Hibs spending a million £

[McGruber]

Malky saying we were prepared to go to a million pounds for McCowan. That's really quite something and would obviously have represented a record fee if it went through.
I'm not aware of Hearts or Aberdeen spending that kind of money but am prepared to be corrected on that. Either way it is an eye opener.

Couple thoughts...

- Bodes well that we a) have that money left in the player budget and b) are prepared to go to that level.of outlay. Makes it quite exciting to think of future possibilities - that kind of money can bring in real quality at our level.

- Not buying that there were no alternatives. Yes, if it fell through late in the day don't want to rush anything or spend it for the sake of it but surely we aren't saying McCowan is the only AM type that we could bring in for up to a million pounds.

- Find it strange Malky saying we didn't want to go after somebody else because they would have wanted a wedge of what we had to spend making us pay over the odds.... in a media piece going on about the owner prepared to go to a million pounds.

[Cat Stanton]

Malky saying we were prepared to go to a million pounds for McCowan. That's really quite something and would obviously have represented a record fee if it went through.
I'm not aware of Hearts or Aberdeen spending that kind of money but am prepared to be corrected on that. Either way it is an eye opener.

Couple thoughts...

- Bodes well that we a) have that money left in the player budget and b) are prepared to go to that level.of outlay. Makes it quite exciting to think of future possibilities - that kind of money can bring in real quality at our level.

- Not buying that there were no alternatives. Yes, if it fell through late in the day don't want to rush anything or spend it for the sake of it but surely we aren't saying McCowan is the only AM type that we could bring in for up to a million pounds.

- Find it strange Malky saying we didn't want to go after somebody else because they would have wanted a wedge of what we had to spend making us pay over the odds.... in a media piece going on about the owner prepared to go to a million pounds.

Reported as saying we actually bid £1m... His defence of having no Plan B doesn't make much sense 'though...: https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/hibs/exclusive-why-hibs-bid-ps1-million-for-prime-target-but-balked-at-blowing-cash-on-over-priced-alternatives-4765357

[JohnM1875]

Reported as saying we actually bid £1m... His defence of having no Plan B doesn't make much sense 'though...: https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/hibs/exclusive-why-hibs-bid-ps1-million-for-prime-target-but-balked-at-blowing-cash-on-over-priced-alternatives-4765357

More ‘isn't Ian Gordon great’ from Malky. If we're relying on Ian spending £1 mil to sign McCowan the only thing I have to ask is what the **** has happened to the Black Knight money and the ‘few Million’ Foley suggested we’d have to spend this summer?

Going on about McCowan stats over two years. One of those was spent in the Championship and even then his Championship season was good, not unreal.

Its also on recruitment if we haven't found a suitable alternative if we couldn't sign McCowan. Refuse to believe there weren't any alternatives.

Celtic signed McCowan cause he’s Scottish. If he wasn't he wouldn't have registered on their radar.

[West lower]

I don’t mind Hibs deciding to keep the £1 million trousered for later use if that is the case, but I find the lack of any players coming in via the so called BK hook up strange. I think we all thought something positive would have happened this window.

[Ringothedog]

I don’t mind Hibs deciding to keep the £1 million trousered for later use if that is the case, but I find the lack of any players coming in via the so called BK hook up strange. I think we all thought something positive would have happened this window.

Out of interest how many players did Lorient get from Bournemouth? I would suggest it was the square root of **** all. Being part of the BK group doesn’t mean we will always get players from Bournemouth or any other team in the group.

[gegs70]

Did Aberdeen not spend that much on Paul Bernard?? But he never quite lived up to that price tag. I'm sure they paif £800k this season for a winger??

Sadly even £1m wasn't going to get our target with c. Celtic always going to gazump us.

[Cooshed Kid]

I'm willing to relax and trust MM. I don't think he allows emotions to interfere with his process. For those convinced they could do better and who are able to call upon their inner Mr Spock, please send your CV to the club for consideration if it doesn't work out. Just remember who we have in the squad now and how every one of them was considered a really good idea by someone in recruitment - not IG himself - not so long ago but before MM joined us. How many signings over the last couple of years made the desired impact or were starters on Sunday?

[Wilson]

I don’t mind Hibs deciding to keep the £1 million trousered for later use if that is the case, but I find the lack of any players coming in via the so called BK hook up strange. I think we all thought something positive would have happened this window.

People seem to think Bournemouth would be handing out top class players like a grandad giving the bairns sweeties. It doesn't work like that. Bournemouth have to balance their own books so they'll be looking for a decent wedge of the players' wage to be paid. The players' PREMIER LEAGUE wage.

Malky mentioned that there would be budgetary considerations on our side. And that just because a player comes from a club operating at a higher level, doesn't mean he will fit in, or hit the ground running, in Scotland.

We may get a loan signing here or there but we'll have done our homework on him. We'll have worked his (percentage of) wages into our budget. It will be the right player. Not a handout.

[Wilson]

I'm willing to relax and trust MM. I don't think he allows emotions to interfere with his process. For those convinced they could do better and who are able to call upon their inner Mr Spock, please send your CV to the club for consideration if it doesn't work out. Just remember who we have in the squad now and how every one of them was considered a really good idea by someone in recruitment - not IG himself - not so long ago but before MM joined us. How many made the desired impact or were starters on Sunday?

The thing is I don't think we sign terrible players. Stats wise there was probably a great case for most of them. And most of them could be a decent addition somewhere. Drammen and Zwolle by the looks of it.

I think all we're doing now is looking at the person as much as the stats. What kind of character we're bringing in to the club. We've been busy building a bloated squad based on stats and neglected actually building a balanced and winning first team.

But we're fixing that now?

[HoboHarry]

Did Aberdeen not spend that much on Paul Bernard?? But he never quite lived up to that price tag. I'm sure they paif £800k this season for a winger??

Sadly even £1m wasn't going to get our target with c. Celtic always going to gazump us.
Think Hearts paid around the same for that Bosnian winger Mirsad something or other, forget his last name.

[Cooshed Kid]

The thing is I don't think we sign terrible players. Stats wise there was probably a great case for most of them. And most of them could be a decent addition somewhere. Drammen and Zwolle by the looks of it.

I think all we're doing now is looking at the person as much as the stats. What kind of character we're bringing in to the club. We've been busy building a bloated squad based on stats and neglected actually building a balanced and winning first team.

But we're fixing that now?

Hope so. It won't be a 100% flawless process but none of us can change it or influence it in any way so let's just sit back and see what happens.

Being beaten or conceding silly goals will still be disappointing but as long as we keep seeing we're moving forward, even if it seems to be 3 steps forward 2 steps back initially, it's building a stronger and more resilient club for the future.

[Viva_Palmeiras]

More ‘isn't Ian Gordon great’ from Malky. If we're relying on Ian spending £1 mil to sign McCowan the only thing I have to ask is what the **** has happened to the Black Knight money and the ‘few Million’ Foley suggested we’d have to spend this summer?

Going on about McCowan stats over two years. One of those was spent in the Championship and even then his Championship season was good, not unreal.

Its also on recruitment if we haven't found a suitable alternative if we couldn't sign McCowan. Refuse to believe there weren't any alternatives.

Celtic signed McCowan cause he’s Scottish. If he wasn't he wouldn't have registered on their radar.

do you play cards?
fancy a game of poker ;)

so you’re proposing to give away our plan B target that may not have been available at this point anyway?

[basehibby]

Reported as saying we actually bid £1m... His defence of having no Plan B doesn't make much sense 'though...: https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/football/hibs/exclusive-why-hibs-bid-ps1-million-for-prime-target-but-balked-at-blowing-cash-on-over-priced-alternatives-4765357

The journo opens saying Hibs bid million - but MM actually says I don’t mind saying that our owner was going to spend that(a million). which probably means we bid about 850K as reported but with agents fees etc basically means a million outlay.

It's a good interview though and McKay points out that players like McCowan don't grow on trees - the fact we know how well he can perform in the SPL, was in the last year of his deal - a realistic if record-busting target that we could be confident would improve our team. He goes on to say "just because the money is there, that doesn’t mean the opportunity is there" - making the point that spending similar fees on similar players in other markets would not necessarily yield the same value to us at this time - basically we could easily spend a million and end up with no better than we've got. The implication being that just because Hibs' finances have improved with the BK deal it doesn't mean we should throw caution to the wind - we are still financial small fry in the big scheme of things and need to seek value.

[Bridge hibs]

More ‘isn't Ian Gordon great’ from Malky. If we're relying on Ian spending £1 mil to sign McCowan the only thing I have to ask is what the **** has happened to the Black Knight money and the ‘few Million’ Foley suggested we’d have to spend this summer?

Going on about McCowan stats over two years. One of those was spent in the Championship and even then his Championship season was good, not unreal.

Its also on recruitment if we haven't found a suitable alternative if we couldn't sign McCowan. Refuse to believe there weren't any alternatives.

Celtic signed McCowan cause he’s Scottish. If he wasn't he wouldn't have registered on their radar.How much is a “few millions” and in which way is it to be distributed ? We allegedly bid £1m for McCowan according to various mouthings on social media, we allegedly spent North of £600,000 for Bowie, we signed Ekpiteta, Hoilet, Smith, Cadden and O’Hora so no doubt sign on fees would have amounted to a few ££££s and we added Iredale for an undisclosed fee then add the loans wage % for Myko, Kwon, Bursik and Triantis to our budget too so all that would be included in the “millions” too I would assume.

McCowan was an interesting one and Im with a lot of folk on here who were disappointed in not having a plan B because of the need for an industrious midfielder whom in my opinion would certainly have added something different to our passive midfield.

I wasnt at Kilmarnock but going by posts and threads on here Triantis, Newell and Kwon all had good games and although the end result was same old same old I have a feeling that all was not bad on the lack of a McCowan no show. Is the plan B then to look at the free market instead ? Time will tell I suppose.

The celtc signed McCowan because he is Scottish ? There could be many reasons but adding to their Scottish Europe quota is the obvious one but strangely at a cost whereas as was mentioned on another thread if that was indeed the case they could have signed free agent Armstrong for a signing on fee and higher wage but with a wealth of international, EPL and playing for celtc that trumps anything McCowan would or will have to offer.

Would he have been worth £1m ? I dont know but its what Dundee valued him at apparently, sounds crazy that we would contemplate paying that for a player whos performances have really only come to the fore in the past season or so but a transfer fee of that magnitude to a club like hibs would be one to split opinions and no doubt the bean counters amongst us would have been saying no ****ing way, keep that in the back pocket.

Time will tell how that pans out, I suggested he would barely get a game for celtc and that might well be the case as the season trundles on but getting game time v the rangers tells me he may be around the team more often than not.

With all that said, if we had a “few millions” I would rather we sign more of the ilk of Bowie, young Scottish talent who appears to have shown the hunger and desire to play for hibs rather than *****ing it on a player who really only wants to play for his “boyhood hero's” or looking for a big pay day in exchange for a few erse skelfs.

[Forza Fred]

MM obviously irked by the criticism levelled at him for having no plan B in the event of McCowan deciding not to sign for us.

Not sure his ‘all or nothing’ approach is the best way to proceed

[7Hero]

Devils advocate here. :

McCowan a celtic fan and Celtic were interested from the offset, he's a great homegrown replacement for Callum McGregor..

It's a great PR play by the club, they have picked the best option possible for spending a Million Pound when you don't want to spend a million pound.

[jeffers]

Criticism for having no plan B is entirely justified imo. I could see it it we’d missed out on prime Gerrard, but it was Luke McCowan FFS.

[Trinity Hibee]

In my opinion, spending £1m on McCowan would have smacked of desperation to appease fans. Again, makes me question what the recruitment strategy is particularly that there was no back up.

There is no way McCowan is worth £1m with a year left on his deal. Celtic have that money to burn but I’d rather we were smarter with our cash. Glad we didn’t get him if it was going to cost us that much.

[The Modfather]

Criticism for having no plan B is entirely justified imo. I could see it it we’d missed out on prime Gerrard, but it was Luke McCowan FFS.

Will be interesting to see what we do in January and the summer. Whether we target similar players with the drive and tempo of McCowan. Or if we tried to sign him because he was the current hot property in our league and our next marquee signing might not have the specific drive and Tempo McCowan does

Early days but assuming he doesn’t drop off I would use the McCowan money to try and sign Kwon permanently. Not sure how realistic Triantis would be on a permanent deal either. Those two give us a spine of the midfield, though both still young and a bit raw so not the finished article. Add in a Marcondes type and we could have a good midfield again. Newell was fine on Sunday but think he’s got to be the one to drop out for some creativity as we still lacked that on Sunday. I’d like to see Levitt get a run with Triantis & Kwon behind him.

I do worry that our best two midfielders are only on loan and we’re starting again with the midfield in the summer.

[Trinity Hibee]

Will be interesting to see what we do in January and the summer. Whether we target similar players with the drive and tempo of McCowan. Or if we tried to sign him because he was the current hot property in our league and our next marquee signing might not have the specific drive and Tempo McCowan does

Early days but assuming he doesn’t drop off I would use the McCowan money to try and sign Kwon permanently. Not sure how realistic Triantis would be on a permanent deal either. Those two give us a spine of the midfield, though both still young and a bit raw so not the finished article. Add in a Marcondes type and we could have a good midfield again. Newell was fine on Sunday but think he’s got to be the one to drop out for some creativity as we still lacked that on Sunday. I’d like to see Levitt get a run with Triantis & Kwon behind him.

I do worry that our best two midfielders are only on loan and we’re starting again with the midfield in the summer.

Seems very likely it will be a total rebuild next summer across the board. It’s what the club keep pointing too

[McGruber]

Will be interesting to see what we do in January and the summer. Whether we target similar players with the drive and tempo of McCowan. Or if we tried to sign him because he was the current hot property in our league and our next marquee signing might not have the specific drive and Tempo McCowan does

Early days but assuming he doesn’t drop off I would use the McCowan money to try and sign Kwon permanently. Not sure how realistic Triantis would be on a permanent deal either. Those two give us a spine of the midfield, though both still young and a bit raw so not the finished article. Add in a Marcondes type and we could have a good midfield again. Newell was fine on Sunday but think he’s got to be the one to drop out for some creativity as we still lacked that on Sunday. I’d like to see Levitt get a run with Triantis & Kwon behind him.

I do worry that our best two midfielders are only on loan and we’re starting again with the midfield in the summer.

Agree that Kwon, Triantis & Newell all played well individually and probably our best 3 but as a mix is really lacking creativity. Wonder how Levitt would get on given the cover of the other 2 instead of Newell. Levitt is a good player but not very mobile so always struggled in a 2

[Itsnoteasy]

Malky saying we were prepared to go to a million pounds for McCowan. That's really quite something and would obviously have represented a record fee if it went through.
I'm not aware of Hearts or Aberdeen spending that kind of money but am prepared to be corrected on that. Either way it is an eye opener.

Couple thoughts...

- Bodes well that we a) have that money left in the player budget and b) are prepared to go to that level.of outlay. Makes it quite exciting to think of future possibilities - that kind of money can bring in real quality at our level.

- Not buying that there were no alternatives. Yes, if it fell through late in the day don't want to rush anything or spend it for the sake of it but surely we aren't saying McCowan is the only AM type that we could bring in for up to a million pounds.

- Find it strange Malky saying we didn't want to go after somebody else because they would have wanted a wedge of what we had to spend making us pay over the odds.... in a media piece going on about the owner prepared to go to a million pounds.

Why are we obsessed with what Hertz & Aberdeen have & have not done. So what if they haven't spent £1m on a player, neither have we.

[Cooshed Kid]

Do we know for a fact that we have no purchase options with Triantis or other current loanees? It may well be true but I didn’t see an announcement of it anywhere myself.

[JohnM1875]

Do we know for a fact that we have no purchase options with Triantis or other current loanees? It may well be true but I didn’t see an announcement of it anywhere myself.

Think folk don't believe there's an option to buy cause its usually mentioned in the signing announcement.

Could be wrong, but I think it came out a wee bit after we signed Jesper that we had an option to buy, so hopefully we have one for Kwon and Triantis. Highly doubt it for both though.

[Forza Fred]

Do we know for a fact that we have no purchase options with Triantis or other current loanees? It may well be true but I didn’t see an announcement of it anywhere myself.

Can’t see Sunderland offloading Triantis to anyone tbh.

They bought him for the future and have sent him out on loan for experience, not because they think he was a mistake.

I reckon next season he’ll be arugula first team squad member for theMackems.

[Phil MaGlass]

In my opinion, spending £1m on McCowan would have smacked of desperation to appease fans. Again, makes me question what the recruitment strategy is particularly that there was no back up.

There is no way McCowan is worth £1m with a year left on his deal. Celtic have that money to burn but I’d rather we were smarter with our cash. Glad we didn’t get him if it was going to cost us that much.

I disagree, I believe he is a million pound player even with 1 year left on his contract and will go on to prove it with Sellik shame we couldnt sign him, but there was no other club he was going to after they came in for him.

[matty_f]

I can see the logic in what he’s saying, the value of McCowan at £1m is better bang for your buck than spending £1m in a different market on a worse player.

I think that’s on the recruitment team to find them, though - we brought in Bowie for less than that, while we felt we could get good enough centre halves for nothing (I know it’s not literally for nothing) so you can’t expect us to believe that there isn’t someone at least as good as McCowan on our budget?

[McGruber]

Why are we obsessed with what Hertz & Aberdeen have & have not done. So what if they haven't spent £1m on a player, neither have we.

I'll re-phrase if it helps.

I'm not aware of anyone outwith the old firm, even the teams with bigger budgets than we have, bidding for players at that level of expenditure. I never thought Hibs would ever spend a million pounds on a player - and maybe they won't (and haven't thus far) but prepared to take the Sporting Director at face value that we were prepared to.

The 'so what' is I find it massively encouraging about the owners backing/financial position and exciting thinking if we could spend that money, what we could get for that money.

Hope the same message without the name checks helps

[MWHIBBIES]

Can’t see Sunderland offloading Triantis to anyone tbh.

They bought him for the future and have sent him out on loan for experience, not because they think he was a mistake.

I reckon next season he’ll be arugula first team squad member for theMackems.

Depends on how they do. If they continue their good start at get promoted, he won't get a sniff.

[Springbank]

Some of the comments here are a bit disrespectful to McCowan & the quality of player he is

He was given a debut immediately & in a Derby match

That suggests the manager there shared Hibs' faith in mccowan's abilities

[JohnM1875]

Some of the comments here are a bit disrespectful to McCowan & the quality of player he is

He was given a debut immediately & in a Derby match

That suggests the manager there shared Hibs' faith in mccowan's abilities

They were cruising when he was subbed on. You think he's being subbed on if its a tight 0-0?

[Hibs4185]

Sorry but a million for us is an incredible amount of money and signing a 27 year old with not much hope of a selling for a big fee in a couple of years is unsustainable.

I’m all for signing the best prospects from other clubs especially with scottish experience but if that’s what we were paying in glad we’ve missed out.

I was excited to sign him and was disappointed the other night.

If he was 23-25 then I can understand a million.

[easty]

Some of the comments here are a bit disrespectful to McCowan & the quality of player he is

He was given a debut immediately & in a Derby match

That suggests the manager there shared Hibs' faith in mccowan's abilities

I'm all for being disrespectful to Luke McCowan, and so should we all be. **** him.

[HibbyDave]

IF we had £1M available why not offer that with a clause to accept by X date or we move on?
No plan B

[easty]

Sorry but a million for us is an incredible amount of money and signing a 27 year old with not much hope of a selling for a big fee in a couple of years is unsustainable.

I’m all for signing the best prospects from other clubs especially with scottish experience but if that’s what we were paying in glad we’ve missed out.

I was excited to sign him and was disappointed the other night.

If he was 23-25 then I can understand a million.

I kind of agree with this. I wanted him at Hibs, because he's the type of player we're missing, and he's proven his ability in that position in this league.

That said, I'm not sure I want Hibs to spend £1m on a player that likely doesn't have any significant sell on value 2-3 years down the line. Unless we've consistent investments coming in, then we need to be able to turnover players for profit to keep building.

[hibee-boys]

Some of the comments here are a bit disrespectful to McCowan & the quality of player he is

He was given a debut immediately & in a Derby match

That suggests the manager there shared Hibs' faith in mccowan's abilities

He was given a debut with 15mins remaining and they were strolling it 3-0.

[Steve-O]

People seem to think Bournemouth would be handing out top class players like a grandad giving the bairns sweeties. It doesn't work like that. Bournemouth have to balance their own books so they'll be looking for a decent wedge of the players' wage to be paid. The players' PREMIER LEAGUE wage.

Malky mentioned that there would be budgetary considerations on our side. And that just because a player comes from a club operating at a higher level, doesn't mean he will fit in, or hit the ground running, in Scotland.

We may get a loan signing here or there but we'll have done our homework on him. We'll have worked his (percentage of) wages into our budget. It will be the right player. Not a handout.

I remain surprised we didn’t get the goalkeeper Paulsen who has inexplicably ended up back in NZ, at Auckland, literally two months after trumpeting his big move to Bournemouth

[Carheenlea]

It would be interesting to know exactly when Celtic became involved in the transfer negotiations.

The cynic in me might suggest that we knew fine well that even a £1M wouldn’t be enough, particularly when you factor in the financial package Celtic would offer McCowan compared to our limits.

Triantis wasn’t just given a quick call on Friday.

We’ve certainly spent big sums in recent seasons on fees, so creeping towards £1M isn’t an outlandish figure, but how close we were to actually parting with that I have my doubts..

[Iain G]

I reckon next season he’ll be arugula first team squad member for theMackems.

Only if we put a rocket up his arse 🤣

[Lago]

Malky saying we were prepared to go to a million pounds for McCowan. That's really quite something and would obviously have represented a record fee if it went through.
I'm not aware of Hearts or Aberdeen spending that kind of money but am prepared to be corrected on that. Either way it is an eye opener.

Couple thoughts...

- Bodes well that we a) have that money left in the player budget and b) are prepared to go to that level.of outlay. Makes it quite exciting to think of future possibilities - that kind of money can bring in real quality at our level.

- Not buying that there were no alternatives. Yes, if it fell through late in the day don't want to rush anything or spend it for the sake of it but surely we aren't saying McCowan is the only AM type that we could bring in for up to a million pounds.

- Find it strange Malky saying we didn't want to go after somebody else because they would have wanted a wedge of what we had to spend making us pay over the odds.... in a media piece going on about the owner prepared to go to a million pounds.
Bit of PR from Malky me thinks.

[S4uzee]

Some of the comments here are a bit disrespectful to McCowan & the quality of player he is

He was given a debut immediately & in a Derby match

That suggests the manager there shared Hibs' faith in mccowan's abilities

Agreed, also comes across very well in interviews. Gutted we missed out on him

[Joe6-2]

No plan B is just beyond belief, incompetence

[erin go bragh]

Think Hearts paid around the same for that Bosnian winger Mirsad something or other, forget his last name.

850k and did we no pay 1.5m for Boyle to come back by waiving the 1.5m tbey were still owe us.

[Since452]

Does that make us Edinburghs big team?

[Donegal Hibby]

Can’t see Sunderland offloading Triantis to anyone tbh.

They bought him for the future and have sent him out on loan for experience, not because they think he was a mistake.

I reckon next season he’ll be arugula first team squad member for theMackems.

I read this yesterday Fred about Triantis and if he keeps playing like he did against Killie our chances of getting him will be very slim though there is a bit in this that might give us some hope….

https://www.sunderlandafc.news/news/how-nectarios-triantis-fared-on-excellent-second-hibernian-debut-after-sunderland-loan-exit/

[Cooshed Kid]

I’m hugely encouraged both by the willingness to spend on the target perceived as “the one” and the determination not to just spend on someone else if the one gets away. I see things differently from some in that I don’t want jam today or jam tomorrow. I want an orchard in which we can grow as much fruit as possible so we can indulge in jam anytime we want, and that takes time.

I want Hibs of the future to be built on really solid financial foundations and a strong buying and selling methodology. I want to see sustained success financially and on the pitch long after the Gordons have sold their shares and MM has moved on. Who knows, maybe that may even include dispossessing Celtic of the title in some of our best years. Performance-wise I want us to be at least the equivalent of Fergie’s Aberdeen but punching above our weight long-term, not just under a uniquely-talented head coach.

I attended my first Hibs game in 1969 (a thumping in Dunfermline) but if it takes another 5 or 10 years to achieve my dream or at least move significantly in that direction, I don’t care. I want the template set for it now and for “the Hibs’ way” to become a recognised standard of excellence and “Hibs-ing it” to develop entirely different connotations from what’s now understood. I quite understand, though, that others don’t share my patience and I don’t expect them to.

[hibby rae]

I'm willing to relax and trust MM. I don't think he allows emotions to interfere with his process. For those convinced they could do better and who are able to call upon their inner Mr Spock, please send your CV to the club for consideration if it doesn't work out. Just remember who we have in the squad now and how every one of them was considered a really good idea by someone in recruitment - not IG himself - not so long ago but before MM joined us. How many signings over the last couple of years made the desired impact or were starters on Sunday?

Is that you Mackay? Because that's a bit of a terrible argument.

Fans are allowed to criticise. Like Mackay I'd probably only get the job if I had Malcolm McPherson down as a reference.

[Pretty Boy]

I'm not sure that just because we were willing to spend a million on McCowan and then didn't spend it on someone else suggests there was no plan B. Was it £750K we bid for Naismith years ago before he went to Rangers and then didn't spend that money directly on someone else?

Sometimes a certain player just ticks enough boxes that you are willing to go that wee bit further. Approaching peak years, good age, proven at the level, sell on value, fills a specific need in our squad etc etc. There was definitely still an expectation at Hibs the deal would be done going into the final days of the window, indeed had Celtic not stepped in then it almost certainly would have been as Dundee would have taken £1M.

Would we definitely have brought in Triantis had the McCowan deal gone through? Maybe plan B was to change things about slightly then look to spend the big money on a longer term option next summer. Someone like Lennon Miller will be into the last year of his contract next year and if he continues to develop then maybe £1M would be better spent on him at 20 than buying for the sake of buying this summer.

I'm as frustrated as anyone by Hibs right now but sometimes it isn't just black and white. Just because we had money for one player doesn't mean it is there for or has to be spent on another.

[Cooshed Kid]

Is that you Mackay? Because that's a bit of a terrible argument.

Fans are allowed to criticise. Like Mackay I'd probably only get the job if I had Malcolm McPherson down as a reference.

I'm not suggesting for a moment fans shouldn't criticise. Of course we should. All I'm saying is that the business side of football needs to be carried out without emotion. Criticism is often led by emotion without adequate consideration or knowledge of all the factors the business needs to take into account. We all think we know better than the club but if there's anyone on this site who knows how to run our club more successfully than those currently entrusted with that then I have yet to see that from his posts.

[Donegal Hibby]

I think there’s a lot of sense to what MM says … in we thought that there was an opportunity to buy a very good Scottish player with good stats in our league .

The million pound the club where willing to go too is encouraging and shows some serious ambition from the owners and I think they deserve praise rather than criticism for it .

As to not getting him and not having a plan B , I totally agree with MM in what he says about the English market being over inflated . We probably wouldn’t have got nearly the same quality of player down there as Luke McCowan for that kind of money…

We could have looked at other markets and bought some player with a really good pedigree/record in their league but might not settle or adjust to it just like Vente didn’t!.

Personally I’m glad we didn’t rush out to get a plan B and I’m really hoping we are keeping our powder dry in hopefully an attempt to get Lyle Cameron( made the team of the week ) in the next window or next summer .

Find the facts of it that we are willing to spend that sort of amount of money while trying to make sure we get our signings right as opposed to the scatter gun approach we have had in the past only encouraging and positive.

[Scottie]

I'm all for being disrespectful to Luke McCowan, and so should we all be. **** him.
Thats where i am Easty call me an old cynic but i'm only interested in a player that want to be at Hibs and to hell the rest :aok:

[K-Zazu]

Malky saying we were prepared to go to a million pounds for McCowan. That's really quite something and would obviously have represented a record fee if it went through.
I'm not aware of Hearts or Aberdeen spending that kind of money but am prepared to be corrected on that. Either way it is an eye opener.

Couple thoughts...

- Bodes well that we a) have that money left in the player budget and b) are prepared to go to that level.of outlay. Makes it quite exciting to think of future possibilities - that kind of money can bring in real quality at our level.

- Not buying that there were no alternatives. Yes, if it fell through late in the day don't want to rush anything or spend it for the sake of it but surely we aren't saying McCowan is the only AM type that we could bring in for up to a million pounds.

- Find it strange Malky saying we didn't want to go after somebody else because they would have wanted a wedge of what we had to spend making us pay over the odds.... in a media piece going on about the owner prepared to go to a million pounds.

Aberdeen just paid 1 million for Topi Keskinen I think.

[Bobo]

I'm glad we never got McCowan at that price or anywhere near it to be honest.

£500k would have been my limit for McCowan, not convinced he's worth any more and would rather any £1M expenditure was spent on proven quality and not a player that will likely end up being unable to replicate the one decent season he's had?

Only my opinion but I don't think McCowan merits that kind of outlay.

[worcesterhibby]

I remain surprised we didn’t get the goalkeeper Paulsen who has inexplicably ended up back in NZ, at Auckland, literally two months after trumpeting his big move to Bournemouth

maybe he really struggled being away from home. Happens to lots of Scottish players who move to England and that’s only a few hours drive. Maybe we tried very hard to get him but the player didn’t want to come ? We are hardly likely to promote the fact that we were turned down.

[Smartie]

I'm not sure that just because we were willing to spend a million on McCowan and then didn't spend it on someone else suggests there was no plan B. Was it £750K we bid for Naismith years ago before he went to Rangers and then didn't spend that money directly on someone else?

Sometimes a certain player just ticks enough boxes that you are willing to go that wee bit further. Approaching peak years, good age, proven at the level, sell on value, fills a specific need in our squad etc etc. There was definitely still an expectation at Hibs the deal would be done going into the final days of the window, indeed had Celtic not stepped in then it almost certainly would have been as Dundee would have taken £1M.

Would we definitely have brought in Triantis had the McCowan deal gone through? Maybe plan B was to change things about slightly then look to spend the big money on a longer term option next summer. Someone like Lennon Miller will be into the last year of his contract next year and if he continues to develop then maybe £1M would be better spent on him at 20 than buying for the sake of buying this summer.

I'm as frustrated as anyone by Hibs right now but sometimes it isn't just black and white. Just because we had money for one player doesn't mean it is there for or has to be spent on another.

I’m pretty sure when we signed John McGinn that his signing was considered to be a “special opportunity, outside of the budget” sort of a signing, one that we pushed the boat out for relative to our means at the time as it was an opportunity we couldn’t afford to slip by us.

Hard to argue that wasn’t a good decision.

But I agree, it’s not always black and white and that instead of being pedal to the metal all the way there should sometimes be a “special occasions only” situation that should only ever really be used on special occasions.

[Steve-O]

maybe he really struggled being away from home. Happens to lots of Scottish players who move to England and that’s only a few hours drive. Maybe we tried very hard to get him but the player didn’t want to come ? We are hardly likely to promote the fact that we were turned down.

Will never know I suppose but I would say I’d find it unlikely he was already unsettled after 2 months. Pretty confident guy. I’m doubly annoyed he ended up at Auckland!

[Hibernian Verse]

I’m pretty sure when we signed John McGinn that his signing was considered to be a “special opportunity, outside of the budget” sort of a signing, one that we pushed the boat out for relative to our means at the time as it was an opportunity we couldn’t afford to slip by us.

Hard to argue that wasn’t a good decision.

But I agree, it’s not always black and white and that instead of being pedal to the metal all the way there should sometimes be a “special occasions only” situation that should only ever really be used on special occasions.

I enjoyed the unintentional St Mirren pun at the end there :wink:

[Numptie]

Not buying the no plan B bit. Don't think anyone on here was saying that we need someone exactly like McCowan, we would be happy with any midfielder who is forward thinking and can defend a bit - this could be on a free or could have cost us £500k etc, we just wanted someone better than the midfield that has failed us for 3 seasons

[Donegal Hibby]

I'm glad we never got McCowan at that price or anywhere near it to be honest.

£500k would have been my limit for McCowan, not convinced he's worth any more and would rather any £1M expenditure was spent on proven quality and not a player that will likely end up being unable to replicate the one decent season he's had?

Only my opinion but I don't think McCowan merits that kind of outlay.

If McCowan had been on a longer contract he’d be worth more IMO . We are apparently looking for over 2.5 mill for Youan so I think from 750k to a million was a fair price considering his contract status , we tried though just unfortunate that celtic came in for him at the end .

[Hibs4185]

Last week our midfield was slightly better, due to 2 loans.

If McCowan was a million, realistically we’d be better with 2 @ £500k or 3 @ £300-400k .

One player cant make up for the shortfalls elsewhere in midfield

[Centre Hawf]

It would be interesting to know exactly when Celtic became involved in the transfer negotiations.

The cynic in me might suggest that we knew fine well that even a £1M wouldn’t be enough, particularly when you factor in the financial package Celtic would offer McCowan compared to our limits.

Triantis wasn’t just given a quick call on Friday.

We’ve certainly spent big sums in recent seasons on fees, so creeping towards £1M isn’t an outlandish figure, but how close we were to actually parting with that I have my doubts..

In the build up to deadline day it was said that Celtic were in for West Ham midfielder Andy Irving on loan (yes that one from Hearts, weird career trajectory) but there were reservations from West Ham or Irvings side.

I'm fairly convinced that he was their first target for a homegrown quota midfielder and when it fell apart last minute they turned to McCowan. But I wouldn't be surprised if they told his agent that would be the case and Dundee/McCowan were content to sit to the 11th hour for Celtic to decide and leave us hanging like a spare prick.

Dundee got a couple hundred grand more than they were going to from us (maybe) and McCowan got to go to Celtic and earn probably double the wages he would here. The only ones that didn't win in the end was us.

[hibeerealist]

I'll re-phrase if it helps.

I'm not aware of anyone outwith the old firm, even the teams with bigger budgets than we have, bidding for players at that level of expenditure. I never thought Hibs would ever spend a million pounds on a player - and maybe they won't (and haven't thus far) but prepared to take the Sporting Director at face value that we were prepared to.

The 'so what' is I find it massively encouraging about the owners backing/financial position and exciting thinking if we could spend that money, what we could get for that money.

Hope the same message without the name checks helps

I know a number of our fans disagree, but we ended up looking rather foolish over the McCowan deal as it was played out publicly. Every man and his dug knew he was a celtic fan, but celtic had not bid for him with weeks to go on the window.

A proper business approach would have been to make our offer with a 24/48 hour condition (withdrawn if no positive answer). Of course, Jackie boy would have let celtic know but celtic could not OR rather would not make any firm offer or commitment whilst they were pursuing other players. That was our opportunity to strike the deal.

Given MM stating is was LM or nobody then it is even more appropriate that we play hard ball, we would likely have got him at £800K or so with some £200K of add ons.

IF, at that point, Dundee/the player say no get out of there its no happening, go look elsewhere.

Encouraging they were prepared to spend yes, naive in the way they approached it, I do hope they learn from it but it has cost us for now.

[The Tubs]

I know a number of our fans disagree, but we ended up looking rather foolish over the McCowan deal as it was played out publicly. Every man and his dug knew he was a celtic fan, but celtic had not bid for him with weeks to go on the window.

A proper business approach would have been to make our offer with a 24/48 hour condition (withdrawn if no positive answer). Of course, Jackie boy would have let celtic know but celtic could not OR rather would not make any firm offer or commitment whilst they were pursuing other players. That was our opportunity to strike the deal.

Given MM stating is was LM or nobody then it is even more appropriate that we play hard ball, we would likely have got him at £800K or so with some £200K of add ons.

IF, at that point, Dundee/the player say no get out of there its no happening, go look elsewhere.

Encouraging they were prepared to spend yes, naive in the way they approached it, I do hope they learn from it but it has cost us for now.

Even if Dundee had given into this, there's evey chance the player wouldn't have signed on the off-chance he would get Celtc. The risk/reward scenario, to paraphrase Malky, would be very tempting for the player, especially given what history has now borne out.

[McGruber]

I know a number of our fans disagree, but we ended up looking rather foolish over the McCowan deal as it was played out publicly. Every man and his dug knew he was a celtic fan, but celtic had not bid for him with weeks to go on the window.

A proper business approach would have been to make our offer with a 24/48 hour condition (withdrawn if no positive answer). Of course, Jackie boy would have let celtic know but celtic could not OR rather would not make any firm offer or commitment whilst they were pursuing other players. That was our opportunity to strike the deal.

Given MM stating is was LM or nobody then it is even more appropriate that we play hard ball, we would likely have got him at £800K or so with some £200K of add ons.

IF, at that point, Dundee/the player say no get out of there its no happening, go look elsewhere.

Encouraging they were prepared to spend yes, naive in the way they approached it, I do hope they learn from it but it has cost us for now.

I agree with you on the LM bid itself and said same on the transfer thread at the time - best offer with a deadline, gets accepted or we moved on.

[NAE NOOKIE]

I know a number of our fans disagree, but we ended up looking rather foolish over the McCowan deal as it was played out publicly. Every man and his dug knew he was a celtic fan, but celtic had not bid for him with weeks to go on the window.

A proper business approach would have been to make our offer with a 24/48 hour condition (withdrawn if no positive answer). Of course, Jackie boy would have let celtic know but celtic could not OR rather would not make any firm offer or commitment whilst they were pursuing other players. That was our opportunity to strike the deal.

Given MM stating is was LM or nobody then it is even more appropriate that we play hard ball, we would likely have got him at £800K or so with some £200K of add ons.

IF, at that point, Dundee/the player say no get out of there its no happening, go look elsewhere.

Encouraging they were prepared to spend yes, naive in the way they approached it, I do hope they learn from it but it has cost us for now.

Take it or leave it with a deadline could have been the way to go. In the end we played it they way hundreds of clubs do every window and the fact we were beaten to him by Celtic doesn't make me think it left Hibs looking foolish. I think most fans in Scotland would be more surprised at Hibs being willing to offer 800K for a player than think the fact we lost out to a club that can outbid anybody in this league by miles and offer far higher wages if they want a player made us look foolish.

As it is there's a part of me that can't help thinking missing out on this guy isn't the end of the world. In the Scottish market 800K going on a million for a guy in the last year of his contract with one standout season behind him in top flight football and probably no sell on value would have been an excessive amount for a club like us. Fine for minted Celtic ... probably not so much for us.

[Hibees1973]

Devils advocate here. :

McCowan a celtic fan and Celtic were interested from the offset, he's a great homegrown replacement for Callum McGregor..

It's a great PR play by the club, they have picked the best option possible for spending a Million Pound when you don't want to spend a million pound.

Exactly where I'm at.

The head guys at the club don't hell talk a load of bull.

If the team played as well as they talked we already be in the Euro group stages.

[Bobo]

If McCowan had been on a longer contract he’d be worth more IMO . We are apparently looking for over 2.5 mill for Youan so I think from 750k to a million was a fair price considering his contract status , we tried though just unfortunate that celtic came in for him at the end .

Longer contract or not, IMO, McCowan still isn't worth £1M and I wouldn't pay any more than £500k for him.

That's not to say someone else isn't going to pay more for him, as we saw with the Hibs bids and fee that Celtic ultimately paid.

For me Youan is better value for money than McCowan but again isn't worth what Hibs will be looking for if/when selling him.

Both players undoubtedly have ability but it's the consistency of performance (or lack of) that ultimately determines their values, both ply their trade in the SPL for that reason.

[hibeerealist]

Exactly where I'm at.

The head guys at the club don't hell talk a load of bull.

If the team played as well as they talked we already be in the Euro group stages.


Yes I agree celtic were interested from outset, Jackie boy will have made sure they knew all about LM being a fan. However, celtic were trying to sign other players and only came for LM when one deal fell through.

Our chance was earlier in the window when celtic would NOT have committed to buying him (as they were chasing other players), yes they could always have afforded to buy him
but no bid (until final day).

We cannot compete with them but there WAS an opportunity and we missed it. In addition, we would have known to stop pursuing LM IF we had put a deadline on our offer and it was turned down.

Pursuing him to the very end of the window WAS naive and foolish as Dundee used us as a fallback, hard to argue that was not the case.

[Centre Hawf]

I doubt that we weren't looking for Plan B players while Dundee were considering it. I said before but I think we were so all in on him because we couldn't identify anyone else, or at least anyone that wanted to come.

[ancient hibee]

McCowan must be the first Scottish player to have attracted a million quid transfer fee not to have everyone agitating to have him in the national team.

[Smartie]

Is there a chance though that if we'd made an offer with deadline, then walked away, then not signed an alternative then we'd be even more raging?

i.e you wanted the player, you chose to set a deadline which stopped you from possibly signing him later than you're own deadline but before Celtic came in, gave yourselves time to sign a player and STILL didn't manage to get anyone?

I know Hibs haven't done enough to win our full trust of late but there are a good few situations developing right now where they're damned if they do and damned if they don't.

[Smartie]

McCowan must be the first Scottish player to have attracted a million quid transfer fee not to have everyone agitating to have him in the national team.

To be fair, Scotland probably haven't had the depth of options in the midfield positions that they have now since million pound transfers became commonplace.

What have Gilmour and McTominay just gone for? Was it up to £16m for Gilmour and £25m plus for McTominay? What would the market value of the Scotland captain, who has just captained his club side into the Champions League be?

McCowan could be a very good player indeed yet have a fair job ousting any of them.

[easty]

McCowan must be the first Scottish player to have attracted a million quid transfer fee not to have everyone agitating to have him in the national team.

Kenny Miller, Kevin Thomson and Steven Whittaker all left Hibs for more without being in the Scotland squad. I think.

[One Day Soon]

Is that you Mackay? Because that's a bit of a terrible argument.

Fans are allowed to criticise. Like Mackay I'd probably only get the job if I had Malcolm McPherson down as a reference.


It's funny you should post that because I've become convinced we have at least one senior member of the club's leadership posting on here...

Though not the poster you replied to.

[itslegaltender]

De La Cruz was 1.75 million was he not? thats our biggest ever purchase.

[Pretty Boy]

Is there a chance though that if we'd made an offer with deadline, then walked away, then not signed an alternative then we'd be even more raging?

i.e you wanted the player, you chose to set a deadline which stopped you from possibly signing him later than you're own deadline but before Celtic came in, gave yourselves time to sign a player and STILL didn't manage to get anyone?

I know Hibs haven't done enough to win our full trust of late but there are a good few situations developing right now where they're damned if they do and damned if they don't.

I don't think many people who work in a business that trades in commodities with subjective values sets self imposed deadlines, far less rigidly sticks to them, particularly in a market that is as fluid and unpredictable as football transfers.

It just makes no sense. 'Here's our offer, take it or leave it by tomorrow'. Repeat that ten times and you could end up with no one and nowhere to go. We've negotiated with the owner of the player trying to find a mutually acceptable valuation, in the end we have got close but been gazumped by a company with far greater spending power than our own. It happens. Had Celtic decided to look elsewhere then we would have got our man, there was no point in totally shutting the door until such time as it became concrete he was going elsewhere.

[McGruber]

Kenny Miller, Kevin Thomson and Steven Whittaker all left Hibs for more without being in the Scotland squad. I think.

Look no further than Andy Irving for weird Scotland International status - never quoted for Scotland but apparently wanted by West Ham, Atalanta, Girona, PSG, Man City, Real Madrid, Barcelona... !

[ekhibee]

De La Cruz was 1.75 million was he not? thats our biggest ever purchase.

De la Cruz was £700k. He was our most expensive purchase at the time.

[Baader]

De La Cruz was 1.75 million was he not? thats our biggest ever purchase.

Was reported at the time as £750k

[overdrive]

De La Cruz was 1.75 million was he not? thats our biggest ever purchase.

£750k was what was rumoured and I think McLeish said even that was more than what we paid

[hibeerealist]

I don't think many people who work in a business that trades in commodities with subjective values sets self imposed deadlines, far less rigidly sticks to them, particularly in a market that is as fluid and unpredictable as football transfers.

It just makes no sense. 'Here's our offer, take it or leave it by tomorrow'. Repeat that ten times and you could end up with no one and nowhere to go. We've negotiated with the owner of the player trying to find a mutually acceptable valuation, in the end we have got close but been gazumped by a company with far greater spending power than our own. It happens. Had Celtic decided to look elsewhere then we would have got our man, there was no point in totally shutting the door until such time as it became concrete he was going elsewhere.

Missed my point on this one Matty, it was not your everyday transfer.

Hibs wanted him, we now know him and only him, celtic were busy elsewhere (I am assuming Hibs, like virtually everyone else, knew LM was a celtic fan) so there is absolutely a case in terms of this transfer TO PUT IN A BID WITH A DEADLINE.

Not going to do it with all transfers of course.

[Wilson]

MM obviously irked by the criticism levelled at him for having no plan B in the event of McCowan deciding not to sign for us.

Not sure his ‘all or nothing’ approach is the best way to proceed

I just don't think we have a shortlist of players like McCowan. We were prepared to bid 1million, for a player with little prospect of recouping the fee. This was a player we were likely sinking the million into because he was the right character, put up the right numbers, that we wanted him in our midfield for the next four years, to build the team around him, and were prepared to wear the cost.

It isn't easy to come up with a plan b for that. Sure we can cover the position but we don't always throw a million at it.

I imagine Malky would be frustrated that a lot of work went into a deal that didn't come off. That and that many fans just don't appreciate what we were trying to do.

[The Modfather]

Is there a chance though that if we'd made an offer with deadline, then walked away, then not signed an alternative then we'd be even more raging?

i.e you wanted the player, you chose to set a deadline which stopped you from possibly signing him later than you're own deadline but before Celtic came in, gave yourselves time to sign a player and STILL didn't manage to get anyone?

I know Hibs haven't done enough to win our full trust of late but there are a good few situations developing right now where they're damned if they do and damned if they don't.

There is a happy medium though. Tell them this is our best offer. We’ll leave the offer open but need to explore other options. Bid for plan B, someone we do want if we were to end up signing him in our game of bluff. Dundee see our bid in the media and that either forces them to accept or we know they had no intention of selling to us.

[Tyler Durden]

Missed my point on this one Matty, it was not your everyday transfer.

Hibs wanted him, we now know him and only him, celtic were busy elsewhere (I am assuming Hibs, like virtually everyone else, knew LM was a celtic fan) so there is absolutely a case in terms of this transfer TO PUT IN A BID WITH A DEADLINE.

Not going to do it with all transfers of course.

But there wasn't. If Celtic decided on Friday morning they didn't want him, he'd have signed for Hibs.

What would have been the point in us ruling ourselves out a week prior to that? He'd still - quite rightly - have waited on the chance of a move to Celtic, regardless of any bid Dundee accepted.

[hibeerealist]

But there wasn't. If Celtic decided on Friday morning they didn't want him, he'd have signed for Hibs.

What would have been the point in us ruling ourselves out a week prior to that? He'd still - quite rightly - have waited on the chance of a move to Celtic, regardless of any bid Dundee accepted.


That played right into Dundee and celtic's plate, we had to be firmer in order to establish exactly where we were, not get strung along on ifs - we let ourselves be drawn into that position with no plan B.

Naive is being kind.

[Donegal Hibby]

Longer contract or not, IMO, McCowan still isn't worth £1M and I wouldn't pay any more than £500k for him.

That's not to say someone else isn't going to pay more for him, as we saw with the Hibs bids and fee that Celtic ultimately paid.

For me Youan is better value for money than McCowan but again isn't worth what Hibs will be looking for if/when selling him.

Both players undoubtedly have ability but it's the consistency of performance (or lack of) that ultimately determines their values, both ply their trade in the SPL for that reason.

Todd Cantwell went for 600k and probably didn’t have as good a season McCowan did so I think a valuation of a million was fair .

Maybe both were inconsistent , wingers like Youan generally are but in cases of both Youan and McCowan’s contribution over the course of the season , due to McCowan’s contract situation they had every right to be looking for a million for him as we have every right to be looking for over 2.5 mill for the number 1 prized asset at our football club .

MM was right in we wouldn’t get a player like McCowan in England for a million , if both Youan and McCowan were in England you’d probably be looking at around 5 mill easy if they had the same sort of seasons down there .

[matty_f]

Missed my point on this one Matty, it was not your everyday transfer.

Hibs wanted him, we now know him and only him, celtic were busy elsewhere (I am assuming Hibs, like virtually everyone else, knew LM was a celtic fan) so there is absolutely a case in terms of this transfer TO PUT IN A BID WITH A DEADLINE.

Not going to do it with all transfers of course.
Wasn’t me. :greengrin

[hibeerealist]

Wasn’t me. :greengrin


Sorry Matty it was Pretty Boy!

I had you on my mind as I was reading your previous post before replying to PB.

[ancient hibee]

To be fair, Scotland probably haven't had the depth of options in the midfield positions that they have now since million pound transfers became commonplace.

What have Gilmour and McTominay just gone for? Was it up to £16m for Gilmour and £25m plus for McTominay? What would the market value of the Scotland captain, who has just captained his club side into the Champions League be?

McCowan could be a very good player indeed yet have a fair job ousting any of them.

Our full of options midfield has just had a tournament where none of them turned up. Plenty room for new players.
Don’t think Andy Robertson will have a high market value.

[Hibees1973]

Was our offer ever accepted by Dundee?

Seems to me that McCowan and his agent were happy just to sit it out and wait on Celtic, no matter what we offered.

If that was the case Hibs should have walked away from the deal days earlier. Should never have waited until it was too late to get someone else in who played in the same position as McCowan.

Fools.

[Halifaxhibby]

I don’t mind Hibs deciding to keep the £1 million trousered for later use if that is the case, but I find the lack of any players coming in via the so called BK hook up strange. I think we all thought something positive would have happened this window.

The million will be helpful when we’re in the chumpionship…..running the club into the ground…..
God help us!!!!!

[worcesterhibby]

I don't think many people who work in a business that trades in commodities with subjective values sets self imposed deadlines, far less rigidly sticks to them, particularly in a market that is as fluid and unpredictable as football transfers.

It just makes no sense. 'Here's our offer, take it or leave it by tomorrow'. Repeat that ten times and you could end up with no one and nowhere to go. We've negotiated with the owner of the player trying to find a mutually acceptable valuation, in the end we have got close but been gazumped by a company with far greater spending power than our own. It happens. Had Celtic decided to look elsewhere then we would have got our man, there was no point in totally shutting the door until such time as it became concrete he was going elsewhere.

very sensible post

[HoboHarry]

The million will be helpful when we’re in the chumpionship…..running the club into the ground…..
God help us!!!!!
:rolleyes:

[Joe6-2]

Obviously a plan b, she said.

🙄

[Allant1981]

Our full of options midfield has just had a tournament where none of them turned up. Plenty room for new players.
Don’t think Andy Robertson will have a high market value.

£30m according to transfer market

[Wilson]

The million will be helpful when we’re in the chumpionship…..running the club into the ground…..
God help us!!!!!

Is that actually what you are seeing happening? The club being run into the ground? That's what was happening. The bloated squad. The failed Steve Kean experiment. It isn't what is happening now.

We are doing things right. It just takes time.

[JimBHibees]

I don't think many people who work in a business that trades in commodities with subjective values sets self imposed deadlines, far less rigidly sticks to them, particularly in a market that is as fluid and unpredictable as football transfers.

It just makes no sense. 'Here's our offer, take it or leave it by tomorrow'. Repeat that ten times and you could end up with no one and nowhere to go. We've negotiated with the owner of the player trying to find a mutually acceptable valuation, in the end we have got close but been gazumped by a company with far greater spending power than our own. It happens. Had Celtic decided to look elsewhere then we would have got our man, there was no point in totally shutting the door until such time as it became concrete he was going elsewhere.

Pretty much spot on i would have thought.

[lucky]

Lots of negativity around Hibs. The owners and McKay getting criticised for trying to spend a million on a player than everyone of us thought would improved the team. There was no plan B because no one else fitted the criteria at that price, knew the league and would have a sell on value in 2 years time.

I’ve not saw one name suggested by fans that Hibs could have got within our means that met the criteria. Too many fans just want have a pop at our club. Lots of key board warriors shouting down our club whilst not going to games or renewing their STs. There is no doubt it’s been a tough start to the season but this squad will make the top 6 with ease and we might even kick on in January with a couple of additions once we’ve move some more players on.

[easty]

Lots of negativity around Hibs. The owners and McKay getting criticised for trying to spend a million on a player than everyone of us thought would improved the team. There was no plan B because no one else fitted the criteria at that price, knew the league and would have a sell on value in 2 years time.

I’ve not saw one name suggested by fans that Hibs could have got within our means that met the criteria. Too many fans just want have a pop at our club. Lots of key board warriors shouting down our club whilst not going to games or renewing their STs. There is no doubt it’s been a tough start to the season but this squad will make the top 6 with ease and we might even kick on in January with a couple of additions once we’ve move some more players on.

If it's up to the fans to go out and identify players for Hibs, then Hibs should really communicate that out, then you'd get plenty suggestions.

Are people now "keyboard warriors" if they're not happy about how Hibs are going just now? It used to be just people trying to be hard from the safety of being somewhere else.

Are the people not happy about how things are going only folk who don't go to games?

[where'stheslope]

Lots of negativity around Hibs. The owners and McKay getting criticised for trying to spend a million on a player than everyone of us thought would improved the team. There was no plan B because no one else fitted the criteria at that price, knew the league and would have a sell on value in 2 years time.

I’ve not saw one name suggested by fans that Hibs could have got within our means that met the criteria. Too many fans just want have a pop at our club. Lots of key board warriors shouting down our club whilst not going to games or renewing their STs. There is no doubt it’s been a tough start to the season but this squad will make the top 6 with ease and we might even kick on in January with a couple of additions once we’ve move some more players on.
For me its not the spending £1 million on a player, its the expected salary that the player would expect.
If you spend money like that on 1 player the rest think they deserve more, and internal problems can arise.
Last club outside Glasgow who did this (Aberdeen) nearly went broke.
So not a good option, stay within our means!!!

[JimBHibees]

Lots of negativity around Hibs. The owners and McKay getting criticised for trying to spend a million on a player than everyone of us thought would improved the team. There was no plan B because no one else fitted the criteria at that price, knew the league and would have a sell on value in 2 years time.

I’ve not saw one name suggested by fans that Hibs could have got within our means that met the criteria. Too many fans just want have a pop at our club. Lots of key board warriors shouting down our club whilst not going to games or renewing their STs. There is no doubt it’s been a tough start to the season but this squad will make the top 6 with ease and we might even kick on in January with a couple of additions once we’ve move some more players on.

Agree with that how about giving the new team some patience support and backing. Genuinely think we will do OK this year.

[HibbyDave]

I don't think many people who work in a business that trades in commodities with subjective values sets self imposed deadlines, far less rigidly sticks to them, particularly in a market that is as fluid and unpredictable as football transfers.

It just makes no sense. 'Here's our offer, take it or leave it by tomorrow'. Repeat that ten times and you could end up with no one and nowhere to go. We've negotiated with the owner of the player trying to find a mutually acceptable valuation, in the end we have got close but been gazumped by a company with far greater spending power than our own. It happens. Had Celtic decided to look elsewhere then we would have got our man, there was no point in totally shutting the door until such time as it became concrete he was going elsewhere.
I had suggested a bid with a cut-off date. Still think it would have been the way to go. Dundee did not know if we were looking at options on other players, Celtic had not expressed interest as they were looking at others.
I just feel that we should have made our best offer once and been prepared to walk away rather than being hustled along until Celtic were ready.

[Dashing Bob S]

Hearts/A’deen spending a million - ‘shows ambition’
Hibs spending a million - ‘desperate’ ‘played for mugs’ ‘losers’ etc

Hearts/Adeen spending zilch - prudent financial management
Hibs spending zilch - no ambition

[lucky]

If it's up to the fans to go out and identify players for Hibs, then Hibs should really communicate that out, then you'd get plenty suggestions.

Are people now "keyboard warriors" if they're not happy about how Hibs are going just now? It used to be just people trying to be hard from the safety of being somewhere else.

Are the people not happy about how things are going only folk who don't go to games?

You know I wasn’t meaning fans do the scouting but was making the point that lots were saying we should have had a plan B. But this has been explained by Mackay no one else fitted the remit at that price so a decision was made it was McCowan or no one.

Every fan is entitled to have their say in the club, especially on here but the constant running down of the club gets boring. We’ve had people say they aren’t going back, Hibs aren’t getting another penny of their cash as Ian Gordon is clueless then complain that guy was trying to spend a million.

All of us think we know best, but Hibs are going in the right direction it’s just going to take time. Off the pitch we are doing great. Upgrades at HTC and hospitality. Lots of sponsorship deals bringing more cash into the club. But it’s on the pitch that counts but we need more than 1 window to right the wrongs of the past.

[Jack]

Hibs aren’t getting another penny of their cash as Ian Gordon is clueless then complain that guy was trying to spend a million.


Given the amount of extra investment that's come into the club since the turn of the year I really hope you mean Ian Gordon is OKing the deal, as a rep for the majority owner, using Hibs money.

Not he has, as a rep for the majority owner, agreed to putting in the money for the deal.

[Dublin07]

Why do folk struggle to understand the market we are trying to work in. Folk moaning we had no plan B. What you get for £1m in Scotland gets you an average player at best in the English championship. Same folk moaned about triantis coming back. Do you think we could sign him for £1m - no chance. The only similar players we could afford could be O’hara st St Mirren and Cameron at Dundee but their clubs would not be easy to deal with.

[easty]

Why do folk struggle to understand the market we are trying to work in. Folk moaning we had no plan B. What you get for £1m in Scotland gets you an average player at best in the English championship. Same folk moaned about triantis coming back. Do you think we could sign him for £1m - no chance. The only similar players we could afford could be O’hara st St Mirren and Cameron at Dundee but their clubs would not be easy to deal with.

I don't think there's no chance you could sign him for £1m. That's a tidy profit (£650k) for Sunderland for a 21 year old player that's deemed not good enough for their first team

[easty]

You know I wasn’t meaning fans do the scouting but was making the point that lots were saying we should have had a plan B. But this has been explained by Mackay no one else fitted the remit at that price so a decision was made it was McCowan or no one.

Every fan is entitled to have their say in the club, especially on here but the constant running down of the club gets boring. We’ve had people say they aren’t going back, Hibs aren’t getting another penny of their cash as Ian Gordon is clueless then complain that guy was trying to spend a million.

All of us think we know best, but Hibs are going in the right direction it’s just going to take time. Off the pitch we are doing great. Upgrades at HTC and hospitality. Lots of sponsorship deals bringing more cash into the club. But it’s on the pitch that counts but we need more than 1 window to right the wrongs of the past.

I think there are things at Hibs which are going well, especially the stuff in your final point.

I don't believe for a second that no other player "fit the remit", that's just Malky covering the clubs arse. We needed/need a player than can drive the midfield forward. Luke McCowan would've been a good player to fit that "remit", but to say he was the only player who could (especially when money was clearly there and available) is a nonsense.

[overdrive]

Why do folk struggle to understand the market we are trying to work in. Folk moaning we had no plan B. What you get for £1m in Scotland gets you an average player at best in the English championship. Same folk moaned about triantis coming back. Do you think we could sign him for £1m - no chance. The only similar players we could afford could be O’hara st St Mirren and Cameron at Dundee but their clubs would not be easy to deal with.

It’s the lack of plan B for the position rather than the money involved. I wasn’t expecting us to go out and spend £1m on a plan B. I was expecting us to sign another midfielder that was different in playing style to what we had. Instead, we signed Triantis who is similar to Kwon, Newell, JDH, Kenneh, etc.

[hibeerealist]

Hearts/A’deen spending a million - ‘shows ambition’
Hibs spending a million - ‘desperate’ ‘played for mugs’ ‘losers’ etc

Hearts/Adeen spending zilch - prudent financial management
Hibs spending zilch - no ambition


Your middle name twister?

[The Modfather]

You know I wasn’t meaning fans do the scouting but was making the point that lots were saying we should have had a plan B. But this has been explained by Mackay no one else fitted the remit at that price so a decision was made it was McCowan or no one.

Every fan is entitled to have their say in the club, especially on here but the constant running down of the club gets boring. We’ve had people say they aren’t going back, Hibs aren’t getting another penny of their cash as Ian Gordon is clueless then complain that guy was trying to spend a million.

All of us think we know best, but Hibs are going in the right direction it’s just going to take time. Off the pitch we are doing great. Upgrades at HTC and hospitality. Lots of sponsorship deals bringing more cash into the club. But it’s on the pitch that counts but we need more than 1 window to right the wrongs of the past.

On the lack of a plan B / no players fitting the remit. Is that because we’ve taken an insular view of the world and are only looking at the Scottish market and the lower divisions in England? At our level I’d have thought a proper recruitment department and thorough scouting network could quite easily identify midfielders with the attributes of McCowan, certainly with nearing a million pound available to spend. Though not if they have to be existing players in our league.

I’m really disappointed how little impact or benefit it looks like we’ve had from the Black Knights group in terms of expanding our knowledge of players. There must be lots of players scouted/known by Bournemouth and Lorient who aren’t quite good enough for them but would be a star at our level. Instead we looked to have recruited players that the messageboard could potentially have suggested ourselves.

[Donegal Hibby]

It’s the lack of plan B for the position rather than the money involved. I wasn’t expecting us to go out and spend £1m on a plan B. I was expecting us to sign another midfielder that was different in playing style to what we had. Instead, we signed Triantis who is similar to Kwon, Newell, JDH, Kenneh, etc.

Maybe there wasn’t a plan B available without spending a large chunk of a million quid and we’re keeping our money for another Plan A in January while exploring the free agents in the meantime.

Triantis is a significant upgrade on both JDH and Kenneh and I’m glad we got him.

[lucky]

I think there are things at Hibs which are going well, especially the stuff in your final point.

I don't believe for a second that no other player "fit the remit", that's just Malky covering the clubs arse. We needed/need a player than can drive the midfield forward. Luke McCowan would've been a good player to fit that "remit", but to say he was the only player who could (especially when money was clearly there and available) is a nonsense.

It’s clear that the club are focusing on the British market. Therefore the standard of player required at the money we had to spend meant there was little options for us. A million is huge for Hibs but teams in the 3rd level of English football regularly spend that and more. I’m as disappointed as everyone else about our start to the season but I can’t believe the negativity against the club because we bid and failed to get McCowan.