2008–09 Hibernian F.C. season

Season 2008–09 for Hibernian was their tenth consecutive season of play in the Scottish Premier League. The SPL season began on 9 August 2008 with a 1–0 defeat at Kilmarnock. The team were eliminated from each cup competition at the first hurdle, due to defeats by IF Elfsborg in the last Intertoto Cup, Greenock Morton in the Scottish League Cup and Edinburgh derby rivals Hearts in the Scottish Cup. The team was inconsistent in the league, and only squeezed into the top six by a single point ahead of Motherwell. This led to the resignation of manager Mixu Paatelainen at the end of the season.[1] One bright spot for the club was the performance of the under–19 team, which won the Scottish league & cup double.[2]

Hibernian
2008–09 season
ChairmanRod Petrie
ManagerMixu Paatelainen
Scottish Premier League6th
Scottish CupR4
CIS CupR2
Intertoto CupR2
Top goalscorerLeague: Derek Riordan (12)
All: Derek Riordan (12)
Highest home attendance17,223 v Hearts
Lowest home attendance10,317 v St Mirren
Average home league attendance12,684

Pre-season

Hibs manager Mixu Paatelainen announced during May 2008 that the Hibs players would only have four weeks off after the end of the 2007–08 season, giving them two weeks to prepare for the first Intertoto Cup game.[3] Hibs entered the last Intertoto Cup competition at the second round stage. They were drawn to play IF Elfsborg, who defeated Hibs 4–0 on aggregate, 2–0 at both Easter Road and the Borås Arena. Hibs lost a glamour friendly 6–0 against Barcelona at Murrayfield Stadium on 24 July.

Hibs then also lost a friendly to Third Division club Cowdenbeath. This prompted media speculation that Mixu Paatelainen would resign from his position as manager, which was denied.[4] Hibs then suffered another heavy defeat, 3–0 to First Division club Clyde, before finally scoring their first goal of the season in a 3–2 defeat to Premier League club Middlesbrough. Hibs completed their programme of friendlies with a 1–0 defeat against Wigan Athletic.

Results
6 July 2008 Intertoto Cup Hibernian 0–2 IF Elfsborg Easter Road, Edinburgh
Bajrami  16'
Augustsson  64'		 Attendance: 7,809
Referee: Albert Toussaint
12 July 2008 Intertoto Cup IF Elfsborg 2–0 Hibernian Borås Arena, Borås
Floren  20'
Bajrami  80'		 Attendance: 3,523
Referee: Mario Strahonja
15 July 2008 Friendly match Raith Rovers 0–0 Hibernian Stark's Park, Kirkcaldy
Referee: Colin Brown
24 July 2008 Friendly match Barcelona 6–0 Hibernian Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Gudjohnsen  5', 16'
Messi  14'
Pedro  26'
Bojan  48'
Touré  70'		 Attendance: 23,390
Referee: Craig Thomson
28 July 2008 Friendly match Cowdenbeath 2–0 Hibernian Central Park, Cowdenbeath
Fairbairn  pen.'
Tomana 		Attendance: 613
Referee: Brian Colvin
30 July 2008 Friendly match Clyde 3–0 Hibernian Broadwood, Cumbernauld
McKay ,
MacLennan 		Referee: Eddie Smith
2 August 2008 Friendly match Hibernian 2–3 Middlesbrough Easter Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher , Alves ,
Wheater 		Attendance: 6,325
Referee: William Collum
5 August 2008 Friendly match Hibernian 0–1 Wigan Athletic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Zaki Referee: Mike Tumilty

League season

Having suffered through a very poor pre-season, Hibs were under pressure to get off to a good start in the Scottish Premier League, but they lost their first game 1–0 at Kilmarnock. The team then bounced back with an entertaining 3–2 win at Easter Road against Falkirk, but drew with Inverness Caledonian Thistle and lost 1–0 at home to Motherwell. The Scotland on Sunday reported after the latter result that Hibs' "lack of quality" was the reason for their poor results.[5] Hibs bounced back to record back to back wins over Dundee United (2–1) and Hamiton (1–0). However, in their next game, Hibs lost 3–0 at home to Rangers. The team then travelled to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen where the Hibees won 2–1 with two goals from Riordan.

An international break followed as Scotland drew 0–0 with Norway. The next game back was the first Edinburgh derby of the season, played at Easter Road. Steven Fletcher gave Hibs an early lead and it looked as though they would go on to score more. However, the game went on to be a tight affair and Hearts equalised from a Bruno Aguiar free-kick. The game finished 1–1 after both teams missed chance after chance to take the bragging rights of Edinburgh. The draw in the derby started a run of six games without a win for Hibs, including defeats by Celtic (4–2), Inverness (2–1) and Dundee United (2–0). In the last game of the run, Hibs came from 2–0 to draw 2–2 with Aberdeen. The winless run was ended emphatically when Hibs won 4–1 at Motherwell.[6] Hibs then built on that win by drawing at Falkirk and beating Celtic and Hamilton Academical at home.

After that, however, Hibs went on another very poor run of results, winning only one win of their next nine league matches. Put together with the early exit from the Scottish Cup, this run of form increased the pressure on manager Mixu Paatelainen.[7] This pressure was eased somewhat by league wins against Hamilton and Hearts, which was a first Edinburgh derby win for Paatelainen as Hibs manager.[8] Despite Hibs failing to win any of their last four games before the split, Motherwell's 2–0 defeat by St Mirren meant that Hibs squeezed into the top six by a single point.

A home defeat by Dundee United in the first game after the split effectively ended Hibs' chances of qualifying for the Europa League. The team then enjoyed some unexpectedly good results, winning the last derby of the season at Tynecastle, and holding both halves of the Old Firm to draws at Easter Road.

Results
9 August 2008 SPL Kilmarnock 1–0 Hibernian Rugby Park, Kilmarnock
Hamill  80' Attendance: 6,168
Referee: Calum Murray
16 August 2008 SPL Hibernian 3–2 Falkirk Easter Road, Edinburgh
Nish  1', 25'
Hanlon  47'		 Higdon  30', 53' Attendance: 12,445
Referee: William Collum
23 August 2008 SPL Inverness CT 1–1 Hibernian Caley Stadium, Inverness
Cowie  21' Nish  46' Attendance: 4,022
Referee: Eddie Smith
30 August 2008 SPL Hibernian 0–1 Motherwell Easter Road, Edinburgh
Sutton  79' Attendance: 11,285
Referee: Stuart Dougal
13 September 2008 SPL Hibernian 2–1 Dundee United Easter Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher  22', 63' Wilkie  45' Attendance: 13,390
Referee: David Somers
20 September 2008 SPL Hamilton Academical 0–1 Hibernian New Douglas Park, Hamilton
Riordan  39' Attendance: 4,058
Referee: Dougie McDonald
28 September 2008 SPL Hibernian 0–3 Rangers Easter Road, Edinburgh
Miller  30', 41'
Bougherra  73'		 Attendance: 15,292
Referee: Calum Murray
4 October 2008 SPL Aberdeen 1–2 Hibernian Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Miller  42' (pen.) Riordan  33', 80' (pen.) Attendance: 10,793
Referee: Mike McCurry
19 October 2008 SPL Hibernian 1–1 Heart of Midlothian Easter Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher  2' Aguiar  42' Attendance: 17,223
Referee: Craig Thomson
25 October 2008 SPL Celtic 4–2 Hibernian Celtic Park, Glasgow
McManus  32'
Sheridan  36'
Loovens  76'
Brown  82'		 Nish  41'
Fletcher  50'		 Attendance: 58,337
Referee: Calum Murray
1 November 2008 SPL St Mirren 0–0 Hibernian Love Street, Paisley
Attendance: 4,588
Referee: Stephen Finnie
8 November 2008 SPL Hibernian 1–2 Inverness CT Easter Road, Edinburgh
Riordan  90' Cowie  30'
Black  47'		 Attendance: 11,688
Referee: Chris Boyle
12 November 2008 SPL Dundee United 2–0 Hibernian Tannadice Park, Dundee
Dods  54'
Sandaza  60'		 Attendance: 7,490
Referee: Eddie Smith
15 November 2008 SPL Hibernian 2–2 Aberdeen Easter Road, Edinburgh
Jones  62'
Fletcher  90'		 Mackie  40'
Diamond  53'		 Attendance: 11,640
Referee: Stevie O'Reilly
22 November 2008 SPL Motherwell 1–4 Hibernian Fir Park, Motherwell
Malcolm  42' Rankin  6'
Shiels  50'
Fletcher  61'
Riordan  90'		 Attendance: 4,957
Referee: Charlie Richmond
29 November 2008 SPL Falkirk 1–1 Hibernian Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk
Barr  69' Nish  82' Attendance: 6,260
Referee: Alan Muir
7 December 2008 SPL Hibernian 2–0 Celtic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Rankin  55'
Nish  69'		 Attendance: 14,289
Referee: Craig Thomson
13 December 2008 SPL Hibernian 2–0 Hamilton Academical Easter Road, Edinburgh
Riordan  42'
Jones  88'		 Attendance: 10,437
Referee: Brian Winter
20 December 2008 SPL Rangers 1–0 Hibernian Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow
Boyd  61' Attendance: 49,538
Referee: Steve Conroy
27 December 2008 SPL Hibernian 2–4 Kilmarnock Easter Road, Edinburgh
Shiels  36' (pen.), 40' (pen.) Invincibile  5', 47'
Russell  12'
Hay  76'		 Attendance: 12,117
Referee: E Norris
3 January 2009 SPL Heart of Midlothian 0–0 Hibernian Tynecastle, Edinburgh
Attendance: 17,244
Referee: Calum Murray
17 January 2009 SPL Hibernian 2–0 St Mirren Easter Road, Edinburgh
Jones  14'
Riordan  84'		 Attendance: 10,317
Referee: Iain Brines
24 January 2009 SPL Celtic 3–1 Hibernian Celtic Park, Glasgow
McDonald  3', 76'
McManus  9'		 Jones  17' Attendance: 58,930
Referee: David Somers
31 January 2009 SPL Hibernian 1–1 Motherwell Easter Road, Edinburgh
Riordan  7' Clarkson  77' (pen.) Attendance: 10,903
Referee: Mike McCurry
14 February 2009 SPL Kilmarnock 1–1 Hibernian Rugby Park, Kilmarnock
Hamill  76' Riordan  45' Attendance: 4,649
Referee: Chris Boyle
21 February 2009 SPL Inverness CT 2–0 Hibernian Caley Stadium, Inverness
Proctor  15'
Foran  65'		 Attendance: 4,116
Referee: Alan Muir
28 February 2009 SPL Hibernian 0–0 Falkirk Easter Road, Edinburgh
Attendance: 10,682
Referee: Stephen Finnie
4 March 2009 SPL Hamilton Academical 0–1 Hibernian New Douglas Park, Hamilton
Fletcher  80' Attendance: 4,046
Referee: Stevie O'Reilly
14 March 2009 SPL Hibernian 1–0 Heart of Midlothian Easter Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher  14' Attendance: 15,091
Referee: Charlie Richmond
21 March 2009 SPL Hibernian 0–0 Aberdeen Easter Road, Edinburgh
Attendance: 11,754
Referee: Mike McCurry
4 April 2009 SPL Dundee United 2–2 Hibernian Tannadice Park, Dundee
Kenneth  53'
Goodwillie  92'		 Nish  6', 10' Attendance: 6,623
Referee: Eddie Smith
13 April 2009 SPL St Mirren 1–1 Hibernian St Mirren Park, Paisley
Dorman  28' Fletcher  45' Attendance: 5,151
Referee: Iain Brines
19 April 2009 SPL Hibernian 2–3 Rangers Easter Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher  34'
Rankin  84'		 Whittaker  2'
Velička  53'
Edu  73'		 Attendance: 14,014
Referee: Steve Conroy
2 May 2009 SPL Hibernian 1–2 Dundee United Easter Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher  40' Feeney  28'
Goodwillie  89'		 Attendance: 10,591
Referee: Stevie O'Reilly
7 May 2009 SPL Heart of Midlothian 0–1 Hibernian Tynecastle, Edinburgh
Riordan  79' (pen.) Attendance: 14,714
Referee: Steve Conroy
13 May 2009 SPL Hibernian 1–1 Rangers Easter Road, Edinburgh
Riordan  41' Novo  80' Attendance: 13,765
Referee: Eddie Smith
17 May 2009 SPL Hibernian 0–0 Celtic Easter Road, Edinburgh
Attendance: 14,074
Referee: Iain Brines
24 May 2009 SPL Aberdeen 2–1 Hibernian Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Miller  13'
Mulgrew  45'		 Riordan  45' Attendance: 14,083
Referee: David Somers

Final table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1]
4 Aberdeen 38 14 11 13 41 40 +1 53 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round
5 Dundee United 38 13 14 11 47 50 −3 53
6 Hibernian 38 11 14 13 42 46 −4 47
7 Motherwell 38 13 9 16 46 51 −5 48 Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round[lower-alpha 2]
8 Kilmarnock 38 12 8 18 38 48 −10 44
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.
  2. Scotland were awarded an additional Europa League place as the association finished in third place of the UEFA Fair Play ranking. Motherwell earned this place as winners of the Scottish Fair Play ranking.

Scottish League Cup

Having failed to qualify for European competition in the previous season, Hibs entered the Scottish League Cup in the second round. They were drawn at home to First Division club Morton,[9] but suffered a shock 4–3 defeat after extra time.[10]

Two decisions by referee Iain Brines during the second period of extra time were perceived to be wrong by Mixu Paatelainen.[10] The first decision was to award Morton a penalty kick for handball by Dean Shiels, which led to their third goal.[10] The second decision was to award a direct free kick against Chris Hogg, which led to the fourth and winning Morton goal.[10] The incident involving Hogg caused him to suffer from headaches, which eventually forced Hogg to stop playing for nearly a month.[11]

Paatelainen threw a towel to the ground in disgust at the referee's decisions, which prompted Brines to send the Hibs manager to the stands.[10] The SFA subsequently banned Paatelainen from the technical area for four SPL matches.[12]

Results
26 August 2008 League Cup Hibernian 3–4
AET		 Greenock Morton Easter Road, Edinburgh
Keenan  80'
Shiels  85'
Pinau  91'		 Russell  29'
Masterton  66'
Russell  115' (pen.)
Harding  118'		 Attendance: 6,329
Referee: Brines

Scottish Cup

Hibs were drawn at home to Edinburgh derby rivals Hearts in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup. Hearts won the game 2–0 to extend Hibs' drought in the competition another year.[13] Steven Fletcher was sent off by referee Craig Thomson for a lunging tackle on Hearts captain Christophe Berra during the first half while the match was still goalless.[13] Hibs manager Mixu Paatelainen was critical of the referee's decision, and stated his belief that Hibs were the better side until the sending off.[13]

Results
11 January 2009 Scottish Cup Hibernian 0–2 Heart of Midlothian Easter Road, Edinburgh
Nadé  37'
Glen  90'		 Attendance: 14,837
Referee: Craig Thomson

Transfers
Hibernian home kit (2008-09)
Hibernian away kit (2008–09)

There was expected to be something of a clear-out of players during the 2008 summer transfer window because manager Mixu Paatelainen stated that he wanted to reduce the size of the first team squad from 32 players to around 25 players.[14] Paatelainen began this process by releasing four players who had been out on loan during the 2007–08 season. He also released left-back Abderraouf Zarabi, who had only been signed a few months previously.[15] Key midfielder Guillaume Beuzelin signed for Coventry City under freedom of contract.[16]

Right-back David van Zanten signed for Hibs, having made a pre-contract agreement to sign when his contract with St Mirren expired. Fabián Yantorno was given access to Hibs' medical facilities with a view to him signing when he recovered from a long-term injury sustained whilst playing for Gretna,[17][18] and he signed for Hibs in August. Former Nantes youth player Steven Thicot and former Chelsea player Joe Keenan were taken on trial and signed on in July.[19]

Hibs then trimmed their squad on the final day of the summer transfer window by releasing Martin Canning, Brian Kerr and Zibi Malkowski, but they brought in Dunfermline central defender Souleymane Bamba. Mixu Paatelainen was quoted as expecting a "busy day",[20] which was highlighted when Derek Riordan completed a much-anticipated return from Celtic.[21]

On 13 November, Hibs announced that they had signed Jonatan Johansson to a pre-contract agreement. Johansson was included in the squad from the start of January 2009,[22] and made his debut in the Edinburgh derby played on 3 January. Former Dundee United goalkeeper Grzegorz Szamotulski signed a deal with Hibs until the end of the season. Thierry Gathuessi and Filipe Morais, who had both been signed by John Collins in the summer of 2007 but fell out of favour under Mixu Paatelainen, were released on 8 January and both signed deals with Inverness Caledonian Thistle until the end of the season.[23][24]

Player stats

During the 2008–09 season, Hibs used 30 different players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.[29]

No. Pos Nat Player TotalSPLScottish CupLeague CupIntertoto Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK David Grof 1000001000
GK Yves Makabu-Makalambay 230210100010
GK Andrew McNeil 8060001010
GK Grzegorz Szamotulski 130120100000
DF Souleymane Bamba 300290100000
DF Martin Canning 2010000010
DF Paul Hanlon 9171000020
DF Chris Hogg 350310101020
DF Rob Jones 354324100020
DF Darren McCormack 8080000000
DF Ian Murray 320280101020
DF David van Zanten 330290101020
MF Ross Chisholm 210190000020
MF Jonatan Johansson 10090100000
MF Joe Keenan 161150001100
MF Brian Kerr 1000000010
MF Filipe Morais 4020001010
MF Alan O'Brien 260240100010
MF John Rankin 383343101020
MF Denes Rosa 120120000000
MF Dean Shiels 234203001120
MF Lewis Stevenson 320290101010
MF Steven Thicot 200200000000
MF Fabian Yantorno 7070000000
MF Merouane Zemmama 2010001000
FW Ross Campbell 3020000010
FW Steven Fletcher 38113411101020
FW Colin Nish 358318101020
FW Steve Pinau 9180001100
FW Derek Riordan 33123212100000

See also

Notes
  1. "Paatelainen parts with Hibernian". BBC Sport. 29 May 2009. Archived from the original on 30 May 2009. Retrieved 29 May 2009.
  2. "Hibernian youths complete double". BBC Sport. 29 April 2009. Archived from the original on 2 May 2009. Retrieved 29 April 2009.
  3. "Mixu: Short break no big deal for Hibs". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Press. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 18 May 2008.
  4. Pattullo, Alan (30 July 2008). "Relaxed Paatelainen says he will not quit". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. Retrieved 30 July 2008.
  5. Hibernian 0 – 1 Motherwell: Hibs' lack of quality their undoing, Scotland on Sunday, 31 August 2008.
  6. Hardie, David. Motherwell 1 – 4 Hibernian: Decisive victory ends Hibs' losing streak, Edinburgh Evening News, 22 November 2008.
  7. Paatelainen held culpable as Hibs toil to break out of spiral of decline, The Scotsman, 24 February 2009.
  8. Mixu Paatelainen finally finds joy in derby, The Times, 16 March 2009.
  9. Co-op Ins Cup - second round draw, BBC Sport, 11 August 2008.
  10. Hibs boss critical of ref Brines, BBC Sport, 26 August 2008.
  11. Gordon, Phil. Chris Hogg heartened by doctors’ news after torment of post-concussion, The Times, 30 October 2008.
  12. Grahame, Ewing. Hibernian's Mixu Paatelainen fails to overturn touchline ban, The Daily Telegraph, 23 October 2008.
  13. Hibs boss slams Fletcher red card, BBC Sport, 11 January 2009.
  14. Hibs squad to get a summer trim – Mixu, Edinburgh Evening News, 20 May 2008.
  15. Wright, Angus. Zarabi exits Hibs after four months, The Scotsman, 22 May 2008.
  16. Guillaume Beuzelin "lacked commitment" says Pat Stanton Archived 3 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Coventry Telegraph, 16 June 2008.
  17. Yantorno given chance with Hibs, BBC Sport, 9 April 2008.
  18. I'll prove I'm worth Hibs deal, Daily Record, 19 June 2008.
  19. Crowther, Stuart. Hibernian sign two, Hibernian official site.
  20. Etherson, Brian. Paatelainen expects busy day, Setanta Sports, 1 September 2008.
  21. Riordan reunited with his first love, The Scotsman, 2 September 2008.
  22. Johansson agrees Hibernian switch, BBC Sport, 13 November 2008.
  23. Hibs pair heading for Inverness, BBC Sport, 8 January 2009.
  24. SQUAD UPDATE Archived 9 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
  25. Dey, Graeme. Bamba on his way back to the SPL, The Courier, 1 September 2008.
  26. Etherson, Brian. Mixu welcomes 'matured' Riordan, Setanta Sports, 2 September 2008.
  27. Donaldson was sold for a "six-figure fee" according to BBC Sport.
  28. MIXU: FLETCHER WILL STAY LOYAL Archived 29 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Sporting Life, 2 February 2009.
  29. "Hibernian 2008/2009 player appearances". Soccerbase. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
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