The Future of Hibernian

[Torto7062]

Can anyone realistically see an improvement happening in the next 12-24 months, whether its sack the manager or other staff above him I genuinely worry about our Club.

And why's Ron been quiet for month's? Maybe he wants out, he's only to happy to be on Podcasts when things are good ffs

[chippy]

Can anyone realistically see an improvement happening in the next 12-24 months, whether its sack the manager or other staff above him I genuinely worry about our Club.

And why's Ron been quiet for month's? Maybe he wants out, he's only to happy to be on Podcasts when things are good ffs

Yes I’m worried. He possibly is wanting out if as seems likely he’s totally under estimated Scottish football and over estimated his own ability to run a club Hibs size and develop them further. He’s put us back years and it’s concerning as to what mess he leaves if he goes. Maybe he’ll try and turn it round with a sensible structure and remove his son. We might have need for another Hands on Hibs moment so I’m glad HSL are not handing him money for nothing. Need to keep funds within HSL

[Carheenlea]

Can anyone realistically see an improvement happening in the next 12-24 months, whether its sack the manager or other staff above him I genuinely worry about our Club.

And why's Ron been quiet for month's? Maybe he wants out, he's only to happy to be on Podcasts when things are good ffs

Whatever you think of him he’s no fool.

There must come a point though when he realises his team he has in place (on the footballing side) is not fit for purpose and he needs to make some major changes of personnel in order to move in a different and more positive direction.

It’ll be staring him in the face and appointing a leader to oversee footballing matters has to be a matter of urgency.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this is already taking place ahead of the next window and deemed of more importance than the fate of Lee Johnson right now.

[Exuberance1875]

Get rid of Johnson, give it to Kean until end for the season and begin the clear out. Let some of the younger guys play.

Sick of watching Newall and Cadden constantly underperform week in week out.

[Pretty Boy]

There are plenty examples of successful business people who have ventured into new territory and flopped. Ask Richard Branson how Virgin Cola, Virgin Vodka, Virgin bridal, Virgin automobiles, Virgin cosmetics or Virgin lingerie are doing.

I don't doubt he is a capable businessman in his field of expertise. Does that transfer to running a football club? Perhaps the commercial side but the driver of income and ultimately success at any club is the 1st team and there's scant evidence we are on the right path in that regard.

[ScottB]

Ultimately, he needs to accept and get over the fact that he doesn’t know how to run a football club. That might sound obvious, but the guy turned up thinking different.

How he adapts to that, or doesn’t, determines the future. Either he comes to terms with it, gets advice / people in who can do the job and we carry on in a more hopeful fashion, or he doesn’t.

If he doesn’t, then it’s probably a choice between him continuing to run us into the ground or him putting us up for sale in a huff, or both.

He is not an idiot, as others have said, but these rich successful types don’t often adjust well to the reality that whatever talents they have can’t be automatically applied to whatever new thing has caught their interest.

[Cropley10]

Wrong Gordon. Been saying it for months. He made some money selling Latin American football via US cable TV. Why anyone would imagine this qualifies him to run a Scottish football club - our Club - is completely beyond me. He’s playing with his train set now and he’s breaking it.

[Baldy Foghorn]

I knew he was clueless from the moment I met him. We were not his first choice, and oppprtunity fell on his lap. Made a monumental mess of it

[LunasBoots]

Doesn't look great right now, are we going to go down the Dundee or even Dunfermline route or are we going to nip this in the bud now and progress upwards.

[Scooter]

I think some people are being a little harsh on him. He's not clueless there is **** load that he's made better. The problem is none of us care about the stuff he's improved unless the team in winning.

He obvs knows how to run a business but he need to get someone in who he can trust and knows how to run a football team with an actual football background

[Lago]

Who wants to buy Hibs? The club is not Rangers or Celtic so ha no real commercial value outside Scotland, there will never be middle Eastern interest for instance.

[Baldy Foghorn]

I think some people are being a little harsh on him. He's not clueless there is **** load that he's made better. The problem is none of us care about the stuff he's improved unless the team in winning.

He obvs knows how to run a business but he need to get someone in who he can trust and knows how to run a football team with an actual football background

He is clueless in a footballing sense, which is the mumber 1 priority. Board filled up with people who won't challenge him.

He is racking up debt, which is even more worrying

[Allant1981]

He is clueless in a footballing sense, which is the mumber 1 priority. Board filled up with people who won't challenge him.

He is racking up debt, which is even more worrying

What debt is he racking up?

[Baldy Foghorn]

What do you think has been used to pay for screens and hospitality areas? Not his own cash

[Allant1981]

What do you think has been used to pay for screens and hospitality areas? Not his own cash

So trying to bring more money into the club,and going by the sell out most weeks in hospitality its working, ta

[Viva_Palmeiras]

Whatever, I hope that the undoubted factionalism that tends to emerge when ownership of the club is concerned (just look at Hearts squabbling as they were staring into the abyss) doesn’t get in the way of us moving towards United as a club…

lf Ron is true to his words he’ll learn from his mistakes and adjust.

One observation I’d make is that whilst folks come and go there have been some mainstays in the board. Maybe it’s time for a change?

I think it’s a shame Brian Houston is no longer on the board - and have long felt that was part of what moved the club towards a new “blueprint” after the debacle of 2012 and took us to 2016 - we’ve lost out way and that should serve as a lesson. I don’t see why the commercial side could not have been bolstered with that blue-print more or less intact - the recruitment of players with a mentality (over stats!!!!) is plain to see. Possibly someone with closer insights may be able to shine more of a light there…

[Torto7]

Nothing wrong with Ron imo. He's put plenty of dough in. Its the 'football' people who have royally arsed up. Some of the lengthy contracts handed out to ordinary players doesnt help.

[Steven79]

Nothing wrong with Ron imo. He's put plenty of dough in. Its the 'football' people who have royally arsed up. Some of the lengthy contracts handed out to ordinary players doesnt help.Who appointed these "Football people" ?

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[Baldy Foghorn]

So trying to bring more money into the club,and going by the sell out most weeks in hospitality its working, ta

Is it working? Wait until accounts are published. They will paint another picture

[marinello59]

Nothing wrong with Ron imo. He's put plenty of dough in. Its the 'football' people who have royally arsed up. Some of the lengthy contracts handed out to ordinary players doesnt help.

Football people like his son you mean?

[Viva_Palmeiras]

Who appointed these "Football people" ?

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who are the exec and. non-exec football people on the board who advise and have been there through those horrendous periods?

[cabbageandribs1875]

Who wants to buy Hibs? The club is not Rangers or Celtic so ha no real commercial value outside Scotland, there will never be middle Eastern interest for instance.

i for one hope their never is

[Allant1981]

Is it working? Wait until accounts are published. They will paint another picture

I don't know and I'm guessing you don't either unless you are the hibs accountant

[Baldy Foghorn]

I don't know and I'm guessing you don't either unless you are the hibs accountant

Ok

[Leithenhibby]

Nothing wrong with Ron imo. He's put plenty of dough in. Its the 'football' people who have royally arsed up. Some of the lengthy contracts handed out to ordinary players doesnt help.

Rubber stamped by the man himself I'd imagine...

You mention 'football people who have royally arsed it, again it will be the top man that rubber stamps these positions surely?

[Lago]

i for one hope their never is
It's amazing what the promise of zillions of £s will do to the opinions of a club's fans, I give you Newcastle Utd, Man City and PSG as an example.

[scoopyboy]

Can anyone realistically see an improvement happening in the next 12-24 months, whether its sack the manager or other staff above him I genuinely worry about our Club.

And why's Ron been quiet for month's? Maybe he wants out, he's only to happy to be on Podcasts when things are good ffs

I had heard he's not been keeping very well.

[flash]

I sat on an open top bus up to Tynecastle to beg Hertz shareholders to stop Mercer from killing us off so I can't get as melodramatic as some on here.

Clearly things have to change but it seems wheels are turning to that effect.

I would prefer a change in manager but, if he is staying, I really hope he turns this around starting on Sunday.

[Smartie]

I sat on an open top bus up to Tynecastle to beg Hertz shareholders to stop Mercer from killing us off so I can't get as melodramatic as some on here.

Clearly things have to change but it seems wheels are turning to that effect.

I would prefer a change in manager but, if he is staying, I really hope he turns this around starting on Sunday.

Interesting sense of perspective.

After we had the awful run of results leading up to the World Cup it was clear we were in a bit of bother, especially with the 4 fixtures we had straight after returning.

They’re now out the way and we did about as well as we might have expected. Lots to be pissed off about but a few glimmers of hope if you go looking for them.

Still everything to play for and I think our strongest XI is half decent.

The next few weeks are huge. We win a few winnable games and we can start to look up again. Lose them and a lot of the drama has been justified.

I’m not going to pretend to be happy about everything, I’m not. Big question marks over everyone right now - Ron Gordon, Ben Kensall, Ian Gordon, Lee Johnson, half the players and many other folk who escape scrutiny as the criticism is focussed on those I’ve mentioned.

But one game at a time - should we be able to bring McGeady and Magennis into the team and beat a dire Motherwell side at the weekend? Aye.

In some ways this game is bigger than the last few because if we can’t beat a team that hasn’t won at home since August then we’re then dropping faster than the fastest dropping team in the league.

[leith lynx]

Who wants to buy Hibs? The club is not Rangers or Celtic so ha no real commercial value outside Scotland, there will never be middle Eastern interest for instance.

I understand there is a Hong Kong consortium interested in taking over Raith Rovers, I wonder what level of financial muscle they would have? If it’s enough to improve us significantly and for Ron Gordon (rumoured intention) to sell up, we could well be on their radar. There is potential investors out there.

[tonyrougier123]

Can anyone realistically see an improvement happening in the next 12-24 months, whether its sack the manager or other staff above him I genuinely worry about our Club.

And why's Ron been quiet for month's? Maybe he wants out, he's only to happy to be on Podcasts when things are good ffs

Only proven hungry players can turn us around. We don’t sign enough of them.

[Dashing Bob S]

We’re a very strange club. Everything seems to be in place for sustained top four success, yet it remains elusive. I’m still not sure why. Other clubs without our resources seem to be able to bring in players and managers who can do a job in a very average league. We consistently fail.

[GreenCastle]

Only proven hungry players can turn us around. We don’t sign enough of them.

Leadership / Character and a bit of quality. Even McGeady when he came on showed that yesterday.

Now the worry for me is the team that started yesterday..

Marshall - another year older next season
Fish - won't be here next season
Bushiri - will be here
Hanlon - won't be starting
Stevenson - won't be starting
Cadden - will be here
Campbell - will be here
Newell - will be here??
Youan - won't be here?
Nisbet - will be here
McKirdy - ??

5 out of the 11 will be here but still need to rebuild half a team - while some say that's a good thing you hope in 6 / 12 months our starting team will look very different to it did yesterday. But waiting is hard and fans want to see change now. This window will show if we know how to fix the issues - the wrong players and we have wasted another window and put us back another 6 months.

[PHeffernan]

Leadership / Character and a bit of quality. Even McGeady when he came on showed that yesterday.

Now the worry for me is the team that started yesterday..

Marshall - another year older next season
Fish - won't be here next season
Bushiri - will be here
Hanlon - won't be starting Could well be starting
Stevenson - won't be starting Out of contract
Cadden - will be here
Campbell - will be here
Newell - will be here??
Youan - won't be here? Option to buy so a possibility depending on his performances until the end of the season
Nisbet - will be here 18 months left on contract so likely to be sold in the summer
McKirdy - ??

5 out of the 11 will be here but still need to rebuild half a team - while some say that's a good thing you hope in 6 / 12 months our starting team will look very different to it did yesterday. But waiting is hard and fans want to see change now. This window will show if we know how to fix the issues - the wrong players and we have wasted another window and put us back another 6 months.

A few additions to your post in bold

[Jones28]

Gordon does not have malicious intent for Hibs. He’s not an asset stripper, he’s not a con man, he’s not a snake oil salesman.

He’s made some poor decisions, appointed some crap people and displayed naivety by giving his son a job

He’s made some **** decisions.

That’s it.

Tom Farmer trusts his judgement, so I do too.

I want him to do the following: get rid of Kensell, get rid of his son and bring in some decent appointments in key positions, DOF and CEO being two key areas.

[ancient hibee]

What do you think has been used to pay for screens and hospitality areas? Not his own cash

Have you any proof of this?

[AgentDaleCooper]

I really wish it would have been possible to achieve fan ownership before Dempster and STF left. It's the only way forward for clubs like us, otherwise we're basically just low lying fruit for bored sub-billionaire wealthy people to mess about with.

[The Harp Awakes]

Gordon does not have malicious intent for Hibs. He’s not an asset stripper, he’s not a con man, he’s not a snake oil salesman.

He’s made some poor decisions, appointed some crap people and displayed naivety by giving his son a job

He’s made some **** decisions.

That’s it.

Tom Farmer trusts his judgement, so I do too.

I want him to do the following: get rid of Kensell, get rid of his son and bring in some decent appointments in key positions, DOF and CEO being two key areas.

Pretty much sums up how I feel about the situation.

What I'm not sure about, is whether RG has the character or humility to admit his mistakes and make the changes required.

He desperately needs to appoint a DoF who knows the Scottish game and who can take charge of the football side of the business.

If he gets the right person in that position and allows him/her the autonomy to make all the necessary decisions, e.g., getting rid of his Son, everything else will fall into place.

[Smartie]

Gordon does not have malicious intent for Hibs. He’s not an asset stripper, he’s not a con man, he’s not a snake oil salesman.

He’s made some poor decisions, appointed some crap people and displayed naivety by giving his son a job

He’s made some **** decisions.

That’s it.

Tom Farmer trusts his judgement, so I do too.

I want him to do the following: get rid of Kensell, get rid of his son and bring in some decent appointments in key positions, DOF and CEO being two key areas.

I'm not convinced Tom Farmer really trusted his judgment. Farmer needed out and took the first offer that came along from someone who didn't appear to be a nutcase or an obvious asset stripper.

Gordon has all sorts of alarm bells ringing for me. I'm pretty sure it's incompetence rather than malevolence but I just cannot visualise any sort of success under him.

He's actually been incredibly fortunate that we've continued to pitch up in huge numbers throughout and then following on from covid as we've understood the role we might have to play in driving future success. He's overseen the shameless waste of the money we've put into the club and barring a fairly miraculous sequence of events I just cannot see folk buying into his version of the club again next season. If he can't spend the decent amounts of money we've put into the club so far well enough, I hate to see what he'll do when there is next to f all.

[superfurryhibby]

I'm not convinced Tom Farmer really trusted his judgment. Farmer needed out and took the first offer that came along from someone who didn't appear to be a nutcase or an obvious asset stripper.

Gordon has all sorts of alarm bells ringing for me. I'm pretty sure it's incompetence rather than malevolence but I just cannot visualise any sort of success under him.

He's actually been incredibly fortunate that we've continued to pitch up in huge numbers throughout and then following on from covid as we've understood the role we might have to play in driving future success. He's overseen the shameless waste of the money we've put into the club and barring a fairly miraculous sequence of events I just cannot see folk buying into his version of the club again next season. If he can't spend the decent amounts of money we've put into the club so far well enough, I hate to see what he'll do when there is next to f all.

By Farmer you obviously mean his family representatives. He didn't decide who got to buy Hibs.

I wouldn't assume that Gordon's bid was the only offer that came their way.

That said, I agree. Fans are starting to see the light. Gordon will feel our verdict on his stewardship in his and the clubs pocket, and no wonder.

[One Day Soon]

Pretty much sums up how I feel about the situation.

What I'm not sure about, is whether RG has the character or humility to admit his mistakes and make the changes required.

He desperately needs to appoint a DoF who knows the Scottish game and who can take charge of the football side of the business.

If he gets the right person in that position and allows him/her the autonomy to make all the necessary decisions, e.g., getting rid of his Son, everything else will fall into place.


I think the performance of fans in continuing to support the club financially during Covid was pretty phenomenal. I'm not sure how much Ron Gordon really understands what he should from that experience about the relationship between the fans and the club.

The old chant 'you don't know what you're doing' has rarely been so apt a description than for the last couple of years or so in particular. However, good business people learn from their mistakes so if he is genuinely a good businessman rather than someone who got lucky in his US TV deals I fully expect to see appropriate changes take place swiftly. On the down side, even if those changes take place with immediate effect - which they won't - it is going to take the majority of next season and the one after to rebuild the smoldering ruins that we currently have on the footballing side back up in to something that can perform to a high level consistently.

We face yet another transitional period, though in fact we have been in a permanent transitional period for years now. I'll be 60 by the time we get our act together after all this, that's if we do get our act together after all this. We're not far off 7 years away from having won the cup with all the promise for the future that held and what have we done with it?

We are one of the top 5 clubs in this country financially with a great stadium and training facilities, we're based in the capital which should make player attraction easier, we have a pretty loyal fan base with an even larger latent support, but somehow owners, players and managers between them keep conspiring against all logic to make us add up to less than the sum of our parts. To paraphrase Helen Hunt in the magnificent 'As Good As It Gets', why can't we just have a normal boyfriend?

[Brightside]

Is it working? Wait until accounts are published. They will paint another picture

Turnover will be the biggest ever.