Collins walks as Hibs look for yet another manager

So, this blog was right... Collins wasn't sacked by Hibs. His resignation on Thursday settled the issue.

Why has he gone? He claims it is due to the restrictive budget he was forced to operate under, but it's still an extraordinary decision, handing in his notice after just 14 months at the club with a crucial run of fixtures coming up. It comes across as the rash decision of a man backed into a corner - and perhaps in the next few days more details will emerge. Some fans contend that he wanted out before the current slump in form got any worse. If this is true, it points to a man who is shockingly unsure of himself in such a brutal profession. Other rumours allege that an argument with the chairman, Rod Petrie, came to a head, leading Collins to conclude that he could no longer have a workable relationship with the club's board.

So, Hibs have a managerial vacancy once again. For a club lauded for being well-run and taking the long-term view, they do work through managers at a fast pace.

Collins' replacement will be the 5th new face in the dugout since 2001.

Edinburgh in uproar

It's not easy being overshadowed by bigger, more successful football teams.

Edinburgh's two clubs have been kept out of the light for so long by the Glasgow Old Firm that you'd think the fans would have resigned themselves to their fate by now. Thankfully, this hasn't happened, and Scottish football is all the richer for it.

While supporters at Aberdeen and Dundee Utd have responded to repeated disappointment by drifting away from match days, leaving dwindling crowds to rattle around stadiums still haunted by memories of glorious achievements in the 1980s, Hearts and Hibs supporters are turning up in numbers, despite the fact that most fans of either club weren't alive the last time their club won a league title.

Yet this gloriously irrational behaviour has a flipside... it tends to cause despondency and anger rather than resignation when things aren't going well. And neither club has had a good month.

Hibs have won just once in their past 8 games, and the fans are starting to vent their fury. Rationally speaking, this shouldn't be happening - the club has sold so many players in recent seasons that expectations for this term should be muted, and their excellent unbeaten run at the start of the season means the club is still in 5th, which is hardly a disaster. Furthermore, what with the debts, new training centre and potential new East Stand at Easter Road, the club has got a fairly large list of bills besides going shopping for new players.

But the team's form is awful, and a minority have begun calling for John Collins to be sacked. Both manager and squad seem short of confidence at the moment, not helped by an increasingly edgy mood at Easter Road. It wasn't last Saturday's 1-1 draw against Falkirk, but the abject defeat against Aberdeen that proved the catalyst for the latest discontent. Few of the new signings have really made their mark yet, while the tactics and line up seem to chop and change from one match to the next.

Unless this current slump becomes a prolonged losing streak, there is no prospect of Collins getting the sack. Hibs simply don't respond to short term pressure in that way, much to their credit. But the manager certainly faces an important Festive period, and Hibs need to stay in touch with Motherwell and Dundee Utd in the battle for third spot at least. Otherwise the famously radge support could get even more vocal.

All this could seem no more important than the typical family row at the Christmas dinner table, though, compared to what's going on at Hearts just now. They are also on a poor run of results, but this time the catalyst was goalkeeper Eduardas Kurskis' mistake at the weekend that allowed Rangers to grab all three points from a game that had "draw" written all over it. The player's inclusion in the team is symptomatic of the chaotic way player selection works at Hearts, with the teamsheet faxed in from Lithuania covered in Vladimir Romanov's scribbles, some names crossed out and others put in their place.

Predictably, the Jambos are furious. Yes, Hearts have also lost plenty of decent players over the past year or so as well, but given the still large 1st team squad and huge wage bill they should not be down in 8th position in the league. And while Hearts, too, claim to be planning a new stand at their stadium, the latest promised date for submitting the planning permission has come and gone this week without any progress. Whatever Vladimir Romanov is up to, living up to his promises is not featuring high on his list of priorities at the moment.

The big question is: are the Hearts fans going to turn their anger into action? If Hibs were currently in their position, the fans would probably have rampaged through the streets of Leith by now, before orchestrating a forced occupation of the stadium and holding a mass rally to demand action.

Instead, the Jambos are trying to organise a meeting to plan a meeting to discuss a possible boycott of a home match, perhaps in February. For all their bluster, they tend to sit on their hands during crises and moan, rather than stand up and be counted. The occasional open letter to the owner is about as forceful as they get.

So far, Romanov has been able to do as he likes at Hearts, almost completely un-opposed (and there are still many Hearts fans that caution against doing anything that might upset Dear Leader, despite the chronic misrule). Indeed, it's arguable that Hearts only ended up in his hands because the fans failed to organise themselves against the proposed sale of Tynecastle to a property developer until the very last minute, forcing them to go cap in hand to a mysterious Russian businessman whose ultimate motive remains unclear.

Could this be the moment that the maroon half of Edinburgh finally reaches breaking point?

Hibs living up to the "Scottish Arsenal" tag

It's usual for fans to spend the summer talking up the prospects of their club in the season ahead. In Scotland, where a small league makes for even more intense rivalry, supporters can banter about football seemingly without end, defending their own team while denigrating their rivals.

So when Hibs' new keeper, Yves Ma-Kalambay, said when he met the Scottish media back in June that the footballing fraternity in England spoke about Hibs as "the Arsenal of Scotland", it sparked bragging and barracking across Edinburgh.

On the face of it, the comparison is ridiculous. Arsenal are one of the very richest clubs on the planet, playing against elite competition in a spanking new stadium, with an enviable recent record of success. Hibs are, measured by turnover, a 20th of the size of the London club, have got their hands on silverware just twice in 16 years, and one of those occasions is widely forgotten about because, to get their hands on that Division One trophy, they had to get relegated from the top league first.

And yet... while Hibs could not hold on to 1st place in the SPL going into the international break, they are right up at the sharp end of the table, the only unbeaten club in the SPL. Having sold their most valuable and talismanic player over the summer, they have made a stunning start to the season, relying on a youthful team and a coaching philosophy that bears a strong French influence.

Sounding familiar?

John Collins deserves all the credit now coming his way. He has only been in the job 12 months, and had something of a turbulent first year. He was perceived as more aloof than his popular predecessor, Tony Mowbray, and the player revolt and subsequent slump in form last season only added to the impression that he was arrogant and ill-suited to management.

His critics are now either admitting their errors, or staying quiet. Indisputably, Hibs are now his team, and he has got them to play for him. Having lost around £10m of talent, flogged to pay off the debts, and spent no more than £1m in fees to bring new players in, he has ended up with a better balanced and harder-working squad. Yet they are still capable of the fast, fluid football that is Hibs' trademark.

There is no doubt that the manager is driven. His mantra, repeated constantly, is that success in football requires hard work and humility. But he reserves his highest praise for those players who, in matches, show him that they "want the ball", that they always make themselves available for a pass. As a result, the man in possession has more options, the passing is less hurried, and the team has more composure.

Yet he is also keen to dispel those myths about his unapproachability and impossible standards. Sounding hoarse after the win over Rangers, the BBC's Chick Young asked if he had been shouting at his players during the match. "Only encouragement", Collins stressed, "only encouragement".

He may be still a rookie manager. But all the signs are he is learning very fast.

Hibs looking up, while Killie suffer

Kilmarnock manager Jim Jefferies is famed for his hang-dog, glum demeanour, but no one could blame him for looking dejected after what he described as possibly his worst week in charge of the Ayrshire club.

Being dumped out of the League Cup, and by Division One opposition as well, was a desperately bitter pill to swallow for a man desperate to make amends for their 5-1 thrashing in last season's final. Killie's best hope of silverware this season has now gone, and Jefferies knows it.

He might have relished taking out his frustrations on Hibs in the SPL, but with a long injury list, probably feared the worst. And the worst did happen - Hibs only scored 4 on Saturday, but having a defender sent off probably hurt as much as shipping an extra goal. Jefferies had ligitimate complaints about the first of 3 penalties awarded to Hibs in the match, but admitted that the better team won. He now faces a real test in steadying the ship... Kilmarnock are currently 7th and face a crucial period in which they need to pick up some points while missing many of their influential players. A couple of good results will have a dramatic effect on their League placing at this stage of the season, but Killie fans must already be concerned about their chances of securing a top 6 finish this season.

Things are looking so much brighter at Hibs. Saturday's victory meant that they resumed their unbeaten start to the SPL almost as if the mid-week Cup defeat had never happened, and opened up a 5 point lead betweeen them in 3rd place and the chasing pack. Their play is improving match by match, with this summer's new recruits starting to really gel into the team. Clayton Donaldson, the striker signed on a free transfer from York City, got all the headlines with his hat-trick, but Yves Ma-Kalambay in goal and defender Thierry Gathuessi have also settled well.

After losing around £10m worth of talent in the summer, and spending no more than £1m on fees to replace them, Hibs' have started better than many fans expected, and any remaining doubts about John Collins' perfectionist management style are melting away. Whatever his methods, they seem to be working.

“Season-defining” week leaves Hibs chasing the dream, but Aberdeen licking their wounds

As soon as Barry Nicholson scored a last-minute equaliser to set-up a Scottish Cup replay at Easter Road, the pundits started talking about Hibs and Aberdeen having a week that would define their seasons. It was time to see if these two proud clubs – marginalised for years by an acute lack of resources compared to Celtic and Rangers, and now contending with a Hearts team operating outside the normal rules of financial prudence – could make this season one to cherish.

Aberdeen is an oasis of top-flight football in the North East, illustrated by the fact that matches against Inverness Caledonian Thistle – a club based 80 miles away – represents the closest they get to a regular derby match. Aberdeen have yet to lose to Caley in the SPL, but they came mighty close this time, relying on a last gasp goal from Steve Lovell to rob a point from a game they should have lost.

Hibs big week didn’t start until Monday night. They were away against Kilmarnock, a team who have proved a big thorn in their side in recent years, which made it all the more surprising when John Collins decided to give debut starts to three 19 year olds from the academy – Lewis Stevenson, Kevin McCann and Ross Campbell. It was a big, big gamble, but it paid off, with Hibs surviving a fairly turgid first half and then scoring twice through Ivan Sproule and Steven Fletcher.

Then came the Cup tie on Thursday night, with Barry Nicholson again instrumental as he opened the scoring against Hibs. But that was as good as it got for Aberdeen – 2-1 down by half-time after poor defending from corners, they then fell apart at the beginning of the second. Abdessalam Benjelloun, Hibs’ Moroccan striker, has talent, but has struggled at times with the pace of Scottish football. Inexplicable, then, that twice Aberdeen held off him rather than closing him down. And twice Benji, as he is universally known, exploited the space to punish his opponents.

Jimmy Calderwood is the kind of manager who heads every ball and contests every decision from the touchline, but he is not blinkered, and was fulsome in his praise of Hibs at the end of the game. He was somewhat less impressed with his own team’s efforts, though, bemoaning their uncharacteristic defensive lapses. He tried to talk positively about the rest of the season, but his admission that “the dream is over for another year” betrayed his dismay at being out of the Cup.

It is Hibs, though, that dream about lifting this trophy more than any other club. They have not won it since 1902, a record that stands as one of the biggest burdens to carry in British football, and an easy source of mockery for rival fans. They now go on to a 4th round home tie against Gretna, who they spanked 6-0 in the League Cup earlier this season. That won’t stop their own fans having kittens as the game approaches, however.

Following the mid-week replay, both clubs were back to league business at the weekend. Or should have been: Aberdeen’s visit to Motherwell was cancelled because of the poor pitch, which probably pleased Calderwood, who had bitterly complained that the match had not been moved to Sunday to give his team more time to recover from the Hibs match. Motherwell refused to reschedule because it would have cost £30,000, claimed club secretary Stewart Robertson, which “is a lot of money; it could pay a player’s wage”. And no, Premiership fans, he is not talking about their weekly wage. Still, re-arranging the fixture will cause less of a congestion headache for Aberdeen now.

Hibs did play their fixture on Sunday but wished they hadn’t, getting spanked 3-0 by ICT, who were probably still smarting about their failure to beat Aberdeen the previous week. Talent and consistency win you prizes in football, and while Hibs have plenty of the former, they lack the ability to perform week in, week out. Centre back Chris Hogg had a real nightmare. Hibs have scored more goals than anyone else apart from Celtic in the SPL this season, but have conceded more than any of the teams above them.

Both these clubs can still have successful seasons. Aberdeen remain in the chase for 2nd place, while Hibs can see a road to Hampden opening up ahead of them. Their real defining moments are yet to come.

Celtic 5-1 St Mirren
Kilmarnock 1-0 Dundee Utd
Dunfermline 0-1 Rangers
ICT 3-0 Hibees
Motherwell p-p Dons
Hearts 1-0 Falkirk