HIBERNIAN
LAST SEASON: 7th, 51 points
NOTABLE INS: James Collins (Swindon Town, £200k), Liam Craig (St. Johnstone), Owain Tudur Jones (Inverness Caledonian Thistle), Ryan McGivern (Manchester City), Fraser Mullen (Heart of Midlothian), Rowan Vine (St. Johnstone)
NOTABLE OUTS: Gary Deegan (Northampton Town), Eoin Doyle (Chesterfield), Scott Smith (Dumbarton), David Wotherspoon (St. Johnstone), Callum Booth (Raith Rovers, loan), Paul Grant (Berwick Rangers, loan), Jorge Claros (Montagua, end of loan), Matt Done (Barnsley, end of loan), Leigh Griffiths (Wolverhampton Wanderers, end of loan), Callum Antell, Lewis Horner, Pa Kujabi, Shefki Kuqi, Alan Maybury, Martin Scott
LAST SEASON'S BEST XI (departed players crossed out): Williams, Clancy, Hanlon, McPake, McGivern, Thomson, Taiwo,
THE SQUAD (u-21 players in italics)
Goalkeepers: Sean Murdoch, Ben Williams
Defenders: Tim Clancy, Jordan Forster, Paul Hanlon, Ryan McGivern, James McPake, Fraser Mullen
Midfielders: Paul Cairney, Liam Craig, Alex Harris, Dean Horribine, Owain Tudur Jones, Scott Robertson, Sam Stanton, Lewis Stevenson, Tom Taiwo, Kevin Thomson
Forwards: Ross Caldwell, James Collins, Danny Handling, Rowan Vine
IF HE GETS INJURED, THEY'RE SCREWED: JAMES MCPAKE suffered a dip in form after Christmas, probably the result of a back problem; the back line badly needs him to be fit again, but the skipper's injury against Malmo is not a good omen.
STAR OF THE FUTURE? It was disconcerting to hear Pat Fenlon call teenager ALEX HARRIS an integral part of the team after only a handful of starts, but the winger showed some flashes of brilliance after forcing his way into the side.
THE SEASON AHEAD: Any readers of this blog or followers of my twitter account will know my feelings regarding boss Pat Fenlon's abilities - feeling that have hardened further after the Hibees started the campaign with a humiliating 7-0 thumping in the second leg of their Europa League tie with Malmo. Leigh Griffiths carried this team last season; now that he has returned to Wolves (and his strike partner Eoin Doyle has gone too), Fenlon has taken the gamble of splashing £200,000 - a huge sum by Scottish football standards - om Swindon forward James Collins. It feels like a huge gamble, and given that Fenlon appears to be on borrowed time, this writer believes the money would have been better kept in the bank account to pay for the apparently inevitable sacking of the management team. Other than Collins, Fenlon has indulged his fetish for central midfield players, yet has only one natural wide player - Alex Harris - in the whole squad. Hibs appear directionless - unless you count the sideways passes that will come from Owain Tudur Jones and Kevin Thomson.
THE BEST XI?
With the arrival of Collins, I assume the plan is for Vine to either come in from the flank, as he did for St Johnstone last year, or to play up front in a 4-4-2. In the case of the latter, the midfield will be imbalanced, with three central midfielders. Clancy and McGivern are good defensively but neither offers much going forward from full-back, so the onus is heavily on Harris to provide any width. Taiwo will do the running in midfield, but I question the need for two immobile side-to-side passers in Thomson and Jones. Robertson may be an alternative in the centre of midfield. The first choice defence looks strong but Clancy and McPake are injury prone, so youngsters Forster and Mullen may have to step up.
THE BOSS: Pat Fenlon was already on the hot seat after a torrid end to last season that was only partially overshadowed by a second successive Scottish Cup final. He's now properly on the shoogly peg after the Malmo debacle. He's not found a solution to the apparently chronic underperformance of his players, and the lack of discipline increasingly on display since New Year raises concerns about his ability to motivate and organize.
CLICHE YOU'RE MOST LIKELY TO HEAR: "No backbone"
PREDICTION: Where Hibernian finish depends entirely on when they dismiss Pat Fenlon and who they replace him with. Assuming that Rod Petrie will, as per previous coaches, wait too long to get rid of him, I think his replacement will have too little time to turn things around and get them into the top six. I think 2013-14 will be another step backwards at Easter Road, with a NINTH place finish.
L.
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