ian1964 10,720 Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 .......never mind challenge for promotion. KEITH reflects on Hibs' extraordinary collapse and looks forward to a Championship season that will see three of Scotland's biggest clubs vying for a top flight return. SCOTTISH football awakes this morning to quite the Bank Holiday hangover. Let’s call it a bad case of the Hibeegeebees. Because what happened yesterday at Easter Road completed the routing of a top flight that has been wobbling and shaking since Rangers collapsed in a heap in February 2012. Back then, prior to Craig Whyte’s arrival on the scene, today’s landscape would have been unthinkable. But the reality is next season Rangers, Hearts and Hibs will all be playing in the second tier. That’s not to say we should all be overcome by grief at the thought of it. These three clubs have managed to make an almighty mess of their own business, be that off the pitch or on it, where Hibs have failed so spectacularly over the last weeks of the season. Yesterday they too got what they deserved and even though relegation had been in the post for weeks, there was something insufferable about the way they managed to botch it on their home turf against a Hamilton side that wanted a top-flight place more. All over the park. Terry Butcher and his players ought to be ashamed of themselves for the way they have let their supporters down and for the agonies they dumped on them yesterday. This will not be easily forgiven and nor should it because this woeful run has been nothing short of disgraceful for a club of such standing and status. Hibs should be up there leading from the front but instead they dropped off the face of the map and into a Championship all set up to boggle the mind. How can it be that these three giants can have fallen so hard? And what happens when at least one of them fails to clamber to the top of next season’s promotion ladder because three into two does not go. One of them is staying in that league for at least two years and the consequences of an extended stopover could be even more eye-watering than the penalty shoot-out which eventually saw Hibs go down yesterday afternoon. It had to be penalties, didn’t it? The ultimate form of torture for a support out of which the living daylights has been well and truly thrashed. There was one last kick in the nuts for them and it came in the shape of a defiant Butcher insisting he will not throw in the towel. To be blunt, he has been a calamitous appointment – an unmitigated disaster – and there have been absolutely no signs that he is capable of turning this team around. On current form, unless he can find a way to wheel and deal and clear his squad out, Hibs will do well to survive in the Championship next season never mind compete for promotion. At least they have a derby to look forward to (how much will the SPFL pay the broadcasters for that?) but this may simply open the door to a whole new world of suffering and humiliation. The Hibeegeebees? You better believe it. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,720 Posted May 26, 2014 Author Share Posted May 26, 2014 Highlights - Hibs 0-2 Hamilton (agg 2-2, 3-4 pens) http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/scotland/27569437 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ian1964 10,720 Posted May 26, 2014 Author Share Posted May 26, 2014 Hibs fans protest after Scottish Premiership relegation http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/scotland/27569435 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juancornetto 1 Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 lololololololololololololololo 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 829 Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 Pretty sure the Inverness owners will be having a wry smile at the moment. Gosh Im glad we haven't got Butcher as a manager. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,716 Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I mean, Hearts really got it into their teeth from Vlad the Mad alone, but Butcher and his green and white horde really messed it up on the field of play. The Jambos must be in hysterics these days. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueflag 386 Posted May 26, 2014 Share Posted May 26, 2014 I mean, Hearts really got it into their teeth from Vlad the Mad alone, but Butcher and his green and white horde really messed it up on the field of play. The Jambos must be in hysterics these days. Aye bet they are, they were nearly liquidated, and there new owner has came in and sacked the manager who done no to bad for what they had.. haha there fans are anything not entirely in hysterics. personally , I find it hilarious. completely hilarious 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 829 Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Championship will be better than the Premiership. I wonder what the TV deal is. It couldn't have happened any sweeter for clowns like Doncaster. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
buster. 5,100 Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Pretty sure the Inverness owners will be having a wry smile at the moment. Gosh Im glad we haven't got Butcher as a manager. Hibs would probably be better off if Butcher is allowed to stay and put his own team together. I think the reason the team fell off a cliff was in many ways down to Butchers style of management. It needs players to buy into it completely and collectively, there are no half way houses. It seems to me as if the old HIbs problem surfaced and there was a downing of tools from too many and Butcher wasn't prepared to massage egos. If he creates his own team, he could be still a success at Hibs. For years Hibs have needed a major player clearout of the malcontents, perhaps yesterday was the start of a new dawn. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gribz 829 Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Hibs would probably be better off if Butcher is allowed to stay and put his own team together. I think the reason the team fell off a cliff was in many ways down to Butchers style of management. It needs players to buy into it completely and collectively, there are no half way houses. It seems to me as if the old HIbs problem surfaced and there was a downing of tools from too many and Butcher wasn't prepared to massage egos. If he creates his own team, he could be still a success at Hibs. For years Hibs have needed a major player clearout of the malcontents, perhaps yesterday was the start of a new dawn. I did think Butcher was a real fit for Hibs when he went there and expected them to be a top 3 side but something is obviously far wrong there, to only win 1 game in 19 sounds like there was a player / manager split. Not sure what to expect from them next season though.... 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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