Leeann Dempster

[matty_f]

I'm seeing more and more posts on here and on twitter with a very strong anti-Dempster stance, and so I'm curious as to what is behind it.

I know some people are unhappy at perceived inaction regarding our treatment at Ibrox and/or regarding the sectarian singing from both sides of the OF. Some were unhappy at Rangers getting the whole Dunbar end recently, and there's the thread about the singing section where we have an (admittedly one-sided version of events) issue with some of the support.

The criticism I've seen has been fairly personal and not just on these issues, and so I'd like to hear from people who feel that she is not doing a good job, and why/what evidence do you have for it?

FWIW, I think if you tot up her good v bad, then Dempster is significantly in credit, and the overall picture at the club is significantly better than when she took over. I think she has overseen some major positives at the club - the Scottish Cup win, Europe (twice), promotion, 4th place finish, high attendances etc..

Is it just that some small gripes are being given too much air-time, or are there genuinely folk out there who would rather we replaced her?

[Onceinawhile]

She's female and therefore insecure males think she doesn't "get it" as she panders to the club's best interest rather than their own specific interests. As a result, they use any possible stick with which to beat her.

Alternatively, there's a lot of opinions and you can't keep everyone happy all the time. Maybe you've just become more aware of it as it's so juxtaposed to your position?

[04Sauzee]

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I'm seeing more and more posts on here and on twitter with a very strong anti-Dempster stance, and so I'm curious as to what is behind it.

I know some people are unhappy at perceived inaction regarding our treatment at Ibrox and/or regarding the sectarian singing from both sides of the OF. Some were unhappy at Rangers getting the whole Dunbar end recently, and there's the thread about the singing section where we have an (admittedly one-sided version of events) issue with some of the support.

The criticism I've seen has been fairly personal and not just on these issues, and so I'd like to hear from people who feel that she is not doing a good job, and why/what evidence do you have for it?

FWIW, I think if you tot up her good v bad, then Dempster is significantly in credit, and the overall picture at the club is significantly better than when she took over. I think she has overseen some major positives at the club - the Scottish Cup win, Europe (twice), promotion, 4th place finish, high attendances etc..

Is it just that some small gripes are being given too much air-time, or are there genuinely folk out there who would rather we replaced her?

There seems to be a band of people on Twitter that have nothing good to say abut Hibs or Leeann, i have no idea what their agenda is or why they are so negative about our club.

I found myself on Friday actually firing of an email to Leeann just to say thanks for what she brings to the club especially over what has been a challenging few motnhs.

[Alan62]

Some people like to complain about everything. As Rod Petrie has faded from daily view, it's become easier to just blame Leeann for everything that they perceive as going wrong.

Lots of fans have unrealistic expectations and some like to bash the club when we haven't spent money we don't have bringing in players we can't afford.

Others saw Leeann as the reason for Neil Lennon's departure rather than admitting that the problem was Lennon himself.

For me, she's arguably the best signing we've made in years. She's astute and well organised and, most importantly, she maintains her focus, ignores the doubters and gets on with the job.

I hope she's with us for many more years to come.

[Mango Man]

Agreed, I've had a couple of disagreements with folk on Twitter regarding what they say about Leeann.

1. The whole Lennon debacle, nobody knows what really happened with that and it was clear as day that both parties hands were tied in what they could say, so can't blame her for that.

2. Giving Rangers the whole stand, I'm a big believer in if we can guarantee our own supporters can fill it out, then we should, if it looks like we can't, then give it to Rangers, who will be able to sell it out no worries, we really can't afford to lose money and only have a smattering of Hibs fans in the stand, that's cutting off our nose to spite our face, our fans are quick enough to blame the board when we get outbid for players, this wouldn't help.

3. Singing section, did they not request to move?

4. Loyalty points, never gonna win with that one I'm afraid.

[PatHead]

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I'm seeing more and more posts on here and on twitter with a very strong anti-Dempster stance, and so I'm curious as to what is behind it.

I know some people are unhappy at perceived inaction regarding our treatment at Ibrox and/or regarding the sectarian singing from both sides of the OF. Some were unhappy at Rangers getting the whole Dunbar end recently, and there's the thread about the singing section where we have an (admittedly one-sided version of events) issue with some of the support.

The criticism I've seen has been fairly personal and not just on these issues, and so I'd like to hear from people who feel that she is not doing a good job, and why/what evidence do you have for it?

FWIW, I think if you tot up her good v bad, then Dempster is significantly in credit, and the overall picture at the club is significantly better than when she took over. I think she has overseen some major positives at the club - the Scottish Cup win, Europe (twice), promotion, 4th place finish, high attendances etc..

Is it just that some small gripes are being given too much air-time, or are there genuinely folk out there who would rather we replaced her?

Matty, I think you have missed the one which really seemed to escalate complaints, namely the Neil Lennon saga and the subsequent silence during the appointment of our new manager.

Personally, I think overall she is doing a great job and hope she will stay for some time to come.

[davhibby]

I think there are plenty who understand and appreciate the good she has done but I think that most of what she has done wrong is on the fan relations front which will always lead to folk getting on her back. Even just the fact we'd pretty much not heard from her in 2 years until the other week when the interaction with the support had been so good left her open to people having a go. Obviously there are always going to be people who like to have a pop at the club for no reason but I don't think the fact she seems to be leaving sections of the support disgruntled should be swept under the carpet as just people moaning over nothing

[hibbysam]

She’s done a good job on most fronts, but she can still receive criticism for the things she doesn’t do well, and her stubbornness.

Tickets (loyalty points, stopping selling to certain areas, removing concession prices)
Communication (appointing fans reps as guinea pigs to take all the flak from herself and not hearing from her for ages until a few weeks ago)
Refusal to act upon horrendous verbal abuse of players and coaches of the club, which ultimately has led to us receiving even worse headlines as we don’t bring up the bad that happens to us.

It’s a two sides coin, she can receive praise for her good work and criticism for her bad work, like anyone else.

[Since452]

People like having a moan and being outraged by something. Social media gives them a tool to do that but as it's not face to face they become more opinionated/brave/argumentative than they normally would be. I've not heard any anti Dempster chat at the games yet.

[Hibernian Verse]

If you're looking for answers from those on twitter you won't get them here, because they are almost all banned or not on .net and hate the site.

[CapitalGreen]

It seems to be a part of modern day football that you are supposed to hate your clubs owners and administrators regardless of what they do for your club.

The only exception to the above rule is if they are members of a royal family from a country with a very dubious human rights record.

[Stonewall]

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I think there are plenty who understand and appreciate the good she has done but I think that most of what she has done wrong is on the fan relations front which will always lead to folk getting on her back. Even just the fact we'd pretty much not heard from her in 2 years until the other week when the interaction with the support had been so good left her open to people having a go. Obviously there are always going to be people who like to have a pop at the club for no reason but I don't think the fact she seems to be leaving sections of the support disgruntled should be swept under the carpet as just people moaning over nothing

From what I’ve seen most of the criticism is ludicrous and very little of it has any merit whatsoever and is best ignored as in true internet style no-one is listening. If no-one is listening there’s no point in replying.

I think Pathead is right in that the Lennon saga appeared to be a tipping point for many but in reality the club was just being professional and doing what these muppets wanted would have potentially cost the club a lot of money. Needless to say when these inconvenient facts were pointed out they were ignored or shouted down. No counter arguments were given.

No point getting involved, just accept we have a lot of idiots amongst us unfortunately and move on.

[matty_f]

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Matty, I think you have missed the one which really seemed to escalate complaints, namely the Neil Lennon saga and the subsequent silence during the appointment of our new manager.

Personally, I think overall she is doing a great job and hope she will stay for some time to come.

Yes, I did miss that one, which was fairly significant now you mention it.

I think that whole situation could have been handled better to a point, but having dealt with HR issues I know the employer has to be very careful what they say.

[The 90+2]

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It seems to be a part of modern day football that you are supposed to hate your clubs owners and administrators regardless of what they do for your club.

The only exception to the above rule is if they are members of a royal family from a country with a very dubious human rights record.

The last thing it should be put down to is a simple generalization of everything.

[Smartie]

I think she's magnificent, and is continuing to do an excellent job.

None of our recent problems are of her making (or at they aren't based on my understanding of events). Issues have found their way to her and she's had to deal with them. I agree with her stance regarding the crowd trouble, I agree with her handling of the Lennon situation and how that led to us ending up with the manager we now have.

Her job is always going to be a fairly thankless one. You cannot keep everyone in a support like ours happy all the time and every decision you make will be welcomed by some and slaughtered by others.

We've not won a hoodoo-busting trophy for 3 years so some folk will be getting twitchy down to that. Some won't like her words and hard line regarding crowd behaviour.

We're unlikely to get anyone, ever, who does as good a job as she's done over the piece.

My main criticism would be a more general one of Hibs at present - there are lots of factors relating to Rangers that I'm not entirely happy about. I don't like our continued silence regarding sectarian chanting in our stadium, I think some of what has been directed at some of our recent managers at Ibrox has been disgraceful (along with Hibs' silence on the subject). I don't think we should have just "moved on" from Rangers cheating years and I think the fact that we've all been urged to move on without examining and learning from the episode has led to the widespread lack of faith in the integrity of football governance in Scotland that is expressed on a weekly basis. I don't agree with flogging them the whole South Stand, thousands of huns in your ground for a Friday night party does not create an atmosphere that I like and I won't be back at another game like that (another seat that could be filled by a knuckle dragger wielding blue pounds if Hibs so wish). I don't think these decisions are solely down to LD though and don't wish to beat her with them.

So - on the whole - I am delighted with the job she continues to do, and my concerns are minor.

[matty_f]

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She’s done a good job on most fronts, but she can still receive criticism for the things she doesn’t do well, and her stubbornness.

Tickets (loyalty points, stopping selling to certain areas, removing concession prices)
Communication (appointing fans reps as guinea pigs to take all the flak from herself and not hearing from her for ages until a few weeks ago)
Refusal to act upon horrendous verbal abuse of players and coaches of the club, which ultimately has led to us receiving even worse headlines as we don’t bring up the bad that happens to us.

It’s a two sides coin, she can receive praise for her good work and criticism for her bad work, like anyone else.

100% agree that criticism is as open a topic for discussion as praise - that's very important.

I think it's more the pace at which the criticism is growing, that got my attention and hence why I asked the question.

[matty_f]

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If you're looking for answers from those on twitter you won't get them here, because they are almost all banned or not on .net and hate the site.

To be honest, it was from the folk of that opinion on here that I was interested in hearing from - I'm on twitter so have seen numerous tweets about it already.

I always think it's quite funny that folk would hate a website. Is it the users or the domain name they hate?

hibs.net is just a platform for folk to share opinions. Some you'll agree with, some you'll disagree with.

I suppose we have some rules here around how you voice your opinion that people might not like, but all our rules are just about being decent, really, so I'm not sure why folk would have an issue with that.

It's like me saying I hate twitter because some people tweeted something I disagreed with.

[Wakeyhibee]

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I'm seeing more and more posts on here and on twitter with a very strong anti-Dempster stance, and so I'm curious as to what is behind it.

I know some people are unhappy at perceived inaction regarding our treatment at Ibrox and/or regarding the sectarian singing from both sides of the OF. Some were unhappy at Rangers getting the whole Dunbar end recently, and there's the thread about the singing section where we have an (admittedly one-sided version of events) issue with some of the support.

The criticism I've seen has been fairly personal and not just on these issues, and so I'd like to hear from people who feel that she is not doing a good job, and why/what evidence do you have for it?

FWIW, I think if you tot up her good v bad, then Dempster is significantly in credit, and the overall picture at the club is significantly better than when she took over. I think she has overseen some major positives at the club - the Scottish Cup win, Europe (twice), promotion, 4th place finish, high attendances etc..

Is it just that some small gripes are being given too much air-time, or are there genuinely folk out there who would rather we replaced her?

Is this just not the fact that when things aren't going a certain way the criticism is very vocal, yet when things are going well, ie the last few weeks, the praise is not in equal amounts to the criticism.

It distorts the view that someone is doing more harm than good, which to me is not a fair reflection on LDs tenure.

As you say I think on that score she is heavily in credit.

[bookert]

I think she is one of the best appointments hibs have made in the 50 odd years I have been supporting them. She won't be with us forever and I'm not looking forward to the day she leaves, but I trust her to have a succession plan in place when that day comes.

[Hibernia&Alba]

I'm sure some just have a problem with whoever is in charge at the time. However, one or two recent things have turned up the heat on Dempster, rightly or wrongly:

1, The return to giving Rangers the entire away end. A climbdown to some.

2, Her recent statements about the behaviour of some Hibs supporters, even cthreatening to close the East Stand, whilst saying nothing of the behaviour of the away supporters in the games against Celtic and Rangers, including the sectarian singing.

I think the recent anger towards her is the result of perceived appeasement of the Old Firm whilst lambasting Hibs fans. Whether that is right or wrong, i think that's the perception some have.

[The 90+2]

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I think she's magnificent, and is continuing to do an excellent job.

None of our recent problems are of her making (or at they aren't based on my understanding of events). Issues have found their way to her and she's had to deal with them. I agree with her stance regarding the crowd trouble, I agree with her handling of the Lennon situation and how that led to us ending up with the manager we now have.

Her job is always going to be a fairly thankless one. You cannot keep everyone in a support like ours happy all the time and every decision you make will be welcomed by some and slaughtered by others.

We've not won a hoodoo-busting trophy for 3 years so some folk will be getting twitchy down to that. Some won't like her words and hard line regarding crowd behaviour.

We're unlikely to get anyone, ever, who does as good a job as she's done over the piece.

My main criticism would be a more general one of Hibs at present - there are lots of factors relating to Rangers that I'm not entirely happy about. I don't like our continued silence regarding sectarian chanting in our stadium, I think some of what has been directed at some of our recent managers at Ibrox has been disgraceful (along with Hibs' silence on the subject). I don't think we should have just "moved on" from Rangers cheating years and I think the fact that we've all been urged to move on without examining and learning from the episode has led to the widespread lack of faith in the integrity of football governance in Scotland that is expressed on a weekly basis. I don't agree with flogging them the whole South Stand, thousands of huns in your ground for a Friday night party does not create an atmosphere that I like and I won't be back at another game like that (another seat that could be filled by a knuckle dragger wielding blue pounds if Hibs so wish). I don't think these decisions are solely down to LD though and don't wish to beat her with them.

So - on the whole - I am delighted with the job she continues to do, and my concerns are minor.

Great post.

[Mango Man]

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I'm sure some just have a problem with whoever is in charge at the time. However, one or two recent things have turned up the heat on Dempster, rightly or wrongly:

1, The return to giving Rangers the entire away end. A climbdown to some.

2, Her recent statements about the behaviour of some Hibs supporters, even cthreatening to close the East Stand, whilst saying nothing of the behaviour of the away supporters in the games against Celtic and Rangers, including the sectarian singing.

I think the recent anger towards her is the result of perceived appeasement of the Old Firm whilst lambasting Hibs fans. Whether that is right or wrong, i think that's the perception some have.

Maybe more would have been said about the singing if that idiot didn't throw a glass bottle on the pitch or if that other idiot didn't run on the pitch, these incidents are worse than sectarian songs for sure.

[Bostonhibby]

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I think she's magnificent, and is continuing to do an excellent job.

None of our recent problems are of her making (or at they aren't based on my understanding of events). Issues have found their way to her and she's had to deal with them. I agree with her stance regarding the crowd trouble, I agree with her handling of the Lennon situation and how that led to us ending up with the manager we now have.

Her job is always going to be a fairly thankless one. You cannot keep everyone in a support like ours happy all the time and every decision you make will be welcomed by some and slaughtered by others.

We've not won a hoodoo-busting trophy for 3 years so some folk will be getting twitchy down to that. Some won't like her words and hard line regarding crowd behaviour.

We're unlikely to get anyone, ever, who does as good a job as she's done over the piece.

My main criticism would be a more general one of Hibs at present - there are lots of factors relating to Rangers that I'm not entirely happy about. I don't like our continued silence regarding sectarian chanting in our stadium, I think some of what has been directed at some of our recent managers at Ibrox has been disgraceful (along with Hibs' silence on the subject). I don't think we should have just "moved on" from Rangers cheating years and I think the fact that we've all been urged to move on without examining and learning from the episode has led to the widespread lack of faith in the integrity of football governance in Scotland that is expressed on a weekly basis. I don't agree with flogging them the whole South Stand, thousands of huns in your ground for a Friday night party does not create an atmosphere that I like and I won't be back at another game like that (another seat that could be filled by a knuckle dragger wielding blue pounds if Hibs so wish). I don't think these decisions are solely down to LD though and don't wish to beat her with them.

So - on the whole - I am delighted with the job she continues to do, and my concerns are minor.

This is pretty much my views too.

She's doing a great job. In so far as the issue over the away end and Huns goes, it was on her watch we cut their allocation too, personally I'd keep them out until we have proof they're doing something about the hateful treatment away fans get at Sevco.

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[Ozyhibby]

I think she is doing a fantastic job and is easily the best CEO we have had since I started following Hibs (1985). The difference between her and Petrie is immense.
And she done an amazing job with loyalty points.


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[PatHead]

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I think she's magnificent, and is continuing to do an excellent job.

None of our recent problems are of her making (or at they aren't based on my understanding of events). Issues have found their way to her and she's had to deal with them. I agree with her stance regarding the crowd trouble, I agree with her handling of the Lennon situation and how that led to us ending up with the manager we now have.

Her job is always going to be a fairly thankless one. You cannot keep everyone in a support like ours happy all the time and every decision you make will be welcomed by some and slaughtered by others.

We've not won a hoodoo-busting trophy for 3 years so some folk will be getting twitchy down to that. Some won't like her words and hard line regarding crowd behaviour.

We're unlikely to get anyone, ever, who does as good a job as she's done over the piece.

My main criticism would be a more general one of Hibs at present - there are lots of factors relating to Rangers that I'm not entirely happy about. I don't like our continued silence regarding sectarian chanting in our stadium, I think some of what has been directed at some of our recent managers at Ibrox has been disgraceful (along with Hibs' silence on the subject). I don't think we should have just "moved on" from Rangers cheating years and I think the fact that we've all been urged to move on without examining and learning from the episode has led to the widespread lack of faith in the integrity of football governance in Scotland that is expressed on a weekly basis. I don't agree with flogging them the whole South Stand, thousands of huns in your ground for a Friday night party does not create an atmosphere that I like and I won't be back at another game like that (another seat that could be filled by a knuckle dragger wielding blue pounds if Hibs so wish). I don't think these decisions are solely down to LD though and don't wish to beat her with them.

So - on the whole - I am delighted with the job she continues to do, and my concerns are minor.

Can I clarify a couple of things.

Hibs did complain to Sevco about the treatment Alan Stubbs received. They did it in our normal proper manner and not through the papers.

With regard to the cutting of their allocation I am in favour of that but once again lets be fair here, we did cut their allocation for at least 2 games (off the top of my head). I can't remember us doing that before. We have stood up to them more often in the last few years than I can remember us doing before.

As I said I am in favour of us cutting their allocation however the supporters did not back the decision by filling our sections. Money will have been a major consideration in that and if we can put more money towards a Mark McNulty signing then that is a strong argument to the board.

In the current climate of Sevco deflecting everything and posing as the victims in MSM maybe just now isn't the time to go in with all guns blazing.

[Onceinawhile]

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I'm sure some just have a problem with whoever is in charge at the time. However, one or two recent things have turned up the heat on Dempster, rightly or wrongly:

1, The return to giving Rangers the entire away end. A climbdown to some.

2, Her recent statements about the behaviour of some Hibs supporters, even cthreatening to close the East Stand, whilst saying nothing of the behaviour of the away supporters in the games against Celtic and Rangers, including the sectarian singing.

I think the recent anger towards her is the result of perceived appeasement of the Old Firm whilst lambasting Hibs fans. Whether that is right or wrong, i think that's the perception some have.

She never threatened to close the east stand though. She just said no options were off the table.

[HFC93]

A few nutters on twitter seem to be obsessed with her Rangers supporting past. It’s embarrassing reading some of the stuff posted about her on that subject.

[Gloucester Hibs]

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She’s done a good job on most fronts, but she can still receive criticism for the things she doesn’t do well, and her stubbornness.

Tickets (loyalty points, stopping selling to certain areas, removing concession prices)
Communication (appointing fans reps as guinea pigs to take all the flak from herself and not hearing from her for ages until a few weeks ago)
Refusal to act upon horrendous verbal abuse of players and coaches of the club, which ultimately has led to us receiving even worse headlines as we don’t bring up the bad that happens to us.

It’s a two sides coin, she can receive praise for her good work and criticism for her bad work, like anyone else.

Well summarised. My thoughts too.

[Hibs90]

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I'm seeing more and more posts on here and on twitter with a very strong anti-Dempster stance, and so I'm curious as to what is behind it.

I know some people are unhappy at perceived inaction regarding our treatment at Ibrox and/or regarding the sectarian singing from both sides of the OF. Some were unhappy at Rangers getting the whole Dunbar end recently, and there's the thread about the singing section where we have an (admittedly one-sided version of events) issue with some of the support.

The criticism I've seen has been fairly personal and not just on these issues, and so I'd like to hear from people who feel that she is not doing a good job, and why/what evidence do you have for it?

FWIW, I think if you tot up her good v bad, then Dempster is significantly in credit, and the overall picture at the club is significantly better than when she took over. I think she has overseen some major positives at the club - the Scottish Cup win, Europe (twice), promotion, 4th place finish, high attendances etc..

Is it just that some small gripes are being given too much air-time, or are there genuinely folk out there who would rather we replaced her?

I agree with you overall that she is doing a good job however failure to call out the sectarian singing of Rangers/Celtic and to an extent Hearts fans has been poor. As has been the loyalty points debacle.

I was also disappointed recently to find out the clubs stance on false journalism. I e-mailed asking about the situation with a certain reporter and newspaper (Jackson/Record) and was pretty disappointed with the response of 'we don't want to feed their ego and cause more uncertainty". So Jackson and his cronies will continue to dig at the club and fans at every opportunity.

[Gatecrasher]

i think in general she has done a good job but i think she's been a bit rash and quick regarding the recent incidents to the point where normal well behaved fans might feel like they are in the fiting line as well when it comes to the statements being released. I also feel like there has been some issues that havent been addressed that have been issues since before her time at the club started for instance the catering and behind the goals are two prime examples of this, Hibs retweeted a Ross County tweet about their supporters bar a few weeks ago and their supporters bar looked a lot nicer than ours for example.

I think leaving these things unfixed has perhaps tainted her time slightly as we all thought things were finally going to get sorted from the fans experience side of things. Like i said though overall i feel she has been very good for the club.