Shelf life of a Hibs manager?

[G B Young]

Thinking back over the Hibs managers I've seen in charge it seems that these days two years is about as long as most last.

The first boss I remember was Turnbull who was in charge for pretty much the whole of the 1970s and as a kid I just kind of assumed he was the permanent manager.

Alex Miller lasted even longer (more than a decade) but between Turnbull and Miller we had Ormond, Auld, Stanton and Blackley and after Miller I think McLeish was the longest serving. Duffy, Williamson, Mowbray, Collins, Mixu, Hughes, Calderwood, Fenlon, Butcher, Stubbs...all were either sacked or lured away after a couple of seasons at most.

Anyone remember any of the mangers pre-Turnbull?

[jonty]

Thinking back over the Hibs managers I've seen in charge it seems that these days two years is about as long as most last.

The first boss I remember was Turnbull who was in charge for pretty much the whole of the 1970s and as a kid I just kind of assumed he was the permanent manager.

Alex Miller lasted even longer (more than a decade) but between Turnbull and Miller we had Ormond, Auld, Stanton and Blackley and after Miller I think McLeish was the longest serving. Duffy, Williamson, Mowbray, Collins, Mixu, Hughes, Calderwood, Fenlon, Butcher, Stubbs...all were either sacked or lured away after a couple of seasons at most.

Anyone remember any of the mangers pre-Turnbull?

Sauzees tenure at 69 days would bring the average down quite considerably.

[G B Young]

Sauzees tenure at 69 days would bring the average down quite considerably.

Right enough, it was so short I'd forgotten about it. It was all wrong to appoint him as boss in hindsight and a shame his time with the club ended that way.

Prefer to remember Franck as the brilliant player he was for us:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_dNDskgVAU

[jacomo]

The Hibs hot seat is a tough job.

I think the challenge is underestimated by a lot of folk. We need top drawer talent but can’t afford top drawer contracts.

[G B Young]

The Hibs hot seat is a tough job.

I think the challenge is underestimated by a lot of folk. We need top drawer talent but can’t afford top drawer contracts.

I agree. I think most would say Lennon's hard-hitting comments about Hibs reminding him of a boy band and how they needed to toughen up were well received by most fans. He was as good as his word too and for his first two seasons in charge there's no question we combined good football with a much tougher mindset than that which has so often characterised Hibs teams.

That's why I was surprised it has all unravelled so quickly. Perhaps the loss of guys like McGinn and McGeouch saw us lose more than just good footballers. They are clearly ambitious players and perhaps thrived on the type of 'winner' mentality Lennon tried to instil. Their replacements have perhaps been less up for the challenge and more content to simply be at a relatively big club like Hibs. When you have money to spend, as Lennon did at Celtic, I guess you are able to sign guys who by and large buy into his mindset. With Lennon having been used to that as a player and manager I'm guessing the frustration he felt at not being able to surround himself with like-minded players saw him struggle to keep his emotions in check and from what we can piece together he has pushed things too far.

[Bangkok Hibby]

Thinking back over the Hibs managers I've seen in charge it seems that these days two years is about as long as most last.

The first boss I remember was Turnbull who was in charge for pretty much the whole of the 1970s and as a kid I just kind of assumed he was the permanent manager.

Alex Miller lasted even longer (more than a decade) but between Turnbull and Miller we had Ormond, Auld, Stanton and Blackley and after Miller I think McLeish was the longest serving. Duffy, Williamson, Mowbray, Collins, Mixu, Hughes, Calderwood, Fenlon, Butcher, Stubbs...all were either sacked or lured away after a couple of seasons at most.

Anyone remember any of the mangers pre-Turnbull?

Bob Shankly when I started supporting Hibs. That night in a cold November under the lights against Napoli at ER. He knew we would do it. I had to check to see how long he was manager...4 years.
After him Willie McFarlane...1 year and Dave Ewing who I'm ashamed to say I'd completely forgotten about...1 year

[Billy Whizz]

Seemingly Neil is our longest serving manager since McLeish

[The Harp]

Thinking back over the Hibs managers I've seen in charge it seems that these days two years is about as long as most last.

The first boss I remember was Turnbull who was in charge for pretty much the whole of the 1970s and as a kid I just kind of assumed he was the permanent manager.

Alex Miller lasted even longer (more than a decade) but between Turnbull and Miller we had Ormond, Auld, Stanton and Blackley and after Miller I think McLeish was the longest serving. Duffy, Williamson, Mowbray, Collins, Mixu, Hughes, Calderwood, Fenlon, Butcher, Stubbs...all were either sacked or lured away after a couple of seasons at most.

Anyone remember any of the mangers pre-Turnbull?

When I began my love affair with Hibs in the early 50s, Hugh Shaw was manager. Since Hugh, I reckon we've had 24 managers which equates to an average tenancy in the ER hot seat of something like 2.7 years.

[stoneyburn hibs]

Seemingly Neil is our longest serving manager since McLeish

He is. Quite a high turnover of managers since McLeish.

[BullsCloseHibs]

Quite excited at this new era about to happen. New dawn and aw that! 😁

[James310]

You do well at Hibs and your in the frame for bigger jobs and potentially leave, you do bad at Hibs and your given little time to sort it out and you leave (sacked)

I am not really a fan of Strachan but it might work for him as he will have no desire to move on to bigger things, on the other hand we are not a retirement home either.

[jacomo]

You do well at Hibs and your in the frame for bigger jobs and potentially leave, you do bad at Hibs and your given little time to sort it out and you leave (sacked)

I am not really a fan of Strachan but it might work for him as he will have no desire to move on to bigger things, on the other hand we are not a retirement home either.


I feel he might be a good fit too.

Appointing the right assistant is crucial of course.

[heretoday]

If Big Jock had stayed we'd have won several trophies. That was some team in the mid 60s.
Did we become a "stepping stone" when he went?

[where'stheslope]

I think everyone forgets how the manager job has changed over the years.
Nowadays its all about the coaching and getting the best from players on the park.
Before it was a total running of all things Hibernian and nothing was out of the managers reach.
And after finally winning the Scottish Cup and getting out of the Championship, it all became totally out of hand with fans expectations.
The club then loses 3 important players, and the manager has to replace with the best he can get within budget.
We then have a bad run of results after a good start to the season, and i think the pressure just became to much during this time.
Again it comes down to most fans want everything now, and with the best season ticket sales in years, crowds are up and expectations grow even higher.
It will now be a time of balancing everything out, and making sure we are best set for next season under a new manager.
But a few good results this season will see the same expectation heap pressure on the new manager, and so it goes on.

[Here’s Lucy!]

Shelf life can potentially be very short at Hibs for a manager.

If he doesn't win the Scottish Cup at the first time of asking, sack him!!!

:wink:

[Onion]

The Hibs hot seat is a tough job.

I think the challenge is underestimated by a lot of folk. We need top drawer talent but can’t afford top drawer contracts.

But most importantly by Rod Petrie. Hopefully he'll be nowhere near the next appointment and will leave the much more capable LD to handle it.

[The 90+2]

But most importantly by Rod Petrie. Hopefully he'll be nowhere near the next appointment and will leave the much more capable LD to handle it.

Why would he be? My opinion is he’s at the club in capacity only to be on the SFA board and look after Sir Toms ££. He is blameless big time.

[proud_and_green]

Thinking back over the Hibs managers I've seen in charge it seems that these days two years is about as long as most last.

The first boss I remember was Turnbull who was in charge for pretty much the whole of the 1970s and as a kid I just kind of assumed he was the permanent manager.

Alex Miller lasted even longer (more than a decade) but between Turnbull and Miller we had Ormond, Auld, Stanton and Blackley and after Miller I think McLeish was the longest serving. Duffy, Williamson, Mowbray, Collins, Mixu, Hughes, Calderwood, Fenlon, Butcher, Stubbs...all were either sacked or lured away after a couple of seasons at most.

Anyone remember any of the mangers pre-Turnbull?

I have to say I was shocked at how many managers we've had, 21 in my time of supporting the cabbage, but 13 since relegation 20 years ago. That is an average of less than 2years each hardly any time to allow the inevitable change associated with a new manager to bed in. That in itself tells its own story and points to stability being key and hopefully the new structure which Leanne has introduced will help to maintain a more even keel even if we do have a similar turnover.

[Hi Heid Yin]

I agree. I think most would say Lennon's hard-hitting comments about Hibs reminding him of a boy band and how they needed to toughen up were well received by most fans. He was as good as his word too and for his first two seasons in charge there's no question we combined good football with a much tougher mindset than that which has so often characterised Hibs teams.

That's why I was surprised it has all unravelled so quickly. Perhaps the loss of guys like McGinn and McGeouch saw us lose more than just good footballers. They are clearly ambitious players and perhaps thrived on the type of 'winner' mentality Lennon tried to instil. Their replacements have perhaps been less up for the challenge and more content to simply be at a relatively big club like Hibs. When you have money to spend, as Lennon did at Celtic, I guess you are able to sign guys who by and large buy into his mindset. With Lennon having been used to that as a player and manager I'm guessing the frustration he felt at not being able to surround himself with like-minded players saw him struggle to keep his emotions in check and from what we can piece together he has pushed things too far.

Spot on!

[Northern Hibby]

We do well they leave "poached", we struggle they leave/sacked "frustrated"

We can't win🤨

[Bob1875]

The commentator for Sunday’s game claimed that Neil Lennon was Hibs longest serving manager since Alex McLeish. Couldn’t believe it when he said that.

[Onion]

We do well they leave "poached", we struggle they leave/sacked "frustrated"

We can't win🤨

In a nutshell :agree:

Hibs are the perfect middle stepping stone for any upwardly mobile manager. The exciting thing about Lennon was that he'd already proven how good a manager he was at Celtic (at the highest level) but was flawed and failed at Bolton - making a quick move to a bigger club unlikely. Any other manager with Lennon's record at Hibs would have been poached last summer.

[IberianHibernian]

Apart from McLeish , not many Hibs managers seem to have done much as first team managers after leaving us . Duffy has had a long managerial career but with smaller clubs , Miller and Calderwood as assistants . Others seem to have failed ( Stubbs , Mowbray perhaps too - I don`t follow English football much so not sure about Mowbray`s post Hibs record ) , retired ( Turnbull , Ormond ) or dropped out of management ( Collins , Fenlon , Franck ) soon after leaving us . Will be interesting to see what happens with Lennon because other Hibs managers who were considered successful didn`t do well later - Turnbull built team which was relegated , Mowbray and Stubbs failed after Hibs . In right job , Lennon should be an exception though I`m not sure what would be right job for him .

[Bangkok Hibby]

Apart from McLeish , not many Hibs managers seem to have done much as first team managers after leaving us . Duffy has had a long managerial career but with smaller clubs , Miller and Calderwood as assistants . Others seem to have failed ( Stubbs , Mowbray perhaps too - I don`t follow English football much so not sure about Mowbray`s post Hibs record ) , retired ( Turnbull , Ormond ) or dropped out of management ( Collins , Fenlon , Franck ) soon after leaving us . Will be interesting to see what happens with Lennon because other Hibs managers who were considered successful didn`t do well later - Turnbull built team which was relegated , Mowbray and Stubbs failed after Hibs . In right job , Lennon should be an exception though I`m not sure what would be right job for him .

Depending on the outcome of the suspension he might struggle to get a job, certainly in this country. Maybe better suited to Turkey or somewhere like that where they're all hot headed.

[Just Jimmy]

Apart from McLeish , not many Hibs managers seem to have done much as first team managers after leaving us . Duffy has had a long managerial career but with smaller clubs , Miller and Calderwood as assistants . Others seem to have failed ( Stubbs , Mowbray perhaps too - I don`t follow English football much so not sure about Mowbray`s post Hibs record ) , retired ( Turnbull , Ormond ) or dropped out of management ( Collins , Fenlon , Franck ) soon after leaving us . Will be interesting to see what happens with Lennon because other Hibs managers who were considered successful didn`t do well later - Turnbull built team which was relegated , Mowbray and Stubbs failed after Hibs . In right job , Lennon should be an exception though I`m not sure what would be right job for him .Mowbray has mixed success. Celtic was a mess but he got west Brom promoted played great football and he's doing well enough at Blackburn now.

yogi won the Scottish cup.

other than that I think you're right. it's not just Hibs, the shelf life for managers in general is grim.

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[Hibbyradge]

I`m not sure what would be right job for him .

If he gets another job, it would be best for all concerned, if it was away from Scotland.

What grinds my gears a bit is this " he won't accept second best" narrative.

Why did he leave Celtc only to join the basket case that was/is Bolton then?

'kin second bottom was about the best they were ever going to achieve.

I thought a great deal of Neil Lennon and I had high hopes for our future under his guidance, but he's gone now so I have no loyalty to him anymore. If he, or his media pals, are going to invent things to kick our club, then they should be called out.

How many times was he sent to the stand since joining Hibs? How many times did he say unwise things in the aftermath of a defeat?

You can be ambitious and stay within the rules. No-one was more ambitious than Alex Ferguson, but he was only sent off once in his entire career at Manchester United ( I think).

When that happened, he said he was embarrassed about it and that he'd try to curb his future behaviour.

Neil Lennon sits smirking about his brushes with authority like a naughty schoolboy who is showing off in front of his impressionable mates, and the press lap it up.

I'm over him, can you tell?