Hibs will have a good team this year and qualify for Europe

[McGruber]

Just putting this out there to be book marked. I know there is positivity on some other threads already and just to add how I see things.

I believe we will go on to have a really good season. We will be pushing hard for 3rd and will finish anywhere between 3rd and 5th. Probably 4th however 3rd not out of reach. We will get better as the season goes, however I believe we will take 4 points from our opening 2 games and won't lose the derby.

I know last season and the league cup has been a *****show and Johnson has done himself no favours with those results and his own errors in going out the cup.

Regardless, we have a good team relative to the league and a bigger squad than last year - backed up by a development team and good youths coming through.

Also expecting 4 players to come in who will likely end up 4 of our better players and that is a massive swing. Those 4 being Youan, Cabraja, new CB & new CM.

Hanlon, Demitri Mitchell and Nisbet also strengthen us so we will be a different animal in couple weeks/months time (& we can pick up points inbetween). Haven't mentioned Magennis as he is not reliable, but would be another big addition if he did get back.

Obviously I'm in for dogs abuse for this optimism but just feel in comparison to other teams in the league we are strong and it will come down to Johnson's management.

For those saying we are rubbish fair enough - though it was widely accepted we had a relatively good team in finishing 3rd 2 seasons ago. That team was largely as follows by appearances:-

Rocky

McGinn/Cadden
Porteous
Hanlon
Doig/Stevenson

Gogic
Newell
Halberg/ Wright/ Murphy/ J. Irvine

Boyle
Nisbet
Doidge

We still have the bones of that team. Infact, there were no tears shed in losing Drey Wright, Murphy, Gogic, Halberg - even McGinn was seen as a squad filler by lots (not me)

Infact we have lost only 3 that were top players in that team - Rocky, Boyle and Doig. Marshall is a good keeper and we have yet to see Cabraja at left back however he is one brought in with pedigree. We haven't replaced Boyle adequately though still to see Youan.

There wasn't a great deal of appearances from anyone else when we finished 3rd.

Add in the options of:-

Melkerson
Henderson
McGeady
Kenneh
Miller
Tavares
Bojang
JDH
Bushiri

(New signings need time, especially more than 45 mins after just touching down in the country)

- I'm tying my colours to the mast at this point when it's easy to get swept away with the immediate poor result and reactions.. Strong season, 3rd or 4th and Europe coming up.

Oh.. & I like Ron Gordon, delighted he is here

[Greenbeard]

Melkerso isn't the finished article. Something missing.

[McGruber]

Melkerso isn't the finished article. Something missing.

Sorry, hit submit button mid type

[blackpoolhibs]

Just putting this out there to be book marked. I know there is positivity on some other threads already and just to add how I see things.

I believe we will go on to have a really good season. We will be pushing hard for 3rd and will finish anywhere between 3rd and 5th. Probably 4th however 3rd not out of reach. We will get better as the season goes, however I believe we will take 4 points from our opening 2 games and won't lose the derby.

I know last season and the league cup has been a *****show and Johnson has done himself no favours with those results and his own errors in going out the cup.

Regardless, we have a good team relative to the league and a bigger squad than last year - backed up by a development team and good youths coming through.

Also expecting 4 players to come in who will likely end up 4 of our better players and that is a massive swing. Those 4 being Youan, Cabraja, new CB & new CM.

Hanlon, Demitri Mitchell and Nisbet also strengthen us so we will be a different animal in couple weeks/months time (& we can pick up points inbetween). Haven't mentioned Magennis as he is not reliable, but would be another big addition if he did get back.

Obviously I'm in for dogs abuse for this optimism but just feel in comparison to other teams in the league we are strong and it will come down to Johnson's management.

For those saying we are rubbish fair enough - though it was widely accepted we had a relatively good team in finishing 3rd 2 seasons ago. That team was largely as follows by appearances:-

Rocky

McGinn/Cadden
Porteous
Hanlon
Doig/Stevenson

Gogic
Newell
Halberg/ Wright/ Murphy/ J. Irvine

Boyle
Nisbet
Doidge

We still have the bones of that team. Infact, there were no tears shed in losing Drey Wright, Murphy, Gogic, Halberg - even McGinn was seen as a squad filler by lots (not me)

Infact we have lost only 3 that were top players in that team - Rocky, Boyle and Doig. Marshall is a good keeper and we have yet to see Cabraja at left back however he is one brought in with pedigree. We haven't replaced Boyle adequately though still to see Youan.

There wasn't a great deal of appearances from anyone else when we finished 3rd.

Add in the options of:-

Melkerson
Henderson
McGeady
Kenneh
Miller
Tavares
Bojang
JDH
Bushiri

(New signings need time, especially more than 45 mins after just touching down in the country)

- I'm tying my colours to the mast at this point when it's easy to get swept away with the immediate poor result and reqctions.. Strong season, 3rd or 4th and Europe coming up.

Oh.. & I like Ron Gordon, delighted he is here

I hope you are right. :thumbsup:

[Libby Hibby]

Just putting this out there to be book marked. I know there is positivity on some other threads already and just to add how I see things.

I believe we will go on to have a really good season. We will be pushing hard for 3rd and will finish anywhere between 3rd and 5th. Probably 4th however 3rd not out of reach. We will get better as the season goes, however I believe we will take 4 points from our opening 2 games and won't lose the derby.

I know last season and the league cup has been a *****show and Johnson has done himself no favours with those results and his own errors in going out the cup.

Regardless, we have a good team relative to the league and a bigger squad than last year - backed up by a development team and good youths coming through.

Also expecting 4 players to come in who will likely end up 4 of our better players and that is a massive swing. Those 4 being Youan, Cabraja, new CB & new CM.

Hanlon, Demitri Mitchell and Nisbet also strengthen us so we will be a different animal in couple weeks/months time (& we can pick up points inbetween). Haven't mentioned Magennis as he is not reliable, but would be another big addition if he did get back.

Obviously I'm in for dogs abuse for this optimism but just feel in comparison to other teams in the league we are strong and it will come down to Johnson's management.

For those saying we are rubbish fair enough - though it was widely accepted we had a relatively good team in finishing 3rd 2 seasons ago. That team was largely as follows by appearances:-

Rocky

McGinn/Cadden
Porteous
Hanlon
Doig/Stevenson

Gogic
Newell
Halberg/ Wright/ Murphy/ J. Irvine

Boyle
Nisbet
Doidge

We still have the bones of that team. Infact, there were no tears shed in losing Drey Wright, Murphy, Gogic, Halberg - even McGinn was seen as a squad filler by lots (not me)

Infact we have lost only 3 that were top players in that team - Rocky, Boyle and Doig. Marshall is a good keeper and we have yet to see Cabraja at left back however he is one brought in with pedigree. We haven't replaced Boyle adequately though still to see Youan.

There wasn't a great deal of appearances from anyone else when we finished 3rd.

Add in the options of:-

Melkerson
Henderson
McGeady
Kenneh
Miller
Tavares
Bojang
JDH
Bushiri

(New signings need time, especially more than 45 mins after just touching down in the country)

- I'm tying my colours to the mast at this point when it's easy to get swept away with the immediate poor result and reqctions.. Strong season, 3rd or 4th and Europe coming up.

Oh.. & I like Ron Gordon, delighted he is here

Fingers crossed. I share your sentiments regarding Ron, very likeable chap, infectious and genuinely wants Hibs to do well.

[Coco Bryce]

Just putting this out there to be book marked. I know there is positivity on some other threads already and just to add how I see things.

I believe we will go on to have a really good season. We will be pushing hard for 3rd and will finish anywhere between 3rd and 5th. Probably 4th however 3rd not out of reach. We will get better as the season goes, however I believe we will take 4 points from our opening 2 games and won't lose the derby.

I know last season and the league cup has been a *****show and Johnson has done himself no favours with those results and his own errors in going out the cup.

Regardless, we have a good team relative to the league and a bigger squad than last year - backed up by a development team and good youths coming through.

Also expecting 4 players to come in who will likely end up 4 of our better players and that is a massive swing. Those 4 being Youan, Cabraja, new CB & new CM.

Hanlon, Demitri Mitchell and Nisbet also strengthen us so we will be a different animal in couple weeks/months time (& we can pick up points inbetween). Haven't mentioned Magennis as he is not reliable, but would be another big addition if he did get back.

Obviously I'm in for dogs abuse for this optimism but just feel in comparison to other teams in the league we are strong and it will come down to Johnson's management.

For those saying we are rubbish fair enough - though it was widely accepted we had a relatively good team in finishing 3rd 2 seasons ago. That team was largely as follows by appearances:-

Rocky

McGinn/Cadden
Porteous
Hanlon
Doig/Stevenson

Gogic
Newell
Halberg/ Wright/ Murphy/ J. Irvine

Boyle
Nisbet
Doidge

We still have the bones of that team. Infact, there were no tears shed in losing Drey Wright, Murphy, Gogic, Halberg - even McGinn was seen as a squad filler by lots (not me)

Infact we have lost only 3 that were top players in that team - Rocky, Boyle and Doig. Marshall is a good keeper and we have yet to see Cabraja at left back however he is one brought in with pedigree. We haven't replaced Boyle adequately though still to see Youan.

There wasn't a great deal of appearances from anyone else when we finished 3rd.

Add in the options of:-

Melkerson
Henderson
McGeady
Kenneh
Miller
Tavares
Bojang
JDH
Bushiri

(New signings need time, especially more than 45 mins after just touching down in the country)

- I'm tying my colours to the mast at this point when it's easy to get swept away with the immediate poor result and reactions.. Strong season, 3rd or 4th and Europe coming up.

Oh.. & I like Ron Gordon, delighted he is here

We all hope you are right but you have clearly been on the sauce all night 😀

[Pretty Boy]

I foresee a pretty inconsistent season.

I think there will be 2 or 3 games spells where we think we have cracked it and all get a bit excited then the same where we look awful and the predictions of doom come about. I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see a last 10 form table read WWWLLLLWWW at some point in the season. Lack of strength in depth and a lot of inexperience are the big issues that will bring that about imo.

If we have more of the good spells than the bad then I can us finishing 4th or 5th, more of the latter and it could be 7th or 8th. There are just so many unknowns, even comparative to what you would usually expect at the start of a new season.

A couple of additions between now and the end of the window could well change my opinion but I expect inconsistency and huge variations in performance level.

30 years of watching Hibs condensed into 38 games essentially.

[H18 SFR]

I genuinely believe we are capable of 50-55 points. We will be knocking on the door of Europe.

[IberianHibernian]

With so many new players and some not available yet I'm not expecting us to do well in first round of fixtures but I expect us to climb table and be in a comfortable top 6 position by the end of second round. Last season despite horrendous luck with injuries we were 1 goal off going into split 4th.

[zitelli62]

Just putting this out there to be book marked. I know there is positivity on some other threads already and just to add how I see things.

I believe we will go on to have a really good season. We will be pushing hard for 3rd and will finish anywhere between 3rd and 5th. Probably 4th however 3rd not out of reach. We will get better as the season goes, however I believe we will take 4 points from our opening 2 games and won't lose the derby.

I know last season and the league cup has been a *****show and Johnson has done himself no favours with those results and his own errors in going out the cup.

Regardless, we have a good team relative to the league and a bigger squad than last year - backed up by a development team and good youths coming through.

Also expecting 4 players to come in who will likely end up 4 of our better players and that is a massive swing. Those 4 being Youan, Cabraja, new CB & new CM.

Hanlon, Demitri Mitchell and Nisbet also strengthen us so we will be a different animal in couple weeks/months time (& we can pick up points inbetween). Haven't mentioned Magennis as he is not reliable, but would be another big addition if he did get back.

Obviously I'm in for dogs abuse for this optimism but just feel in comparison to other teams in the league we are strong and it will come down to Johnson's management.

For those saying we are rubbish fair enough - though it was widely accepted we had a relatively good team in finishing 3rd 2 seasons ago. That team was largely as follows by appearances:-

Rocky

McGinn/Cadden
Porteous
Hanlon
Doig/Stevenson

Gogic
Newell
Halberg/ Wright/ Murphy/ J. Irvine

Boyle
Nisbet
Doidge

We still have the bones of that team. Infact, there were no tears shed in losing Drey Wright, Murphy, Gogic, Halberg - even McGinn was seen as a squad filler by lots (not me)

Infact we have lost only 3 that were top players in that team - Rocky, Boyle and Doig. Marshall is a good keeper and we have yet to see Cabraja at left back however he is one brought in with pedigree. We haven't replaced Boyle adequately though still to see Youan.

There wasn't a great deal of appearances from anyone else when we finished 3rd.

Add in the options of:-

Melkerson
Henderson
McGeady
Kenneh
Miller
Tavares
Bojang
JDH
Bushiri

(New signings need time, especially more than 45 mins after just touching down in the country)

- I'm tying my colours to the mast at this point when it's easy to get swept away with the immediate poor result and reactions.. Strong season, 3rd or 4th and Europe coming up.

Oh.. & I like Ron Gordon, delighted he is here

Agree with all of that noisy neighbours have 2 games a week till Xmas they will struggle with that, Aberdeen similar to hibs lots of new players, all the other teams don't know much about there transfer business.
Hibs 3rd for me by at least 5 to 10 points.

GGTTH

[One Day Soon]

Agree with all of that noisy neighbours have 2 games a week till Xmas they will struggle with that, Aberdeen similar to hibs lots of new players, all the other teams don't know much about there transfer business.
Hibs 3rd for me by at least 5 to 10 points.

GGTTH

3rd by 5 to 10 points? Absolutely no chance. We have way too many issues to fix to achieve that kind of consistency in one season. Just for one thing, our squad is pretty big now and with the number of bright young things we are hoping to develop its difficult to see how they are all going to get the game time they need to develop and to make us stronger at the same time.

[Franck Stanton]

Add a midfield general, decent c/h & will be challenging for 3rd.
Failure to get those two positions, well, top 6 will be a struggle. FHOM

[HIBS NUTS]

Im usually quite possitive, but at the moment we are miles away from top 4 unless we make some important big signings, and the new signings turn out to be good.
Effectively we have the same players as last year, who were poor, with lots of unknowns.
All our great youngsters, won’t be playing anytime soon.

[Vini1875]

We are short a galvanising player, one in the midfield who can drag the rest forward, who can lift the players around him, a proper leader. We have decent players, but who is the leader? Granted these guys are thin on the ground anywhere, but we need something to mould this team and lift the standard when things get tough.

The team as it is at the moment is going to take time to get going I fear.

[Paulie Walnuts]

We are short a galvanising player, one in the midfield who can drag the rest forward, who can lift the players around him, a proper leader. We have decent players, but who is the leader? Granted these guys are thin on the ground anywhere, but we need something to mould this team and lift the standard when things get tough.

The team as it is at the moment is going to take time to get going I fear.

That’s exactly what we need in midfield imo. Our midfield is full of absolute safety and nobody in it has any stand out attributes. We also have nobody with any real drive and physicality in there.

Magennis made a difference last season but I’m past expecting anything from him. Greg Doherty provided it for 8 games and obviously before that John McGinn provided it in spades. Scott brown also used to provide it.

It’s no coincidence that between Brown and McGinn we didn’t have it and we were crap and it’s no surprise we’ve generally been crap since McGinn left but have done alright when Docherty was here and Magennis was up to speed.

We simply need that style of player if we want to be succesful imo and as it stands there’s not one at the club that we can expect to actually play so we need to go out and get one.

With a signing like that we could be up there. Without it I don’t think we will be.

[Since452]

I agree

[Mrimbetween]

Re the OP, please there is nothing to suggest your take at this moment in time

I think we will beat Saints but the acid test is after

Wait and see mm

[Wilson]

Re the OP, please there is nothing to suggest your take at this moment in time

I think we will beat Saints but the acid test is after

Wait and see mm

Nothing wrong with a bit of positivity.

We've seen coaches get off to a great start and fall away. Heckingbottom. Maloney. A great start doesn't necessarily mean success.

The league cup has been a disaster. However, in a similar vein, early season results don't decide your final league placing.

We've got work to do. Post Maloney things have been chaotic. Established players out young players in. But out of chaos comes order. We're still looking for that order. For things to click. For leaders to emerge within a changed squad.

Only Henderson has stepped up so far imo and we need others to do likewise. When things click we'll do okay.

[BS44]

Agreed.

[Potty78]

After the league standings last year 4th should be the minimum with our squad. Couple of experience in the squad as in midfield and defence we'll be fine. Our fans are a tough lot to keep happy ( me included) if we get off to a bad start we have to stick with it, it will click in my opinion 🤞

[Mrimbetween]

Nothing wrong with a bit of positivity.

We've seen coaches get off to a great start and fall away. Heckingbottom. Maloney. A great start doesn't necessarily mean success.

The league cup has been a disaster. However, in a similar vein, early season results don't decide your final league placing.

We've got work to do. Post Maloney things have been chaotic. Established players out young players in. But out of chaos comes order. We're still looking for that order. For things to click. For leaders to emerge within a changed squad.

Only Henderson has stepped up so far imo and we need others to do likewise. When things click we'll do okay.
Like

[Turkish Green]

Just putting this out there to be book marked. I know there is positivity on some other threads already and just to add how I see things.

I believe we will go on to have a really good season. We will be pushing hard for 3rd and will finish anywhere between 3rd and 5th. Probably 4th however 3rd not out of reach. We will get better as the season goes, however I believe we will take 4 points from our opening 2 games and won't lose the derby.

I know last season and the league cup has been a *****show and Johnson has done himself no favours with those results and his own errors in going out the cup.

Regardless, we have a good team relative to the league and a bigger squad than last year - backed up by a development team and good youths coming through.

Also expecting 4 players to come in who will likely end up 4 of our better players and that is a massive swing. Those 4 being Youan, Cabraja, new CB & new CM.

Hanlon, Demitri Mitchell and Nisbet also strengthen us so we will be a different animal in couple weeks/months time (& we can pick up points inbetween). Haven't mentioned Magennis as he is not reliable, but would be another big addition if he did get back.

Obviously I'm in for dogs abuse for this optimism but just feel in comparison to other teams in the league we are strong and it will come down to Johnson's management.

For those saying we are rubbish fair enough - though it was widely accepted we had a relatively good team in finishing 3rd 2 seasons ago. That team was largely as follows by appearances:-

Rocky

McGinn/Cadden
Porteous
Hanlon
Doig/Stevenson

Gogic
Newell
Halberg/ Wright/ Murphy/ J. Irvine

Boyle
Nisbet
Doidge

We still have the bones of that team. Infact, there were no tears shed in losing Drey Wright, Murphy, Gogic, Halberg - even McGinn was seen as a squad filler by lots (not me)

Infact we have lost only 3 that were top players in that team - Rocky, Boyle and Doig. Marshall is a good keeper and we have yet to see Cabraja at left back however he is one brought in with pedigree. We haven't replaced Boyle adequately though still to see Youan.

There wasn't a great deal of appearances from anyone else when we finished 3rd.

Add in the options of:-

Melkerson
Henderson
McGeady
Kenneh
Miller
Tavares
Bojang
JDH
Bushiri

(New signings need time, especially more than 45 mins after just touching down in the country)

- I'm tying my colours to the mast at this point when it's easy to get swept away with the immediate poor result and reactions.. Strong season, 3rd or 4th and Europe coming up.

Oh.. & I like Ron Gordon, delighted he is here

i applaud your positivity. It's sadly not where my head is following our pre-season KO. A Top 6 finish with 4th being the goal but depends how Utd and Dons faired in recruitment.

[degenerated]

Nothing wrong with a bit of positivity.

We've seen coaches get off to a great start and fall away. Heckingbottom. Maloney. A great start doesn't necessarily mean success.

The league cup has been a disaster. However, in a similar vein, early season results don't decide your final league placing.

We've got work to do. Post Maloney things have been chaotic. Established players out young players in. But out of chaos comes order. We're still looking for that order. For things to click. For leaders to emerge within a changed squad.

Only Henderson has stepped up so far imo and we need others to do likewise. When things click we'll do okay.Exactly. It's not been a great start and getting knocked out the league cup so early is not good. We can and we will come back from this, was it over when the Germans bombed pearl harbour?

Let's try getting behind the team and giving them some support, it might just help.

[King conrad]

Just putting this out there to be book marked. I know there is positivity on some other threads already and just to add how I see things.

I believe we will go on to have a really good season. We will be pushing hard for 3rd and will finish anywhere between 3rd and 5th. Probably 4th however 3rd not out of reach. We will get better as the season goes, however I believe we will take 4 points from our opening 2 games and won't lose the derby.

I know last season and the league cup has been a *****show and Johnson has done himself no favours with those results and his own errors in going out the cup.

Regardless, we have a good team relative to the league and a bigger squad than last year - backed up by a development team and good youths coming through.

Also expecting 4 players to come in who will likely end up 4 of our better players and that is a massive swing. Those 4 being Youan, Cabraja, new CB & new CM.

Hanlon, Demitri Mitchell and Nisbet also strengthen us so we will be a different animal in couple weeks/months time (& we can pick up points inbetween). Haven't mentioned Magennis as he is not reliable, but would be another big addition if he did get back.

Obviously I'm in for dogs abuse for this optimism but just feel in comparison to other teams in the league we are strong and it will come down to Johnson's management.

For those saying we are rubbish fair enough - though it was widely accepted we had a relatively good team in finishing 3rd 2 seasons ago. That team was largely as follows by appearances:-

Rocky

McGinn/Cadden
Porteous
Hanlon
Doig/Stevenson

Gogic
Newell
Halberg/ Wright/ Murphy/ J. Irvine

Boyle
Nisbet
Doidge

We still have the bones of that team. Infact, there were no tears shed in losing Drey Wright, Murphy, Gogic, Halberg - even McGinn was seen as a squad filler by lots (not me)

Infact we have lost only 3 that were top players in that team - Rocky, Boyle and Doig. Marshall is a good keeper and we have yet to see Cabraja at left back however he is one brought in with pedigree. We haven't replaced Boyle adequately though still to see Youan.

There wasn't a great deal of appearances from anyone else when we finished 3rd.

Add in the options of:-

Melkerson
Henderson
McGeady
Kenneh
Miller
Tavares
Bojang
JDH
Bushiri

(New signings need time, especially more than 45 mins after just touching down in the country)

- I'm tying my colours to the mast at this point when it's easy to get swept away with the immediate poor result and reactions.. Strong season, 3rd or 4th and Europe coming up.

Oh.. & I like Ron Gordon, delighted he is here


Love your optimism but i have real fear for Hibs this season , I think we are well short of quality in midfield and look very average so far. I hope i am wrong and the players go on to prove me wrong but i can't see it.
Too much focus on development players when we need a real boost of quality in the 1st team.

[Baldy Foghorn]

I still think we will have a good season, league cup aside, there is the makings of a decent squad, with hopefully a couple more over the line to bolster us, I have a good feeling about us.

[Glory Lurker]

Just say no, kids.

[Ronniekirk]

It’s far to early to k ow if we can challenge for top four imo
I am taking the manager at his word which is it will be the second quarter of league games before he has his best team on the match all match fit
Even at that Nisbet and Mcgennis are unlikely to be in that team Although hopefully by the end of the second quarter
A lot could hinge on the next two or three signings and how the new players have gelled
And players like Miller and the young guy from Leeds need to me adjusting snd Learning quickly
But Doidge looks increasingly like he ain’t going to get back to his best and If that were to happen to Nisbet we are asking a lot of the new young forward s
It will be interesting to see how we go But am prepared for a bumpy ride especially in first derby of the season

[Mcbizz1998]

Can’t see if unfortunately. Hope I’m wrong.

[Sir David Gray]

Nothing wrong with a bit of positivity.

We've seen coaches get off to a great start and fall away. Heckingbottom. Maloney. A great start doesn't necessarily mean success.

The league cup has been a disaster. However, in a similar vein, early season results don't decide your final league placing.

We've got work to do. Post Maloney things have been chaotic. Established players out young players in. But out of chaos comes order. We're still looking for that order. For things to click. For leaders to emerge within a changed squad.

Only Henderson has stepped up so far imo and we need others to do likewise. When things click we'll do okay.

You're correct in that early season form doesn't necessarily decide final league placings but it does give a decent indication.

Since the group stages were introduced in 2016/17 Premiership sides have failed to qualify for the last 16 on 11 occasions up to last season.

The average league placing for those sides who have failed to qualify from the group stage is between 8th and 9th place and no team has ever finished higher than 6th after failing to qualify from their League Cup group.

It will be interesting to see if we can buck that trend this season.

[IberianHibernian]

Last season there was no real difference between 4th and 10th . We could easily have finished 4th or 5th and made Europe and could easily have finished 10th . In 2021 we weren`t challenged for 3rd , the same for Hearts last season . Hopefully this season will be a bit more exciting like 2017 / 18 when Killie and us were fighting for high places right to the end . Will be a strange season with World Cup break which probably won`t favour us as we`ve only got 16 league games before it while Hearts for example will benefit from break after same number of league games plus 8 European matches and 1 ( maybe 2 ) LC matches .

[Is It On....]

After the league standings last year 4th should be the minimum with our squad. Couple of experience in the squad as in midfield and defence we'll be fine. Our fans are a tough lot to keep happy ( me included) if we get off to a bad start we have to stick with it, it will click in my opinion 🤞

I think that 4th is the best we can expect as Shankland all but guarantees them 3rd. Obviously hoping for something better but just can't see it.

[LewysGot2]

I think that 4th is the best we can expect as Shankland all but guarantees them 3rd. Obviously hoping for something better but just can't see it.

It's no Haaland they've signed 😉

[loanheadhibby]

Just putting this out there to be book marked. I know there is positivity on some other threads already and just to add how I see things.

I believe we will go on to have a really good season. We will be pushing hard for 3rd and will finish anywhere between 3rd and 5th. Probably 4th however 3rd not out of reach. We will get better as the season goes, however I believe we will take 4 points from our opening 2 games and won't lose the derby.

I know last season and the league cup has been a *****show and Johnson has done himself no favours with those results and his own errors in going out the cup.

Regardless, we have a good team relative to the league and a bigger squad than last year - backed up by a development team and good youths coming through.

Also expecting 4 players to come in who will likely end up 4 of our better players and that is a massive swing. Those 4 being Youan, Cabraja, new CB & new CM.

Hanlon, Demitri Mitchell and Nisbet also strengthen us so we will be a different animal in couple weeks/months time (& we can pick up points inbetween). Haven't mentioned Magennis as he is not reliable, but would be another big addition if he did get back.

Obviously I'm in for dogs abuse for this optimism but just feel in comparison to other teams in the league we are strong and it will come down to Johnson's management.

For those saying we are rubbish fair enough - though it was widely accepted we had a relatively good team in finishing 3rd 2 seasons ago. That team was largely as follows by appearances:-

Rocky

McGinn/Cadden
Porteous
Hanlon
Doig/Stevenson

Gogic
Newell
Halberg/ Wright/ Murphy/ J. Irvine

Boyle
Nisbet
Doidge

We still have the bones of that team. Infact, there were no tears shed in losing Drey Wright, Murphy, Gogic, Halberg - even McGinn was seen as a squad filler by lots (not me)

Infact we have lost only 3 that were top players in that team - Rocky, Boyle and Doig. Marshall is a good keeper and we have yet to see Cabraja at left back however he is one brought in with pedigree. We haven't replaced Boyle adequately though still to see Youan.

There wasn't a great deal of appearances from anyone else when we finished 3rd.

Add in the options of:-

Melkerson
Henderson
McGeady
Kenneh
Miller
Tavares
Bojang
JDH
Bushiri

(New signings need time, especially more than 45 mins after just touching down in the country)

- I'm tying my colours to the mast at this point when it's easy to get swept away with the immediate poor result and reactions.. Strong season, 3rd or 4th and Europe coming up.

Oh.. & I like Ron Gordon, delighted he is here
I also hope you're right but on and off the park we appear to be a shambles so your optimism seems to be more in hope.
Fingers crossed for a good season.

[IberianHibernian]

I think that 4th is the best we can expect as Shankland all but guarantees them 3rd. Obviously hoping for something better but just can't see it.Why ? He failed in Belgium , he failed in his only season in top league in Scotland and there doesn`t seem to have been any interest from English teams in any divisions . If we`d signed him before he went to Belgium I suspect most Hibs fans would have been highly doubtful about signing . He won`t have been cheap ( transfer fee or wages ) by non OF standards and is surely a perfect example of why we decided to focus on devt team for at least 2 or 3 years rather than sign overpriced Scottish player of limited ability or ordinary player from lower English divisions at inflated prices . If Shankland scores 20 goals next season who`ll be interested in signing him ? OF if available at a low price to weaken Hearts or a 3rd tier English side . If Melkerson scores 15 , we`ll have offers of several million to consider given age , talent etc

[coldingham hibs]

Can’t see us anywhere near a European spot, I’m always a glass half empty type of guy and although I’d love to see us compete at the top end of the table I think we will be lucky to avoid relegation. That said, we still have time for a couple of big hitting signings which might sway my opinion. Sorry but I haven’t seen any signs that we are better than Championship level. Hope I’m wrong.

[SHODAN]

hibs.net is too positive these days, no like it used to be.

In all seriousness, I'm predicting high bottom six. Nothing to suggest improvement.

[Niagara Lad]

Exactly. It's not been a great start and getting knocked out the league cup so early is not good. We can and we will come back from this, was it over when the Germans bombed pearl harbour?

Let's try getting behind the team and giving them some support, it might just help.
Germans ? Forget it he’s rolling.

[theonlywayisup]

Nothing wrong with being positive, after all theonlywayisup.

However, I'm not getting it at the moment. We're miles away from being able to compete with last season's top three. How we then compete against the rest is an unknown for me, as I don't know how they've improved or not compared to last season. However, for us, I'm concerned about the recruitment situation. We desperately need a couple of experienced professionals (and leaders) in midfield and same again in central defence.

[broondog]

Like

Agree with most of what the OP said, nothing wrong with being positive as there’s far too many on here who seem to thrive when we lose matches, get a grip ffs. While it’s embarrassing the way we went out the cup it was down to an admin error and doesn’t reflect on the team. I do think we have made some decent signings and have no fear from our rivals for European places. I think we will end up getting third for a few reasons one main one being squad depth.

I don’t see Aberdeen as a threat and think they look worse than last season although they will end up being our main challengers for Europe. Hearts play in Europe until Christmas and won’t be able to handle that. They are far worse than last year where luck was very much on their side and I didn’t see anything which suggests they will have that kind of luck again. They re signing failed players in this league like shankland and can’t rely on the Everton lad they had last year anymore. Their best centre back has moved on and they are replacing these guys with nobodies

[SlickShoes]

Nothing wrong with being positive, after all theonlywayisup.

However, I'm not getting it at the moment. We're miles away from being able to compete with last season's top three. How we then compete against the rest is an unknown for me, as I don't know how they've improved or not compared to last season. However, for us, I'm concerned about the recruitment situation. We desperately need a couple of experienced professionals (and leaders) in midfield and same again in central defence.

We are and always will be miles away from Rangers and Celtic. I don't think there is much between everyone else, I think there is a good chance for a team to finish third we arent expecting, Livi, Dundee UTD, Killie.

As we saw last season even when we were absolutely turgid we were 1 win away from top 4 for ages. If we have even 1 consistently good period on the season we will probably finish in the top half.

I have watched some of the other teams in pre season and league cup and there is nothing to suggest they are miles ahead of us.

[Big_Franck]

Agree with most of what the OP said, nothing wrong with being positive as there’s far too many on here who seem to thrive when we lose matches, get a grip ffs. While it’s embarrassing the way we went out the cup it was down to an admin error and doesn’t reflect on the team. I do think we have made some decent signings and have no fear from our rivals for European places. I think we will end up getting third for a few reasons one main one being squad depth.

I don’t see Aberdeen as a threat and think they look worse than last season although they will end up being our main challengers for Europe. Hearts play in Europe until Christmas and won’t be able to handle that. They are far worse than last year where luck was very much on their side and I didn’t see anything which suggests they will have that kind of luck again. They re signing failed players in this league like shankland and can’t rely on the Everton lad they had last year anymore. Their best centre back has moved on and they are replacing these guys with nobodies

We didn't go out of the League cup because of an admin error. We went out because we were extremely poor against lower division sides who were also still signing players and getting their squads up to speed. Even if the draw against Morton had stood we wouldn't have qualified.

[Smartie]

I'm not expecting us to have a good team or to get into Europe this year.

Too many obvious deficiencies in the team and too many players who are raw projects.

I do think that if we keep the heid we could have a very good team in 2-3 years time.

This is a bit like Bobby Williamson's days. The youngsters are being blooded and are finding their way. We'll be better for giving them the chance to develop free from being howled at constantly.

It's not necessarily what we're being sold by Ron, but I'm not all that unhappy with it tbh.

[WestStandWillie]

I think that 4th is the best we can expect as Shankland all but guarantees them 3rd. Obviously hoping for something better but just can't see it.

Over hyped player is Shankland.

He had 1 season in this league, didn't hit double figures.

Prolific in the lower leagues but will be up against better defenders.

[degenerated]

Germans ? Forget it he’s rolling.:hilarious

[matty_f]

I think we’ll finish strongly so whether or not we can qualify for Europe depends heavily on how the team at it is now performs through to Christmas. I think if we’re top 6 at that point then we’ll have a good run through to the end of the season and unless whoever is above us match it, then Europe shouldn’t be beyond us.

I’m not convinced the team that will start the season on Saturday is top 6 level right now, though.

[hibbyfraelibby]

I think many are forgetting that Hibernian FC actually qualified for Europe this season...

[neil7908]

Our recruitment over the next couple of weeks is critical. If we sign 2-3 quality first team players then I will be joining the OP in his optimism.

Right now I still think we look weak at the back and the midfield is pretty much the same one as last year.

I think we'll struggle the first few games and it will be down to whether or not guys like Youan, the new LB and any new signings can make a difference.

[neil7908]

hibs.net is too positive these days, no like it used to be.

In all seriousness, I'm predicting high bottom six. Nothing to suggest improvement.

We are yoyoing from optimistic to pessimistic based on the last result.

This place has long been called too negative but I think there is an element of the support who, for noble reasons of course, will look for any shoots of progress to declare the season ahead will be a success.

But our overall form has been poor over summer. Add that to our injury list and I think we are in for a tough time ahead.

But we still have time to improve the squad and get in the players we've been waiting for work permits.

[7 Up]

We're not as bad a team as the League Cup debacle suggests but I'd be astonished if we're anywhere near 3rd.

[NAE NOOKIE]

For me this is all about whether or not the manager can find a good and consistent squad of 16 players out of the 30 odd or whatever it is first team contenders he has to work with ..... hopefully by the time the window closes that will include a new experienced centre half and a dynamic midfield player.

What does give cause for optimism is the performance of Doidge yesterday, he won practically every header against a physical Norwich team and looked more like his old self and the performance of a number of youngsters who didn't look out of their depth in the least against some pretty athletic looking English championship players.

Based on not very much evidence I have high hopes for Youan who from the brief view I've had of him looks quick and strong and set up for this league.

In short we have the makings of a decent team somewhere in there, the big question is over whether LJ will be brave or confident enough to give a chance to some of what is clearly a talented group of youngsters or whether he will stick by and large with what we had last season.

I still haven't got a clue how we'll get on in all honesty .... we could find a blend of youth and experience that will churn out a super team to watch that wins more than it loses, or we might simply huff and puff trying to find the right team and get nowhere.

[worcesterhibby]

Just putting this out there to be book marked. I know there is positivity on some other threads already and just to add how I see things.

I believe we will go on to have a really good season. We will be pushing hard for 3rd and will finish anywhere between 3rd and 5th. Probably 4th however 3rd not out of reach. We will get better as the season goes, however I believe we will take 4 points from our opening 2 games and won't lose the derby.

I know last season and the league cup has been a *****show and Johnson has done himself no favours with those results and his own errors in going out the cup.

Regardless, we have a good team relative to the league and a bigger squad than last year - backed up by a development team and good youths coming through.

Also expecting 4 players to come in who will likely end up 4 of our better players and that is a massive swing. Those 4 being Youan, Cabraja, new CB & new CM.

Hanlon, Demitri Mitchell and Nisbet also strengthen us so we will be a different animal in couple weeks/months time (& we can pick up points inbetween). Haven't mentioned Magennis as he is not reliable, but would be another big addition if he did get back.

Obviously I'm in for dogs abuse for this optimism but just feel in comparison to other teams in the league we are strong and it will come down to Johnson's management.

For those saying we are rubbish fair enough - though it was widely accepted we had a relatively good team in finishing 3rd 2 seasons ago. That team was largely as follows by appearances:-

Rocky

McGinn/Cadden
Porteous
Hanlon
Doig/Stevenson

Gogic
Newell
Halberg/ Wright/ Murphy/ J. Irvine

Boyle
Nisbet
Doidge

We still have the bones of that team. Infact, there were no tears shed in losing Drey Wright, Murphy, Gogic, Halberg - even McGinn was seen as a squad filler by lots (not me)

Infact we have lost only 3 that were top players in that team - Rocky, Boyle and Doig. Marshall is a good keeper and we have yet to see Cabraja at left back however he is one brought in with pedigree. We haven't replaced Boyle adequately though still to see Youan.

There wasn't a great deal of appearances from anyone else when we finished 3rd.

Add in the options of:-

Melkerson
Henderson
McGeady
Kenneh
Miller
Tavares
Bojang
JDH
Bushiri

(New signings need time, especially more than 45 mins after just touching down in the country)

- I'm tying my colours to the mast at this point when it's easy to get swept away with the immediate poor result and reactions.. Strong season, 3rd or 4th and Europe coming up.

Oh.. & I like Ron Gordon, delighted he is here


More of this sort of thing !! :hibees

[Since452]

I think that 4th is the best we can expect as Shankland all but guarantees them 3rd. Obviously hoping for something better but just can't see it.

Shankland is a poor mans Doidge.

[NAE NOOKIE]

Shankland is a poor mans Doidge.

Scored twice for Hertz against Stoke on Saturday ... just sayin' like.

[MWHIBBIES]

Scored twice for Hertz against Stoke on Saturday ... just sayin' like.

He's always been good against championship clubs.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Shankland is a poor mans Doidge.

I’d swap the two in a second if I’m honest.

Really wanted us to go for Shankland and unfortunately I suspect he’ll do well at Hearts.

[ian cruise]

Not sure we'll qualify for Europe, my thoughts are we'll be very hot and cold until Dec and finish the season strong. This should give a good platform for a very strong next season.

Painful for ourselves after just having to put up with a poor season, so the key is having players looking like they're trying to win games and playing attractive football. That will give the management team time to build.

This is pretty much 2014 all over again. It took Stubbs a couple of seasons to build his team, and he still had his critics, but that was the bedrock for the following year's league finishes and Cup runs.

[Mick O'Rourke]

Exactly. It's not been a start and getting knocked out the league cup so early is not good. We can and we will come back from this, was it over when the Germans bombed pearl harbour?

Let's try getting behind the team and giving them some support, it might just help.

I fancy they luftwaffe gadjies might have bombed Pearl and Dean offices in Picadilly
Honolulu is awfy far away :greengrin

But yes, I liked what i saw yesterday
Heres hoping the season is not marred by the bad luck we have had recently re injuries/ long lay offs for some players

Optimistic Mic :cb

[Putty_07]

Last season there was no real difference between 4th and 10th . We could easily have finished 4th or 5th and made Europe and could easily have finished 10th . In 2021 we weren`t challenged for 3rd , the same for Hearts last season . Hopefully this season will be a bit more exciting like 2017 / 18 when Killie and us were fighting for high places right to the end . Will be a strange season with World Cup break which probably won`t favour us as we`ve only got 16 league games before it while Hearts for example will benefit from break after same number of league games plus 8 European matches and 1 ( maybe 2 ) LC matches .

watching us on Sunday I was impressed with the way we passed it around against a good English side , we have a great squad , and we should be optimistic about catching the yams, they are bang average.

:flag::flag:

[loanheadhibby]

I think we’ll finish strongly so whether or not we can qualify for Europe depends heavily on how the team at it is now performs through to Christmas. I think if we’re top 6 at that point then we’ll have a good run through to the end of the season and unless whoever is above us match it, then Europe shouldn’t be beyond us.

I’m not convinced the team that will start the season on Saturday is top 6 level right now, though.

What makes you think we'll finish strongly?

[matty_f]

What makes you think we'll finish strongly?

I think it’ll take players like Youan, Bojang, Tavares, Miller etc time to adjust to the league, and Johnson time to get his way of playing into the team so i think we’ll improve week to week.

[Smartie]

I think it’ll take players like Youan, Bojang, Tavares, Miller etc time to adjust to the league, and Johnson time to get his way of playing into the team so i think we’ll improve week to week.

I’d agree with that.

I’d also expect our squad to be a bit thin and exposed through the first half of the season - and for us to find out how many of the youngsters / fringe players are truly capable of contributing. Those who can contribute more will, and those who are further away may head out on loan.

Johnson will also learn about our senior players - and stick with those who are up to it and possibly edge out those who he doesn’t rate. He’ll be able to make necessary changes to the squad based on more info than he might have right now.

I also expect us to have a sticky start but finish the season strongly.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Do teams often finish strongly compared to their start?

We went from pretty decent to very good in 17/18 but I can’t say I can think of all that many teams who have had a huge turnaround mid season in form, especially when you’d have to presume with the amount of signings we’ve made that we won’t make too many in January.

It would be interesting to see how common an occurrence it us for teams to have a significant turn around mid season with the same manager and mostly the same players (on the presumption we’re not finishing strongly because of a change of players or manager!)

[bigwheel]

Do teams often finish strongly compared to their start?

We went from pretty decent to very good in 17/18 but I can’t say I can think of all that many teams who have had a huge turnaround mid season in form, especially when you’d have to presume with the amount of signings we’ve made that we won’t make too many in January.

It would be interesting to see how common an occurrence it us for teams to have a significant turn around mid season with the same manager and mostly the same players (on the presumption we’re not finishing strongly because of a change of players or manager!)

Ross County last season would be a decent example of this …

It’s not a consistent pattern, but it’s equally not uncommon for teams who have had lots of change to grow into performances as the season progresses. A lot will depend on key player availability.

[greenlad]

Ross County last season would be a decent example of this …

And St Johnstone the season before.

Hibs have had enough good starts which then tail off. It stands to reason that someone will be doing the same in reverse - someone needs to take the points!

[Johnny_Leith]

Do teams often finish strongly compared to their start?

We went from pretty decent to very good in 17/18 but I can’t say I can think of all that many teams who have had a huge turnaround mid season in form, especially when you’d have to presume with the amount of signings we’ve made that we won’t make too many in January.

It would be interesting to see how common an occurrence it us for teams to have a significant turn around mid season with the same manager and mostly the same players (on the presumption we’re not finishing strongly because of a change of players or manager!)

Man utd under fergie were absolutely famous for finishing strongly, often putting a run together that would clinch the league.

[Paulie Walnuts]

Man utd under fergie were absolutely famous for finishing strongly, often putting a run together that would clinch the league.

Yeah, there’s definitely some but I think it’s more the exception than the norm.

I’d be hopeful we can get off to a decent start as I think that’ll give us the best indication as to how the season will pan out. If we end up with a reasonable amount of ground to make up in the second half of the season I’m not sure we’ll manage it.

[SChibs]

Do teams often finish strongly compared to their start?

We went from pretty decent to very good in 17/18 but I can’t say I can think of all that many teams who have had a huge turnaround mid season in form, especially when you’d have to presume with the amount of signings we’ve made that we won’t make too many in January.

It would be interesting to see how common an occurrence it us for teams to have a significant turn around mid season with the same manager and mostly the same players (on the presumption we’re not finishing strongly because of a change of players or manager!)

Killie under Steve Clarke finished very strongly

[Johnny_Leith]

Yeah, there’s definitely some but I think it’s more the exception than the norm.

I’d be hopeful we can get off to a decent start as I think that’ll give us the best indication as to how the season will pan out. If we end up with a reasonable amount of ground to make up in the second half of the season I’m not sure we’ll manage it.

I'm not sure they were an exception, there are different teams in every league that finish the league season strongly, it's just rarely us it seems.

I'd expect more business to be done in strengthening the squad in January, aligned with the return of nisbet and Magennis (surely by Jan he'll be fit) then I'm hopeful that if we don't get off to the best start we'll at least be able to build momentum towards the end of this season and beyond.

Worth noting the WC throws a big spanner into the works for all teams this year, so if we do have a poor aug-dec then a good chance to reset and go again.

[McGruber]

1st one in - 4 points from first 2 games and won't lose the derby.

2nd one, a good season and qualifying for Europe by 3rd or 4th in the making.

We will get better as we go and the signing of Boyle is unbeleivable.

Time for us all to come together and get behind Johnson and the team. Feeling even more optimistic now... something is building down Easter Road.