[0762]

https://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/article/le...ed-manager

So Lee Johnson is proclaimed as the best candidate to succeed as the new Hibs manager? His CV initially looks reasonable, but in recent times he has "withered at the vine" and just doesn't impress at all. I'm totally underwhelmed by this appointment and it looks like I'm not alone after glancing through a few Hibs SM sites - NO WOW FACTOR, NO IMAGINATION RE THIS LATEST APPOINTMENT!!! The guy is already condemned to fail even before he has started!! He has a lot to prove most Hibs critics wrong on that score. This is clearly another decision with Hibs CEO, Ben Kensell, at the forefront of this move and IMO Kensell should already be "oot the door" after last season's gaffes. I reckon there will be a fans' "riot" next season if they carry on from where they left off this season - "heads will roll"!!

[St Charles Owl]

Its an interesting choice. Is he living off the reputation of his Dad, certainly Bristol City fans hold his Dad in high regard but never really warmed to Lee. I am not sure Sunderland would have made the playoffs if he had stayed with them. But he has had some success in patches, maybe this is the ne where he can turn those patches into more consistent spells.

[Amelia Chaffinch]

Poor choice. I don't think he'll ever achieve greatness. I find it hard to believe he'll have been the best on offer.

[Lord Snooty]

Terrible choice. Hadn't even realised he'd played for Hearts. thought his playing career was all lower league EFL.

[0762]

My gut feeling is that Johnson appears to be another "pal of a pal" with Ben Kensell heavily involved in this latest "twist" in Hibs future direction as a top Scot Prem footie club. The four year contract with HFC has really astounded lots n lots of Hibs fans although I acknowledge that most candidates demand a long term contract as any kinda performance related clause will scare off all of them. Part of Johnson's statement read like this - "I need time to implement my ideas .......". How much time Lee????? IMO there is no way Johnson was the best candidate; I don't believe that comment in Ron Gordon's statement and I certainly have no faith in the lead role of Ben Kensell as intimated in previous threads.

[hibeejim21]

Maybe it will work out..... But I have my doubts.

[hibeejim21]

What is it with these American owners of scottish fitba clubs that haven't a fecking clue how to run one ?

[ritchiebaby]

Ron Gordon sees Hibs as a business opportunity, not as a football club. It's a way of providing jobs for the boys, not for sensible, credible appointments.

Just my opinion, but Shaun Maloney was ditched far too quickly. I can see Johnson ditched fairly quickly as well with another admission of hasty decision-making coming from Ron Gordon. Hibs' big problem is definitely with the top management structure.

[HerefordBull]

I think many American owners don't understand how a game day pans out for the average British fan compared to those in the USA.

I have been to many games involving the top 4 sports in America and they are all great days out............day out being the important words and you have to have a different mindset at games, with tailgate parties, free giveaways, live bands etc etc. In Scotland the average fan wants a few bevvies before the game and probably gets to their seat a few minutes before kickoff. In that respect, Ron Gordon should have got the "Behind the Goals" bar up and running sooner rather than later. Obviously the screens give a medium for advertisements and so bring money in but the average Hibs fan will look first and foremost at one thing, the product and results on the pitch.

The other thing with American sports fans they are incredibly loyal to their team even when things are not going well and season tickets will still fly out the door when they become available. ( they still enjoy the day) My team the New York Jets have been dire for a few seasons but sales are always healthy. This may be partly due to the Draft system they have in USA sport where the most poorly rated teams have first pick at the available talent and so should ensure the best prospects for them turning their results around. The Cleveland Browns from December 2016 till September 2018 didn't win a game ( and then their first win was against the Jets lol) but with the draft system have turned the corner and I think they will get to the play offs in the next 2 seasons. Fans just wait knowing fortunes will change. They will leave the game early if their team has no chance of getting back into it but you won't see and hear the same hostility that you do over here.

I suspect the ire of Hibs fans has come as a shock to Ron Gordon as he would have expected the mass loyalty to have stayed as it does in the USA.

[St Charles Owl]

The other thing with American sports fans they are incredibly loyal to their team even when things are not going well and season tickets will still fly out the door when they become available. ( they still enjoy the day)  My team the New York Jets have been dire for a few seasons but sales are always healthy. This may be partly due to the Draft system they have in USA sport where the most poorly rated teams have first pick at the available talent and so should ensure the best prospects for them turning their results around. The Cleveland Browns from December 2016 till September 2018 didn't win a game ( and then their first win was against the Jets lol) but with the draft system have turned the corner and I think they will get to the play offs in the next 2 seasons. Fans just wait knowing fortunes will change. They will leave the game early if their team has no chance of getting back into it but you won't see and hear the same hostility that you do over here.

Agree to a certain extent about US teams and fans but most of what you say is a relatively new phenomena.

Before I moved here clubs that were crap and consistently losing saw their crowds drop dramatically, the Chicago Cubs couldn't fill Wrigley in the 80s and 90s even if they gave away free tickets, now its always full no matter what!! I am not sure what changed that, maybe television exposure as more and more games were shown live on TV, certainly American sports teams are the masters of marketing so that has to have had an effect, maybe the fact that most teams reside in metro areas with huge populations (Chicago 10m, Cleveland 2.5m, Detroit 4.5m, for comparison Edinburgh has 900,000 and two top teams!!), so getting 50,000 through the gate is much easier if your catchment area has that many people in it.

I do know from living here for a couple of decades that the one difference between US sports leagues and our football is promotion, and more importantly, relegation. The Cleveland Browns, or the Detroit Lions, who as you say went entire seasons without a win know that there are zero consequences for being crap, they stay in the same league, they get the top picks in the draft, wages are capped, players are contracted and more importantly their money is guaranteed through tv deals etc. The benefits of winning a Superbowl or a World Series are huge for sure but the absence of any "penalties" for most players, coaches and in particular owners for when it all goes wrong means there is a complete disregard for failure. I think there are now 8 American owners in the PL, how long before the promotion/relegation issue is brought up again by the clubs in the PL??

This appointment could work, likely it won't as most have stated but if Hibs played in Cleveland, the ground would be full regardless, ticket prices would be through the roof and the owners would be getting the same revenue!! The reality is very different to that in European football.