if he's leaving he can get lost and and instead give someone that wants to be at the club a game
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It looks a certainty. Hibs aren't a great club to be at if you are a young player looking for opportunities. There's loads of SPL clubs will give youth a chance but we aren't one of them. Obviously down to the management in place and might change if Johnson goes (which he should if we finish bottom 6)
We'll lose both due to either stubbornness or ignorance. We see McKirdy getting regular game time and still done nowt all season, add in Jair being on the bench and getting minutes earlier in the season. Of course these 2 young lads will be frustrated and asking questions of the management and if it was me I'd be thinking of moving too.
Who’s stubbornness or ignorance though?
If it were me, I’d be signing a contract and believing I was good enough to step up next season, especially knowing that Nisbet, Myko and probably McKirdy will be leaving the club in the summer.
As a point of interest, how close would you guess Laidlaw will be to first team football at Watford ( should he go there)?
Is there any evidence they will get a chance next season? They didn’t get a chance last season despite a striker shortage, or finishing bottom 6. Haven’t had a chance this season, what must Macintyre and Megwa think when we chose to play Campbell ahead of them when all players in their position were out. Especially Megwa as we were at home to second bottom of the league at the time. None of the midfielders have had a chance despite our longstanding problems in that area. Etc etc
It might well be mistakes for players to go to Watford & Hull for their development, but I don’t think it’s a mistake leaving Hibs as the opportunities simply aren’t there and they have wasted a season’s development this season.
If they are good enough they would get game time. Connor Young has played 18 minutes in 5 games for East Fife, we heard it was a big mistake letting him go, Kurtis Byrne, Kane O'connor, I can't remember a player going away to bigger things recently.
Both players look good but they are young and should be signing and going on loan to lower leagues
They wouldn't have got offered lower than what all the others in their age group have just extended on. The problem is they probably think they are worth more, perhaps they are correct and will get more elsewhere.
I personally wouldn't offer them more than the standard for the age. The chances are only a couple or less from their age group will make it to our level and we don't have too much money to gamble
There was two young full backs in the butcher era and everyone was screaming out for them to play constantly and how it would be a massive mistake if they left. One went to Inverness and has disappeared, the other, I can't remember what happened to him.
Baptie was maybe one of them?
Anyway, I agree, can't think of a single "one that got away" with Sean Welsh maybe being the closest to it.
Think Callum Crane was the other. There’s not too many we’ve let go we would have been better keeping. Probably only Witherspoon, Sean Welsh & Callum Booth, all would have been good squad players over the years.
However how many short term squad fillers have we signed? Off the top of my head Mavrios, Nelom, Big Dave, Eardley, Schofield, Nathan Wood, Someone Barnes, Bigiranana, Spector etc etc. They probably have a handful of appearances between them. How much better could the budget be spent if we used the youth academy to find out players aren’t good enough when the first picks are unavailable, rather than bringing in squad fillers, with little intention of ever playing them it would seem, instead of padding the squad out from our own players.
I’m not convinced playing 6 (or however many it was) European games is as good as a season playing first team football in terms of development. As an example, and speaking from the outside so not with any real insight, but is the 6 European games Laidlaw played enough to develop? We’re in April now and he’s still playing solely in a league he looks to have long since outgrown. Same with those who went out on loan. Were the European games better than going out on loan at the start of the season.
I can’t help but feel it was closer to vanity from the club and Kean to point to the success of European run rather than the European run being better for development than players going out on loan for a season.
I think people forget just how young they are and how big the jump is.
To me the ones that look closest to it would be Laidlaw, Megwa and Blaney.
Megwa and Blaney are both defenders so it would then come down to how do they cope dealing with a 5 ft 9 and 60kg 18 year old striker to a Curtis Main type.
Laidlaw is the one I think what harm would it be to Chuck him on last 15 instead of one of the various wingers we’ve used throughout the season.
Unfortunately managers will always choose players they trust, especially if they’re under pressure. I get why Johnson who has had a very mixed bag isn’t risking his job on young players and instead picking more experienced players.
Funny though as it might have the opposite effect on fans, they might get a little bit of hope, glimmer of excitement and buzz seeing a young player come in and do well.
Agree the best players from the old under 18s would have been loaned out, the vast majority, who wont get a contract, would have been found alternatives.
and It would have showed hibs management if the players were worth, bigger contracts at the end of the season.
The contracts APPARENTLY offered by Hull,Watford or other championship clubs, can’t be matched by hibs.😞
This is we’re scottish football is at the moment.
I’m probably in the minority and a bit old school here but I agree with Hibs offering whatever the standard contract is and not giving them a big lucrative one.
If they have a base contract for all players at that age who haven’t played for the first team then fine.
If we start offering guys like Laidlaw etc big contracts over 4 years etc we could regret that quickly if they don’t live up to the hype. Next thing you know we have 5 players in the same boat every 1-2 seasons.
Give them the normal contract and then it’s on them to prove themselves as competent enough for the first team. If they’re good enough then we give them a new and improved contract to match their contribution like we did with Doig.
None of them have played more than a couple of minutes for us and none started a game.
Is there any suggestions they want more money, or could it be they're seeing no pathway to 1st team football when players like Jair, McKirdy etc are picked ahead of them, I'm all for making young players work hard for their wage increases but surely they have to be given a chance to prove it. Campbell was one who a lot were confused why he got a better deal and was getting regular game time but not showing his full capabilities, he's now the most improved player in the 1st team and a regular starter, we need to give these lads regular 15-20 mins here and there to see what they can do and give them encouragement.
I personally don’t know, but a lot of folk on here seem to say Aiken, O’Connor and Laidlaw want to stay but the offer Hibs have gave them isn’t good enough.
I agree to a certain extent was Campbell had been out on loan a couple of time and done well and then had played a decent amount of games in the first team when he got that.
Only now are some of our players going out on loan.
Maybe LJ feels they are currently more suited to the first team than Laidlaw and O’Connor. I would guess that Johnson sees McKirdy in particular as someone who can still come good, given his goalscoring record and experience?
People are still mentioning that Hibs offer may not have been good enough for Laidlaw, Aitken or O’Connor. I think it’s been mentioned before on this thread, but I believe I’ve read that Hibs offer a standard contract to all laddies being kept on after they pass through the Under 18’s.
The standard contract can no doubt be revised, depending on progress. That for me seems a very reasonable approach to signing on youngsters at that stage of their careers.
I do feel the good cup run in Europe didn't help these lads, a good season on loan may have best suited to gain the experience needed, possibly some senior players could help explain that to them and convince them to stay for a while longer but it does seem they've made up their minds and could be away which is a pity.