How do Hibs get themselves in a position to challenge for even the minor European places next season? Well, with apologies for cracking the obvious gag, you certainly wouldn’t start from here …
On a serious note, there are good reasons for Hibs fans to feel both excited and just a little terrified by the coming close season. Even if the potential arrival of a new technical director might generate a bit of energy around East Mains.
Because, sure, appointing the right person in the right place – nobody gets to pick the perfect moment in football, so forget about the third element of that mythical trifecta – would represent a start. But any in-depth study of how Hibs have worked the market over the past five years, under five different managers, is guaranteed to create some concerns.
They need a repeat of their greatest hits. Like landing Kevin Nisbet, a future Scotland international who would also turn a tidy profit when sold on. And they’ll need two or three deals of that calibre even to make a top-six finish any sort of certainty. Which means the people making the decisions need to be clear in their goals, clever in their dealings – and completely certain about every decision they make.
Regardless of how many voices participate in the initial filtering process, Hibs cannot afford to make more than one or two mistakes in an extremely busy transfer window. So let’s take a look at their track record, examining some of the hits, misses, slow burners and surprise packages to pitch up at Easter Road since the summer of 2019.
Loan deals are excluded unless they led to ‘permanent’ moves. And we’ve decided to ignore some of the ‘development signings’ made more as punts on potential, than genuine attempts to strengthen the first team. Which leaves us with a selection including:
1. Chris Mueller – Miss (by a mile)
Unfortunately, every list of recent Hibs transfers has to start with the biggest bust in a very long time. Factoring in wages estimated at anywhere between £5000 and £10,000 per week, the American certainly represented an expensive misjudgement by a club looking for bargains they could develop and sell on. Mueller lasted just four months, making six starts and scoring once. An odd, odd move. Photo: Ross Parker - SNS Group
2. Kevin Nisbet – Hit
Hibs actually took a bit of a punt on Nisbet when they signed him from Dunfermline in the summer of 2020, fighting off interest from rivals to get the deal done. Regardless of which estimate you believe, the fee involved was certainly in the hundreds of thousands of pounds. When he left Hibs for Millwall as a full Scotland international three years later, the Easter Road club pocketed a significant seven-figure fee – and left behind a lot of good memories.
3. Joe Newell – Slow Burner
It’s easy to forget, now, that the current on-field captain was initially considered a flop following his arrival in the summer of 2019. Played out of position and exposed by the hectic pace of the Scottish game, he lost his place towards the end of that first season. But battled back to become a key figure under a series of different managers.
4. Harry McKirdy – Jury Out
It’s not his fault that he needed heart surgery. And maybe he’ll come good, in the end. But the winger/attacker never really got a chance to nail down a starting place and prove himself following his arrival just before the summer 2022 transfer deadline. Currently back on loan at Swindon but a Hibs player for another season, so you never know.