Realistic league finish????

[Kaiserclem]

Where realistically should we be aiming to finish in the SPFL, with our current squad of players, this season?

I think a top 6 finish would be successful based on our start and players at Butcher's disposal, and something for us to build on under the new management.


'mon the cabbage!

[ancient hibee]

Given the poor standard of the league any half decent team should finish second at the least.

[Kaiserclem]

Given the poor standard of the league any half decent team should finish second at the least.

Couldn't agree more.

[Sir David Gray]

We're only 10 points behind Inverness in second place, with 75 points left to play for.

It will be a tough ask but until it's physically impossible, we should be aiming to finish second.

[monktonharp]

a disappointing 5th. my thoughts only

[erin go bragh]

Top 4 . Cant see us getting 2nd but would love to be proved wrong . Qualifying for Europe would give us the chance to make amends for this seasons disaster .

Ggtth

[NORTHERNHIBBY]

Settle for top six

[Eyrie]

Agree that we should aim for second, but realistically a top four finish is very achievable.

[SouthamptonHibs]

Anything lower than second place is a failure this season. With our current crop of players we won't be in the top 6, only way we will get top six is buying 3/4 good players in Jan.
Somewhere between 7th and 10th, there will be two teams lower than us probably Ross County and Hearts

[fatbloke]

Second place guaranteed piece of pi55.

[Hibercelona]

1st should be our aim every single season, regardless.

I can see us finishing around 4th this season if we hit the ground running.

[hihohibby]

Clinching 2nd place is achievable, and far from unrealistic. Inverness will be hit by poor results at some stage, due in part to injury and/or suspensions and having a smaller pool of quality replacements. We also can't dismiss the psychological impact ICT are facing/will face in losing their whole management team to ourselves. Just because they did it for TB and MP does not mean they will deliver for their new manager. A couple of additions to our squad in January (the right additions of course) is a must. The quicker Terry B. puts a solid and formidable spine together, and gets us up to ICT fitness levels, as well as up to speed with his tactics and formations and strategies, the better. The bottom line is that if all things come together, we are faced with reducing a mere 10 point gap to current 2nd place. 4 wins more than ICT between now and the seasons end would put us 1 point above them, all else being equal.

[B.H.F.C]

Think we will make the top 6. We've given teams a head start so I'm not sure how high we can get. Aberdeen have a good squad. Dundee Utd have some cracking young players. Be interesting to see how Inverness get on now and I didn't think Motherwell looked great the other week even though they beat us.

Main thing for me the remainder of the season is to start winning at Easter Road regularly. If we don't do that we won't get anywhere.

[Dashing Bob S]

2nd.


Behind Hearts.

"The other teams in the SPL are pish." - Gary Locke

[Hibercelona]

2nd.


Behind Hearts.

"The other teams in the SPL are pish." - Gary Locke

Perhaps thats just his way of saying that they'll finish above him?

[Pedantic_Hibee]

Second.

[flash]

Given the poor standard of the league any half decent team should finish second at the least.

Inverness, Dundee united, Aberdeen and Motherwell all look "half decent" so how does that work?

[3pm]

Needs a good start. We have a decent runnof games where we need to pick up points.

Even a result at Parkhead isn't oit the question if we defend well enough....and get a bit luck.

[blackpoolhibs]

Inverness, Dundee united, Aberdeen and Motherwell all look "half decent" so how does that work?

If we can catch St Johnstone with this lot i'd be amazed, but we do have a transfer window to give me a bit of hope.

[Islington Hibs]

All up for grabs but given we are a quarter of the way through the season and 5 points shy of the top 6 and 10 points off 2nd if we can get a 4th place that would be good improvement as far as I am concerned. Next year will be the last with out The Rangers so we really need to do something then!

Much will depend on how quickly confidence is re-built. Luckily we have a few easier games over the next month so hopefully that will help. Rome was not built in a day however......

[MB62]

If you don't score goals you don't win games and scoring goals has been our biggest problem so far.
Everything is up in the air at the moment though with the new management team coming in. We are obviously all hoping that they can get us playing a more attacking level of football and hopefully move us forward. It might take them until the January window to find out if they have the players at their disposal or if they have to bring a couple of new faces, maybe on loan.
So it's difficult to judge where we should finish but I still believe we have the players that should mean we finish top six.

[Elephant Stone]

We're 2/1 to make the top six on skybet, which isn't too bad IMO!

[cleanyman]

7th.

[Twa Cairpets]

Given the poor standard of the league any half decent team should finish second at the least.

How can "any half decent team finish second at least"?

Given Celtic, Well, Aberdeen, ICT, Utd and, presumably, us would all fall into the category of "half decent", then your point is ridiculous. Celtic will win it, the other teams mentioned should all be battling for the second spot. Whether they get it or not is another thing.

[HibbyAndy]

2nd.

[Ozyhibby]

2nd

[allezsauzee]

I'd accept top 4 this season but I expect Tel and Mo to get us 2nd as a minimum next season

[yeezus.]

Inverness, Dundee united, Aberdeen and Motherwell all look "half decent" so how does that work?

I fancy Aberdeen for 2nd place, reckon we'll finish 5th.

[Franck Stanton]

Aberdeen and Dundee Unt both have better squads than us, both are playing well and scoring goals for fun - unlike us, Butcher will get us going and make us a better team, but he cant work miracles. Will take him some time and a few transfer windows, think top 6 is best we can hope for with current squad, even then it will be 5th or sixth.

[Hibbyradge]

Given the poor standard of the league any half decent team should finish second at the least.

What a silly comment.

[Hibbyradge]

We're 2/1 to make the top six on skybet, which isn't too bad IMO!

That's a great bet.

I'm lumping on.

[ancient hibee]

What a silly comment.


Thank you.

When I see the teams listed as half decent it makes me realise how the standard of football in Scotland has dropped.They're no where near half decent.How many players from these teams appear in national teams and they wouldn't last 10 minutes in the Championship down south as is shown by the "success"of Scottish teams "stars"after they're transferred.Watching highlights on Sportscene is an embarrassment.

[The Sea-gull]

Another weekend gone and another weekend which suggests we may toil to make top 6.

Always felt from fairly early on that Celtic, Aberdeen, ICT and Motherwell were certs for the top 6 leaving us to battle for a place with St Johnstone, Dundee Utd and Ross County.

I'm now starting to think Dundee United could be bracketed in the "certs" category while Ross County don't look like pulling up trees this season (though having said that this time last year they looked nowhere near top 6 quality and pulled it around second half of the season so could do it gain) so it maybe leaves one place for us to fight ot with Saints.

Can't really work Saints out. Sometimes I think they are a decent outfit. Other times not so much. Got a feeling that we will come up short and have a similar season to last though we have the January window and a 5 points gap is nothing in the SPL at this stage.

I never wanted Fenlon but was always willing to give him time, would maybe even have given him the season to turn things around. There is now a part of me however that is wondering if we have essentially written off the season by not sacking him after the defeat to Hearts in August. For me the writing was on the wall then and if we had punted him we would have given the new man (most likely Butcher as he seems to have been the man they planned to turn to when Fenlon inevitably failed) a chance of getting a few players in during the remaining weeks of the summer window (there were three weeks left after the Hearts game then) and working with the team a bit longer.

[GreenCastle]

Looking at current league table - 2nd / 3rd place is pretty much out of sight.

St J are 5 points ahead of us which is not impossible to catch but we need to start winning at home.

Our next 4 home games are winnable (Partick / Killie / St J and the yams) - but with our low scoring team and May being the last time we won 2 SPL games in a row I do have concerns about us becoming consistent!

We have 2 away league games in between these home games which will be very tough with us travelling to Celtic and Ross County.

Top 6 will be Celtic / Aberdeen / ICT / United / Motherwell plus either Hibs or St J :agree:

[HUTCHYHIBBY]

When I see the teams listed as half decent it makes me realise how the standard of football in Scotland has dropped.

Is it the standard of Scottish football or the standard of Hibs football thats the problem?

The worrying thing is though that it is quite widely accepted by folk on here who keep beating the top 6 drum as being some sort of measure of success. In a league devoid of The Rangers and with Hearts on their knees its not my idea of success whatsoever.

[Aldo]

With scoring being an issue I think 7th is the best we can hope for at the moment.

This might change in the coming weeks/month but I don't know where our next goal is coming from.

[GreenCastle]

Is it the standard of Scottish football or the standard of Hibs football thats the problem?

The worrying thing is though that it is quite widely accepted by folk on here who keep beating the top 6 drum as being some sort of measure of success. In a league devoid of The Rangers and with Hearts on their knees its not my idea of success whatsoever.

:agree:

I also worry about our goal scoring / assists - we seriously need to find some creativity and finishing quality if we are to progress.