Former Hands
on Hibs committee member Stuart Crowther provides a summary of the ‘crisis’ at
Easter Road – and asks, what now for the pressure group and its 3,000 members?
At the end of October I received a
telephone call inviting me to a meeting, along with other Hands on Hibs committee
stalwarts, with Brian Kennedy. Mr Kennedy wished to explain to the group where he stood in
his attempts to wrestle control of Hibernian from the hands of Sir Tom Farmer and Rod
Petrie.
This was a landmark meeting that was held in
‘secrecy’. In the event, Mr Kennedy told us little that we did not already know.
That said, like everyone else at that meeting I was highly impressed and encouraged by the
commitment of this man who would, given the chance, take the club we all love so dearly
forward into the next century.
On leaving the meeting I was more than proud
to shake the hand of Mr Kennedy. Like everyone else who attended, I was bitten by his
obvious passion for the club, and convinced more than ever that this man would do much for
Hibernian. Having taken an active part in the Hands on Hibs movement, and having supported
the aims of that group if not always 100% behind the tactics they employed, I was never
more motivated in my support for Mr Kennedy and his bid for the club than I was that
evening.
It was however the last meeting of Hands on
Hibs I was to attend.
The aims of the Hands on Hibs group have
never changed, and deep down we must all know that something is very wrong in the manner
in which Hibernian have been run in recent years. The blame for this, if blame indeed
needs to be apportioned, has been placed squarely on the shoulders of two men – Sir
Tom Farmer and Rod Petrie.
HoH have attempted from day one to extract a
clear move on the part of Sir Tom to invest in the football club. When they talk of such
investment, they do not mean guarantees of loans or stock issues, because while these are
appreciated as being the very things that have kept the club alive, they do not and will
not sustain the growth that the club requires.
The alternative call has been for Sir Tom to
sell up. He gave an undertaking to sell should the right person come along. Enter Brian
Kennedy. It is not yet clear why, in spite of the clear credentials of Mr Kennedy as a man
of substance who meets every prior requirement laid down by Sir Tom, that the club remains
in the hands of the men who allowed it to free-fall into the first division. Many a
conspiracy theory abounds around Easter Road stadium about why Sir Tom has dug his heals
in so deep. To date however, we still await a clear indication of what long-term
investment plans he has for the club.
In my time with HoH, I witnessed many changes
in tactics, each brought about by the attempts of the club board to stave off the
increasing membership (and therefore credibility) of the pressure group. A combination of
bad results at the start of the first division campaign, and ill-advised public comments
by new Chairman Tom O’Malley, gave fresh wind to the HoH sails.
There is little doubt in my mind that this
was the period when Hands on Hibs ‘peaked’. A great deal of sensible comment was
emanating from the pressure group, while the club board where finding it difficult to
justify their continued tenure at the club. Credit must be given to Rod Petrie, Hibernian
managing director and the person widely accepted as being the true power at Easter Road.
Not once during this period did Petrie flinch, not once did he give ground.
By the time Brian Kennedy had entered the
stage, the board had gathered in some high-level media relations companies, tasked one
assumed with the job of drowning the cries for change from HoH. To a significant extent,
they succeeded.
Months of silence followed from both sides, a
period during which the football club, much to the relief of most fans, continued
on an improvement path that would see them clear at the top of the first division. Indeed,
so confident had the board become, they took the disgraceful action of removing ‘Hibs
Kids’ stalwart and HoH founder member Willie McEwan from his voluntary post. And as
if that was not enough, the board ensured that Pat Stanton could not possibly accept a
long-promised job at the club, by making him an offer that could only be described as
derisory.
Rightly, Hands on Hibs reacted to this with
anger. Sadly, their statements fell largely on deaf ears. Meanwhile, and timed for maximum
impact, Mr Kennedy revealed exactly what his plans are for Hibernian. Again, the board
rode through this, choosing to hide behind their now somewhat lame statement that they
would not allow anything to deflect the team from their efforts to take Hibernian back
into the Premier League.
Hard to argue with that – and so the
stalemate continues. Brian Kennedy has stated that he will not simply go away, but even he
accepts that if Sir Tom will not sell, he can do nothing about it. HoH have now called for
Sir Tom to announce his plans, to reveal if he is to at least match the investment
promised by Mr Kennedy. He has not done so yet, he need not do so, because of that same
bottom line – Sir Tom Farmer has control of Hibernian, and he can (and probably will)
do exactly what he likes.
So what then does the future hold for Hands
on Hibs? I can only comment on this from a personal level, but I have to say I worry for
the future of the group. I am no longer a formal part of HoH, and the reason I am not a
part of the group is purely on matters of trust. Like all such groups, the HoH committee
has a wide diversity of personalities and consequently views. And like all such groups,
trust between the various personalities is what holds them together – or tears them
apart.
I had already become concerned at some of the
statements being made by HoH and, indeed, by Brian Kennedy. It did appear to me that there
was almost a hope that results would turn against Hibs, and thus place pressure upon the
owner and board. But this for me was just one step too far. I was not prepared then, or am
I prepared now, to wish defeat upon any Hibernian team – if the arguments used all
along against Sir Tom’s ownership of Hibernian could not stand up in good times for
the team as well as bad, then they would never stand up.
Like many Hibs fans, many more than Messrs.
Farmer, Petrie and O’Malley may care to admit, I remain firmly behind the original
aims of Hands on Hibs. To achieve these aims, HoH must retain a level head. The
group must act as a single voice, and must remember that they represent the views, hopes
and aspirations of their members. They should lay aside any personal views they may have
for the good of the group as a whole.
It seems likely now that Hibernian will,
thankfully, return to the Premier League. Until that day, HoH and indeed Brian Kennedy
will have to sit on the sidelines. We will then see what plans Sir Tom has for the club,
what level of investment he will make or what plans the board have for raising alternative
investment. It might well be that Sir Tom, Rod Petrie and Brian Kennedy could work
together for the good of the club? Unlikely perhaps, given the mistrust that has developed
between Petrie and Kennedy, but who knows.
Whatever the future holds, HoH have
significantly raised the profile of the problems that do exist at Easter Road. The group
has forced the issue out into the open, and I believe that they will continue to do so.
Even when Hibernian are once again built upon solid foundations, I believe that there will
be a place for HoH, a united group of fans monitoring the running of the club and perhaps
even holding a financial stake in the club themselves.
But until our Premier status is returned, the
cry should not be so much ‘Hands of Hibs’ as ‘All Hands on Board’. |