Squad turnover

[PaddyBarry]

I know that because of where Hibs are in the greater scheme of Scottish/British/European football that it is fairly typical for us to have a big turnover in personnel, but it has really accelerated in the past wee while. Since this time last year we have lost:

Derek Riordan
Gary Caldwell
Gary Smith
Paul Dalglish
Antonio Murray
Amadou Konte
Omar Konde
Kevin Thomson
Michael Stewart

We are about to lose:

Chris Killen
Simon Brown
Jonathon Baillie
Jay Shields
Kevin MacDonald
Scott Brown
Sam Morrow

The following don't appear to be part of JC's plans:

Zibi Malkowski
Stephen Glass

I may have missed one or two others. That is a total of 18 players.

In that time we have added about 7 or 8 signings and blooded about the same number of youngsters from within the ranks.

Two conclusions: JC was always going to find it tough to come into a dressing room with so many guys who were on the verge of the end of their deals- this may have been partly to blame for the ructions this past month.

Secondly, I think all this (possibly wrong!) maths means we can probably only expect about 2 or 3 more signings unless others leave and make room.

I think a lot of the kids coming into the team now will be asked to become regulars next season. I wouldn't be surprised if we have a less successful league season next year- a bit like Bobby Williamson's last- but I guess we'll just have to be patient, and if it takes a season of experimentation and learning the hard way to make us even stronger than we are now, I'll take it.

P

[HibeeJibee]

The squad next year will almost certainly be, if contracts aren't renewed and Glass and Stewart are allowed to leave, together with the sale of Scott Brown:

McNEIL (+Grof, Curtis)
McCANN WHITTAKER*; MARTIS* HOGG JONES McCAFFREY; STEVENSON MURPHY* (+Smith)
SPROULE KERR LYNCH CHISHOLM BEUZELIN ZEMMAMA (+Notman, Ayre)
BENJELLOUN CAMPBELL GRAY FLETCHER DONALDSON

*=rumours of being sold or released

Put simply, even with 4 or 5 additions, that squad is weaker than the one we operated with this season. It certainly has no depth whatsoever. We are doing SPL on the cheap and we can't just keep selling or releasing every Tom Dick and Harry, first and foremost we are a football club and first and foremost we need to win games and tournaments and qualify for Europe - which with 5 spaces up for grabs should be very doable. If we actually spent some money and signed people we'd improve.