So Hibs fell short of their pre-season target of achieving promotion, their narrow play-off defeat at the hands of Rangers ensured that it would be Championship football being played at Easter Road next season, rather than the Premiership football everyone connected with the club had hoped for.
As with the Scottish Cup Semi-Final, and countless other matches that preceded the play-off semi-final ties with Rangers, Hibs' found themselves dominant but unable to break down a dogged defence until it was too late. A two goal deficit proved from the first leg proved too much to overturn, and though Jason Cummings' late strike won the second leg for Hibernian, it was too little, too late, and Rangers progressed to the final where they will now face Motherwell.
It was a cruel and premature end to Hibernian's season, the players slumped to the turf, devastated at coming so close only to fall short when it really mattered. The Easter Road support, were magnificent, and as the familiar Hibs' anthem 'Sunshine on Leith' chimed out through the PA system, the crowd lifted the players and applauded them off the park. In fact, the support had come into it's own in the final moments of the match.
As the Rangers fans taunted former Celtic player Alan Stubbs (with the tasteful lyrics 'Cheer up Alan Stubbs, oh what can it mean, to a fat fenian bastard...') the Hibs support broke into a spontaneous applause and drowned out the heckles of the visiting support, who had been quiet throughout the match up until the final few minutes. It's fair to say that should Rangers get the better of Motherwell and win promotion to the Scottish Premiership, few will miss the sectarian bile that their support seems incapable of eradicating.
That applause from the Hibs support was almost protective, a reminder to the Hibs players that the fans were right there with them. It was in stark contrast to the reaction to the final game of the season before which had brought about relegation, and reflects the transformation in the club in the last twelve months.
At the start of the season, I expected Hibs to be competing with Hearts and Rangers for the title, and for the three clubs to occupy the top three spots in the league. I actually called Rangers as favourites for the title. Their superior resources and the fact that their team had been together through the divisions put them in the best position coming into the season. Hearts, I felt, would struggle much the same as Hibs would, they would win the majority of their games but would lose their fair share too.
Of course, the season didn't pan out like that. Hibs' sluggish start left them chasing an insurmountable gap from early on in the season. Rangers imploded spectacularly mid-season and managed to self-destruct with almost comical frequency for a period of the season before Stuart McCall was appointed to steady the ship.
Hearts, as we know, had a spectacular league season. The blip that everyone expected to come never arrived, they won game after game after game and left the rest of the league trailing in their wake. It was incredible, and the hard work that went into their post-admin re-structuring and team building paid off in spectacular style.
Hibs were a slow burner, we were late to the party with our re-structuring. The decision to remove Terry Butcher and his backroom team was taken weeks too late, and the appointment of Alan Stubbs left him with little time to put together a thorough pre-season with his newly formed team.
There was little incoming Chief Executive Leeann Dempster could do about the timing, she had a job to finish at Motherwell and was not in a position to meet with Butcher to make the decision on his future at the club. When she did, she acted decisively.
The whole football department at the club has been shaken up, in fact, every area of the club was shaken up, and we continue to see changes being made at all levels.
George Craig came on board to head up football operations, Joe McBride took over the youth set up, bringing ex-Falkirk manager Eddie May on board with him. Hibs saw directors leave and others join. Fan representatives Amit Moudgil and Frank Dougan were elected by the Hibs support onto the Board of Directors, and we are starting to see more of the influence that they are having at board level.
The club opened it's doors to the community, with the Community Foundation doing great work (from personal experience, I have attended the Football Fans in Training and Healthy Hibee programs, which have been outstanding and have brought me much closer to the club - even as a thirty-seven year old, I get a buzz from changing in the home dressing room before making my way out the tunnel and onto the pitchside!). Hundreds of school kids have attended Easter Road this season as the club have handed out tickets to give them the opportunity, and the great work carried out by Leith Links has ensured that many disadvantaged children have been able to connect with the club.
There has been a lot of discussion post-play-off defeat about the use of the word 'proud' when discussing how the support feels about the club. Some have argued that it is impossible to be proud of a team that has failed to meet its primary objective of gaining promotion to the top tier. It is a black and white stance that, personally, I don't agree with.
I see much to be proud of when I look at Hibernian Football Club right now. The club feels different - progressive and inclusive. It feels like my club. Our club.
Of course I'm disappointed that we fell short of promotion, just as I was when we lost out on the Scottish Cup Final. But I am proud of the players, proud of the manager, and proud of the club. You need to have incredible patience to be a Hibs supporter, and balls made of pure titanium to withstand the amount of kicks they take when it really matters, but looking at the bigger picture I can see the great strides that the club is making.
I genuinely feel that Hibs have changed for the better, and while it hurts right now - and will, for the whole of the next season regardless of how well we do - at some point soon I know we will be back, and we will be much stronger for the experience, and stronger for the hard work that is going into things all across the football club.
Already, Hibs have moved to cement plans for next season. Today saw the announcement of club captain Liam Craig's departure, and the extension of new club captain David Gray's contract. Hibs have never, for as long as I can recall, done that sort of business at the earliest opportunity. They have now. Stubbs and Dempster are people in a hurry. They want better and they are pulling out all the stops to achieve it.
As soon as the final whistle sounded on Saturday afternoon, Stubbs was vocalising his intention to win the league next season. There was no caveat to it, no 'depending on who is in it with us' cop-out, just a proper neck-on-the-line statement. He wants to win the league. Second place is not going to cut it for Stubbs next season.
These are exactly the noises I want to hear coming from Easter Road in the coming days, weeks, and months. I think Hibs have a huge opportunity to get the support on board. The share issue was always going to be a slow burner, but I think if Hibs can show that they mean business this season, and build a team not just good enough to win in the Championship, but good enough to compete with any team we face next season, then they can start seeing crowds returning to Easter Road.
The support haven't seen ambition from the club for years, for too long ambition has equalled budget, and the expectations have been set around that. It's not glamorous and it's not ambitious, it doesn't sell season tickets or capture the hearts and minds of supporters, some of whom can remember Hibs going toe to toe with the very best that Europe has to offer.
Ambition is about over-achieving. It is wanting to do more with what you've got that people think is possible. That stretch, that extra bit, the determination, craft, skill, and hard work that gets you over the line - that's your ambition right there.
Stubbs has ambition, and that breeds into the players. Leeann Dempster is ambitious too, so the club is being driven to achieve those extra miles. The bar is being raised and Hibs would do well to capture that spirit and show it to the fans. There is a desire to see a successful Hibs side. The support are desperate for good times again, to be able to say that they are proud of the team without someone telling them they shouldn't be.
We all have a part to play in that. The support provide the means to build a winning team, but they'll only do that if they think that the club mean business. For once, we seem to be in a position where the club are putting their cards on the table and doing exactly that.
The season, then, has been disappointing in the main, but it is essential that the disappointment does not obscure the many good things that have happened. We finished second, where it looked at one stage that we'd struggle to make fourth. We reached the Scottish Cup semi-final, going further than Aberdeen, Dundee United, Rangers and Hearts to name a few. We had the league's top scorer in Jason Cummings and the league's best player in Scott Allan.
When you consider that Scott Allan had some competition just to be the best player at Hibs, it shows that there are positives to take from the season. Dominique Malonga represented the club at the African Cup of Nations. We have become the Scottish club with the largest proportion of supporter ownership (I think!) through the efforts of Hibernian Supporters Limited, and we have one of the game's brightest managerial prospects in Alan Stubbs.
We can reflect on a disappointing season, and it will always be disappointing to be anywhere other than the top flight, but we should always remember that we are Hibernian F.C. and we have a lot to be proud about, and a lot to look forward to.
Tuesday, 26 May 2015
Monday, 4 May 2015
Second Place is Only The First Part of the Job.
Hibs went into Saturday's game against what could be considered their bogey team, Falkirk (Hibs had not beaten Falkirk in four attempts prior to their win on Saturday), in pole position for second place.
The previous weekends victory against Alloa had left Hibs in a position where they could afford to lose, so long as Rangers didn't win at Tynecastle. Hibernian's superior goal difference effectively giving them a two point advantage over the Glasgow side. A draw would only be enough for Rangers if Hibs lost heavily to Falkirk.
Three and a half thousand Hibs fans made their way west to Falkirk looking for a happy afternoon against a team that had left them with little to be joyful about all season. Falkirk were in the position of having nothing meaningful to play for in the final match. They had been pipped to fourth spot by Queen of the South, and are counting down the days to the Scottish Cup Final, which they reached (as we know) by triumphing against their final visitors.
Due to work commitments, I was limited to goal updates on Sky Sports. Fortunately, we have an abundance of screens showing Sky Sports in the office, so with the Hearts v Rangers game within viewing distance, I was able to keep up to date with what was going on there as well as at Falkirk.
The Hibs fans that did manage to get a ticket (Hibs sold out their allocation of tickets, requested more, then sold them out as well, and could have sold more still, such was the demand for the game) had their nerves calmed early on, when Martin 'Squirrel' Boyle burst forward and played a neat one-two with Scott Allan before firing a shot across Jamie McDonald to put Hibs a goal up with just a few minutes to spare.
So Hibs had made the first move, it was now up to Rangers to see if they could put some pressure on the Leith men, and sure enough - Rangers took the lead at Tynecastle. Shortly afterwards. Rangers would survive a penalty appeal when their goalkeeper looked like he fouled Osman Sow, who had earlier been booked for diving. Perhaps the referee considered it a case of 'the boy who cried wolf' or perhaps he missed the incident (or chose to ignore it), but the Rangers goalkeeper could consider himself very fortunate not to have conceded a penalty, which, if it had been given, would likely have seen the goalkeeper red carded for his troubles.
Unlike Hearts, Rangers didn't dwell on the decision, and they took full advantage moments later when Kenny Miller side-footed home from inside the penalty box to give Rangers a two goal advantage.
So far, so good for Rangers. If they had wanted to turn the heat up on Hibs, this was exactly what they needed to do. Hibs, however, responded almost immediately. Jason Cummings found himself staring down Jamie McDonald from a few yards out. Cummings dropped a shoulder and sold McDonald a dummy before wandering round the grounded goalkeeper to walk the ball into the now unguarded net. It was a classy finish from the young player who finished the season on top of the scoring charts, a remarkable achievement for a lad that was working as a gardener just a couple of years ago. It rounded off a good week for Jason, who had been voted 'Young Player of the Year' by Hibernian supporters a few days earlier.
Hibs now held the aces in the race for second place, and Rangers were running out of cards to play. As the game progressed at Tynecastle, Hearts shuffled the deck and brought on man-mountain Genero Zeefuik who proved to be almost worth his weight in goals as he headed Hearts back into the match before shooting home a late, late equaliser which finally prompted the Hearts fans into voice, the goal signalling the end of the apparent sponsored silence which seems to be a staple of a Hearts party these days, if the 90 minutes at Tynecastle on Saturday and their party at Easter Road where they lost the last derby of the season are anything to go by.
As if that wasn't enough to sour the Rangers' day, they would hear that Do-do-do-Dominique Malonga had scored for the third consecutive game to give Hibs an unassailable three goal lead going into the final moments of the game.
The results left Hibs in second place, as they had started the day. Few would have given Hibs much hope of second in December and it's testament to Alan Stubbs and his team that they proved the doubters wrong.Questions had been asked about Stubbs's side's bottle, and they were answered in spades in the final weeks of the season. It is ironic that Hibs played much better, in my opinion, in the semi-final against Falkirk where they were accused of bottling it, than they played in Saturday's win. That's football, I suppose.
Rangers now face Queen of the South to see who will meet Hibs in the play-off semi final. Rangers will not be approaching the game with any great amount of confidence. Their last outing at Palmerston ended in a 3-0 reverse, with Queen of the South capitalising on a dire performance from the visitors. Rangers have shipped five goals without reply on their travels to Queen of the South this season, and so the play-off fixture is far from a formality.
Queen of the South are in an almost enviable position of having virtually no pressure on them. Expectations throughout Scottish football at the start of the season were that, aside from whoever was to win the league, the other team likely to be promoted would come from Hearts, Rangers, or Hibernian. With Hearts being the title winners, pundits have practically discounted Queen of the South from any notion of them being contenders. It's not an opinion I share. Both Hibs and Rangers have struggled against Queen of the South this season - their stuffy, park-the-bus approach at Easter Road has subjected me to some of the most negative football seen in the East of Edinburgh since the Alex Miller years. With Hibs tendency to find themselves knocked out by the sucker punch on so many occasions this season, the thought of going up against that will not fill the players with joy.
However, both Rangers and Queen of the South would happily trade places with Hibs. The advantage gained in finishing second is significant, especially if the quarter final turns out to be a gruelling, hard fought affair.
It is vital, though, that Hibs remain focussed. Finishing second was just the start of the job and nothing has been achieved yet. The next two games (and, hopefully the two after) are amongst the most important in the club's history. Negotiate these games effectively, and Hibs can put the nightmare of the Championship behind them and look forward to taking their seat at the top-flight table again next season.
I have no doubt that Hibs are capable of winning these games, and although their sternest test will likely come from the SPL side hoping to avoid swapping places with their Championship counterpart, Hibs have the players in their team that have it in their locker to go on and win.
There may be a question of whether or not they have the temperament to do it, but I think that questions has been put to bed on many occasions this season, and Hibs have stuck at it. In finishing second, Hibs accumulated more points that Championship winners Dundee collected last season. Dundee have held their own in the SPL this season, so Hibs should take confidence that they can mix it with the big boys.
Hibs biggest barrier to overcome is to make sure that the focus remains on the job in hand over the next couple of weeks until they need to play again. The risk is that in achieving a milestone in finishing second, they get the chance to relax and let complacency seep in. In Alan Stubbs, Hibs have a manager who is ideal for preventing that from happening. Stubbs has insisted on high standards all season, and it's finally paying dividends.
I am hopeless at predictions, but my gut instinct is that Hibs will once again be a top flight side next season. The one thing I can say, is that so long as Stubbs and his backroom stay, and the hugely impressive work behind the scenes at Easter Road continues, then it's only a matter of time before Hibs are challenging at the right end of the right league, even if it doesn't happen this year.
Congratulations must also go to Championship Player of the Year, Scott Allan. What a joy it has been watching him grow and develop at Hibs this season. He was impressive when he first arrived but having had the bulk of the season under his belt, he has improved immeasurably under Stubbs' guidance. This improvement is a trend that's evident throughout the side, and Allan had some close competition from his team-mates for the award.
Scott has another year on his contract, and I desperately hope Hibs resist any advances for him. He is a player that the Hibs fans appreciate, and he fits the style of play that Stubbs is stamping on the team like a glove. The phrase 'build a team around' gets used a lot in football, and never has it been more fitting than in Scott Allan's case at Hibs.
What has also been very noticeable, in contrast to the abject misery and disillusionment of last season's closing stages, is rather than seeing an impending exodus of players, we are hearing stories of players being desperate to stay at Hibs, and we've gone from seeing loan players who simply couldn't give a toss about the club (yes, Matt Doherty, I mean you) to players like Martin Boyle who showed with his celebration on Saturday exactly what it means to him to be at Easter Road.
It's like night and day comparing the Hibs from then to the Hibs of now. We have some of the most talented young players (the potential in Jason Cummings is unbelievable, in my opinion this guy could go on to be the best striker Hibs have produced since Riordan and Fletcher), as well as some experienced players (Fontaine, Gray, Hanlon, Stevenson, Craig, Robertson) who have raised their game considerably this season. It's a great mix, and Stubbs will have a lot of food for thought over the close season to decide how he is going to build on this nucleus of talent.
The previous weekends victory against Alloa had left Hibs in a position where they could afford to lose, so long as Rangers didn't win at Tynecastle. Hibernian's superior goal difference effectively giving them a two point advantage over the Glasgow side. A draw would only be enough for Rangers if Hibs lost heavily to Falkirk.
Three and a half thousand Hibs fans made their way west to Falkirk looking for a happy afternoon against a team that had left them with little to be joyful about all season. Falkirk were in the position of having nothing meaningful to play for in the final match. They had been pipped to fourth spot by Queen of the South, and are counting down the days to the Scottish Cup Final, which they reached (as we know) by triumphing against their final visitors.
Due to work commitments, I was limited to goal updates on Sky Sports. Fortunately, we have an abundance of screens showing Sky Sports in the office, so with the Hearts v Rangers game within viewing distance, I was able to keep up to date with what was going on there as well as at Falkirk.
The Hibs fans that did manage to get a ticket (Hibs sold out their allocation of tickets, requested more, then sold them out as well, and could have sold more still, such was the demand for the game) had their nerves calmed early on, when Martin 'Squirrel' Boyle burst forward and played a neat one-two with Scott Allan before firing a shot across Jamie McDonald to put Hibs a goal up with just a few minutes to spare.
So Hibs had made the first move, it was now up to Rangers to see if they could put some pressure on the Leith men, and sure enough - Rangers took the lead at Tynecastle. Shortly afterwards. Rangers would survive a penalty appeal when their goalkeeper looked like he fouled Osman Sow, who had earlier been booked for diving. Perhaps the referee considered it a case of 'the boy who cried wolf' or perhaps he missed the incident (or chose to ignore it), but the Rangers goalkeeper could consider himself very fortunate not to have conceded a penalty, which, if it had been given, would likely have seen the goalkeeper red carded for his troubles.
Unlike Hearts, Rangers didn't dwell on the decision, and they took full advantage moments later when Kenny Miller side-footed home from inside the penalty box to give Rangers a two goal advantage.
So far, so good for Rangers. If they had wanted to turn the heat up on Hibs, this was exactly what they needed to do. Hibs, however, responded almost immediately. Jason Cummings found himself staring down Jamie McDonald from a few yards out. Cummings dropped a shoulder and sold McDonald a dummy before wandering round the grounded goalkeeper to walk the ball into the now unguarded net. It was a classy finish from the young player who finished the season on top of the scoring charts, a remarkable achievement for a lad that was working as a gardener just a couple of years ago. It rounded off a good week for Jason, who had been voted 'Young Player of the Year' by Hibernian supporters a few days earlier.
Hibs now held the aces in the race for second place, and Rangers were running out of cards to play. As the game progressed at Tynecastle, Hearts shuffled the deck and brought on man-mountain Genero Zeefuik who proved to be almost worth his weight in goals as he headed Hearts back into the match before shooting home a late, late equaliser which finally prompted the Hearts fans into voice, the goal signalling the end of the apparent sponsored silence which seems to be a staple of a Hearts party these days, if the 90 minutes at Tynecastle on Saturday and their party at Easter Road where they lost the last derby of the season are anything to go by.
As if that wasn't enough to sour the Rangers' day, they would hear that Do-do-do-Dominique Malonga had scored for the third consecutive game to give Hibs an unassailable three goal lead going into the final moments of the game.
The results left Hibs in second place, as they had started the day. Few would have given Hibs much hope of second in December and it's testament to Alan Stubbs and his team that they proved the doubters wrong.Questions had been asked about Stubbs's side's bottle, and they were answered in spades in the final weeks of the season. It is ironic that Hibs played much better, in my opinion, in the semi-final against Falkirk where they were accused of bottling it, than they played in Saturday's win. That's football, I suppose.
Rangers now face Queen of the South to see who will meet Hibs in the play-off semi final. Rangers will not be approaching the game with any great amount of confidence. Their last outing at Palmerston ended in a 3-0 reverse, with Queen of the South capitalising on a dire performance from the visitors. Rangers have shipped five goals without reply on their travels to Queen of the South this season, and so the play-off fixture is far from a formality.
Queen of the South are in an almost enviable position of having virtually no pressure on them. Expectations throughout Scottish football at the start of the season were that, aside from whoever was to win the league, the other team likely to be promoted would come from Hearts, Rangers, or Hibernian. With Hearts being the title winners, pundits have practically discounted Queen of the South from any notion of them being contenders. It's not an opinion I share. Both Hibs and Rangers have struggled against Queen of the South this season - their stuffy, park-the-bus approach at Easter Road has subjected me to some of the most negative football seen in the East of Edinburgh since the Alex Miller years. With Hibs tendency to find themselves knocked out by the sucker punch on so many occasions this season, the thought of going up against that will not fill the players with joy.
However, both Rangers and Queen of the South would happily trade places with Hibs. The advantage gained in finishing second is significant, especially if the quarter final turns out to be a gruelling, hard fought affair.
It is vital, though, that Hibs remain focussed. Finishing second was just the start of the job and nothing has been achieved yet. The next two games (and, hopefully the two after) are amongst the most important in the club's history. Negotiate these games effectively, and Hibs can put the nightmare of the Championship behind them and look forward to taking their seat at the top-flight table again next season.
I have no doubt that Hibs are capable of winning these games, and although their sternest test will likely come from the SPL side hoping to avoid swapping places with their Championship counterpart, Hibs have the players in their team that have it in their locker to go on and win.
There may be a question of whether or not they have the temperament to do it, but I think that questions has been put to bed on many occasions this season, and Hibs have stuck at it. In finishing second, Hibs accumulated more points that Championship winners Dundee collected last season. Dundee have held their own in the SPL this season, so Hibs should take confidence that they can mix it with the big boys.
Hibs biggest barrier to overcome is to make sure that the focus remains on the job in hand over the next couple of weeks until they need to play again. The risk is that in achieving a milestone in finishing second, they get the chance to relax and let complacency seep in. In Alan Stubbs, Hibs have a manager who is ideal for preventing that from happening. Stubbs has insisted on high standards all season, and it's finally paying dividends.
I am hopeless at predictions, but my gut instinct is that Hibs will once again be a top flight side next season. The one thing I can say, is that so long as Stubbs and his backroom stay, and the hugely impressive work behind the scenes at Easter Road continues, then it's only a matter of time before Hibs are challenging at the right end of the right league, even if it doesn't happen this year.
Congratulations must also go to Championship Player of the Year, Scott Allan. What a joy it has been watching him grow and develop at Hibs this season. He was impressive when he first arrived but having had the bulk of the season under his belt, he has improved immeasurably under Stubbs' guidance. This improvement is a trend that's evident throughout the side, and Allan had some close competition from his team-mates for the award.
Scott has another year on his contract, and I desperately hope Hibs resist any advances for him. He is a player that the Hibs fans appreciate, and he fits the style of play that Stubbs is stamping on the team like a glove. The phrase 'build a team around' gets used a lot in football, and never has it been more fitting than in Scott Allan's case at Hibs.
What has also been very noticeable, in contrast to the abject misery and disillusionment of last season's closing stages, is rather than seeing an impending exodus of players, we are hearing stories of players being desperate to stay at Hibs, and we've gone from seeing loan players who simply couldn't give a toss about the club (yes, Matt Doherty, I mean you) to players like Martin Boyle who showed with his celebration on Saturday exactly what it means to him to be at Easter Road.
It's like night and day comparing the Hibs from then to the Hibs of now. We have some of the most talented young players (the potential in Jason Cummings is unbelievable, in my opinion this guy could go on to be the best striker Hibs have produced since Riordan and Fletcher), as well as some experienced players (Fontaine, Gray, Hanlon, Stevenson, Craig, Robertson) who have raised their game considerably this season. It's a great mix, and Stubbs will have a lot of food for thought over the close season to decide how he is going to build on this nucleus of talent.
Monday, 20 April 2015
A Season Summed Up In Ninety Minutes
As around sixteen thousand beleaguered Hibs fans made their way back to their buses, cars, and trains for the long, quiet journey home from Hampden having watched their heroes chalk up another year on the 'since-they-won-the-Scottish-Cup-o-meter', they would have been wondering just how Hibs had managed - again - to take nothing from a game that they utterly dominated.
It has been the story of their season. I've lost count of the number of games Hibs have failed to take full points, having battered their opponents for virtually the full ninety minutes. Home games against Falkirk (twice), Queen of the South, Hearts, Raith (twice), and Dumbarton - and that's just from the top of my head, have seen Hibs put in a commanding performance only to draw or lose the match.
Saturday's Scottish Cup Semi-Final can now be added to that list. Before I dwell on Hibs' failings, I want to congratulate Falkirk for reaching the final. The most important statistic in football is the number of goals scored versus the number conceded, and Falkirk compared favourably in that aspect on Saturday, and so they have a Cup Final to look forward to. Well done to Falkirk, and I genuinely wish them all the best in the final.
So, onto Hibs. Where do you start when trying to explain that defeat? You can criticise the forward players for not taking their chances, and we had plenty of them regardless of what Peter Houston might have you believe. Scott Allan rattled the crossbar after a Gascoigne-esque dribble through the Falkirk defence. Fraser Fyvie had seen a shot tipped onto the post only for the ball to rebound with an almost magnetic precision back into the arms of the grateful Jamie McDonald.
Farid El-Alagui had a first minute header (if you can call the ball bouncing off his head as he lay prone on the ground a 'header') saved on the goal-line. Lewis Stevenson blasted over from eight yards when he seemed more likely to score, just moments after Dylan McGeouch had totally mis-hit his shot to the point where it was closer to trapping the ball than shooting at goal.
Stevenson came close again when a deflected shot looped over McDonald only to drop agonisingly wide of the post, and there were late chances for Malonga and El-Alagui, neither of whom were able to take advantage.
Falkirk, of course, scored in the most ironic of fashions. The referee halted a Hibs attack, Falkirk broke forward and gave their opponents a lesson in clinical finishing. Mark Oxley had been a virtual spectator in the second half at Hampden, his only contribution prior to conceding had been to tip a speculative effort round the post early in the second half. Falkirk had, by my count, three chances in the second half in total, and scored with one of them.
It's hard to pinpoint why this has happened to Hibs so frequently this season. You can criticise the defence, but then you'd think they would deserve praise for limiting the opposition to three chances. Then again, how can you praise a defence that concedes one goal from three chances, compared to Falkirk who conceded none from goodness knows how many.
Perhaps it's a lack of concentration. If it was only once that a game had gone this way, you could attribute it to bad luck, but when it's happened with a depressing regularity then it surely can't just be luck.
Alan Stubbs must take some responsibility - it's been a season long problem at both ends of the park. If Hibs had taken chances with the same efficiency as our opponents this season, it would have been Hibs rather than Hearts that had romped the league with plenty to spare. Hibs haven't though, and Hearts have, and that's why they were worthy winners.
Stubbs must now look at his side and find a way to address this wastefulness in front of goal, and the carelessness in defence, in order that his side has any chance of promotion this season. Stubbs cannot afford to attribute the poor results to mere bad luck, no matter how much he may protest that his side deserved to win the game (and few neutrals would argue with him), the fact of the matter is that again, his Hibs side were trumped by a sucker punch, and lost the match.
I like Alan Stubbs. I like the way he sets Hibs up to play and I like that he isn't shy in saying that the better team lost. It's refreshing, and his style of play is pleasing on the eye, in stark contrast to his recent predecessors in the Easter Road hot-seat. There is a real lack of a cutting edge, no ruthlessness or mean streak in the side, and he needs to find that, and find it soon.
Stubbs has challenged his side to go and get the promotion their play deserves, but that play will only deserve promotion if it finds an end product. Teams don't get promoted for missing chances or keeping the ball. You can have all the possession in the world, if you don't score and you can't prevent the opposition scoring, then you don't deserve to get promoted. I think it's important that Stubbs acknowledges that, if not publicly then at least within the confines of the Easter Road/East Mains dressing rooms.
The players can't be allowed to continue to put costly defeats like Saturday's down to bad luck. They have to be aware that they are ultimately responsible for the fine margins that have gone against them. Is it bad luck or bad finishing to hit the bar from fifteen yards out? Is it bad luck that you swing a boot at the ball with the goal gaping and send the ball three feet over the crossbar? Is it bad luck that you find yourself conceding - again - from the only chance your opponent carves out?
Passing it off as bad luck removes the need to make an improvement. I'm not expecting to see Stubbs chastise his players for their inefficiencies in public, in fact, I wouldn't expect him to hammer them in private either, but I would expect him to seek improvement and to make the players accountable.
Hibs' season is teetering on the brink now - the cup had proven to be a welcome distraction and the prospect of finishing the season with the play-offs and a cup final to look forward to was exciting. Now there is the very real prospect of Hibs finishing the season with nothing to show for the undeniable improvements that Stubbs and his coaching team have made. Hibs have three league games left to put themselves in with a shout of finishing second, but they are now reliant on Rangers slipping up.
Even finishing second won't guarantee Hibs promotion, if they continue to mis-fire as they did against Falkirk and countless other teams this season. These fine margins are critical now, and unless Hibs do more to make those margins count in their favour, then there's a huge risk that any progress will be overlooked in the anger and disappointment that will inevitably consume large chunks of the Hibs support, who will have at least another Championship season to face. For a club Hibs' size, that is almost unthinkable.
In fairness, the players do not deserve a hard time for their performance on Saturday. The team played well, with some great football and you'll struggle to see a more dominant performance from a team all season. Had that game finished 1-0 to Hibs, people would have been enthusing over the way that Hibs controlled the game and kept Falkirk at arms' length throughout. It didn't though, and in the aftermath it's easy to lose sight of the fact that Hibs performed at a good level, without it being good enough to take them into the Scottish Cup Final.
And so it goes, another year to the record. I think that's 114 now. I sometimes get asked if it hurts more with each year, and I liken it to playing the lottery, which I haven't yet won at many more than 114 times of asking. Sometimes I get close to it, there's been a few times where I've had four numbers but never enough to retire early or get a holiday home somewhere sunnier than Leith. That winning combination eludes me, sometimes twice a week, yet the disappointment lasts just a few moments and never dampens the anticipation that maybe - just maybe - the next draw will be the one. I feel like that with the Scottish Cup these days. Yes, if and when Hibs do win the bloody thing, the hangover I will have after it is beyond my comprehension at the moment. However I'm long since past the point of beating myself up about it when the inevitable cup disappointment comes around again.
It has been the story of their season. I've lost count of the number of games Hibs have failed to take full points, having battered their opponents for virtually the full ninety minutes. Home games against Falkirk (twice), Queen of the South, Hearts, Raith (twice), and Dumbarton - and that's just from the top of my head, have seen Hibs put in a commanding performance only to draw or lose the match.
Saturday's Scottish Cup Semi-Final can now be added to that list. Before I dwell on Hibs' failings, I want to congratulate Falkirk for reaching the final. The most important statistic in football is the number of goals scored versus the number conceded, and Falkirk compared favourably in that aspect on Saturday, and so they have a Cup Final to look forward to. Well done to Falkirk, and I genuinely wish them all the best in the final.
So, onto Hibs. Where do you start when trying to explain that defeat? You can criticise the forward players for not taking their chances, and we had plenty of them regardless of what Peter Houston might have you believe. Scott Allan rattled the crossbar after a Gascoigne-esque dribble through the Falkirk defence. Fraser Fyvie had seen a shot tipped onto the post only for the ball to rebound with an almost magnetic precision back into the arms of the grateful Jamie McDonald.
Farid El-Alagui had a first minute header (if you can call the ball bouncing off his head as he lay prone on the ground a 'header') saved on the goal-line. Lewis Stevenson blasted over from eight yards when he seemed more likely to score, just moments after Dylan McGeouch had totally mis-hit his shot to the point where it was closer to trapping the ball than shooting at goal.
Stevenson came close again when a deflected shot looped over McDonald only to drop agonisingly wide of the post, and there were late chances for Malonga and El-Alagui, neither of whom were able to take advantage.
Falkirk, of course, scored in the most ironic of fashions. The referee halted a Hibs attack, Falkirk broke forward and gave their opponents a lesson in clinical finishing. Mark Oxley had been a virtual spectator in the second half at Hampden, his only contribution prior to conceding had been to tip a speculative effort round the post early in the second half. Falkirk had, by my count, three chances in the second half in total, and scored with one of them.
It's hard to pinpoint why this has happened to Hibs so frequently this season. You can criticise the defence, but then you'd think they would deserve praise for limiting the opposition to three chances. Then again, how can you praise a defence that concedes one goal from three chances, compared to Falkirk who conceded none from goodness knows how many.
Perhaps it's a lack of concentration. If it was only once that a game had gone this way, you could attribute it to bad luck, but when it's happened with a depressing regularity then it surely can't just be luck.
Alan Stubbs must take some responsibility - it's been a season long problem at both ends of the park. If Hibs had taken chances with the same efficiency as our opponents this season, it would have been Hibs rather than Hearts that had romped the league with plenty to spare. Hibs haven't though, and Hearts have, and that's why they were worthy winners.
Stubbs must now look at his side and find a way to address this wastefulness in front of goal, and the carelessness in defence, in order that his side has any chance of promotion this season. Stubbs cannot afford to attribute the poor results to mere bad luck, no matter how much he may protest that his side deserved to win the game (and few neutrals would argue with him), the fact of the matter is that again, his Hibs side were trumped by a sucker punch, and lost the match.
I like Alan Stubbs. I like the way he sets Hibs up to play and I like that he isn't shy in saying that the better team lost. It's refreshing, and his style of play is pleasing on the eye, in stark contrast to his recent predecessors in the Easter Road hot-seat. There is a real lack of a cutting edge, no ruthlessness or mean streak in the side, and he needs to find that, and find it soon.
Stubbs has challenged his side to go and get the promotion their play deserves, but that play will only deserve promotion if it finds an end product. Teams don't get promoted for missing chances or keeping the ball. You can have all the possession in the world, if you don't score and you can't prevent the opposition scoring, then you don't deserve to get promoted. I think it's important that Stubbs acknowledges that, if not publicly then at least within the confines of the Easter Road/East Mains dressing rooms.
The players can't be allowed to continue to put costly defeats like Saturday's down to bad luck. They have to be aware that they are ultimately responsible for the fine margins that have gone against them. Is it bad luck or bad finishing to hit the bar from fifteen yards out? Is it bad luck that you swing a boot at the ball with the goal gaping and send the ball three feet over the crossbar? Is it bad luck that you find yourself conceding - again - from the only chance your opponent carves out?
Passing it off as bad luck removes the need to make an improvement. I'm not expecting to see Stubbs chastise his players for their inefficiencies in public, in fact, I wouldn't expect him to hammer them in private either, but I would expect him to seek improvement and to make the players accountable.
Hibs' season is teetering on the brink now - the cup had proven to be a welcome distraction and the prospect of finishing the season with the play-offs and a cup final to look forward to was exciting. Now there is the very real prospect of Hibs finishing the season with nothing to show for the undeniable improvements that Stubbs and his coaching team have made. Hibs have three league games left to put themselves in with a shout of finishing second, but they are now reliant on Rangers slipping up.
Even finishing second won't guarantee Hibs promotion, if they continue to mis-fire as they did against Falkirk and countless other teams this season. These fine margins are critical now, and unless Hibs do more to make those margins count in their favour, then there's a huge risk that any progress will be overlooked in the anger and disappointment that will inevitably consume large chunks of the Hibs support, who will have at least another Championship season to face. For a club Hibs' size, that is almost unthinkable.
In fairness, the players do not deserve a hard time for their performance on Saturday. The team played well, with some great football and you'll struggle to see a more dominant performance from a team all season. Had that game finished 1-0 to Hibs, people would have been enthusing over the way that Hibs controlled the game and kept Falkirk at arms' length throughout. It didn't though, and in the aftermath it's easy to lose sight of the fact that Hibs performed at a good level, without it being good enough to take them into the Scottish Cup Final.
And so it goes, another year to the record. I think that's 114 now. I sometimes get asked if it hurts more with each year, and I liken it to playing the lottery, which I haven't yet won at many more than 114 times of asking. Sometimes I get close to it, there's been a few times where I've had four numbers but never enough to retire early or get a holiday home somewhere sunnier than Leith. That winning combination eludes me, sometimes twice a week, yet the disappointment lasts just a few moments and never dampens the anticipation that maybe - just maybe - the next draw will be the one. I feel like that with the Scottish Cup these days. Yes, if and when Hibs do win the bloody thing, the hangover I will have after it is beyond my comprehension at the moment. However I'm long since past the point of beating myself up about it when the inevitable cup disappointment comes around again.
Monday, 13 April 2015
Hibs Do the Honourable Thing in the Derby
A lot was made of Hibernian's apparent refusal to grant Hearts a guard of honour onto the pitch in the lead up to the final Edinburgh derby of the season. More was made of it than was really necessary, to be completely honest.
Depending on who you speak to, tradition seems to dictate that the guard of honour is generally given at the game immediately after the title is won, or on each of the first home and away games after winning the league. In Hearts' case, this had been extended by Alloa to include their second home game.
There was suggestion that Hibs should have followed Rangers' lead and clapped their city rivals onto the pitch, a suggestion that was shot down by the vast majority of Hibs' online support, and by Alan Stubbs himself, who cited safety reasons and a desire to avoid fueling the flames of an already volatile fixture as the reason for Hibs not granting the guard of honour.
That Stubbs should have been having to turn it down in the first place is a nonsense in itself. Even more ridiculous was the reaction to the apparent snub from Hearts' Head Coach Robbie Nielson and their centre-half Alim Öztürk, who comically said that the show of disrespect told you everything you needed to know about Hibs.
Quite how the whole thing was contrived to be an issue is beyond me. However, common sense prevailed and the players ran out in their conventional line-ups and got on with things.
Clearly, I am biased towards Hibs, I will never hide that fact or pretend otherwise, especially when it comes to the derby and the rivalry between Hibs and Hearts, but even putting that bias to one side, I find the idea of giving a team that shafted a laundry list of creditors (including you and I as tax payers) a guard of honour - and that team expecting it - quite distasteful.
The current Hearts side and owners deserve all the credit going for a fantastic season. They have been unquestionably the best side in the Championship over the course of the season. They have barely faltered and have played some terrific football in that time, backed by a large support home and away throughout the season. Hearts have been the success story of the 2014-15 Scottish Championship season.
What they won't win prizes for,evidently, is having a little bit of humility; and this notion that Hibs were somehow being disrespectful in not granting the guard of honour was disrespectful in itself.
On to the derby then, and what a derby it was - from a Hibs point of view. The Hearts support filled the Dunbar end at Easter Road and they turned up for a party, and they weren't shy in letting the disappointing Hibs crowd know about it.
Robbie Nielson said prior to the match when speaking to Sky TV, that he had set up to match Hibs 3-5-2, and in doing so was making the game a case of his players going man to man with Stubbs' players.
Nielson changed his tactics with barely half an hour gone, as his side struggled to get a foothold in the game, unable to win their man v man battles. Hibs took the upper hand, rattling the Hearts crossbar on two occasions and calling Neil Alexander in the Hearts goal into action, before the 'King of Zing' Jason Cummings shinned (and it was shinned, rather than caressed, Jason) his second derby goal of the season to give Hibs a deserved lead.
Hearts at this point had been on the back foot for all but a few minutes of the game. Neilson's tactical switch helped them stifle Hibs' play to some degree but still Hearts lacked in their effectiveness going forward.
Hibs' three centre-halves, Paul Hanlon, Liam Fontaine, and Jordon Forster were superb. The physical threat of Osman Sow and man-mountain Genero Zeefuik got absolutely no joy against them all game, and from those solid foundations, the rest of the Hibs side were able to impose themselves on the match.
Dominique Malonga had a great opportunity to extend Hibs' lead in the second half as Hibs broke forward with three against two, but the forward opted to shoot rather than pass to Scott Allan or Martin Boyle, either of whom would have been left with only the Hearts keeper to beat. It was just about the last involvement that Malonga had in the game, having come on as a substitute he was replaced shortly afterwards, the introduction of Frank Dja DjeDje a necessity following an injury to Malonga.
Malonga has looked short of fitness in his last couple of outings in a Hibs jersey, and seems in dire need of a confidence restoring goal. His decision making in the derby invoked the ire of the Hibs support, only too aware that failing to take your chances in this particular fixture usually ends up coming back to haunt you.
On this occasion, however, Hibs weren't left to rue that mistake. In fact, as the game edged into injury time Hibs again found themselves outnumbering the Hearts defence when DjeDje turned Öztürk before clipping the ball through to Farid El Alagui who was calmness personified as he dinked the ball over the diving Alexander to seal Hibs' win. It was fitting for Hibs fans that it was Öztürk's woeful defending that let DjeDje in, given the pre-match complaints about Hibs from the defender.
The victory, of course, had no bearing in the title with Hearts already crowned champions, but make no mistake - Hearts came to Easter Road to win. In fact, the game was almost a carbon copy of the previous Easter Road derby, only this time it was Hibs rather than Hearts that scored the injury time goal. The balance of play in both games had been distinctly in Hibs' favour, and if anything Hearts were better in this derby than in the first one. So don't be misled that there was any suggestion of Hearts players being in holiday mode.
They, like their fans, and by Robbie Nielson's own admission, had come to Easter Road to win. Neilson's post match comments to the BBC told us that Hearts 'should be coming to Easter Road and winning, it's what we do'. Well, that's not strictly true, Robbie, is it? You've yet to win at Easter Road as Hearts' Head Coach, so again, a little humility wouldn't go amiss.
As it was, there was no sign of the Hearts party, and from demanding a guard of honour there were barely any Hearts fans left to clap their league winning heroes from the pitch at the end of the match. The green and white half of Edinburgh, however, headed off into the April sunshine in celebratory mood, off to find parties of their own.
Depending on who you speak to, tradition seems to dictate that the guard of honour is generally given at the game immediately after the title is won, or on each of the first home and away games after winning the league. In Hearts' case, this had been extended by Alloa to include their second home game.
There was suggestion that Hibs should have followed Rangers' lead and clapped their city rivals onto the pitch, a suggestion that was shot down by the vast majority of Hibs' online support, and by Alan Stubbs himself, who cited safety reasons and a desire to avoid fueling the flames of an already volatile fixture as the reason for Hibs not granting the guard of honour.
That Stubbs should have been having to turn it down in the first place is a nonsense in itself. Even more ridiculous was the reaction to the apparent snub from Hearts' Head Coach Robbie Nielson and their centre-half Alim Öztürk, who comically said that the show of disrespect told you everything you needed to know about Hibs.
Quite how the whole thing was contrived to be an issue is beyond me. However, common sense prevailed and the players ran out in their conventional line-ups and got on with things.
Clearly, I am biased towards Hibs, I will never hide that fact or pretend otherwise, especially when it comes to the derby and the rivalry between Hibs and Hearts, but even putting that bias to one side, I find the idea of giving a team that shafted a laundry list of creditors (including you and I as tax payers) a guard of honour - and that team expecting it - quite distasteful.
The current Hearts side and owners deserve all the credit going for a fantastic season. They have been unquestionably the best side in the Championship over the course of the season. They have barely faltered and have played some terrific football in that time, backed by a large support home and away throughout the season. Hearts have been the success story of the 2014-15 Scottish Championship season.
What they won't win prizes for,evidently, is having a little bit of humility; and this notion that Hibs were somehow being disrespectful in not granting the guard of honour was disrespectful in itself.
On to the derby then, and what a derby it was - from a Hibs point of view. The Hearts support filled the Dunbar end at Easter Road and they turned up for a party, and they weren't shy in letting the disappointing Hibs crowd know about it.
Robbie Nielson said prior to the match when speaking to Sky TV, that he had set up to match Hibs 3-5-2, and in doing so was making the game a case of his players going man to man with Stubbs' players.
Nielson changed his tactics with barely half an hour gone, as his side struggled to get a foothold in the game, unable to win their man v man battles. Hibs took the upper hand, rattling the Hearts crossbar on two occasions and calling Neil Alexander in the Hearts goal into action, before the 'King of Zing' Jason Cummings shinned (and it was shinned, rather than caressed, Jason) his second derby goal of the season to give Hibs a deserved lead.
Hearts at this point had been on the back foot for all but a few minutes of the game. Neilson's tactical switch helped them stifle Hibs' play to some degree but still Hearts lacked in their effectiveness going forward.
Hibs' three centre-halves, Paul Hanlon, Liam Fontaine, and Jordon Forster were superb. The physical threat of Osman Sow and man-mountain Genero Zeefuik got absolutely no joy against them all game, and from those solid foundations, the rest of the Hibs side were able to impose themselves on the match.
Dominique Malonga had a great opportunity to extend Hibs' lead in the second half as Hibs broke forward with three against two, but the forward opted to shoot rather than pass to Scott Allan or Martin Boyle, either of whom would have been left with only the Hearts keeper to beat. It was just about the last involvement that Malonga had in the game, having come on as a substitute he was replaced shortly afterwards, the introduction of Frank Dja DjeDje a necessity following an injury to Malonga.
Malonga has looked short of fitness in his last couple of outings in a Hibs jersey, and seems in dire need of a confidence restoring goal. His decision making in the derby invoked the ire of the Hibs support, only too aware that failing to take your chances in this particular fixture usually ends up coming back to haunt you.
On this occasion, however, Hibs weren't left to rue that mistake. In fact, as the game edged into injury time Hibs again found themselves outnumbering the Hearts defence when DjeDje turned Öztürk before clipping the ball through to Farid El Alagui who was calmness personified as he dinked the ball over the diving Alexander to seal Hibs' win. It was fitting for Hibs fans that it was Öztürk's woeful defending that let DjeDje in, given the pre-match complaints about Hibs from the defender.
The victory, of course, had no bearing in the title with Hearts already crowned champions, but make no mistake - Hearts came to Easter Road to win. In fact, the game was almost a carbon copy of the previous Easter Road derby, only this time it was Hibs rather than Hearts that scored the injury time goal. The balance of play in both games had been distinctly in Hibs' favour, and if anything Hearts were better in this derby than in the first one. So don't be misled that there was any suggestion of Hearts players being in holiday mode.
They, like their fans, and by Robbie Nielson's own admission, had come to Easter Road to win. Neilson's post match comments to the BBC told us that Hearts 'should be coming to Easter Road and winning, it's what we do'. Well, that's not strictly true, Robbie, is it? You've yet to win at Easter Road as Hearts' Head Coach, so again, a little humility wouldn't go amiss.
As it was, there was no sign of the Hearts party, and from demanding a guard of honour there were barely any Hearts fans left to clap their league winning heroes from the pitch at the end of the match. The green and white half of Edinburgh, however, headed off into the April sunshine in celebratory mood, off to find parties of their own.
Friday, 3 April 2015
Got the Bottle?
Consecutive league defeats have led to some questions being raised amongst some members of the press, and some Hibs supporters, asking whether or not the Hibs squad have lost their bottle in the race for second place in the Scottish Championship.
It would be fair to say that the Hibs support have good cause to question the mental strength of the team. Hibs are a side who have in recent times, crumbled at the first sniff of a bit of pressure. Cup final? Bottled. Relegation battle? Bottled. Countless derbies? Bottled.
Prior to this season, Hibs were almost renowned for their lack of fight and grit. Visiting managers would talk about how Hibs were a soft side, and even incoming managers referenced the need to toughen up the squad. Both John Hughes and Pat Fenlon tried to instil a mental toughness to the football side. Neither could lay claim to having been successful in their task.
Terry Butcher was desperate to add bottle to a demoralised squad, but only succeeded into making a side already bereft of confidence and swagger, even more introverted and scared. Butcher and Malpas roared their players to defeat after defeat, and when the chips were down, Hibs folded under the pressure and were relegated.
This season's Hibs squad have been something of a different kettle of fish. A sticky start to the season had the support again analysing the mental fortitude of Stubbs' side. The first test of Hibs' resolve came in the opening derby of the season, and they fell short. Liam Craig had an opportunity to put Hibs in the lead with a first half penalty, which he pulled wide of the post. The miss clearly played on Craig's mind, and he was ineffective up until the half time whistle. In the second half, Scott Robertson conceded a penalty and was then sent off in what was a personally disastrous second half for the player. Hibs played OK, but ultimately came up short. The culprits of the piece were players who had fallen out of favour with the support from the relegation season. Neither Robertson nor Craig could have laid claim to being fans' favourites at that point. The questions remained about the team's bottle, and crucially, whether the players who had come down with the club would ever have the bottle for the Championship season.
The stuttering start to the season didn't do Hibs any favours, and you sensed that teams fancied their chances against Hibs far more than they did Hearts or Rangers. There were, I feel, two significant games that shifted opinions of Hibs, when the Hibs squad started answering the questions around their ability to withstand pressure.
The first of those was the 1-1 draw with Hearts at Easter Road. Hibs out-played the visitors on the day, controlling much of the match and limiting Hearts to very few chances. Hearts scored with almost the last kick of the game, and though they undoubtedly took a huge lift from avoiding defeat, Hibs also took many positives from that game. Hibs had played without fear and went toe to toe with the best side in the league, and were unlucky not to take the three points. It was the first real sign that Hibs might not be the shy-boys of the league after all.
The second game was the 4-0 rout of Rangers. With the Sky cameras at Easter Road and the match being beamed live on Sky Sports, Hibs brushed Rangers aside with style and strength. The scoreline was a fair reflection on a game that Hibs completely dominated. Rangers couldn't cope with Hibs in that form, and Hibs knew it. Crucially, the rest of the league knew it as well.
Hibs went to Tynecastle and again were unlucky not to come away with all three points in a close game. If there was a game to bottle it, the New Year derby would have been the one Hibs would have chosen to do so in seasons gone by. Not this season though. Hibs answered all the questions asked of them.
Stubbs' side were to go through to March before tasting defeat, clawing back a huge points deficit on Rangers to overtake them and claim second place in the league (a spot they still hold ahead of the Easter fixtures this weekend.) There was no question of Hibs' bottle during this time.
So why now, when Rangers won at Easter Road, and Hibs lost at Raith, do these questions come up? Alan Stubbs was clearly annoyed at the questions around Hibs' bottle in his Hibs TV interview. He has, in my opinion, every right to be.
Last week's defeat at Raith had nothing to do with bottle. Bad finishing and bad defending, absolutely. No bottle? No chance. Hibs created enough chances to win that game three times over. A team that bottled it would not have done that.
Hibs' bottle wasn't to blame for the defeat to Rangers either. There is a legitimate question around whether or not Stubbs chose the right tactics for the game, but his players didn't bottle it.
Hibs go into tomorrow's game against Queen of the South needing to once again prove that they have the mental strength to dust themselves down and get a result when it really matters. I have no doubts in my mind that they have the bottle and resolve to do so. That doesn't mean that they'll win- there are no guarantees in football, but if they lose it will not be down to a lack of mental resolve or bottle.
Much has changed at Easter Road in the time since we were relegated. This is a different football club to the one which limped out of the SPL with a mere whimper.
We are stronger, better, and tougher. We are not the finished article, and there will be - I'm sure - another loss on the way to the end of the season, but I am confident that Hibs will take the race for promotion right to the wire, and when the players need to stand up to be counted, they will be the ones asking the questions of the opponents, and not the other way around.
It would be fair to say that the Hibs support have good cause to question the mental strength of the team. Hibs are a side who have in recent times, crumbled at the first sniff of a bit of pressure. Cup final? Bottled. Relegation battle? Bottled. Countless derbies? Bottled.
Prior to this season, Hibs were almost renowned for their lack of fight and grit. Visiting managers would talk about how Hibs were a soft side, and even incoming managers referenced the need to toughen up the squad. Both John Hughes and Pat Fenlon tried to instil a mental toughness to the football side. Neither could lay claim to having been successful in their task.
Terry Butcher was desperate to add bottle to a demoralised squad, but only succeeded into making a side already bereft of confidence and swagger, even more introverted and scared. Butcher and Malpas roared their players to defeat after defeat, and when the chips were down, Hibs folded under the pressure and were relegated.
This season's Hibs squad have been something of a different kettle of fish. A sticky start to the season had the support again analysing the mental fortitude of Stubbs' side. The first test of Hibs' resolve came in the opening derby of the season, and they fell short. Liam Craig had an opportunity to put Hibs in the lead with a first half penalty, which he pulled wide of the post. The miss clearly played on Craig's mind, and he was ineffective up until the half time whistle. In the second half, Scott Robertson conceded a penalty and was then sent off in what was a personally disastrous second half for the player. Hibs played OK, but ultimately came up short. The culprits of the piece were players who had fallen out of favour with the support from the relegation season. Neither Robertson nor Craig could have laid claim to being fans' favourites at that point. The questions remained about the team's bottle, and crucially, whether the players who had come down with the club would ever have the bottle for the Championship season.
The stuttering start to the season didn't do Hibs any favours, and you sensed that teams fancied their chances against Hibs far more than they did Hearts or Rangers. There were, I feel, two significant games that shifted opinions of Hibs, when the Hibs squad started answering the questions around their ability to withstand pressure.
The first of those was the 1-1 draw with Hearts at Easter Road. Hibs out-played the visitors on the day, controlling much of the match and limiting Hearts to very few chances. Hearts scored with almost the last kick of the game, and though they undoubtedly took a huge lift from avoiding defeat, Hibs also took many positives from that game. Hibs had played without fear and went toe to toe with the best side in the league, and were unlucky not to take the three points. It was the first real sign that Hibs might not be the shy-boys of the league after all.
The second game was the 4-0 rout of Rangers. With the Sky cameras at Easter Road and the match being beamed live on Sky Sports, Hibs brushed Rangers aside with style and strength. The scoreline was a fair reflection on a game that Hibs completely dominated. Rangers couldn't cope with Hibs in that form, and Hibs knew it. Crucially, the rest of the league knew it as well.
Hibs went to Tynecastle and again were unlucky not to come away with all three points in a close game. If there was a game to bottle it, the New Year derby would have been the one Hibs would have chosen to do so in seasons gone by. Not this season though. Hibs answered all the questions asked of them.
Stubbs' side were to go through to March before tasting defeat, clawing back a huge points deficit on Rangers to overtake them and claim second place in the league (a spot they still hold ahead of the Easter fixtures this weekend.) There was no question of Hibs' bottle during this time.
So why now, when Rangers won at Easter Road, and Hibs lost at Raith, do these questions come up? Alan Stubbs was clearly annoyed at the questions around Hibs' bottle in his Hibs TV interview. He has, in my opinion, every right to be.
Last week's defeat at Raith had nothing to do with bottle. Bad finishing and bad defending, absolutely. No bottle? No chance. Hibs created enough chances to win that game three times over. A team that bottled it would not have done that.
Hibs' bottle wasn't to blame for the defeat to Rangers either. There is a legitimate question around whether or not Stubbs chose the right tactics for the game, but his players didn't bottle it.
Hibs go into tomorrow's game against Queen of the South needing to once again prove that they have the mental strength to dust themselves down and get a result when it really matters. I have no doubts in my mind that they have the bottle and resolve to do so. That doesn't mean that they'll win- there are no guarantees in football, but if they lose it will not be down to a lack of mental resolve or bottle.
Much has changed at Easter Road in the time since we were relegated. This is a different football club to the one which limped out of the SPL with a mere whimper.
We are stronger, better, and tougher. We are not the finished article, and there will be - I'm sure - another loss on the way to the end of the season, but I am confident that Hibs will take the race for promotion right to the wire, and when the players need to stand up to be counted, they will be the ones asking the questions of the opponents, and not the other way around.
Tuesday, 24 March 2015
Taking Results For Granted
Hibs were firm favourites ahead of last Sunday's tie with Rangers. The two sides' form going into the game suggested that the favourites tag was well deserved. Hibs were on the back of six straight successes, while Rangers had drawn their last five games as they failed to capitalise on their games in hand on Hibs.
Kenny Miller, to his credit, did what you're taught from school-level football. He played to the whistle and collected the ball before sliding it past Oxley to seal the win for Rangers. Hibs' players were justifiably incredulous at the turn of events, and Paul Hanlon was booked in the aftermath of the incident.
Hibs had the opportunity to put some real daylight between themselves and Rangers, and few would have bet against Hibs to do exactly that. I've lost count of the number of people who have approached me, texted me, or emailed me to say "See your bloody team!" having seen their coupons burst by Hibs failure to grasp that opportunity.
It is worth starting by giving Rangers credit for the win. As easy as it would be to criticise Hibs for an abject first half performance, and it would be easy to question Alan Stubbs' tactics which failed to address Lee Wallace's marauding runs down Hibs' right hand side. To do so would be a dis-service to Rangers. They deserved the win, although it is also worth noting that the result was given a very helpful nudge in their direction by referee Willie Collum, who must have been the only person inside Easter Road to miss Wallace's foul on Paul Hanlon in the build up to Rangers' second goal.
Stuart McCall set up with a 352 formation, and in doing so stifled the attacking threat of Lewis Stevenson and David Gray. Without the width provided by Gray and Stevenson, the midfield trio of Fyvie, McGeouch, and Allan had very little influence over the game in their first half. Starved of service, the front pairing of Malonga and Dja Djedje were completely anonymous.
Rangers took the lead towards the end of the first half, enjoying the break of the ball in the box after a sweeping counter-attack. There hadn't been much between the sides until that point, but on balance of play Rangers were probably worth their half time lead.
David Gray had to be replaced at half time due to injury, which meant Keith Watson taking up the right-back position for the second half. If Alan Stubbs had considered countering Rangers' 352 by going toe-to-toe with the formation, the enforced change probably denied him the option of doing so, as Gray would likely have played as a right wing back with Watson, Hanlon, and Fontaine forming a back three.
As it was, Hibs started to take a grip of the game and were looking much closer to the side that put four goals past Rangers back in December. Dja Djedje squandered a great chance to draw level when he found himself through on goal with only Bell to beat, however instead of taking a shot, he elected to try and slide the ball to Malonga for a tap-in, however the pass was intercepted and the chance was lost.
The pivotal moment in the match came late in the second half, Kenny Miller clipped the ball into the Hibs penalty box. Paul Hanlon cleared, and was wiped out by Wallace. It was as clear and blatant a foul as you will see all season. That is unless you are Willie Collum, who decided to waive play-on as the Hibs defence hesitated, waiting for a whistle that never came.
Kenny Miller, to his credit, did what you're taught from school-level football. He played to the whistle and collected the ball before sliding it past Oxley to seal the win for Rangers. Hibs' players were justifiably incredulous at the turn of events, and Paul Hanlon was booked in the aftermath of the incident.
It was an immensely baffling decision by Collum, TV replays show he had a clear and unobstructed view of the 'foul' and chose to waive play on. When observing Collum's approach to awarding free-kicks throughout the game, the decision was at best inconsistent. Rangers' tactics of spoiling the play, giving away free-kicks, and time-wasting was accommodated readily by Collum. It took until the 70th minute for Collum to produce a yellow card to the visitors. The BBC stats show that for Rangers' 17 fouls, Collum dished out two yellow cards - one of which was given to Kenny Miller for his celebration following the winning goal.
For comparison, Hibs picked up three bookings for ten fouls (and one of the bookings was for Hanlon's complaints for the second goal).
That's not to say that the referee was to blame for Hibs' defeat. To do so would do a disservice to Rangers, and would also mask Hibs' shortcomings in the match.
Hibs haven't been found wanting in a big match for some time, this was their first defeat since December, so it would be unfair to be overly critical. It was always going to be a massive and unlikely task to win all the games through to the end of the season. It is unfortunate that the defeat came in this tie, against this opposition.,
Second place remains in Hibs' own hands, however. A superior goal difference means that as things stand, even if Rangers were to draw level on points with Hibs by winning their remaining game in hand, Hibs will hold on to second place.
Alan Stubbs said that this result will make Hibs stronger, and he has to ensure that he does. Hibs cannot afford any more slip-ups through to the end of the season. They must be relentless, they must be clinical and focussed. Of the two sides, it appears as though Hibs have the more favourable run-in to the season's end, though they also have the welcome distraction of a Scottish Cup semi-final against Falkirk,
I would hope that this defeat will provide the jolt that halts any thoughts of complacency in the coming games. Rangers' stuttering results and numerous dramas over the last couple of months, coupled with Hibs' resurgence which saw the Edinburgh side not only claw back the points deficit between themselves and Rangers, but create a gap themselves for Rangers to claw back, probably lent itself to Hibs expecting to win on Sunday and going on to clinch second place at a canter.
I would expect the worst of Rangers' woes to be over for the season. McCall has shown himself to be a more than capable manager at Motherwell, and if his side can reproduce the levels that they showed on Sunday then they will be taking the race for second place right to the wire.
Crucially, Rangers will now harbour less fear should they meet Hibs in a play-off. Had Hibs embarrassed them for a fourth time this season, there would have been serious doubt in the Rangers' players' minds that they were able to get the better of Hibs. Now, they know that they can.
For Stubbs, he has to pick the side up and take a good look at what went wrong. He can't afford to pin the blame on the referee, as much of a role in the final result as Collum had. Stubbs has to look at how he can adapt his tactics for the next meeting of the sides to not only counter Rangers' strengths, but to get his match winners to influence the game in a way that they struggled to do on Sunday.
Hibs still remain on the brink of a great season, given the circumstances. With Hearts winning the league with months to spare, Hibs can spare their supporters some summertime grief by ensuring that they will be meeting Hearts in the top flight next season. If (and, given Hibs' Scottish Cup record, and the challenging semi-final that awaits them it is a big 'if'), Hibs can also deliver - finally- the Scottish Cup back to Leith along with promotion, then the majority of the support would see that as trumping Hearts' impressive Championship win.
Monday, 9 March 2015
The Hibernian Way
Hibernian couldn't have timed the release of next season's season tickets any better if they'd tried. A run of five consecutive victories sees Hibs sitting second in the league, and with a Hampden Scottish Cup Semi-Final against Falkirk to look forward to.
A comfortable, if unspectacular, 4-0 victory over ex-Hearts midfielder Colin Cameron's Berwick Rangers ensured Hibernian had their name in Sunday's cup draw, and left the Hibs support with a growing optimism which Hibs will hope to capitalise on in greater season ticket numbers.
For me, not renewing isn't an option. As soon as I got home from work this afternoon, the purchase was made for me and my son, with a text message sent to my Dad to remind him to renew his seat beside us. It hasn't always been an easy decision to renew, we're never flush for cash so it is a selfish purchase in that it's only really me and Josh that benefit from the season tickets. My wife and daughters attend occasionally but mostly it's me, Josh, and my Dad at the football.
Last season, when things started to slide at Hibs it would have been easy to skip the renewal and pick and choose the games I went to. In fact, Hibs have been poor for a number of seasons and so it's not hard to understand why season ticket numbers have dwindled. Consecutive cup finals in 2012 and 2013 bolstered numbers as a season ticket guaranteed a cup final ticket, but without the lure of cup final tickets, the numbers dropped drastically for this season.
The quality of football is only one factor in the decision to renew, the league we are in as another - last season an early renewal meant paying SPL prices for Championship football. Personally, it's not something I'm that fussed about - it's Hibs I go to see more than it is the opposition. I also appreciate that the more people buy a season ticket, the more money Hibs have to put a squad together. This season, that money has been used fantastically well, with almost every signing Alan Stubbs has brought to the club demonstrating great value for money.
Crucially though, it's time I get to spend with Josh and my Dad that I otherwise would struggle to get. I remember the rare occasions that my Dad took me to the football when I was wee. Geography and finances (and my Dad's inability to drive) meant that I didn't get to many games. After we moved to Edinburgh I started seeing more of Hibs, when I'd go with either my Dad, my cousins James and John, or my Aunty Anne and Uncle Danny (in fact, it tended to be my Uncle Danny's season ticket in the old North Stand that I used, so I attended more with my Aunty Anne than anyone else.
I loved going. Easter Road was a very different place to the one that I take Josh to, but it's still an immensely special place to me. We moved seats recently, the seats we had were in a quiet section of the lower West Stand, close to the away end and away from the livelier sections of the ground. On the biggest of games where seats were at a premium, the seats were decent, but most of the time it felt like we were away from the action. Ironically, we moved further away from the pitch, to seats in the penultimate row of the upper tier of the West Stand. We are fairly central and there are very few seats spare in our section. The atmosphere is much better and the feeling at games is much closer to the one I experienced as a kid in broadly the same area of the stadium.
Taking Josh is special, he takes it badly when Hibs lose and buzzes when we win. Seeing him crushed after a bad defeat makes them harder to take for me as well, but the need to lift his spirits helps me get over the bad ones quickly. It's special going with my Dad as well. Circumstances dictate that I rarely get out for a pint or a meal with him, so the ritual we have now of me picking him up from his house, anticipating the game in the car and reviewing it on the way home is as much a part of the decision to buy a season ticket as the football itself.
The other big factor in my season ticket purchase that is really specific to this moment in time is the revival of the football club under Leeann Dempster. Following the disastrous cup final in 2012, I attended a Let's Work Together meeting at Easter Road, This was a forum for Hibs fans to engage in a meaningful way with the club to try and improve things.
At that meeting, there was a question and answer session with then-Chief Exec Scott Lindsay. I asked who at the club set the culture, and the answer was that it was down to the manager. I asked how that could work with managers changing every year and a half (give or take). There was an admission that it hadn't really worked, and that there was no definitive culture at the football club. That amazed me, but in hindsight, it was hardly surprising.
Over the next year or so, I worked with a smaller group of supporters within the Working Together team, and with Non-Exec Director Brian Houston to put together a piece of work with the working title "Winning the Hibernian Way". We looked at the whole ethos of the football club, how it set targets, what the values were, how standards were set.
There was some fantastic input from the group, I was lucky to work alongside some very talented people and I had the opportunity to present their work to the board of directors at a board meeting at Easter Road.
Despite some good feedback on the presentation, there was little more said or done on "Winning the Hibernian Way" for some time, in fact the project had more or less been put to bed. I heard from Brian about a year later, to say that the club were looking to dust down the project and bring it to life, changes were afoot at the club that would mean they were in a position to make it work.
Aside from a meet and greet meeting with Leeann Dempster on the day that a section of the Hibs support took to the West Stand car-park to protest against Rod Petrie, there was no further dialogue with the club about "Winning the Hibernian Way" and I had thought it had been forgotten about until I saw a comment from Hibs Chairman Rod Petrie in an interview around the time of the share issue, where he referenced the work (and the presentation!) that had been going on for some time.
I like to think that this revival and feel good factor that is slowly but surely absorbing Hibernian has, in some way, stemmed from the work that group of people from Working Together spent months on, that even if it just planted a seed then that time was worthwhile. Even if it had nothing to do with that work, I think I'm fine believing it did, and that emotional investment makes the financial investment in the season ticket purchase all the more essential.
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