Should you stay or should you go?
There has been much debate once again over those who leave games early. Keith gives his opinions on the subject...

And so our worst fears actually came true. The inner pessimist that we had all tried manfully to suppress knew best after all. So what comes next? Unfortunately all we are left with are the inevitable recriminations, repercussions and reflections. And of course there are plenty of issues that have emerged from the final. Some of them on the pitch, like how does a left wingback manage to run clean through the defence without having his run tracked? And off the pitch, like where will the majority of the Hibernians who turned out on Sunday disappear to come the next league game?

The first point though that I want to address however is in the grand scheme of things an almost petty point, but nonetheless was on Sunday, and still is now, a cause of contention amongst the fans. Because for some reason, some fans seem to get personally offended by when others decide to leave a match. It seems to me that different people react to disappointment/anger/ frustration in different ways, and to slate somebody for leaving early is misguided at best.

Pass marks for Kevin Thomson from Hibs and non-Hibs fans  (sns)

To suggest that somebody is not a real Hibby for leaving before the end, which is what seems to have happened on quite a few occasions, is lunacy. I have left many games early, for a number of different reasons. I was in a rush to get somewhere or meet someone, I was so disgusted by what my team were doing that it hurt to watch any more, I could not stomach watching the other fans celebrate and gloat any more. I didn’t leave early on Sunday, although I have to admit I thought about it. But I did rush out of the ground as soon as I could without so much as glancing towards the Livi fans celebrating.

I did not stay to applaud the team because frankly they did not deserve to be applauded. Losing a cup final is not something I wanted to celebrate. That does not make me a dis-loyal fan. What I did find a bit sickening though, was the fan(s) who walked down to the front to throw their scarves on to the track. But what do you expect when you have such a large number of fans that simply do not go and support their team very often? They are by definition the less loyal section of the Hibs support. Of course, that is me assuming that the fans who threw their scarves onto the pitch were not part of the hardcore support, which of course could be wrong.

Aside from the internecine squabbling which is symptomatic of little other than the intense anger and frustration which losing a final creates, what other issues were raised?  Well I don’t think that it is fair to say that the team bottled it. Bottling it to me would suggest that we have been playing really well leading up to the final, and then played really badly in the final. What I saw on the pitch on Sunday was really what we have all been witnessing for the last few weeks – a complete inability to break teams down. We struggle badly against any team that takes the lead against us, and when things are not working out, we have no plan B.

Leave early or stay until the end - no satisfying some  (hibs.net)

It seems apparent to me that O’Connor is simply not a target man. He has tried hard, but I just do not think that he has the attributes needed to perform this role in the team. It also seems to me that Riordan is wasted when he is stuck so rigidly to the left touchline. Yes, he can cause havoc at times running in from the wing, but when it is not working and he is not getting the ball, there has to be enough imagination and flexibility to allow him to come looking for the ball inside.  I thought Kevin Thomson was our best player, and in fact played better than he has in recent weeks, so credit has to go to him for not only performing adequately, but actually rising to the occasion and turning in what was probably the only Hibernian performance of note.

The fact is though that despite the abject disappointment that we are all feeling, in the context of Scottish football we are still in a reasonably good position. We have acted just in time to address the debt problem, and despite the cloak and dagger secrecy surrounding the sale of the car park and who gets what, the debt will hopefully have been significantly dented.  We have a squad of talented young players, who are learning all the time. I have even heard it said in football that you learn more from a defeat than you do from a victory. If augmented by a couple of experienced players for next season, then we could have the makings of a half decent team for the next year or two.

For me however, the best story to come out of the Cup Final was Tom Farmer donating the money needed to broadcast the game to the Oz Hibs Branch. Small change to him of course, but a great gesture from our owner. Proof if proof was needed (which I don’t think it is) that he is a true and impeccable Hibernian. Despite the loss, this Hibernian spirit will undoubtedly endure, long after the pain subsides.

Ian Murray's hopes of turning out in today's Under-21 match against Dunfermline have been dashed after he picked up an infection over the last couple of days.  The infection, which was deemed serious enough to warrant blood tests being carried out, have seen doctors pull the plug on the 22 year olds attempts to get back into first team action after going through two hernia operations in recent months.  One player who should play is Frenchman Yannick Zambernardi.  With a couple of games already under his belt and Colin Murdock and Matt Doumbe missing from this weekend's game against Celtic, Zambernardi will be hoping to impress sufficiently to find a place in Bobby Williamson's squad again this week.