When Terry Butcher arrived as Hibernian manager, supporters of the club were pleased with the appointment of someone viewed as a leader – after all the man was a playing legend winning 77 caps for England and during his managerial career was someone who had transformed Inverness Caledonian Thistle from a provincial First Division outfit into one challenging consistently for a European spot.
However recent displays from Butcher’s Hibs outfit have left many fans questioning whether he is the right man to take the underachieving club forward.
Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to St Mirren was another let down for the Hibees faithful who travelled to Paisley in great numbers only to see the players and management let them down again.
Conceding a goal after just 13 seconds deflated the fans immediately whilst conceding a second within 15 minutes left many scratching their heads wondering exactly where the problems lie within Easter Road.
Many words have been banded about regarding this current squad and none are complimentary.
The term ‘spineless’ is consistently thrown about and it’s easy to see why.
Hibs captain on Saturday was Michael Nelson – a 34 year old journeyman centre half who was/is frankly awful. For the first goal he shrank 4′ off his huge frame and was consistently dominated by former Scotland international Steven Thomson.
Despite being the worst passer of a football since the dawn of time it would appear he’s almost undroppable – it must be about time the central defensive partnership was altered to try Ryan McGivern alongside young Jordan Forster.
Since Paul Hanlon was ruled out for the season by injury Hibs have been conceding approximately 2 goals a game with the majority being scored from central areas.
Lewis Stevenson was one of the few who received pass marks on Saturday and he’s a better left back than left or central midfielder and one of the few on show who actually care about the club. He can certainly play this role to give McGivern, who’s also been poor in his chosen position, a start at centre half.
Saturday also saw rare starts for Owain Tudor Jones and Kevin Thomson.
The former done himself no favours with a disjointed showing whilst Thomson, so often overlooked amid rumours of a fall out with Butcher and his number 2 Maurice Malpas, tried to cajoule his teammates and was consistently available for the ball making better use of it than any other in green.
Up front Hibs are at their worst – far worse even than at the back.
James Collins was the summer marquee signing and amidst talk of helping the Hibs fans forget Leigh Griffiths has failed miserably.
Yes he gives effort and would chase anything down but centre forwards playing in a 4-5-1 shouldn’t have to be doing it. They should be in the box looking to score. Collins best work is done outside the box and when he’s inside it has shown little natural goalscoring instinct.
Danny Haynes, signed on loan from Notts County has failed to show anything whatsoever if he’s hoping to extend his stay at Easter Road. He has pace in abundance but it’s yet to flourish in any meaningful way.
So it’s easy to understand why Hibs fans are up in arms about the current state of their side.
Butcher, the tough tackling no compromise centre half, is overseeing a team of players who are obviously lacking confidence but the sheer lack of a will to grind out a result, to fight for one another or even simple pride in performance is alarming.
With 1 win in 15 games the problems need readdressed and quickly.
Sunday sees Hearts visit Easter Road and they’ve got their tails up. 3 successive victories, about to exit administration and confidence in abundance – if Hibs lose there may well be more than an outpouring of anger on internet forums.
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