Hinkel

I was at the game and i think he was told to stay back more today to help our center backs from the mighty Hamilton attack force.
Done very well and put in some good challanges and showed he is capable of defending when asked to stay back

 

Hinkel actually was quite unlucky not to get himself on the scoresheet today. And he made a few good forward runs and defended well

 

I keep noticing people mentioning Robson playing on the right, Robson's only played there about 1 and a half matches all season

 

I thought he played not too badly the day!:icon_mrgreen:

 

I could never claim to be Andreas Hinkel's biggest fan but that really is nonsense. Caldwell is poor at full-back, Caddis showed in Vienna that he's not great defensively either and as for playing McGeady at right-back? I won't even dignify that with an answer.

I just wish we had another Jackie McNamara in our squad. Now there is a guy who was a better full-back than Hinkel.

 

It was a nonsense answer ...your probably right

but it was a nonsense question

Is suggests that its ok Hinkel is a bad defender because the rest of the RBs in the SPL are as bad or worse.

If you expand the argument...would it be ok if Celtic were a bad team as long as everyone in the SPL is a little bit worse

The point is not that the spl is full of bad defenders...the point is we should have a better RB defensively, if we just want to be better than whatever else is in the SPL we stay on the same road we were on under Strachan, of never improving...just maintaining (or trying to maintain) a little bit better than the rest of the SPL....

We should aspire to greatness...forget about the rest of the SPL....is Celtic a great team?Do we have a great defense? Could we have a better defense?could we have a better RB?

For me its not ok that Hinkel is (arguably) the best RB in the SPL. He is not a great RB, in my opinion he is a poor RB. I dont give a * who he is better than...he still isnt good enough in defense. If we want to move forward as a club we need a squad that aspires to more than being ok as long as its better than the rest of the SPL.

We wont advance in Europe...we'll stay just behind Rangers and just ahead of the chasing pack. It aint good enough for me. I want a great team! I want a RB who wants the ball evrytime its within 20 yards....not someone who stands there and does the minimum (badly) I want someone like Sagna or Evra who breaks their hole to win the ball and defend the goal...who fights for everything(and wins)...and joins in in attack without abandoning defensive duties completely....if we get a great RB and eventually loose him to a bigger club...then so what...that would be a good thing....its better than being stuck with a mediocre RB forever and accepting it because he is arguably better than the other RB's in the SPL...

 

Listen mate, you're preaching to the converted here. I'm not a big Hinkel fan either. I think he's good going forward but, like you, I feel defensively he's poor. Some fans are happy to make that trade off but I like full-backs who can tackle well and stop crosses coming into the box. Hinkel does neither well. He IS the best right back in the SPL though, so in that context things could be worse.

We'd probably all like Sagna or Evra to be playing for us but they are well out of our price range and I think you know that. You would think there would be a young full-back out in Eastern Europe somewhere who has potential and can defend properly. If he exists then hopefully we'll find him.

 

I knew I shouldnt have mentioned Sagna or Evra :icon_mrgreen:
They are out of our price range now because they are well established in the EPL as great full backs

I just meant them as an example of what a full back should be....

We might never get a full back as good....but we should at least be looking for someone better than Hinkel. You said what I meant to say....there are good young full backs out there...we should be able to find one.

I agree things could be worse...but I would just hate to accept that as our lot....we can do better, and as fans we should demand better ( and many do)

 

There are plenty of good right backs out there. Craig Thomson of Hearts is probably the most complete right back just now in Scotland both offensively and defensively. We could probably get him for about £1Million and punt Hinkel for £3M. Good bit of business that.

And if we had the money there is quality right backs like Johnson, Sagna, Corluka, Richards, Bosingwa, Alves, Ramos, Oddo Maicon or Lahm