Hibernian F.C.
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| Hibernian F.C. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Hibernian Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Hibees, Hibs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | August 1875 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Easter Road Leith Edinburgh Midlothian |
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| Capacity | 17,500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  Rod Petrie |
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| Manager | John Collins |
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| League | Scottish Premier League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005-06 | Scottish Premier League, 4th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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- For the Maltese football club see Hibernians F.C.
Hibernian Football Club (informally known as "Hibs") are a Scottish professional football club from Edinburgh. Along with city rivals Hearts, they represent Edinburgh in the Scottish Premier League. The club is currently managed by John Collins with Tommy Craig as his assistant.
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[edit] History
The club was founded in August 1875 by members of the St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church based on the Cowgate. The club's principal founders were Canon Edward Joseph Hannan, and the head of the local Catholic Young Men's Association, Michael Whelahan, who became the first club captain. The meeting which established the club took place at the St. Mary's Street Hall, which can still be seen today. The team originally played, like all other teams of the time, on the Meadows, a park towards the south of Edinburgh's Old Town. The club moved to the Leith area of the city in 1880, to a purpose built ground named Hibernian Park, which stood where Bothwell Street now stands today. The club moved to its present ground at Easter Road in 1891, just a stone's throw away from their first home.
Hibs were the first major club in Scotland formed by members of the Irish Catholic population of the time. The club's name reflects its Irish roots (Hibernia is the Latin name for Ireland). A strict translation of the name Hibernian FC would be "Irishmen Football Club." As the first such team, their example led to the creation of Dundee Hibernian (now Dundee United) and Celtic, who when they were formed were nearly called Glasgow Hibernian. The club is seen as being much less of a Catholic institution now than it was in the past, and today geographical association rather than religion is the primary reason that fans support the team (Hibernian being the club for East Edinburgh).
On August 13, 1887, Hibernian defeated Preston North End in a match co-billed by the FA and SFA as the Association Football Championship of the World decider, due to the two teams' achievements in their respective domestic cup trophies.
Hibernian introduced white sleeves to their shirts on 13 August 1938 against Hamilton Accies after a major brightening up of Easter Road had taken place. The harp and shamrocks at the entrance had been repainted as had the stand and the wall round the pitch and the terracing barriers had all been painted white. The goalposts had been replaced with oval ones with green nets. On that day, Harry Swan addressed the large crowd over new loudspeakers about "the brighter Easter Road" before the team appeared in their new strip.
Hibernian were the first British club to appear in European competition, in its inaugural 1955/56 season. Hibernian's participation had little to do with qualification as they accepted the invitation to European competition that was declined by the four teams that finished above them in the Scottish League. Playing their first game against German side Rot-Weiss Essen, Hibernian won 4-0 in Essen and the return tie in Scotland ended in a 1-1 draw. Hibernian went on to reach the semi-finals, only to be defeated by a Stade de Reims side inspired by the great French footballer Raymond Kopa.
The last major trophy won by the club was the 2007 League Cup, when they defeated Kilmarnock 5-1 in the final. They also reached the League Cup final in 2004, losing to Livingston. Hibernian have not won the Scottish Cup since 1902. Their last appearance in the final was a 3-0 loss to Celtic in 2001.
Hibernian's most recent relegation to the First Division came at the end of the 1997-98 season. They immediately won promotion back to the SPL, however, in the 1998-99 season, helped by a run of 12 wins in a row on as they were crowned First Division champions. They earned a record total of 89 points and finished 23 points ahead of second-placed Falkirk.
The team colours are emerald green and white. The strip has a green body, with white sleeves, a white collar, and green cuffs. The shorts are white, and the socks are green with white tops. For the 2004/2005 season the colour of the shorts was changed to a green which matches the shirt colour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the club's 2-0 win over Real Madrid, as this was the kit originally worn for this friendly match.
[edit] Rivalry
Hibs' traditional local rivals in the city of Edinburgh are Hearts.
The first "official" derby match was on Christmas Day 1875, when Hearts beat Hibernians 1–0. It wasn't until their five-game struggle for the EFA Cup in 1878, that the two clubs became the dominant ones in Edinburgh. Hearts won 3–2 after 0–0, 1–1, 1–1 and 1–1 draws. The clubs' most notable meeting occurred in the 1896 Scottish Cup Final, played on 14 March 1896, Hearts winning 3-1 at Logie Green in the only final played outside Glasgow.
For more detailed information on this rivalry, please see the separate Edinburgh derby article.
[edit] Tony Mowbray era
Tony Mowbray was appointed Hibs manager on 24 May 2004, replacing the unpopular Bobby Williamson.[1] His appointment came as a surprise because the media had been speculating about many other possible candidates, such as John Gorman,[2] David Hay and Tommy Burns.[3]
Mowbray placed an emphasis on playing attacking, passing football, despite the relative youth of the team and the pressure for results.
The Mowbray era ended on 12 October 2006, when he left Hibernian to become manager of West Bromwich Albion.
[edit] 2004/05 season
These policies were rewarded with a 3rd place finish in Mowbray's first season as manager (2004/05), and a place in the UEFA Cup for the following season (2005/06). Hibs reached the semi-final stage of the Scottish Cup where they lost 1-2 to Dundee United, despite taking the lead early in the second half.
[edit] 2005/06 season
In the 2005/06 season, Hibs got off to an excellent start, winning 10 of their first 14 league games. This form led to speculation by some commentators that they could put in a challenge for the championship, but Tony Mowbray played down the club's chances, pointing to the lack of squad depth and the much higher budgets of Rangers, Celtic and Hearts. Some injuries and the sale of Garry O'Connor to Lokomotiv Moscow exposed this lack of depth. After a largely disappointing second half of the season, Hibs finished 4th in the SPL and qualified for the Intertoto Cup.
Hibs were beaten 5-1 on aggregate by Ukrainian club FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the first round [5] of the UEFA Cup. They showed promising signs in the Scottish Cup, beating Arbroath 6-0, Rangers 3-0 and Falkirk 5-1, but they were thrashed 0-4 by rivals Hearts in the semi-finals.
[edit] 2006/07 under Mowbray
The competitive football started early in 2006/07 for Hibs due to their qualification for the Intertoto Cup. They beat their first opponents Dinaburg on a comfortable 8-0 aggregate, but were eliminated on the away goals rule by Danish team OB in the third round.
Hibs got off to a slow start in the new league season, taking eleven points from the first nine matches. The highlight of the early part of the league season was a 2-1 win over Rangers on September 17, but this was then followed with two disappointing losses against Falkirk and St Mirren, both by 1-0.
On 7 September 2006, Tony Mowbray and Mark Venus signed new 12-month rolling contracts that were due to come into force in July 2007. However, shortly after signing the deal, Mowbray departed to become manager of West Bromwich Albion. Mark Venus, Mowbray's assistant at Hibs, joined him at West Brom in the following week. John Park (previously director of football) and Mark Proctor (previously a first team coach) took charge on a caretaker basis.
[edit] John Collins takes over
Following media speculation about Falkirk manager John Hughes, Cowdenbeath manager Mixu Paatelainen and Nottingham Forest coach Ian McParland, it was announced on 31 October 2006 that John Collins would be the new manager, with Tommy Craig as his assistant.[4]
[edit] 2006/07 under Collins
Before Collins took over as manager, Hibs had gone through a particularly inconsistent start to the league campaign - capable of beating Rangers and causing problems for every team in the league, but also capable of losing to "lesser" sides. In the period since Collins took over, Hibs' league form has been somewhat more consistent.
Where Hibs have made substantial progress under Collins is in the domestic cup competitions. They had already advanced to the League Cup quarter finals under Tony Mowbray due to two straightforward wins over lower division opposition (4-0 v Peterhead and 6-0 v Gretna). Following Collins' appointment, they defeated Hearts 1-0 in the quarter-final and St Johnstone 3-1 after extra time in the semi-final at Tynecastle. On 18 March 2007, Hibs beat Kilmarnock 5-1 at Hampden to win the League Cup for the third time in their history. This was the first major trophy that Hibs had won in 16 years, the previous trophy win being the 1991/92 League Cup competition.
Hibs have also progressed to the semi-final of the Scottish Cup through wins over Aberdeen (after a replay), Gretna and Queen of the South. Hibs are due to play Dunfermline Athletic in the semi-final of the tournament.
Top goalscorer Chris Killen has had a prolific season for the Hibees however it was cut short by an Achilles injury suffered while playing Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup. With Killen out for the rest of the season, Collins signed Thomas Sowumni, a 28 year old Hungarian international striker noted for his his strength and pace, on a six month contract as cover. Former Hibs striker Tam McManus, released by Falkirk in the January transfer window, was offered a trial period but did not earn a full contract and later signed for Dunfermline.
The most high-profile transfer activity during Collins' tenure involved Kevin Thomson and Scott Brown. Speculation persisted that both would be sold during the January transfer window, despite Collins' insistence otherwise. Thomson eventually departed to Rangers, for a reported fee of £2M, on the transfer window's final day.
Two players have flourished under John Collins leadership so far, Abdessalam Benjelloun and Steven Whittaker. Benjelloun has gained a reputation as a 'supersub', and has scored important goals in recent weeks, most notably in the Scottish Cup ties against Aberdeen and Gretna, the CIS Cup Semi Final against St Johnstone, and two goals in the CIS Cup Final victory.
Several younger players have also been played in the first team by Collins, most notably 19 year old right back Kevin McCann and 18 year old left wing back Lewis Stevenson. Midfielder Sean Lynch made his debut aged 20 against Gretna and then followed that up by keeping his place in the starting line up against Celtic at Parkhead, while Ross Campbell has also featured more prominently during Collins' tenure.
Next season, York City striker Clayton Donaldson will join the club after the player signed a pre-contract agreement.[5] Hibernian tried to free Donaldson of his contract in January however their offer of £50,000 was immediately rejected by his current club.[6]
[edit] Building for the future
On May 22, 2006, Hibs announced they had secured 36 acres of land to build a training complex. [6] The facilities are to be built on a farm in East Mains, a 20 minute drive from Easter Road. The complex will be called the 'East Mains Training Centre'. The site will include:
- Up to 10 full size grass pitches
- Specialist training areas (eg goalkeeping)
- Gym
- Changing facilities
- A treatment area
- An indoor short-sided synthetic pitch
- Players lounge
- Coaches’ rooms
The project is said to cost the club £3m. Hibs will be one of a few clubs in Scotland to have their own facilities, the others being Hearts and Rangers. Tony Mowbray repeatedly complained about the poor quality of facilities the club has at their disposal, as the club use public areas in Edinburgh and Musselburgh. The centre is said to be completed by pre-season of the 2007-2008 season, and has received planning permission from East Lothian Council.
[edit] Nicknames
The club's name is almost universally shortened to Hibs. However, the team are also often known by their fans by the nickname "the Hibees" (pronounced "high-bees") Hibs supporters are known as "Hibbies" (singular: "Hibby"). Also many fans call them "The Cabbage", as per the Cockney Rhyming Slang "The Cabbage And Ribs" after which a pub in Albert Street, Edinburgh is named.
[edit] Managers
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[edit] Current squad (season 2006-07)
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[edit] Players out on loan
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For recent transfers, see the "Transfer Deals" section of 2006-07 in Scottish football.
[edit] Famous players
Famous players have included: The Famous Five - Gordon Smith, Bobby Johnstone, Lawrie Reilly, Eddie Turnbull and Willie Ormond; in the seventies Pat Stanton, Alex Cropley, Alex Edwards, John Blackley, Des Bremner and Arthur Duncan, Erich Schaedler, in the 1980s Alan Rough and Gordon Durie, and in the 1990s John Collins, Andy Goram and Jim Leighton. Turnbull also managed the team in the seventies, and at that time his team was nicknamed the "Turnbull's Tornados". In the early eighties former Manchester United legend George Best played with the club for half a season: he played 22 games and scored 3 goals.
Other more recent noted players include:
- Chris Killen - current New Zealand international
- Ivan Sproule - current Northern Ireland international
- Franck Sauzée - European Cup Winner (with Olympique Marseille), now retired
- Garry O'Connor - current Scotland international, now with Lokomotiv Moscow
- Russell Latapy - Trinidad and Tobago World Cup player (2006), now with Falkirk
- Ulises de la Cruz - Ecuador World Cup player (2002 & 2006), now with Reading
- Derek Riordan now playing for Celtic
- Ian Murray current Scotland international now with Rangers
- Gary Caldwell current Scotland internation now with Celtic
[edit] In literature
The club has been mentioned in many works of literature, mainly by local authors. The works of author Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting) contain several references to Hibernian, presumably due to his being a native of Leith. The team is often mentioned in casual conversation and is the team most of his characters support. There are many references to Hibernian's firm support. Visual references to the Hibs are noticeable in the films adapted from his works. More observant persons would have spotted many images of Hibernian in Danny Boyle's film, Trainspotting. During the famous baby on the ceiling/detox scene, many posters and pictures of Hibernian can be seen.
In the final short film in the trilogy The Acid House, with the same title as the movie, Coco Bryce, a boy from the "Hibs firm", is struck by lightning while under the influence of LSD in a Pilton park only to have his soul transferred to the body of an unborn child from one of the more affluent areas of Edinburgh. The final scene of the movie is that of Coco in the baby's body strapped to his mother's back with a Hibs top in the pub chanting "Oo to, oo to be, oo to be a Hibee".
Hibernian are also frequently referred to in the Inspector Rebus detective series by Ian Rankin. In the later books, Rebus's colleague DS Siobhan Clarke is a season ticket holder at Easter Road. Contrary to the 2006 television adaptation of the series, Rebus is not a Hibs fan in the books.
In their song "Cap in Hand", from the album Sunshine on Leith (1988), The Proclaimers sing, "I can understand why Stranraer lie so lowly / They could save a lot of points by signing Hibs' goalie" In 1988, Alan Rough was the first choice goalkeeper. He did leave Hibs in 1988, to go to Celtic.
[edit] Club records
- Highest home Attendance: 65,860 vs Heart Of Midlothian F.C.; Mon 2 January 1950 Hibernian 1 Heart of Midlothian 2
- Biggest ever win: 22-1 vs. Black Watch Highlanders F.C.; 3 September 1881
- Next biggest ever win: 20-0 vs. Emmet F.C.; 10 January 1885
- Biggest League win: 11-1 vs. Airdrieonians F.C.; 24 October 1959, 11-1 vs. Hamilton Academical F.C.; 6 November 1965
- Next biggest League win: 10-1 vs Port Glasgow Athletic F.C.; 19 May 1894
- Biggest loss: 0-10 vs. Rangers F.C.; 24 December 1898
- Most capped player: Lawrie Reilly, 38 Scotland
- Most League appearances: Arthur Duncan, 446
- Most League goals: Gordon Smith, 364
- Most goals in a season: Joe Baker, 42
[edit] Scottish Cup finals
| Date | F | Opponents | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Sat 12 February 1887 |
Hibernian |
2 |
Dumbarton |
1 |
|
Hibernian |
1 |
Heart of Midlothian |
3 |
|
|
Hibernian |
1 |
Celtic |
0 |
|
|
Hibernian |
0 |
Celtic |
0 |
|
|
Hibernian |
1 |
Celtic |
4 |
|
|
Hibernian |
0 |
Celtic |
1 |
|
|
Hibernian |
0 |
Airdrieonians |
2 |
|
|
Hibernian |
1 |
Aberdeen |
2 |
|
|
Hibernian |
0 |
Clyde |
1 |
|
|
Hibernian |
1 |
Celtic |
6 |
|
|
Hibernian |
0 |
Rangers |
0 |
|
|
Hibernian |
0 |
Rangers |
0 |
|
|
Hibernian |
2 |
Rangers |
3 |
|
|
Hibernian |
0 |
Celtic |
3 |
[edit] League Cup finals
| Date | F | Opponents | A | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sat 28 October 1950 |
Hibernian |
0 |
Motherwell |
3 |
|
Hibernian |
2 |
Celtic |
6 |
|
|
Sat 9 December 1972 |
Hibernian |
2 |
Celtic |
1 |
|
Sat 26 October 1974 |
Hibernian |
3 |
Celtic |
6 |
|
Sun 27 October 1985 |
Hibernian |
0 |
Aberdeen |
3 |
|
Sun 27 October 1991 |
Hibernian |
2 |
Dunfermline Athletic |
0 |
|
Sun 24 October 1993 |
Hibernian |
1 |
Rangers |
2 |
|
Hibernian |
0 |
Livingston |
2 |
|
|
Hibernian |
5 |
Kilmarnock |
1 |
[edit] Honours
- Scottish football champions: 4
- 1903, 1948, 1951, 1952
- Scottish Football League First Division: 2
- Scottish Football League Division Two: 3
- 1894, 1895, 1933
- Scottish Cup: 2
- 1887, 1902
- Scottish League Cup: 3
- "Championship of the World": 1
- 1887
- Drybrough Cup: 2
- 1972, 1973
- Summer Cup: 2
- 1942[9], 1964
- Tennents' Sixes: 1
- 1990
[edit] Notes
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ "Hibs sign York striker Donaldson", BBC Sport, 2007-01-29. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
- ^ "York reject Hibs' Donaldson bid", BBC Sport, 2007-01-30. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
- ^ a b 1981 and 1999 represent second-tier championships, won after the creation of the Scottish Premier Division in 1975 (and latterly the Scottish Premier League in 1998).
- ^ a b These two competitions were won when the League Cup was completed in the first half of the season. The competition changed format in 1999, meaning that the semi finals and final are now played in the second half of the season. Therefore the League Cup was not won by anyone in the calendar year of 1999.
- ^ The Summer Cup was contested in place of the Scottish Cup (which was not contested between 1939 and 1946) in 1942.
