Decent Signing

[Bobo]

There’s been a lot said lately about Hibs’ interest in this, that or another player from teams such as Ross County, Raith Rovers and the likes. This has been met by the usual mixed bag of comments where the majority seem to disapprove or have reservations about such signing targets.

So what type of signings should we realistically expect this summer? What makes a player that “decent signing” and what’s perceived as being good enough, what does it take?

Ponder then, for a moment, what supporter reaction would be if Colin Calderwood signed 4 players from the juniors to play along-side a left winger bought from Stenhousemuir.... surely that wouldn’t work would it?

Or, how about a striker from Armadale, a sweeper from Gairdock or a midfield powerhouse from the Highland League.... would they be good enough?

It’s not where someone comes from or where they’ve played before that makes them a great player, it’s the man himself, his character and ability, and how he plays for his team mates & the jersey, not just an individual.

Today the Hibernian community paid respect to a great player, great manager and a great man whose likes we may never have seen, at Easter Road, had it been left to the supporters of today.

[Sammy7nil]

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There’s been a lot said lately about Hibs’ interest in this, that or another player from teams such as Ross County, Raith Rovers and the likes. This has been met by the usual mixed bag of comments where the majority seem to disapprove or have reservations about such signing targets.

So what type of signings should we realistically expect this summer? What makes a player that “decent signing” and what’s perceived as being good enough, what does it take?

Ponder then, for a moment, what supporter reaction would be if Colin Calderwood signed 4 players from the juniors to play along-side a left winger bought from Stenhousemuir.... surely that wouldn’t work would it?

Or, how about a striker from Armadale, a sweeper from Gairdock or a midfield powerhouse from the Highland League.... would they be good enough?

It’s not where someone comes from or where they’ve played before that makes them a great player, it’s the man himself, his character and ability, and how he plays for his team mates & the jersey, not just an individual.

Today the Hibernian community paid respect to a great player, great manager and a great man whose likes we may never have seen, at Easter Road, had it been left to the supporters of today.

Times change if we ever do that again we must be in Div 3

My dad played football in the 50's he said ALL his mates were GREAT players and all could have played football at league level.

[Bobo]

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Times change if we ever do that again we must be in Div 3

My dad played football in the 50's he said ALL his mates were GREAT players and all could have played football at league level.

I appreciate that's the way of football today.

I was trying to highlight the fact that it's a players ability that should matter and not the league they play in.

[Cocaine&Caviar]

Id like people proven in this league, Rooney, Aluko for starters.

Who was the last person we signed that performed well in this league consistently?

I wouldnt include any of the Falkirk boys in that, Miller was down South, Stokes had done well previously, Stack from down South.

Brown?

[Ed De Gramo]

Nothing wrong with getting players from lower leagues.

Ivan, Gomis, Webster, Conway, Agathe, Novo are all examples of players who have played in lower leagues than the SPL.

All of them have won trophies in the Scottish game and have proved to be great signings

[Pretty Boy]

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Nothing wrong with getting players from lower leagues.

Ivan, Gomis, Webster, Conway, Agathe, Novo are all examples of players who have played in lower leagues than the SPL.

All of them have won trophies in the Scottish game and have proved to be great signings

There are plenty decent players kicking about the 1st and 2nd divisions.

Dundee Utd built a cup winning squad out of lower league signings supplemented by a few good loan deals and a couple of decent bosmans.

Unfortunately we have to accept that because of the huge TV money in the Championship down south we are going to find it nigh on possible to compete wage wise when it comes to picking up EPL reserve players or good players from league 1. This isn't a problem exclusive to Hibs, everyone outwith the OF and possibly Hearts is in the same boat.

[TRC]

Can't remember if it was Benitez or Houllier but one of them said, 'how do you know who the best player in the world is, he may be playing in the 3rd division in outer Mongolia' or something to that effect which is right, however in these days of scouts being everywhere it's very rare that one of outstanding talent slips through the net. Can anyone name the last player to play in the junior leagues that played in the SPL?

[sven nil]

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Or, how about a striker from Armadale, a sweeper from Gairdock or a midfield powerhouse from the Highland League.... would they be good enough?

Good post mate! Colin Stein,Des Bremner cant think of Gairdock please let me know.

[IWasThere2016]

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Nothing wrong with getting players from lower leagues.

Ivan, Gomis, Webster, Conway, Agathe, Novo are all examples of players who have played in lower leagues than the SPL.

All of them have won trophies in the Scottish game and have proved to be great signings

Or are down south - Dorrans, Snodgrass etc!

I would like to think we'll bring in some experience and some real potential from Engerland also.

[Bobo]

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Good post mate! Colin Stein,Des Bremner cant think of Gairdock please let me know.

John Blackley was a Gairdock lad, it was Baker That I was referring to from Armadale Thistle but you're also right about Colin Stein coming from them too.

[bingo70]

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There’s been a lot said lately about Hibs’ interest in this, that or another player from teams such as Ross County, Raith Rovers and the likes. This has been met by the usual mixed bag of comments where the majority seem to disapprove or have reservations about such signing targets.

So what type of signings should we realistically expect this summer? What makes a player that “decent signing” and what’s perceived as being good enough, what does it take?

Ponder then, for a moment, what supporter reaction would be if Colin Calderwood signed 4 players from the juniors to play along-side a left winger bought from Stenhousemuir.... surely that wouldn’t work would it?

Or, how about a striker from Armadale, a sweeper from Gairdock or a midfield powerhouse from the Highland League.... would they be good enough?

It’s not where someone comes from or where they’ve played before that makes them a great player, it’s the man himself, his character and ability, and how he plays for his team mates & the jersey, not just an individual.

Today the Hibernian community paid respect to a great player, great manager and a great man whose likes we may never have seen, at Easter Road, had it been left to the supporters of today.

IMO our ideal signings would be players that have been a success in the SPL with other clubs that are sorry to lose them, i like the fact we're after the guy (is it hammill?) from Killie, i'd also like us to go for the guys from Dundee Utd although i'm not sure if thats realistic as i'd imagine they'll get better offers from the championship.

I'd also like us to unearth 'gems' from abroad, and i include England in that, there's a massive world of unattached footballers out there, plenty of them would do a good job here and i personally get a bit more excited by players i've never heard of before that might just be amazing rather than your run of the SPL players that you need and know will do a job but never really achieve much in the game.

With regards to lower league players, for all your success stories i bet there's far more failures that have come from the lower leagues so although i would hope we're scouting players from there i'd hope they'd be young players that are making an impact and ready to move up a level and challenge to become a first team player in an SPL side and supliment the squad at first, for example i like the fact we're looking at the young guy from Airdrie, think his name is Gary Mackay-Smith or something but the guys from Ross County like Gardyne and Tade from Ross county don't excite me at all, i think they're likely to look alright at first but ultimately when all the excitement of signing for a bigger club settles down they are far more likely to be pish.

I also think we need the odd high profile signing of someone with a bit of pedigree to excite the fans and get season tickets sold.

Not asking too much am i?

[HibbyAndy]

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Or are down south - Dorrans, Snodgrass etc!

I would like to think we'll bring in some experience and some real potential from Engerland also.

Dinnae forget Wes Hoolahan who is now in the Premiership with Norwich City.

[scoopyboy]

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Nothing wrong with getting players from lower leagues.

Ivan, Gomis, Webster, Conway, Agathe, Novo are all examples of players who have played in lower leagues than the SPL.

All of them have won trophies in the Scottish game and have proved to be great signings

The players you have quoted are good examples of making lower league signings work.

Thing is how many players are signed from lower league clubs that turn out to be absolute mince?

I would bet for every Ivan Sproule there are ten players of the calibre of Lee Power, Jamie McQuilken, Rab Shannon, Paul Tosh. Need I go on to see where we might end up if we follow the logic of making every signing from lower leagues.

[Frogga]

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Can anyone name the last player to play in the junior leagues that played in the SPL?

Mark Corcoran played for St Mirren and Hamilton and he came from Linlithgow Rose in the juniors

[HibbyAndy]

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Can anyone name the last player to play in the junior leagues that played in the SPL?

Grant Murray played for Bonnyrigg rose then went on to win the Scottish cup with Hearts.

[Stevie Reid]

Hearts signed Colin Cameron, Davie Weir, Neil McCann and Jim Hamilton from 1st division teams and they were the backbone of the team that finished 3rd and won the SC in 1998. Dundee Utd's success with lower league players achieved the same for them.

There is definitely quality to be had down there - finding those who can make the step up can be tough though.

[millarco]

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Can anyone name the last player to play in the junior leagues that played in the SPL?

Gareth Wardlaw who is with St Mirren at the moment played with Burntisland Shipyard til he was about 24/25 IIRC.

I don't think there's any harm in looking for players from lower leagues. I'm just not confident in our scouting network to identify hidden talent, given our player turnover since JC came in.

[Franck is God]

I've asked this question on other threads and never received an answer. I find that talking about a lack of quality signings is yet another of a long list of excuses that a some on this board like to use for not going to the games. Doesn't stop them moaning about the clubs lack of investment though. IMO opinion these fans are exactly what makes us the 'wee' team in Edinburgh.

Back to your question though....

Obviously there are signings that before they've even played will make you a bit excited about what you might see but generally I like to judge players after seeing them play for Hibs. Sometimes you see enough in one game but others take much longer to prove their worth and of course some not at all.

I think that CC has put together the back bone of a squad already and this summer will be looking for players to add real competetiveness for positions, some we may have heard of or seen play but more than likely we will not. The only player I'd heard of that arrived in January was Sodje, Vaz Te arrived too and I remembered him at Bolton but thats it.

There is money in the budget and I'm sure he will sign players that he feels can challenge for honours and a Euro place next season and thats good enough for me. Personally I'd like to see Towell sign a permanent deal, I'd like to bid for Adam Rooney at ICT & Taouil at Killie as well, if we were willing to pay money for a player then Jamie Murphy at Motherwell would be one I'd look at.

[Aldo]

I think we will sign 1 or 2 known names but will find CC using his knowledge of the English lower leagues to sign a couple of players not known that well up here.

I hope he gets in at least 1 experienced CH to play alongside PH. We only have a few months or so to wait for the window to open and lets hope CC and DA have done their homework and are able to bring the players in they want.

[Tyler Durden]

[QUOTE=Aldo;2798293]I think we will sign 1 or 2 known names but will find CC using his knowledge of the English lower leagues to sign a couple of players not known that well up here.

I hope he gets in at least 1 experienced CH to play alongside PH. We only have a few months or so to wait for the window to open and lets hope CC and DA have done their homework and are able to bring the players in they want.[/QUOTE]

Not strictly true. The season actually starts in a few months - July 23rd IIRC. So really we should be aiming to sign players before this month is out to get them settled and preparing for next year. Most clubs down south have now finished their season and it's becoming clearer which players are available.

Given the lack of bodies we have it seems more important for Hibs to change their policy of waiting until the absolute last moment before making signings but can't see this happening.

Anything less than 5 players in for the start of the season at the latestand we'll be just as pish next year for me.

[HibbyDave]

I would quite like us to sign Eremenko and Taoul from Killie. Also, Gomis, Bauaben and Pernis from Dundee utd. It's time we started taking from our competitors instead of giving to the OF.
Just my opinion.

[eastmainsmsh]

There are some cracking players been released in england that would be ideal for us Andy Todd ex Blackburn ,Stephen Wright ex Liverpool ,As mentiond Chris porter would be a great signing ....Some quality who would make us Stronger with some of the Better players we have

[new malkyhib]

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I would quite like us to sign Eremenko and Taoul from Killie. Also, Gomis, Bauaben and Pernis from Dundee utd. It's time we started taking from our competitors instead of giving to the OF.
Just my opinion.

That's precisely the argument that some of us have been putting forward on here for quite some time, but one that the Petrie acolytes and the Board at ER themself do not want to hear.

Instead I think we'll still keep giving to the OF and buying no-marks from Ross County and Raith Rovers.

Dare to dream for once Petrie will you?

[marinello59]

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That's precisely the argument that some of us have been putting forward on here for quite some time, but one that the Petrie acolytes and the Board at ER themself do not want to hear.

Instead I think we'll still keep giving to the OF and buying no-marks from Ross County and Raith Rovers.

Dare to dream for once Petrie will you?

How much do you think Emerenko is on a week? How much do you think the others expect to earn from their next contract. It would take a hell of a hike in ticket prices to cover their expectations. I am sure we will all be happy to stump up though. Let's all dare to dream.

[HIBEES 4 LIFE]

Darren McGregor also at St Mirren played with Arniston Rangers all of 3/4 seasons ago!!!

[Franck is God]

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How much do you think Emerenko is on a week? How much do you think the others expect to earn from their next contract. It would take a hell of a hike in ticket prices to cover their expectations. I am sure we will all be happy to stump up though. Let's all dare to dream.

Emerenko is on best part of £20k per week the vast majority of which is paid by the club that owns him. Clearly not part of their plans they sent him out on loan in the hope that his performances will attract buyers.

The only way he will be in Scotland next year is on a simlar loan deal as I doubt any SPL team will want to pay that much to him and I include Rangers & Celtic in that.

[marinello59]

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Emerenko is on best part of £20k per week the vast majority of which is paid by the club that owns him. Clearly not part of their plans they sent him out on loan in the hope that his performances will attract buyers.

The only way he will be in Scotland next year is on a simlar loan deal as I doubt any SPL team will want to pay that much to him and I include Rangers & Celtic in that.

Exactly. We can attract players of that quality as we proved with the Stokes transfer. Buying them directly from our competitors will be beyond our means for a few years to come yet though.