Next season starts
here
Amid all the gloom, there are some positives to be had over the summer....
There is not a lot I
can say about Saturday’s performance. An even more injury-ravaged
Hibernian side than usual came up against a practically full strength
Livingston side saying goodbye to some of its heroes of the past few
years, and Hibs got beat, with 3-1 perhaps a more realistic score than
the eventual 4-1. Mind you, 3-1 would have been depressing enough. It
seems a particularly appropriate note to end the season on though as
it’s been like that pretty much all season with the worst injury crisis
I can remember for some time. Still, it’s finally over and whilst the
CIS Cup run, the joy of the semi-final and the feeling of being blown
away by the sight of 37,000 Hibs fans will live with me for a long time,
I will not be mourning the passing of this season. To look on the bright
side though, that figure confirms the potential of the club if we can
get it right.
The only positive thing
I can say other than the CIS Cup run is that at least we are not in
administration! It will be interesting to see how the likes of
Livingston and Dundee cope next season, Dundee set to lose even more
players, in particular their saleable assets such as Novo and Speroni
and Livi fans must be shuddering to think what awaits them next season.
I wonder how long the likes of Livi can last in the top flight: I don’t
believe they can sustain top-flight football in the long run with their
current crowds. Dundee United have announced they will cut their wage
bill substantially and Dunfermline are making similar cuts to stave off
administration. Hearts problems are also well-documented. In short, Hibs
have stolen a march on our competitors by doing what we did at the end
of last season and trying to get our house in order, even if we didn’t
perform as well on the pitch this season as we might have hoped. With
any luck it can allow us to progress in the long run. For some who
didn’t, the question of whether there will be a long run is a moot point
right now.
I also have to praise
the Club for the season ticket initiative: there’s something for
everyone there and the kinds of demands posted on the Hibs.net
messageboard have been listened to and responded to. I don’t think even
the most ardent critic of the club can say the Board have not tried to
connect with the support and to that end Stand Up and Be Counted has
borne positive fruit. Hopefully a managerial appointment can round the
whole thing off and give Hibs fans optimism for the future. There is no
point in speculating because this one has had more front- runners than
the Grand National. I prefer to wait till the appointment, but I think
it’s good the board is taking its time – we have some time and the
important thing is to get it right.
Ian Murray and Stephen Glass launch the new deal with
Carling (sns)
And then there is
“pre-season”: I have mixed emotions about the Intertoto Cup: I think we
should be playing football in the summer in Scotland anyway because the
weather and the playing surface would allow for better football, and we
wouldn’t face the prospect of freezing ourselves half to death on a
cold, wet Saturday in the middle of winter to put up with. On the other
hand I worry about the ability of our squad to sustain a long campaign.
Mind you, the return of the likes of Murray, Glass, Thomson
(eventually), Riordan and so on will be like signing new players anyway,
and it should be more interesting than the usual pre-season friendly
games because there’s something to play for. In addition there is also
the prospect of a trip to somewhere interesting, with our next opponents
being either from Lithuania or Estonia. With Israel, Russia, and even
Kazakhstan etc. in Europe for the purposes of football, the round after
could be even more interesting. They think it’s Moldova, it is now?
Meanwhile, believe it
or not, there has been positive stuff happening at Hibs, despite some of
the ugly and unfounded speculation. I’m more of a “facts” kind of guy,
so I’ll refer you to the official Hibs site re the speculation for the
facts and look at something that’s actually happening:
Hibernian FC yesterday announced a new sponsorship deal
with brewers Carling, who have become the official beer sponsors in a
deal worth in excess of £100,000 to Hibernian FC.
Colin
McNeill, Marketing and Communications Director at Hibernian, said: “It’s
good to have Carling on board. Not only because of the additional
revenue, but also because they will be helping us to market and promote
our “Behind the Goals” season ticket holders bar, one of the biggest
supporters bars in the UK, which will be renamed “Carling Behind the
Goals.”
