Wholesale changes?

[SRHibs]

Will we make them when (if) we get promoted? I think we have a relatively good spine to the team with Marciano, Hanlon/McGregor, McGinn/Fyvie, and Cummings, however outside of that I believe we need to strengthen considerably. It's also like that 2/3 out of those 5 won't be here come the beginning of next season?

It's probably unpopular but I would definitely look at improving the FB position on both sides - would keep both Stevenson and Gray in the squad though.

Would be happy with retaining the core of our midfield (even Shinnie who I rate). If McGeouch can ever get himself consistently fit then our midfield would more than suffice in the SPL.

Would love to keep Marciano as he's different class.

2nd in the SPL is there for the taking so hopefully the board show a bit of ambition in the summer. Thoughts on probable changes?

[G B Young]

With the exception of Celtic, and possibly Aberdeen on a good day, the standard of the top flight is exceptionally poor. Probably as low in quality as I can recall in some 40 years of watching Scottish football.

I actually think the current Hibs squad would do quite well in the Premier League, but yes we obviously need to strengthen if we want to challenge for a European spot.

[Largshibby]

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Will we make them when (if) we get promoted? I think we have a relatively good spine to the team with Marciano, Hanlon/McGregor, McGinn/Fyvie, and Cummings, however outside of that I believe we need to strengthen considerably. It's also like that 2/3 out of those 5 won't be here come the beginning of next season?

It's probably unpopular but I would definitely look at improving the FB position on both sides - would keep both Stevenson and Gray in the squad though.

Would be happy with retaining the core of our midfield (even Shinnie who I rate). If McGeouch can ever get himself consistently fit then our midfield would more than suffice in the SPL.

Would love to keep Marciano as he's different class.

2nd in the SPL is there for the taking so hopefully the board show a bit of ambition in the summer. Thoughts on probable changes?

M arciano was outstanding v Dunfermline and poor v St Mirren. If you take an average it makes him a reasonable keeper probably as good as we can have. I'd keep Hanlon and McGregor as they have demonstrated they can deal with better teams and mcgeoch (if fit) and shinnie because he has a bit of class when he tries. I think Cummings and McGINN will be sold. That should allow us to out spend all bar Celtic servo and Aberdeen so we can cherry pick players from the likes of Dundee st Johnstone etc who seem to have figured out how to stay in the top division. I think the SC winning team needs dismantled as there is a dangerthat the heart will rule the head and we persevere (no pun intended) with guys that need moved on.

[JackLadd]

I'm not sure it's that bad, just Celtic are way ahead. Aberdeen have their best squad since the 90s. The rest are much of a muchness. Our current squad is surely top six, plenty good players and the hertz game proved it. Our level is not consistent which is Lennons main problem.

[Franck Stanton]

Bit previous IMO we are not certain of promotion to the SPL. Worry about the personnel if we get there

[madhatter]

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M arciano was outstanding v Dunfermline and poor v St Mirren. If you take an average it makes him a reasonable keeper probably as good as we can have. I'd keep Hanlon and McGregor as they have demonstrated they can deal with better teams and mcgeoch (if fit) and shinnie because he has a bit of class when he tries. I think Cummings and McGINN will be sold. That should allow us to out spend all bar Celtic servo and Aberdeen so we can cherry pick players from the likes of Dundee st Johnstone etc who seem to have figured out how to stay in the top division. I think the SC winning team needs dismantled as there is a dangerthat the heart will rule the head and we persevere (no pun intended) with guys that need moved on.

Are you saying if we sell Cummings and McGinn we wouldn't be able to outspend Aberdeen? That's a bit mental tbh. What are we getting for them, 200k each or something? Also keeping Shinnie is insane, he has bit of class when he tries is good enough for you? Baffling, truly baffling.

Cherry picking from St Johnstone and the like was how we got relegated - KT, Liam Craig, Maybury et al. We need to develop our youngsters and scout players around Europe in my opinion.

[1van Sprou7e]

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Are you saying if we sell Cummings and McGinn we wouldn't be able to outspend Aberdeen? That's a bit mental tbh. What are we getting for them, 200k each or something? Also keeping Shinnie is insane, he has bit of class when he tries is good enough for you? Baffling, truly baffling.

Cherry picking from St Johnstone and the like was how we got relegated - KT, Liam Craig, Maybury et al. We need to develop our youngsters and scout players around Europe in my opinion.

200k each? We'd get a lot more than that. We already rejected a 1.2m bid for Cummings last year

[Golden Bear]

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Bit previous IMO we are not certain of promotion to the SPL. Worry about the personnel if we get there

Exactly. There's a long, long way to go yet and we all know that if there is a hard way to do something then Hibs will find it.

[lyonhibs]

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200k each? We'd get a lot more than that. We already rejected a 1.2m bid for Cummings last year

I think that may have been the gentleman's point.

For sure quality, and relatively consistent quality at that, in the wide areas is an absolute must.

Although it's been that way for a decade or so mind..

[Jim44]

I was searching for the nervous giggle smiley when I read the op.

[SRHibs]

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I was searching for the nervous giggle smiley when I read the op.

[Jim44]

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Carry on tho'.

[Largshibby]

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Are you saying if we sell Cummings and McGinn we wouldn't be able to outspend Aberdeen? That's a bit mental tbh. What are we getting for them, 200k each or something? Also keeping Shinnie is insane, he has bit of class when he tries is good enough for you? Baffling, truly baffling.

Cherry picking from St Johnstone and the like was how we got relegated - KT, Liam Craig, Maybury et al. We need to develop our youngsters and scout players around Europe in my opinion.

Opinions eh? I've no idea how much we would get thats why i didn't quote a figure. Transfer fees are always complicated by sell on clauses, cash plus player deals etc so maybe we wouldn't get as much as we would like. Potential purchasers will also consider the quality of the league these guys are playing in. Who is KT? Liam Craig did well at St Johnstone before he came to us and when he went back to them so thats a strange example to give. Hibs made him (and others) useless. Scouting overseas players is hit and miss unless its the really good guys that we cant afford (and its a jambo policy so I'd avoid it for that reason alone). I agree about developing our own players but that takes time that most football supporters don't allow.

[Smartie]

I think this squad would do ok in the Premier League with a few (not many) additions and a couple of departures.

We're better suited to the Premier League than the Championship imo.

If we don't go up I'd be demanding wholesale changes, not just for financial reasons and because most of the players would demand to leave but because they'd have proven conclusively once and for all that they're not up to the task of winning this league.

[hibs#1]

I'd say we've got a really good Base to build on if we get promoted.I would think upfront would be the biggest over-haul and the full back positions.
Obviously we can nobody is irreplaceable.

[BoomtownHibees]

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M arciano was outstanding v Dunfermline and poor v St Mirren. If you take an average it makes him a reasonable keeper probably as good as we can have. I'd keep Hanlon and McGregor as they have demonstrated they can deal with better teams and mcgeoch (if fit) and shinnie because he has a bit of class when he tries. I think Cummings and McGINN will be sold. That should allow us to out spend all bar Celtic servo and Aberdeen so we can cherry pick players from the likes of Dundee st Johnstone etc who seem to have figured out how to stay in the top division. I think the SC winning team needs dismantled as there is a dangerthat the heart will rule the head and we persevere (no pun intended) with guys that need moved on.

Probably why we wouldn't judge Marciano over just the last 2 games. He's a better goalie than "reasonable"

[Ozyhibby]

Marciano is a fine goalie and def worth keeping. A significant upgrade on Oxley.


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[Nicho87]

How we can even mention 2nd place in the league above is baffling. Yes we turn up for the big cup games. What about a freezing night in inverness on a wednesday night. These players are no where near tested enough as a squad to assume we'd get a top six spot never mind second. After our recent results i find this quite incredible.

[HIBERNIAN-0762]

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With the exception of Celtic, and possibly Aberdeen on a good day, the standard of the top flight is exceptionally poor. Probably as low in quality as I can recall in some 40 years of watching Scottish football.

I actually think the current Hibs squad would do quite well in the Premier League, but yes we obviously need to strengthen if we want to challenge for a European spot.

Agreed

[RedHibby]

We are struggling to get promoted and some are talking top 6 and Europe in the league above. I want back into the Premiership just like everyone else but a reality check is required.

[Keith_M]

You have to think(hope) that there's going to be a massive clearout.


There seems to be a lot of players that either just aren't good enough, or only turn it on when they can be bothered.

[indiejak1413]

I think there's a few players on contracts with guaranteed 1st team football. Makes it difficult for the manager to drop certain players even though they're playing crap.

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[IberianHibernian]

I like to think that relative lack of signings last summer and again this winter is because club is saving up for some good signings if we go up or saving for emergency if we don`t I suppose . I`d hope we`d only keep a max of 7 or 8 of present squad if we go up and even then some of them would be as back up .

[Dashing Bob S]

I think Lennon will make big changes next year. It was almost impossible for him to dismantle the team of legends that won the Scottish Cup for the first time in 114 years. But they have fallen short in certain areas. The problem is the same one we've had over the last three seasons: we can raise to high level of performance against decent teams who play football, but struggle against committed/bus parking muppets. So a Jambos/Huns style skooshing was never really on. If we had an opposition side this term like either of those two; limited but know how to bully inferior sides, we'd be looking at the play-offs once again.

Agree with the OP's comments about the spine. Stevenson and Gray are Hibernian institutions and criticizing them makes me feel Jambo-dirty, but I'm not sure we'd be anything other than mid-table in the Premier with them in the ranks. Ditto Boyle, Graham, Holt etc.

[Forza Fred]

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I think this squad would do ok in the Premier League with a few (not many) additions and a couple of departures.

We're better suited to the Premier League than the Championship imo.

.

Why?

[JackLadd]

You can't be too loyal to players who are not performing but I would not clear this side out, not if it means going back to signing the dross that we saw on the park 2007-14: journeyman signings and nobody's that eventually got us relegated.

[Smartie]

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Why?

Because more Premier League teams will try to play football against us and that suits us.

Not all of them - there are a few "wee teams" up there who will park the bus like the teams in our league.

Our current players suit playing 3-5-2 and a midfield diamond that are effective at soaking up pressure and hitting teams on the break by being hard to beat.

We don't have the players to play formations that allow us to attack teams and break down packed defences.

Our fullbacks - great defensive fullbacks who will require their defensive skills more in the Premier League rather than their attacking ones. All our centre-halves should be playing at a higher level and would be good enough to do so. Fyvie, Bartley, McGinn - these are good players who play better against better players, have better defensive attributes than attacking ones. Cummings will get goals at a higher level.

[FitbaFolkKen]

I think we'll lose an awful lot of players in the summer.

There are a number of players out of contract -

Chris Humphrey
David Gray
Lewis Stevenson
Fraser Fyvie
Darren McGregor
Grant Holt
Marvin Bartley
James Keatings
Martin Boyle
Ross Laidlaw
Alex Harris
Liam Fontaine
Brain Maclean
Scott Gallacher

Loans
Ofir Marciano
Andrew Shinnie
Efe Ambrose

Cummings and McGinn are sure to attract interest from elsewhere and that may fund our revamp of the squad.

I don't think Lennon will keep Handling, Graham and McGeouch because they just haven't played enough games. 2 because of injury and Graham seems 4th or 5th in the pecking order up front.

That's 22 of our first team squad of 26 that could conceivably be moving. I think the only players I haven't highlighted are Hanlon, Forster, Crane, and Martin.

It'll be the end of an era and then we'll really see what Lennon can do I hope!

[Juice-Terry]

Whatever we do, we shouldn't offer Fyvie a new contract. He is awful - even if he did have a decent cup final.

[BoomtownHibees]

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Because more Premier League teams will try to play football against us and that suits us.

Not all of them - there are a few "wee teams" up there who will park the bus like the teams in our league.

Our current players suit playing 3-5-2 and a midfield diamond that are effective at soaking up pressure and hitting teams on the break by being hard to beat.

We don't have the players to play formations that allow us to attack teams and break down packed defences.

Our fullbacks - great defensive fullbacks who will require their defensive skills more in the Premier League rather than their attacking ones. All our centre-halves should be playing at a higher level and would be good enough to do so. Fyvie, Bartley, McGinn - these are good players who play better against better players, have better defensive attributes than attacking ones. Cummings will get goals at a higher level.

The last 2 teams have played football against us and ripped us apart