Monday night Fitba - James Collins

[Hibernia&Alba]

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Has there ever been a player with more "if, buts and maybes"? Heard so many times "oh if he had more service he'd have been better, if he played in a better team he'd have been good, if he played under a better manager he'd have been better etc etc".


He was pish. Can't get my head round why so many excuses are made for him yet others who fail get totally slated.

I've seen cruise liners turn quicker. Bad times.

[jacomo]

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Forgot about Paul Heffernan. Mince times.

I always quite liked him. Just think he was a bit past it by the time he signed for us.

[Thecat23]

I actually shudder when I think of the times watching Fenlons teams. Loan players who were brutal last min jan or summer dross. Collins would score goals in this side I’ve no doubt about that. His attitude wasn’t the best though that’s for sure.

[wookie70]

The only striker I have ever seen that made his most dynamic runs from the edge of the box back to the half way line. He looked scared to score most of the time.

[MWHIBBIES]

Wasn't that team 5th before Fenlon was hounded out

[WoreTheGreen]

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I've seen cruise liners turn quicker. Bad times.

And milk

[Thecat23]

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Wasn't that team 5th before Fenlon was hounded out

35% win rate from 87 games! On top of that some of the worst football I’ve seen watching Hibs, chuck in the 0-7 as well. Actually need to change the subject thank god we managed to completely turn our club around in bring in guys like Stubbs and Lennon.

[Sammy7nil]

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How many goals do you think Murray or Stokes would have if they'd been partnered with Rowan Vine up front, or if he wasn't around Danny Handling, Ross Caldwell or Paul Heffernan?

Fenlon had Alex Harris and Paul Cairnie to play wide and create, both of whom were injured for many months at the start of that season.

He was forced to shoehorn Liam Craig into an entirely unsuitable position in an attempt to create.

We had about 45 holding midfielders, none of whom could create.

This generally led to Collins running around all over the place like a headless chicken, the ball bouncing off him everywhere.

He missed some big chances but no more than most of our strikers and he managed to take a few of the ones that came his way.

Collins was pish but it couldn't have been easy to play in that team.

Far too sensible it will never catch on.

[WeeRussell]

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Has there ever been a player with more "if, buts and maybes"? Heard so many times "oh if he had more service he'd have been better, if he played in a better team he'd have been good, if he played under a better manager he'd have been better etc etc".


He was pish. Can't get my head round why so many excuses are made for him yet others who fail get totally slated.

Yep.

Edit - as in I agree with you. Not “yes there has been a player with more excuses” :)

[keep the faith]

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35% win rate from 87 games! On top of that some of the worst football I’ve seen watching Hibs, chuck in the 0-7 as well. Actually need to change the subject thank god we managed to completely turn our club around in bring in guys like Stubbs and Lennon.

Yep. Butcher rightly gets the headlines for car crash manager of the century but I can honestly say that no hibs manager had me looking at the stadium clock during match days more than fenlon. Terrible signings, a hundred holding midfielders, Mcgivern, Vine, the cup final, Lewis at right back. Low times.

[Thecat23]

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Yep. Butcher rightly gets the headlines for car crash manager of the century but I can honestly say that no hibs manager had me looking at the stadium clock during match days more than fenlon. Terrible signings, a hundred holding midfielders, Mcgivern, Vine, the cup final, Lewis at right back. Low times.

Really is a completely different club now thankfully. As you mention guys like Vine etc and what was it with all those holding midfielders? I never knew a manager that signed so many!

[MWHIBBIES]

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35% win rate from 87 games! On top of that some of the worst football I’ve seen watching Hibs, chuck in the 0-7 as well. Actually need to change the subject thank god we managed to completely turn our club around in bring in guys like Stubbs and Lennon.

Weren't we still 5th though? No danger we go down if he sees out his contract. We could've been 3rd in the top league 3 years ago instead of 3 years down.

Fenlon wasn't the villain.

[snedzuk]

Controlled the ball further than most players kick it.

[jane_says]

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He was utter garbage.

This sums it up perfectly. Folk saying about service, better players around him - he consistently miscontrolled the ball, missed sitters, was bullied off the ball, and never won a header.
Will always remember when he was put clear at Tynecastle with a 5-10 yard head start on the half way line and not only did the centre half get to the ball frst, Collins was so far behind him he wasn't even able to make a challenge.

In summary, an absolute huddy.

[Smartie]

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Weren't we still 5th though? No danger we go down if he sees out his contract. We could've been 3rd in the top league 3 years ago instead of 3 years down.

Fenlon wasn't the villain.

We've been through this before and we differ in our opinions re Fenlon.

He inherited an absolute shambles and actually did magnificently to achieve what he did for a year and a half with loan signings etc.

He could drill a defence and put a team out that wouldn't lose many goals, that is for sure.

But Fenlon must take some responsibility for the mess we found ourselves in and the reason for that is the level of attacking threat he put together once Griffiths, Doyle, Wotherspoon and Claros left. Fenlon put the squad together that Butcher then took down and it has taken a few years to appreciate how awful that team was going forward. Yes, Fenlon got a decent shift out of the likes of Maybury, McGivern, the much-maligned Nelson and others and would in all possibility have bored us to safety. But that was an awful attacking threat he had in that team, we couldn't score goals and imo that's why we ultimately went down.

Fenlon's last summer was a disaster.

I quite like Fenlon and don't really blame him. What he inherited was infinitely worse than I think any of us realise, and his overachievement for so long with scant resource raised our expectations a bit. But i honestly think the disastrous failure to address the goalscoring department that summer was as much a reason for our relegation as Butcher's, ahem, "man management" style.

[iwasthere1972]

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Rated him highly. One that got away.

You're daft as a brush Bob.

[KSA Hibee]

He ... and the other Muppet Vine .. were examples of why I fell out of love with my beloved Hibs ... should never have been anywhere near a Hibs strip in his puff !!!

[guthrie01]

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He ... and the other Muppet Vine .. were examples of why I fell out of love with my beloved Hibs ... should never have been anywhere near a Hibs strip in his puff !!!

Vine was one of the most passionless, useless Hibs players I've seen. At least Collins scored a few goals and put an effort into most games.

[Thecat23]

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Weren't we still 5th though? No danger we go down if he sees out his contract. We could've been 3rd in the top league 3 years ago instead of 3 years down.

Fenlon wasn't the villain.

Again his win rate was really poor. 5th and dropping like a stone! We prob wouldn’t have gone down but he was part of the problem Butcher just whacked the final nail in the coffin. Calderwood/Fenlon/Butcher all managers who looking back shouldn’t be near Hibs. I actually thought both Fenlon and Butcher would be good appointments can’t believe I was so wrong.

[bigwheel]

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Again his win rate was really poor. 5th and dropping like a stone! We prob wouldn’t have gone down but he was part of the problem Butcher just whacked the final nail in the coffin. Calderwood/Fenlon/Butcher all managers who looking back shouldn’t be near Hibs. I actually thought both Fenlon and Butcher would be good appointments can’t believe I was so wrong.

There were no similarities between Fenlon's points return and Butcher's that season...Fenlon was sitting about 1.4 points per game that season...Butcher ended about 0.6 points per game (i'm estimating from memory but it really was on a completely different level...)

[Thecat23]

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There were no similarities between Fenlon's points return and Butcher's that season...Fenlon was sitting about 1.4 points per game that season...Butcher ended about 0.6 points per game (i'm estimating from memory but it really was on a completely different level...)

I’m not arguing that fact, Butcher was simply brutal. Football under Fenlon though was the worst to watch. It would sedate you.

[MWHIBBIES]

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Again his win rate was really poor. 5th and dropping like a stone! We prob wouldn’t have gone down but he was part of the problem Butcher just whacked the final nail in the coffin. Calderwood/Fenlon/Butcher all managers who looking back shouldn’t be near Hibs. I actually thought both Fenlon and Butcher would be good appointments can’t believe I was so wrong.

Mental to put Fenlon with Calderwood and Butcher. Those guys really hardly won a game, Fenlon has us in 2 cup finals and 5th when he left.

Not sure how he can be 5th and dropping like a stone. He was 5th, we dropped like a stone when we hounded him out.

Massive reason I think fan ownership would be a bad idea. Too much passion, no logic. He wasn't the answer but all we had to do was suck it up for 6 months and he was away. Instead we got relegated.

[.Sean.]

Is the show not done in Tranent, wonder what brings him up here as he seems like he'd be too baw heeded to come up from Luton to do a local radio show.

He was murder in a murder team and more interested in George Street. Well rid.

[LaMotta]

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Has there ever been a player with more "if, buts and maybes"? Heard so many times "oh if he had more service he'd have been better, if he played in a better team he'd have been good, if he played under a better manager he'd have been better etc etc".


He was pish. Can't get my head round why so many excuses are made for him yet others who fail get totally slated.

The reason the excuses are trotted out is that people that defended him early on and claimed he was a good player are still unwilling to admit they were so spectacularly wrong about him.

The guy had nothing at this level apart from work rate. Pace? Composure? Finishing? Flair? Touch? Technique? Hold up play? Creativity? nope.

Guys like Collins, Vine, and Matt Done , who have flourished in the Lower leagues down south and looked out their depth with Hibs point to the lower English leagues being pretty gash.

[CallumLaidlaw]

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Is the show not done in Tranent, wonder what brings him up here as he seems like he'd be too baw heeded to come up from Luton to do a local radio show.

He was murder in a murder team and more interested in George Street. Well rid.

Phone interview.
Came across rather well too.
Wasn’t great for us but always gave 100%. Which is more than can be said for a fair few around that time.


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[Firestarter]

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I always quite liked him. Just think he was a bit past it by the time he signed for us.

Which made it worse. He was decent for Killie.

[Thecat23]

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Mental to put Fenlon with Calderwood and Butcher. Those guys really hardly won a game, Fenlon has us in 2 cup finals and 5th when he left.

Not sure how he can be 5th and dropping like a stone. He was 5th, we dropped like a stone when we hounded him out.

Massive reason I think fan ownership would be a bad idea. Too much passion, no logic. He wasn't the answer but all we had to do was suck it up for 6 months and he was away. Instead we got relegated.

Have to agree to disagree, his football was eye bleeding stuff crowds tell its own story under him. I agree with you about fan ownership never been a fan of it and think it’s a bad idea!

[tamig]

Some way OTT comments on here about James Collins. My view of him is he always gave 100% in a poor side and scored a few goals in a low scoring defensively minded team lacking in creativity. Miles away from being anywhere near the worst strikers ever to play for Hibs. He would have scored plenty with better players around him.

[ian cruise]

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Is the show not done in Tranent, wonder what brings him up here as he seems like he'd be too baw heeded to come up from Luton to do a local radio show.

He was murder in a murder team and more interested in George Street. Well rid.

Ready to be corrected here but though Collins was out quite a lot I thought he was teetotal and was always on the soft drinks? I just seem to remember that being the chat around the time.

[SteveHFC]

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35% win rate from 87 games! On top of that some of the worst football I’ve seen watching Hibs, chuck in the 0-7 as well. Actually need to change the subject thank god we managed to completely turn our club around in bring in guys like Stubbs and Lennon.

Fenlon should have been sacked after the 5-1 game.