Mathie

[Hiber-nation]

Jack Ross and the players are rightly taking a lot of flak and I see there's a thread on Ron Gordon now - but I wonder how much of a part Mathie as Sporting Director is playing in this shambles.

[bingo70]

For me, there’s not a huge amount wrong at the club, we’re bringing through young players, the manager is backed and we’re spending money that other clubs aren’t.

Sorry to take it back to the manager but I just think our problems are with Jack Ross. We’re a well run club but just mind numbingly boring team on the park, that’s just down to the manager, nobody else behind the scenes is involved in how we play.

[Jones28]

The Ron Gordon thread is a car crash attempt at trolling, or it’s desperate attention seeking.

This flailing out at everyone around the club is doing no one any favours. The way I see it is the team is at a seriously low ebb, lacking in confidence which sees us miss chances. We went on pretty much the worst possible run of form in the build up to this game. It’s maybe Tim to get a sports psychologist in and try to rebuild the confidence of the players. They have the ability to play well, we’ve all seen that in parts this season, they need to get back in to the groove.

[Zambernardi1875]

We had a sports psychologist last winter I’m sure. It made no difference

[Pretty Boy]

I think Mathie has sourced some pretty good players. Both for Jack Ross and previous managers/head coaches. There have been the obvious flops of course but no one in such a position has a 100% strike rate.

You have to remember he is working to instruction to some extent, both as head of recruitment and in his new role. The team behind the scenes is there to find a type of player the manager wants, not to thrust players upon them. If they had been asked to find us a commanding CB they would have done so (they found us Jackson last year who is a big miss imo), same goes for another striker.

I said last night that when results like last night happen there has to be resistance to the temptation to throw the baby out with the bath water. The structure in place at Hibs is good and it's consistent with what a lot of successful teams at various levels of the game do. Arguably we haven't really had a head coach that fits that structure since Stubbs (that's not a call to bring him back BTW).

Looking at the squad we have assembled I'd ask does the head coach have the tools to do better than a 3-0 defeat to St Johnstone in a semi final and the answer in my mind is undoubtedly yes. Last night falls at the door of the players and their gaffer.

[Peevemor]

Nearly every signing we've made since Mathie took over has been welcomed by the fans. The likes of Wright hasn't really worked (yet?) and SMcGinn gets criticised but I reckon he's doing what he was brought in for.

I don't think the manager still has the final say on who we sign and although we seem to be signing loads of midfielders while possibly ignoring other areas, there's no doubt that it's our weakest area since SJM & McGeouch moved on.

[hibbysam]

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Nearly every signing we've made since Mathie took over has been welcomed by the fans. The likes of Wright hasn't really worked (yet?) and SMcGinn gets criticised but I reckon he's doing what he was brought in for.

I don't think the manager still has the final say on who we sign and although we seem to be signing loads of midfielders while possibly ignoring other areas, there's no doubt that it's our weakest area since SJM & McGeouch moved on.

I don’t think Mathie’s role is just about signings now though. He’s the sporting director, so presumably is tasked with overseeing the whole of the football operation. Signings are fine but unbalanced, but I’d expect he should be implementing his ideas, for example asking why we don’t have centre half backup, why we only have 2 recognised strikers, why we don’t have a left midfielder if we play with a 4. I don’t think he has the experience or the authority to question Ross. Although that’s just me looking from the outside.

[Hiber-nation]

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I don’t think Mathie’s role is just about signings now though. He’s the sporting director, so presumably is tasked with overseeing the whole of the football operation. Signings are fine but unbalanced, but I’d expect he should be implementing his ideas, for example asking why we don’t have centre half backup, why we only have 2 recognised strikers, why we don’t have a left midfielder if we play with a 4. I don’t think he has the experience or the authority to question Ross. Although that’s just me looking from the outside.

I think that's where I'm at Sam, not 100% sure though so I thought it would be an idea to get opinions.

[Peevemor]

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I don’t think Mathie’s role is just about signings now though. He’s the sporting director, so presumably is tasked with overseeing the whole of the football operation. Signings are fine but unbalanced, but I’d expect he should be implementing his ideas, for example asking why we don’t have centre half backup, why we only have 2 recognised strikers, why we don’t have a left midfielder if we play with a 4. I don’t think he has the experience or the authority to question Ross. Although that’s just me looking from the outside.

That could be a factor, but regardless of whoever the DoF (or whatever the title) is, the manager will always have the final say on 1st team signings.

Mathie could well be pointing out our problems at CH (Ross will know anyway) but if Ross insists on fixing the midfield then Mathie probably has to go along with it.

But like most of us, I'm guessing.

[Smartie]

The signings have been good on paper but tend to share the same strengths and weaknesses.

We’re short of pace and we’re short of a certain X factor - character, gallusness or whatever. We’re dull, slow, plodding and a bit weak.

I also can’t believe how many players we have who are recovering injury wrecks - players who look like they might never reach previous physical heights. Irvine hasn’t played much for a year, Magennis doesn’t look up to much physically, Boyle looks like he’s lost his pace, Wright looks like a speed merchant who lost his pace and was left with very little, Allan looked a yard slower even prior to his most recent injury, McGregor and Gray have age catching up with them, Stevenson is picking up injuries for the first time in his career, Mallan missed a big chunk of last season and has been stop start since, Mackie still out, Murphy is in and out with injury....


What a list that is.

Questions need to be asked tbh. Some of these players might come good, some of these issues are to be expected. But it does seem to be a bit of a trend that we are recruiting high enough reputation players who we can’t get in decent enough physical shape to make the regular contribution we need them to.

In paper the recruitment looks good and it appears that Mathis / Ross have been backed but scratching the surface a bit, I’m starting to have a few concerns.

[MWHIBBIES]

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We had a sports psychologist last winter I’m sure. It made no difference

How do you know that?

[Pretty Boy]

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How do you know that?

Probably because at least 3 players mentioned it in interviews at the time.

John Marchant was the sports psychologists name.

[MWHIBBIES]

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Probably because at least 3 players mentioned it in interviews at the time.

John Marchant was the sports psychologists name.

Na, I meant how does he know it made no difference. Should've specified.

[hibsbollah]

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We had a sports psychologist last winter I’m sure. It made no difference

I think it always makes a massive difference. There’s lots of evidence to show you can’t succeed in support without positive visualisation, and most people can’t do that without being taught.

[green with envy]

The signings may be good on paper but why did we sign another 2 midfielder's when it's clear that we need another CB & CF I believe we now have 10 midfield players that have started this season. The mind boggles.

[Bobby's Cinema]

Said this numerous times - our transfer policy is as clear to me as it has ever been.
Signing up a conveyor belt of young scottish talent with experience of the leagues who have a potentially greater sell-on value.

I really don't think our transfer policy is the issue. I am 100% behind it - and I believe continuing down this road we will see the benefits of this.

[J-C]

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I don’t think Mathie’s role is just about signings now though. He’s the sporting director, so presumably is tasked with overseeing the whole of the football operation. Signings are fine but unbalanced, but I’d expect he should be implementing his ideas, for example asking why we don’t have centre half backup, why we only have 2 recognised strikers, why we don’t have a left midfielder if we play with a 4. I don’t think he has the experience or the authority to question Ross. Although that’s just me looking from the outside.

He's doing the job George Craig did but not as well, Craig was the man that sat down with the manager, went over all the players available and then he and Leeann brought them to HTC and sold the club to them, I still think Craig had a good eye for a player too. Mathie seems to me like a laptop scout who's found himself lucky to be where he is, he's nothing more than a scout, Craig's enthusiasm for the job won many players over and got them to sign.

[Allez Hibs]

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Said this numerous times - our transfer policy is as clear to me as it has ever been.
Signing up a conveyor belt of young scottish talent with experience of the leagues who have a potentially greater sell-on value.

I really don't think our transfer policy is the issue. I am 100% behind it - and I believe continuing down this road we will see the benefits of this.

They appear hell bent on trying to find the next John McGinn.

[Smartie]

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The signings may be good on paper but why did we sign another 2 midfielder's when it's clear that we need another CB & CF I believe we now have 10 midfield players that have started this season. The mind boggles.

The midfield still looked to be the main problem to me and Irvine has been an improvement on what we already had.

I do think there’s a decent central midfield to be made out of what we’ve now got and the issues at CH and CF are now more obvious.

I’m actually questioning the wide players too tbh. Boyle and Murphy aren’t providing enough and aren’t a neat fit with our striker(s).

Lots of players, a few pretty decent ones, but struggling to get a decent team out of them.

[Callum_62]

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The signings may be good on paper but why did we sign another 2 midfielder's when it's clear that we need another CB & CF I believe we now have 10 midfield players that have started this season. The mind boggles.

Because the MF we signed will probably be our best player

No reason to think we won't potentially get a CF before end of the window

If we don't, I still wouldnt really critisize the clubs transfer policy this season

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[The Harp Awakes]

Have to say there are definitely some questions to answer on recruitment. On paper I agree the majority of our recent signings look decent.

One question is the fitness level of some of them. It looks like Magennis and Murphy are struggling to play 2 or 3 games without picking up an injury, never mind a season. Irvine and Cadden are clearly rusty from lack of games, although they have a good pedigree and I think they will improve us given time. Gogic and Wright look a level below what we we need though and Stephen McGinn looks to have been signed as a stop gap.

Central defence remains an issue. Ross clearly doesn't want to play McGregor for whatever reason and this means there is no pressure on Hanlon and Porteous to keep their places. Fine when they were playing well at the start of the season, but now they're both struggling.

The biggest issue for me in the squad though is lack of mental toughness and strength of character. Although that's not just a recruitment issue, if we'd have signed a couple of strong personalities in key positions with fight and a will to win, that could have transformed the dressing room. I don't think we've signed that type of player and those that have come in have been afflicted with the same disease Hibs have carried for as long as I can remember.

So although I don't think recruitment has been a disaster, there's lots of room for improvement.

[Zambernardi1875]

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How do you know that?

Well the results on the park didn’t improve

[Zambernardi1875]

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I think it always makes a massive difference. There’s lots of evidence to show you can’t succeed in support without positive visualisation, and most people can’t do that without being taught.

Massive difference how? Maybe the players got a full dose of self esteem but it made no difference to performance or results.

[hibsbollah]

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Massive difference how? Maybe the players got a full dose of self esteem but it made no difference to performance or results.

I feel like I’m stating the obvious when I say that you can’t know how results would have gone in a parallel universe season without sports psychology so trying to find actual proof by looking at results is pointless It’s proven to work by countless sports science studies.

[CropleyWasGod]

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Well the results on the park didn’t improve

How would they have been without that help?

[Zambernardi1875]

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How would they have been without that help?

Well the results didn’t improve 😂

[CropleyWasGod]

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Well the results didn’t improve 😂

Doesn't answer the question, though.

As Hibsbollah said, it's impossible to make a judgement.

[Zambernardi1875]

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I feel like I’m stating the obvious when I say that you can’t know how results would have gone in a parallel universe season without sports psychology so trying to find actual proof by looking at results is pointless It’s proven to work by countless sports science studies.

The boy said we should bring in a sports physiologist, I pointed out we’ve already tried that under Jack Ross and it didn’t work, going by the results. Simple really

[Zambernardi1875]

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Doesn't answer the question, though.

As Hibsbollah said, it's impossible to make a judgement.

So educate me on how bringing one in worked?

[WhileTheChief..]

How can something be proven to work and unmeasurable at the same time?!