Time for a journey back to respectability

[bigwheel]

Since the day John Collins left us, ironically the day after we opened East Mains, our once wonderful club has drifted slowly downwards. The football quality poor, the managers not making a difference, the fans being more angry and less supportive, and the board whilst communicating more, less connected, less certain. It is time to start turning this around, on the pitch, in the press, in the boardroom, and in the stands.
This won’t happen overnight. It will be slow, but needs to be a rise back to pride and credibility. We need to start reviving the reputation that has been the foundation of our club for years. Playing football the way it should be played, caring about the institution of Hibernian, connected with the community where the club began. We were known as innovators, challenging of accepted wisdom, but steeped in the right way of doing things.
I’m not a believer in getting rid of the board, or that the players aren’t trying. Both sets, however, have not performed anywhere need good enough, the board felt that when they supported Calderwood last January, that they had made the changes required to progress. There was arrogance about it. They were wrong.
We the fans have not performed either. There is anger about us. It has been there for a few years now. It’s not a healthy anger. It’s fine to be upset and angry about poor performances. But it has stepped over the line which divides anger to lack of support. I never recall in the 70s and 80s despite some really tough times the lack of positive support the team gets today. I’ve heard abuse before the match has started. We need to accept we have a role to play. And that is part of the step by step road back to pride.
The board, I think they have got it right this time with their manager choice. For the first time since Mowbray do I have trust in a Manager who can be a leader of our team. He doesn’t have the funds for a quick fix, so he is having a hard first shift. He is though starting to build better capability in the team. No one can be concerned surely about those he has chosen to exit. Therefore, let’s trust him and Brown are making good choices around those that they bring in. After all, they both have a good track record at it. The team is better organised, and even when you hear the players speak it is less about general platitudes and more specific sense that they feel better prepared. We need to deliver results of course. I think the Dunfermline game shows signs of progress. When was the last time a sizeable Hibs support actually witnessed a positive result?
It’s football though, played by humans, and the beauty of skill and luck thrown in. So it will not be plain sailing. St Johnstone last week anyone? The slow march back to respectability will have highs and lows. We could pull of a win at Ibrox against all odds, and lose at Home to Killie next week. That’s fitba after all. We need to see us going in the right direction.
We need the players to start to take individual and collective accountability. We need them to get their heads down and play us out of trouble this year. Lewis Stevenson has shown heart this year. Over looked and underperforming for about 18 months. He has realised he and we needed a decent set of performances. He has be a standout in recent weeks, when it would have been easy to hide. Leigh Griffiths, despite his immaturity has put in 5 or 6 great performances in a row. Not just for his goal scoring, but his work rate upfront has been superb – let’s get off his back and support a young boy trying to help us.
This season is all about survival now, we’ll get stick at every ground we go to and from every Jambo mate or work colleague we see. Now is the time for the board, the management team, the players and the fans to stand up and deliver. We need to be side by side, handling the tough times when they hit us, and driving more ups than downs than we have experienced recently. Survive this year and start to thrive again next. It’s a tough chapter for Hibernian, but let’s all get toghether and make this the start of a new successful chapter.... Glory Glory....

[matty_f]

Good post.

Hibs need everyone pushing in the same direction. We appear to be miles off that at the moment. Fenlon mentioned in one of his earlier interviews that he felt that there wasn't the sense of everyone doing all they could do get a win on a Saturday afternoon (or whenever the games are played!). He wanted to address that, and if he does it at the club, hopefully those of us on the outside continue the work that is already under way to make sure everyone gives their backing to the club.

[Mikey]

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Hibs need everyone pushing in the same direction.

No danger of that just now. Too many folk are putting the boot in any chance they get.

[RIP]

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No danger of that just now. Too many folk are putting the boot in any chance they get.

My family are all still going and supporting the team. So are my mates in Perth - indeed a gang from the Perth Paul Kanos went down for a train day out against Saints.

We are still singing our hearts out in the East, albeit with lower numbers. Singing songs for each player - even Lewis got a chant on Saturday. The atmosphere has been better this month. The messages coming out of the club forums have been positive and there's talk of a shadow board and more supporter involvement. Folk are still 100% behind the manager and so far he's managed a few signings.

I haven't spoke to a single Hibs supporter who is putting the boot in.
Maybe you are just speaking to the wrong people Mikey?

[SMAXXA]

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My family are all still going and supporting the team. So are my mates in Perth - indeed a gang from the Perth Paul Kanos went down for a train day out against Saints.

We are still singing our hearts out in the East, albeit with lower numbers. Singing songs for each player - even Lewis got a chant on Saturday. The atmosphere has been better this month. The messages coming out of the club forums have been positive and there's talk of a shadow board and more supporter involvement. Folk are still 100% behind the manager and so far he's managed a few signings.

I haven't spoke to a single Hibs supporter who is putting the boot in.
Maybe you are just speaking to the wrong people Mikey?

You only need to look at some of the posts on here to support Mikeys comment IMO, some people seem truley intent on being negative and putting the boot in.

[matty_f]

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You only need to look at some of the posts on here to support Mikeys comment IMO, some people seem truley intent on being negative and putting the boot in.

[Carheenlea]

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I haven't spoke to a single Hibs supporter who is putting the boot in.
Maybe you are just speaking to the wrong people Mikey?

You won`t have to look too hard at any thread on Hibs.net to unearth numerous posters putting the boot in.

[down the slope]

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No danger of that just now. Too many folk are putting the boot in any chance they get.

The only folk putting the boot in are the are the ones who run the club, the OP is correct in that we need to get back to where we were a few years ago but you have to ask yourself why we fell from such lofty heights ?. We were in a superb position as a club to push on from the cup win but from that point decisions were made at the top which have been an unmitigated disaster , no one else is to blame other than them, the managers they appointed did their best but they were garbage and their chosen players were the same so it leaves the board or the supporters , take your pick ?.

[Captain Trips]

Some people do not think this board are capable any more of steering us on this direction of respectability, yeah things take time and it has taken them 5yrs from cup winners to relegation candidates on 2 occasions in a row now, how much more time do they get? They have had more time than any of the managers they have put in to have us stable.

Nothing to do with sticking boot in at all I think they are not up to task and with perfectly good reason. Not like we are 4th and just fancy a change here.

[greenlex]

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The only folk putting the boot in are the are the ones who run the club, the OP is correct in that we need to get back to where we were a few years ago but you have to ask yourself why we fell from such lofty heights ?. We were in a superb position as a club to push on from the cup win but from that point decisions were made at the top which have been an unmitigated disaster , no one else is to blame other than them, the managers they appointed did their best but they were garbage and their chosen players were the same so it leaves the board or the supporters , take your pick ?.

Why do you feel the need to blame someone or something?

[Captain Trips]

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The only folk putting the boot in are the are the ones who run the club, the OP is correct in that we need to get back to where we were a few years ago but you have to ask yourself why we fell from such lofty heights ?. We were in a superb position as a club to push on from the cup win but from that point decisions were made at the top which have been an unmitigated disaster , no one else is to blame other than them, the managers they appointed did their best but they were garbage and their chosen players were the same so it leaves the board or the supporters , take your pick ?.

Spot on.

[Saorsa]

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Why do you feel the need to blame someone or something?

Did it just happen?

Somebody is responsible for making all of the decisions that have taken us tae where we are now.

[greenlex]

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Did it just happen?

Somebody is responsible for making all of the decisions that have taken us tae where we are now.

Of course it didnt just happen. Mistakes have been made.
Have you ever heard of learning from them? I think that was the problem in the summer and trying to hold on to Calderwood instead of more change. They backed the wrong Donkey.
Replacing the board and starting again in that department will achieve nothing IMO. All that learning experience would be gone.
If you look at Petries tenure there is more to be positive about as a club than negative. It just pish at the moment and has been for a couple of years, the only way is up.

[SMAXXA]

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Did it just happen?

Somebody is responsible for making all of the decisions that have taken us tae where we are now.

I totally agree, but not somebody a whole host of people who have made decisions on behalf of the club from the board to the managers who they have appointed. There is no getting away from the fact mistakes have been made and far to many over the last few years. I do still choose as an individual to try be positive and retain some faith that things are or may well be starting to look better, wether thats believing in PF, believing in his signings etc well I make that choice. It also seems to me that there are certain individuals that choose to focus so much on the past and cant seem to get over it and this shows from the constant negativity with anything relating to Hibs, East Mains, ER, PF, New Signings RP, the Board etc. I totally understand the frustration at the Hibs Board and RP but I also think people need to get over it and start being a bit more positive and optimistic. Dont get me wrong it is hard as **** given our current situation we all know that, just sick hearing the same stuff from the same people rather than try be a bit positive.

[Captain Trips]

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Of course it didnt just happen. Mistakes have been made.
Have you ever heard of learning from them? I think that was the problem in the summer and trying to hold on to Calderwood instead of more change. They backed the wrong Donkey.
Replacing the board and starting again in that department will achieve nothing IMO. All that learning experience would be gone.
If you look at Petries tenure there is more to be positive about as a club than negative. It just pish at the moment and has been for a couple of years, the only way is up.

Come off it Lex learn from it? He has been here for how long? He has made mistakes through the years as all folk do and made good decisions however he shouldnt stay based on all the good done what point would you say thats a mistake to many? For me he has not learned enough and I do not want him learning any more from mistakes, we cannot have any more mistakes. He cannot make the sort of errors he made in summer with his experience.

He has made an error that saw us in a relegation battle last term for a while, has he learned? We are in an even closer one now, he has had his time and chances. He doesnt learn he makes new ones. IMO he cannot be defended any more.

[Saorsa]

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Of course it didnt just happen. Mistakes have been made.
Have you ever heard of learning from them? I think that was the problem in the summer and trying to hold on to Calderwood instead of more change. They backed the wrong Donkey.
Replacing the board and starting again in that department will achieve nothing IMO. All that learning experience would be gone.
If you look at Petries tenure there is more to be positive about as a club than negative. It just pish at the moment and has been for a couple of years, the only way is up.

Well as far as I'm concerned there's been too many mistakes all made by the same person and backing Driftwood should have been his last.

[greenlex]

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Come off it Lex learn from it? He has been here for how long? He has made mistakes through the years as all folk do and made good decisions however he shouldnt stay based on all the good done what point would you say thats a mistake to many? For me he has not learned enough and I do not want him learning any more from mistakes, we cannot have any more mistakes. He cannot make the sort of errors he made in summer with his experience.

He has made an error that saw us in a relegation battle last term for a while, has he learned? We are in an even closer one now, he has had his time and chances. He doesnt learn he makes new ones. IMO he cannot be defended any more.

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Well as far as I'm concerned there's been too many mistakes all made by the same person and backing Driftwood should have been his last.

Well guys he isn't going anywhere if STF has his way so banging on about it isn't going to change anything.
I suppose you can feel a bit smug (possibly the wrong choice of phrase but I am sure you will let everyone know how right you've been all along)if the absolute worst happens. I suppose I can feel the same when the opposite happens.
The most probable outcome is we will be mediocre for the most part just like it has been for my last nearly 40 years following the club.One thing is unquestionable right now. There is a terrific platform there to be much more than that.

[Saorsa]

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Well guys he isn't going anywhere if STF has his way so banging on about it isn't going to change anything.
I suppose you can feel a bit smug (possibly the wrong choice of phrase but I am sure you will let everyone know how right you've been all along)if the absolute worst happens. I suppose I can feel the same when the opposite happens.
The most probable outcome is we will be mediocre for the most part just like it has been for my last nearly 40 years following the club.One thing is unquestionable right now. There is a terrific platform there to be much more than that.

You think I'll feel smug if we get relegated? You're ****in' right it's the wrong choice of phrase!

[greenlex]

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You think I'll feel smug if we get relegated? You're ****in' right it's the wrong choice of phrase!

No of course not thats not what I said. You will be as gutted as the rest of us if we were relegated.
You might be satisfied (thats a better phrase) that your opinion possibly been vindicated rather than the actual relegation.

[Saorsa]

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No of course not thats not what I said. You will be as gutted as the rest of us if we were relegated.
You might be satisfied (thats a better phrase) that your opinion possibly been vindicated rather than the actual relegation.

Whether we stay up or go down will make nae difference tae my satisfaction with regards tae Petrie, I'll be satisfied only when Petrie is out the door and not before. Nae doubt if we do go down it'll be Fenlon or somebody else that will carry the can.

[SMAXXA]

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Whether we stay up or go down will make nae difference tae my satisfaction with regards tae Petrie, I'll be satisfied only when Petrie is out the door and not before. Nae doubt if we do go down it'll be Fenlon or somebody else that will carry the can.

Even if we turn things around and be successful over the next few years with him at the helm? Why cany you get over it and move on?

[thebakerboy]

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Since the day John Collins left us, ironically the day after we opened East Mains, our once wonderful club has drifted slowly downwards. The football quality poor, the managers not making a difference, the fans being more angry and less supportive, and the board whilst communicating more, less connected, less certain. It is time to start turning this around, on the pitch, in the press, in the boardroom, and in the stands.
This won’t happen overnight. It will be slow, but needs to be a rise back to pride and credibility. We need to start reviving the reputation that has been the foundation of our club for years. Playing football the way it should be played, caring about the institution of Hibernian, connected with the community where the club began. We were known as innovators, challenging of accepted wisdom, but steeped in the right way of doing things.
I’m not a believer in getting rid of the board, or that the players aren’t trying. Both sets, however, have not performed anywhere need good enough, the board felt that when they supported Calderwood last January, that they had made the changes required to progress. There was arrogance about it. They were wrong.
We the fans have not performed either. There is anger about us. It has been there for a few years now. It’s not a healthy anger. It’s fine to be upset and angry about poor performances. But it has stepped over the line which divides anger to lack of support. I never recall in the 70s and 80s despite some really tough times the lack of positive support the team gets today. I’ve heard abuse before the match has started. We need to accept we have a role to play. And that is part of the step by step road back to pride.
The board, I think they have got it right this time with their manager choice. For the first time since Mowbray do I have trust in a Manager who can be a leader of our team. He doesn’t have the funds for a quick fix, so he is having a hard first shift. He is though starting to build better capability in the team. No one can be concerned surely about those he has chosen to exit. Therefore, let’s trust him and Brown are making good choices around those that they bring in. After all, they both have a good track record at it. The team is better organised, and even when you hear the players speak it is less about general platitudes and more specific sense that they feel better prepared. We need to deliver results of course. I think the Dunfermline game shows signs of progress. When was the last time a sizeable Hibs support actually witnessed a positive result?
It’s football though, played by humans, and the beauty of skill and luck thrown in. So it will not be plain sailing. St Johnstone last week anyone? The slow march back to respectability will have highs and lows. We could pull of a win at Ibrox against all odds, and lose at Home to Killie next week. That’s fitba after all. We need to see us going in the right direction.
We need the players to start to take individual and collective accountability. We need them to get their heads down and play us out of trouble this year. Lewis Stevenson has shown heart this year. Over looked and underperforming for about 18 months. He has realised he and we needed a decent set of performances. He has be a standout in recent weeks, when it would have been easy to hide. Leigh Griffiths, despite his immaturity has put in 5 or 6 great performances in a row. Not just for his goal scoring, but his work rate upfront has been superb – let’s get off his back and support a young boy trying to help us.
This season is all about survival now, we’ll get stick at every ground we go to and from every Jambo mate or work colleague we see. Now is the time for the board, the management team, the players and the fans to stand up and deliver. We need to be side by side, handling the tough times when they hit us, and driving more ups than downs than we have experienced recently. Survive this year and start to thrive again next. It’s a tough chapter for Hibernian, but let’s all get toghether and make this the start of a new successful chapter.... Glory Glory....

The thing is , much as I appreciate the sentiments , the problem is from where do we start. The fans will not turn up in greater numbers until things on field improve , that is a given. The board say we need the fans money to improve but this creates a CATCH 22 situation. How to get round it. Well the first step I see is getting through this season without being relegated because that could end up close to terminal rather like Dundee at present , a good 1st. Division team but don't look like they are coming up any time soon. As far as that goes I think BB and PF will keep us up and possibly quite comfortably in the end. The next step is to attract the fans back , this could be done initially by getting some fight in the squad and I think that is what Nutsy is looking at , because a team fighting for their place at the table will bring fans in. Then once that is established , possibly after another mid season run next year we could be ready to make a charge at Europe and a Cup but we have to stick with it and I feel we will get back there , but it won't be easy and we have to stay behind Hibs as much as we can as fans and we will be back. In Rod and Pat we trust GGTTH

[Andy74]

This since the day JC left stuff is nonsense. He largely didn't have a clue and had us on the slide.

Since then we had an 8 month spell in third place with Stokes scoring for fun, Riordan getting 15 from left midfield, best defensive record for decades up to the December.

Surely mid February that season was when we started a slump that eventually turned into a crisis?

[brianmc]

Pretty sure it's been tits up since we bulldozed the old east..... Curse-Ed for sure....

[brydekirk]

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You only need to look at some of the posts on here to support Mikeys comment IMO, some people seem truley intent on being negative and putting the boot in.

Must agree, too much negativety.

[bigwheel]

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This since the day JC left stuff is nonsense. He largely didn't have a clue and had us on the slide.

Since then we had an 8 month spell in third place with Stokes scoring for fun, Riordan getting 15 from left midfield, best defensive record for decades up to the December.

Surely mid February that season was when we started a slump that eventually turned into a crisis?

For me when JC left was the time when a decent period ended...there was some decent results after, but that was after a stark spell post Collins... .anyway , the spirit of the post was much more about us all pulling together for the slow climb upwards...

[RIP]

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You only need to look at some of the posts on here to support Mikeys comment IMO, some people seem truley intent on being negative and putting the boot in.

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You won`t have to look too hard at any thread on Hibs.net to unearth numerous posters putting the boot in.

You cannot be serious. Messageboards. Really??

You think anybody actually cares about the ramblings of a few trolls, bores, phantom yams and non-attending "fan nies"

Anyone who believes internet messageboards take the pulse of the average Hibs supporter is living in cloud cuckoo land

[matty_f]

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This since the day JC left stuff is nonsense. He largely didn't have a clue and had us on the slide.

Since then we had an 8 month spell in third place with Stokes scoring for fun, Riordan getting 15 from left midfield, best defensive record for decades up to the December.

Surely mid February that season was when we started a slump that eventually turned into a crisis?

Pretty much agree with all of that, to be honest.

[SMAXXA]

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You cannot be serious. Messageboards. Really??

You think anybody actually cares about the ramblings of a few trolls, bores, phantom yams and non-attending "fan nies"

Anyone who believes internet messageboards take the pulse of the average Hibs supporter is living in cloud cuckoo land

Yes really, so by your reconing evryone of the people on here that post negative comment are trolls, bores, phantom yams and non-attending "fan nies"???? So you also dont think that the same people attend matches and show the same negativity?

I also didnt say anything about anyone caring I was correctly pointing out the point that you see it on here, regularly.

Dont get see your point to be honest.

[HNA6]

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You cannot be serious. Messageboards. Really??

You think anybody actually cares about the ramblings of a few trolls, bores, phantom yams and non-attending "fan nies"

Anyone who believes internet messageboards take the pulse of the average Hibs supporter is living in cloud cuckoo land

Which begs the question ..why do you post on these forums then ..?