2 years ago this very day.....

[lyonhibs]

That monumental **** Butcher got the heave ho. What a couple of years since, the club behind the scenes has been totally revamped.

I remember thinking before he got sacked that he wouldn't get sacked, Petrie would never pay the compo etc etc and the future looked bleak.

Turns out I hadn't fully factored in the Leeann factor, hers being the most important signing the club have made in the past near decade IMO.

No great contribution to humanity this thread, just seemed a good moment to look back and go "thank ****"

[iwasthere1972]

Two years. That's what he should have got. Think our games back then were on Crimewatch and not Sportscene. We've come a long way since then despite our league placing.

[Salt N Sauzee]

Butcher was a blessing in disguise.





Kind of...

[lyonhibs]

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Butcher was a blessing in disguise.





Kind of...

Really, really, R E A L L Y well disguised.

[worcesterhibby]

This says it all...embarrassing...very embarrassing

[allezsauzee]

who would have thought then that in 2 years time we'd be Scottish Cup holders with Neil Lennon in charge? Leanne Dempster deserves a huge amount of praise for the turnaround and our support SO GET BUYING THOSE SEASON TICKETS!!!!

[worcesterhibby]

the funny thing is, from memory, butcher said similar things about Hibs when he got the job as Lenny has said..."soft underbelly" "shouldn't be afraid to go direct sometimes" "only wants winners" and of course ""great training facilities".

Let's hope to god the outcome is different.

[jacomo]

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That monumental **** Butcher got the heave ho. What a couple of years since, the club behind the scenes has been totally revamped.

I remember thinking before he got sacked that he wouldn't get sacked, Petrie would never pay the compo etc etc and the future looked bleak.

Turns out I hadn't fully factored in the Leann(e??) factor, hers being the most important signing the club have made in the past near decade IMO.

No great contribution to humanity this thread, just seemed a good moment to look back and go "thank ****"

Le(e)ann.

If Butcher had an ounce of self-respect, he would have resigned. Can't believe Newport hired him after that but doubt anyone else will.

Unfortunately, the BBC seem to think his opinion is still worth something so we still have to listen to his voice from time to time.

[Dr What If?]

The game that sticks out for me in that season was a cup game against Hearts, think it might have been Fenlon's last game. We pounded them for half an hour and were close to scoring on a number of occasions (think we hit the bar and the post). Then they scored a wee cracker, 1-0.
The reason it sticks out was how that one goal changed the team from an attacking side with a touch of flair to a side that struggled to pass and lost all pace or direction. The second half was a non affair with neither side seeming to be able to play any decent football.
My reading of the team then was that we were more than good enough for top six but something seemed to be fundamentally wrong with the players, they could out play whoever you put in front of them but put them under a bit of pressure and they just stopped.
Then came Butcher. This guy had built an Inverness side that never knew when they were beat, what they lacked in ability they made up with heart - that spirit in our players and surely we must be talking about Europe. After a small honeymoon period though, it seemed that what ever was stopping the players under Fenlon hadn't gone, in fact the players looked more scared than ever - everyone's form had gone, we were easy to beat, attack us and we crumble, then you can sit back because this Hibs team were incapable of coming back from a goal down.
Still, going into the bottom 6 games we were far from favourites to go down, we needed one win in our last five games. The problem was that whatever Butcher had done to the team, that pressure was just too much - we lost them all.
Butcher put the fear of death into a team with serious confidence issues, by the end of the season they looked frightened of the ball. Some of those players were really good players, still don't get how they could crumble so easily.

[we are hibs]

We've come a long way as a support too. Remember fans cheering when Michael Nelson got sent off against Partick at ER?

[NAE NOOKIE]

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the funny thing is, from memory, butcher said similar things about Hibs when he got the job as Lenny has said..."soft underbelly" "shouldn't be afraid to go direct sometimes" "only wants winners" and of course ""great training facilities".

Let's hope to god the outcome is different.

This is my worry too. NL in his first utterings has sounded very Butcheresque talking about boybands and soft underbellies and stuff like that. If he can look around that team from last season and find any player who needs the proverbial 'kick up the arse' then good luck to him, because I sure as hell cant think of one and I would be saying the same even if we had lost the cup final.

The one area he can definitely improve is game management .... the League cup final being a case in point, where we should have been a lot more conservative in the last 10 minutes. If we had we could be sitting with two cups in the boardroom.

Please Mr Lennon ..... don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

[CallumLaidlaw]

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This is my worry too. NL in his first utterings has sounded very Butcheresque talking about boybands and soft underbellies and stuff like that. If he can look around that team from last season and find any player who needs the proverbial 'kick up the arse' then good luck to him, because I sure as hell cant think of one and I would be saying the same even if we had lost the cup final.

The one area he can definitely improve is game management .... the League cup final being a case in point, where we should have been a lot more conservative in the last 10 minutes. If we had we could be sitting with two cups in the boardroom.

Please Mr Lennon ..... don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Difference being, Lennon is known to have good man management skills. Butcher clearly didnt. I think he's recognising that there are good players here (something that Butcher didn't do) but just needs to get them to have more of a "winners" attitude. And to me thats about the smaller games. It should be easy to get up for Semis/Finals/Derbies, but away to Morton/Dumbarton etc is where we need to be turning up and steamrolling them.

[GloryGlory]

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Difference being, Lennon is known to have good man management skills. Butcher clearly didnt. I think he's recognising that there are good players here (something that Butcher didn't do) but just needs to get them to have more of a "winners" attitude. And to me thats about the smaller games. It should be easy to get up for Semis/Finals/Derbies, but away to Morton/Dumbarton etc is where we need to be turning up and steamrolling them.

I think that was what Neil was saying when he said players need to be consistent - players need to be up and ready to perform in every game, no matter the opposition. Too often we have got good results against the so-called bigger teams, but just not turned up against lesser opposition in the next game.

Even last season, we were beaten twice by Dumbarton, beaten by Alloa and drawn games after dominating. And yet our cup runs were apart from Raith against teams above us in league terms.

[Hibrandenburg]

I can remember page after page on here welcoming Butcher and clips showing his motivational skills and philosophy that had the vast majority of posters on here drooling about how bright our future under Butcher would be. Just goes to show that the average football fan knows ****-all about football.

[BoomtownHibees]

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I can remember page after page on here welcoming Butcher and clips showing his motivational skills and philosophy that had the vast majority of posters on here drooling about how bright our future under Butcher would be. Just goes to show that the average football fan knows ****-all about football.

No just fans. Chairmen and directors too clearly

[NAE NOOKIE]

From the day of the Petrie out rally to the 21st of May 2016 has been a bit of a mental ride to be honest. On that day 2 years ago I was really afraid that Hibs were so far gone it would take years and years for us to get back on an even keel.

The difference in the club from then to now is nothing short of remarkable and even if we ultimately have failed in the major objective of returning to the Premiership we have proved beyond any doubt that we are a match for anybody on the pitch and things have been vastly improved off it.

There are many things that have contributed to that ... but there is no doubt that Alan Stubbs and his staff turned what was almost certainly a miserable place for players to come to every day into a place where players loved to be. Never mind the cup, that was probably his greatest achievement in his time at the club.

The board by and large have obviously bought into and did their best to drive a new direction for this club .... but at the end of the day there is no doubt that in the 2 years the best thing the club has done is to employ Leeann Dempster, I have no idea what she gets paid, but whatever it is its not enough. One day we will lose her to a much bigger job and when that day comes if the club has moved on and improved on the last two years she will be regarded in the same light as any of the clubs off field greats.

[CallumLaidlaw]

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I can remember page after page on here welcoming Butcher and clips showing his motivational skills and philosophy that had the vast majority of posters on here drooling about how bright our future under Butcher would be. Just goes to show that the average football fan knows ****-all about football.

Yet still more than Terry Butcher.

[matty_f]

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I can remember page after page on here welcoming Butcher and clips showing his motivational skills and philosophy that had the vast majority of posters on here drooling about how bright our future under Butcher would be. Just goes to show that the average football fan knows ****-all about football.

I don't think it shows that, I think it shows that they get blinded by optimism sometimes, and also aren't that great at telling the future.

[greenlex]

If we were in the top league would we have won the Scottish Cup. Did that blow of not being promoted at the second time of asking after playing so well for the best part of the season give us that all or nothing boost the last 10- 12 mins at hampden? If we had been half way thru a play off final with the outcome balanced either way would we have done it? Has relegation been the making of us as a.revamped club? Maybe Butcher has a lot to be thanked for.