East Mains (Again)

[SMAXXA]

Just watching Liam Craig's interview and looking at the pictures of the guys training, in that and other clips I've watched recently and it got me thinking. It must be a real selling point for players coming to Hibs having these facilities, Liam said himself coming here to develop as a player with the facilities we have and I don't doubt that players do believe that. I know we went through a phase of the old 'great facilities' plug when it seems every signing the last few years did their first interview, and even I thought these players were surly briefed to throw that in at the time but now I genuinely don't think it was the case. As a professional footballer coming to a workplace like EM must be incredible compared to most of our rivals in the SPL and some outwith down south. It feels like as a club we are going from strength to strength gradually and I for one feel as positive as I have felt for a long long time with Hibs these days.

[SouthMoroccoStu]

It's part of the Hibs contract

Section 7 paragraph 6:2

"During your first interview, you must compliment the training facilities and the completed stadium (and if you have time mention the fans)"

Rod demands it

[SMAXXA]

It's part of the Hibs contract

Section 7 paragraph 6:2

"During your first interview, you must compliment the training facilities and the completed stadium (and if you have time mention the fans)"

Rod demands it

Come to think of it, no one really ever mentions the fans? :confused: or have I missed this? We must to better, worst fans in the world.....FACT

[Spike Mandela]

Just watching Liam Craig's interview and looking at the pictures of the guys training, in that and other clips I've watched recently and it got me thinking. It must be a real selling point for players coming to Hibs having these facilities, Liam said himself coming here to develop as a player with the facilities we have and I don't doubt that players do believe that. I know we went through a phase of the old 'great facilities' plug when it seems every signing the last few years did their first interview, and even I thought these players were surly briefed to throw that in at the time but now I genuinely don't think it was the case. As a professional footballer coming to a workplace like EM must be incredible compared to most of our rivals in the SPL and some outwith down south. It feels like as a club we are going from strength to strength gradually and I for one feel as positive as I have felt for a long long time with Hibs these days.

Nah players these days would train in any old dog **** filled park for an extra few hundred a week in their pay packet. East Mains is a 'nice to have' but not a selling point. It all comes down to money.

[monktonharp]

It's part of the Hibs contract

Section 7 paragraph 6:2

"During your first interview, you must compliment the training facilities and the completed stadium (and if you have time mention the fans)"

Rod demands itI'm sure he does. although, I was very impressed with the facilities, I must have gone there on a bad, or possibly good day, from a player point of view. Rankin, a former player, was just hovering in and out of offices chatting up and blethering with any young burd that passed him and one or two others seemed to be just going through the motions, instead of doing any graft on a rowin' machine or push ups or whatever a fitba' player does to gain fitness/strength etc:rolleyes:

[ronaldo7]

I was down just after the season ended and it looked tired. It's great to know our Maintenance team have been down and spruced the place up.:aok:

[Brizo]

Nah players these days would train in any old dog **** filled park for an extra few hundred a week in their pay packet. East Mains is a 'nice to have' but not a selling point. It all comes down to money.

:agree: Its all about the money. Has any player come to us and said they were offered more elsewhere but the prospect of training at EM made them choose Hibs, choose a pay cut.

Bigging up EM is just part of new player PR chat along with Edinburghs a beautiful city and XYZ told me what a great club with great fans Hibs are.

[500miles]

I'm sure he does. although, I was very impressed with the facilities, I must have gone there on a bad, or possibly good day, from a player point of view. Rankin, a former player, was just hovering in and out of offices chatting up and blethering with any young burd that passed him and one or two others seemed to be just going through the motions, instead of doing any graft on a rowin' machine or push ups or whatever a fitba' player does to gain fitness/strength etc:rolleyes:

John Rankin does, and always has, trained like an absolute madman. Arguements about his ability aside, to suggest he shirks training or fitness, is well wide of the mark. I would imagine you weren't there during normal training hours?

EM will appeal to players looking to fulfil their potential. Needs a persuasive manager to show the players that he can help them do that though.

[Teapot]

Just watching Liam Craig's interview and looking at the pictures of the guys training, in that and other clips I've watched recently and it got me thinking. It must be a real selling point for players coming to Hibs having these facilities, Liam said himself coming here to develop as a player with the facilities we have and I don't doubt that players do believe that. I know we went through a phase of the old 'great facilities' plug when it seems every signing the last few years did their first interview, and even I thought these players were surly briefed to throw that in at the time but now I genuinely don't think it was the case. As a professional footballer coming to a workplace like EM must be incredible compared to most of our rivals in the SPL and some outwith down south. It feels like as a club we are going from strength to strength gradually and I for one feel as positive as I have felt for a long long time with Hibs these days.


I agree. I haven't felt this positive for years. Most of the decisions regarding infrastructure, staff, players etc seem to be shrewd decisions and I think we are going from strength to strength.

When signing players I think overall money talks. However, if we are competing for a signing with a club such as Aberdeen or Dundee Utd and all parties are offering similar terms, the fact we have East Mains may help us swing the player in our direction.

[Jack]

:agree: Its all about the money. Has any player come to us and said they were offered more elsewhere but the prospect of training at EM made them choose Hibs, choose a pay cut.

Bigging up EM is just part of new player PR chat along with Edinburghs a beautiful city and XYZ told me what a great club with great fans Hibs are.

I'm sure when chatting about two or three grand a week for the contract a couple of hundred extra while having to train in public parks, with all the little extras, is worth it.

As for Edinburgh, you really need to travel more.

[lord bunberry]

Nah players these days would train in any old dog **** filled park for an extra few hundred a week in their pay packet. East Mains is a 'nice to have' but not a selling point. It all comes down to money.

But if we're offering similar money to other teams then something like good training facilities and a nice stadium might be the thing that swings it our way

[Pete]

Just watching Liam Craig's interview and looking at the pictures of the guys training, in that and other clips I've watched recently and it got me thinking. It must be a real selling point for players coming to Hibs having these facilities, Liam said himself coming here to develop as a player with the facilities we have and I don't doubt that players do believe that. I know we went through a phase of the old 'great facilities' plug when it seems every signing the last few years did their first interview, and even I thought these players were surly briefed to throw that in at the time but now I genuinely don't think it was the case. As a professional footballer coming to a workplace like EM must be incredible compared to most of our rivals in the SPL and some outwith down south. It feels like as a club we are going from strength to strength gradually and I for one feel as positive as I have felt for a long long time with Hibs these days.

Totally agree with you and share your optimism. We have an infrastructure second to none in Scotland and one that blows clubs of similar size out the water.

If players have a choice between the clubs outwith Celtic and sevco they are going to make a decision based on facilities and comment comment accordingly. It's slowly coming to fruition for us and coming home to roost for the rest of the clubs that chose to spend money chasing dreams. Aberdeen might pay more money in wages this season and finish above us but they will be next!

The future is definitely green :thumbsup:

[Iain G]

:agree: Its all about the money. Has any player come to us and said they were offered more elsewhere but the prospect of training at EM made them choose Hibs, choose a pay cut.

Bigging up EM is just part of new player PR chat along with Edinburghs a beautiful city and XYZ told me what a great club with great fans Hibs are.

Can we club together and buy you some positivity pills? :wink:

I know when I have changed jobs that you look at the facilities, resources and what is on offer to allow you to do your job and having a facility like East Mains would certainly count in our favour with the kind of professionals we are hoping to recruit.

[Brizo]

I'm sure when chatting about two or three grand a week for the contract a couple of hundred extra while having to train in public parks, with all the little extras, is worth it.

As for Edinburgh, you really need to travel more.

Im sorry but im rereading the first couple of lines of your post but cant make any sense of them.:confused: Which makes your patronising final line all the more amusing. FYI my work takes me all over UK and no city compares to Embra. Bit of advice if your going to play the condescending tw@t maybe you should read before you click submit.


Can we club together and buy you some positivity pills? :wink:

I know when I have changed jobs that you look at the facilities, resources and what is on offer to allow you to do your job and having a facility like East Mains would certainly count in our favour with the kind of professionals we are hoping to recruit.

No pills for me thanks. Just say no :greengrin

I obviously have a much more jaundiced view of the average professional footballer than you. The points you make are all very valid and would be what most people going to a new job would consider. Unfortunately im convinced that for most players money is the be all and end all. My view remains that the vast majority will choose more pay / poor training facilities over less pay /excellent training facilities.

[Iain G]

Im sorry but im rereading the first couple of lines of your post but cant make any sense of them.:confused: Which makes your patronising final line all the more amusing. FYI my work takes me all over UK and no city compares to Embra. Bit of advice if your going to play the condescending tw@t maybe you should read before you click submit.



No pills for me thanks. Just say no :greengrin

I obviously have a much more jaundiced view of the average professional footballer than you. The points you make are all very valid and would be what most people going to a new job would consider. Unfortunately im convinced that for most players money is the be all and end all. My view remains that the vast majority will choose more pay / poor training facilities over less pay /excellent training facilities.

As with most folks a huge whacking great difference in pay is hardly likely to make them move to the poorer payer just because they have a nicer office! But when there is not the huge difference in wages being offered and you have the choice of the professional environment to train and improve at like East Mains or rutted and frozen public pitches and parks to train at then am sure a decent professional footballer will take EM into consideration in their decision making :agree:

[PeterboroHibee]

Im sure having a private training ground is a bonus for the players, but I dont really believe that it is a key selling factor when it comes to signings. Players will mostly be interested in the money on offer and the city they will be based in, how often they will play and possibly the quality of the team they are going to.

I imagine its probably more beneficial in terms of attracting/developing young players, and we are hopefully starting to see whether that is genuinely true with the number of guys coming through.

[Iain G]

Personally can see it more like this:

Potential Signing "Well the Hertz have offered my 2k a week more ya ken"

Rod "But you liked that nice Mr Fenlon?"

Potential Player "Aye, but the 2k..."

Rod "Hmmm, well have you seen the new stand?"

Potential Signing "Aye it's braw; but tooooo grand..."

Rod "Yes, but did you not like East Mains?"

Potential Signing "Aye, again was braw, loved the X Box...but Mr Petrie it's this 2 grand a week..."

Rod "Don't you like my moustache, look at how luscious and full and manly it is..."

Potential Sigining "Gimme a pen, where do I sign...?"

[HibeesLA]

It's part of the Hibs contract

Section 7 paragraph 6:2

"During your first interview, you must compliment the training facilities and the completed stadium (and if you have time mention the fans)"

Rod demands it

I think this shoul be amended too include point 1:0, that our stairs were painted first after completion of the new stand, and within budget.

[SMAXXA]

Personally can see it more like this:

Potential Signing "Well the Hertz have offered my 2k a week more ya ken"

Rod "But you liked that nice Mr Fenlon?"

Potential Player "Aye, but the 2k..."

Rod "Hmmm, well have you seen the new stand?"

Potential Signing "Aye it's braw; but tooooo grand..."

Rod "Yes, but did you not like East Mains?"

Potential Signing "Aye, again was braw, loved the X Box...but Mr Petrie it's this 2 grand a week..."

Rod "Don't you like my moustache, look at how luscious and full and manly it is..."

Potential Sigining "Gimme a pen, where do I sign...?"

I don't think clubs in the SPL and around the teams we would be competing with players would be offering 2k more than what we can offer, lets keep it in context, but agree if it was as vast a salary difference as that, im sure most folk would train anywhere :wink:.

[Keith_M]

I'd have thought the biggest selling point could be to younger players. Their wages aren't particulalrly high but having decent facilities should really influence them as they're just starting out.


FWIW, I've had to choose a couple of times between various jobs and have never used the salary as the sole deciding factor. Fair enough, if somebody was offerering me double, that would have decided it but it's rarely like that. When there's only about 10% or so of a difference (which is usual), I've always chosen according to where I thought I'd be happy to work and the surroundings and facilities on offer are definitely included in that.

[Iain G]

I don't think clubs in the SPL and around the teams we would be competing with players would be offering 2k more than what we can offer, lets keep it in context, but agree if it was as vast a salary difference as that, im sure most folk would train anywhere :wink:.

What about the big team? :wink:

[Scouse Hibee]

:agree: Its all about the money. Has any player come to us and said they were offered more elsewhere but the prospect of training at EM made them choose Hibs, choose a pay cut.

Bigging up EM is just part of new player PR chat along with Edinburghs a beautiful city and XYZ told me what a great club with great fans Hibs are.


Eh? :confused: Edinburgh's a wonderful city, second only to Liverpool in my opinion.

[Betty Boop]

Eh? :confused: Edinburgh's a wonderful city, second only to Liverpool in my opinion.

I was there last week for the Unison delegates conference, and I have to say very impressed with the city. Absolutely spotless and the people were lovely, most enjoyable week. I'll definitely be back ! :greengrin

[Scouse Hibee]

I was there last week for the Unison delegates conference, and I have to say very impressed with the city. Absolutely spotless and the people were lovely, most enjoyable week. I'll definitely be back ! :greengrin


:aok: The stereotypical negative opinion of the city is mostly shared by folk who have never been there at all or in recent years.

[RyeSloan]

I'd have thought the biggest selling point could be to younger players. Their wages aren't particulalrly high but having decent facilities should really influence them as they're just starting out.

FWIW, I've had to choose a couple of times between various jobs and have never used the salary as the sole deciding factor. Fair enough, if somebody was offerering me double, that would have decided it but it's rarely like that. When there's only about 10% or so of a difference (which is usual), I've always chosen according to where I thought I'd be happy to work and the surroundings and facilities on offer are definitely included in that.

Exactly.

For people to say the basic salary is the only factor is urmm basic.

All employers offer a 'package' and East Mains is an important part of what Hibs offer.

Anyway to have an aspiration to be a leading professional football club in Scotland we need to have the infrastructure and facilities to back up that vision. It's been a long and painful process (not helped by Hearts over spending throughout and some poor managerial decisions) but Hibs have everything in place now to move forward....it's about time we did so.

[Spike Mandela]

Exactly.

For people to say the basic salary is the only factor is urmm basic.

All employers offer a 'package' and East Mains is an important part of what Hibs offer.

Anyway to have an aspiration to be a leading professional football club in Scotland we need to have the infrastructure and facilities to back up that vision. It's been a long and painful process (not helped by Hearts over spending throughout and some poor managerial decisions) but Hibs have everything in place now to move forward....it's about time we did so.

I agree about Hibs having everything in place to move forward on the pitch, hopefully.:greengrin

If salaries being offered for a certain player are very similar then of course EM would be a factor.

However purely as a misinformed example say you were being offered £1500pw by Hibs but Aberdeen were really keen on you and offering £1800pw would you go for the extra grand a month or the nice shiny training facilities?

[Betty Boop]

:aok: The stereotypical negative opinion of the city is mostly shared by folk who have never been there at all or in recent years.

:agree: Forgot to mention the stunning architecture, amazing.

[_hucks_]

:aok: The stereotypical negative opinion of the city is mostly shared by folk who have never been there at all or in recent years.

Been living here 4 years and I don't have anything but praise for the place. Wonderful place to live.

[Hibbyradge]

:agree: Its all about the money. Has any player come to us and said they were offered more elsewhere but the prospect of training at EM made them choose Hibs, choose a pay cut.

Bigging up EM is just part of new player PR chat along with Edinburghs a beautiful city and XYZ told me what a great club with great fans Hibs are.

I can't agree.

It is definitely not all about the money. Not always.

Certainly, if a player had received an offer which was significantly higher than Hibs' one, they'd usually take the money.

However, if the offers were closer, the player may well choose to accept the lower one in order to have access to better training facilities, a better stadium and to the city itself.

I doubt the fans would ever be a factor in a players decision, but having family or friends in the area could well be.

Some examples - Leigh Griffiths wants to play for Hibs for less than he could get elsewhere.

Derek Riordan too, could have moved abroad years ago and earned a fortune, but chose to stay home for non financial reasons.

Kevin Thomson was with us for 3 months or so and received nothing in return. He could have earned a good few £k elsewhere.

They all had their non-financial reasons and being a Hibs supporter was only one of them.

Even some of the bams that took pay cuts to stay at Sevco and the Yams, also prove that money is not the sole motivator.

Personally, it would need a lot of cash to persuade me to move away from Edinburgh to a place like Hull, Bradford, or pretty much anywhere in the West Midlands.

[ekhibee]

I can't agree.

It is definitely not all about the money. Not always.

Certainly, if a player had received an offer which was significantly higher than Hibs' one, they'd usually take the money.

However, if the offers were closer, the player may well choose to accept the lower one in order to have access to better training facilities, a better stadium and to the city itself.

I doubt the fans would ever be a factor in a players decision, but having family or friends in the area could well be.

Some examples - Leigh Griffiths wants to play for Hibs for less than he could get elsewhere.

Derek Riordan too, could have moved abroad years ago and earned a fortune, but chose to stay home for non financial reasons.

Kevin Thomson was with us for 3 months or so and received nothing in return. He could have earned a good few £k elsewhere.

They all had their non-financial reasons and being a Hibs supporter was only one of them.

Even some of the bams that took pay cuts to stay at Sevco and the Yams, also prove that money is not the sole motivator.

Personally, it would need a lot of cash to persuade me to move away from Edinburgh to a place like Hull, Bradford, or pretty much anywhere in the West Midlands.
I would agree with you that it isn't all about the money, but I think you have to be realistic about other factors that influence players decisions to sign for a club. You say that it would take a lot of cash to persuade you to move away from Edinburgh? Well Edinburgh's a bloody sight more expensive to buy or rent property in than Bradford, Hull or the West Midlands. If a player's looking to bring his family with him when he signs for a club, why would he want to pay hundreds more monthly for accommodation if he can get the same wage playing somewhere else that wasn't so expensive to live in and was offering roughly the same wages? Difficult one, there's a lot of different factors involved and I wouldn't pretend to know the answer really.