Hibs v Aberdeen

[sheepcrooky]

Just back. Frustrating. Got lucky with our goal at a perfect time. Second half just defending. The game was crying out for Bruce Anderson coming on and pressing them at the back. Strange subs, Gleeson was doing okay as was Ball at right back. Sometimes our manager over thinks things. Today was a perfect example of that.

[Aldo1983]

We lost control with a poor substitution.
Gleeson going off was a poor decision (unless he was injured).

Or just pretty pish.

[sheepcrooky]

Or just pretty pish.

Gleeson was good today. He must have been injured.

[rico94]

This site is pure comedy at the moment.

Apart from Lewis,Ferguson,McKenna and Devlin every player is shyte but we should be taking 3 points off every team in the league.

Again most of the squad is shyte but it’s the managers tactics that is holding us back.

The summer signings are deemed as being shyte after minutes on the pitch yet players who have been here for a long time and have never covered themselves in glory are given a pass by some.

[Red Zone]

Gleeson was good today. He must have been injured.

I don't think so. I think he wanted to go to a 4231 at that point so he had to take off either Gleeson, Ball or Ferguson (assuming he wasn't taking off Shinnie) and given all 3 were playing reasonably well Gleeson was just the unlucky one to miss out

[Shetland Don]

Here's my take on what I think I saw formation wise today in response to this and a few other posts

We started 3 at the back (Considine/Devlin/Horgan) with GMS right wing back and Shinnie left wing back.

When Logan came on we moved to a back 4 with Logan RB and Considine LB.

When it became apparent that Considine was struggling with Boyle's pace (as to be fair most full backs will) we went back to a back 3 and moved Logan to left wing back and GMS to right wing back

Now my thoughts on these formations and other random thoughts

I have never ever ever seen us play 3 at the back well. We just can't do it so what possessed McInnes to think it was a good idea when we had a perfectly good RB back from suspension goodness only knows

GMS was a little boy lost today, through no fault of his own. He simply doesn't have the focus and concentration to play the defensive part of wing back (as we unfortunately saw with the goal). How many times were we caught short on our right hand side when Hibs had one or two spare players? Plus it also stunts his attacking as he is typically coming from too deep. He is a winger pure and simple and should only be played as such.

Devlin continues to impress, a very good signing, likewise Ferguson.

We badly need a "no 10" as our midfielders on the park today of Ball/Ferguson/Shinnie/Gleeson are all fairly defensive minded, we really need someone that can open up a defense like a Madison or Christie (when he played well). Wright has played really well in that position recently but we can't rely on him the whole season

Ball played all game in midfield, definitely was never right back today. I thought he did well and midfield is definitely his best position

As others have said we gave 2 points away today by going ultra defensive in the second half. I was actually okay with the Logan for Gleeson sub as going to a back 4 suits us better. That didn't need to be a defensive sub as we still had the players on the park to attack, it was simply our defensive mindset that invited Hibs to have constant attacks and sadly was no surprise at all when they finally scored. Why did we only start to attack in last 5 minutes after they had scored?

May starting to look a bit better but still won't be a regular goalscorer. Goodness knows why he brought on Cosgrove before Anderson given what has gone before in last 2 games. Madness. Saw too little of Wilson to make any judgement but wouldn't write him off as others have done just yet

Hibs are absolutely nothing special at all (like sevco before them) so if we can get the right couple of signings this week, could yet be a good season

Dallas would be out of his depth refereeing school football

Well observed, all good points.

[Shetland Don]

Watched delayed coverage on BBC Alba and it seemed that we were on the way to a hard-fought 3 points and a decent 7/9 points out of the first 3 games. Sadly not, but we were a bit better than I thought, who were largely reduced to shots from 20-25 yards. For their goal, the ball was slipped past GMS at the edge of the box, who was understandably afraid of making any real contact, and Hibs were in behind for more or less the first time and squared it for an easy goal. Was a definite penalty for the blatant foul on Ferguson, who looks very very promising, and a real physical presence, at only 18! The new boy Wilson didn't have much time but didn't make any real impression albeit for a limited showing. Hearts by the way may be a real revelation this season as they play with real physical presence.

[87kilos]

Wish people would make up their minds on here. Gleeson was rubbish a couple of weeks ago, he was lightweight and not good enough, suddenly today he's substituted and we lost our way because he went off!

I'd take a point today after that performance, it was better than Sevco at home but we didn't do enough again for 3 points.

[sheepcrooky]

On Gleeson, I was unimpressed the first couple of games. However, he has grown on me and I think he does his jod pretty well. Intercept, break up play and pass.

Simple stuff.

[Don_Corleone]

Haven't read all the posts on this thread, so may be repeating some points, but here's my take on it...

A draw was probably a fair enough result in the end. Both sides could have had a penalty. Hibs probably looked more threatening than we did in the final third.

Defensively we were fine for the most part. Gleeson and Ball in the middle compliment one another quite well - one keeps the ball well and moves it around simply, the other has the athleticism and energy to get around and make tackles. Ferguson is a great prospect and continues to impress - however he's not a no10. The big difference between us today and last week was Scott Wright picking up the ball, turning, running at pace and taking defenders out the game. We didn't have that today and we looked a bit too predictable going forward without that option.

Taking Gleeson off for Logan was strange. Considine had a lump the size of an ostrich egg on his head - no idea why McInnes didn't take the poor guy off. A better change would surely have been Considine off, Logan on at right back, Hoban and Devlin in centre and keep Shinnie at left back. Also, taking Ross off for Wilson was strange - I'd have thought Ross off for McGinn, or May off for Wilson would've made more sense. Cosgrove coming on was desperation and meant resorting to long punts up the park again, when someone like McGinn on for the final few minutes would have probably made a better impact.

Hibs don't look as brilliant as I thought they might - Mallan and Horgan are decent additions, but I think they're a bit weaker overall without Allan, McGeouch and McGinn.