HIBERNIAN APPOINT PAUL HECKINGBOTTOM

[Rocky]

Two Medals is just about our only 'out ball' from the back now Efe has gone. Quite noticeable what we were missing when he was out injured - a rare phenomenon.
He actually puts in quite decent crosses too - maybe not every time, but several in a game.

I think that's a perfect example of the confidence in the team having taken a knock. Early in the season it was noticeable to me that he was starting to hit the bye line and get crosses in, and plenty very decent crosses at that. Now he's very much back to his old ways of stopping the advance by cutting back as soon as he gets ten yards into opposition territory. Still love him but if it turns out Mackie has all his qualities and is also happy to beat a man and get a cross in then I think we need to start managing that transition.

 

[Hammi]

I think that's a perfect example of the confidence in the team having taken a knock. Early in the season it was noticeable to me that he was starting to hit the bye line and get crosses in, and plenty very decent crosses at that. Now he's very much back to his old ways of stopping the advance by cutting back as soon as he gets ten yards into opposition territory. Still love him but if it turns out Mackie has all his qualities and is also happy to beat a man and get a cross in then I think we need to start managing that transition.

And everyone will be fine with that.
There's nothing wrong with any player moving backwards in the pecking order so long as the replacement is viable.

Last year Lennon tried to replace him with Whittaker, it didn't work and Lewis took his place back.
We've brought in other left backs who can't even get on the park in place of him.

If Mackie makes the transition (I've been more impressed with him as a midfielder) then we'll be able to rest sure knowing Lewis is backup.

He's the definition of team player for us, he's been through it all. Good and bad, in and out of favour and suffered multiple position changes.
If he'd been a fullback his whole career he'd be a different machine.

 

[tayside hibee]

I think last season was Lewis best he has ever had with us. He has slipped a little in a poor performing team , with some crazy selections and formations. I think he is well worth his place in the squad for a couple of seasons at least. I could actually see him playing the role which Milligan is tasked with in the future.
Effe ( and maybe the two goalkeepers) was the only player who gave consistent performances every week this season. To single out Stevenson , Hanlon and Daz is strange. On this seasons performances, every single player is replaceable and unreliable . Hopefully a new management team can restore some confidence and remove the uncertainty and madness which has been around this season . Players have been playing with other things on their mind for sure.

 

[Chris G Whyte]

The opinion differences are interesting, just because a lot of them have reasonable commentary that you can't dismiss even if you disagree with the conclusion. For example, I still think Hanlon is a good player but needs to completely clear his injury (which we don't know if he has), AND play in a team that helps his weaknesses.

Lewis Stevenson has been a great servant, but I do think he's a bit less lower on quality depending upon our intent. I wouldn't get rid of him, however, as I think he'd have a solid psychological influence, and will always be a good back up.

But here's my snag...

Beyond Marciano, Gray, Porteous, Boyle and Kamberi... I don't think anyone has done enough to prove themselves yet. I know Oli Shaw has been named as a European quality, but he hasn't proved that he's Scottish Premier quality yet; neither has the hopeful Stevie Mallan, and I made my comments about Hanlon already.

My suspicion is that they will (including Daryl Horgan, in my view), but we're still looking at a laughably small percentage of squad players that should see us challenge for the 2nd to 3rd place that we're financially capable of.

 

[Greenmachine]

As I have said elsewhere I think we have to be realistic as a support as to what the new manager is going to be able to do with the team in the 4 months or so he has left of this season. He won't know the players at all and is going to have to depend very much on Eddie May and Grant Murray for information on them. IMO for the rest of this season he has to try to organise the team properly and try to get confidence back in to the players. They have to start enjoying playing for Hibs again...this season several have given the impression that they would rather be somewhere else. He will also have to spend the rest of this season assessing what he has inherited before making decisive plans for next season as to who he wants to build his new team around.
As regards the future, personally, I really hope he builds from the back and establishes a strong spine to the team. You have to make yourself difficult to beat before you can achieve anything as a team.
I still think Paul Hanlon is our best central defender and should be the mainstay of our defence. His injury has clearly been very debilitating for him and he has not fully recovered from it going by recent performances. Darren McGregor has also been affected badly by his injuries and he is getting towards the end of his career. David Gray, though injury-prone, is as inspiring a captain as we have had since Stanton. A decision will have to made about him though regarding his fitness.
The new manager hopefully will be given funds to bring in quality players over the summer (hopefully about 6 or 7), and we will have the arrival of Scott Allan to look forward to as well as hopefully the return of a fully fit Martin Boyle and Ryan Porteous. Really hope we can get McNulty secured on a permanent deal. Even this early he looks real quality.

 

[Al Catraz]

Sorry, i have no idea what you are slavering about

Just tell us what is interesting about him suing for a million and what that’s got to do with his coaching ability.

 

[SuperTortolano]

McAvennie actually made a good point. Said it was ridiculous us going down to England with cap in hand to interview these boys. We are a big club and these potential managers should be coming up to Edinburgh.

 

[Doc Shrink]

McAvennie actually made a good point. Said it was ridiculous us going down to England with cap in hand to interview these boys. We are a big club and these potential managers should be coming up to Edinburgh.

Might be just to keep snoopers at bay.

 

[MSG_07]

As I have said elsewhere I think we have to be realistic as a support as to what the new manager is going to be able to do with the team in the 4 months or so he has left of this season. He won't know the players at all and is going to have to depend very much on Eddie May and Grant Murray for information on them. IMO for the rest of this season he has to try to organise the team properly and try to get confidence back in to the players. They have to start enjoying playing for Hibs again...this season several have given the impression that they would rather be somewhere else. He will also have to spend the rest of this season assessing what he has inherited before making decisive plans for next season as to who he wants to build his new team around.
As regards the future, personally, I really hope he builds from the back and establishes a strong spine to the team. You have to make yourself difficult to beat before you can achieve anything as a team.
I still think Paul Hanlon is our best central defender and should be the mainstay of our defence. His injury has clearly been very debilitating for him and he has not fully recovered from it going by recent performances. Darren McGregor has also been affected badly by his injuries and he is getting towards the end of his career. David Gray, though injury-prone, is as inspiring a captain as we have had since Stanton. A decision will have to made about him though regarding his fitness.
The new manager hopefully will be given funds to bring in quality players over the summer (hopefully about 6 or 7), and we will have the arrival of Scott Allan to look forward to as well as hopefully the return of a fully fit Martin Boyle and Ryan Porteous. Really hope we can get McNulty secured on a permanent deal. Even this early he looks real quality.

McNulty has 2 years remaining on his contract. Another loan deal if we are lucky - Reading would still be expecting a sizable fee. There will be other options, hopefully not all last minute.

 

[Greenmachine]

McNulty has 2 years remaining on his contract. Another loan deal if we are lucky - Reading would still be expecting a sizable fee. There will be other options, hopefully not all last minute.

We had I think two possibly three offers rejected in January for a permanent deal. He wanted to come home. We really tried to get him permanently but we couldn't agree terms with Reading so we arranged a loan deal till the end of the season. Thing is we apparently had first option to sign McLaren permanently for £400,000 if his loan deal had worked out this year but it didn't so perhaps that money is still set aside ? They don't want him at Reading anymore as the manager there doesn't rate him. Maybe we could persuade them to let him go for that £400,000 ? It's probably just wishful thinking on my part but if this lad continues to show up well for us I think it would be worth the investment if we could manage it.

 

[Purple & Green]

I don't think it's either of the names mentioned. If it was, it would have been announced by now. No inside knowledge tho!

 

[Smurf]

McAvennie actually made a good point. Said it was ridiculous us going down to England with cap in hand to interview these boys. We are a big club and these potential managers should be coming up to Edinburgh.

Nonsense. Most big clubs in the UK interview in London.

 

[PILTONSTANY]

If it’s Appleton then give this a listen

 

[Ryan69]

Surely its as good as confirmed.
Noticed Appleton is 1/20 with SkyBet.

 

[Al Catraz]

If it’s Appleton then give this a listen

Comes across very well to me. Articulate and seems to do his “homework”. Now hope it is him

 

[Forzahibs]

I'm liking the sound of this guy , bound to know a good few decent players south of the border we could tap into

 

[Wishbone]

I think Lewis is a liability .
Tries his heart out but his one footed problem stops us improving .
Saturday was a perfect example . 99.9% of the times he gets a ball passed out to him on the wing he cuts back inside because he can’t go past his man .. Passes back or sideways and momentum is lost .
When he’s in his left back position he punts the ball upfield at neck height on the off chance the ball will land on one of our poor fed up attacker’s necks.
He has to go .
Look at Slivka - Skillful , when stuck without an out pass monoevers the ball into a position from where he can then make a killer pass with either foot . And he does that by twisting and turning intelligently with speed and skill .
The antithesis of little Stevenson .
Praying the new man sees it .

Wow, didn't realise Slivka was a left back. You might as well compare Lewis to Rocky! Pointless, lazy comparison.

 

[Bofahibee]

 

[moathibby]

He was the wee Irish man with the spectacles.:geeky:

Aye a' know now.No'at the time.

 

[moathibby]

Comes across very well to me. Articulate and seems to do his “homework”. Now hope it is him

I did my homework too,didnae mean I passed Higher Biology.

 

[Doc Shrink]

Lat minute hitch with his contract.

Apparently Rodders has insisted on a 'no ambition' clause being inserted in his contract.

Sack The Board.

 

[Rocky]

It's interesting that folk have been reporting it as a done deal since about Thursday but it's not been announced yet. Meanwhile various articles (and pictures of him looking like a big scary hard bastard) are being shared on forums and the sentiment towards the guy is growing more and more positive. Is the club playing a PR blinder and waiting till we're all posting #AnnounceAppleton hashtags? If he'd been announced on Thursday would he start with a mountain to climb with the support as the first reaction would have been 'who's this no mark, board has nae ambition' etc etc?

I've actually got to the stage I'll be right disappointed if it's not him.

 

[Hibee Kev]

Last minute hitch delaying his announcement according to The Sun...

PETRIE!!

 

[SlovSam]

I wonder where all the leaks are coming from given that its been 5 days since someone on either side briefed the media that Appleton was the chosen one.

Hopefully it wasn't Hibs as this gives Appleton much better control over the final contract negotiations as Hibs are going to look pretty incompetent if the deal falls through at such a late stage.

Really cant see that happening though as Appleton will see 2 years up here as the ideal opportunity to get his career back on track and hopefully some relative success to get his name in the frame for the revolving door that is the English Championship.

Such an average CV , a weird accent and a grown man who feels the need to plaster his arms (body) with tattoos isn't an easy sell for Leeanne so hopefully we get to hear from the man himself as to his football philosophy, ambition , willingness to engage with supporters and whether he plans to live here at a very early stage.

"Hard and scary" really doesn't cut it these days where players have all the power and if anything its a drawback in modern football.

More importantly he reads and sounds very well in the little information out there and has obviously packed a lot into his last 10 years and learned from a lot of difficult situations.

The biggest challenge he will face is how to overcome his complete lack of knowledge of Scottish football and it will be a big call as to whether he appoints his own assistant or Hibs force one of the "Hibby Huns" as back up.

 

[MikeyG]

Last minute hitch delaying his announcement according to The Sun...

PETRIE!!

Delighted our board have taken their time to diligently carry out the due process.

Now negotiating the best deal for the club.

From what I have read about Appleton is a good fit. Time will tell.

 

[HenryLB]

Such an average CV , a weird accent and a grown man who feels the need to plaster his arms (body) with tattoos isn't an easy sell for Leeanne so hopefully we get to hear from the man himself as to his football philosophy, ambition , willingness to engage with supporters and whether he plans to live here at a very early stage.

"Hard and scary" really doesn't cut it these days where players have all the power and if anything its a drawback in moderm football.

Agree he looks a bit unappealing but it might be best not to judge a book by its cover. Reports I've read from Oxford fans are that he's tough but very respectful of players and a 'rugby-type coach' in a good way - demands commitment and honesty, and instils a sense of toughness.

They also say he played attractive football and the team had some fight, not panicking when losing a goal etc and working hard. I wasn't exactly enthused by his appointment (if he has been appointed!) but reading some of the stuff from Oxford fans has made me a lot more optimistic.

 

[Greenmachine]

Hitch could be anything...possibly length of contract ?
Don't think it will scupper things. Hibs want him and he wants to come to Hibs. If he does get appointed he will have to learn a lot very quickly. As SlovSam says it's his total lack of knowledge of the scottish game and especially opposing teams which will be his biggest hindrance and he will be relying very heavily on May and Murray for the insight into our rivals. Here's hoping we can get things sorted very soon.

 

[Smurf]

The biggest challenge he will face is how to overcome his complete lack of knowledge of Scottish football and it will be a big call as to whether he appoints his own assistant or Hibs force one of the "Hibby Huns" as back up.

Our two previous appointments with no domestic history of the Scottish game as player, coach or manager didn't go well with Calderwood or Fenlon.

Personally I wish we were looking at someone who knew our domestic game.

 

[Weehibbydrew]

Our two previous appointments with no domestic history of the Scottish game as player, coach or manager didn't go well with Calderwood or Fenlon.

Personally I wish we were looking at someone who knew our domestic game.

Brendan Rodgers is doing OK. Stephen. McIntyre is doing Ok. Tommy Wright is doing Ok. Don't think it's that big a deal with the right team around him.

 

[SuperTortolano]

Three weeks or so on and I still don't give a toss who the manager ends up being. Strange feeling.

 

[Hibee Kev]

Will he rely on EM & GM for knowledge of the Scottish game or will someone else be brought in? Ian Murray perhaps?

 

[Smurf]

Brendan Rodgers is doing OK. Stephen. McIntyre is doing Ok. Tommy Wright is doing Ok. Don't think it's that big a deal with the right team around him.

The right team around I agree. However, both names you mention outwith Brendan Rodgers who really couldn't fail with his budget, were assistants in Scotland before they got the top job so had experience.

 

[Purple & Green]

It's interesting that folk have been reporting it as a done deal since about Thursday but it's not been announced yet. Meanwhile various articles (and pictures of him looking like a big scary hard bastard) are being shared on forums and the sentiment towards the guy is growing more and more positive. Is the club playing a PR blinder and waiting till we're all posting #AnnounceAppleton hashtags? If he'd been announced on Thursday would he start with a mountain to climb with the support as the first reaction would have been 'who's this no mark, board has nae ambition' etc etc?

I've actually got to the stage I'll be right disappointed if it's not him.

Hibs used to be absolutely watertight with info, so this is a bit strange if he is appointed. Maybe they are playing the media

 

[NW]

I am sure I read that both Heckingbottom and Appleton shared an agent. Be handy for the agent to be using Hibs to push his clients appeal??

 

[Doc Shrink]

I am sure I read that both Heckingbottom and Appleton shared an agent. Be handy for the agent to be using Hibs to push his clients appeal??

Wouldn't surprise me.
I wonder if the guy who DOESN'T get the gig will sack his agent for using him as a patsy?

 

[Young porty]

Be happy with either guy. My neighbour is a Barnsley fan so is full of praise for their ex boss. Appleton looks a decent shout as well. Hopefully whoever is appointed lifts the club ad gets the fans onside.

 

[Hibees-Mad]

Wouldn't surprise me.
I wonder if the guy who DOESN'T get the gig will sack his agent for using him as a patsy?

If Appleton gets it, would that make Heckingbottom a Yorkshire patsy?

 

[Leith1975]

If Appleton gets it, would that make Heckingbottom a Yorkshire patsy?

A Yorkshire pudding.

 

[Al Catraz]

I did my homework too,didnae mean I passed Higher Biology.

Clever sitting Highers though. Must have done some homework or was it just luck and natural ability ?

 

[ThePosterFormerlyKnownAsChavez]

Hibs used to be absolutely watertight with info, so this is a bit strange if he is appointed. Maybe they are playing the media

I hope you’re right and that they surprise us all