Lee Johnson’s Hibernian made it two home wins from two with a convincing 3-1 victory over Aberdeen at Easter Road on Saturday afternoon.
You’d be forgiven for not being aware of that if you paid too much attention to Scottish football writers in the tabloids or the torn-faced comments from Dons boss Jim Goodwin after the full-time whistle.
Whether Goodwin genuinely believed what he said, whether he was caught in the heat of the moment or was just cleverly deflecting from a poor result and performance from his squad of summer signings – all that anyone is talking about following the Hibs win is Ryan Porteous.
The reality is that Hibs battered Aberdeen on Saturday. 11 shots to their two. 57% possession. 25 dangerous attacks to the seven of Goodwin’s side.
And that’s just the first half stats, where Aberdeen played with 11 men for 44 minutes.
Over the 90 minutes the picture is even clearer. Hibs managed 25 shots to the Dons’ five; eight on target vs. one; 64% possession vs. 36%. Most importantly, three goals to one.
The idea that Liam Scales’ red card changed the game is absolutely untrue, and Goodwin’s anger would be better directed at his own players than at a 23-year-old centre half in the opposing side.
If he wants to single anyone out, he should be picking out his own defender who racked up two bookings in a minute, gave away a penalty and handed Hibs the chance to go in at half time on level terms instead of a goal down.
Goodwin’s comments have encouraged an ever-familiar pile-on against a young defender as he gets ready to embark on one of the biggest weeks of his career to date, joining up with Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad for a Nations League triple header.
The withdrawal of Grant Hanley from the squad on Monday evening means Porteous could be in line for his first full international caps against Ukraine (x2) and Ireland this week.
The thoughts of a losing manager, and especially Jim Goodwin, can be taken with a pinch of salt most of the time but when they are the latest in a string of over-the-top criticism and harassment it begs the question when is enough going to be enough?
There seems to be a perception that pundits and managers can take aimless and unfounded digs at Porteous because he’s a centre half who enjoys a tackle and likes to celebrate. That needs to stop.
With Ryan in the last year of his Hibernian contract and talks still ongoing regarding a renewal, could anyone blame him if he decided to pack his bags in the summer and set off for a new challenge?
The narrative has continued to grow arms and legs in the last 12 months. Branded a ‘thug’ and a ‘liability’ by opposing fans, most of the comments came from the same group of usual, clueless suspects – the majority of whom have only seen Porteous play a handful of times.
And while that representation of Ryan Porteous as a footballer is entirely untrue, backed by absolutely no substantial evidence and based wholly on anecdote and opinion, the latest idea that a centre half who has won two penalties in his entire career is a league-wide known diver is bordering on the ridiculous.
In the last 18 months Porteous has grown into an international standard central defender. His ability on the ball has improved, his importance in the team has increased and he has turned into one of the most reliable players at the club.
Any notion otherwise is just fantasy. While supporters of teams across the country will argue the toss about the inclusions from one Scotland squad to the next, the reality is that you do not get picked to represent the national team if you’re not a capable footballer – especially not in recent years where the achievements of Steve Clarke’s side have surpassed anything seen in the last two decades.
While tabloids and media outlets should know better, they invariably won’t. The former professionals queuing up to have a go at Porteous are the ones who should be having a good look at themselves.
Former Celtic and Aberdeen striker Charlie Nicholas was recently quoted as saying Porteous’ “time will come.”
What the f*** is that supposed to mean, Charlie?
He’s a 23-year-old lad. You’re a 60-year-old man.
He’s a talented footballer who is working hard every day to improve, to represent his boyhood club with pride and to pull on a Scotland men’s jersey for the very first time.
Will Charlie Nicholas apologise in the Daily Express, Scottish Sun or whichever other outlet is desperate enough to ask for his opinion if Porteous is seriously injured?
Will he apologise when Porteous gains full international recognition and continues his development in Scotland or elsewhere, proving him wrong?
Of course he won’t.
You’ll be lucky if Nicholas has watched Porteous play a game yet this season. The man with his finger on the pulse in Scottish football probably won’t see him kick a ball live until we play Celtic next month.
The English tabloid media were rightly called out following years of denigrating, negative coverage of their young footballers on the basis that it was impacting their careers and their mental wellbeing.
Why are we so willing to allow unfounded claims to continue to drive the Scottish football landscape here?
If anyone is paying attention to the facts, they’ll know this false narrative about Ryan Porteous is ludicrous, lazy and unacceptable.
According to WhoScored, Ryan Porteous is 175th in the league for average fouls committed per game in 2022/23.
175th.
He has averaged 0.4 fouls per game in the Premiership this season.
Over the course of last season Porteous was 68th in the league for average fouls committed per game, with 1.3.
On average cards per game this season, Porteous is 29th on the list. He’s been booked three times in the league so far this year.
Has anyone seen any opinion pieces about St Johnstone’s Daniel Phillips being a thug recently? Or Kilmarnock’s Liam Donnelly? Connor Goldson of Rangers? Jonah Ayunga of St Mirren?
All of those players are in the top 10 with a similar number of Premiership appearances to Porteous this season.
On the other side of the game, Porteous has completed more successful passes than any player outside of Celtic and Rangers in the Premiership so far this season. But you won’t read about that in the Daily Record any time soon.
As a club Hibs have been known to go about their business quietly with this sort of thing in the last couple of years, but what’s for sure is that those in charge of the club will be making their voices heard in the right places.
Managers, pundits and former players are paid to give their views on the Scottish game, and while everyone is entitled to their opinion, it’s not too much to ask to expect them to be able to back their opinions up with even a shred of research or analysis.
In the age of sound-bites and click-bait it’s understandable to see Porteous hitting the headlines at every opportunity, but beneath the quotes and hyperbole there lies a very talented, committed and exciting young Scottish defender.
While Hibs fans will hope to see Porteous sign an extension to his current deal at the club, with many citing him as the next Hibernian captain in waiting, there are few who would be surprised to see him get fed up of the media circus and head elsewhere.
And who could blame him?
Image credit: Hibernian FC
The East Stand 
Excellent article that pulls apart Goodwin post match comments and how Goodwin needs to look at his own players 1st. More importantly and worryingly is how Porteous is betrayed by Scottish press /media without foundation. This would not be up for discussion if he was a Celtic or Rangers player. Porteous fully deserves his place in the Scotland squad and i hope he gets his chance to play.
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