Dreams can come true
The end of a week with no Hibs game sees Rachel look at some of her Hibee dreams....

A THREAD ON THE HIBS.NET MESSAGEBOARD THIS WEEK GOT ME THINKING LONG AND HARD about the situation our club is in and has been in throughout the years.  Stu in Nottingham’s thread called Hibernian’s visions and dreams was begun with a post straight from the heart, and I'm not ashamed to say it nearly brought a tear to my eye! And it had a great effect prompting people to respond with mainly a positive attitude with regard to the post and the thread.  We all have visions and dreams for the club that we support some realistic others perhaps not so realistic! But the launch of the Stand Up and Be Counted Campaign is a realisation of the visions of the support who are dreaming of what they want for their club.  These people are trying to turn our dreams into reality.

So what are our dreams and visions for Hibs? We’ll start totally unrealistically and then surely it can only get better from there onwards.  Perhaps winning the League? The Scottish Cup? CIS Cup? Good performances week in week out perhaps? Good attendances for games to bring money into the club? There might be many, many more out there but these are just a few.  Can any of these be reached by Hibernian Football Club in the near future? I think so, definitely.  OK maybe not the League or the Cups but the final two on that list are definitely achievable.  And the last item on that list is what Stand Up and Be Counted is all about. 

Some of the motley crew entrusted with taking Hibs fans ideas forward

In his post Stu mentions the dark days of Wallace Mercer.  This is enough to send a chill down the spine of any Hibs fan.  I don’t quite remember this incident - I was only five at the time – but it is still a scary thought.  A merger.  Straiton was the next similar thing to darken our doorways.  It wasn’t quite a merger but many believed that was what it would lead to.  But Straiton too has been banished to the dismal past and the club are now asking fans to Stand Up and Be Counted.  It won’t guarantee great football every week but it will guarantee that the gates will rise and the money will come in to help Hibs on all levels from the youngest groups which I think is the under 15’s to the senior squad.  That can’t be a bad thing really can it?

It’s not always pretty at Hibs is it? The football isn’t always silky and we don’t usually win by four or five goals.  I think that is something all fans can agree on.  I am not in any way getting at the management team when I say this after all everyone has bad days.  And obviously we aren’t Real Madrid or some of the other European teams with lots and lots of money to spend on players – oh just think what we could do if we did – but we do have some things which are good about our side.  We have a good support although we will all admit we are a tad fickle at time.  We have a good youth system as our youngsters have proved and I think we have a good team spirit within the side.  Lets face it the team spirit could only go up couldn’t it after the past couple of seasons especially season 2001-2002! Stand Up and Be Counted won’t change Hibs’ fortunes on the park but it might help just a little.

So get yourselves along to Easter Road at some point if you are a lapsed supporter a bit like myself – I have become a bit of a part timer these days! I’ve mentioned it throughout the article and I’ll say it again – STAND UP AND BE COUNTED! Your club needs you.  The Hibees are staying at Easter Road now and always – help them by getting behind the team at our home games especially.

Editor's note: With no Hibs game this weekend, it would be easy to switch off with regards to football but with Scotland facing their most important two games of recent years at both senior and Under 21 level, there is plenty for football fans to look forward too.  For Hibbies, the Under 21's hold the interest more given the involvement of Tam McManus, Garry O'Connor and the available again Ian Murray, back after suspension.

Meanwhile, despite having eleven Hibs players in their squad, the Scottish Ladies side went down 5-0 at Preston North End's Deepdale ground in front of 6,779 fans last night.  Despite being 3-0 down at half time, England coach Hope Powell thought that the Scots were better after the break although a late own goal from Kilmarnock goalkeeper Claire Johnstone helped seal the ladies' fate.

And finally, Hibs have announced that 'Behind The Goals' will be open next Sunday for the next derby match.  Entry is free to the suite within the Famous Five stand with pints of Carlsberg only £1.50 and food available for purchase before, during and after the match.