Joe Newell

[Smartie]

Newell needs a big performance against a decent team to prove a few of us wrong. Decent opportunity for him next week then.

It’s a tough one to know how to approach with what/ who we’ve got. Rangers have been a bit like kryptonite to us in recent years - their strengths have horribly exposed our weaknesses. They’re strong and very mobile from middle to front where we’ve been slow and weak - pre-Gogic. He’ll be in his element and had some really strong performances against them for Hamilton. I’m still convinced they’re vulnerable at the back, so it’s a tricky balance between countering their attacking threat with focussing on carrying a threat of your own.

I’m tempted by the idea of 352, all the usual suspects then a middle 3 of Gogic, Newell and Allan. The 2 strikers, Allan, Newell and Boyle carry a very decent threat and I always want to see Hibs attack. Does it have enough defensively though, do we just get bullied and overrun in the middle?

[hibbysam]

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

Newell needs a big performance against a decent team to prove a few of us wrong. Decent opportunity for him next week then.

It’s a tough one to know how to approach with what/ who we’ve got. Rangers have been a bit like kryptonite to us in recent years - their strengths have horribly exposed our weaknesses. They’re strong and very mobile from middle to front where we’ve been slow and weak - pre-Gogic. He’ll be in his element and had some really strong performances against them for Hamilton. I’m still convinced they’re vulnerable at the back, so it’s a tricky balance between countering their attacking threat with focussing on carrying a threat of your own.

I’m tempted by the idea of 352, all the usual suspects then a middle 3 of Gogic, Newell and Allan. The 2 strikers, Allan, Newell and Boyle carry a very decent threat and I always want to see Hibs attack. Does it have enough defensively though, do we just get bullied and overrun in the middle?

A team who hasn’t conceded a goal in 7 games this season ‘vulnerable’ at the back...

[Andy74]

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

A team who hasn’t conceded a goal in 7 games this season ‘vulnerable’ at the back...

Yes it is a bit of a thankless task if playing a Rangers team that hasn’t lost a goal in 7 games as his chance to prove anything.

[The Modfather]

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

Yes it is a bit of a thankless task if playing a Rangers team that hasn’t lost a goal in 7 games as his chance to prove anything.

It’s not a free hot either though for Newell just because it’s against an in form Rangers. Win, lose or draw there’s no reason he can’t or shouldn’t follow up a good performance with another to show it’s not just the pooorer teams he can flourish against.

[Northernhibee]

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

Newell needs a big performance against a decent team to prove a few of us wrong. Decent opportunity for him next week then.

It’s a tough one to know how to approach with what/ who we’ve got. Rangers have been a bit like kryptonite to us in recent years - their strengths have horribly exposed our weaknesses. They’re strong and very mobile from middle to front where we’ve been slow and weak - pre-Gogic. He’ll be in his element and had some really strong performances against them for Hamilton. I’m still convinced they’re vulnerable at the back, so it’s a tricky balance between countering their attacking threat with focussing on carrying a threat of your own.

I’m tempted by the idea of 352, all the usual suspects then a middle 3 of Gogic, Newell and Allan. The 2 strikers, Allan, Newell and Boyle carry a very decent threat and I always want to see Hibs attack. Does it have enough defensively though, do we just get bullied and overrun in the middle?

Wouldn’t have Allan anywhere near the first 11 just now, our best performances have been without him.

[Smartie]

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

A team who hasn’t conceded a goal in 7 games this season ‘vulnerable’ at the back...

Who have they played of any substance? And who has tried to have a go at them? It’s all been weaker teams they’ve played, everyone has tried to defend against them, with varying levels of success.

Just my opinion but I think they’re excellent in midfield, out wide and up front. I think they might be vulnerable if teams had the desire or ability to find out - and we’ve got 4 or 5 players with that required ability.

[Smartie]

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

Wouldn’t have Allan anywhere near the first 11 just now, our best performances have been without him.

They have, but this is a different sort of game.

I’m not totally convinced by him at the moment but neither am I convinced by our alternatives.

[Smartie]

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

Yes it is a bit of a thankless task if playing a Rangers team that hasn’t lost a goal in 7 games as his chance to prove anything.

It’s an outstanding opportunity to prove you’re good enough to achieve something that the previous 7 teams couldn’t, and I hope the players are well up for it.

Ultimately consistent results like yesterday’s will shape our season but I’d hope Newell can be a bit more arsed about turning up than it appears some of our fans are.

[Clarence]

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

It’s not a free hot either though for Newell just because it’s against an in form Rangers. Win, lose or draw there’s no reason he can’t or shouldn’t follow up a good performance with another to show it’s not just the pooorer teams he can flourish against.

Ken. Hate it when people talk about it being a free hit against the old firm. Players might draw confidence / lose confidence depending on their performance against the old firm, which will affect future performances. Of course games against the old firm matter.

[Winston Ingram]

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

He looks amazing against really bad midfields but up against a combative midfield he wilts.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think they played 442 which helped

[Northernhibee]

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

They have, but this is a different sort of game.

I’m not totally convinced by him at the moment but neither am I convinced by our alternatives.

The issue is that when we have the ball we need to do something with it and so far this season Allan has looked incapable with consistently finding teammates with a pass.

[hibbysam]

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

It’s an outstanding opportunity to prove you’re good enough to achieve something that the previous 7 teams couldn’t, and I hope the players are well up for it.

Ultimately consistent results like yesterday’s will shape our season but I’d hope Newell can be a bit more arsed about turning up than it appears some of our fans are.

It would be an achievement to score and get a result against them. They aren’t weak or vulnerable in defence, they’ve got a quality goalkeeper and very good centre halves. They don’t have to defend much because they are much stronger than everyone else. We will be setting up not to lose, be solid and with a counter attacking threat, there’s no other way to play them. Thankfully we have the players to play like that, but it’ll mean Newell will be back to his deeper role beside Gogic and the majority of the game will be played without the ball. Gone are the days where we are arguably as good or better than them toe to toe.

[Andy74]

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

It’s not a free hot either though for Newell just because it’s against an in form Rangers. Win, lose or draw there’s no reason he can’t or shouldn’t follow up a good performance with another to show it’s not just the pooorer teams he can flourish against.

My point was that some are looking at a game v Rangers for him to somehow prove he has what it takes. We wouldn’t be the first team this year to struggle against them and those that are going to be judging Newell on it will have a nice easy opportunity to tell us all that he’s actually not very good after all.

[HendoDelivered]

New contract please.

[LeithMike]

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

In those games that you think he's been very poor, how did the rest of the team play?

I think that we all agree that the whole team hasn't been performing that well in a creative sense. Is that Newell's fault, when it's a team game.

It was interesting that last night I watched the highlights of the Hibs 4 - Aberdeen 1 SC Replay from 2007 and thought "we don't have someone like Scott Brown, who takes control of the midfield and drives us forward against the good teams". Let's be honest, we've not had many players like that over the years since.

Then I reflected that Brown was playing alongside Thomson, Stewart and Boozy in midfield. He had Sproule and Fletcher ahead of him and Benji when he came on at half-time. He had Murphy and Whittaker at full back and the reliable central defence of Jones and Hogg. The rest of the team allowed him to play the way he did.

It's a team game. Newell played well when the team was dominant. He's played poorly when the team is playing poorly. If he was reliably able to single-handily drag Hibs from playing poorly to getting a result, he probably won't be at Hibs much longer.

Scott Brown didnt just play well when the team played well. I remember the two Scottish Cup semi finals against Dunfermline when as a team we were awful but he was single handedly driving us forward. Same with McGinn - in games when we were getting overrun there were times when he'd single handedly drag us back into the game.

Things aren't always going to go your way in football. Hibs also need players in the middle who can dig in and turn things round.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

[The Modfather]

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

My point was that some are looking at a game v Rangers for him to somehow prove he has what it takes. We wouldn’t be the first team this year to struggle against them and those that are going to be judging Newell on it will have a nice easy opportunity to tell us all that he’s actually not very good after all.

He shouldn’t be judged on the Rangers game in isolation, but he definitely should be judged upon it. He, and the whole midfield in particular, have performed well against the poorer teams (like St Mirren) but been a distant second best against the better teams like Motherwell & Aberdeen. Result aside, Newell (as this thread is about him but all our midfielders) have to start being competitive against the better sides or they need replaced in the first team with new signings IMO.

[The 90+2]

He seems a very confidence based player. He scored earlier his head was up and he was terrific.

[hibbysam]

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

Scott Brown didnt just play well when the team played well. I remember the two Scottish Cup semi finals against Dunfermline when as a team we were awful but he was single handedly driving us forward. Same with McGinn - in games when we were getting overrun there were times when he'd single handedly drag us back into the game.

Things aren't always going to go your way in football. Hibs also need players in the middle who can dig in and turn things round.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

They’re totally different players though. Would be a bit like expecting Martin Boyle to fly into a tackle to get the crowd going. Newell is a tidy player who does everything simply and keeps us ticking. Brown and McGinn were all action, full of energy, running about the park like men possessed.

[theonlywayisup]

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

He looks amazing against really bad midfields but up against a combative midfield he wilts.

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

Newell needs a big performance against a decent team to prove a few of us wrong. Decent opportunity for him next week then.

Thoughts one week on! I'm going to be honest, I expected him and the team to struggle yesterday, but was pleasantly surprised by the performance and the team effort.

Joe Newell is a key player in our team and I'm happy he's playing for Hibernian FC.

[Bronson]

Newell was excellent yesterday, did the defensive side well beside gogic but really looks after the ball when he has it which I love. Never looks flustered

[Brightside]

He's a very good player. Delighted we are trying hard to get him to extend his stay.

[Percy Vere]

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

He's a very good player. Delighted we are trying hard to get him to extend his stay.

Definitely seeing the Joe Newell of last season.
He looks comfortable and confident.
Excited to see how he kicks on this season.