Alex Neil

[James Stephen]

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Im not sure what’s so crazy about that.

You’re never going to progress as a club by going for the same managers that go around your level of football (Scot Prem, bottom end English Championship/League One in England) doing ok at one club, ***** at the next etc.

Who was the last manager we had that could be called a safe pair of hands that done really well and didn’t end up getting sacked? Possibly McLeish although it even went south for him towards the end.

Mcinnes is probably the closest thing to that in Scottish football yet even he got sacked by Bristol City and has had a dreadful start at Kilmarnock. That’s half his jobs although I appreciate Killie is only just at the beginning.

Likewise, you really need to broaden your horizons in terms of players you sign, or again, you’re going to just hit a glass ceiling in terms of how good you get. It’s good to see us trying something different on both the manager and player front imo as it’s our only chance of getting any better than decent.

And besides, our safe pair of hands ended up being anything but safe towards the end with a dreadful run of form and some absolute car crashes in that run.

Bumping into the glass ceiling consistently would be progress for Hibs, and its where Hibs were last season.

Nothing Hibs can realistically do will break through it.

Where Hibs are now is miles away from tye glass ceiling again, 'in transition' and in a weird place where getting back to that glass ceiling will be seen as progress.

Many Hibs fans want the impossible, and that is why they are never happy and Hibs have been permanently in transition for decades.

[Crunchie]

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Bumping into the glass ceiling would be progress for Hibs, and its where Hibs were last season.

Nothing Hibs cab realistically do will break through it.

Where Hibs are now is miles away from tye glass ceiling again, 'in transition' and in a weird place where getting back to that glass ceiling will be seen as progress.

Many Hibs fans want the impossible, and that is why they are never happy and Hibs have been permanently in transition for decades.

[Aldo]

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We don't desperatedly need a poacher, they would struggle terribly on our formation. We need a forward to link play and be involved. Like Nisbet is doing. Doidge is brilliant at scoring the type of goals a poacher does.

I just hate this argument about personnel. Why didn't we find a manager who could work with our current squad, instead of one he might be able to build in 2/3 years. Shaun simply should be doing better with the players he has.

Stubbs didn't really have a very poor final league campaign. He had a poor run of 5 losses. Win those 5, we win that league. We had brutal injuries that season as well.

I hope you're right the style will be better. To me, we're sacrificing a season to maybe be good next season, with a style and plan that might end up being hopeless.

We can agree that we need goals from somewhere. Rub of the green perhaps. Hopefully tomorrow!

The bit about personnel I totally agree with. We should always have a nucleus of a squad and add auditory and we need a vision moving forward and the manager should really gut that vision.

Hard o know but we cannot have a transition season every couple of years


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[Since452]

I feel like we've taken two steps backwards to go two steps forward (maybe). Whole thing doesn't make sense to me. If we'd stuck with Ross, let him have the transfer window he deserved in the summer, invested in youth for the future like we are doing now would we have been any worse off? We'll never know but there wouldn't have been a weird transition to worry about.

[Crunchie]

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I feel like we've taken two steps backwards to go two steps forward (maybe). Whole thing doesn't make sense to me. If we'd stuck with Ross, let him have the transfer window he deserved in the summer, invested in youth for the future like we are doing now would we have been any worse off? We'll never know but there wouldn't have been a weird transition to worry about.

We've taken a massive gamble from being in a very stable position.

All the talk about horrendous runs under Ross and his style of play etc are looking a bit stupid now.

Hopefully we can turn it around and I'm sure we will, but as you say we're now in transition AGAIN.

[500miles]

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We've taken a massive gamble from being in a very stable position.

All the talk about horrendous runs under Ross and his style of play etc are looking a bit stupid now.

Hopefully we can turn it around and I'm sure we will, but as you say we're now in transition AGAIN.

The run was such a condensed period of time as well, key players missing, covid backlogs. It was a wild gamble when we'd already identified the root of our recruitment problem.

[jacomo]

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Completely agree mate, I think it’s the classic case of fans always wanting more and are rarely satisfied. I think Neil plays good football too by all accounts.

I’m hoping (as I’m sure the Hibs board are) that’s over time Maloney gets us 3rd and cup finals relatively consistently whilst playing fast paced attacking football.

In reality though very very few managers in Scotland out-with the old firm have achieved success whilst playing scintillating football for a lengthy period of time.

Very true. I did understand Aberdeen fans getting bored with McInnes in a way because he was there 7 years and they seem to have peaked after his second season.

On the other hand, he had to rebuild his squad frequently during his tenure and did a decent job in still getting results. When you lose your strikers and the goals dry up, it’s understandable that you focus on becoming hard to beat.

[Crunchie]

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The run was such a condensed period of time as well, key players missing, covid backlogs. It was a wild gamble when we'd already identified the root of our recruitment problem.

Exactly, so many factors to take into account but were dismissed out of hand.

The man got us regularly to Hampden, a feat in itself for any Hibs manager and something that should have given him the next few years at least.

Turnbull got 9, Miller nearly 10 and they won a League Cup each. ( please don't mention Drybrough cup or Tennent's sixes anyone )

[The Modfather]

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I feel like we've taken two steps backwards to go two steps forward (maybe). Whole thing doesn't make sense to me. If we'd stuck with Ross, let him have the transfer window he deserved in the summer, invested in youth for the future like we are doing now would we have been any worse off? We'll never know but there wouldn't have been a weird transition to worry about.

We might not have been any worse off but it looked more and more unlikely with each passing week we’d have been any better off. For all the credit Ross deserves for last season he also deserves the criticism for this season. Given the money Ross had to spend is 3rd one season and a big drop off the next season enough?

Ross left us in a better place than he inherited but I felt last season was closer to being his peak than the start/continuation of an upward trajectory. I view it a bit like Fenlon, we got the next man spectacularly wrong but that doesn’t change the fact it was time for Fenlon to go IMO. Same with Ross, Maloney might or might not be the correct appointment but it doesn’t change the fact Ross’ time was up IMO.

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

I think that he will do a decent job there. Despite their history and resources, they are a "third" Division club and need a Manager to get them promoted. I can't work out why Keane was ever in the frame. He's an in work pundit, not an out of work Manager. If Neil can get them to top six Championship and consolidate there, he will have done a good job. Shaking off the basket case club image has to be fundamental to rebuilding.

[Stubbsy90+2]

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We might not have been any worse off but it looked more and more unlikely with each passing week we’d have been any better off. For all the credit Ross deserves for last season he also deserves the criticism for this season. Given the money Ross had to spend is 3rd one season and a big drop off the next season enough?

Ross left us in a better place than he inherited but I felt last season was closer to being his peak than the start/continuation of an upward trajectory. I view it a bit like Fenlon, we got the next man spectacularly wrong but that doesn’t change the fact it was time for Fenlon to go IMO. Same with Ross, Maloney might or might not be the correct appointment but it doesn’t change the fact Ross’ time was up IMO.

Yup. It was getting progressively worse under Ross and even got to the point where the team had lost all discipline. It wasn’t just bad form anymore, it was an absolute mess with us having 2 men sent off in one game twice. The Livingston game simply had to spell the end, you could see watching it that something was just so badly wrong that it was never turning round under JR.

It’s actually quite funny seeing people talk about how Ross had to contend with injuries and covid etc yet some of the same people are slaughtering Maloney who has had his best player sold, the one that carried us for most of the season, injury after injury since he came in and a load of dross left behind for him to either ship out or work with.

[Stubbsy90+2]

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We've taken a massive gamble from being in a very stable position.

All the talk about horrendous runs under Ross and his style of play etc are looking a bit stupid now.

Hopefully we can turn it around and I'm sure we will, but as you say we're now in transition AGAIN.

Having a bad run with the new manager doesn’t make Ross’ equally bad run any better. Likewise with the style of play. His run was utterly horrendous, we picked up 4 points from nearly a quarter of a season. Maloney could lose the next 30 games. There’s absolutely nothing stupid about suggesting we were on a bad run of form because quite simply, we were. We were in relegation form with absolutely nothing to suggest we were coming out of it.

The fact wouldn’t change that Ross’ run was also shocking.

[B.H.F.C]

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Bumping into the glass ceiling consistently would be progress for Hibs, and its where Hibs were last season.

Nothing Hibs can realistically do will break through it.

Where Hibs are now is miles away from tye glass ceiling again, 'in transition' and in a weird place where getting back to that glass ceiling will be seen as progress.

Many Hibs fans want the impossible, and that is why they are never happy and Hibs have been permanently in transition for decades.

I don’t think anybody wants anything that is impossible.

We should have had a trophy last season. To be in the last four of both cup competitions minus the old firm is almost unheard of. I don’t think, when we were the best of the rest, it’s expecting the impossible to have won one of those trophies.

There is a third European competition now which should give clubs like us a realistic chance of competing regularly in Europe. Scottish clubs have well under achieved in getting to group stages of European competitions when you look at some of the teams that manage it.

I agree there is a certain glass ceiling, last season wasn’t it though.

[Jones28]

Probably one of the hardest jobs in British football. Would a great addition to the CV if he could achieve something with them.

[The 90+2]

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He'll be unemployed again in about 9 months if we still fancy giving him a crack then.

He'll need all the luck in the world at that basket case of a club. I hope he gets absolutely none.

Neil has went from being a journeyman footballer to being made for life in the last ten years. Fair play to him.

[Stubbsy90+2]

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Probably one of the hardest jobs in British football. Would a great addition to the CV if he could achieve something with them.

Agree. I’m surprised he’s taken it as it would seem a huge gamble considering he could probably have got a job at a Championship side or top end League One side that weren’t such a basket case.

[Crunchie]

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Having a bad run with the new manager doesn’t make Ross’ equally bad run any better. Likewise with the style of play. His run was utterly horrendous, we picked up 4 points from nearly a quarter of a season. Maloney could lose the next 30 games. The fact wouldn’t change that Ross’ run was also shocking.

You'll be screaming for his head long before the next 30 games if you wanted Ross sacked.

[Stubbsy90+2]

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You'll be screaming for his head long before the next 30 games if you wanted Ross sacked.

Thankfully I’ve got confidence in Maloney to get us going, so I’m fairly confident that I won’t be.

I see you’re already warming up for it though.

[Hibeesforever]

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Neil has went from being a journeyman footballer to being made for life in the last ten years. Fair play to him.

Hibs relegation team helped him on that journey!

[Stevie Reid]

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Having a bad run with the new manager doesn’t make Ross’ equally bad run any better. Likewise with the style of play. His run was utterly horrendous, we picked up 4 points from nearly a quarter of a season. Maloney could lose the next 30 games. There’s absolutely nothing stupid about suggesting we were on a bad run of form because quite simply, we were. We were in relegation form with absolutely nothing to suggest we were coming out of it.

The fact wouldn’t change that Ross’ run was also shocking.

It was a bad run - with some really bad performances in there too - there’s no getting away from that, and I’m not seeing anyone here trying to say any differently.

The question is whether it was bad enough for a manager who had won 49% of all of his matches and finished third only months before - and just reached his second cup final in a row - to lose his job.

And there were signs of it getting better. The five games in row that we lost was awful, but in the next four games we took four points. It’s small but it’s improvement. There was also a thumping league cup semi final against Rangers in there too.

Clutching at straws in terms of the league form under Ross turning around? Maybe - but no more so than the claims of some in recent weeks that creating a handful of chances and a couple of passages of decent play against Livi and Saints are definitive signs of progress under Maloney.

Our current run of two points from six league games is the worst we’ve had this season - but to be fair we’ve been away to the Old Firm and home to Hearts in that time.

I think Livi had three points from their first eight games this season, after a bad end to last season too. They stuck with Martindale and are reaping the rewards currently, so managers can turn bad form back around. I could easily picture Ross doing the same, but of course we will never know.

Of course if we are looking at a new appointment like Maloney, Ross County also had an awful start to the season under Mackay before completely turning it around. We’re going to need Maloney to have as big a turnaround to save our season.

Back on topic, be interesting to see how Neil does at Sunderland - he was my clear first choice for the Hibs job (not that his performance there will definitively prove anything).

[Stubbsy90+2]

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It was a bad run - with some really bad performances in there too - there’s no getting away from that, and I’m not seeing anyone here trying to say any differently.

The question is whether it was bad enough for a manager who had won 49% of all of his matches and finished third only months before - and just reached his second cup final in a row - to lose his job.

And there were signs of it getting better. The five games in row that we lost was awful, but in the next four games we took four points. It’s small but it’s improvement. There was also a thumping league cup semi final against Rangers in there too.

Clutching at straws in terms of the league form under Ross turning around? Maybe - but no more so than the claims of some in recent weeks that creating a handful of chances and a couple of passages of decent play against Livi and Saints are definitive signs of progress under Maloney.

Our current run of two points from six league games is the worst we’ve had this season - but to be fair we’ve been away to the Old Firm and home to Hearts in that time.

I think Livi had three points from their first eight games this season, after a bad end to last season too. They stuck with Martindale and are reaping the rewards currently, so managers can turn bad form back around. I could easily picture Ross doing the same, but of course we will never know.

Of course if we are looking at a new appointment like Maloney, Ross County also had an awful start to the season under Mackay before completely turning it around. We’re going to need Maloney to have as big a turnaround to save our season.

Back on topic, be interesting to see how Neil does at Sunderland - he was my clear first choice for the Hibs job (not that his performance there will definitively prove anything).

There’s posts suggesting that the idea it was a horrendous run was stupid. The post I quoted in your quoted post says exactly that.

That’s very much saying differently to the fact it was a bad run imo.

From what I’ve seen the defence of JR seems to centre solely on the fact we finished third last season while completely ignoring this season because quite simply, this season was indefensible. People also seem to like throwing covid in there as if we’re the only team to have dealt with it or that it’s some sort of get out clause. I mean Maloney was manager over the period of the most transmissible bout of covid we’ve had since the pandemic began yet he never seems to get away with that as an excuse from the people that trot it out for JR.
Covid is a desperate attempt at a get out clause for JR imo. We’re far from the only team to have to deal with it so let’s now make out like we were.

We were 7th in the league and pretty much getting worse. The statistics would suggest thats the case and the statistics would also suggest we’ve marginally improve.. There was only one way we were going under JR judging by the last 9 games he had as manager and it wasn’t up the way regardless of whether Maloney turns out to be better or worse.

[He's here!]

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Exactly, so many factors to take into account but were dismissed out of hand.

The man got us regularly to Hampden, a feat in itself for any Hibs manager and something that should have given him the next few years at least.

Turnbull got 9, Miller nearly 10 and they won a League Cup each. ( please don't mention Drybrough cup or Tennent's sixes anyone )

No serious comparison between the Turnbull and Miller eras. I know it started to head south for Eddie in the latter years of the decade but for the first half of the 70s he built a team that in any other era would likely have won a couple of titles. Those Drybrough Cup wins carried a fair bit of clout.

[He's here!]

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It was a bad run - with some really bad performances in there too - there’s no getting away from that, and I’m not seeing anyone here trying to say any differently.

The question is whether it was bad enough for a manager who had won 49% of all of his matches and finished third only months before - and just reached his second cup final in a row - to lose his job.

And there were signs of it getting better. The five games in row that we lost was awful, but in the next four games we took four points. It’s small but it’s improvement. There was also a thumping league cup semi final against Rangers in there too.

Clutching at straws in terms of the league form under Ross turning around? Maybe - but no more so than the claims of some in recent weeks that creating a handful of chances and a couple of passages of decent play against Livi and Saints are definitive signs of progress under Maloney.

Our current run of two points from six league games is the worst we’ve had this season - but to be fair we’ve been away to the Old Firm and home to Hearts in that time.

I think Livi had three points from their first eight games this season, after a bad end to last season too. They stuck with Martindale and are reaping the rewards currently, so managers can turn bad form back around. I could easily picture Ross doing the same, but of course we will never know.

Of course if we are looking at a new appointment like Maloney, Ross County also had an awful start to the season under Mackay before completely turning it around. We’re going to need Maloney to have as big a turnaround to save our season.

Back on topic, be interesting to see how Neil does at Sunderland - he was my clear first choice for the Hibs job (not that his performance there will definitively prove anything).

We were too hasty in sacking Ross IMHO. I would have him back tomorrow if that were possible.

[660]

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We were too hasty in sacking Ross IMHO. I would have him back tomorrow if that were possible.

Unless he had a sex change op in which case you’d want him burnt at the stake.

[ahibby]

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Ross got us to finals and with a bit of luck he'd still be here. It's not all black and white in the real game, luck plays a massive part.
Ross proved he could win cup games and a cup is all Hibs are ever going to win now, we have no chance of winning the league, especially if we don't back the manager at the first sign of trouble.

You make it sound as though Jack Ross won a cup. He didnt and did not look like he could going by the finals I watched. I dont go with the idea that our fans got him sacked. The CEO and owner did that just like they did with Mathie. At this rate fans will be blamed for that too. Time will tell whether the new directors have got it right.

[MWHIBBIES]

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You make it sound as though Jack Ross won a cup. He didnt and did not look like he could going by the finals I watched. I dont go with the idea that our fans got him sacked. The CEO and owner did that just like they did with Mathie. At this rate fans will be blamed for that too. Time will tell whether the new directors have got it right.

Ross managed 1 final. He reached 4/4 semi finals, winning 2. That's a great record for Hibs managers. Had that continued, he certainly would've won something.

People will point to easy draws, but I feel we're about to find out how difficult those draws can be tomorrow.

[IberianHibernian]

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No serious comparison between the Turnbull and Miller eras. I know it started to head south for Eddie in the latter years of the decade but for the first half of the 70s he built a team that in any other era would likely have won a couple of titles. Those Drybrough Cup wins carried a fair bit of clout.

Interesting points . Drybrough Cup was a very serious competition which was for teams which scored most goals . Fortunately that coincided with best of our !970s team . DC certainly carried a lot of clout at the time as big crowds at semis and finals showed .
As for other points , I tend to think all our managers tend to be lablelled as good or bad with nothing in between which is just inaccuarate . You mention Turnbull building a team but almost all the players were signed before ET arrived . We underperformed in the league in 70 / 71 but reached Sf of SC and were in Europe till December v Liverpool . Although we nearly won the SC in 1979 , the level of our team had clearly fallen in second half of 1970s ( Hearts were absolutely crap in most or all of the 1970s which maybe meant less pressure on ET inlater years of 70s ) .
Miller era was a completely different time . Was a stupid appointment for many reasons and then we couldn`t afford to sack him .

[ahibby]

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Ross managed 1 final. He reached 4/4 semi finals, winning 2. That's a great record for Hibs managers. Had that continued, he certainly would've won something.

People will point to easy draws, but I feel we're about to find out how difficult those draws can be tomorrow.

I doubt he would have won a cup. If you cant win against a St J with little resources then its unlikely you will. Also many fans would happily swap 1 final and 4/4 semis for just one cup. JR didnt have what it takes to get over final hurdles so lets give someone else an equal chance.

[MWHIBBIES]

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I doubt he would have won a cup. If you cant win against a St J with little resources then its unlikely you will. Also many fans would happily swap 1 final and 4/4 semis for just one cup. JR didnt have what it takes to get over final hurdles so lets give someone else an equal chance.

I doubt he would have won a cup. If you can't win against a Ross County with little resources, then it's unlikely you will. Alan stubbs didn't have what it... Wait a minute. The past doesn't dictate the future. We'll never know of course Ross could've beat Celtic and he'd be a legend.

I be delighted if Shaun Maloney continues rosses form for getting to Hampden.

[Crunchie]

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I doubt he would have won a cup. If you cant win against a St J with little resources then its unlikely you will. Also many fans would happily swap 1 final and 4/4 semis for just one cup. JR didnt have what it takes to get over final hurdles so lets give someone else an equal chance.

,
How on earth did Partick Th and Raith beat Celtic in a final with the gulf in resources and talent? It's a one off game is why.