The Hibs team was

John Leslie 7

John Stevenson 6 Mark Grice 8 Neil Hinty 6.5 Simon Elwig 6

Luke Pomoro 6 Adam Pomoro 7.5 Jason Steer 8 Lee Steer 7

Kevin Robertson 6 Simon Spence 5.5

Substitutes:

Paul Dublin (on for Simon Spence) 6

This was generally a dire performance against a right bunch o whinging gits. I don’t like this team Middlesboro (by the Chemical plants). They were well organised and their average fitness level was far higher than ours is. Add to that, Jim and Grant our player of the years over the past 4 seasons and it is self-explanatory why we got stuffed.

The defeat was the third heaviest in our History, only worsened by our first season defeat from Leicester 7-1 and the slaughter by the HUN 10-3. There really is no good reason for this. 

When I am about to write I sense a number of different of excuses fighting to be written, applying best therapeutic practices I am going to give them all a place:

1. We had four new players playing for us, who play well, but don’t know the character of the team yet.
2. Scooby is back and he is a shadow (if fatter shadow) of his former self, his fitness was woeful and play bad. And he is a close friend of mine.
3. We argued amongst ourselves.
4. We criticised each other in a distinctly negative way. This doesn’t work, at the end of the day I carry the rap for the team with London Hibs proper. If I foul up, it’s my heid, no-one elses.
5. We are unfamiliar with each other; this will take time to resolve. As usual with London Hibs IF we had our strongest team out we would’ve stuffed them. That is a situation that presents itself seldom if ever. Bare in mind we have these guys in the Cup as well.
6. The referee was utter mince. In fact mince is good food, he was the entrails of a worm. He was terrible.
7. We argued with the ref. I argued foolishly with the ref. and was rightly sent off, even though his original decision was wrong.
8. Then Gricey argued with the REF, as did Adam. John Stevenson wanted to sub himself he felt that bad about him, he had to stay on and asked the ref. "what four words do you need me to say to be sent off."
9. We never had AIDAN, LEON (no phone call, bad show) ANDY (no phone call bad show) or SANJ.
10. I don’t have a tenth reason for the stuffing, but I am listing it because it makes the report look nice.

The Match

I am not even going to dignify them with a report or focus on the run of play and chronology of goals.

Gricey and Jason were the best out of the team. Adam was tired after playing in the morning. Lee was useful in places. Luke still recovering from his absolutely woeful miss the previous week was only in patches at his normal standard. Simon the suldier, oh my goodness our country in his hands. Poor chap sustained an injury early doors and I should’ve brought PAUL QUILTY on, stupid me. I was poor, yet got stuck in about them on occasion.

My friend John Leslie, the best goalkeeper in the league by far. Consistently awesome who along with Jim through the years has kept our goals against 50% below what it would otherwise have been. John is a great keeper and one of our best players. Yet for the past three games he has juggled with the ball on three separate occasions and they have got a goal. There is no legislating for genius.

John Stevenson was below par, by his own admission. Paul was ok when coming on for Simon and created a couple of good moves. Neil Hinty I had to play out of position yet again, however he did a difficult job well enough.

I could bang on, bottom line we played terribly as a team. They were organised, the ref. was dire and we should put this defeat behind us immediately.

This week we face EIRE (Ireland SC as they are now known). They are undefeated and look even at this early stage to be favourites for the league. I want everybody to stay positive, give of their best and I guarantee that next weeks report will be more fun to read than this.

Kevin

(Manager London Hibs)