Are you a "supporter"?

[flash]

I didn't go to Killie on Wednesday. The overriding reason was i don't enjoy the experience of watching Hibs much right now. To be honest i don't like the person i often become these days with the speed at which i get angry at the team and manager whenever things don't go our way.

I am 43 and have been watching the Hibs for the vast majority of my life and i can't remember a time when our crowd, myself included, have consistently displayed such intolerance and impatience.

When a fanbase is working properly it should be getting behind the team at all times during a match and making life as uncomfortable as possible for the opposition. We do the opposite. No wonder we can't win at home.

The rise of the internet and forums like this mean that even the most unreasonable and intransigent pub bore has a vehicle to vent his spleen without the boot up the erse he would get in normal circumstances. There are now many people who are so anti-Yogi that they want the team they profess to love to fail in order to get him out.

I find myself thinking that Yogi probably should be replaced but i still want him to turn things round and don't think things are as bleak as some would have us believe. With more careful fininshing we would still be in the CIS and probably 4 points better off in the SPL.

Anyway the point i am trying to make in a long winded manner is that it's time we became supporters again, like we used to when we were far worse that we are now, and lifted our team in times of trouble instead of trying to bury them.

If people find that impossible then they really should think long and hard about whether they want to attend at all- i know i have.

[Turnip]

Agreed, i've supported many much worse Hibs teams than this one. Its the attitude of a large element of our support thats going to stop me going. I hate the haters

[Hibby D]

You're right! It's time for the support to accept some responsibility for the dire atmosphere at games.

We have an important role to play but somewhere along the line it's become more important to vent our frustration at every missed pass or stray shot, and ultimately that must be having an affect on the confidence of individual players.

I do accept that booing is one of the few ways the majority of the support can make their feelings known to players, management and the board but I fear it's now beginning to backfire on us. We've made our feelings known - everyone who matters is more than well aware that the support is royally fed up with dire performances and crap results.

It's time to become supporters again; for each other and for the club.

Before it's too late..

[Toaods]

Open media coverage of any club is just the way it is in computer life. It is as dangerous as it is vital and it won't change.

[hibbiedon]

I didn't go to Killie on Wednesday. The overriding reason was i don't enjoy the experience of watching Hibs much right now. To be honest i don't like the person i often become these days with the speed at which i get angry at the team and manager whenever things don't go our way.

I am 43 and have been watching the Hibs for the vast majority of my life and i can't remember a time when our crowd, myself included, have consistently displayed such intolerance and impatience.

When a fanbase is working properly it should be getting behind the team at all times during a match and making life as uncomfortable as possible for the opposition. We do the opposite. No wonder we can't win at home.

The rise of the internet and forums like this mean that even the most unreasonable and intransigent pub bore has a vehicle to vent his spleen without the boot up the erse he would get in normal circumstances. There are now many people who are so anti-Yogi that they want the team they profess to love to fail in order to get him out.

I find myself thinking that Yogi probably should be replaced but i still want him to turn things round and don't think things are as bleak as some would have us believe. With more careful fininshing we would still be in the CIS and probably 4 points better off in the SPL.

Anyway the point i am trying to make in a long winded manner is that it's time we became supporters again, like we used to when we were far worse that we are now, and lifted our team in times of trouble instead of trying to bury them.

If people find that impossible then they really should think long and hard about whether they want to attend at all- i know i have.



:top marks:top marks:top marks:top marks:top marks:top marks:top marks

[heretoday]

A good thread. Not bad for the early morning!

These boards are a great way for fans to get things off their chests but unfortunately the media - in their laziness - log on and take the views expressed as general. This is nonsense.

There is a host of died-in-the-wool supporters, some of whom have no internet access and no hatred in their hearts for anything to do with Hibs - only concern and hope that Hughes can get things on track soon. He got us into Europe last year for heaven's sake!

It's exciting for the "I want it now" generation to see their stuff on the screen and sometimes in the papers but their influence should never be allowed to turn the heads of management or players.

As said above, I too have seen worse teams than this turning out in green and white and they were booed at times.

[alfie]

Hi my name is Alfie, and I'm a Hibs supporter.
:cheers:

[khib70]

Yep, there's nothing wrong. It's just bad luck. Yogi will turn the corner any time now. And anyone who doesn't think so isn't a proper Hibby, you know. It's totally wrong to direct any abuse or derision at the manager or the team, but it's just dandy to abuse fellow supporters who don't happen to toe the party line.

:yawn::rolleyes:

[bawheid]

The rise of the internet and forums like this mean that even the most unreasonable and intransigent pub bore has a vehicle to vent his spleen without the boot up the erse he would get in normal circumstances. There are now many people who are so anti-Yogi that they want the team they profess to love to fail in order to get him out.


:agree:


Yep, there's nothing wrong. It's just bad luck. Yogi will turn the corner any time now. And anyone who doesn't think so isn't a proper Hibby, you know. It's totally wrong to direct any abuse or derision at the manager or the team, but it's just dandy to abuse fellow supporters who don't happen to toe the party line.

:yawn::rolleyes:

[SlickShoes]

Great post, I grew up supporting some horrific hibs teams but still went to every game regardless.

I think the internet is full of knee jerk reactions, as i have said before someone can make a post and the argument can rumble on for weeks whereas in the past someone had a thought they maybe vented to one person and that was the end of it.

Usually my frustration over a hibs defeat goes away after an hour or so, it does hurt watching us hardly ever win any games but then hibs mean so much more than that to most of us, its like watching a family member go through a rough time, you may not agree with what they are doing but you still support them anyway.

Going to a hibs game means more to me than just football, my great grandad was a hibby my grandad was my dad is and i am. Each time i go to a game it reinforces the memories of going along with my dad and grandad. No matter how bad we are playing there is always hope that we will pull something out the bag, and as bad as the bad times get its always worth enduring them for the good times like the 2007 cis cup final. I actually had a rangers supporting mate watching the game and texting me at full time saying he was jealous because when they win things it means nothing, when we won that you could see what it meant to all the fans.

[flash]

Where did i say there was nothing wrong?

[marinello59]

Where did i say there was nothing wrong?

You didn't.

[Hiber-nation]

I suppose its inevitable. If the team are performing then the fans will get behind them. If not then the abuse will flow. The expectations were there after the start to last season -people can't accept what's happened since then. Some will bawl and shot abuse, others like me will slump in their seat shaking their heid.

When we were really in the brown stuff the fans did turn out but if results weren't going our way then there was still plenty of abuse going round - I remember that horrible day at Starks Park in Duffy's reign with Hibbies fighting amongst themselves.

[khib70]

:agree:
And where did I say I wanted the team to fail? It's the fact that the team is failing that gets me annoyed.

Hopes and expectations are two different things. I hope we hump the soapies off the park on Saturday. I don't expect it to happen, and that is not something I'm pleased about.

Still, keep flinging the abuse at anyone who disagrees with you. Or in your case, borrowing someone else's abuse.

[basehibby]

I didn't go to Killie on Wednesday. The overriding reason was i don't enjoy the experience of watching Hibs much right now. To be honest i don't like the person i often become these days with the speed at which i get angry at the team and manager whenever things don't go our way.

I am 43 and have been watching the Hibs for the vast majority of my life and i can't remember a time when our crowd, myself included, have consistently displayed such intolerance and impatience.

When a fanbase is working properly it should be getting behind the team at all times during a match and making life as uncomfortable as possible for the opposition. We do the opposite. No wonder we can't win at home.

The rise of the internet and forums like this mean that even the most unreasonable and intransigent pub bore has a vehicle to vent his spleen without the boot up the erse he would get in normal circumstances. There are now many people who are so anti-Yogi that they want the team they profess to love to fail in order to get him out.

I find myself thinking that Yogi probably should be replaced but i still want him to turn things round and don't think things are as bleak as some would have us believe. With more careful fininshing we would still be in the CIS and probably 4 points better off in the SPL.

Anyway the point i am trying to make in a long winded manner is that it's time we became supporters again, like we used to when we were far worse that we are now, and lifted our team in times of trouble instead of trying to bury them.

If people find that impossible then they really should think long and hard about whether they want to attend at all- i know i have.

:top marks Great post! I've certainly seen worse Hibs sides than the current one receiving much better backing from the stands and it leaves me scratching my head sometimes as to how this can be.

I think a lot of it boils down to recent history. In the late eighties and the nineties the support pretty much had at least a decade of mediocrity, and at times miserable failure to look back on - but there was always hope. The team were underdogs during that time and the fans knew it and therefore got wholeheartedly behind the team regardless of the fixture. There were still scapegoats that certain individuals got on the back of but not nearly to the extent they seem to today.

Now, in 2010 we look back on a decade which began with a team oozing with the class of Sauzee and Latapy. Then the Blobmeister took over and, despite being roundly (pun) criticised for his favoured style of play, he took a very youthful side to a cup final. We then had the delightful football of Mowbray's side to lap up and also enjoyed a classy looking JC side winning a Cup.

So - to sum up, in comparison to the preceding two decades we have been spoiled rotten! And, true to the reputation of football fans the world over, the Hibs support have turned out to be as fickle as anyone and, seemingly forgetting the hardships endured in the 80's and 90's, have developed a tendency to "down tools" and chuck the toys out the pram at the first sign of trouble.

Now, I'm not saying that we should blindly accept everything that's thrown at us as a support, but we could do with collectively remembering the motto of our team's home - PERSEVERE - and collectively trying to be the twelth man rather than sitting on our hands and waiting to be entertained like we were at the opera or something (or sitting waiting for an excuse to Boo like at the panto for that matter).

Organisations like the singing sections/twelth man/ultras etc are in their infancy at ER and they ought to be applauded and backed to the hilt IMO. With the advent of all seater stadia we need groups like this to thrive more than ever.

[bawheid]

Still, keep flinging the abuse at anyone who disagrees with you. Or in your case, borrowing someone else's abuse.

I think you should calm down. Nobody is abusing you.

[Speedway]

Yep, there's nothing wrong. It's just bad luck. Yogi will turn the corner any time now. And anyone who doesn't think so isn't a proper Hibby, you know. It's totally wrong to direct any abuse or derision at the manager or the team, but it's just dandy to abuse fellow supporters who don't happen to toe the party line.

:yawn::rolleyes:

I think this post sums up Flash's point.

Bear in mind that Flash doesn't often start threads so he must have felt strongly about this one.

In my opinion, he's absolutely right.

We know our run is relegation form and we know we thought we'd be progressing after signing profile players like Miller and Stokes. This was 'New Hibs' after the debt had gone.

The reality is that we are a poor side, we're not enjoyable to watch but it doesn't feel as bleak as it did to me in the 80s because back then, the manager was glued to the job for a decade and our stadium and economic surroundings were bleak and abandoned.

Hibs look attractive these days, stadium, training facility, merchandising; we've turned into a proper football club.

The team is still crap however and the most unattractive element is the ****-end fans (they're not supporters)

Hibs fans are just as deluded as the Yams, just on different subjects. Both sets of fans think that their club is something that it's not.

Either everyone's got to a stage at the same time where they've had enough watching mediocrity (which I think is all we'll ever be without massive investment and the removal of the OF) or people are just thick. I think it's mainly the latter.

There's no special feeling going to ER anymore, it disappeared under Collins for me personally.

It's dead simple though, get attractive product on the park and the fans will shut up, even if we're not particularly successful trophy wise.

The problem will then be convincing fans that we're not AC Milan.

If we can just look like we did under Mowbray, that'll keep us quiet for a couple of years and give the board time to work out how to build on it to take us through to the next stage.

[flash]

Khib which part of my post dont you agree with?

[Beefster]

I'm a supporter in the sense that the club get about £1000 from me every year towards their turnover, I cheer and applaud the team and don't boo either the team or individuals.

However, I'm thoroughly disillusioned by what's going on at the club and if I don't see an improvement in what the club give to me in return, I may well pick and choose my games next season, for the first time in 15 years. If the club won't start taking what happens on the pitch more seriously then I won't take paying for it so seriously either.

[Captain Trips]

It is easy to compare the support now to say more recent times like Duffy, I would agree the support then was more tolerant as just look how long he was in charge and to think I kept going hoping that week was the week it worked, however there are fans who were not around in 80s or not old enough to remember Duffy so to them this is as bad as it has been when all else off park seems ok it is difficult to understand why things are not going so well.

For me I stayed too quiet during Duffy and maybe if more vocal he might have gone sooner. I think Duffy's team gave 100% to a man it was just they were poor, I think some players now dont give it everything some do so for me some aspects of players annoy me more than the Duffy days.

I think showing displeasure not abuse at matches is right.

[khib70]

I didn't go to Killie on Wednesday. The overriding reason was i don't enjoy the experience of watching Hibs much right now. To be honest i don't like the person i often become these days with the speed at which i get angry at the team and manager whenever things don't go our way.

I am 43 and have been watching the Hibs for the vast majority of my life and i can't remember a time when our crowd, myself included, have consistently displayed such intolerance and impatience.

When a fanbase is working properly it should be getting behind the team at all times during a match and making life as uncomfortable as possible for the opposition. We do the opposite. No wonder we can't win at home.

The idea that we can't win at home because the fans are getting angry with the manager and players is a complete inversion of the problem. The fans are angry because we can't win at home. To shift responsibility for poor home form onto the fans is just not on IMO

The rise of the internet and forums like this mean that even the most unreasonable and intransigent pub bore has a vehicle to vent his spleen without the boot up the erse he would get in normal circumstances. There are now many people who are so anti-Yogi that they want the team they profess to love to fail in order to get him out.

People aren't "anti-Yogi" out of unreasonable predjudice. Speaking for myself, it's because he is harming the club I love by his mismanagement. I have never ever said I wanted Hibs to fail because I'm angry at Yogi. You've once more reversed the argument. I'm angry at Yogi because he is responsible, IMO, for Hibs failing.

I find myself thinking that Yogi probably should be replaced but i still want him to turn things round and don't think things are as bleak as some would have us believe. With more careful fininshing we would still be in the CIS and probably 4 points better off in the SPL.

Too many "ifs". Finishing is part of football. If we played better football we would have done this that or the other. It's the manager's job to have us playing better football. I'd rather be literally third in the league than hypothetically third in the league.

Anyway the point i am trying to make in a long winded manner is that it's time we became supporters again, like we used to when we were far worse that we are now, and lifted our team in times of trouble instead of trying to bury them.

No one is "trying to bury" the team. I want a resurgent, successful Hibs team snapping on the heels of the OF. Clearly Yogi, and some posters on here think that's an unreasonable expectation. And the fact that we have been worse doesn't excuse how bad we actually are. I go to every home game and support the team passionately. Part of that passion includes expressing disapproval of managers and players who are letting the club down


If people find that impossible then they really should think long and hard about whether they want to attend at all- i know i have.

Those are the disagreements I have with your post. I don't have a problem with anyone supporting this club with the same passion I do. What I resent is people demanding blind loyalty to a failing manager and players, and characterising those who disagree with terms like "the most unreasonable and intransigent pub bore".

[BEEJ]

So - to sum up, in comparison to the preceding two decades we have been spoiled rotten! And, true to the reputation of football fans the world over, the Hibs support have turned out to be as fickle as anyone and, seemingly forgetting the hardships endured in the 80's and 90's, have developed a tendency to "down tools" and chuck the toys out the pram at the first sign of trouble.
:hmmm: There's that slightly grating 'unrealistic expectations' debate rearing its head again.

The premise seems to be that the preceding two decades of utter mediocrity were the norm and that as supporters we should 'expect' no better. Ever. Mediocrity is somehow our destiny.

But now that we've had a decade within which we have managed on occasion to rise to the true stature of a 3rd/ 4th ranked club in the land, we should in shame and contrition consider ourselves spoilt brats for expressing disappointment and frustration with our performance record in 2010?

Sorry, I don't buy that.


Organisations like the singing sections/twelth man/ultras etc are in their infancy at ER and they ought to be applauded and backed to the hilt IMO. With the advent of all seater stadia we need groups like this to thrive more than ever.
However, that I do agree with 100% :agree:

[flash]

Beefster if fans like us are so fed up then the club really do have to sit up and take stock.
my original post was born of frustration both at the attitude of some fans and the lack of discernible progress on the park.

[Antifa Hibs]

Was at Killie and didn't really care about the FT result if i'm honest. Going to Parkhead and wouldn't mind a rugby score. That won't change as I don't want that clown managing our football team. And i've said that since I got home from Maribor away.

He's a clueless daft ****, a win at Celtic on Saturday won't change that, infact winning our next 5 matches won't change that. He hasn't a scooby.

[flash]

Cheers khib. you shouldnt take my post so personally!
i was more having a go at people who resort to name calling etc.
to be honest you and i agree about several issues concerning hibs.

[Captain Trips]

I think it is certainly Hughes who is getting the most stick, blame or even abuse over the way things are going. I agree he has made errors and shoulders part of the blame as for me do players also. The bigger picture for me comes from the top and the signings of the past few weeks sum up all I think is wrong.

I am not saying any of the guys we signed are bad they may well be excellent it all appears there is no plan and I dont know if its the board or Hughes who think 4 or 5 players on short deals is acceptable to build on, not to mention players already here who have a contract ending. If you didnt think player was good enough for long deal dont sign him, if the board instructed you no more longer contracts I would have walked, if the player only wants 1 year then leave it, Hibs cannot be a short term vehicle for players.

[khib70]

Cheers khib. you shouldnt take my post so personally!
i was more having a go at people who resort to name calling etc.
to be honest you and i agree about several issues concerning hibs.
Fair enough:thumbsup::greengrin

[flash]

would it be fair to say that, whilst not suggesting the fans are not to blame for our dreadful home form, we are guilty of making easter road more intimidating for our own players than the opposition?

[gillythehibby]

I didn't go to Killie on Wednesday. The overriding reason was i don't enjoy the experience of watching Hibs much right now. To be honest i don't like the person i often become these days with the speed at which i get angry at the team and manager whenever things don't go our way.

I am 43 and have been watching the Hibs for the vast majority of my life and i can't remember a time when our crowd, myself included, have consistently displayed such intolerance and impatience.

When a fanbase is working properly it should be getting behind the team at all times during a match and making life as uncomfortable as possible for the opposition. We do the opposite. No wonder we can't win at home.

The rise of the internet and forums like this mean that even the most unreasonable and intransigent pub bore has a vehicle to vent his spleen without the boot up the erse he would get in normal circumstances. There are now many people who are so anti-Yogi that they want the team they profess to love to fail in order to get him out.

I find myself thinking that Yogi probably should be replaced but i still want him to turn things round and don't think things are as bleak as some would have us believe. With more careful fininshing we would still be in the CIS and probably 4 points better off in the SPL.

Anyway the point i am trying to make in a long winded manner is that it's time we became supporters again, like we used to when we were far worse that we are now, and lifted our team in times of trouble instead of trying to bury them.

If people find that impossible then they really should think long and hard about whether they want to attend at all- i know i have.

Top post and exactly how I feel. I'm 42 and don't see anything different to Hibs now than at any point of my life. So as I posted earlier this week, time to get off the guy's back and do what we need to do. Support the team !!! Constantly changing managers is not always the answer and abusing one of our own is bang out of order. We need to lift the team. I've deffo witnesed worse hibs teams and deffo watched poorer stuff. That's it from me. God Bless The Hibs

[RIP]

Player sales versus football success
Over the past few years we have seen an entire team of stars sold from the team we love. We have to date been supporters of the board's long-term strategy

However it's been at the cost of a constant churn of transitional players, a permanently unsettled team and a complete absence of medium to long-term squad-building strategy

Managers who are left to carry the can
Three Hibs legends have come to manage Hibs over that period and all three have received vociferous abuse from a section of the support who allocate 100% of the blame to them alone for our current lack of direction

Football is a results business
Yet Hibernian FC are if nothing else a football club and have a very well paid board of directors who are accountable for the quality of the football and success on the field of play. Yet all we ask of them is to balance the books while crucifying the "manager of the month/year" for the lack of achievement

Stand Up and Be Counted
As a support, we risk becoming the laughing stock of Scottish Fitba by expecting to be regularly shipping our stars to the Old Firm yet still challenging for honours. We are earning ourselves a reputation as fans who boo our own players when we let in a goal or lose a game we think we should win or slump down the table.

As supporters we need a more sustained campaign of improving support for the Edinburgh Hibees. The only way that will happen is by adopting the right mentality, showing considerably more bottle and inspiring the team on the park with sustained, loud and positive support.

This is why like hundreds of fellow Hibs Supporters I've now, as of yesterday, registed my support for the Hibs12thMan campaign. http://www.hibs12thman.co.uk/

Sure it pains me to see us struggle through the highs (CIS win in 07/Europe in 10) and lows (slumps/winless runs) in recent years under 3 managers I still respect for their efforts. But I choose fight over flight and would encourage as many fellow Hibbies as possible to do likewise.

When the going gets tough - the tough get going:take that

[Captain Trips]

Player sales versus football success
Over the past few years we have seen an entire team of stars sold from the team we love. We have to date been supporters of the board's long-term strategy

However it's been at the cost of a constant churn of transitional players, a permanently unsettled team and a complete absence of medium to long-term squad-building strategy

Managers who are left to carry the can
Three Hibs legends have come to manage Hibs over that period and all three have received vociferous abuse from a section of the support who allocate 100% of the blame to them alone for our current lack of direction

Football is a results business
Yet Hibernian FC are if nothing else a football club and have a very well paid board of directors who are accountable for the quality of the football and success on the field of play. Yet all we ask of them is to balance the books while crucifying the "manager of the month/year" for the lack of achievement

Stand Up and Be Counted
We are fast becoming the laughing stock of Scottish Fitba by expecting to be regularly shipping our stars to the Old Firm yet still challenging for honours and booing the players, team and coach if they let in a goal, lose a game they think we should win or slump down the table.

As supporters we need a more sustained campaign of improving support for the players, team, manager and board. The only way that will happen is by adopting the right mentality, showing considerably more bottle and inspiring the team on the park with sustained, loud and positive support.

This is why like hundreds of fellow Hibs Supporters I've now, as of yesterday, registed my support for the Hibs12thMan campaign. http://www.hibs12thman.co.uk/

Sure it pains me to see us struggle through the highs (CIS win in 07/Europe in 10) and lows (slumps/winless runs) in recent years under 3 managers I still respect for their efforts. But I choose fight over flight and would encourage as many fellow Hibbies as possible to do likewise.

When the going gets tough - the tough get going:take that


Things have to be lead from the pitch as supporters you say we need to do things but also as players and managers they have to get the basics right, I think asking the fans to do anything else is just a waste of time its the team who need to do half the things you suggest the support does, are they showing the right mentlity and bottle, I dont think they are and that has nothing to do with the fans.

99% of us go to stadium to support and in hope it is what happens on park that IMO dictates if there is going to be derision.

[Green_one]

I am not saying any of the guys we signed are bad they may well be excellent it all appears there is no plan and I dont know if its the board or Hughes who think 4 or 5 players on short deals is acceptable to build on, not to mention players already here who have a contract ending. If you didnt think player was good enough for long deal dont sign him, if the board instructed you no more longer contracts I would have walked, if the player only wants 1 year then leave it, Hibs cannot be a short term vehicle for players.

This is the obvious consequence of the Board also losing confidence in the manager. They probably thought - well show us improvement and you can have commitment. We are now in a cycle that I thought would happen. The team underperforms, the Board will not invest, the team continues to drop, loses confidence, situation progressively worse. The only things that break that are a really good run or a new manager. The first is just not going to happen. The Board will NOT invest in someone they have doubts about. They barely invest in ones they do trust!! So they either need to act or sit and hope.

[RIP]

Things have to be lead from the pitch as supporters you say we need to do things but also as players and managers they have to get the basics right, I think asking the fans to do anything else is just a waste of time its the team who need to do half the things you suggest the support does, are they showing the right mentlity and bottle, I dont think they are and that has nothing to do with the fans.

99% of us go to stadium to support and in hope it is what happens on park that IMO dictates if there is going to be derision.

I think asking every fan to do something is a waste of time. But I'm not asking that

99% go to spectate.

Currently, a much smaller percentage go to support for the whole game (i.e. Sing, Chant, Cheer, Applaud, Encourage and Inspire)

I'm encouraging people to become part of that latter group. At some clubs (Stoke City is one such example) this group is the majority, regardless of how well or badly the team is performing.

My support for the Hibees is not conditional on success - it's unconditional. And I don't think I'm alone

[Stevie Reid]

In this thread and Brog's one on perspective, there are some excellent posts. However, I can't help but realise the parallels between the support in general and the posts on here - there are some very good, long, well written, thoughful and measured posts with a positive objective; but these are all too often shouted down by several one/two line negative responses.

[Keith_M]

I have my doubts over certain players, as well as our manager, but consider putting them under pressure in the way many fans do as counter-productive.

If I were a football player, I wouldn't be very keen on signing for Hibs. There are far too many fans that just make player's lives a misery at times. That's bound to have an effect on what some players are willing to try during matches, if they're rounded on by elements of our 'support' when something doesn't work out. The next time, they'll just take the safe option.

[Hibby D]

would it be fair to say that, whilst not suggesting the fans are not to blame for our dreadful home form, we are guilty of making easter road more intimidating for our own players than the opposition?

Very fair and therfore by default very unfair on our players :agree:

[Albion Hibs]

I didn't go to Killie on Wednesday. The overriding reason was i don't enjoy the experience of watching Hibs much right now. To be honest i don't like the person i often become these days with the speed at which i get angry at the team and manager whenever things don't go our way.

I am 43 and have been watching the Hibs for the vast majority of my life and i can't remember a time when our crowd, myself included, have consistently displayed such intolerance and impatience.

When a fanbase is working properly it should be getting behind the team at all times during a match and making life as uncomfortable as possible for the opposition. We do the opposite. No wonder we can't win at home.

The rise of the internet and forums like this mean that even the most unreasonable and intransigent pub bore has a vehicle to vent his spleen without the boot up the erse he would get in normal circumstances. There are now many people who are so anti-Yogi that they want the team they profess to love to fail in order to get him out.

I find myself thinking that Yogi probably should be replaced but i still want him to turn things round and don't think things are as bleak as some would have us believe. With more careful fininshing we would still be in the CIS and probably 4 points better off in the SPL.

Anyway the point i am trying to make in a long winded manner is that it's time we became supporters again, like we used to when we were far worse that we are now, and lifted our team in times of trouble instead of trying to bury them.

If people find that impossible then they really should think long and hard about whether they want to attend at all- i know i have.

Great post mate, and I agree with almost all of it. I do believe at times it is going to be easier to play away from home - the fact I am even thinking that is gutting for me! But it certainly wont keep me from being home or away.

I do believe as a club we have a certain section of fans that think we should be miles better than we are. The fact we have the training centre and the new stand in part makes me agree. But it took us a long time to get those things, now we have them we wont loose them and hopefully the future can be team spend related.

I think the board are right to secure our financial future and even more right to develop our training facility and stadium side. We must remember we still have a small wage bill in comparison to a lot of teams in the SPL.

You hit the nail on the head saying if things had gone for us up front then we may be sitting in a much different position, and I think looking at it game by game when we do get weaker round the pitch over the 90mins it is more likely than not a mentality thing, whereby we have done so much and had no return.

Our early goal scoring is fantastic in a sense and my honest belief is that things will change for us, and the game that we do get that break and get our second will be the game we win, and our season will push on from that point.

I am a Yogi fan, I do not boo the team, and I do think things will get much better. My name is Albion Hibs!

A big rant and perhaps a bit deep for a Friday, apologies if I have ruined the start of anyones weekend! I will be heading through to Hell's west coast office on Saturday, hopefully to witness something a bit better than recent, I dont really expect a win, but I want a shift - and I think we have that in us.

[Matty_Jack04]

Ive been a supporter all my life and like many other fans i attended every single game the season we got relegated then followed that by not missing any in the first division supporting all the way.

people learn from experiences supporters included the form we are showing since the turn of the year is relegation form plain and simple, nobody wants that to happen hence the frustrations boiling over during and after games.

If people make the effort to attend the games and pay there hard earned cash to the club it is well whithin there rights to expect to be entertained, entertainment creates the atmosphere thats craved so much at E.R, Booing all tho not the most productive method should get the players going as much as people chanting there names, any self respecting person would if slated at there place of work be determined to do a better job next time, why should footballers be any diffrent there grown men on very decent wages and there certainly not in away short of pampering.

take away the first 15 games of last season results have been horrendus and the squad (manager and staff included) have shown no 'fight, spirit or togetherness' to turn things around, even including the 15 games how many have you walked away from feeling that your £20+ per game was well spent and that you where fully entertained, probably count on one hand.

Its time for change, time and money should be spent on deciding our new manager, a good manager could have us much more organised that we currently are which would get us points and atleast have us top 6.
we have 10 or more players out of contract end of this year perfect time for sweeping changes especially if a new man has months to see which (if any) he wants to keep.

my opinions of course doesnt make me any less or any more of a supporter than anyone else.

[borstalboy]

Ive been a supporter all my life and like many other fans i attended every single game the season we got relegated then followed that by not missing any in the first division supporting all the way.

people learn from experiences supporters included the form we are showing since the turn of the year is relegation form plain and simple, nobody wants that to happen hence the frustrations boiling over during and after games.

If people make the effort to attend the games and pay there hard earned cash to the club it is well whithin there rights to expect to be entertained, entertainment creates the atmosphere thats craved so much at E.R, Booing all tho not the most productive method should get the players going as much as people chanting there names, any self respecting person would if slated at there place of work be determined to do a better job next time, why should footballers be any diffrent there grown men on very decent wages and there certainly not in away short of pampering.

take away the first 15 games of last season results have been horrendus and the squad (manager and staff included) have shown no 'fight, spirit or togetherness' to turn things around, even including the 15 games how many have you walked away from feeling that your £20+ per game was well spent and that you where fully entertained, probably count on one hand.

Its time for change, time and money should be spent on deciding our new manager, a good manager could have us much more organised that we currently are which would get us points and atleast have us top 6.
we have 10 or more players out of contract end of this year perfect time for sweeping changes especially if a new man has months to see which (if any) he wants to keep.

my opinions of course doesnt make me any less or any more of a supporter than anyone else.

:top marks

[pentlando]

Was at Killie and didn't really care about the FT result if i'm honest. Going to Parkhead and wouldn't mind a rugby score. That won't change as I don't want that clown managing our football team. And i've said that since I got home from Maribor away.

He's a clueless daft ****, a win at Celtic on Saturday won't change that, infact winning our next 5 matches won't change that. He hasn't a scooby.

Maybe if you sit in the Celtic end on saturday you'll enjoy the game better, as you can cheer on Celtic. You can celebrate their goals and you may even get the rugby score you're hoping for :grr:. The bit in bold is what gets me irate. Going by your post you would still call Hughes a clueless twat if he wins our next 5 games :confused: isn't all the abuse in the first place down to the results of the team??

I personally am not a fan of the way Hibs try to play their football at the moment, all the good stuff is in our own half and we look a soft touch up front at the moment. However the attitute of a fairly large section of the support has got me right behind yogi, and i hope to hell he pulls a good run of form out the hat, maybe even another European place and in a dream life a Scottish Cup. Then you'd all have to look at the pictures of him holding the Scottish Cup aloft, and choke on your abuse.

[vahibbie]

Stand Up and Be Counted
As a support, we risk becoming the laughing stock of Scottish Fitba by expecting to be regularly shipping our stars to the Old Firm yet still challenging for honours. We are earning ourselves a reputation as fans who boo our own players when we let in a goal or lose a game we think we should win or slump down the table.


So you've never heard any other SPL fans boo their own team:confused:
Safe to say such booing has been heard at every fitba ground in Scotland over the years.

[Hamish]

Of course other fans boo their own players/team. It just appears to me that 'we' are far too ready to start the booing and the first misplaced pass or mistake is turned into an excuse. God knows how early it would have started if we hadn't got these 8/9th minute goals recently

[Green_one]

So you've never heard any other SPL fans boo their own team:confused:
Safe to say such booing has been heard at every fitba ground in Scotland over the years.

:agree: Pretty much par for the course. According to many here Hibs supporters are worst than all the others. Funny, I thought handing over hundreds of pounds at the start of each season represented some sort of support but obviously I am mistaken. Have a wee look at the attendance figures for other games. They are usually a fraction of ours. But we are BAD supporters because the team underperforms for months and some have the temerity to moan about that. Wow. Frankly its impossible to provide the support some are talking about to a bunch of guys barely able to trouble the opposition at times. The support cannot fix the problem. Sure they can make it worse but the worst they can actually do is fail to turn up. Money is the deciding factor, not booing. But go ahead, call your fellow fans all the names you like but the Board will not sack the fans. The Board will not sit there and say - good job those booers have not turned up. The last chairman to call the fans out walked shortly aterwards. Some of you may wish to accept the performances, results and mad managerial rants but many others simply will not. Sing about that if you will. Maybe 11000 green bottles woudl be a good one.

You guys are missing the current picture. Its not about the support its about whether the guy in the managers seat is capable or not. You can solve every problem , under the sun, real or imaginary but if the manager is not competent then you are never going to progress the situation.

You want proof? Have a look around when you are at Parkhead. It used to be full of 60,000 fans. Celtic fans are amongst the most loyal and fervent you will ever meet but where are they? Lose a few championships, play like numpties and the fans are gone. And I can tell you that last season they were not slow in moaning. Sorry I forgot , its just Hibs fans that are rubbish. :confused:

[Alex Trager]

Those are the disagreements I have with your post. I don't have a problem with anyone supporting this club with the same passion I do. What I resent is people demanding blind loyalty to a failing manager and players, and characterising those who disagree with terms like "the most unreasonable and intransigent pub bore".
I think he's not asking this of you and others, i think he means basically don't abuse them and continually deystroy any confidence...What difference apart from the the fact the rest of the nation and the manager knows your upset with things does booing the team make? PERSONALLY i'd rather play infront of say five thousand at ER that are wiling to support me even though i know we and me are not playing too well atm, than play infront of eleven thousand that the vast majority of are booing me at the end of the game... I'm not saying don't go but i think the op's post meant dont go if your going to destroy their confidence further

[Hibby D]

any self respecting person would if slated at there place of work be determined to do a better job next time,.

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear though and booing individual players will not make them better players no matter how hard they try. And if I was slated at my work week in and out (and almost daily in between on message boards like this) my confidence would eventually shatter :agree: What happens then?

I don't think the OP is laying the blame at the foot of the fans (remember he's one too) but simply suggesting that we have a part to play and so far the method we appear to be deploying is not working. If there is better to come from many of the current squad, beating them up day after day and then publicly ridiculing them is not the way to get the best out of them. Any self-respecting person should know that :wink::greengrin


:agree: Pretty much par for the course. According to many here Hibs supporters are worst than all the others................. The support cannot fix the problem. Sure they can make it worse but the worst they can actually do is fail to turn up. Money is the deciding factor, not booing. But go ahead, call your fellow fans all the names you like but the Board will not sack the fans.
:confused:

I don't know that we aren't the worst at the moment; particularly when it comes to getting behind the team. Like many here I've followed Hibs home and away for (too) many years and I honestly don't think I've witnessed the consistency and manner of booing currently displayed by the Hibs support :dunno:

You are right in saying the support can't fix the problem. I don't suppose any of us are naive enough to think that :no way: but we can make a difference to our own enjoyment of the game and I honestly don't think it's too much to ask that for 90 minutes we "get behind the team". Who know, a general lift in the mood of the support might just lift the spirits of the players and get a bit more out of them! There's plenty time after the final whistle for booing and singing for Yogi to GTF :bitchy: if some are that way inclined.

[The_Todd]

I would like to think each and every one of us wants Yogi to turn it around, but you can't stop people from doubting he can.

I'm glad we're a couple of weeks from our next home game, it might give folk a chance to chill out and go back to Easter Road in a better frame of mind. If we had a home match tomorrow, I'd probably not go but in two weeks time I'll be itching to get back to my seat on the East and cheer the team on (and maybe boo them off!)

[sahib]

I agree with the sentiments of the older and wiser posters on this thread. I have seen worse Hibs teams and I also think we can't go on changing managers. Going further, I would say Yogi's teams have been better to watch than Mixu's or Collins ( at the end) were - marginally.
The worry is that we seem to be on a downward spiral with no soft landing in sight.

[BEEJ]

Who knows, a general lift in the mood of the support might just lift the spirits of the players and get a bit more out of them! There's plenty time after the final whistle for booing and singing for Yogi to GTF :bitchy: if some are that way inclined.
On Wednesday the Hibs support were generally very positive and encouraging until the final whistle when the booing and adverse chanting started.

So we must be talking about home ties here.

[IFONLY]

Was at Killie and didn't really care about the FT result if i'm honest. Going to Parkhead and wouldn't mind a rugby score. That won't change as I don't want that clown managing our football team. And i've said that since I got home from Maribor away.

He's a clueless daft ****, a win at Celtic on Saturday won't change that, infact winning our next 5 matches won't change that. He hasn't a scooby.


With remarks like that I know who the daft**** is and it aint John Hughes and to say you wouldnt mind a rugby score at Parkhead makes me wonder what makes you tick

[sesoim]

In an ideal world, everybody would come along and support the team no matter what, but in reality, when you are paying (way over the odds) to watch the team you care about play poorly, game after game, it is impossible to cheer and sing no matter what.

I know fans booing and so on can affect the players, but frankly Petrie and co would rather have fans paying to get in and boo than the same fans drifting away from the club.

[sesoim]

I would like to think each and every one of us wants Yogi to turn it around, but you can't stop people from doubting he can.

I'm glad we're a couple of weeks from our next home game, it might give folk a chance to chill out and go back to Easter Road in a better frame of mind. If we had a home match tomorrow, I'd probably not go but in two weeks time I'll be itching to get back to my seat on the East and cheer the team on (and maybe boo them off!)


I've got to be honest and say we are now at that stage where it is better for the club if we get a "final straw" type result. The Yogi-lovers who all kept on calling for his appointment will want him to survive, but I think most fans have now realised this guy will not get the best out of the players. He didn't deserve the job in the first place.

[Phil D. Rolls]

In this thread and Brog's one on perspective, there are some excellent posts. However, I can't help but realise the parallels between the support in general and the posts on here - there are some very good, long, well written, thoughful and measured posts with a positive objective; but these are all too often shouted down by several one/two line negative responses.

No they are not. How can you say that?:greengrin

[sesoim]

I think he's not asking this of you and others, i think he means basically don't abuse them and continually deystroy any confidence...What difference apart from the the fact the rest of the nation and the manager knows your upset with things does booing the team make? PERSONALLY i'd rather play infront of say five thousand at ER that are wiling to support me even though i know we and me are not playing too well atm, than play infront of eleven thousand that the vast majority of are booing me at the end of the game... I'm not saying don't go but i think the op's post meant dont go if your going to destroy their confidence further


The difference between 11000 turning up and 5000 turning up could mean a player getting £1500 a week instead of over £3000 a week for a wage. I doubt we'd see much loyalty from the players if their wages were slashed that much due to only "real fans" turning up. They'd be out the door like a shot and we'd be left with Rankin/Nish/Hogg/Stevenson level players trying to keep us in the top 11.

[The_Todd]

I've got to be honest and say we are now at that stage where it is better for the club if we get a "final straw" type result. The Yogi-lovers who all kept on calling for his appointment will want him to survive, but I think most fans have now realised this guy will not get the best out of the players. He didn't deserve the job in the first place.

I get your point, and I think we need a change. But I know Rod Petrie's not going to act on my say-so so all I can do is hope Rod sacks Yogi, or Yogi turns it round. If I kept fretting about things I can't change personally I'd end up dead.

[heidtheba]

I think that was a top opening post. I've not been too impressed of late but that post made me think a little about my 'support' of hibs. I've bought only three season tickets in my time and haven't been to ER for ages so I don't consider myself a proper supporter. I had the chance to get tickets to the last two cup finals we've been in but declined - I think a supporter has to 'be there' throughout the year to get the right to go to a final.
Anyhoo, I digress, this opening post made me think about why I started off supporting hibs. I hated football, didn't have a scooby about it but a friend took me to ER for my 18th birthday and I loved it. Got a season ticket for the next two years.
Never once did I go because I thought hibs were going to win anything, would have been nice if they had, but I took each match on a game by game basis. I suppose me now barking on about a manager not doing very well would be pretty stupid considering I'm not a hibbie (however lax) because they win. I do want them to win but, unlike many OF glory-hunting fans, its the people at ER, the fans, the history, the atmosphere that I went for.
I do mean this, thanks for making me think about this downturn in fortune with a sense of perspective.

[mcfly]

I think it is certainly Hughes who is getting the most stick, blame or even abuse over the way things are going. I agree he has made errors and shoulders part of the blame as for me do players also. The bigger picture for me comes from the top and the signings of the past few weeks sum up all I think is wrong.

I am not saying any of the guys we signed are bad they may well be excellent it all appears there is no plan and I dont know if its the board or Hughes who think 4 or 5 players on short deals is acceptable to build on, not to mention players already here who have a contract ending. If you didnt think player was good enough for long deal dont sign him, if the board instructed you no more longer contracts I would have walked, if the player only wants 1 year then leave it, Hibs cannot be a short term vehicle for players.

we have all watched some very poor hibs teams in the past however they didnt
have the luxury training facilities our bunch have now.

we have gone backwards in 2010, we are not unlucky, we are just predictable and poor.

sadly i dont believe yogi can turn it around, the players must take their responsibility but some just go through the motions and pick up wages.

how can mixu, craig brown etc motivate their teams when they must be paid a lot less than hibs.

we are on a very bad run now which has continued from jan 2010 till now. theboard cannot let this go on much longer or we will be in a relegation battle and panic will start at board level.

the board did not help however by selling our best player for a fraction of his worth especially if he cracks a few in tomorrow

i wish you well yogi but i fear the worst.

[SloopJB]

What if?

The reason we have signed players currently without a club instead of targetting a player from another club is we have targeted our limited finances in other areas, like the new pitch, maintenance for East Mains.

What if that is the reason we offer short term contracts? maybe they are a short term solution?

In this scenario it would be best to have a manager that has Hibernian football club at heart because he will do his absolute best with the players available to find success. Not walk away having spat the dummy.
What if next season we are looking to have more funds set aside for building the team?

I will be at the next home game and I will cheer the players out. I wont boo them, not because I'm a happy clapper. There are difficulties just now, I can't see how booing helps, so I dont do it.

I would love John Hughes to change our fortunes just now.

[EasterRoad4Ever]

I didn't go to Killie on Wednesday. The overriding reason was i don't enjoy the experience of watching Hibs much right now. To be honest i don't like the person i often become these days with the speed at which i get angry at the team and manager whenever things don't go our way.

I am 43 and have been watching the Hibs for the vast majority of my life and i can't remember a time when our crowd, myself included, have consistently displayed such intolerance and impatience.

When a fanbase is working properly it should be getting behind the team at all times during a match and making life as uncomfortable as possible for the opposition. We do the opposite. No wonder we can't win at home.

The rise of the internet and forums like this mean that even the most unreasonable and intransigent pub bore has a vehicle to vent his spleen without the boot up the erse he would get in normal circumstances. There are now many people who are so anti-Yogi that they want the team they profess to love to fail in order to get him out.

I find myself thinking that Yogi probably should be replaced but i still want him to turn things round and don't think things are as bleak as some would have us believe. With more careful fininshing we would still be in the CIS and probably 4 points better off in the SPL.

Anyway the point i am trying to make in a long winded manner is that it's time we became supporters again, like we used to when we were far worse that we are now, and lifted our team in times of trouble instead of trying to bury them.

If people find that impossible then they really should think long and hard about whether they want to attend at all- i know i have.

A really reasonable and honest post which I'd really like to support, but we now live in intolerant times where blind loyalty is a thing of the past, where players more often than not don't give a hoot about the club or the fans, and only interested in earning as much money as they can for as little effort as they can get away with. This applies to many current Hibs players. We've been in a recession for the last 2 years, yet are subjected to watching a man who earns £200,000 or more a year patently FAIL at his job (organise and motivate) while we shell out hard earned cash to pay his wages. IMHO, players and managers who are either not up top the job or couldn't care less should be HOUNDED OUT of our club. Their years of pulling our chains are fast coming to an end and that's no bad thing.

Hughes and the Hibs players are paid handsomely by us to do a job and its high time they realised that comes with some strings attached. If they cannot or will not respond then IMHO that just confirms they are not up to the job and need moved on.

[thebakerboy]

I have been supporting Hibs all my life and have been attending Easter Road since 1951 so next year is my 60th. year of punishment for god knows what but I love it. This last week I have found myself joining in slagging our manager and I am beginning to regret it but I do not think he has what it takes to move us on. Its not his fault , he just is not good enough , so I am turning to blame the board idea. They are wonderful at saving and turning our club in to one that is set up as the Template for how to run a club but there is one thing missing THE TEAM ON THE PARK. Now we have everything in place except the team so may I suggest that what is needed (to quote Yogi) is a football person member of the board (ie. someone who loves Hibs and could play a bit). The obvious candidates would be Pat Stanton , John Collins and probably several more but my choice would be Pat Nevin and I will leave it there.:devil:

[scottp1875]

Agreed, i've supported many much worse Hibs teams than this one. Its the attitude of a large element of our support thats going to stop me going. I hate the haters

agree with you. the team is playing poor but not getting any support from some supporters and some of the shouts and abuse given are well over the top. yes we should be playing better for the team we have out but confidence is clearly shot to pieces and they aint getting support from the stands