Selling club?

[Davy]

Did anyone actually believe we would be seen as not a selling club? What I think Petrie actually meant was that we no longer have to jump at the first offer but to say we wont sell is taking things too far. I reckon Hibs are hoping to wipe out about 1m of debt each year (ahead of schedule) and to do that we need to bring money in, so yes we will see guys like Brown going, though I reckon we could get just as much for him at the end of the season and maybe more if he keeps improving.

We can forget loyalty or even moreso hoping that supporters will want to play for the jersey, its a commercial world we live in and players are no different from film stars who sell to the highest bidder. This to me makes me content to not pay inflated prices if I choose not to as they, the players are driving around in cars I couldnt even afford the insurance for. I hope Hibs continue to wipe out the debt but even if we do, dont expect us to become world beaters, hopefully though we can get back to expecting about half a dozen finals every decade and a bit more regular European football. The sad thing is it will be guys like Brown and Thompson who come back to haunt us in some of these finals.

Sorry if this sounds depressing but its reality, who really are Hibs? Its us the supporters. But we will only ever expect to see real talent survive at ER for a few year at a time. Gone unfortunately are the days of Eddie Turnbull who would commit his life to the ause.

[Greenmachine]

More or less every football club in the world is a selling club. Sometimes it is better commercially to cash in on a player whilst he is still worth something. I would argue that selling Kenny Millar to Rangers in 2000 was a very profitable move from Hibs, as McLeish was able to re-build using the money. The problem Hibs are going to face in the next few years is one I mentioned a few months ago. We are in danger of becoming a football academy rather than a football club.

In this total obsession with clearing the debt and driving wages down, we are severely handicapping ourselves in terms of the calibre of player we can bring to the club. Experienced players are deperately needed at Easter Road, but they cost a lot in wages, and they are difficult to attract from England or abroad for that reason.

My fear is that we will continue to operate with a very young team for the next 5 years or so, and every time we fail it will be put down to inexperience and inconsistancy due to the fact we have so many youngsters.

I can't see Tony Mowbray relishing the prospect of another 2 or 3 years operating under that policy. He wants to win trophies, and have the team regularly playing in Europe. Will the board match his ambitions and the ambitions of the fans ? Will he be given a fair amount of the cash raised from potential player sales to strengthen the team properly ? Intresting times lie ahead for our club.