up front. The shape looked much better and Hibs dug out some confidence from somewhere and made more attempts to get forward. A turn and shot from Horgan was easily saved by the Killie keeper.

Suddenly the stadium was plunged into darkness as the floodlights failed and after hanging about on the park for a while, referee Craig Thomson took the players off the pitch. Many around me hoped they wouldn’t be fixed but they eventually came back on and Hibs started to enjoy more possession but that was mainly because Killie seemed content to sit off us.

Hibs huffed and puffed and Shaw might have done better with a header that he steered wide of the post while Horgan raced through the middle and with a guy in front of me screaming ‘go on your own’ the resulting wayward shot brought a comment from the same guy along the lines of ‘you’re a greedy B Horgan.’

Thirty minutes after the lights failed, they failed again and once more the players trooped off the pitch. I thought the ref should abandon the game at that point but had Hibs been 2-0 up, that thought would never have entered my mind. With the final whistle approaching, Stewart broke free and drew Bogdan towards him before slotting home a third for Killie.

The players

Adam – Not, in my view, at fault for any of the goals and otherwise didn’t seem to have a lot to do.

Daz – The big fella got Whitty out of trouble a few times but his aimless punts forward and his stupidity at conceding the penalty saw him replaced at half time.

Ryan – With two very senior pro’s alongside him it didn’t stop Ryan being the pick of the bunch in the back three. Sometimes drawn out of position but he’s a no nonsense defender and I like that about him.

Paul – Last week he was very poor and today he was far from his best. The failure to clear his lines for the first goal was not his only error today. It’s ironic that after all the years he’s been at Hibs the fans finally made up a song about him.

Whitty – Clearly the target for Bogdan’s bye kicks but if the ball wasn’t going towards him nobody made an effort to compete in his place. Targeted by Killie, it’s perhaps as well he went off at half time.

Efe – Looked like a fish out of water in the first half and was miles better when put on the right of a back four. On a day when no one player stood out in a positive way I’m giving him my man of the match for his second half display alone.

Mark – When he first arrived, I thought ‘we’ve got a cracking player here’ but in these last few games his lack of pace has let him down repeatedly as well as his seeming reluctance to tackle.

Stevie – Playing him further forward failed miserably and that might be his fault or it might be the fault of the way the team was set up. Either way, much improvement needed.

Nelom – This is another player who many fans wanted to see given a chance in replacing Lewis in the starting eleven but for my money he was poor both defensively and going forward and though Lewis gets pelters from some, he’s miles better than Nelom on that showing.

Boyler – I thought Martin was very, very poor today as he has been for a few games now. Yes he’s played out of position at times, like in today’s first half, but he was out wide in the second and contributed next to nothing.

Flo – I’m getting tired of the ‘carrying an injury’ excuse as even if he is he’s clearly fit enough to play and today, like various matches recently, he contributed the square root of nothing.

Daryl – Once again he tried very hard to drive us forward but his decision making was poor today. He did however do something that the vast majority of our players failed to do in getting a shot on target.

Oli – The youngster should have scored with his back post header but other than a few nice touches he didn’t contribute a great deal.

Lewis – Brought on to replace Milligan with five minutes to go and looked as though he could have done better for their third goal but given there was no-one behind him to offer cover it was a dangerous ploy to leave only one player back.

Jamie – You’re probably wondering why I’ve listed him because he didn’t get on. Well, as my brother pointed out, he didn’t warm up at any point during the game and was not on the park at the half time break. Makes you wonder why he was there?

Lenny – I’m sorry Neil but that set up was awful and you must take the blame for that. Yes, a number of players didn’t do their jobs but in truth it looked at times as if they weren’t sure what their job was.

The ref – During the entire second half, Killie players blatantly time wasted and Thomson kept pointing at his watch to let them know he knew what they were up to. Why then was a measly two minutes added when three substitutions were made? It’s meant to be thirty seconds for a sub change which suggests Thomson felt Killie time wasted the grand total of thirty seconds.

The fans – Great numbers as always and the singing section guys were excellent in their backing of the team but I’d like one of them to come on here and justify their claim that they’re not involved in the singing of the ‘new’ Wallace Mercer song when the drummer was giving it laldy every time it was sung.

[Jones28]

Thanks Johnny, sounds dire.

[BoomtownHibees]

MacLaren warmed up in the first half but other than that you’re spot on

[Sir David Gray]

Maclaren definitely did warm up during the first half. I also thought Nelom was decent in the second half. Can't really judge him on the first half performance as it was a total waste of time.

[MWHIBBIES]

Hanlon was soft for the first but other defenders were totally missing. Cutbacks and crosses will get in. For no one to be there to defend was shocking.

McGregor piss poor giving away a penalty. Diving in like he normally does.

[Shrekko]

I’ve been a massive critic of Kamberi recently but thought he gave a much improved performance and actually battled manfully which is exactly what I’m looking for from him. Service and back-up from that ‘midfield’ was absolutely abysmal.

We’ve got old and slow very quickly!

[Brooster]

Why is Hanlon not putting tackles in or winning high balls? Opposing strikers must be rubbing their hands when they line up against him knowing Hanlon won't lay a finger on them. Time for a lot of players to toughen up, we are an easy touch.

[Hi Heid Yin]

Thanks for another insightful write up Jonnyboy.
It sounded abysmal - which is what I concluded listening to the 2nd half on the radio.
Well done for making the effort...again!

[Crab apple]

Good report J. Efe was the only one who showed a bit of quality today. Bogdan shouldn't be blamed for the goals. The rest of the team were poor. We badly need more creativity and leadership. A big target man and Scott Allan would greatly improve things imho. And we knew that was this was needed before the start of the season.

[Hermit Crab]

I thought Nelom was excellent in the second half after a nightmarish first half and showed a bit of class at times. I think LS may have competition for his place on Wednesday, imo of course.

[ronaldo7]

Why of why does Neil want to experiment against a team who can go second in the league. Let's experiment against Hamilton or Dundee, or did we do that last week.

Poor show in all departments.

[wookie70]

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I’ve been a massive critic of Kamberi recently but thought he gave a much improved performance and actually battled manfully which is exactly what I’m looking for from him. Service and back-up from that ‘midfield’ was absolutely abysmal.

We’ve got old and slow very quickly!

I'm the same. I thought Flo had his best game for quite a while. He still never done much positive but there was more effort and a couple of nice pieces of play

[Hiber-nation]

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I'm the same. I thought Flo had his best game for quite a while. He still never done much positive but there was more effort and a couple of nice pieces of play

Opinions. I thought he was shocking, even worse than last week.

[Wheat Hound]

Whittaker looked latterly like he had given up even trying. The decision to give him a 3 year deal appears more ridiculous by the week.

[Crab apple]

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Why is Hanlon not putting tackles in or winning high balls? Opposing strikers must be rubbing their hands when they line up against him knowing Hanlon won't lay a finger on them. Time for a lot of players to toughen up, we are an easy touch.

Things went downhill after Hanlon's mistake led to their goal. Two weeks in a row he's been at fault. The whole team were soft today and lacking leadership.

[BoomtownHibees]

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Opinions. I thought he was shocking, even worse than last week.

I’m with u. Thought he was poor in quality and application. Injury or not I thought he was very poor

[wookie70]

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Opinions. I thought he was shocking, even worse than last week.

He was still shocking but I thought he put a shift in and had a couple of good touches. I don't think he has put a shift in for a month and he isn't alone in that

[Baldy Foghorn]

Didn't like Milligan giving up in 1st half, when skinned 3 times, he just stopped.

A couple look to have lost their legs now, which is concerning, however, we were really all at sea in that first half, marginally better in second, but not acceptable from senior players

[MWHIBBIES]

Mental to question Kamberis effort. Worked his arse off with terrible service. Only player we've got right now.

[Hiber-nation]

Today was the first time since May 2014 that I turned up expecting Hibs to lose.

[Baldy Foghorn]

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Mental to question Kamberis effort. Worked his arse off with terrible service. Only player we've got right now.

And Efe too....Real shining light in dark spell

[Hi Heid Yin]

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Whittaker looked latterly like he had given up even trying. The decision to give him a 3 year deal appears more ridiculous by the week.

I could not agree more

[MWHIBBIES]

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And Efe too....Real shining light in dark spell

Agreed mate, thought he was solid 2nd half today and Vs Dundee. Unfair to judge based on first half today.

Was about to come find you to get a seat on the bus for the replay until lights came back on

[Baldy Foghorn]

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Agreed mate, thought he was solid 2nd half today and Vs Dundee. Unfair to judge based on first half today.

Was about to come find you to get a seat on the bus for the replay until lights came back on

You would have struggled finding me in the dark

[B.H.F.C]

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Mental to question Kamberis effort. Worked his arse off with terrible service. Only player we've got right now.

Don’t think it’s mental. He was appalling in that regard. Not alone. Do you really think he came of the park having given his all?

I’m not sure a single player could claim that they did.

[B.H.F.C]

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Didn't like Milligan giving up in 1st half, when skinned 3 times, he just stopped.

A couple look to have lost their legs now, which is concerning, however, we were really all at sea in that first half, marginally better in second, but not acceptable from senior players

The instance you mention with Milligan tells it’s own story.

We’re in a bad place just now and our most experienced player was like that.

What the hell has happened to him? So influential to playing like that.

[PeeJay]

Spot on summary of the game JC - Killies looked like a team with pace, willingness to try things, guys enjoying the game, the moment and being a team - we look like a bunch of strangers who would rather be elsewhere ...

[Fifehibby74]

I'm not a happy clapper by any means (just ask the boys who sit beside me) but I was looking at our results from the start of last season and they are not to different from this season. See points below.

First quarter 19 second 15. Total to break 34. We are on target for that again.

I think our performance after the last January transfer window was fantastic and that's what we are comparing things to now (although I agree we need to get a win from somewhere starting on Wednesday night) I'm definitely going to cheer tge team on on Wednesday night and we can get our season back on track.

Getting Scott Allan back in as a must for me.


2017. 2018
Team. Points. Total. Team. Point. Total
Partick. 3. 3. 6. Livi. 0. To play. 0
Rangers. 3. 0. 3. To play. 0
Hamilton 0. 1. 1. 3. To play. 3
Dundee. 1. 3. 4. 3. 1. 4
Moth. 1. 3. 4. 3. To play. 3
Ross. 3. 3. 6. St Mir. 3. To play 3
Aber. 0. 0. 0. 1. 0. 1
Hearts. 3. 1. 4. 1. To play. 1
Killie. 3. 1. 4. 3. 0. 3
St. John. 1. 0. 1. 1. 0. 1.
Celtic. 1. 0. 1. 0. To play. 0
19. 15. 34.

[MWHIBBIES]

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Don’t think it’s mental. He was appalling in that regard. Not alone. Do you really think he came of the park having given his all?

I’m not sure a single player could claim that they did.

Maybe not but he worked hard and done the best with dreadful service. Thought he looked up for it even at 2-0. Others sadly didn't.

[BILLYHIBS]

What about the catering?