Festival Cup - good idea, but the wrong time?
Keith Small won't be at Easter Road next week - and tells us why....

Sales for the Festival Cup are apparently doing very poorly. Putting aside the fact that it is potentially a good idea, does this really surprise anyone? After all, only 5,000 of us could be bothered going to a Scottish Cup replay against Dunfermline last season. Why was this? Was it because Dunfermline had already thoroughly dismantled us twice at Easter Road? Was it because we were in the middle of a terrible run of form? Was it because Sky showed the game live? I would suggest that all of these factors played a part. But to me the problem is much more insidious than Sky TV or a poor run of form. People are being turned away from the football, and we have to find out why.

The strange situation is that Hibs have no shortage of ‘fans’, by this I mean nothing more than somebody who would declare themselves a Hibby if asked. Unfortunately that is as far as being a ‘fan’ goes for too many people. We all know the kind of person I mean. Guys who are genuine Hibs fans, with a genuine passion for the club, but who can always find something better to do when Hibs are playing. It is like a stale marriage, when a couple go to the marriage councillor admitting that they love each other, but are not in love. This analogy may seem a little tangential, but I think it works. There are too many Hibbies who will get into heated Hibs-Hearts arguments with their mates or colleagues and in doing so display no lack of passion. Yet while they will argue until the pub closes, or their boss catches them, they are not motivated to go to Easter Road. They love Hibs, but are not in love with Hibs.

Festival Cup - one derby too many? (sns)

This simply has to be addressed, because the problem seems to be growing, and I think I can understand why. Football in Scotland out with the Old Firm is withering; it is stale and lifeless. There is little genuine competition anymore, and this means that there is little genuine interest. The highlight of the season for me these days is the away fixture at Tynecastle, followed by the returns at Easter Road. They are the only games with any atmosphere, anything really at stake, and even they are at risk of being de-valued by the potential disaster in the offing with the Festival Cup fiasco. Our last sacred fixture, the last game that is almost always a sell-out (with the exception of the fickle Hearts travelling support) and has an atmosphere ruined by a ridiculous pricing policy. It will be a sad day when Hibs and Hearts players walk out at Easter Road to be greeted by a sparse crowd and a roar of apathy.

How can this problem be solved? The simple answer is nobody knows. Hibernian seem unable to mobilise their latent support. I do not believe that it is down to how well the team is playing, I think it has more to do with just playing for something. A sold-out Easter Road for the playoff 1^st leg with Airdrie a few years back springs to mind, as does the buzz, albeit a nervous one, that surrounded our battles with relegation. I do not envy Stephen Powell in his job to re-invigorate the Hibs support, to find a way to reconnect those fans who still feel a great deal of passion for the club, but who do not have the inclination to support the team.

Are lower prices the answer? The John Boyle/Motherwell example would suggest not, although they do not have the numbers of supporters that Hibs do. I do think that altering prices would help as part of a bigger strategy. In an ironic way, I think these are the sentiments that our verbally clumsy Chairman was trying to convey. And while I do not see a career for Mr Lewandowski in motivational speaking, I hope that he and the rest of the board can find a way to reconcile the marriage between team and supporter. Because if there is one thing that every Hibernian can agree with, it is that we must start getting the supporters back through the turnstiles. No longer can fans afford to differentiate between Hibs, the 24 or so guys who play for the club every week, and Hibernian, the club, and all the memories and romanticism that the name, if not always the team represents.

Having said this, I personally am not going to the Festival Cup. I could use the fact that I am working as an excuse, but I have always managed arrange work around games when I was so inclined. The reason I am not going is because I do not want my image of a derby to be sullied by an empty stadium, with 22 players who succumb to the lack of atmosphere and play out a dull pre-season friendly. So while I want the fans to rally round the club, it is surely up to the club to attract the fans back, not rely on emotional blackmail and the irrational loyalty of the Hibs fan. Because there are signs that this loyalty has been taken for granted too long. I await the attendances at the two pre-season games with interest, because if as I expect they are disappointing, add them to the poor season ticket sales and we could have a real problem.

The season gets underway at Easter Road today - well the warm-up part of it at least, and as usual Hibs.net will be there from the first kick.  We will be reporting with words and pictures from Hibs v Sunderland and then as ever throughout the season the No.1 Hibs web site will be first with the news, reports and top-class images courtesy of SNS.  Our team of writers will also continue to bring the widest possible spread of views from the Hibernian family, by the Hibernian family.....