Walker, king and paterson

[kingantti1874]

First off, after his performance on Friday we need to find a place in the team for billy king he was excellent but that aside,

 

Assuming walker will retain his place does anyone think we should switch him and Paterson, Paterson imo is more effective in midfield and can protects his full back and makes great late runs 'based on the few times I've seen him play there' and as demonstrated on Friday walker can finish, at this point in time isn't strong enough and doesn't offer enough in midfield.

 

I know we wouldn't have much of a physical presence up front but worth a shot?

[Debut 4]

For a while on Friday, and with the way we and Walker were playing , I thought moving Paterson to RM and giving the laddie Oliver a run through the middle would be preferable. Otherwise I'm not so sure about trying too many diff plyers upfront. Leave Paterson there as he's adapting to it or if we move him to right mid gie Oliver a run as he's a striker.

[Getintaethem]

I've always thought walker was a better player through the middle and that Paterson is most effective on the right, so I would say its worth a shot. We would lose a bit of height up front but this would probably stop us relying on the long ball tactics that seems to be creeping back into our game.

[The Treasurer]

I think it might be worth Paterson and Smith swapping positions. Paterson is far better wide right and Smith looks like he is strong enough to handle the central role

[loveofthegame]

Walker may be better through the middle "behind the striker" but he is never in your life a solo striker.

 

Centre halfs would have the easiest 90 mins of their lives purely up against wee JW.

 

I do agree that CP is better out wide right than he is up front though.

[jambogjh]

I think it might be worth Paterson and Smith swapping positions. Paterson is far better wide right and Smith looks like he is strong enough to handle the central role

 

You could be right, I never reliesed just hope big & strong Smith is.

[Hansel]

I was thinking walker might be best in the Rudi role behind a main striker, but then that means we'd need to change the formation to suit him.

[Son Of Anarchy]

Paterson has been bullied so far up front which im surprised about given his size.hes hardly one a header (crackin goal though) and his first touch has evaded him so far.maybe he will grow into the lone striker role but i have my doubts.far too early to say and certainly not giving him stick but hes a crackin midfielder,not a striker.

[Mr Romanov Saviour of HMFC]

Paterson needs 10/15 games upfront to learn the position and show what he can do. Hopefully as the team grows in confidence players will take more risks and move up to support him.

 

Unfair to judge him on two hard away game where he was isolated for long periods, great goal v hibs.

[stevie1874]

I think it might be worth Paterson and Smith swapping positions. Paterson is far better wide right and Smith looks like he is strong enough to handle the central role

Definately agree, I think we're wasting Paterson up front apart from one good header he's looked lost. Were playing him there because of his height and strength but its no working and we could be ruining the development of one of our best young players. Time to try Smith

[deejtee]

Walker playing on his own up front?????????????? Bring back Vlad's fax machine! Early days and I think we all knew that a striker would have been high on the signing list. We have to make do with what we have and find the best fits. How to use Holt, Walker and Paterson is a dilemna for the coach as is losing Stevenson. Defence will be at least as big a problem when injuries and suspensions kick in. A lot of players are going to have to be adaptable and put the team first.

[McCrae]

 

I think it might be worth Paterson and Smith swapping positions. Paterson is far better wide right and Smith looks like he is strong enough to handle the central role

 

I would go with this... Paterson is not a natural striker....

 

Would be very interesting to see Smith given the chance to play number 9.

 

Walker doesn't seem to have improved from last year and looks like a spell on the bench would do him good.

 

 

[The jj era]

Nap. Don't change it unless we need to - IMO Patterson is growing into that role with every week gone by and he should stay there - No need for change

[heartsfc_fan]

I think it might be worth Paterson and Smith swapping positions. Paterson is far better wide right and Smith looks like he is strong enough to handle the central role

 

I would do this

[OTT]

I would like to see smith played through the middle maybe use patterson as a second striker or something (would that work? because Holt seems to play better in an attacking mid role which gives him greater freedom to attack the ball)

 

I think theres an argument for playing 3 at the back so we can fill the midfield although due to the lack of strikers it would probably be a 3-6-1 and although are defence has look solid the extra pressure on mckay and wilson (and mcgowan) may make things more difficult

[Feeno]

Smith through the middle is a shout, lad looks to get stuck in and make things happen. I agree that Patterson needs more time to grow into the role, cant expect him to be perfect from the get go

[Jambof3tornado]

Paterson could do without a constant stream of high balls fired his way!! Its not just about him learning his role its about the other 10 players knowing how to pass to him.

[armstrong]

Paterson could do without a constant stream of high balls fired his way!! Its not just about him learning his role its about the other 10 players knowing how to pass to him.

 

I agree. The service into him as been pretty woeful for the most part. Get it into his head/chest or put it into the channels and we'll find it much easier to keep possession.

 

Paterson is big, strong, good in the air and is a good finisher - the perfect formula for a striker. He just needs experience and to understand which runs to make and when. Robbo is the perfect mentor for him.

[Homme]

I think Locke has called it spot on IMO...for now.

 

We don't have much options up front. Paterson up there is the best of a bad bunch.

[iainmo51]

Did I read walker good at finishing.....?

For a right footed winger on the left side his ability to cut in and shoot on target is woeful the exception being the st mirren goal.

[Guest Bilel Mohsni]

I'm happy letting him get on with it. He is doing a decent job so far, imo.

[upgotheheads]

I think it might be worth Paterson and Smith swapping positions. Paterson is far better wide right and Smith looks like he is strong enough to handle the central role

I was thinking walker might be best in the Rudi role behind a main striker, but then that means we'd need to change the formation to suit him.

Definately agree, I think we're wasting Paterson up front apart from one good header he's looked lost. Were playing him there because of his height and strength but its no working and we could be ruining the development of one of our best young players. Time to try Smith

I would go with this... Paterson is not a natural striker....

 

Would be very interesting to see Smith given the chance to play number 9.

 

Walker doesn't seem to have improved from last year and looks like a spell on the bench would do him good.

 

I agree with most of this. Walker is a talented player but doesn't seem to have the ability or the desire to track back and defend when required. On Friday almost all of Partick's attacks were down the left where McHattie was left exposed. Just before he gave away the pen Walker was almost caught out in a similar move when he was strolling back and not covering the left back. His ability was displayed though when he ran at the Partick defence and scored what must be a contender for goal of the season, very similar to his goal last season gainst (St Mirren?).

I'd like to see Smith at C/F with Walker behind him alongside Holt, Patterson on right and King on left. Hamil in front of the back four, add Robinson Hamil Oliver etc into the mix and we might actually have a few more options than we thought we had.

[upgotheheads]

I agree with most of this. Walker is a talented player but doesn't seem to have the ability or the desire to track back and defend when required. On Friday almost all of Partick's attacks were down the left where McHattie was left exposed. Just before he gave away the pen Walker was almost caught out in a similar move when he was strolling back and not covering the left back. His ability was displayed though when he ran at the Partick defence and scored what must be a contender for goal of the season, very similar to his goal last season.

I'd like to see Smith at C/F with Walker behind him alongside Holt, Patterson on right and King on left. Hamil in front of the back four, add Robinson Hamil Oliver etc into the mix and we might actually have a few more options than we thought we had.

 

Our left.

[Alan_R]

Paterson I've said before is a striker. (Many will disagree with that but in a front two I believe he'd be excellent. Many young strikers aren't prolific at first and support should be given)

 

 

The way his runs have improved under robbo, his excellent ability to win a header (be wasted out wide) and his control to take often difficult passes to chest and run means he is undoubtely our best option up top!

 

 

To answer you question. NO absolutely not.

 

 

Whats more Walker is 100% a winger so why change that.

[kingantti1874]

Did I read walker good at finishing.....?

For a right footed winger on the left side his ability to cut in and shoot on target is woeful the exception being the st mirren goal.

 

And the Partick goal

[sam]

Did I read walker good at finishing.....?

For a right footed winger on the left side his ability to cut in and shoot on target is woeful the exception being the st mirren goal.

When Walker cuts in from the left he always tries to curve it in the far corner and very rarely hits the target, he seems much better when he just puts his boot through the ball like his goals against St Mirren and Partick.

[N User]

We play in the SPL. Whilst Stevo is injured, we need Paterson to play upfront due to his physical side.

 

If Paterson gets injured, I could see us playing a big defender up front before one of the smaller strikers..

[stuart500]

All the players will need to learn new positions and skills this season. Smith could work on his defensive game and be an excellent wing back on either side. Or he could be tried up front.

Flexibility would give GL room to switch players round during games if things are not going well.

[Teuchterjambo]

I think it might be worth Paterson and Smith swapping positions. Paterson is far better wide right and Smith looks like he is strong enough to handle the central role

 

Certainly worth as a change option.

 

I think Lockie is handling the King situation really well, he is less experienced than the other two lads and is getting his opportunities off the bench ... that is how it should be done and will allow the lad to develop properly.

 

Contrast that with McGlynn's introduction of Paterson at the beginning of last season.. the guy was playing the full 90 every week and ended up stale and exhausted well before his injury.

 

Based on his decision making this season I reckon Lockie is getting it right so leave well alone .... King's chance will probably come sonner rather than later and he will be in better shape to grab it with the way he is being handled right now.

[Clerry Jambo]

Smith through the middle is a shout, lad looks to get stuck in and make things happen. I agree that Patterson needs more time to grow into the role, cant expect him to be perfect from the get go

 

Totally agree.

 

The lad Smith is certainly no shirker and puts himself about, think I'm right in saying that he was at Raith last season and it shows in his physical demeanour after a season against seasoned pros

[Gregory House M.D.]

Smith should be playing through the centre. Either him or Oliver. All this stuff about "time for Paterson to get into the role" is baffling. Why leave one of our most talented youngsters isolated out of position when the people playing his actual position offer nothing in defence and don't create enough chances?

 

Also, the "No change is needed because we are doing all right" chat is equally as baffling. Teams should always be looking to get better. It'd seem people on here think we should wait to get a pumping before changing anything. If a team wins but has an obvious flaw then that flaw should be fixed regardless of the success the system has just produced. Paterson is never a striker and we're wasting games and possibly points by attempting to bed him in there.

 

The Walker through the middle chat- No. He would have next to no presence in the striker role and he isn't better than Jason Holt. If we change the system, which we should, then Holt has first dibs on that place in the team.

 

The attacking 3 of the midfield for me should be Billy King, Jason Holt and Callum Paterson. The striker should be either Smith or Oliver. The two defensive/deep lying players in the midfield should be Tapping and Hamill on current form. The defence picks itself right now.

 

Jamie Walker might make a decent impact sub but for me Billy King is a better player right now and so is Paterson and the only other role he would suit is where our most talented youngster is playing.

[Takeshi's Tynecastle]

I don't think faffing about with positions would be good for the team. So far Locke has the team playing in a solid, if unspectacular, way.

 

Sure we haven't created many chances, but we have taken two we did make, and we've only conceded two (including a daft pen).

 

Locke is just about doing the best he can, minimising players being played out of position, and where he has to, it seems to be for the good of the team. Maybe Paterson would be better out wide, but do we have a better striking option?

 

Others will get their chance over the course of the season, and will hopefully take it, but at the moment it ain't exactly broke, so is there really any need to fix it 3 games in to a tough season when we've actually started quite well?

[Coco]

Paterson is doing a good job in my opinion - played well against Partick.

 

He's strong enough to be able to battle with the SPL centre halves and has been mobile enough to move them around a bit. It is a joy watching him there compared to the sluggish Sutton.

 

King, Smith and Walker have all contributed on the wings too. And Gary Locke has found a way to get Holt into a position where he can hurt teams. For now with Stevenson out I think Gary Locke is getting all this right.

[TheBigO]

Smith should be playing through the centre. Either him or Oliver. All this stuff about "time for Paterson to get into the role" is baffling. Why leave one of our most talented youngsters isolated out of position when the people playing his actual position offer nothing in defence and don't create enough chances?

 

Also, the "No change is needed because we are doing all right" chat is equally as baffling. Teams should always be looking to get better. It'd seem people on here think we should wait to get a pumping before changing anything. If a team wins but has an obvious flaw then that flaw should be fixed regardless of the success the system has just produced. Paterson is never a striker and we're wasting games and possibly points by attempting to bed him in there.

 

The Walker through the middle chat- No. He would have next to no presence in the striker role and he isn't better than Jason Holt. If we change the system, which we should, then Holt has first dibs on that place in the team.

 

The attacking 3 of the midfield for me should be Billy King, Jason Holt and Callum Paterson. The striker should be either Smith or Oliver. The two defensive/deep lying players in the midfield should be Tapping and Hamill on current form. The defence picks itself right now.

 

Jamie Walker might make a decent impact sub but for me Billy King is a better player right now and so is Paterson and the only other role he would suit is where our most talented youngster is playing.

 

You got that right but for the wrong reason imo.

 

Keep Paterson up front. Support the laddie better.

 

I also like what he can do deeper, but I think he could be a good CF for us. A lot of talk about it not being his position, but can you think of one time under McGlynn he was supported properly and not used as a defensive CF? And so far this seaon, he's been feeding off scraps and had little support really. Get more up beside him - that's the crux of the issue for me.

 

Not sure if that means 442, the wide men further up the park, or a midfielder getting in the box more

[fabienleclerq]

Id leave Calum up top, he wins headers its just no one gets near to pick up the knock ons.

 

I'd play Hammil sitting with holt and walker in front of him. Smith and king out wide, kings looked excellent so far and I reckon walker could be good through the middle and then our FB will get a little more cover.

[john brownlee]

I like the way we are playing....just wish they had a bit more saavy, but that will come, and in the h1b5 and partic game defenders were going through our young guns and we were getting virtually nothing from the ref, whereas they went down like a ton of bricks every time they were touched and got almost every call.......I don't know if we want our players falling over at every touch Patterson was clattered a good few times but stayed on his feet, I do prefer that and look to the ref for support, but that ain't going to happen.....I see nothing wrong with the way Locke is setting up the team and his use of subs seem to me horses for courses.....long may it last

[Special Agent Dale Cooper]

It pains me to admit as much, but I am with Bunter on this...

 

...every word

[loveofthegame]

Smith should be playing through the centre. Either him or Oliver. All this stuff about "time for Paterson to get into the role" is baffling. Why leave one of our most talented youngsters isolated out of position when the people playing his actual position offer nothing in defence and don't create enough chances?

 

Also, the "No change is needed because we are doing all right" chat is equally as baffling. Teams should always be looking to get better. It'd seem people on here think we should wait to get a pumping before changing anything. If a team wins but has an obvious flaw then that flaw should be fixed regardless of the success the system has just produced. Paterson is never a striker and we're wasting games and possibly points by attempting to bed him in there.

 

The Walker through the middle chat- No. He would have next to no presence in the striker role and he isn't better than Jason Holt. If we change the system, which we should, then Holt has first dibs on that place in the team.

 

The attacking 3 of the midfield for me should be Billy King, Jason Holt and Callum Paterson. The striker should be either Smith or Oliver. The two defensive/deep lying players in the midfield should be Tapping and Hamill on current form. The defence picks itself right now.

 

Jamie Walker might make a decent impact sub but for me Billy King is a better player right now and so is Paterson and the only other role he would suit is where our most talented youngster is playing.

 

Only thing I disagree with is Walker ahead of King. King is a better impact player off the bench and is not ready to be a regular starter. Walker is still, overall, the better of the two IMO.

[Jambof3tornado]

Some of the young players dont have best positions yet. Christ even our RB Jamie Hamill looks better in mdfield.

[SUTOL]

Maybe we should look to play more of a 4-3-3 than the current 4-2-3-1.

 

Although I also think there is the makings of a good 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 with the defenders we have in the squad.

 

 

However I am also willing to give the squad and management time to adapt to the formation/system they are playing.

[fabienleclerq]

It pains me to admit as much, but I am with Bunter on this...

 

...every word

Until he starts abusing our twenty year old players because they aren't messi again?

[kingantti1874]

Some of the young players dont have best positions yet. Christ even our RB Jamie Hamill looks better in mdfield.

 

To be fair, Hamill has played central mid for a large part of his career pre hearts...

[Gregory House M.D.]

Callum for me, while good in the air doesn't resemble a ST/CF in any other sense. His finishing isn't natural and coming through the middle with a run at the opposition defence he panics and shoots. He doesn't do this on the wing. He takes his man on and I think offers us the extra defensive powers we need.

 

Callum will score more goals and create more chances if he is played at RM rather than ST IMO. I think we're dropping possible points by playing him there because of the lack of chances. Chances we all know that Paterson can make.

 

Even give him a chance coming in from the left.

[Gregory House M.D.]

Until he starts abusing our twenty year old players because they aren't messi again?

 

I have already apologised for going way over the top. That Messi bit bollocks. I have a problem with Jamie Walkers work rate and effort. Of course people will say he showed a good attitude to get back in the game after he conceded a penalty but for me that isn't good enough to just show effort after you have made a mistake. That's my personal view and I don't expect people to agree with it.

 

I think he is far too comfortable with his place in the team for no apparent reason and think Billy King has shown a lot more this season so far. I'll admit that I do get easily annoyed by players who are showing a lack of effort.

[belly]

I agree with most of this. Walker is a talented player but doesn't seem to have the ability or the desire to track back and defend when required. On Friday almost all of Partick's attacks were down the left where McHattie was left exposed. Just before he gave away the pen Walker was almost caught out in a similar move when he was strolling back and not covering the left back. His ability was displayed though when he ran at the Partick defence and scored what must be a contender for goal of the season, very similar to his goal last season gainst (St Mirren?).

I'd like to see Smith at C/F with Walker behind him alongside Holt, Patterson on right and King on left. Hamil in front of the back four, add Robinson Hamil Oliver etc into the mix and we might actually have a few more options than we thought we had.

 

Robinson, was gash on Friday night, didn't put in any telling tackles, played the ball side ways most of the night like it was a hot potato, made one run forward with the ball and gave it away cheaply. When he was subbed for Callum Tapping we looked more threatening, Robinson needs to put in more effort!

[rudi]

Walker IMHO doesn't merit a starting spot, that's 2 games ( one as an early sub) and he's only really been Involved for 7 minutes, giving away a penalty and a wonder goal, up until he scored on Friday night I bet I wasn't the only one thinking he should never have been on the pitch to make that challenge.

[Gregory House M.D.]

Walker IMHO doesn't merit a starting spot, that's 2 games ( one as an early sub) and he's only really been Involved for 7 minutes, giving away a penalty and a wonder goal, up until he scored on Friday night I bet I wasn't the only one thinking he should never have been on the pitch to make that challenge.

 

A Partick Thistle fan was convinced he was our best outfield player.

 

He should've came off instead of Smith. He rescued a point he himself nearly pissed away which is fair enough but I agree he shouldn't have been on the pitch to give away the penalty.

[Mr Romanov Saviour of HMFC]

What is baffling about giving Paterson time to settle into the role? He's played 3 ******* games.

 

Young players don't have set positions when they break into the team, so stop saying he is definitely a right midfielder.

[Gregory House M.D.]

What is baffling about giving Paterson time to settle into the role? He's played 3 ******* games.

 

Young players don't have set positions when they break into the team, so stop saying he is definitely a right midfielder.

 

His best games have exclusively been at Right Midfield. He is not a striker.

 

Eggert Jonsson MkII if we keep going with this shite. Put him where his best games came. That's usually the idea in football.

 

He's had more than three games as a striker, let's not tell porkies.

[armstrong]

He played well last season at right midfield, but that alone is not a reason to play him there. If he'd played better at right back there'd be folk on here we should be playing him there.

 

McGlynn saw him as a striker, Lockie is playing him as a striker, Robbo seems to think he's got the makings of a good striker, and the lad himself thinks it's his best position.

 

He has all the attributes to play there IMO. He's a good natural finisher (see his first against United at Tannadice in the league last year and his goal against Aberdeen at Tynie), but agree that he needs to be more composed in one-on-one situations. That will come with experience.