It was a long hard season, with a lot of ups and (mostly) downs too. With Laursen and De la Cruz sold just before the start of the season and the unfavourable financial climate that has befallen Scottish football, it was always likely to be a hard year.

General reflections

Overall the tendency to concede last minute goals has hit us hard, depriving us of a top six finish at the very least, not to mention wins in two Edinburgh Derbies. Part of that has been the system: 3-5-2 places a lot of demands on wing-backs. Part of this has also been lack of concentration and our general inability to retain possession. Whilst statistics are often over-quoted, Opta indicates that Hibs have the worst pass completion rate in the SPL over the course of the season. That must change and quickly. After all, if you’ve got the ball, the other side can’t score.

I also think Hibs should employ a team psychologist if they don’t already. I believe that Alex Ferguson is a great manager because his teams always display a fighting spirit and a togetherness that makes them much stronger than the mere sum of their parts, no matter how talented the parts. At the moment I cannot say the same of Hibs. It bothered me to find out that the players were not in the habit of lunching together before games, something that is commonplace in many other clubs. I also note that since the lap-dancing fiasco, the team performance on the pitch has been remarkable, with four wins out of five. All in all a good team-bonding session, and I am left wondering why they didn’t do it sooner, suggesting there is work to be done on the part of the club here, although I’m not suggesting they go lap-dancing every week!

To be fair to Bobby Williamson, there simply wasn’t the money available to make the changes he deemed necessary, nor was he able to move players on until now. Partly this was a result of Hibs being promoted (and thus needing to invest heavily) at a time when players could command sometimes grossly over-inflated salaries. What Williamson has done so far has looked positive, in particular the development of a number of young players such as Doumbe, Whittaker, Riordan, Brown, McManus and O’Connor. His signings have also looked fairly solid as well, which bodes well for next season, and I am optimistic, even if I find the extent of the clear-out a little unnerving. That having been said, there were and are a lot of players in the Hibs squad with decent reputations and wages who were simply not living up to their reputations, and it is Williamson’s duty to clear them out for the good of the club, particularly as the money being paid would go a lot further in these changed times.

The team line-up

Colgan
Smith Townsley Zambernardi
Orman Wiss Brebner Murray James
O’Connor McManus

My team of the season lines up as a 352 much in the same way it has done all season. We started the season playing 442 and looked likely to be relegated if we carried on playing it, the first of three home defeats to Dunfermline signifying the end of this formation, apart from the dreadful capitulation against Dundee in February. The second of my criticisms of Hibs management lies in defence: The likes of Wenger and Ferguson go to great lengths to obtain tried and trusted central defensive combinations. With Hibs this season we have tried goodness knows how many central defensive partnerships. That cannot be good for understanding between players, especially with a back three playing the offside trap as regularly as Hibs. The selection is partly based on who has played the most games for Hibs and who I think has performed the best in the given position and to illustrate certain points.

Goalkeeper: Nick Colgan

It looks like Nick may have played his last game for Hibs, and I am a little sorry to see him go as he’s still fairly young for a goalkeeper and I think if he works on his faults he has the potential to be a legend. This season he has had some superb games, in particular the 2-0 home win against Kilmarnock where he pulled off a string of fine saves to deny Kilmarnock a way back into the game. If he has a fault he needs to take more command of his area and to boss the defence more than he does. If he learned to do that he would be a legend because his shot-stopping is first class, and he has earned plenty of plaudits for his saves from Tore Andre Flo and Solksajer for Eire against Norway recently.

The back three (right to left): Smith, Townsley, Zambernardi   

Matthias Doumbe should also get a mention here for his outstanding performances towards the end of the season, and I am glad to see that he has chosen to remain at Hibs for another year, although I wish he could have signed a longer contract because I fear that we may lose him for nothing at the end of next season.

Gary Smith is probably in everyone’s team of the season: an accomplished defender whose reputation has grown steadily whilst at Hibs after his career had seemed to fade away before then. It says a lot that there was interest from Portsmouth concerning his contract situation. Whilst a little slow, he’s strong in the air, a good organiser too and commits remarkably few fouls for a defender, despite putting in more than his fair share of tackles. Captain material?

Derek Townsley gets a place in my team on the grounds that he has played in so many positions and always put in a good shift, despite looking a little shaky at times. Central defence is not his preferred position, although he has played there more times than anywhere else this season. At right wing-back he was outstanding against Motherwell in December and Rangers in January, not to mention his two goals against Motherwell at Fir Park near the start of the season. An honest professional and nice bloke, I wish him well.

Yannick Zambernardi is the best newcomer and has the potential to be at Hibs for a very long time. His tenacious tackling and pace make him a handful for any opposing forward: whilst statistics are often over-quoted, Opta gives Yannick the most number of interceptions made in the season and the fourth highest number of successful tackles won. His positioning sometimes lets him down, although this has improved and I think he was deployed as a sweeper in his previous club, rather than on the left side of a back three. His distribution must also improve, although he appears to have learned to take a simple approach rather than trying to hit 40 yard passes all the time. I am eager to see more from this man.

Midfield(right to left): Orman, Wiss, Brebner, Murray, James

Alen Orman has had a tough season, with two very public bouts of epilepsy, and still taking brickbats from a section of the support. Nevertheless, his crossing and first touch have improved, although he still tends to flag rather alarmingly towards the end of games, and there is still room for improvement: Orman actually has the fifth highest number of crosses attempted in the SPL and more work here could produce a huge increase in his productivity.

The much-maligned Jarkko Wiss appears marginally less popular than Osama Bin Laden at a Synagogue amongst some Hibs supporters. Problems with Asthma and injury have dogged his Hibs career, meaning he has not seen a consistent run in the side, his recent injury coming when many felt he had begun to improve his game. Consequently he has been told he can leave Hibs if an offer comes in. A little harsh, but the reality is that Hibs cannot afford to carry passengers, hence the departure of the similarly injury-hit Arpinon earlier in the season.

Grant Brebner has had something of an Indian Summer toward the end of the season with a number of fine displays, particularly against Dundee United and Livingston. He shades Club Captain John O’Neill for a place on the grounds I think Brebner has had a better season, and whilst O’Neill is very talented, he has simply failed to deliver. Also when we talk about lack of leadership on the pitch, the club captain cannot be exempt from criticism. Brebner plays better when surrounded by some muscle (I think O’Neill and Brebner are too similar to play together), and I note our best runs of form have featured Brebner deployed alongside Ian Murray and Jarkko Wiss earlier in the season, and Matthias Jack and Jarkko Wiss toward the end. Grant must improve in terms of overall consistency, like the Hibs team in general. On his game though, he can really make us tick so I hope he stays.

My three concerns regarding Ian Murray are as follows:

1.      Why doesn’t Bertie Vogts rate him enough to give him a regular place in the Scotland squad?

2.      Why does Bobby Williamson insist on playing him as a wing-back when he was so strong in the centre of midfield earlier in the season?

3.      When is the inevitable move from another club going to occur? I fear it may be in the summer

An excellent all-rounder who is confident on either foot, it’s little wonder Murray is a fans favourite, especially as he’s a die-hard Hibby. My player of the season by a long chalk.

Craig James has returned to Sunderland and will be given his chance in their first team next season after a steep learning curve at Hibs. If Matyus was fit for most of the season, he would have been my first choice here, but he hasn’t been and so James it is. Only Alan Thompson of Celtic and Stephen Hammell of Motherwell have hit more successful crosses this season, a notable achievement given his season ended earlier than most. Whilst defensively suspect at times, his attacking play and lack of years suggest he could be a quality player. James illustrates a major fear of mine about Hibs, namely that we run the risk of becoming a “feeder” club without the benefit of transfer fees, as management prefers to take a player on a loan or short-term contract, with a view to sizing them up. If it works too well, Hibs lose out. The experience of Agathe (in my opinion the ginger one’s biggest blunder at Hibs was failing to tie this man down on a long-term contract when he was desperate for one), Caldwell (capped for Scotland whilst at Hibs) and now James bearing painful testament to this.

Up front: Garry O’Connor and Tam McManus

These two “old lags” shade it from the young pretenders by virtue of the fact that they have performed well during the competitive end of the season. Too much can often be read into games played for nothing other than pride. The competition for places next season will be intense and will hopefully spur the protagonists on to greater things. In particular Derek Riordan has star quality: pace, power, vision and creativity in abundance, not to mention a superb understanding with Garry O’Connor that has always excited whenever on show. Mixu Paatelainen has been a fabulous servant to Hibs during his time here and I am sure all will wish him well. It is a testament to him that so many of the younger players list him as influencing their game, in particularly O’Connor whose flicks knock-downs, headers and link play have so obviously been shaped by Mixu. I hope he returns to Hibs one day in a coaching role. I always felt sorry for Paco Luna as he seemed to spend much of his time at Hibs begging other players to play the ball into his feet, and I don’t think Mixu was his ideal strike partner. Nevertheless he is another of the seasoned professionals on a high wage who simply didn’t cut it at Hibs.

Garry O’Connor is the first to admit that he’s had a difficult season with a series of niggling injuries dogging him and speculation about his future with the club, and a fair amount of derogatory gossip about his lifestyle and attitude doing the rounds. There has also been the problem that he has become a known quantity in the game and so defenders employ strategies to cope with him. Nevertheless his bustling style belies a quickness of feet and skill on the ball that make him a real handful, his goals against Partick Thistle at the end of last year being the perfect example of what I mean.

Tam McManus is undoubtedly the most improved player of the season. After an horrific leg break last season, some were beginning to question whether he would make it or not. The doubters have been silenced with some seriously prolific performances and spectacular goals including three against the Old Firm, that goal against Celtic being my goal of the season: having been fortunate enough to have been there when Beckham scored from inside his own half, I consider Tam’s strike to be approaching that level.