After defeat to Dumbarton, Vital Hibs take a look at some potential underlying factors which saw an abject performance in the opening day of the season.
Nothing happened for Hibs yesterday and it seems all our mistakes are punished so how do we rectify it?
Stubbs didn’t panic with wholesale changes after defeat last year so how will we get it to click into place this season?
Has the whole Scott Allan transfer saga affected us more than we thought?
No doubt if you’re reading this you’ve already been on Hibs.net or the Bounce where the abuse has been dished out in varying proportions and the truth is; everyone stands accused after the car crash of a performance.
The most glaring deficiencies lie at the back with no communication between goalkeeper and defence and you need to wonder if Jordan Forster’s untimely injury has disjointed the preferred system which Stubbs ultimately wishes to play.
It would appear a five at the back formation is what we worked on in pre season and now, with so many limited options, we’ve reverted to a flat back four, strangling the midfield of support out wide through attacking full backs.
Hanlon and Fontaine were soft in their approach yesterday and need to toughen up yet they’ve had a year’s worth of experience in the division and should know what to expect, fans demand they aren’t bullied by eager part time players for one example.
Stevenson and Gray were as poor as I can remember against the Sons with the former in particular looking severely out of sorts.
The recruitment policy of adding midfielder upon midfielder sees us desperately short at the back, so is a lack of competition to blame for the tame performances across the back? Stubbs has intimated he’s looking to redress that situation, and it must be done quickly otherwise a similarly slow start to this campaign to last will see Hibs out the title race before it’s really began.
Clearly there are talented players at the club and John McGinn looked an astute arrival during his thirty minutes or so on the park but as mentioned in the aftermath report written last night, we’ve very similar players in the middle of the park which ultimately seems to leave large pockets of space for the opposition as each drift to their natural position.
Which brings me back to the Scott Allan issue. He tried hard yesterday, possibly over compensating to show he is still willing to play and play to a high standard, but you need to worry over the mental effect it’s having on the others.
Do they believe he’s leaving and have convinced themselves Hibs will struggle without him? Have they issues over his transfer request? Do they have problems with the club over their insistence he won’t be allowed to leave for Ibrox?
Clearly, if any of the points mentioned are harming team morale then they’ll be resolved in-house but if they are causing divisions they need to be sorted out sharpish.
Defeats will happen but the nature of this one and the apparent lack of urgency shown by the team to find even the equaliser was harrowing to watch and one things for clear, future apathetic performances such as that shown against Dumbarton simply won’t be tolerated by the Hibs faithful.
Match Report: Wtf Was That Hibs?
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