22-05-2015, 00:51
Thanks to our poor finishing and decision-making last night at Ibrox, we've got a bit of a mountain to climb early on Saturday afternoon at Easter Road. All is not lost, however. People climb mountains all the time and we are good enough to reach the top.
Firstly on the negative side, Alan Stubbs might be an excellent manager and coach, but he's not exactly famous for trying something different. He has us playing in a good style, but when it's not working, he doesn't change anything. He just carries on and hopes it will come good. Well, it will not be good enough on Saturday. Also I still have grave doubts about Malonga as a goalscorer. He played well on Wednesday night as an attacker, but when he had a great chance to score with a free header, he fluffed it. It was almost as if the ball hit him on the head and knocked him off balance. For a big guy, he certainly doesn't like to jump to win a header. He tries to let the ball bounce and outmuscle his marker. Again that will not be good enough on Saturday.
Next for the positives - we had Rangers pinned back much of the time, winning 13 corners to their 1, and their sole corner came in the last minute or so. Scott Allan played a great game and I still believe he is the major influence in this Hibs team. His delivery at set pieces was excellent and if we had a forward who could actually win headers in the box, we could give Rangers a big fright. Step forward Farid El Alagui. We must match the industry shown by Rangers, who managed to stifle much of our play. With our attacking midfield players and a bit more conviction and composure in front of goal, we can beat Rangers on Saturday and perhaps progress to the Premiership Final.
As far as the Hibs team is concerned, I'd like to see a 3-4-1-2 formation for Saturday, with Malonga running through from midfield to provide Rangers rearguard with a different problem to the usual fare served up by Stubbs. If it doesn't work, fair enough, but for God's sake, try something. And use our 3 substitutes during the 90 minutes, supposing it is just to warm one of them up for extra time!
My team for one of the most important games of the season would be:-
Oxley
Gray, Hanlon, Fontaine,
Fyvie, Robertson, Allan, Stevenson,
Malonga,
Cummings, El Alagui.
Subs - Stanton, Dja Djedje, McGeouch.
Firstly on the negative side, Alan Stubbs might be an excellent manager and coach, but he's not exactly famous for trying something different. He has us playing in a good style, but when it's not working, he doesn't change anything. He just carries on and hopes it will come good. Well, it will not be good enough on Saturday. Also I still have grave doubts about Malonga as a goalscorer. He played well on Wednesday night as an attacker, but when he had a great chance to score with a free header, he fluffed it. It was almost as if the ball hit him on the head and knocked him off balance. For a big guy, he certainly doesn't like to jump to win a header. He tries to let the ball bounce and outmuscle his marker. Again that will not be good enough on Saturday.
Next for the positives - we had Rangers pinned back much of the time, winning 13 corners to their 1, and their sole corner came in the last minute or so. Scott Allan played a great game and I still believe he is the major influence in this Hibs team. His delivery at set pieces was excellent and if we had a forward who could actually win headers in the box, we could give Rangers a big fright. Step forward Farid El Alagui. We must match the industry shown by Rangers, who managed to stifle much of our play. With our attacking midfield players and a bit more conviction and composure in front of goal, we can beat Rangers on Saturday and perhaps progress to the Premiership Final.
As far as the Hibs team is concerned, I'd like to see a 3-4-1-2 formation for Saturday, with Malonga running through from midfield to provide Rangers rearguard with a different problem to the usual fare served up by Stubbs. If it doesn't work, fair enough, but for God's sake, try something. And use our 3 substitutes during the 90 minutes, supposing it is just to warm one of them up for extra time!
My team for one of the most important games of the season would be:-
Oxley
Gray, Hanlon, Fontaine,
Fyvie, Robertson, Allan, Stevenson,
Malonga,
Cummings, El Alagui.
Subs - Stanton, Dja Djedje, McGeouch.
Cabbage is still good for you
