We're not as good as we'd like to think we are

[NeilOrrSquareBa]

Hibs Support

I’m 52 now.
When I was 15-18 years old I loved the Hibs support. I loved being part of it and I loved the fact we were far more learnered than our football supporting cousins from the west (including West Edinburgh) who were far more arranged along sectarian lines and couldn’t see the good in players that played for other teams. We knew we had a good team and we were happy to recognise good play from others when we saw it.

After segregation at matches came in (around the 1980’s) I began to see tribalism gather momentum at Easter Road. Chants stopped being about how good we were or about a favourite player and more about how much we hate the opposition, the players the management the fans and their families. To the point today that my 12 year old son speak about “casuals” and “kicking off “ and more disturbingly about “paedo’s” and “sex offenders”. Clearly society has issues and we’re stuck with it. I only hope I can temper my son’s excitable view that these sorts of chants are NOT acceptable behaviour in a civilised society.

The one thing I thought I’d be able to rely on was our fans’ having a sense of perspective and seeing things from different viewpoints not just rolling out the stock responses distilled by hack journalists who find it easier to write “5-1, 0-7, Nearly Falkirk. Or in a certain Mr Preston’s case given the platform of national radio to invest in his weekly Hibs baiting to the point where it is an “in joke” for the other “professional" journalists.

Hibs have been mediocre at best since about 1976.
McLeish bought “success” and gave me my favourite period as a Hibs fan watching Sauzee, Latapy, Zitelli et al. Mowbray tried to educate a sense of moral dignity into a squad of youthful players. Collins tried to make people change their culture overnight by strong arm tactics rather than wining their hearts and minds. Since then?

Paatelainen. Just didn’t go for him
Hughes. Thick as mince. “Sprinkle the fairy dust.” My ar*e!
Calderwood. Fraud!

Now Fenlon. Judging by the baying hounds on Hibs.net and the vocal hoardes at ER he’s a numpty! But for me he has brought several things to the club that merit him being given more time to turn things round.
Grit and determination – yes he has it. Certainly as a player he was renowned for his tenacity and spirit. He identified what was needed to keep us up and although he had to sign a new team in January to (just) do it. He got us to a cup final and despite what happened that day I cannot blame him beyond the (majority ) of the players that day who just “weren’t up for it” It’s his job to make sure they’re up for I hear you say. Well perspective lads. Semi final v Aberdeen (2 equally bad teams) we were tenacious and committed and won thanks to Leigh’s goal. Versus Hearts (2 mismatched teams) our players were physically and mentally intimidated and you know what happened.


Second season. Let’s hit the ground running. He got Cairney who’d been winning rave reviews for his PT performances. OK says we. He retained McPake. He got McGivern and Extended Griffiths stay. O’Connor came back to the club and for 6 months we were at the right end of the league. We knew we’d flattered to deceive. Some of our wins and draws were fortunate. After Xmas we went on a horrible run and barely got a point and in the end we just missed out on top 6 before finishing off the last 5 games unbeaten with a great win at Tynecastle.
Our team was not intimidated by a (granted) weakened Hearts side and we went unbeaten against them for the first season since 2000. Thanks to Fenlon.

We got to a final again albeit just.
Well beaten in the final and played win ourselves but our talismanic striker was goosed!. Tactics were questioned but our only goalscoring threat was goosed!

This season Fenlon talked about strengthening things to seek improvement. We had Europe to look forward to and our Edinburgh footballing cousins were in deep doo doo! So the signings we made failed to excite the fans yet we signed McGiven permanently. Kevin Thomson [who split the fins due to tribal loyalties and perceived disrespect] Fraser Mullins a young prospect discarded by Hearts, Vine and Collins. Progess on paper certainly.

“And now we’ve got a younger team I dinnae want to brag.
I only want to say the Scottish Cup is in the bag.”

Malmo…oops! Banana skins have never been so big. Losing 0-7 at home is unacceptable and the players must be embarrassed. Fenlon must go!

Motherwell played better but were focussed more on spoiling Motherwell’s attacking opportunities rather than going for a win with an offensive formation. We bit the big one when they exposed our defensive fragilities! Boo say the Hibee hoardes Fenlon's not got it let him go. Fenlon;'s post match interview was routine enough. Said what he thougt and when pressed on the fans position made a decent point about what he thinks not mattering. He's hurtung as much as us and needs to get the players performing better . Tactically could he do more? We'll we have a dirth of creative players on the flanks (Cairney and Harris crocked) but he could set us up differently.

Is that enough to get rid of Fenlon? Not for me!
Give the guys some time and some support and I believe we’ll see true progress. For me he has tried to instil a sense of pride in the jersey (yes, despite the Malmo result) and he has tried to make us win from the back. Tactics need improvement (including substitutions) but he can work on that with Jimmy Nichol.

We’re not going to win the league when Celtic are there so it’s about being best of the rest. We’re quick to criticise and complain, point out perceived improvements from other clubs who shouldn’t be able to compete with us financially but seem to get one over on us when we play.

Support the team. I am fed up listening to people all round me criticise before they encourage. Encourage as much as you can it does help!

[Hexham Hibee]

Great post. Especially the points about fans simply repeating what's said in the press and other media. Preston is a twat but some are daft enough to believe what he says about us. How he and Robbo get air time, particularly their anti-Hibs, anti-Fenlon tosh is beyond me.

Its time for some perspective and time as you said to back the team.

GGTTH

[LongshanksED]

Everything you've said about Fenlon I've tried to pass onto others. You don't lead a team to 2 successive finals by being a bad manager. He started weeding out the bad eggs like O Connor and others who you believe behind closed changing room doors and in training were bringing the club down.

Even after Malmo I've been saying that he has to get at least 15 or so league games before decisions in whether to keep him or not. He's just brought in EIGHT new players over the summer. We can now say that it's his team. Give him the chance. The team he's been trying to build this season hasn't even had a proper run out yet, let alone a chance to work together

[LongshanksED]

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Great post. Especially the points about fans simply repeating what's said in the press and other media. Preston is a twat but some are daft enough to believe what he says about us. How he and Robbo get air time, particularly their anti-Hibs, anti-Fenlon tosh is beyond me.

Its time for some perspective and time as you said to back the team.

GGTTH

I actually quite like robbo on the radio, except when he's reporting on hearts games as his Jambi tinted glasses can't see further or any wrong in his team.

[Suburban Hibby]

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Hibs Support

I’m 52 now.
When I was 15-18 years old I loved the Hibs support. I loved being part of it and I loved the fact we were far more learnered than our football supporting cousins from the west (including West Edinburgh) who were far more arranged along sectarian lines and couldn’t see the good in players that played for other teams. We knew we had a good team and we were happy to recognise good play from others when we saw it.

After segregation at matches came in (around the 1980’s) I began to see tribalism gather momentum at Easter Road. Chants stopped being about how good we were or about a favourite player and more about how much we hate the opposition, the players the management the fans and their families. To the point today that my 12 year old son speak about “casuals” and “kicking off “ and more disturbingly about “paedo’s” and “sex offenders”. Clearly society has issues and we’re stuck with it. I only hope I can temper my son’s excitable view that these sorts of chants are NOT acceptable behaviour in a civilised society.

The one thing I thought I’d be able to rely on was our fans’ having a sense of perspective and seeing things from different viewpoints not just rolling out the stock responses distilled by hack journalists who find it easier to write “5-1, 0-7, Nearly Falkirk. Or in a certain Mr Preston’s case given the platform of national radio to invest in his weekly Hibs baiting to the point where it is an “in joke” for the other “professional" journalists.

Hibs have been mediocre at best since about 1976.
McLeish bought “success” and gave me my favourite period as a Hibs fan watching Sauzee, Latapy, Zitelli et al. Mowbray tried to educate a sense of moral dignity into a squad of youthful players. Collins tried to make people change their culture overnight by strong arm tactics rather than wining their hearts and minds. Since then?

Paatelainen. Just didn’t go for him
Hughes. Thick as mince. “Sprinkle the fairy dust.” My ar*e!
Calderwood. Fraud!

Now Fenlon. Judging by the baying hounds on Hibs.net and the vocal hoardes at ER he’s a numpty! But for me he has brought several things to the club that merit him being given more time to turn things round.
Grit and determination – yes he has it. Certainly as a player he was renowned for his tenacity and spirit. He identified what was needed to keep us up and although he had to sign a new team in January to (just) do it. He got us to a cup final and despite what happened that day I cannot blame him beyond the (majority ) of the players that day who just “weren’t up for it” It’s his job to make sure they’re up for I hear you say. Well perspective lads. Semi final v Aberdeen (2 equally bad teams) we were tenacious and committed and won thanks to Leigh’s goal. Versus Hearts (2 mismatched teams) our players were physically and mentally intimidated and you know what happened.


Second season. Let’s hit the ground running. He got Cairney who’d been winning rave reviews for his PT performances. OK says we. He retained McPake. He got McGivern and Extended Griffiths stay. O’Connor came back to the club and for 6 months we were at the right end of the league. We knew we’d flattered to deceive. Some of our wins and draws were fortunate. After Xmas we went on a horrible run and barely got a point and in the end we just missed out on top 6 before finishing off the last 5 games unbeaten with a great win at Tynecastle.
Our team was not intimidated by a (granted) weakened Hearts side and we went unbeaten against them for the first season since 2000. Thanks to Fenlon.

We got to a final again albeit just.
Well beaten in the final and played win ourselves but our talismanic striker was goosed!. Tactics were questioned but our only goalscoring threat was goosed!

This season Fenlon talked about strengthening things to seek improvement. We had Europe to look forward to and our Edinburgh footballing cousins were in deep doo doo! So the signings we made failed to excite the fans yet we signed McGiven permanently. Kevin Thomson [who split the fins due to tribal loyalties and perceived disrespect] Fraser Mullins a young prospect discarded by Hearts, Vine and Collins. Progess on paper certainly.

“And now we’ve got a younger team I dinnae want to brag.
I only want to say the Scottish Cup is in the bag.”

Malmo…oops! Banana skins have never been so big. Losing 0-7 at home is unacceptable and the players must be embarrassed. Fenlon must go!

Motherwell played better but were focussed more on spoiling Motherwell’s attacking opportunities rather than going for a win with an offensive formation. We bit the big one when they exposed our defensive fragilities! Boo say the Hibee hoardes Fenlon's not got it let him go. Fenlon;'s post match interview was routine enough. Said what he thougt and when pressed on the fans position made a decent point about what he thinks not mattering. He's hurtung as much as us and needs to get the players performing better . Tactically could he do more? We'll we have a dirth of creative players on the flanks (Cairney and Harris crocked) but he could set us up differently.

Is that enough to get rid of Fenlon? Not for me!
Give the guys some time and some support and I believe we’ll see true progress. For me he has tried to instil a sense of pride in the jersey (yes, despite the Malmo result) and he has tried to make us win from the back. Tactics need improvement (including substitutions) but he can work on that with Jimmy Nichol.

We’re not going to win the league when Celtic are there so it’s about being best of the rest. We’re quick to criticise and complain, point out perceived improvements from other clubs who shouldn’t be able to compete with us financially but seem to get one over on us when we play.

Support the team. I am fed up listening to people all round me criticise before they encourage. Encourage as much as you can it does help!

Very well put mate, tend to agree with you.

[Liberal Hibby]

Well said. And remember some of the most negative posts about Fenlon and Hibs aren't from real supporters.

[ehf]

Admire your optimisim (and the resilience of your typing fingers) but totally disagree. Setting up for a nil-nil draw at home to Motherwell in the first game of the season is simply unacceptable in my book. Despite all the signings we have a team totally lacking in pace, creativity, any sort of game plan and any winning mentality. Fenlon has the tactical nous of a mollusc - McCall must have been laughing at how easy it was to win yesterday's game with a simple double substitution at the right time.

[woody0-7]

Far far to much sense in these posts!this won't do at all lads :-)

[JimBHibees]

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Admire your optimisim (and the resilience of your typing fingers) but totally disagree. Setting up for a nil-nil draw at home to Motherwell in the first game of the season is simply unacceptable in my book. Despite all the signings we have a team totally lacking in pace, creativity, any sort of game plan and any winning mentality. Fenlon has the tactical nous of a mollusc - McCall must have been laughing at how easy it was to win yesterday's game with a simple double substitution at the right time.

That easy they only scored after 80 mins with a poorly defended ball.

[hibsbollah]

...but we're worse than we fear we aren't. Or is that a triple negative. I'm confused myself now

[BH Hibs]

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Admire your optimisim (and the resilience of your typing fingers) but totally disagree. Setting up for a nil-nil draw at home to Motherwell in the first game of the season is simply unacceptable in my book. Despite all the signings we have a team totally lacking in pace, creativity, any sort of game plan and any winning mentality. Fenlon has the tactical nous of a mollusc - McCall must have been laughing at how easy it was to win yesterday's game with a simple double substitution at the right time.

Agree 100% with this. We may not be as good as we like to think we are but we shouldn't be as bad as we are under PF.

[NAE NOOKIE]

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Well said. And remember some of the most negative posts about Fenlon and Hibs aren't from real supporters.

Not sure what that is supposed to mean?

I am beginning to get a squeaky bum with regards to Fenlon after being in the give him as much time as possible camp. The results against the Yams in the cup final and the Malmo game notwithstanding which have severely dented the standing of Hibs as a club I was hoping for a reaction on Sunday, which just didnt come ... we played like an away team .. or at least I hope that was the tactics rather than just a sadly inept lack of ability to move the ball in a forward direction with guile and purpose.

[Treadstone]

Fenlons been poor from day one and apart from the first half of last season downright rotten. If the team had carried the form of the early part of 12/13 no one would be questioning the manager. They didn't and on his record he is fair game. PF got less points per game in 11/12 than CC did. So any reasoning that he 'saved us from relegation' is wide of the mark.
Tactically he is inept and his default option is defend in numbers. He received a lot of goodwill from the fans and has slowly burnt it all. Time to go.

[LongshanksED]

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Admire your optimisim (and the resilience of your typing fingers) but totally disagree. Setting up for a nil-nil draw at home to Motherwell in the first game of the season is simply unacceptable in.

Not disparaging what your saying but it's a no win situation for Fenlon at the moment with everyone's different opinion. Fenlon is slated after Malmo (rightly) for playing 4-4-2 as "No one plays 4-4-2" anymore

He sets up a more winger/fullback formation for motherwell (and in the frat half we contained them very well and had the better of the game at that point) and slated again for not playing 2 strikers and having a more attacking style.

Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

[clerriehibs]

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Hibs Support

I’m 52 now.

Great post ... but Neil Orr as a user name?!?!

I'm of more more less your era. The nastiness was there when I was at school, as it would have been with you too, no doubt. That was probably down to the edge we'd had over them for 15+ years. But you could have a football discussion with our arch neighbour/enemy, something that doesn't seem possible anymore. I blame the internet ... no, I don't, because I can still talk football with any other supporters, other than our near neighbours. So, I blame romanov ... no, I don't, he's just a tool, that our bitter/twisted neighbours have found and used.

Since I can remember, they have only been about beating Hibs, or completing a season better than we have. It might be a rubbish mentality, but look what it began to do for their psychological edge .. it's been their focus. And, in the main, it worked. They did have a bit of an advantage. But that was all pre-meltdown.

Maybe that should be our focus? Beat them, nothing else matters, then see what else pans out?

No. Ultimately, that cost them their good name, and possibly cost them their club. I don't want us to ever be there. Let's just be what we've always been ... Hibs.

I'd rather be a Hibby, with all that that entails.

[Cocohibby]

Here here.

I don't think the tactics were poor against Motherwell. We started very well and with a high line, pressing their deep players in possession and not giving them too much time on the ball. In the 1st 20 mins I thought we were looking good. Yes, we dropped deeper later in the game and allowed Motherwell to stroke it about a bit but I thought in general the midfield did well in stifling their threat and protecting our defenders - Thompson and Robertson in particular had good games and worked hard - they were burst midway through the 2nd half, something which will improve after a few games.

It is true we did not create much ourselves but for 70 minutes we made it difficult for Motherwell to break us down (a big improvement on last year's 2-3 game at ER where we looked like a horror show for the entire 2nd half). For the most part I thought our passing was better than for quite a while. With LG outlet gone, others inevitably will have to step up in the creativity department but I think we'll be ok.

I saw enough on Sunday to think we have made progress and there is nothing to be gained from punting our manager again. I predict a win at Tynecastle.

[Thecat23]

I'd love to have everyone 100% behind the team. But what your post fails go say is, he's just a poor manager. No agenda no abuse, he tried but his tactics or should I say lack of has been his downfall not the fans. We can all clap and cheer for 90 mins but that doesn't change his team set up.

I agree about the abuse against other players and teams. It gets a bit much.

[Gustavo Fring]

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Everything you've said about Fenlon I've tried to pass onto others. You don't lead a team to 2 successive finals by being a bad manager.

fenlon didnt lead us to 2 cup finals . leigh griffiths carried us to hampden both times

[Hibercelona]

Good post. Although i'd say the "reporters" copy what we say, not the other way around.

It's true that he scraped us to 2 finals. But those 2 finals also lead to 2 of the most humiliating games for this club in a very long time. The game that must not be spoken and of course the Malmo game that we got entry to for making it to another final.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't try and get to finals. But its just extremely frustrating that we can show enough to scrape through each round, but can't show anything at all when it comes to the game that matters most of all.

We need to realize that we can't approach finals in the same way that we approach the other games in each round. It's a different ball game altogether in a final. You can be sure that the opposition team would be studying our tactics very very closely. So relying on the exact same tactics in a final is always doomed to failure. Any manager should know this at any level.

[BH Hibs]

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Everything you've said about Fenlon I've tried to pass onto others. You don't lead a team to 2 successive finals by being a bad manager. He started weeding out the bad eggs like O Connor and others who you believe behind closed changing room doors and in training were bringing the club down.

Even after Malmo I've been saying that he has to get at least 15 or so league games before decisions in whether to keep him or not. He's just brought in EIGHT new players over the summer. We can now say that it's his team. Give him the chance. The team he's been trying to build this season hasn't even had a proper run out yet, let alone a chance to work together

Personally I don't think we can afford that

[MB62]

If there was a 7/10 smillie I would have put that in but 7 out of ten for those comments anyway, in as much as that's about the percentage I agree with you on.
I must be one of the few that walked away yesterday thinking, 'that wasn't as bad as I thought it might have been'.
Now whether that's a sign of improvement from the team or a sign of just how low we have sunk recently is debateable but whatever it is, I felt there were things to be encouarged about.

I think Mullins is going to be a very good right back, I like that laddie already.
Nelson was exactly what I want my centre half to be, a big lad that wins his headers, doesn't get pushed around and knows when to just hoof the ball to clear his lines.

Kevin Thomson, a guy I said last week was a waste of a good wage, was outstanding yesterday and if he can improve his fitness (they ALL desperately need to do that BTW) and continue to produce performances like that then I will happily be wrong on my first opinion.

I thought Robertson did well yesterday too and at least tried to get forward, again I think he could be a good player for us.

OTJ I thought started well but tired towards the end and I would have hooked him before Thomson.

Liam Craig has been the opposite of Thomson for me. He is a guy I thought was going to be a great signing for us but has so far hardly kicked a ball. Both games I have seen him though, he was been played out of his best position, IMO, so happy to give him time too.

Collins tried like 'eff' yesterday, gave his all and was obviously frustrated at the lack of support from his team mates. Partner him up front with Vine and we might just be asking 'Leigh Who' in six months time (aye, ok getting a bit carried away there). I genuinely believe though that these two could be very good for us IF the manager partners them up.

As mentioned, I really think our players need to work on their fitness levels, personal pride and ambition in the game should be enough for the players to be asking for extra work, or better still, get back in that gym and start working out yourselves.

Barring Griffiths and Claros, I think we might actually be a better team than at the same time last year, whether P.F. is the man to get the best out of them though is very much open to question.

[Liberal Hibby]

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Not sure what that is supposed to mean?

I am beginning to get a squeaky bum with regards to Fenlon after being in the give him as much time as possible camp. The results against the Yams in the cup final and the Malmo game notwithstanding which have severely dented the standing of Hibs as a club I was hoping for a reaction on Sunday, which just didnt come ... we played like an away team .. or at least I hope that was the tactics rather than just a sadly inept lack of ability to move the ball in a forward direction with guile and purpose.

It's just that when we lose a number of posters come out of the woodwork who are conspicuous by their absence when we're doing well. If you supported say, Hearts, boosting the numbers wanting the Hibs manager sacked is good sport and helps to undermine your rivals.

Hopefully the board is discounting this and giving Fenlon at least until the first round of fixtures are complete to get a more realistic view of where we stand and if we are making progress.

[Gordy M]

Really good post mate and agree with a lot that you have said, especially the bit about hibs fans coveting other teams and managers, whilst critisizing our own at the drop of a hat. I mean kenny shiels??? Ffs fenlons team hammered them last season in the cup and beat them in the league, and now some want him as manager?? Jimmy calderwood had the most negative aberdeen team ive ever seen at easter road??

However, unfortunately i think pf has a thankless task convincing some of the fans now and prob should move on. Instead of getting to two successive cup finals and europe, which is a great acheivement imo, he would have been better, finishing 5th then 4th in the league and put out the cup at the earlier rounds. I doubt he would have come in for the same critisism.

In a way i feel slightly sorry for pf, in two years he has got us to two sc finals and europe and after calderwood most would have taken that!? However in the big games we have been well beaten and thats what is remembered. As i said he would have come in for less critisism had he finished top six both years and got to no finals and no europe.

[Fergus52]

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fenlon didnt lead us to 2 cup finals . leigh griffiths carried us to hampden both times

You clearly weren't at many of the games in either cup run then.

[Brightside]

His inability to change a team during play is staggering. We have the players to beat almost every team in the league. Motherwell had almost nothing against us and we still somehow managed to get beat. That was 100% down to Fenlon and his unique ability to stop his own team playing football.

[Gustavo Fring]

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You clearly weren't at many of the games in either cup run then.

i was at them all last year bar the final , and 3 of them this year including the semi final .

without griffiths we wouldnt have made either of those finals and you know it

[Gordy M]

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His inability to change a team during play is staggering. We have the players to beat almost every team in the league. Motherwell had almost nothing against us and we still somehow managed to get beat. That was 100% down to Fenlon and his unique ability to stop his own team playing football.

Ive read this a few times mate about fenlon stopping his own team playing football. Can you explain this to me? Are you saying he is deliberately telling the likes of harris craig and robertson not to get forward when they can??

[Treadstone]

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However, unfortunately i think pf has a thankless task convincing some of the fans now and prob should move on. Instead of getting to two successive cup finals and europe, which is a great acheivement imo, he would have been better, finishing 5th then 4th in the league and put out the cup at the earlier rounds. I doubt he would have come in for the same critisism.

Of course he wouldn't have come in for the same criticism if he had finished fourth or fifth as that would have constituted better results throughout the season.

[DH1875]

So should we just all live in the past? No, we're not as good as we'd like to think, but WE SHOULD BE. No disrespect but throughout most of your time following hibs we've had to compete against strong teams. rangers and the yams are now out of the picture and yet we're content getting beat of the likes of Motherwell, St Johnstone and ICT (duck me. ICT weren't even about 20 years ago).

Motherwell played better but were focussed more on spoiling Motherwell’s attacking opportunities rather than going for a win with an offensive formation. We bit the big one when they exposed our defensive fragilities! Boo say the Hibee hoardes Fenlon's not got it let him go.

Do you think setting up not to get beat at home on the first day of the season is acceptable? It was Motherwell FFS, not Real Madrid. In all your time following Hibs were Motherwell a team of world beaters? If they can build a team that can compete then why can't we? Simple economics will tell you we should. In fact we should be well ahead of them, not kitting ourselves at the prospect of playing them.

[jakeshibs]

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Hibs Support

I’m 52 now.
When I was 15-18 years old I loved the Hibs support. I loved being part of it and I loved the fact we were far more learnered than our football supporting cousins from the west (including West Edinburgh) who were far more arranged along sectarian lines and couldn’t see the good in players that played for other teams. We knew we had a good team and we were happy to recognise good play from others when we saw it.

After segregation at matches came in (around the 1980’s) I began to see tribalism gather momentum at Easter Road. Chants stopped being about how good we were or about a favourite player and more about how much we hate the opposition, the players the management the fans and their families. To the point today that my 12 year old son speak about “casuals” and “kicking off “ and more disturbingly about “paedo’s” and “sex offenders”. Clearly society has issues and we’re stuck with it. I only hope I can temper my son’s excitable view that these sorts of chants are NOT acceptable behaviour in a civilised society.

The one thing I thought I’d be able to rely on was our fans’ having a sense of perspective and seeing things from different viewpoints not just rolling out the stock responses distilled by hack journalists who find it easier to write “5-1, 0-7, Nearly Falkirk. Or in a certain Mr Preston’s case given the platform of national radio to invest in his weekly Hibs baiting to the point where it is an “in joke” for the other “professional" journalists.

Hibs have been mediocre at best since about 1976.
McLeish bought “success” and gave me my favourite period as a Hibs fan watching Sauzee, Latapy, Zitelli et al. Mowbray tried to educate a sense of moral dignity into a squad of youthful players. Collins tried to make people change their culture overnight by strong arm tactics rather than wining their hearts and minds. Since then?

Paatelainen. Just didn’t go for him
Hughes. Thick as mince. “Sprinkle the fairy dust.” My ar*e!
Calderwood. Fraud!

Now Fenlon. Judging by the baying hounds on Hibs.net and the vocal hoardes at ER he’s a numpty! But for me he has brought several things to the club that merit him being given more time to turn things round.
Grit and determination – yes he has it. Certainly as a player he was renowned for his tenacity and spirit. He identified what was needed to keep us up and although he had to sign a new team in January to (just) do it. He got us to a cup final and despite what happened that day I cannot blame him beyond the (majority ) of the players that day who just “weren’t up for it” It’s his job to make sure they’re up for I hear you say. Well perspective lads. Semi final v Aberdeen (2 equally bad teams) we were tenacious and committed and won thanks to Leigh’s goal. Versus Hearts (2 mismatched teams) our players were physically and mentally intimidated and you know what happened.


Second season. Let’s hit the ground running. He got Cairney who’d been winning rave reviews for his PT performances. OK says we. He retained McPake. He got McGivern and Extended Griffiths stay. O’Connor came back to the club and for 6 months we were at the right end of the league. We knew we’d flattered to deceive. Some of our wins and draws were fortunate. After Xmas we went on a horrible run and barely got a point and in the end we just missed out on top 6 before finishing off the last 5 games unbeaten with a great win at Tynecastle.
Our team was not intimidated by a (granted) weakened Hearts side and we went unbeaten against them for the first season since 2000. Thanks to Fenlon.

We got to a final again albeit just.
Well beaten in the final and played win ourselves but our talismanic striker was goosed!. Tactics were questioned but our only goalscoring threat was goosed!

This season Fenlon talked about strengthening things to seek improvement. We had Europe to look forward to and our Edinburgh footballing cousins were in deep doo doo! So the signings we made failed to excite the fans yet we signed McGiven permanently. Kevin Thomson [who split the fins due to tribal loyalties and perceived disrespect] Fraser Mullins a young prospect discarded by Hearts, Vine and Collins. Progess on paper certainly.

“And now we’ve got a younger team I dinnae want to brag.
I only want to say the Scottish Cup is in the bag.”

Malmo…oops! Banana skins have never been so big. Losing 0-7 at home is unacceptable and the players must be embarrassed. Fenlon must go!

Motherwell played better but were focussed more on spoiling Motherwell’s attacking opportunities rather than going for a win with an offensive formation. We bit the big one when they exposed our defensive fragilities! Boo say the Hibee hoardes Fenlon's not got it let him go. Fenlon;'s post match interview was routine enough. Said what he thougt and when pressed on the fans position made a decent point about what he thinks not mattering. He's hurtung as much as us and needs to get the players performing better . Tactically could he do more? We'll we have a dirth of creative players on the flanks (Cairney and Harris crocked) but he could set us up differently.

Is that enough to get rid of Fenlon? Not for me!
Give the guys some time and some support and I believe we’ll see true progress. For me he has tried to instil a sense of pride in the jersey (yes, despite the Malmo result) and he has tried to make us win from the back. Tactics need improvement (including substitutions) but he can work on that with Jimmy Nichol.

We’re not going to win the league when Celtic are there so it’s about being best of the rest. We’re quick to criticise and complain, point out perceived improvements from other clubs who shouldn’t be able to compete with us financially but seem to get one over on us when we play.

Support the team. I am fed up listening to people all round me criticise before they encourage. Encourage as much as you can it does help!

fantastic post born a Hi-Bee and I will die a Hi-Bee!!!!!! I believe PF needs more time and I can see what he has done, and I want him to have more time, unbeaten against Hearts is enough to keep me happy as first time since 2000. I believe he will come good, mon the Hibs