2007–08 Hibernian F.C. season

September 2020 Hibernian 2007–08 Rod Petrie John Collins Mixu Paatelainen SPL 6th Scottish Cup Fifth round CIS Cup Third round Fletcher, 13 Fletcher, 14 2006–07 2008–09 Season 2007–08 for Hibernian could be split into three distinct parts: a great unbeaten start to the Scottish Premier League season that temporarily took the club to the top of the league;https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/scot_prem/7029174.stm Rangers 0–1 Hibernian BBC Sport 6 October 2007 7 October 2007 https://web.archive.org/web/20071011013315/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/7029174.stm 11 October 2007 live a terrible middle phase which saw a long winless run and the resignation of John Collins as Hibs manager;https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hibernian/7153893.stm Collins resigns as Hibs manager BBC Sport BBC 20 December 2007 and, finally, a modest recovery under the management of Mixu Paatelainen, who was appointed in January 2008. This took Hibs into the top half of the SPL, but short of third place and the UEFA Cup spot, which was won by Motherwell. Pre-season Hibs started pre-season training at a training centre in Austria, where they worked with fitness coach Roger Propos.http://sport.scotsman.com/hibernianfc/Well-be-SPLs-man-mountains.3301590.jp We'll be SPL's man mountains Edinburgh Evening News 5 July 2007 5 May 2008 At the end of the week they played SV Vöcklabruck in their first pre-season friendly. John Collins used this game to experiment, using 21 different players as Hibs lost the match 3–2. Returning to Scotland, Hibs played a friendly against Brechin, which they won 2–0 with goals from Abdessalam Benjelloun and Clayton Donaldson. Four days later, Hibs routed First Division new boys Stirling Albion 5–0. Hibs then played their third friendly in eight days at the Almondvale Stadium, where they left it late against Livingston. Hibs eventually won 2–0 through goals by Steven Fletcher and Merouane Zemmama, who scored on a rebound from a penalty taken by Ross Chisholm. Hibs rounded off their pre-season campaign with two friendlies against Premiership opposition, beating Bolton Wanderers 3–0 and Middlesbrough 1–0. Results L 7 July 2007 Friendly match 3–2 SV Vöcklabruck Hibernian Benjelloun Joneleit Voralpenstadion, Vöcklabruck 193 W 10 July 2007 Friendly match 0–2 Brechin City Hibernian Benjelloun Donaldson Glebe Park, Brechin 661 Willie Hornby W 14 July 2007 Friendly match 0–5 Stirling Albion Hibernian Benjelloun , Trialist Beuzelin Donaldson Forthbank Stadium, Stirling 1,757 Alan Muir W 18 July 2007 Friendly match 0–2 Livingston Hibernian Shiels Zemmama Almondvale, Livingston 3,162 Steven Nicholls W 25 July 2007 Friendly match 3–0 Hibernian Fletcher Murphy Benjelloun Bolton Wanderers Easter Road, Edinburgh 8,256 Dougie McDonald W 28 July 2007 Friendly match 1–0 Hibernian Campbell Middlesbrough Easter Road, Edinburgh 9,082 Mike Tumilty League season right|thumb|Hibs 3–3 Aberdeen, 25 August 2007 Hibs got the season off to a dream start by beating Edinburgh derby rivals Hearts 1–0 at Tynecastle. Brian Kerr, who was making his competitive debut for Hibs, scored the goal in the second minute. Hibs continued their winning start to the season, coming from 2–0 down to beat Gretna 4–2. Hibs extended their unbeaten run with two draws, 0–0 away to Dundee Utd and 3–3 at home with Aberdeen. In the latter game, Hibs had to come back from 3–1 down after two clear mistakes by their goalkeeper, Yves Ma-Kalambay. Hibs then beat Inverness 1–0 in their next game, during which Ma-Kalambay saved a penalty taken by Marius Niculae. Despite being unbeaten in the league, Hibs were expected to struggle in the next three games, as they were due to play both of the Old Firm. Hibs upset league champions Celtic at Easter Road 3–2, although they were aided by two clear errors made by Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc. Hibs then bounced back from their disappointing CIS Cup exit by beating Kilmarnock 4–1, mainly thanks to a hat trick by Clayton Donaldson. In the following match, Hibs beat Rangers 1–0 at Ibrox to temporarily go top of the SPL and extend their unbeaten league run to 10 games, including the last game of the 2006–07 season. Hibs then started a dreadful run of form by losing their next two games against Motherwell and St Mirren. After a 1–0 victory over Gretna, Hibs went on a run of 11 games without a win in the SPL. By the end of 2007, Hibs had fallen out of the top six. This slump prompted the resignation of manager John Collins in December. right|thumb|Hibs 0–0 Rangers,4 May 2008 Mixu Paatelainen was appointed as manager on 10 January 2008. Hibs won their first game under him, defeating Inverness 3–0 in the Scottish Cup, but lost their first league game, 1–0 in the derby at Tynecastle. Hibs won four successive league games in February, defeating Gretna 4–2, Aberdeen 3–1, Inverness 2–0 and Falkirk 2–0. Hibs lost their next league game 2–0 against Celtic, but bounced back to win their next two games, 1–0 against Motherwell and 2–0 against Kilmarnock. This completed a run of 6 wins in 7 league games. Hibs lost their next two games to Rangers and Motherwell, but defeated St Mirren 2–0 in their last game before the SPL split. Hibs guaranteed a spot in the Intertoto Cup by finishing in the top six at the split. This was because Falkirk, the only other SPL side who applied to enter the competition, finished in the bottom half of the table and therefore could no longer overtake Hibs. Hibs were in contention for a UEFA Cup place at this point, but then only took two points from the five games after the league split and finished in sixth place. Results W 6 August 2007 SPL 0–1 Heart of Midlothian Hibernian Kerr 2 Tynecastle, Edinburgh 16,436 Stuart Dougal W 11 August 2007 SPL 4–2 Hibernian Zemmama 64 82 Fletcher 66McCann 90 Gretna Yantorno 17 McMenamin 49 Easter Road, Edinburgh 13,795 David Somers D 18 August 2007 SPL 0–0 Dundee United Hibernian Tannadice Park, Dundee 8,405 Mike McCurry D 25 August 2007 SPL 3–3 Hibernian Zemmama 5 Fletcher 70 Shiels 84 Aberdeen Brewster 18 37 Smith 57 Easter Road, Edinburgh 15,280 Brian Winter W 1 September 2007 SPL 1–0 Hibernian Fletcher 2 pen. Inverness CT Easter Road, Edinburgh 13,258 Eddie Smith D 15 September 2007 SPL 1–1 Falkirk Moutinho 47 Hibernian Donaldson 5 pen. Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk 6,298 William Collum W 23 September 2007 SPL 3–2 Hibernian Fletcher 5 Gathuessi 41 Shiels 87 Celtic McGeady 26 Caldwell 66 Easter Road, Edinburgh 16,125 Alan Freeland W 29 September 2007 SPL 4–1 Hibernian Donaldson 12 31 pen. 78 pen. Antoine-Curier 65 Kilmarnock Nish 76 Easter Road, Edinburgh 14,500 Stuart Dougal W 6 October 2007 SPL 0–1 Rangers Hibernian Murphy 61 Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow 50,440 Kenny Clark L 20 October 2007 SPL 2–1 Motherwell McCormack 35 37 Hibernian Fletcher 31 pen. Fir Park, Motherwell 7,071 Charlie Richmond L 27 October 2007 SPL 0–1 Hibernian St Mirren Mehmet 13 Easter Road, Edinburgh 13,884 Chris Boyle D 4 November 2007 SPL 1–1 Hibernian Berra 18 o.g. Heart of Midlothian Nade 46 Easter Road, Edinburgh 17,015 Charlie Richmond W 10 November 2007 SPL 0–1 Gretna Hibernian Fletcher 52 Fir Park, Motherwell 2,666 Eddie Smith D 24 November 2007 SPL 2–2 Hibernian Benjelloun 77 Antoine-Curier 82 pen. Dundee United Robertson 66 74 Easter Road, Edinburgh 14,440 William Collum L 2 December 2007 SPL 3–1 Aberdeen Miller 33 Clark 47 Young 86 Hibernian Fletcher 24 Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen 10,110 Craig Thomson L 8 December 2007 SPL 2–0 Inverness CT Niculae 42 78 Hibernian Caley Stadium, Inverness 4,224 Kenny Clark D 15 December 2007 SPL 1–1 Hibernian Donaldson 21 pen. Falkirk Barrett 80 Easter Road, Edinburgh 12,391 Iain Brines D 22 December 2007 SPL 1–1 Celtic Jarosik 78 Hibernian Murphy 20 Celtic Park, Glasgow 58,016 Mike McCurry L 26 December 2007 SPL 2–1 Kilmarnock Nish 36 Taouil 75 Hibernian Shiels 90 pen. Rugby Park, Kilmarnock 6,372 Mike McCurry L 29 December 2007 SPL 1–2 Hibernian Zemmama 88 Rangers Naismith 12 Cousin 59 Easter Road, Edinburgh 16,217 Charlie Richmond L 5 January 2008 SPL 2–1 St Mirren Maxwell 4 Mason 43 Hibernian Antoine-Curier 89 Love Street, Paisley 4,212 Kenny Clark L 19 January 2008 SPL 1–0 Heart of Midlothian Velicka 20 Hibernian Tynecastle, Edinburgh 17,131 Kenny Clark D 9 February 2008 SPL 1–1 Dundee United Hunt 13 pen. Hibernian Rankin 46 Tannadice Park, Dundee 6,635 Eddie Smith W 13 February 2008 SPL 4–2 Hibernian Nish 10 Fletcher 19 58 90 pen. Gretna Skelton 88 Deuchar 88 Easter Road, Edinburgh 12,087 Iain Brines W 17 February 2008 SPL 3–1 Hibernian Zemmama 49 Shiels 55 Fletcher 90 Aberdeen Diamond 18 Easter Road, Edinburgh 13,825 Charlie Richmond W 23 February 2008 SPL 2–0 Hibernian Nish 3 Fletcher 5 Inverness CT Easter Road, Edinburgh 12,522 Kenny Clark W 27 February 2008 SPL 0–2 Falkirk Hibernian Ross 12 o.g. Rankin 52 Falkirk Stadium, Falkirk 5,928 Steve Conroy L 1 March 2008 SPL 0–2 Hibernian Celtic Naylor 64 Samaras 75 Easter Road, Edinburgh 15,735 Iain Brines W 12 March 2008 SPL 1–0 Hibernian Nish 52 Motherwell Easter Road, Edinburgh 11,692 William Collum W 15 March 2008 SPL 2–0 Hibernian Morais 29 Fletcher 73 Kilmarnock Easter Road, Edinburgh 12,486 Charlie Richmond L 22 March 2008 SPL 2–1 Rangers Darcheville 40 Novo 79 Hibernian Shiels 90 Ibrox Stadium, Glasgow 50,117 Steve Conroy L 29 March 2008 SPL 1–0 Motherwell Clarkson 3 Hibernian Fir Park, Motherwell 6,580 Kenny Clark W 5 April 2008 SPL 2–0 Hibernian Nish 4 Zemmama 5 St Mirren Easter Road, Edinburgh 13,161 Stephen Finnie D 20 April 2008 SPL 1–1 Dundee United Hunt 60 pen. Hibernian Shiels 57 Tannadice Park, Dundee 7,404 Eddie Smith L 26 April 2008 SPL 2–1 Aberdeen Mackie 63 Miller 70 pen. Hibernian Shiels 54 Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen 8,387 Stuart Dougal D 4 May 2008 SPL 0–0 Hibernian Rangers Easter Road, Edinburgh 16,872 Calum Murray L 11 May 2008 SPL 2–0 Celtic McManus 37 McDonald 87 Hibernian Celtic Park, Glasgow 58,515 Dougie McDonald L 22 May 2008 SPL 0–2 Hibernian Motherwell Lappin 4 Murphy 50 pen. Easter Road, Edinburgh 10,754 Charlie Richmond Final table HIB Scottish League Cup Hibs started their defence of the CIS Cup with a 2–1 win over Queen's Park at Hampden. After the game, manager John Collins was quick to praise Filipe Morais, who scored the opening goal. They were drawn to play Motherwell at home in the next round. Hibs took the lead through an early goal by Clayton Donaldson, but Motherwell ran out comfortable 4–2 winners, ending Hibs' defence of the Cup and their unbeaten start to the season. Results W 28 August 2007 Scottish League Cup 1–2 Queen's Park Dunlop 62 Hibernian Morais 56 Fletcher 58 Hampden Park, Glasgow 2,343 Eddie Smith L 26 September 2007 Scottish League Cup 2–4 Hibernian Donaldson 11 Antoine-Curier 85 Motherwell Clarkson 17 Lasley 20 McCormack 24 Porter 83 Easter Road, Edinburgh 7,000 Mike Tummilty Scottish Cup Hibs progressed to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup after a 3–0 win over Inverness. Dean Shiels scored a hat-trick. They were then drawn against league leaders Rangers in the next round, and drew the first game 0–0 at Easter Road. Rangers finished the match with ten men after Allan McGregor was sent off for a professional foul on Shiels. The tie was replayed at Ibrox on 9 March, but Hibs lost 0–1 to a goal by Chris Burke while Hibs were temporarily down to 10 men due to an injury sustained by Ian Murray. Rangers again had a player sent off late on the match (Nacho Novo), but Hibs were unable to take advantage of the extra man. Results W 12 January 2008 Scottish Cup 3–0 Hibernian Shiels 5 53 84 Inverness CT Easter Road 12,578 Steve Conroy D 3 February 2008 Scottish Cup 0–0 Hibernian Rangers Easter Road 11,513 Craig Thomson L 9 March 2008 Scottish Cup 1–0 Rangers Burke 39 Hibernian Ibrox Stadium 33,837 Craig Thomson Transfers left FFFFFF 1A732F FFFFFF 1A732F 1A732F Hibernian home kit (2007–08) right 111111 111111 111111 111111 111111 Hibernian away kit (2007–08) Hibs lost several key players in the 2007 close season. Star player Scott Brown was sold to Celtic for £4.4 million,Celtic win race for Hibs' Brown, BBC Sport, 15 May 2007. while Chris Killen, Hibs' top goalscorer in 2006–07, also moved to Celtic.Celtic confirm signing of Killen, BBC Sport, 31 May 2007. Ivan Sproule was sold to Bristol City for an undisclosed fee, estimated to be around £500,000.Bristol City sign Hibs' Sproule, BBC Sport, 28 June 2007. Defender Shelton Martis joined up with former Hibs manager Tony Mowbray at West Brom for £50,000. Hibs manager John Collins made several signings in an effort to replace those players. These included the Bosman signings of Brian Kerr, Clayton Donaldson, goalkeeper Yves Ma-Kalambay and Republic of Ireland international Alan O'Brien from Newcastle.Alan O'Brien Joins Hibernian https://web.archive.org/web/20070927185011/http://www.hibs.co.uk/news/more.php?id=2240_0_1_0_C 27 September 2007 , Hibernian official site. German youth international Torben Joneleit was taken on loan from AS Monaco.Joneleit latest recruit https://web.archive.org/web/20070927185020/http://www.hibs.co.uk/news/more.php?id=2243_0_1_0_C 27 September 2007 , Hibernian official site. On the last day of the summer transfer window, Hibs signed striker Mickaël Antoine-Curier from FK Haugesund for a nominal fee.Mickael Antoine-Curier https://web.archive.org/web/20070927184949/http://www.hibs.co.uk/news/more.php?id=2339_0_1_0_C 27 September 2007 , Hibernian official site. During the January transfer window, new Hibs manager Mixu Paatelainen strengthened the squad by bringing in defenders Abderraouf Zarabi, Ian Murray and Martin Canning. He also signed midfielder John Rankin and striker Colin Nish. Unlike most of the summer signings, all of the winter signings, except Zarabi, had significant experience of playing in Scottish football. David Murphy was the only major transfer out during the winter, joining Birmingham for a fee of £1.5M. Players in PlayerFromFeeSCO Brian Kerr Motherwell FreeEngland Clayton Donaldson York City FreeRepublic of Ireland Alan O'Brien Newcastle United £200,000DR Congo Yves Ma-Kalambay Chelsea £100,000 Cameroon Thierry Gathuessi Sète Free Portugal Filipe Morais Millwall Free France Mickaël Antoine-Curier Haugesund Nominal Fee France Patrick Noubissie Swindon Town Free SCO Ian Murray Norwich City Free SCO John Rankin Inverness CT £110,000 SCO Colin Nish Kilmarnock £100,000 Algeria Abderraouf Zarabi Gueugnon Undisclosed fee SCO Martin Canning Gretna Free Players out PlayerToFeeSCO Scott Brown Celtic £4,400,000Northern Ireland Ivan Sproule Bristol City £500,000New Zealand Chris Killen Celtic FreeEngland Simon Brown Brentford FreeSCO Michael Stewart Heart of Midlothian FreeNetherlands Antilles Shelton Martis West Brom £50,000SCO Kevin McDonald Airdrie United FreeSCO Steven Whittaker Rangers £2,000,000England David Murphy Birmingham £1,500,000 Loans in PlayerFromGermany Torben Joneleit AS Monaco Loans out PlayerToPoland Zbigniew Małkowski InvernessNorthern Ireland Dermot McCaffrey LivingstonFrance Patrick Noubissie DundeeFrance Mickaël Antoine-Curier DundeeSCO Sean Lynch St JohnstoneEngland Damon Gray Partick Thistle Player stats During the 2007–08 season, Hibs used 30 different players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.http://www.soccerbase.com/squad_season.sd?teamid=1227 Hibernian 2007/2008 player appearances Soccerbase 23 November 2008 SPL Scottish Cup League Cup Yves Ma-Kalambay GK Belgium 29 0 3 0 2 0 Andrew McNeil GK Scotland 10 0 0 0 0 0 Martin Canning DF Scotland 11 0 0 0 0 0 Thierry Gathuessi DF Cameroon 23 1 1 0 1 0 Paul Hanlon DF Scotland 7 0 2 0 0 0 Chris Hogg DF England 34 0 3 0 1 0 Torben Joneleit DF Germany 2 0 0 0 1 0 Rob Jones DF England 30 0 3 0 1 0 Kevin McCann DF Scotland 19 1 2 0 2 0 Darren McCormack DF Scotland 4 0 1 0 1 0 David Murphy DF England 17 2 0 0 1 0 Abderraouf Zarabi DF Algeria 7 0 1 0 0 0 Guillaume Beuzelin MF France 27 0 1 0 2 0 Ross Chisholm MF Scotland 18 0 0 0 1 0 Brian Kerr MF Scotland 25 1 3 0 2 0 Filipe Morais MF Portugal 28 1 2 0 2 1 Ian Murray MF Scotland 15 0 2 0 0 0 Patrick Noubissie MF France 4 0 0 0 0 0 Alan O'Brien MF Republic of Ireland 23 0 3 0 1 0 John Rankin MF Scotland 17 2 2 0 0 0 Dean Shiels MF Northern Ireland 22 7 3 3 2 0 Lewis Stevenson MF Scotland 21 0 0 0 2 0 Merouane Zemmama MF Morocco 28 6 2 0 1 0 Mickael Antoine-Curier FW France 13 3 1 0 1 1 Abdessalam Benjelloun FW Morocco 15 1 2 0 1 0 Ross Campbell FW Scotland 5 0 0 0 0 0 Clayton Donaldson FW England 18 5 1 0 2 1 Steven Fletcher FW Scotland 32 13 2 0 1 1 Damon Gray FW England 2 0 0 0 0 0 Colin Nish FW Scotland 15 4 0 0 0 0 |} See also List of Hibernian F.C. seasons References External links Hibernian F.C. Fixtures Guide – 2007/2008 Season, Hibernian official site Hibernian 2007–08 results and fixtures, Soccerbase Category:Hibernian F.C. seasons Hibernian