***Official Heart of Midlothian v Hibernian Sc semi final thread***

[Debut 4]

Naismith to start.  Give us an hour then Wighton to run them behind as we’ve been doing. 
 

Naismith is a solid link man for Boyce.  Boyce had nothing to work off last week. It’ll also let Walker start further up the pitch picking the ball up. 
 

Definitely in agreeance (if fit and deemed up to speed) that both Halliday and Haring give us the cover in behind those 3. Both give competitiveness and are more than comfy on the ball.   
 

The only concern, unless Neilson has a strategy in mind, is he plays both Irving and Lee together instead.  It’s one or the other alongside the fittest and freshest from Halliday and Haring, imo.   Lee isn’t the most mobile, Irving has a habit of sitting in unless provoked to push on.  If he’s happy enough to put in Irving, he’s got to have the mobility around him. 

[Ted Hastings]

Given the current injury situation and assuming both Ginelly and Roberts will be out I would like to see something along these lines.

 

                                                 Gordon

                            Smith Halkett Popescu Kingsley

                                         Haring  Halliday

                             Walker    Naismith    White     

                                                Boyce 

 

Think Halliday just edges it for Irving as he has the big game experience and Irving has been prone to some rash challenges in the past. Going by Friday night White is the better option ahead of Frear for me.

 

Would like to see Wighton on for Boyce and to bring Irving on for Haring to help keep possession once we are (hopefully) ahead and Haring is tiring. Swap Roberts for White if fit.

[Cruyff]

30 minutes ago, 1953 said:

I'm serious alright. I don't want the league season jepordised in any way by risking players who aren't fit enough for a one off game that should have been abandoned along with the league. Having said that I sincerely hope that our best players are fit and ready for it and give them a roasting.

We could win the Championship with our 2nd string team.

 

The Championship is a side show. The cups are what we want to be competing for, not the other way around. 

[Deans Jambo]

A narrow Hibs victory is my gut feeling. We are very early in our rebuild and they have been quite consistent this year,  more consistent than Hibs usually are. 

 

Our new(ish) defence has not been tested yet so that's a worry. Never been sure about Halkett and his lack of pace with balls over the top. Wonder if we'll go 3 at the back??

 

That said we do have some experienced players still and as ever in these games anything can happen. 

 

The simple instruction for the players is.....WIN YOUR INDIVIDUAL BATTLE!

 

 

[TexasAndy]

4 minutes ago, Cruyff said:

We could win the Championship with our 2nd string team.

 

The Championship is a side show. The cups are what we want to be competing for, not the other way around. 

Normally yes but when we are in the championship the league is the priority.  Not going up is not an option.  

[Cruyff]

1 minute ago, TexasAndy said:

Normally yes but when we are in the championship the league is the priority.  Not going up is not an option.  

As I said, we can win that with our second string. We could probably afford to lose about half a dozen games as well and still win it. 

Cups is where it is at. 

[Kiwidoug]

They won the non-event all championship Scottish Cup final, now they find themselves in the non-event covid semi-final.  They go in as favourites and may well win.

 

I hope they don't but if they do win in an empty stadium I honestly won't care much.

 

Now, if Trump wins his final I will care very much indeed.

[TexasAndy]

31 minutes ago, Cut The Crap said:

Hard to call because I haven't watched any Premiership football this season.

 

I've seen plenty of Hearts, though, and barring some chinks of light against Dundee, we've looked every inch a second-tier outfit in most of the games so far.

 

I can only hope H1b5 are just as bad.

What a strange analysis.  We have had one big game this season so far and won it 6-2 playing some great football.   🙈

[Bazzas right boot]

14 minutes ago, Barack said:

Halliday doing the media.

 

83.7% certain to be starting then.

 

81.48% on my calculations. 

[TexasAndy]

2 minutes ago, Cruyff said:

As I said, we can win that with our second string. We could probably afford to lose about half a dozen games as well and still win it. 

Cups is where it is at. 

Beg to differ.

[Bazzas right boot]

34 minutes ago, Cut The Crap said:

Hard to call because I haven't watched any Premiership football this season.

 

I've seen plenty of Hearts, though, and barring some chinks of light against Dundee, we've looked every inch a second-tier outfit in most of the games so far.

 

I can only hope H1b5 are just as bad.

 

We've won every game we've played so far. 

What a strange conclusion to come to. 

 

 

[Deans Jambo]

.................Gordon

........ Smith Halkett Popescu

Roberts.................................Kingsley

.........Haring Irving Halliday

............Naismith Walker

 

[1953]

10 minutes ago, Cruyff said:

We could win the Championship with our 2nd string team.

 

The Championship is a side show. The cups are what we want to be competing for, not the other way around. 

Ok, put it another way. Would you be willing to risk causing further injury to say, Peter Haring, by throwing him into this game if he isn't ready for it? Also I would argue that winning the championship this season should be our priority.

[Kiwidoug]

The financial rewards are each side receiving a quarter of the combined gate receipts of both semis and the final.  That means Hibs will receive the grand total of zero.

 

Perfect.

[Debut 4]

29 minutes ago, 1953 said:

Ok, put it another way. Would you be willing to risk causing further injury to say, Peter Haring, by throwing him into this game if he isn't ready for it? Also I would argue that winning the championship this season should be our priority.

Do you think Haring is that good he’s so crucial to us winning the championship?  
 

Kind of had enough of modern day football prioritising. Let’s take a chance with FIT players, our best fit players. Get them going, get them into a run of form. 
 

The stop start, in and out the team pish is ,what we’ve had enough of in recent years
 

[Cruyff]

28 minutes ago, 1953 said:

Ok, put it another way. Would you be willing to risk causing further injury to say, Peter Haring, by throwing him into this game if he isn't ready for it? Also I would argue that winning the championship this season should be our priority.

That's entirely up to the coaching staff. I doubt they will risk him if they think he can't handle it. 

 

The Championship is a priority. However, we are the 3rd biggest side in the Country with a squad of SPL level players including various International caps. We should be aiming to win as many trophies as possible regardless of the League we find ourselves in.

 

Furthermore, it is a reduced league season. We have a big enough squad to handle competing across all fronts. 

[milky_26]

38 minutes ago, 1953 said:

Ok, put it another way. Would you be willing to risk causing further injury to say, Peter Haring, by throwing him into this game if he isn't ready for it? Also I would argue that winning the championship this season should be our priority.

How would we get players match fit without playing them?

[karipidis]

I read a lot about Hearts being behind Hibs in terms of games played, match fitness etc, but hibs have played a lot of games in the last few weeks and judging by there performances look a bit off the boil and frankly not very good. They were at there best about 3 or 4 weeks into there season so could it possibly be to our advantage? Anyway, as a poster said earlier, a quote similar to what sir Alex used to say to his players when Man Utd played at White Hart Lane, ‘Lads, it’s Hibs’ should suffice in the team talk. 

[Batistuta87]

1 hour ago, Smith's right boot said:

 

81.48% on my calculations. 

You forgot to carry the 1. It's 83.76%, to be precise.

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by Batistuta87

[Rudy T]

1 hour ago, Cruyff said:

We could win the Championship with our 2nd string team.

 

The Championship is a side show. The cups are what we want to be competing for, not the other way around. 

 

Utter nonsense. This league season may not complete as a result it'll be PPG again. We need as many points on the board as quickly as possible.

I'm amazed how many fans are forgetting this and treating the league like a normal season. 

[Last Laff]

47 minutes ago, Kiwidoug said:

The financial rewards are each side receiving a quarter of the combined gate receipts of both semis and the final.  That means Hibs will receive the grand total of zero.

 

Perfect.

You you dislike Hibs more than you support Hearts? Genuine question. 

[Last Laff]

Just now, Rudy T said:

 

Utter nonsense. This league season may not complete as a result it'll be PPG again. We need as many points on the board as quickly as possible.

I'm amazed how many fans are forgetting this and treating the league like a normal season. 

I think he means the Championship should be the absolute bear minimum of level of success this season given the gulf.  

[Bazzas right boot]

9 minutes ago, Rudy T said:

 

Utter nonsense. This league season may not complete as a result it'll be PPG again. We need as many points on the board as quickly as possible.

I'm amazed how many fans are forgetting this and treating the league like a normal season. 

 

There is no reason to stop playing bcd Tbh outwith a total Lockdown, and if that happens not only is football ****ed, everything is ****ed. 

 

It's not normal but games can go ahead bcd. 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by Smith's right boot

[Bazzas right boot]

58 minutes ago, Kiwidoug said:

The financial rewards are each side receiving a quarter of the combined gate receipts of both semis and the final.  That means Hibs will receive the grand total of zero.

 

Perfect.

 

We get no money either. 

 

No so perfect. 

[Cruyff]

29 minutes ago, Rudy T said:

 

Utter nonsense. This league season may not complete as a result it'll be PPG again. We need as many points on the board as quickly as possible.

I'm amazed how many fans are forgetting this and treating the league like a normal season. 

We'll have the most points. 

Edited October 27, 2020 by Cruyff

[Famous 1874]

Can’t see Halkett and Popescu keeping Nisbet and Doidge out tbh. 
 

We should dominate them in the middle of the park and hopefully come out on top in the battles between Kingsley vs Boyle and Smith vs Murphy (if he makes it). 
 

Player for player we are better but Hibs have been playing for 2 months more than us and against far better opposition. 
 

If Olly Lee plays its curtains for us. Need Haring & Irving to be the pivot. 

[Bluesy1874]

Going to go for 3-2 Hearts big haring winner from a corner late on 😍

[EH11_2NL]

If it wasn't the hobos we were playing then I doubt anyone would care that much. If we get beat, then we get beat. These clowns will come again. We don't want to be stuck in the championship for 2 seasons.

[Cut The Crap]

2 hours ago, Smith's right boot said:

 

We've won every game we've played so far. 

What a strange conclusion to come to. 

 

 

 

The Dundee performance was the level I would expect given our budget and personnel.

 

The other four victories were far less convincing than I would expect.

 

Hopefully the Dundee game wasn't the excpetion.   

[Gimme an H...]

42 minutes ago, Famous 1874 said:

Can’t see Halkett and Popescu keeping Nisbet and Doidge out tbh. 
 

We should dominate them in the middle of the park and hopefully come out on top in the battles between Kingsley vs Boyle and Smith vs Murphy (if he makes it). 
 

Player for player we are better but Hibs have been playing for 2 months more than us and against far better opposition. 
 

If Olly Lee plays its curtains for us. Need Haring & Irving to be the pivot. 

 

Agreed. Lee is a passenger. 

[Tom Hardy’s Dug]

Bounce game today. Airdrie. Given the interlopers, least said the better.

[dougal]

6 hours ago, Pasquale for King said:

We will need to nullify Boyle and Nesbits pace, they are the two danger men and if we can do that and pressurise their awful defence we can win. 
Its 3 subs from 7 players with a

4th sub allowed in extra time. 
 

 

This for sure. It is vital that we stop Boyle and prevent him from getting up to his full pace as he will be able to cause us trouble if he does. Centre backs need to be wary of Nisbet' pace and movement. As said do that and we have got a good chance although the fitness may prove to be a problem especially if it goes to extra time.

[maroonsgotop]

2 hours ago, Cruyff said:

We could win the Championship with our 2nd string team.

 

The Championship is a side show. The cups are what we want to be competing for, not the other way around. 

that's my view. I would take a cup win over promotion any day. The club would probably have a different priority

[Uncle Buck]

I’d be quite tempted to start Moore or Henderson for this one.

[Famous 1874]

3 minutes ago, Uncle Buck said:

I’d be quite tempted to start Moore or Henderson for this one.

Henderson? Please tell me you are joking. Would be essentially starting with 10 men and would be gifting Hibs the win

[MR INCREDIBLE]

6 minutes ago, Uncle Buck said:

I’d be quite tempted to start Moore or Henderson for this one.

The only way I would be tempted to start Henderson is if I had 2k on Hibs to win. 

[Cruyff]

12 minutes ago, maroonsgotop said:

that's my view. I would take a cup win over promotion any day. The club would probably have a different priority

That isn't what I'm saying at all. 

I expect us to win the league by a distance and... Challenge for all the cups. I wouldn’t prioritise one over the other. Winning the Championship is a bare minimum. 

Edited October 27, 2020 by Cruyff

[Pasquale for King]

3 hours ago, Niemi’s gloves said:

I believe that pdf dates from 3 July. It’s what is on the SFA website indicating that date.  However if you scroll down it to the final rule 35 at the end headed “Alterations and Additions to Rules” it states:

 

”The Board shall have the power to temporarily suspend, amend or add to these Rules as circumstances may dictate from time to time”

 

Given that the (subsequent)  SFA press release of 21 July specifically refers both to players playing for different clubs AND  to clubs being able to use 5 substitutes, it seems reasonable to assume that the board has used its powers under Rule 35.

 

So it looks like we can use 5 subs not just 3

Good stuff, had enough of looking at their rules and regulations (and government guidelines) to do me a lifetime.

This is brilliant news and helps us greatly with our players that aren’t fully fit. Good spot 👍🏽👏🏾. 

[Pasquale for King]

20 minutes ago, dougal said:

 

This for sure. It is vital that we stop Boyle and prevent him from getting up to his full pace as he will be able to cause us trouble if he does. Centre backs need to be wary of Nisbet' pace and movement. As said do that and we have got a good chance although the fitness may prove to be a problem especially if it goes to extra time.

Yeah hopefully we can get the job done in 90 minutes as some of our players aren’t fully fit. He might just put Smith at sweeper to try and look after Nesbit in behind, and whoever plays wide left or left midfield to help with Boyle. 
Is it Saturday yet 😃?

[The Treasurer]

2 hours ago, Debut 4 said:

Do you think Haring is that good he’s so crucial to us winning the championship?  
 

Kind of had enough of modern day football prioritising. Let’s take a chance with FIT players, our best fit players. Get them going, get them into a run of form. 
 

The stop start, in and out the team pish is ,what we’ve had enough of in recent years
 

That's the thing though. If a player is fully fit then you play your strongest team, but if a player is not 100% fit then you have to weigh up the risks of making the injury worse 

[Jack Torrance]

47 minutes ago, EH11_2NL said:

If it wasn't the hobos we were playing then I doubt anyone would care that much. If we get beat, then we get beat. These clowns will come again. We don't want to be stuck in the championship for 2 seasons.

I'd actually take a cup win over one more season in the Championship.

[Bazzas right boot]

47 minutes ago, Cut The Crap said:

 

The Dundee performance was the level I would expect given our budget and personnel.

 

The other four victories were far less convincing than I would expect.

 

Hopefully the Dundee game wasn't the excpetion.   

 

We won't win many games by  goals 4 plus and definitely not them all. 

 

Prepared to be further disappointed. 

 

 

[Jack Torrance]

3 hours ago, Barack said:

Halliday doing the media.

 

83.7% certain to be starting then.

He's saying he got a bye to the semis after we knocked him out with The Rangers 🤣

[Boris5115]

22 minutes ago, Uncle Buck said:

I’d be quite tempted to start Moore or Henderson for this one.

Wow starting Henderson you say. I'd say Uncle Buck needs to lay off the Buckie. 

 

[Bazzas right boot]

Ooh 5 subs is definitely good news given where we are. 

 

Means we can risk 1 or 2 from the start that maybe with 3 subs would be a bit risky. 

 

Hopefully we're doing a triple sub while Naismith, walker and Wighton while 4-1 up on 70 minutes tho. 

 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by Smith's right boot

[Bazzas right boot]

26 minutes ago, Uncle Buck said:

I’d be quite tempted to start Moore or Henderson for this one.

 

 

Moore maybe. 

Henderson? Put the glue and pants down. 

 

 

[leginten]

2 hours ago, Debut 4 said:

Do you think Haring is that good he’s so crucial to us winning the championship?  
 

Kind of had enough of modern day football prioritising. Let’s take a chance with FIT players, our best fit players. Get them going, get them into a run of form. 
 

The stop start, in and out the team pish is ,what we’ve had enough of in recent years
 

Indeed. Is the suggestion that we shouldn’t risk our best team in a Scottish Cup semi-final derby because someone might get injured and give us only seven days to reshuffle before a home game against Inverness?

 

 I hope the team is more up for this than some of our support.

[Pasquale for King]

Just said on Stv that Roberts will be fit and Ginnelly will be assessed later on in the week. 

[Tom Hardy’s Dug]

59 minutes ago, Famous 1874 said:

Henderson? Please tell me you are joking. Would be essentially starting with 10 men and would be gifting Hibs the win

4 goals today 

[Nookie Bear]

I suppose the idea of Moore and Henderson is replacing like for like rather than moving players around and out of position.