Hibs drop deeper into the doldrums – strong action required

PERHAPS UNSURPRISINGLY, Hibs surrendered yet again this afternoon, this time at Easter Road to Falkirk by a goal. This sees the club in the invidious position of being placed third bottom of the Scottish Championship, albeit at a still early stage of the campaign.

It really isn’t looking good. The reality is that a couple of poor results with an already less than sparkling start to the season are most likely to see Hibs drop deeper into the doldrums and the gap between fans and club widening further. A dangerous factor that seems to remain unconsidered by the club.

Seemingly, they refuse to act. It’s clear that the only way sensible route forward for the club is to buy better quality players. This is not optional, money has to be found, but instead of that the supporters are fed excuses – while still paying Premiership prices for the privilege of owning season tickets to watch a low-grade of football. If the quality players out there exist – and better quality players certainly do – then why are they not signed up at Easter Road already? Quite honestly I don’t believe poverty pleas in spite of a lowering of status, what I see here is the old Hibs/Petrie biscuit tin mentality.

Undoubtedly, there have been good, healthy changes at the club since last season. It’s a pleasure to hear that Hibs are reaching out to the community and making forward-looking backroom changes, unfortunately though, this is a football club with the main aim of actually winning football matches. This appears to be considered a side issue at Easter Road – meanwhile the team has staggered from one disaster to another and now slumps alarmingly towards mid-table Championship obscurity.

I’m afraid that I now don’t want to hear or read about this or that off-the-field ‘initiative’. Nor do I want to hear about anything else other than firstly, how this team is going to be strengthened significantly and secondly, when an agreement, hopefully one based on a fan-ownership model, is going to be put into place to relieve this club of its current ownership.

Do something soon Hibs or just turn out the lights…

Another Bad Day at the Office for Hibernian

Hibernian 0-1 Motherwell

More misery for the Hibees

Worrying times continue for the Hibees after another defeat, this time to a late John Sutton goal from Motherwell at Easter Road. It’s yet another blow for this toothless team in green and white that is long past beginning to concern me. Following on from an embarrasssing 3-4 defeat at the hands of Greenock Morton – a team two divisions below Hibs, last Tuesday evening.

The hopeful diversion of a possible return of former Hibs star Derek Riordan has perhaps contributed to some of us with the Easter Road club at heart taking our eye off the ball as matters are truly dire at the club presently. It will take more than a fit and scoring Riordan to turn things around for our currently ailing team sadly.

There are reports that towards the end of the game today there were shouts of ‘Petrie out’ directed towards the CEO who is taking a fair amount of the flack from sections of the support for a lack of re-investment in the team after taking in approximately £11m of late in player sales. It’s a stance I have a lot of time for as we watch a denuded team attempt to replace a galaxy of great young talent with generally very ordinary journeymen football players.

Hibernian – Give us a Goal

Not ‘six of the best’ unfortunately as after six pre-season games Hibs have proved unable to hit the net in half a dozen attempts this summer so far. With capitulations (twice) in the Intertoto Cupagainst Sweden’s Elfsborg, a no-score draw with Raith Rovers and defeats versus the modest opposition of Cowdenbeath and now Clyde, the 6-0 drubbing from mighty Barcelona almost seems to appear quite reasonable.

Further home games against EPL outfits Middlesbrough and Wigan now pave the way to the first league fixture away toKilmarnock. There has to be a fair chunk of trepidation felt by the Easter Road faithful about these encounters and about the coming season in earnest to follow.

Remember the days when pre-season friendlies were of little note? Tradition might be for a good few Scottish teams to try their hand against English competition and apart from the odd shallow bragging right nobody really cared too much. It’s different nowadays isn’t it? Fans travel long distances and spend a lot of money to see their team on trips that often raise funds for some clubs or provide a busman’s holiday for teams’ players. I’m really not sure about this. Every game is there to be won of course and paying fans have the right to see a performance fitting of their admission fee but there now seems a lot of negativity created by defeats in these games.

Can I turn my back, Hibs?

Well things are looking pretty grim currently for the great Edinburgh Hibernians. It seems but weeks ago when I took my last visit to EasterRoad and watched them trounce Kilmarnock 4 -0 with an extremely entertaining and emphatic display of passing, incisive football. Events now find the Hibs, manager-less after John Collins’ sudden departure and with but one victory from the last thirteen games. It’s fair to say that on the football side of things the Green Jerseys are now in free-fall.