The mailbag returns for the new season with a different Terrace panelist opening the envelopes. For the 2014/15 campaign it will be our resident beer swilling loud-mouth Tony Anderson. If you have any questions, tweet us @terracepodcast or send an email to show@terracepodcast.net.
Who would be in Vogts worst Jock XI v Leveins worst Jock XI? And who would win? – Seth (@Scotsmo)
Seriously I know Vogts handed out caps like flyers at the Fringe and Levein tried all sorts to try and score a goal, but these line-ups are just horrific. I would prefer to have my pubes pulled out one by one than watch a game between these two teams.
Vogts side (4-4-2): Rab Douglas; David McNamee, Lee Wilkie, Malky Mackay, Warren Cummings; Paul Devlin, Brian Kerr, Gareth Williams, Peter Canero; Kevin Kyle, Scott Dobie
Levein side (4-3-1-2): Matt Gilks; Kirk Broadfoot, Steven Saunders, Gary Kenneth, Danny Fox; Scott Robertson, Ian Black, Liam Kelly; Andrew Shinnie; Chris Iwelumo, David Goodwillie
I know I should answer the question and say who would win but it is just impossible. There is no creativity in either midfield and men with zero football ability like Broadfoot, Wilkie, Kyle and Kerr. Who are Warren Cummings and Gareth Williams? It has to be a nil nil draw! Or one each, own goals by Wilkie and Broadfoot. We all know what Iwelumo will do if the goal is gaping in a Scotland shirt.
On a scale ranging from Ally McCoist to talented, where do you think Alan Stubbs will lie as a manager? – Simon Furnivall (@SFurnivall)
Obviously this a difficult question as he has only managed three matches as a senior manager but there a few plus points and negatives that have shown up already.
The performance and style of the Hibs team at Ibrox in the cup was incomparable to last season’s displays. Many of the team who lined up in his opening game also ‘starred’ last season for the club. This shows Stubbs has the ability to get his message across and is able to implement his chosen style even when he’s doing so with players who are used to implementing polar opposite fashion. His quick tactical switch of going two up front once Rangers changed from three to four at the back shows a quick football mind. It was almost an instant reaction and unfortunately due to Handling’s red card minutes later we will never know how it would work out. Stubbs has shown in his short time during pre season and his opening games that he wants his team to be comfortable playing numerous formations which indicates a willingness to be flexible.
The Livingston and Hearts games did maybe show a chink in Stubbs’ armour as he seemed unwilling to make personnel changes at key points in the game. Heffernan was clearly struggling for fitness during the latter of those two matches and should have been taken off earlier than he was. Stubbs also seemed to struggle with what to do once Livingston scored. His indecisiveness at this point and lack of leadership seemed to spill on to the pitch as the team reverted back so quickly to their former ways.
I also believed Hibs should have been more proactive in the second half of the derby. El Alagui was winning a lot of flick ons and was pushing the Hearts defence deeper and the Hibs fans were in full voice and Hearts were beginning to look more and more impatient and unsure on the pitch and in the stands. I believe if the attacking midfielders had been moved five to ten yards further up the pitch and closer to El Alagui the team would have created more chances between 55 and 70 mins, before the Hearts goal. Handling was non existent and Stanton continued his poor start to the season, whilst naturally coming inside along with Harris, thus narrowing the pitch and making it easier to defend against. Scott Allan’s passing ability and Matt Kennedy’s directness, which he showed in his small cameo at the end, would have been positive and possibly match winning moves if they had been done before all was basically lost. In addition there is no doubt Scott Robertson should have been subbed due to performance and the fact he was ticking time bomb. I hope in the instance of the derby his desperation of not losing his first one clouded his judgement and he will not play for draws when games are clearly there for the taking if you’re brave enough.
Whilst taking these early signs into account I am pushing towards Stubbs being a very talented manager. His press conferences and other media work show a man very comfortable in his own skin. His work background at Everton shows an ability to coach and teach young players and the fact he was able to work under two managers of very different football philosophies shows he must have been highly thought of as a coach. That may also put credence to my flexibility claim. What he has went through personally shows a fighter and a literal never say die attitude to use some clichés. His personal battles I think will help him not take football too seriously and help him see things for what they are and not be clouded too much by emotion.
Willie Collum. Explain? – Fraser Elgin (@Fraser1874)
He does have a reputation of being very card happy whilst also, oddly, having many retrospective cards given out by his employers after the match. This once again happened last Sunday as Stevenson and Walker were both given two game bans for a late flare up between the pair. It’s perplexing how both of these actions occurred in the same incident and yet he missed them both. It reminds me of a time Ryan Stevenson was given such punishment after a two footed challenge on James McPake that Collum, again, missed.
I don’t want to be overly critical of his performance in Sunday’s game, although he obviously got the Stevenson/Walker incident wrong. All the other major decisions he took were correct or, in the case of the Hibs penalty, can see sensible arguments on both sides of the decision.
The truth is I’m not going to look through all of Collumn’s career and see how much has needed to be fixed after the match or how many big decisions he got wrong. I’m sure there are plenty that many fans of different clubs could point out poor decisions, especially the Old Firm. They remember everything, like really old elephants.
Refereeing in this country has been dreadfully poor in recent years. Collum is a product of those times.
Does Jo Inge Berget have the worst haircut in Scottish football? – Paul Fisher (@Steakheed)
Who would win in a fight between Goodwin and Hamilton’s very own leg-mauling madman, Alex Neil? (Nicky Forrest)
In a bar brawl I could see Alex Neil being an absolute bam and not really having any rules on weapons and would hospitalise Goodwin.
In the wrestling ring I could see Jim Goodwin winning as he would be technical and sneaky plus his finisher the ‘Jimmy Forearm’ would be unstoppable. Similar to how the Rock and Hulk Hogan had finishers that were just common wrestling moves but somehow when they delivered them they would almost kill people. Goodwin would also have Steven Thompson and Gary Teale to run interference when the going got tough, distracting refs while Goodwin got dirty. Suppose that would make Tommy Craig the Paul Bearer of this…
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