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Now that the dust has settled...

Dudge97

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Now almost a week has passed since our heartless Hampden performance and the dust begins to settle on the last campaign, the question to be asked is how do we kick on from here? Whilst achieving 3rd for the first time in 16 years is, on paper, a significant achievement for the club, we cannot ignore the fact that performances have been inconsistent, we fail to perform in big games when it matters and it is a huge disappointment that we come out of this season without silverware given the opportunities that we've had to do so.

Whilst some will no doubt demand a drastic turnover of both players and management, looking at the squad we currently have, there is a very strong nucleus on which we can build on, and for the first time since the Mobray era, we now have a number of assets in the squad that will undoubtedly secure the club a healthy profit when they move on. With the COVID impact and the disappointment of missing out on the promise of European football until December, there will inevitably be movement on the transfer front which may see some key players depart. In bygone years, Hibs have always been swift to move players on at the first hint of a bid. However, under Ron Gordon's ownership, we seem in a far stronger position to hold on to key players, at least until our valuation of said players is met, which was demonstrated when we rejected substantial bids for Nisbet and Porteous in January. I expect stalwarts such as SDG, Stevenson, and McGregor will begin to transition into coaching roles, whilst proving as reliable squad players. It remains to be seen whether Jackson Irvine will renew his contract however given the general consensus, most fans won't be too concerned should he move to pastures new. The futures of the likes of Drey Wright, Stevie Mallan, Sean Mackie and Melker Hallberg will also be in question, however, the latter seems to have given Jack Ross food for thought with his performances in his previous few starts.

Daniel MacKay has already joined providing much-needed depth in wide areas and after a long injury layoff, a good preseason should hopefully allow Kyle Magennis to kick on and stake his claim in the squad after an underwhelming start. The return of Scott Allan will be a big boost, as well as Chris Cadden from injury. We may also see the emergence of a couple of development players, with the likes of Steven Bradley and Ethan Laidlaw being involved in the first-team setup, who will be looking at the success of Josh Doig this season as something to emulate. It remains to be seen if Jamie Gullan is part of JR's plans moving forward. Matt Macey and Kevin Dabrowski look like they will be our options in goals.

In summary, I believe Jack Ross will be given the opportunity to build on last season, however, he will be under serious pressure should we fail to begin next season positively. Our recruitment is key and our strategy will likely hinge on outgoings. I believe a top-quality centre back should be our priority, as well as another striker and depth at wing back. With Hearts returning to the Premiership as well as a confident Dundee side, expected rebuilds at Celtic and Aberdeen, a strong Rangers that will look to consolidate on their success this seasons and as well as the long-awaited return of fans to stadiums, next season will be more demanding and competitive than the previous campaign. It has all the hallmarks to be an exciting season for our club and Scottish football as a whole, and after the failings and disappointments of last season, we must now look forward with (very) cautious optimism and look to progress further as a club.
 
For me getting 3rd on a consistent basis is what we should strive to do. Won't be easy with the return of Hearts.

The next month or so are gonna be interesting with the squad. Players in and players out. I just hope we don't leave it to late to replace someone if they do leave.

For me we need to bring in another CB, Striker and hopefully we get the Scott Allan we know and love but if we have concerns about him whatsoever we need a replacement for him.
 
I’d be interested to see the numbers because my feeling is that the centre of midfield is our weakness.

Good structured analysis. Interesting read.
 
Our realistic ambition as a club should be to establish ourselves as the third team in the country, and be the biggest challengers to the Old Firm in the league. We have done that this season, but we have to aim to do that every season, and hopefully reduce the huge points difference between second and third in the process. To be honest, after this season, I have now more or less given up on Hibs lifting any more silverware at Hampden in my lifetime but I obviously will be very happy to be proven wrong in the next few years.

As for next season, we will have to first of all deal with with the departures of key players this summer. I will be very surprised if Doig, Nisbet, Porteous and Boyle are all still Hibs players by the end of August. I will also be surprised if Jackson Irvine signs a new deal, but I hope he does. If Nisbet goes we need a replacement in who is as good as him or hopefully better. We also need another striker on top of that because we lack options and we were very fortunate last season to have no long term injuries to any of our two strikers. Midfield, well let's just hope Scott Allan can come back to full fitness and is able to play regularly given his health situation. We could certainly do with a back-up to Allan who could do a similar job. Hopefully Cadden can recover from his injury as he was signed to be a key player for us. Defensively, I expect Porteous to be gone, so we will need at least two new central defenders. Again, we managed to get through this season with mainly Hanlon and Porteous, but we won't be so lucky next season. Darren McGregor won't be playing next season I would imagine, but I wish we could find a younger version of him. If Doig goes, I have confidence Sean Mackie (if he can get himself fit) can replace him with Lewis as back-up. If not, we were meant to be interested in the Hamilton left-back. Macey and Dabrowski will fight it out for the goalkeepers spot. Martin Boyle will be a massive miss if he goes, so I hope he doesn't. If he does go we definitely need a replacement.

IMO we need experience and leaders through the spine of the team. I hope Jack prioritises this. I also hope to see some youngsters like possibly Campbell, Laidlaw and Bradley making the breakthrough.

We have had a very good league campaign. We need to repeat this if not better it next season which will be very difficult. Hearts, Aberdeen and Celtic will all be better. It is vital we make a good start and win the first derby. If not, I fear the fans will turn on Jack Ross and he will be under huge pressure. Last week-end's pathetic cup final performance was the last straw for many, and I think he really has to now step up to the mark as a manager and build on what has been achieved in the league last season. It's the big one-off cup matches at Hampden that have been his weak point and he must show he can deal with this huge problem in his career so far. I like Jack Ross and I think he is as good a manager as we could get just now. He needs time to properly build his own team, but in doing that he knows he needs to get results and he needs to get a disgruntled support back onside after what was ultimately a demoralising and very disappointing end to season 2020/21.
 
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We need to be challenging at the top of the pile and regularly getting to cup finals and winning them from time to time. That would be a start.

3rd every year should be the target but 4th isn't a sacking offense when similar sized clubs to us exist in the league. That said, we absolutely should be competitive with Hearts and Aberdeen and not finishing mid table or worse as we've become accustomed to in the last couple decades.

To improve and stay competitive next season we need to find a more reliable central defensive pairing. Individually Daz, Porto and Hanlon have their talents but the killer combination is missing.

Creativity in the midfield needs addressed. Can Scott Allan play regularly for a full season? If not we need someone similar brought in.

Up front we need a talisman. It think we all agree Leigh Griffiths is the obvious choice.
 
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Now almost a week has passed since our heartless Hampden performance and the dust begins to settle on the last campaign, the question to be asked is how do we kick on from here? Whilst achieving 3rd for the first time in 16 years is, on paper, a significant achievement for the club, we cannot ignore the fact that performances have been inconsistent, we fail to perform in big games when it matters and it is a huge disappointment that we come out of this season without silverware given the opportunities that we've had to do so.

Whilst some will no doubt demand a drastic turnover of both players and management, looking at the squad we currently have, there is a very strong nucleus on which we can build on, and for the first time since the Mobray era, we now have a number of assets in the squad that will undoubtedly secure the club a healthy profit when they move on. With the COVID impact and the disappointment of missing out on the promise of European football until December, there will inevitably be movement on the transfer front which may see some key players depart. In bygone years, Hibs have always been swift to move players on at the first hint of a bid. However, under Ron Gordon's ownership, we seem in a far stronger position to hold on to key players, at least until our valuation of said players is met, which was demonstrated when we rejected substantial bids for Nisbet and Porteous in January. I expect stalwarts such as SDG, Stevenson, and McGregor will begin to transition into coaching roles, whilst proving as reliable squad players. It remains to be seen whether Jackson Irvine will renew his contract however given the general consensus, most fans won't be too concerned should he move to pastures new. The futures of the likes of Drey Wright, Stevie Mallan, Sean Mackie and Melker Hallberg will also be in question, however, the latter seems to have given Jack Ross food for thought with his performances in his previous few starts.

Daniel MacKay has already joined providing much-needed depth in wide areas and after a long injury layoff, a good preseason should hopefully allow Kyle Magennis to kick on and stake his claim in the squad after an underwhelming start. The return of Scott Allan will be a big boost, as well as Chris Cadden from injury. We may also see the emergence of a couple of development players, with the likes of Steven Bradley and Ethan Laidlaw being involved in the first-team setup, who will be looking at the success of Josh Doig this season as something to emulate. It remains to be seen if Jamie Gullan is part of JR's plans moving forward. Matt Macey and Kevin Dabrowski look like they will be our options in goals.

In summary, I believe Jack Ross will be given the opportunity to build on last season, however, he will be under serious pressure should we fail to begin next season positively. Our recruitment is key and our strategy will likely hinge on outgoings. I believe a top-quality centre back should be our priority, as well as another striker and depth at wing back. With Hearts returning to the Premiership as well as a confident Dundee side, expected rebuilds at Celtic and Aberdeen, a strong Huns that will look to consolidate on their success this seasons and as well as the long-awaited return of fans to stadiums, next season will be more demanding and competitive than the previous campaign. It has all the hallmarks to be an exciting season for our club and Scottish football as a whole, and after the failings and disappointments of last season, we must now look forward with (very) cautious optimism and look to progress further as a club.

Brilliant post JD and agree with much of what you say. The next months comings and goings should be interesting.
 
Now almost a week has passed since our heartless Hampden performance and the dust begins to settle on the last campaign, the question to be asked is how do we kick on from here? Whilst achieving 3rd for the first time in 16 years is, on paper, a significant achievement for the club, we cannot ignore the fact that performances have been inconsistent, we fail to perform in big games when it matters and it is a huge disappointment that we come out of this season without silverware given the opportunities that we've had to do so.

Whilst some will no doubt demand a drastic turnover of both players and management, looking at the squad we currently have, there is a very strong nucleus on which we can build on, and for the first time since the Mobray era, we now have a number of assets in the squad that will undoubtedly secure the club a healthy profit when they move on. With the COVID impact and the disappointment of missing out on the promise of European football until December, there will inevitably be movement on the transfer front which may see some key players depart. In bygone years, Hibs have always been swift to move players on at the first hint of a bid. However, under Ron Gordon's ownership, we seem in a far stronger position to hold on to key players, at least until our valuation of said players is met, which was demonstrated when we rejected substantial bids for Nisbet and Porteous in January. I expect stalwarts such as SDG, Stevenson, and McGregor will begin to transition into coaching roles, whilst proving as reliable squad players. It remains to be seen whether Jackson Irvine will renew his contract however given the general consensus, most fans won't be too concerned should he move to pastures new. The futures of the likes of Drey Wright, Stevie Mallan, Sean Mackie and Melker Hallberg will also be in question, however, the latter seems to have given Jack Ross food for thought with his performances in his previous few starts.

Daniel MacKay has already joined providing much-needed depth in wide areas and after a long injury layoff, a good preseason should hopefully allow Kyle Magennis to kick on and stake his claim in the squad after an underwhelming start. The return of Scott Allan will be a big boost, as well as Chris Cadden from injury. We may also see the emergence of a couple of development players, with the likes of Steven Bradley and Ethan Laidlaw being involved in the first-team setup, who will be looking at the success of Josh Doig this season as something to emulate. It remains to be seen if Jamie Gullan is part of JR's plans moving forward. Matt Macey and Kevin Dabrowski look like they will be our options in goals.

In summary, I believe Jack Ross will be given the opportunity to build on last season, however, he will be under serious pressure should we fail to begin next season positively. Our recruitment is key and our strategy will likely hinge on outgoings. I believe a top-quality centre back should be our priority, as well as another striker and depth at wing back. With Hearts returning to the Premiership as well as a confident Dundee side, expected rebuilds at Celtic and Aberdeen, a strong Huns that will look to consolidate on their success this seasons and as well as the long-awaited return of fans to stadiums, next season will be more demanding and competitive than the previous campaign. It has all the hallmarks to be an exciting season for our club and Scottish football as a whole, and after the failings and disappointments of last season, we must now look forward with (very) cautious optimism and look to progress further as a club.
Win the treble and the Europa league or you're just accepting mediocrity
 
The realistic and first thing we should be doing is being up there challenging for 3rd place every single season.. Now with Aberdeen and a soon to be improved Hearts both in the mix , we will have to be at it from the kick off next season as every point is vitally important...

Cup competitions are a different issue. I would like to think that Hibs will be aiming to make the semi's at the very minimum but a lot of that depends obviously on how the draw pans out.. If you can avoid the old firm then of course you have a great chance of going deep but the luck of the draw is vital..

Sacking jack Ross is not the answer , he should and quite rightly so be given time to mould the squad and bring in the players that he wants to try and move us forward.. However , for the sake of Jack , it is vital he gets us off to a good start next season and improves the brand of football that is on display that has been eye bleeding to watch at times..
 
I have to admit that I still have incredibly mixed feelings about the 2020/21 season.

While finishing 3rd was an achievement, we've just blown at least two* fantastic opportunities to win a trophy, something we've only done ten times in 140+ years. We also failed in our quest to have guaranteed European football until Christmas, making our 3rd place finish slightly less of an achievement than it might have otherwise been, all becuase we couldn't work out how to score a goal against St Johnstone for the fourth time in a row, let alone how to actually beat them.

While we're not quite The New Aberdeen, there's been a lot of occasions where we've gathered a decent number of league points in a fairly dull and un-entertaining manner. There have been some notable exceptions to that; the consecutive away wins over Motherwell and Hamilton , plus consistently putting up a decent challenge to the Ugly Sister, being decent cases in point.


I don't know if I'm just being hard to please but I look back on last season and think it's not bad but can't help dwelling on how good it might have been.




* Depending on your opinion of whether the Cup Semi Final defeat to Hearts counts as being in 'this' season
 
To me every single football team on the planet turn in a high number of dull, uninspiring performances over the course of a league season. It’s too long a slog not to.

The difference between a goof team and a bad team is whether they produce points from those dull, uninspiring performances or not. The ones that do, that are capable of grinding out results, finish at the top end of the table and progress to the later stages of cup competitions.
 
We also failed in our quest to have guaranteed European football until Christmas, making our 3rd place finish slightly less of an achievement than it might have otherwise been

I don't think this is the case anymore.
 
I don't think this is the case anymore.

It’s not, St. Johnstone have to go through a couple rounds of Europa League play offs with no guarantee of group football now.
 
I’d be interested to see the numbers because my feeling is that the centre of midfield is our weakness.

Good structured analysis. Interesting read.
I did notice HSL player of year as Joe Newell. That’s an interesting interpretation of the season.
 
The season would have been viewed as more successful if we had been papped oot the cup by Motherwell.
 
The season would have been viewed as more successful if we had been papped oot the cup by Motherwell.
Very true.

How the season finished was a nightmare for the fans, and the successes have been overshadowed.

We should be more grateful that we managed so many games at Hampden and not a single deathly quiet Bounce Tour return journey.
 
Now almost a week has passed since our heartless Hampden performance and the dust begins to settle on the last campaign, the question to be asked is how do we kick on from here? Whilst achieving 3rd for the first time in 16 years is, on paper, a significant achievement for the club, we cannot ignore the fact that performances have been inconsistent, we fail to perform in big games when it matters and it is a huge disappointment that we come out of this season without silverware given the opportunities that we've had to do so.

Whilst some will no doubt demand a drastic turnover of both players and management, looking at the squad we currently have, there is a very strong nucleus on which we can build on, and for the first time since the Mobray era, we now have a number of assets in the squad that will undoubtedly secure the club a healthy profit when they move on. With the COVID impact and the disappointment of missing out on the promise of European football until December, there will inevitably be movement on the transfer front which may see some key players depart. In bygone years, Hibs have always been swift to move players on at the first hint of a bid. However, under Ron Gordon's ownership, we seem in a far stronger position to hold on to key players, at least until our valuation of said players is met, which was demonstrated when we rejected substantial bids for Nisbet and Porteous in January. I expect stalwarts such as SDG, Stevenson, and McGregor will begin to transition into coaching roles, whilst proving as reliable squad players. It remains to be seen whether Jackson Irvine will renew his contract however given the general consensus, most fans won't be too concerned should he move to pastures new. The futures of the likes of Drey Wright, Stevie Mallan, Sean Mackie and Melker Hallberg will also be in question, however, the latter seems to have given Jack Ross food for thought with his performances in his previous few starts.

Daniel MacKay has already joined providing much-needed depth in wide areas and after a long injury layoff, a good preseason should hopefully allow Kyle Magennis to kick on and stake his claim in the squad after an underwhelming start. The return of Scott Allan will be a big boost, as well as Chris Cadden from injury. We may also see the emergence of a couple of development players, with the likes of Steven Bradley and Ethan Laidlaw being involved in the first-team setup, who will be looking at the success of Josh Doig this season as something to emulate. It remains to be seen if Jamie Gullan is part of JR's plans moving forward. Matt Macey and Kevin Dabrowski look like they will be our options in goals.

In summary, I believe Jack Ross will be given the opportunity to build on last season, however, he will be under serious pressure should we fail to begin next season positively. Our recruitment is key and our strategy will likely hinge on outgoings. I believe a top-quality centre back should be our priority, as well as another striker and depth at wing back. With Hearts returning to the Premiership as well as a confident Dundee side, expected rebuilds at Celtic and Aberdeen, a strong Huns that will look to consolidate on their success this seasons and as well as the long-awaited return of fans to stadiums, next season will be more demanding and competitive than the previous campaign. It has all the hallmarks to be an exciting season for our club and Scottish football as a whole, and after the failings and disappointments of last season, we must now look forward with (very) cautious optimism and look to progress further as a club.

Good read Joe. I hope you're right that Ethan Laidlaw and Steven Bradley get games for the first team at some point although with all the interest in Ethan from big guns down south it remains to be seen whether he'll still be here come kick-off. I'd like to see us keep hold of Melker Hallberg as I think he's underrated but I'm in the "not bother if Jackson Irvine signs" camp. He's flattered to deceive in my opinion.

Welcome aboard :7:
 
Good read Joe. I hope you're right that Ethan Laidlaw and Steven Bradley get games for the first team at some point although with all the interest in Ethan from big guns down south it remains to be seen whether he'll still be here come kick-off. I'd like to see us keep hold of Melker Hallberg as I think he's underrated but I'm in the "not bother if Jackson Irvine signs" camp. He's flattered to deceive in my opinion.

Welcome aboard :7:

I'm not convinced we'll even see Laidlaw next season if he does stay here.
We expect a fair bit from our strikers and at 16 he's not likely to skip the under 18s (who he has no goals for) and come straight into the main squad. I know we gave him a spot on the bench but that seems more for the experience than being ready.

I know he's been away down south trialling for a lot of the season, so his chances to have played for the 18s has been limited, but to come straight into the squad he'd need to be seriously impressive, we'd have done that this season instead of letting him trial if he was that good, as it would give him and us to showcase him for a transfer.

I hope he is that good and can come into the squad and make us some real money, but if a decent figure comes up, knowing there might be no short term involvement for him, might be a great piece of low risk business.
 
Who was the kid who went to Brentford or something after he was released stroke not offered a new contract?
 
Who was the kid who went to Brentford or something after he was released stroke not offered a new contract?

Kane O'connor maybe?
Defender, says undisclosed fee on Google, unsure we'd get a fee if we didn't offer him a deal though... maybe someone else?
 
The season would have been viewed as more successful if we had been papped oot the cup by Motherwell.

Or if we'd actually competed in the Scottish Cup Final.

Very few of us are going to get terribly excited by 3rd, however commendable an achievement it is, because of the calamitous Hampden non performances and results. We blew THREE superb opportunities for silverware.
 
Or if we'd actually competed in the Scottish Cup Final.

Very few of us are going to get terribly excited by 3rd, however commendable an achievement it is, because of the calamitous Hampden non performances and results. We blew THREE superb opportunities for silverware.
Yup that's why punters would have been happier if we didn't make the final, and had instead rounded off the season with the Aberdeen win.
 
I don't think this is the case anymore.
Sorry, I've been finding it hard to follow all the changes.

đź‘Ť
 
Good thread and some well made points here.

Having read and digested them though, I remain unconvinced that away wins at Mwell and Hamilton and not losing to the former in the Cup constitute success. Hibs can never win the League, we only play for cups. Opportunity knocked three times. And on each occasion we hid behind the sofa and turned the lights off.
 
Good thread and some well made points here.

Having read and digested them though, I remain unconvinced that away wins at Mwell and Hamilton and not losing to the former in the Cup constitute success. Hibs can never win the League, we only play for cups. Opportunity knocked three times. And on each occasion we hid behind the sofa and turned the lights off.

aye unfortunately the season will be remembered for our disgusting performances at hampden
 
It has been a strange season, on so many levels.
Regardless of how people perceive, or remember our league performances , we finished higher, quite comfortably , than we have for a long time.
We won once out of 4 attempts at Hampden , but their is no denying , we were in a position to win them all.
We showed a level of consistency , that we have failed to show for a very long time. We also did , without doubt come up short on the “ biggies”. Yes we have a bigger budget than most, and our league position showed that, and some more.
I hope, with some confidence, that we are on a good track . I hope , with confidence, that like us all, JR will learn from his mistakes, and he will continue improving us. I think we will make some good transfer movements in the coming months. E have some sellable assets, some who I believe are over rated and we could score by cashing them in.
I really believe , we could get Sparky on a 3 year deal, and get his head sorted, and get the best 3 years of his career.
My Hibby glass is half full , but I’m aware some of it is empty.
 
What a shower o cack. If our ambition is to be third then stick it up yer Jackson. Our ambition should be to close the gap on Rangers and Celtic and strive to compete. We've got the stadium. We've got the training centre. No more sales to finance infrastructure for at least a decade. 3 reasons to push on and NOT just settle for a bun fight with Hertz and the sheep.

"If we stay at ER we will have to sell our best young talent for years to come" Alex Miller

Nae mair damned excuses and accepting third as some great achievement.
 

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