***Official Heart of Midlothian v Aberdeen Match Thread***

[Thomson1874]

Neilson won’t change from three at the back, it’s his formation. Thought Hill had a great debut but hasn’t played a great deal of football lately so I’d have him on the bench, provided that Kingsley is fit and available. We really need Kingsley to have a run of games without injury as his link up play with Cochrane is an important part of how we play.

 

Smith is not a RWB unfortunately so I’d give Atkinson another run out. I don’t think Neilson trusts him however so I wouldn’t be surprised if Smith started on Wednesday and in the derby next week. 
 

Strange times actually having to pick who’s going on the bench, fingers crossed we get some more players back from injury and it’ll become even harder. I think Halliday needs a proper break to recover from his ongoing injury but again, wouldn’t be surprised to see him back in.
 

                          Clark

          Sibbick Rowles Kingsley

Atkinson                                Cochrane

                Snodgrass Devlin

              Kuol                    McKay

                        Shankland

 

Subs: Stewart, Hill, M. Smith, Forrest, Grant, Kio, Humphrys, Ginnelly, Oda

[Absolute Scenes]

Pretty much need to be winning this to extend the gap. 
hill retains his place as does Sibbick. If Kingsley is back, maybe leave  Cochrane on the bench to ensure his hamstring issue is over with. 
Michael Smith is rank, but don’t fancy Natty in a game this big for us.

snodgrass in the middle and I’d like to see Grant start as he has the most creative spark out of Devlin, Kio and Halliday. 
Shankland, Kuol and Humps with Gjno and McKay coming on to torture tired Aberdeen players 

[jtkb]

Good luck with op buddy. You might wake up with new heart and be a jambo 

 

[PTBCAL]

Who plays beside Snodgrass in MF? I would go with Grant. Can’t be worse than what we have had the last 2 games 
 

Halliday not good enough and Devlin going through a sticky patch 

 

 

[Sub4TiddlerMurray]

Hill looked every inch a quality player on Friday and, for me, could start CB, RB or RWB. In the latter two he would be an upgrade on Smith or Atkinson, especially defensively. I'd be reasonably confident that he'll deal with Duk in a way that the other two might not. His presence on the right removes any weakness in that area.

 

Koul also showed that he has real star quality and effortlessly used his awareness, balance and his body to unsettle older experienced pros. Along with Hill, he should be a definite starter.

 

I can't see Cochrane making this one so I really really hope Kingsley is fit to start.

 

I'm not overly worried about Aberdeen but getting Andrew Shinnie back will make them stronger in midfield. I'd worry about him putting Snods under pressure. For that reason I think we should have three in the middle to give him and our defence protection. I'd go with:
 

                          Clark

         Hill   Sibbick   Rowles   Kingsley

              Devlin   Snodgrass   Kio

              Kuol   Shankland   McKay

                       

If Cochrane is ok, then even better:

 

                          Clark

         Hill   Sibbick   Rowles   Cochrane

            Devlin   Snodgrass   Kingsley

              Kuol   Shankland   McKay

 

Would love to see Kingsley playing further forward but unfortunately can't see Robbie ever going for that.

[Sub4TiddlerMurray]

1 hour ago, PTBCAL said:

Who plays beside Snodgrass in MF? I would go with Grant. Can’t be worse than what we have had the last 2 games 
 

Halliday not good enough and Devlin going through a sticky patch 

 

 

 

I wonder if playing alongside Snodgrass has left Devlin covering too much grass on his own rather than working with a midfield partner. He was at his best alongside Beni for example, as they would work as a team in that area. Snodgrass plays a more expansive game, picking up the ball from the defence and hitting a range of passes. He doesn't really need a partner, which leaves Devlin ploughing his own furrow. And that might be affecting his game.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 14, 2023 by Sub4TiddlerMurray

[ColinSmith1255]

23 hours ago, hmfc_liam06 said:

I’d like to see us change the formation for this one - 4-3-2-1.

 

Assuming Cochrane doesn’t make it. Devlin needs dropped and we need more in the midfield.

 

Clark

 

Smith

Hill

Rowles

Kingsley

 

Snodgrass

Kio

Grant

 

McKay

Kuol

 

Shankland

No place for Sibbick??

[Rc55]

Referee alert : William Collum!

[1971fozzy]

5 minutes ago, Rc55 said:

Referee alert : William Collum!

To be fair he’s actually ok compared to most now. That’s how bad it is

[TNCASTLE]

7 hours ago, IveSeenTheLight said:

Thanks,  It’s a heart operation.

I believe the root cause linked back to the COVID I caught last year

 

 

Thanks.

 

I agree, we probably won’t get 3rd anyway, but if we are to maintain any interest, we have to win (which I don’t think we will)

Gorgierools should take back that remark.

This isn’t the Bears Den…

[JFK-1]

This league is hard to collect away points in, which means all or almost all home matches have to be wins. And this should be a win, the sheep aren't a form team.

 

Just 1 win in their last 6 and that was at home to St Johnstone

[Gorgierools]

8 hours ago, TNCASTLE said:

Gorgierools should take back that remark.

This isn’t the Bears Den…

You'll find I did exactly that when he disclosed the severity of the condition. We've kissed and made up. He's cool about it. But thanks for teaching me manners.

[jambo mark]

Need to get back to playing Shankand as a Number 9 rather than him dropping shirt/wide and Gino playing upfront. 
 

Robbie trusts smith defensively, and allows Cochrane the freedom to get forward. If he gets caught up the park, everyone shuffles across to a 4. 
 

Clark

Hill Sibbick Rowles

Smith Devlin Snodgrass Cochrane

Humphreys Shankland McKay

[PapaShango]

14 hours ago, Thomson1874 said:

Neilson won’t change from three at the back, it’s his formation. Thought Hill had a great debut but hasn’t played a great deal of football lately so I’d have him on the bench, provided that Kingsley is fit and available. We really need Kingsley to have a run of games without injury as his link up play with Cochrane is an important part of how we play.

 

Smith is not a RWB unfortunately so I’d give Atkinson another run out. I don’t think Neilson trusts him however so I wouldn’t be surprised if Smith started on Wednesday and in the derby next week. 
 

Strange times actually having to pick who’s going on the bench, fingers crossed we get some more players back from injury and it’ll become even harder. I think Halliday needs a proper break to recover from his ongoing injury but again, wouldn’t be surprised to see him back in.
 

                          Clark

          Sibbick Rowles Kingsley

Atkinson                                Cochrane

                Snodgrass Devlin

              Kuol                    McKay

                        Shankland

 

Subs: Stewart, Hill, M. Smith, Forrest, Grant, Kio, Humphrys, Ginnelly, Oda

You can’t be dropping Hill after Friday night. I’m sure we will know his fitness levels so pretty sure a 21 year old will be able to handle 3 games in a week he will have done it all the time down south. 

[kila]

We’re going to walk all over them.

 

Kuol to start ahead of Gino for this one.

 

Aberdeen to make **** all noise from their single section after going 2 down in the first 10 mins. 

[Whatsthefuture]

8 minutes ago, Barack said:

Snodgrass has had 6 bookings now.

 

That's suspension territory now, yeah?

Was it not mentioned previously that bookings reset in January. I may be mistaken 

[JimmyCant]

Hill definitely starts for me. Big part of a hard earned clean sheet on Friday.

 

We need legs in centre mid so Grant goes in there and Snodgrass can take a seat on the bench. Not convinced by Devlin lately either but Halliday doesn’t seem fully fit and Kio, who should have cemented that place by now, just hasn’t done it so Devlin needs to play but FFS wake up and keep it simple son.

 

Getting increasingly frustrated with Neilson trying to turn Shankland on to the Boyce role so I’d play Humphreys as the 10, Shankland up top and Kuol starts wide for me

 

Id rather see 4-2-3-1 but Neilson will stick with 3-4-3 until it bites him on the arse again and he realises we haven’t got a RWB or a box to box mid or a false 9 good enough to make it work.

 

Be nice to see us get comfortable and give Oda 15 minutes at the end.

Edited January 15, 2023 by JimmyCant

[Disser Pointon]

Why have the wee team not got a midweek game?

[CMc]

22 hours ago, OTT said:

See on Grant, could he play Rwb in a 343? I’ve saw on here someone say he’s played there (rb) before, and with Smith essentially being a man down and Atkinson not being selected, could Grant get himself into the team here? 

Pace would be the one thing Grant is maybe missing. 
 

He’s a good player technically, and he tackles, but hasn’t had the chance to show whether he’s got the engine for fullback. 

[Wee Mikey]

1 hour ago, Gorgierools said:

You'll find I did exactly that when he disclosed the severity of the condition. We've kissed and made up. He's cool about it. But thanks for teaching me manners.

 

It was clearly in jest. My teed-up reply was far, far worse but you beat me to it. 😁

[PapaShango]

3 minutes ago, JimmyCant said:

Hill definitely starts for me. Big part of a hard earned clean sheet on Friday.

 

We need legs in centre mid so Grant goes in there and Snodgrass can take a seat on the bench. Not convinced by Devlin lately either but Halliday doesn’t seem fully fit and Kio, who should have cemented that place by now, just hasn’t done it so Devlin needs to play but FFS wake up and keep it simple son.

 

Getting increasingly frustrated with Neilson trying to turn Shankland on to the Boyce role so I’d play Humphreys as the 10, Shankland up top and Kuol starts wide for me

 

Id rather see 4-2-3-1 but Neilson will stick with 3-4-3 until it bites him on the arse again and he realises we haven’t got a RWB good enough to make it work.

Can’t be leaving Snodgrass out for this one it’s a massive game and he’s one of the best midfield players in the division.

[Disser Pointon]

Just now, PapaShango said:

Can’t be leaving Snodgrass out for this one it’s a massive game and he’s one of the best midfield players in the division.

We need him for set pieces alone, our corners and free kicks have improved tenfold since he came into the team.

[Whatsthefuture]

Hill looked good on Friday. He gave balance. Kingsley in for chocrane. Grant for Smith. And Kuol for Gino. Grant could be the Chocrane offers on the left offering Kuol freedom. Shankland can have opportunities from both flanks

[TweedbankJambo]

We'll win as long as we don't play a 343

[Wee Mikey]

28 minutes ago, jambo mark said:

Need to get back to playing Shankand as a Number 9 rather than him dropping shirt/wide and Gino playing upfront. 
 

Robbie trusts smith defensively, and allows Cochrane the freedom to get forward. If he gets caught up the park, everyone shuffles across to a 4. 
 

Clark

Hill Sibbick Rowles

Smith Devlin Snodgrass Cochrane

Humphreys Shankland McKay

 

[PapaShango]

8 minutes ago, TweedbankJambo said:

We'll win as long as we don't play a 343

He’s not going to change it but think we will win regardless. Leave Smith out as he clearly can’t play as a wingback bench Ginnelly and start Kuol. We will have too much for that Aberdeen defence it’s dreadful. 

[Gorgierools]

46 minutes ago, Wee Mikey said:

 

It was clearly in jest. My teed-up reply was far, far worse but you beat me to it. 😁

Cheers bud.

[i wish jj was my dad]

1 hour ago, PapaShango said:

Can’t be leaving Snodgrass out for this one it’s a massive game and he’s one of the best midfield players in the division.

Precisely. I don't think the codheids will play as destructively as St Liedown. There will be gaps to exploit and Snoddy is the best guy to find them. 

[Thomson1874]

1 hour ago, PapaShango said:

You can’t be dropping Hill after Friday night. I’m sure we will know his fitness levels so pretty sure a 21 year old will be able to handle 3 games in a week he will have done it all the time down south. 

All depends if Cochrane is fit and if Kingsley is fit enough to start. If Cochrane is at LWB and Kingsley at LCB, then I don’t think Sibbick or Rowles deserve to be dropped over Hill, so he would be the one to drop out for me. 

Having said that, I wouldn’t mind seeing the same back three as Friday night and Kingsley taking a place on the bench and building his way back up to full fitness.

 

I think if Sibbick, Rowles and Kingsley are all fully fit, they should make up the back three with Sibbick on the right and Rowles in the middle, especially considering they are our own players. All about opinions though!

[LochcarronJambo]

12 hours ago, Rc55 said:

Referee alert : William Collum!

Oh no !

[bringonthesevco]

I’ll be amazed if Sibbick , Hill or Rowles is getting dropped for Kingley to start.

 

I think the only way Kingsley starts on Wed is if Cochrane doesn’t make it (unless we do something bizarre like try Hill or Sibbick at RWB).

 

I’d rely on Hill Sibbick and Rowles to give us the defensive strength we need and play Atkinson at RWB accepting he isn’t defensively as good as Smith but is better offensively …

 

we should go on the offensive against them as they’re poor ….

[pettigrewsstylist]

Any of the " i was just passing Riccarton" posse actually seen  Kingsley oot strutting his stuff?

[TweedbankJambo]

3 hours ago, PapaShango said:

He’s not going to change it but think we will win regardless. Leave Smith out as he clearly can’t play as a wingback bench Ginnelly and start Kuol. We will have too much for that Aberdeen defence it’s dreadful. 

I hope I'm wrong then.  Agree about smith and Ginnelly 

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

Michael Beale has just said on tv Aberdeen are currently 3rd best team in Scotland, much to Mccoist amusement. 

 

Get the clip shown in the changing room 

[Shaggy2]

5 hours ago, Disser Pointon said:

Why have the wee team not got a midweek game?

Wednesday is our scheduled opponent from yesterday. Playing midweek because the sheep are in the LCSF. 

Horrendous planning from the SPFL, having Hearts and Hibs at home on same day. It’s a two team organisation!

[Luckies1874]

                          Clarke

 

                Hill    Sibbick    Rowles

 

Cochrane                                     Kingsley

 

                    Grant    Snodgrass

 

              Kuol      Shankland      McKay

 

 

It won't be this of course but this is what I would do. Cochrane is easily a good enough footballer to go over and play RWB for us in the short term. Gets Kingsley back into the side whilst keeping the back 3 who looked decent on Friday and also takes Smith out of an uncomfortable position. I would definitely not be playing Halliday in central midfield and though there is an argument for Devlin's competitive attributes he has been God awful on the ball and I think Grant deserves some game time. Up front it's an easy choice for me, Gino should be replaced by Kuol. I doubt Robbie will make such moves though as we know he is risk averse! 

[jr ewing]

Better not give away corner or free kicks, they're huge. 

[tiger Rudi]

18 hours ago, Sub4TiddlerMurray said:

 

I wonder if playing alongside Snodgrass has left Devlin covering too much grass on his own rather than working with a midfield partner. He was at his best alongside Beni for example, as they would work as a team in that area. Snodgrass plays a more expansive game, picking up the ball from the defence and hitting a range of passes. He doesn't really need a partner, which leaves Devlin ploughing his own furrow. And that might be affecting his game.

 

 

 

 

Good point. I feel Devlin's form has dipped since Snodgrass has dropped into that role. It's almost like it has limited Devlin a bit and I agree he's maybe got a lot of extra ground to cover now. 

Much as I know Snodgrass is doing a fantastic job, we really need to develop Devlin & get Grant & Kio some game time. They are our future. Snodgrass is a short term fix and could be used more sparingly. I hope he signs an extension, but he shouldn't necessarily play every game. 

 

[tcjambo]

 

1 hour ago, Luckies1874 said:

                          Clarke

 

                Hill    Sibbick    Rowles

 

Cochrane                                     Kingsley

 

                    Grant    Snodgrass

 

              Kuol      Shankland      McKay

 

 

It won't be this of course but this is what I would do. Cochrane is easily a good enough footballer to go over and play RWB for us in the short term. Gets Kingsley back into the side whilst keeping the back 3 who looked decent on Friday and also takes Smith out of an uncomfortable position. I would definitely not be playing Halliday in central midfield and though there is an argument for Devlin's competitive attributes he has been God awful on the ball and I think Grant deserves some game time. Up front it's an easy choice for me, Gino should be replaced by Kuol. I doubt Robbie will make such moves though as we know he is risk averse! 

Gino has been good for weeks now and shouldn't be dropped. Kuol needs time.

 

Hill can play RWB - looks mobile and solves the problem of over-playing Smith. Atkinson's time at Hearts should be up - he isn't good enough.

 

Grant has something to prove, so I think it is fair enough to start with him and keep Cammy for the SC game.

Edited January 15, 2023 by tcjambo

[Gorgierools]

3 minutes ago, tcjambo said:

I can't understand people wanting to drop Gino, who has been consistently decent, to play a guy who's only just arrived and will need time. Hill to RWB. Rest Smith. Can't see

Gino has been good for weeks now and shouldn't be dropped. Kuol needs time.

 

Hill can play RWB - looks mobile and solves the problem of over-playing Smith. Atkinson's time at Hearts should be up - he isn't good enough.

 

Grant has something to prove, so I think it is fair enough to start with him and keep Cammy for the SC game.

Hill at RWB would allow us to have Kingsley and Cochrane on the left. That is a big part of our threat. I guess it depends on whether Hill can play there.  Certainly looked athletic enough on Friday. 

[Luckies1874]

9 minutes ago, tcjambo said:

I can't understand people wanting to drop Gino, who has been consistently decent, to play a guy who's only just arrived and will need time. Hill to RWB. Rest Smith. Can't see

Gino has been good for weeks now and shouldn't be dropped. Kuol needs time.

 

Hill can play RWB - looks mobile and solves the problem of over-playing Smith. Atkinson's time at Hearts should be up - he isn't good enough.

 

Grant has something to prove, so I think it is fair enough to start with him and keep Cammy for the SC game.

 

 

I know that there are mixed views on Gino and he has contributed at times but for me he is simply not at it nearly enough. He was largely anonymous the other night which wasn't all his fault given the service he was getting, or rather the lack of service. However I just don't like his general effort levels and body language when it isn't going his way and I wanted to see more of a reaction from him to the new signings and pressure on his place, like we saw from McKay. Kuol has been brought in on a short term loan and to much fanfare so we should be getting him in the team not giving him 5 minutes here or there. He looked more than lively in his cameo so I'd give him the start. 

 

If you are correct about Hill being able to play RWB then that is certainly an option worth considering and would mean we could have Kingsley on the left of Rowles and Sibbick with Hill and Cochrane wide. I like the thought of that. Whatever, we can't start Smith as RWB again. 

 

For Easter Road I'd potentially be thinking about Snodgrass, Grant and Devlin. 

Edited January 15, 2023 by Luckies1874

[jambo mark]

Stewart (captain) just sent off. 
 

As league cup, does that translate to league games meaning he’ll miss Wednesday? 

[Luckies1874]

1 minute ago, jambo mark said:

Stewart (captain) just sent off. 
 

As league cup, does that translate to league games meaning he’ll miss Wednesday? 

 

Yes, he is out. Just looked that up!  It's a red for serious foul play so immediate 2 match so he will miss the game at Tynecastle.

 

Good chance Duk is out as well. Hopefully a few more knocks in extra time! 

 

https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/media/1849/suspensions-for-players-in-mens-football-annex-c-section-4.pdf

 

[wavydavy]

10 minutes ago, Luckies1874 said:

 

Yes, he is out. Just looked that up!  It's a red for serious foul play so immediate 2 match so he will miss the game at Tynecastle.

 

Good chance Duk is out as well. Hopefully a few more knocks in extra time! 

 

https://www.scottishfa.co.uk/media/1849/suspensions-for-players-in-mens-football-annex-c-section-4.pdf

 

 

Now that is good news as he would be up against whoever we play at RWB.

[Taffin]

Clark 

Smith Sibbick Rowles Cochrane 

Devlin Snodgrass Grant 

Gino Shankland McKay 

 

Or, if it must be 343 

 

Clark 

Sibbick Hill Rowles 

Atkinson Devlin Kio Cochrane 

Gino Shankland McKay

 

 

[Sub4TiddlerMurray]

40 minutes ago, tiger Rudi said:

Good point. I feel Devlin's form has dipped since Snodgrass has dropped into that role. It's almost like it has limited Devlin a bit and I agree he's maybe got a lot of extra ground to cover now. 

Much as I know Snodgrass is doing a fantastic job, we really need to develop Devlin & get Grant & Kio some game time. They are our future. Snodgrass is a short term fix and could be used more sparingly. I hope he signs an extension, but he shouldn't necessarily play every game. 

 

Yep, good point too

[Wee Mikey]

41 minutes ago, jr ewing said:

Better not give away corner or free kicks, they're huge. 

 

We should never  'give away' anything!

 

having said that, I'm not disagreeing, but ...

 

This season we've been up against several teams which I'm convinced sign players by the inch. Sometimes it's looked like we've been up against teams from the land of giants.

 

Thankfully, height & bulk rarely compensate for skill.

 

The downside is that there have been too many occasions whereby our feeble refs have allowed hammer throwers & cloggers to get away with deliberate spoiling tactics.

 

Proper reffing in such games would curtail that type of thing, but it almost seems like that's too much to hope for.

 

We've got the skill-set to beat Aberdeen, regardless.

[Psychedelicropcircle]

Extra time for the mutton 😴

[karipidis]

- Extra time

- Stewart now suspended

- Morale sapping defeat and more questions from the fans about Goodwin

- Duk injured. 
 

going pretty well for us for Wednesday. 

[Bazzas right boot]

They look decent going forward but I think we'll take 2 or 3 of them.

 

This fixture generally heavily favours the home side.

 

6-3 Hearts.