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SanFranHibs
22-07-2011, 06:58 PM
Just reading a couple of posts regarding the 'State of the Hibee Nation' in threads about CC, several people touched on 'wasting' money on the stadium which could have been used to build the team.

An interesting point of view but one I confess I can't agree with.

I think even if Hibs had not upgraded Easter Road, the money, or very little of it, would have been spent directly on the first team, because this implies that we would have bought better quality players or somehow gotten better players in. But I think we all agree that Hibs present setup is not to increase significantly our expenditure and particulary our wage bill. Our debt/wage bill is a point which has concerned me for years in that even if Hibs had ZERO debt will we ever be willing to incur some managed debt to improve our team. Seems to me that every team that is succesful or at least competitive on the field is in the red to varying degrees. Not sure this Hibs administration will ever take this route. Of course there must be many teams who are in the red and still struggle on the field.

I know it is a LOT easier said than done but I just think Hibs need a long term footballing strategy and direction and stop lurching from bad situation to bad situation because we definitely are in danger of becoming permanently stuck in the middle of the table wilderness.

I think our stadium's improvement and our training facility is at least something we can feel good about.

Now, when does that next crop of youngsters come through?

:flag:

Gordon Quinn
22-07-2011, 08:48 PM
Firstly, I think the stadium had to be done. I'm sure we had to build it before the planning window ran out. It looks great and you would like to think it would attract players. The plan has to be a good number of 1st team players who are home grown (say 5 or 6) with the rest made up of signings. The trouble is keeping them. When Booth's contract is up in 3 years (or whenever it is) will we be in a position to keep him. If we can offer 6 or 7 grand maybe, otherwise it the infirm or the championship.
So lets say he goes in a few years, Rod works his magic (which looks to have deserted him recently) and we get £3 mil. The benefit of having a stadium and training complex in place means you can put that money back into the team where in the past most of our transfer fees have went on the training complex and stadium.
I am an optimist but the only way is up from here....mind you that's not hard!

HUTCHYHIBBY
22-07-2011, 09:29 PM
It looks great...
youd like to think...
How many millions has that cost?

Gordon Quinn
22-07-2011, 09:37 PM
C'mon now....

There is no doubting the staduim looks great.

It's just the attracting players bit that is in question.

down-the-slope
22-07-2011, 09:41 PM
People seem to forget how much the game has changed-currently we have about 2/3000 women and children (maybe more) at each home game...how many of those would have been in the old ER ? Very few I think
Football finance has just about left Scotland in the 1990s...we need to accept that we need a model that does not try to compete with English 1st div upwards and instead looks at development. We have done well from our youth - but I feel we have failed to bring in youngsters from elsewhere and developthem as others have managed - Crawford may hopefully turn out to be first for a while

We used to do it...Wright / Durie etc

tooley
22-07-2011, 11:31 PM
Just reading a couple of posts regarding the 'State of the Hibee Nation' in threads about CC, several people touched on 'wasting' money on the stadium which could have been used to build the team.

An interesting point of view but one I confess I can't agree with.

I think even if Hibs had not upgraded Easter Road, the money, or very little of it, would have been spent directly on the first team, because this implies that we would have bought better quality players or somehow gotten better players in. But I think we all agree that Hibs present setup is not to increase significantly our expenditure and particulary our wage bill. Our debt/wage bill is a point which has concerned me for years in that even if Hibs had ZERO debt will we ever be willing to incur some managed debt to improve our team. Seems to me that every team that is succesful or at least competitive on the field is in the red to varying degrees. Not sure this Hibs administration will ever take this route. Of course there must be many teams who are in the red and still struggle on the field.

I know it is a LOT easier said than done but I just think Hibs need a long term footballing strategy and direction and stop lurching from bad situation to bad situation because we definitely are in danger of becoming permanently stuck in the middle of the table wilderness.

I think our stadium's improvement and our training facility is at least something we can feel good about.

Now, when does that next crop of youngsters come through?

:flag:

A couple of decent players in, a couple of decent results, then the nice stadium will look busy!

smurf
23-07-2011, 08:51 AM
In the main I agree that in the economic environment to replace and upgrade the east at 500 per seat was just too good an opportunity. I congratulate the board for proceeding.

However, they need to ensure its a top half SPL stadium not one flirting with the lower reaches of the SPL.

And in this respect they need to do much much better.

Phil D. Rolls
23-07-2011, 05:06 PM
I've decided on "team" can you think of any team that might need a stadium soon, they might be prepared to pay megabucks.