Wikipedia

2006–07 Hibernian F.C. season

Season 2006–07 was a mixed season for Hibernian; their league form suffered from extended cup runs, and they eventually finished sixth. The reward for their cup form was a first trophy in 16 years, thrashing Kilmarnock 5–1 in the final to lift the CIS Cup. Hibs were knocked out of the Scottish Cup in a semi-final replay by Dunfermline.

Hibernian
2006–07 season
ChairmanRod Petrie
ManagerTony Mowbray
John Collins
SPL6th
Scottish CupSemi
CIS CupWinners
Intertoto CupR3
Top goalscorerLeague: Killen, 13
All: Killen, 15
Highest home attendance16747[1]
Lowest home attendance10674[1]
Average home league attendance14488[1] (up 670)

The season was also notable for the departure of manager Tony Mowbray, the appointment of John Collins as his replacement and a players' revolt that quickly followed the CIS Cup triumph.

Pre-season

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The competitive football started early in 2006–07 for Hibs due to their qualification for the Intertoto Cup. They were given a bye to the second round, where they comfortably beat their first opponents Dinaburg (Latvia) 8–0 on aggregate. Hibs were eliminated from European competition on the away goals rule by Danish team OB in the third and final Intertoto Cup round.

Hibs only played one friendly match in the 2006 pre-season, a 3–2 win at Easter Road against Premier League side Charlton Athletic.

Results

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2 July 2006 Intertoto Cup Hibernian 5–0 Dinaburg Easter Road, Edinburgh
Killen   38'
Brown   49'
Sproule   72'
Murphy   75'
Fletcher   85'		 Attendance: 11,731
Referee: Sinisa Zrnic
8 July 2006 Intertoto Cup Dinaburg 0–3 Hibernian Celtnieks Stadium, Daugavpils
Konte   18', 56'
Sproule   75'		 Attendance: 350
Referee: Petteri Kari
15 July 2006 Intertoto Cup Odense 1–0 Hibernian Fionia Park, Odense
Sorensen   33' (pen.) Attendance: 2,341
Referee: Philippe Kalt
22 July 2006 Intertoto Cup Hibernian 2–1 Odense Easter Road, Edinburgh
Jones   55'
Dalglish   80'		 Grahn   51' Attendance: 10,640
Referee: Matteo Trefoloni
25 July 2006 Friendly match Hibernian 3–2 Charlton Athletic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Brown  
Brown  
Campbell  		 Hasselbaink  
Walker  		 Referee: Calum Murray

League season

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John Collins is introduced as the new Hibs manager by Hibs chairman Rod Petrie at a news conference on 31 October 2006.

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 17 September, but this was then followed with two disappointing losses against Falkirk and St Mirren, both by 1–0.

On 7 September 2006, the management team of Tony Mowbray and Mark Venus signed new 12-month rolling contracts that were due to come into force in July 2007. A month later, however, Mowbray left the club to become manager of West Bromwich Albion. Venus took charge of the team for their next game, an Edinburgh derby, but followed Mowbray to West Bromwich in the following week. John Park and Mark Proctor took charge of two games on a caretaker basis,[2] before John Collins was appointed as manager, with Tommy Craig as his assistant. Mark Proctor became the reserve team coach before taking the manager's job at Livingston,[3] while John Park returned to his "behind the scenes" role before taking a similar post at Celtic.[4]

Before Collins took over as manager, Hibs had gone through a particularly inconsistent start to the league campaign. They were capable of beating Rangers and causing problems for every team in the league, but were also capable of losing to "lesser" sides, including St Mirren and Falkirk. In the period immediately after Collins took over, Hibs' league form improved somewhat, meaning that they clinched a place in the "top six" of the SPL with three games to spare.

After that, however, Hibs didn't win another game until they beat a shadow Celtic side on the final day. During this winless run, reports emerged in the media of a dispute between Collins and many of the Hibs players.[5] The players strongly criticised the manager for constantly chopping and changing the team and formation. Reports claimed that almost all of the first team players went to chairman Rod Petrie hoping to get Collins replaced.[6] The period of unrest was apparently quelled when club captain Rob Jones made a statement on behalf of the squad apologising "to the management, supporters and board of the club for any distress or embarrassment that has been caused".[7]

Results

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29 July 2006 SPL Hibernian 1–1 Aberdeen Easter Road, Edinburgh
Shiels   31' Crawford   19' Attendance: 15,046
Referee: Stuart Dougal
5 August 2006 SPL Kilmarnock 2–1 Hibernian Rugby Park, Kilmarnock
Nish   48'
Naismith   72'		 Shiels   31' Attendance: 6,299
Referee: Mike McCurry
12 August 2006 SPL Inverness CT 0–0 Hibernian Caledonian Stadium, Inverness
Attendance: 4,623
Referee: Iain Brines
19 August 2006 SPL Hibernian 3–1 Motherwell Easter Road, Edinburgh
Benjelloun   30'
Brown   65'
Jones   82'		 McDonald   90' Attendance: 13,274
Referee: Dougie McDonald
26 August 2006 SPL Celtic 2–1 Hibernian Celtic Park, Glasgow
Zurawski   62'
Vennegoor of Hesselink   66'		 Brown   8' Attendance: 58,078
Referee: Charlie Richmond
10 September 2006 SPL Dundee United 0–3 Hibernian Tannadice Park, Dundee
Killen   52'
Shiels   81'
Sproule   90'		 Attendance: 6,387
Referee: Craig Thomson
17 September 2006 SPL Hibernian 2–1 Rangers Easter Road, Edinburgh
Killen   8', 81' Sebo   65' Attendance: 16,450
Referee: John Underhill
23 September 2006 SPL Hibernian 0–1 Falkirk Easter Road, Edinburgh
Milne   9' Attendance: 14,828
Referee: Alan Freeland
30 September 2006 SPL St Mirren 1–0 Hibernian Love Street, Paisley
van Zanten   39' Attendance: 6,008
Referee: Stuart Dougal
15 October 2006 SPL Hibernian 2–2 Heart of Midlothian Easter Road, Edinburgh
Zemmama   5'
Killen   16'		 Velicka   28', 72' Attendance: 16,623
Referee: Charlie Richmond
23 October 2006 SPL Dunfermline Athletic 0–4 Hibernian East End Park, Dunfermline
Sproule   44'
Killen   62', 90'
Benjelloun   89'		 Attendance: 6,057
Referee: Mike McCurry
30 October 2006 SPL Aberdeen 2–1 Hibernian Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Miller   56'
Severin   90'		 Killen   47' Attendance: 11,179
Referee: Kenny Clark
4 November 2006 SPL Hibernian 2–2 Kilmarnock Easter Road, Edinburgh
Stewart   53'
Fletcher   57'		 Martis   48' (o.g.)
Naismith   65'		 Attendance: 13,510
Referee: Charlie Richmond
11 November 2006 SPL Hibernian 2–0 Inverness CT Easter Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher   65'
Killen   83' (pen.)		 Attendance: 12,868
Referee: John Underhill
18 November 2006 SPL Motherwell 1–6 Hibernian Fir Park, Motherwell
McGarry   83' Brown   10'
Killen   25'
Sproule   29', 40'
Jones   73'
Shiels   90'		 Attendance: 6,190
Referee: Iain Brines
26 November 2006 SPL Hibernian 2–2 Celtic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Sproule   12'
Thomson   63'		 Sno   70'
McGeady   74'		 Attendance: 16,747
Referee: Mike McCurry
2 December 2006 SPL Hibernian 2–1 Dundee United Easter Road, Edinburgh
Jones   45'
Fletcher   73'		 Martis   24' (o.g.) Attendance: 14,032
Referee: Steve Conroy
9 December 2006 SPL Rangers 3–0 Hibernian Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow
Prso   16'
Sionko   32'
Ferguson   36'		 Attendance: 49,708
Referee: Iain Brines
16 December 2006 SPL Falkirk 2–1 Hibernian Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk
Martis   14' (o.g.)
Craig   21'		 Fletcher   56' Attendance: 6,142
Referee: Charlie Richmond
23 December 2006 SPL Hibernian 5–1 St Mirren Easter Road, Edinburgh
Beuzelin   21'
Killen   32'
Shiels   58'
Zemmama   65'
Benjelloun   74'		 Sutton   41' Attendance: 13,053
Referee: Craig Thomson
26 December 2006 SPL Heart of Midlothian 3–2 Hibernian Tynecastle, Edinburgh
Hartley   2'
Jankauskas   49'
Mikoliunas   70'		 Killen   55'
Shiels   61' (pen.)		 Attendance: 17,369
Referee: Mike McCurry
30 December 2006 SPL Hibernian 2–0 Dunfermline Athletic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Killen   63', 72' (pen.) Attendance: 14,061
Referee: Iain Brines
2 January 2007 SPL Hibernian 0–0 Aberdeen Easter Road, Edinburgh
Attendance: 16,278
Referee: Brian Winter
15 January 2007 SPL Kilmarnock 0–2 Hibernian Rugby Park, Kilmarnock
Sproule   51'
Fletcher   87'		 Attendance: 4,963
Referee: Charlie Richmond
21 January 2007 SPL Inverness CT 3–0 Hibernian Caledonian Stadium, Inverness
Dargo   20'
McBain   30'
Wilson   42'		 Attendance: 4,577
Referee: William Collum
27 January 2007 SPL Hibernian 2–0 Motherwell Easter Road, Edinburgh
Brown   66'
Benjelloun   90'		 Attendance: 14,280
Referee: Mike McCurry
10 February 2007 SPL Celtic 1–0 Hibernian Celtic Park, Glasgow
Beattie   54' Attendance: 59,659
Referee: Stuart Dougal
18 February 2007 SPL Dundee United 0–0 Hibernian Tannadice Park, Dundee
Attendance: 6,453
Referee: Kenny Clark
4 March 2007 SPL Hibernian 0–2 Rangers Easter Road, Edinburgh
Adam   4', 60' Attendance: 16,265
Referee: Charlie Richmond
10 March 2007 SPL Hibernian 2–0 Falkirk Easter Road, Edinburgh
Benjelloun   52', 74' Attendance: 12,572
Referee: Craig Thomson
1 April 2007 SPL Hibernian 0–1 Heart of Midlothian Easter Road, Edinburgh
Zaliukas   81' Attendance: 15,953
Referee: Kenny Clark
4 April 2007 SPL St Mirren 1–1 Hibernian Love Street, Paisley
Sutton   89' Jones   20' Attendance: 4,031
Referee: Iain Brines
7 April 2007 SPL Dunfermline Athletic 1–0 Hibernian East End Park, Dunfermline
McGuire   84' Attendance: 6,001
Referee: Craig Mackay
21 April 2007 SPL Aberdeen 2–2 Hibernian Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Anderson   25'
Foster   80'		 Gray   19'
Shiels   44'		 Attendance: 9,753
Referee: Stuart Dougal
28 April 2007 SPL Hibernian 3–3 Rangers Easter Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher   20'
McCann   45'
Whittaker   62'		 Adam   24', 78'
Hutton   54'		 Attendance: 16,747
Referee: Charlie Richmond
5 May 2007 SPL Hibernian 0–1 Kilmarnock Easter Road, Edinburgh
Nish   49' Attendance: 10,674
Referee: David Somers
12 May 2007 SPL Heart of Midlothian 2–0 Hibernian Tynecastle, Edinburgh
Pospisil   1'
Driver   23'		 Attendance: 17,349
Referee: Stuart Dougal
20 May 2007 SPL Hibernian 2–1 Celtic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Brown   60'
Sproule   90'		 Riordan   56' Attendance: 13,885
Referee: Iain Brines

Final table

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Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[a]
4 Heart of Midlothian 38 17 10 11 47 35 +12 61
5 Kilmarnock 38 16 7 15 47 54 −7 55
6 Hibernian 38 13 10 15 56 46 +10 49
7 Falkirk 38 15 5 18 49 47 +2 50
8 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 38 11 13 14 42 48 −6 46
Source: Scottish Professional Football League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
  1. ^ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.

Scottish League Cup

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See also: 2007 Scottish League Cup Final
 
The CIS Cup is paraded.
18 March 2007

Hibs 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 John Collins' appointment as manager, the team 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 Park 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.

Results

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22 August 2006 Scottish League Cup Hibernian 4–0 Peterhead Easter Road, Edinburgh
Good   7' (o.g.)
Benjelloun   32'
Brown   52'
McCluskey   66' (pen.)		 Attendance: 5,500
Referee: Chris Boyle
20 September 2006 Scottish League Cup Hibernian 6–0 Gretna Easter Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher   11'
Brown   18'
Jones   20'
Shiels   24', 63'
Benjelloun   72'		 Attendance: 11,075
Referee: Craig Thomson
8 November 2006 Scottish League Cup Hibernian 1–0 Heart of Midlothian Easter Road, Edinburgh
Jones   32' Attendance: 15,825
Referee: Calum Murray
31 January 2007 Scottish League Cup St Johnstone 1–3 (a.e.t.) Hibernian Tynecastle, Edinburgh
Scotland   76' Fletcher   3'
Murphy   92'
Benjelloun   120'		 Attendance: 16,112
Referee: Craig Thomson
18 March 2007 Scottish League Cup Kilmarnock 1–5 Hibernian Hampden Park, Glasgow
Greer   77' Jones   28'
Benjelloun   59', 85'
Fletcher   66', 87'		 Attendance: 52,000
Referee: Dougie McDonald

Scottish Cup

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Hibs faced Queen of the South in the 2007 Scottish Cup quarter-final.

Hibs started their Scottish Cup campaign with a difficult tie away to Aberdeen, where they drew 2–2. In the replay, Hibs produced one of their best performances of the season to win 4–1 despite conceding the first goal of the game.

In the next round Hibs comfortably beat Gretna, who they had already hammered in the Scottish League Cup, by 3–1. Hibs were then drawn away to Queen of the South, where they won 2–1 thanks to a free kick by David Murphy.

The semi-final with Dunfermline Athletic on 15 April was overshadowed by the player revolt which had immediately preceded it. The match was drawn 0–0 and the tie was replayed on 24 April. Hibs lost the replay 1–0 to a late Panenka penalty by Jim McIntyre.

Results

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10 January 2007 Scottish Cup Aberdeen 2–2 Hibernian Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Brewster   58'
Nicholson   89'		 Sproule   43'
Killen   73'		 Attendance: 7,905
Referee: Craig Thomson
18 January 2007 Scottish Cup Hibernian 4–1 Aberdeen Easter Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher   13'
Stewart   45'
Benjelloun   47', 56'		 Nicholson   10' Attendance: 11,375
Referee: Craig Thomson
3 February 2007 Scottish Cup Hibernian 3–1 Gretna Easter Road, Edinburgh
Jones   28'
Fleming   54' (o.g.)
Benjelloun   59'		 Berkeley   80' Attendance: 14,075
Referee: Iain Brines
24 February 2007 Scottish Cup Queen of the South 1–2 Hibernian Palmerston Park, Dumfries
O'Neill   48' Murphy   45'
Sowunmi   51'		 Attendance: 6,400
Referee: Stuart Dougal
15 April 2007 Scottish Cup Hibernian 0–0 Dunfermline Athletic Hampden Park, Glasgow
Attendance: 25,336
Referee: Craig Thomson
24 April 2007 Scottish Cup Dunfermline Athletic 1–0 Hibernian Hampden Park, Glasgow
McIntyre   88' (pen.) Attendance: 8,536
Referee: Craig Thomson

Transfers

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Hibernian home kit (2006–07)
 
 
 
 
 
Hibernian away kit (2006–07)

Before the season started, Tony Mowbray made some significant changes to the Hibs squad. He brought in two new central defenders (Rob Jones and Shelton Martis) to replace the departing Gary Smith and Gary Caldwell. Derek Riordan had also left the club, but Merouane Zemmama was brought in to provide more creativity.

Top goalscorer Chris Killen had a prolific season for the Hibees, but 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, John Collins signed Thomas Sowunmi, a 28-year-old Hungarian international striker, 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 Athletic.

The most high-profile transfer activity during the season 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. Brown was eventually sold to Celtic at the end of the season for a record transfer fee between Scottish clubs of £4.4 million.

Young players

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Some younger players in the Hibs squad developed significantly during the season, particularly Abdessalam Benjelloun. 'Benji' gained a reputation as a 'supersub', scoring important goals 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. Steven Fletcher also scored two goals in the CIS Cup Final and one goal in the CIS Cup Semi Final.

Several youngsters were given their first opportunities in the Hibs first team by John Collins. These included 20-year-old goalkeeper Andrew McNeil, 19-year-old right back Kevin McCann and 18-year-old left back / midfielder 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.[8]

Ross Campbell, Dermot McCaffrey, Ross Chisholm and Damon Gray (who scored on his league debut at Pittodrie) also featured. Some of these opportunities were because Collins has had to balance a relatively small squad with a heavy workload due to the two extended cup runs, but most of the young players performed creditably.

Player stats

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During the 2007–08 season, Hibs used 32 different players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.[9]

No. Pos Nat Player Total SPL Scottish Cup League Cup Intertoto Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK   ENG Simon Brown 10 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 4 0
GK   POL Zibi Malkowski 22 0 19 0 0 0 3 0 0 0
GK   SCO Andrew McNeil 22 0 15 0 5 0 2 0 0 0
DF   ENG Chris Hogg 24 0 15 0 4 0 1 0 4 0
DF   ENG Rob Jones 49 9 34 4 6 1 5 3 4 1
DF   SUI Oumar Kondé 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF   ANT Shelton Martis 34 0 27 0 2 0 5 0 0 0
DF   NIR Dermot McCaffrey 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF   SCO Kevin McCann 12 1 8 1 2 0 2 0 0 0
DF   ENG David Murphy 47 3 33 0 5 1 5 1 4 1
DF   SCO Jay Shields 6 0 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
DF   SCO Steven Whittaker 49 1 35 1 6 0 4 0 4 0
MF   FRA Guillaume Beuzelin 34 1 25 1 6 0 3 0 0 0
MF   SCO Scott Brown 42 8 30 5 5 0 5 2 2 1
MF   SCO Ross Chisholm 7 0 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
MF   SCO Stephen Glass 13 0 10 0 0 0 1 0 2 0
MF   SCO Sean Lynch 5 0 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0
MF   SCO Jamie McCluskey 8 1 5 0 0 0 2 1 1 0
MF   NIR Dean Shiels 33 9 23 7 4 0 3 2 3 0
MF   NIR Ivan Sproule 46 10 32 7 6 1 4 0 4 2
MF   SCO Lewis Stevenson 24 0 16 0 6 0 2 0 0 0
MF   SCO Michael Stewart 39 2 29 1 3 1 3 0 4 0
MF   SCO Kevin Thomson 31 1 23 1 1 0 3 0 4 0
MF   MAR Merouane Zemmama 26 2 23 2 0 0 3 0 0 0
FW   MAR Abdessalam Benjelloun 45 14 33 6 6 3 5 5 1 0
FW   SCO Ross Campbell 4 0 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
FW   SCO Paul Dalglish 5 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 1
FW   SCO Steven Fletcher 44 12 31 6 5 1 5 4 3 1
FW   ENG Damon Gray 5 1 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 0
FW   NZL Chris Killen 24 15 18 13 1 1 2 0 3 1
FW   MLI Amadou Konte 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
FW   HUN Thomas Sowunmi 6 1 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b c "Average Home League Game Attendances". fitbastats.com. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  2. ^ Park wants to stay at Hibernian, BBC Sport, 23 October 2006.
  3. ^ Proctor takes over at Livingston, BBC Sport, 22 May 2007.
  4. ^ Hibs lose youth chief to Celtic, BBC Sport, 23 January 2007.
  5. ^ "Hibs Revolt". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. 9 April 2007. Archived from the original on 25 April 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
  6. ^ "Col: I won't walk away". Daily Record. Trinity Mirror. 12 April 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
  7. ^ "Hibs players apologise to Collins". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 April 2007. Archived from the original on 25 May 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
  8. ^ "Sean Lynch - U20 Squad". Scottish Football Association. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
  9. ^ "Hibernian 2006–07 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
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