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Should Certain Players Be Rested On Saturday?

Smurf

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For me this season is now all about in terms of priorities 1, Winning the Scottish Cup and 2, Securing 3rd place.

St Johnstone on Saturday will be difficult. I'd say they're favourites to win their semi-final against St Mirren. So if we get passed Dundee United then it'll be them again at Hampden.

In the League Cup semi-final earlier this year we collapsed in the second half but first half we were by far the better side.

So on Saturday it's league business and we want the three points to secure third place. However, with one eye on the following weeks semi-final against Dundee United I'd be tempted to rest one or two....

Martin Boyle on form is our best player. If he produces at Hampden a couple of times in May then I'm confident this summer will be very special.... So I'd have him a sub on Saturday. Christian Doidge doesn't score enough but his aerial presence will be needed at Hampden. I'd sub him. Likewise Porteous.

On Saturday I'd be hoping to play Cadden, Murphy & McGregor in their place.

Thoughts?
 
Play Hibs strongest team and that would include Macey , if we are in a position to get some subs on do so.

BIG G
 
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So we play a weakened team this weekend and gamble on no' getting gubbed next weekend ,
disnae sound like a good plan tae me.
For me we've got tae play our strongest possible team every game then if we can use subs, if we put a' our eggs in the Scottish cup basket we could end up wi' fuck all
 
Strongest team always.
Builds form, confidence etc.

Resting a player here and there isn't gonna harm us, but this is the business end of the season and I say we go for it, every week!
 
Apart from the Gogic missing problem; I say playing our strongest team. If I were to rest anyone I'd also swap Doig for Stevenson.
 
For me no, no resting players UNLESS players are carrying any kind of knocks. Momentum is key and we need to keep it that way. Potentially 5 games left of the season and a big couple of weeks in front of us.
 
If we had a midweek fixture between Saturday and the cup then maybe, but we don't. Players should be able to play a league game one Saturday then a cup game the following week without needing rested.

Aberdeen look bad enough to seal 3rd place for us on their own.
 
I agree with the consensus above - got to go for it now, and deal with injuries if/when they occur.
 
Beat the team on saturday with the strongest team possible..... use the subs wisely once that match is won.

Then turn and deal with the slaying of the arab.

Then GLORY.
 
Need to play strongest team against saints If we win that or even draw and Don's dont win we can then rest players next 2 games. Cant gamble on hoping we get points against dons or huns
 
I would rest Boyle , the treatment he receives , he likely to pick up an injury any game.
 
Resting players never seems to work out. Play the strongest 11 and keep the flow and rhythm going. We seem to be just hitting our stride now and playing decent football compared to earlier in the season.
 
I would be bringing all the big guns off with 20 to go on Saturday

Cup is the priority now

DU played a weakened team the week before last and skelped Aberdeen easily. It can pay dividends.
 
Can we afford to gamble and play a “weakened” team on Saturday?

I think not, it is St Johnstone, not St Cuthbert’s we are playing. If we blew finishing third now, it would be gutting.

That said, we should have enough depth not to weaken the team by making the odd tweak to our starting line up or making sensible substitutions during the game.

Another consideration is that we are playing pretty decent stuff just now, players in form want to play every week, breaking the momentum could backfire.
 
Strongest team possible. What if we play a weekend team this weekend and end up losing with a dodgy decision next weekend. We need to secure 3rd this weekend and a place in the final next weekend. After that we can rest players.
 
DU played a weakened team the week before last and skelped Aberdeen easily. It can pay dividends.

I think it paid dividends because they are generally quite shite though...
 
I wouldn't play a weakened weekend.As that might give us a weak week before the next weekend.
 
Can we afford to gamble and play a “weakened” team on Saturday?

I think not, it is St Johnstone, not St Cuthbert’s we are playing. If we blew finishing third now, it would be gutting.

That said, we should have enough depth not to weaken the team by making the odd tweak to our starting line up or making sensible substitutions during the game.

Another consideration is that we are playing pretty decent stuff just now, players in form want to play every week, breaking the momentum could backfire.

If we win the cup it doesn't really matter where we finish

Also, third is in the bag

Aberdeen are crap
 
3rd brings with it an obscene amount of money, so I’m afraid Saturday is the priority.

With a bit of luck we secure 3rd on Saturday.
 
3rd brings with it an obscene amount of money, so I’m afraid Saturday is the priority.

With a bit of luck we secure 3rd on Saturday.

The difference between 3rd and 4th is 250 k

Winning the cup and European round we go into brings just over 3 million
 
Strongest team always.
Builds form, confidence etc.

Resting a player here and there isn't gonna harm us, but this is the business end of the season and I say we go for it, every week!

I agree. Resting players is counterproductive, especially when there’s a week in between games. Players can so easily lose rhythm, momentum and form by missing a game.

I would start Hallberg over Gogic on Saturday, he needs to get game time and form an understanding with Irvine and Newell ahead of the semi final.

What I am in favour of is utilising the bench a bit more for the last 25/30 minutes. Get some minutes into guys like Cadden, Magennis, McGregor, Stevenson and possibly even Gray.
 
Ideally I suppose we start with our strongest 11 get the game won in the first half and then make loads of substitutions! Be interesting to see what Dundee United do against Ross County. I hope Yogi kicks them off the park...
 
If we win the cup it doesn't really matter where we finish

Also, third is in the bag

Aberdeen are crap
Taking anything for granted with Hibs is a risky business.
I want to finish as high up the league as we can.
 
Taking anything for granted with Hibs is a risky business.
I want to finish as high up the league as we can.

Absolutely. Regardless of how it impacts next season, finishing third is massive for Hibs. For too long we’ve failed to finish third, if we want to be challenging consistently then third place is the bench mark.
 
We need to secure third spot.
That's the priority for now.
After that i'm sure Ross will utilise the squad more in order that we are as near to full strength and fitness as we can be for the semi.
 
Play your best 11 every time.
As has been said, if we are in a position during the game to give the bench players an airing, then all the better.
 
I agree. Resting players is counterproductive, especially when there’s a week in between games. Players can so easily lose rhythm, momentum and form by missing a game.

I would start Hallberg over Gogic on Saturday, he needs to get game time and form an understanding with Irvine and Newell ahead of the semi final.

What I am in favour of is utilising the bench a bit more for the last 25/30 minutes. Get some minutes into guys like Cadden, Magennis, McGregor, Stevenson and possibly even Gray.

I agree with all of that, using the bench has been a weak point under Jack so far, but you can tell what players aren't going to be involved going forward. I wouldn't be surprised if Hallberg didn't get the nod for the semi.
I think we're just as likely to play with the back 5 and lose the midfield man, everything else is the same.

Newell and Irvine play a bit deeper and we rely on the front 3 to get the job done.. with preferably Cadden and Doig either side overlapping. That would probably mean McGinn playing right centre back, I'd prefer Daz to play between Hanlon and Porteous though.
 
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I agree. Resting players is counterproductive, especially when there’s a week in between games. Players can so easily lose rhythm, momentum and form by missing a game.

I would start Hallberg over Gogic on Saturday, he needs to get game time and form an understanding with Irvine and Newell ahead of the semi final.

What I am in favour of is utilising the bench a bit more for the last 25/30 minutes. Get some minutes into guys like Cadden, Magennis, McGregor, Stevenson and possibly even Gray.

This for me tae.
 
3rd place is still important in the respect of prestige and meeting this seasons objectives but it is now no longer about money as its only £250,000 more than 4th place compared to the riches of European football where £3million to £4million could have been expected.

There is also momentum to consider so for that reason I would be playing a reasonably strong team though getting Boyle off the pitch after an hour no matter the score as well as giving Hallberg some decent game time if he is going to be the replacement for Gogic.🤔.

The position that is most up for grabs is the goalkeeping position. 🤔

This daft rotation policy means that Rocky plays on Saturday before Macey presumably returns for the semi final.😡

If the route to the semi final is indeed to play the second choice less experienced keeper then play him v St Johnstone as well as Macey needs more game time and to build an understanding with the defenders.

It all just feels so unnecessary as Rocky is a better keeper than Macey😡
 
Originally, I think the whole idea behind this rotation thing with Marciano and Macey was because I think Ross wanted to assess Matt Macey properly in the first team as I suspect he wants him to be first choice keeper for next season. I read somewhere that an offer had been made to him to extend his stay, and I think the general idea was just to get him used to playing in the first team as there are no reserve games.

I think the situation has changed now, and it wouldn't surprise me to see Rocky in goals for the semi and (hopefully) the final if we get there. He is still our best goalkeeper and even though he is leaving this summer, I would also opt for the best players available for these games. Ross might think differently of course and that is a big part of his job to make these type of decisions.
 
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Ideally I suppose we start with our strongest 11 get the game won in the first half and then make loads of substitutions! Be interesting to see what Dundee United do against Ross County. I hope Yogi kicks them off the park...
Impossible to win the game by half time. We’ve been 2 up deep into injury time before and still failed to win.
 
Chris Cadden won't play again this season due to a back injury according to JR ☹
 
Chris Cadden won't play again this season due to a back injury according to JR ☹
That's bad news.
Time for Wright to step up...
 
That's bad news.
Time for Wright to step up...

If Wright gets used in his wing back place its game over.
Boyle has and probably would play there if we needed to.
 
If Wright gets used in his wing back place its game over.
Boyle has and probably would play there if we needed to.

Empirical evidence would suggest otherwise but I think that if this happens, Wright will grab the opportunity with both hands particularly if he is au fait with feelings about his ability on here and other fan websites.

BIG G
 
Empirical evidence would suggest otherwise but I think that if this happens, Wright will grab the opportunity with both hands particularly if he is au fait with feelings about his ability on here and other fan websites.

BIG G

Tommy Wright is no mug and he was raving about Drey Wright in the summer. He's not shown it yet at ER for whatever reason but I'm not believing he's as bad as he's been....
 
Empirical evidence would suggest otherwise but I think that if this happens, Wright will grab the opportunity with both hands particularly if he is au fait with feelings about his ability on here and other fan websites.

BIG G

Not often I write players off, but if we're talking about him replacing Cadden as a right wing back, then it's not going to work out I feel.

Tommy Wright is no mug and he was raving about Drey Wright in the summer. He's not shown it yet at ER for whatever reason but I'm not believing he's as bad as he's been....

Wotherspoon kept him out the team though and at 25 moving to a bigger club you need to do more than he has.
I dont doubt there's probably a player there, but his big injury at saints has maybe lessened what he's capable of.

If we're to keep getting better, he's gonna fall behind the rest.
A bit like the lad Carmichael we signed, probably has something, but im not seeing it come out here.

I'm all for anyone proving me wrong, he's here and gets the support when he plays.
 
I know there is always a risk of injuries but despite that, we need to try and get momentum going into the Scottish cup semi final. I do agree that the Scottish cup is the priority but while third place is still to play for, we can’t afford to let the foot off the gas. Also think that a win tomorrow, if we can pull it off, will give us huge confidence ahead of the semi final
 
I wouldn't play a weakened weekend.As that might give us a weak week before the next weekend.

And a weak end to that weekend.
 
Well, most of them looked like they had a good rest today after all
 

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