There’s anger around Easter Road as Hibs head into the World Cup break with just one win in our last seven games.
While the performance and defeat at Rugby Park yesterday were well below par, the midweek loss to Ross County set the tone for what has been a miserable couple of weeks supporting the club.
Going into last Friday’s visit to Pittodrie on the back of a 3-0 win over St Mirren, fans were hopeful that a positive return from our three games before the break would give us a platform to build towards qualification for Europe. With Kevin Nisbet set to return from a long injury lay-off and the team creating plenty of chances, things were looking up.
What unravelled over the course of eight days was three defeats which have left supporters looking down the league table instead of upwards. For many, a four week break from watching Hibs has come at a good time.
The Manager
Lee Johnson is beginning to split opinion amongst the fanbase. While for the most-part fans are sympathetic to his position, with a struggling squad of players and a couple of key injuries, the tide seems to be turning in some sections of the support with another string of poor results.
Many fans still don’t lay the blame for what is happening at Easter Road at Johnson’s door, and with Shaun Maloney relieved of his duties so soon after his appointment last December there’s a feeling that Johnson deserves time to build something meaningful at the club.
What’s most alarming is the lack of a reaction from the playing squad during our poor runs, with the team seemingly sleepwalking from one defeat to the next with little in the way of an evident response to the last.
We’ve heard a number of times this season about unacceptable performances, mentality and reaction without an upturn in results.
With such a poor run of league games to reflect on it’s easy to forget about the League Cup debacle – but when we look back on the 2022/23 season it’ll be hard to overlook the failures which kickstarted Lee Johnson’s time in charge at Easter Road.
There’s a feeling that with a difficult fixture list around the festive period, we could be edging towards another change of manager in the not-too-distant future unless things improve quickly.
Recruitment
Much has been made of the raft of signings completed by the club in the summer transfer window. Including the two loans which became permanent the club signed 15 players ahead of the new season, with many of them unknown overseas imports.
The recruitment strategy appears to have changed in recent years, with young prospects signed from a wide range of markets in the hope of turning them over for a profit following a spell of successful performances in the first team.
On paper it’s a strategy which makes sense, having worked at a number of other clubs in Scotland and England, but in reality it’s an approach which is yet to deliver – on or off the pitch – for Hibernian.
Of the 15 summer signings, only a handful are regularly starting matches under Lee Johnson with many warming the substitutes bench week after week and some not even featuring at all.
Of course, with players coming to the Scottish game from across Europe and Africa, it’ll take time for them to adapt to the pace, style and expectations of the club, but with 16 league games complete we are still relying heavily on last season’s players – players who could only muster a bottom six finish in 2021/22 and many who have been at the club for a number of years.
Deciding which signings have been successful or otherwise is subjective and will differ from fan to fan, but only David Marshall, Marijan Cabraja, Rocky Bushiri, Nohan Kenneh and Mykola Kukharevych are starting matches regularly.
It’s a disappointing strike rate when it was so clear for months during the summer which positions needed to be filled in order to improve on the failures of last season.
What is even more of a worry in relation to the recruitment at the club is the lack of accountability in the decision making. While it’s been stated more than once that the manager gets the final say on signings, supporters still don’t really know who is pulling together the signing policy or priorities.
Ian Gordon may or may not be the Head of Recruitment depending on which week you look at the club directory, and his involvement is either pivotal or admin-based depending who you speak to and when.
With a committee structure in place, it’s very difficult to find out who is to blame when things go wrong in relation to transfers – as they have done plenty of times in the last two years. It’s all very well and good increasing the wage bill, but when the money is being misspent it’s irrelevant how much is being paid out.
Director of Football
For many fans, the club is crying out for a Director of Football. It’s a structure which worked well under Leeann Dempster’s stewardship and it’s a structure which works well at clubs across the country.
With a clear style of play, a clear set of technical, tactical and personal criteria for potential signings and a joined up, long-term approach to transfers the club would prepare itself most effectively in the event a head coach, club analyst or member of staff moves on.
Most importantly it would be obvious who was in charge of every aspect of the transfer strategy and ensure football people are making the key football decisions at the club.
Graeme Mathie was the last Sporting Director to work for the club – he left following a disappointing summer transfer window in 2021 and hasn’t been replaced. Since his departure we have signed 22 players, had three permanent first team managers, finished 7th in the league, found ourselves out of the league cup before the end of July and currently sit in 8th place after 16 league games.
Mathie on the other hand has moved into the role of Managing Director at Ayr United, who find themselves three points clear at the top of the Championship table.
With the January transfer window set to be another important one for the club, and Lee Johnson saying publicly more than once that he feels we need to move five or six first team players on, an experienced and capable Director of Football could be the biggest signing we make all season.
Consistency
The biggest factor in the disappointing results experienced so far this season has been the level of inconsistency on show, with a string of wins sandwiched between two runs of relegation form.
With a relatively settled side over the last two months it’s been difficult to predict which kind of performance we’re going to see from week to week.
Only two weeks ago the side delivered a convincing 3-0 win over St Mirren at Easter Road. Even last Friday the performance was largely positive for the first 45 minutes at Pittodrie before a poor penalty decision right before half time derailed anything good coming from the game.
Inconsistency is to be expected from a young squad with large numbers of new signings, but again questions are raised over the recruitment strategy with very few ready-made improvements brought to the club in the summer.
We’ve been fortunate in the sense that everyone outside of the top two is dropping points, but on the other hand it’s been a huge missed opportunity with a couple of losses turning to wins the difference between finishing the first part of the season in third place or eighth.
While supporters are scratching their heads to find out the root of the club’s issues, Lee Johnson and his coaches must be pulling their hair out at some of the performances being turned in by established first team players this season.
Supporters
Despite a largely disappointing season so far, Hibs supporters have continued to back the club home and away in large numbers.
After one of the poorest, most insipid performances in years on Tuesday night, over 1400 fans travelled to Rugby Park to be served up another forgettable 90 minutes from the men in green and white at the weekend.
While the club might not deserve that backing this season, they do need it. With some huge fixtures lined up following the World Cup with Rangers, Celtic and Hearts all to play after the restart it’ll be important they keep the fans onside as much as possible if we are to start moving in the right direction again.
Four weeks without a Hibs game would usually have fans banging their heads against the nearest wall, but for once it might just be the break we all need.
The East Stand 
100% agree – GGTTH 💚
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