BEST&WORST HIBERNIAN
Matty Fairnie from Hibs podcast Longbangers relives Scottish Cup joy, Terry Butcher woe and a heroic squirrel
AROUND THE GROUNDS
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BEST: Andy Goram, David Gray, Rob Jones, Lewis Stevenson, Franck Sauzee [right], Scott Brown, Russell Latapy, Pat Stanton, John McGinn, Martin Boyle, Derek Riordan. WORST: Zibi Malkowski, Michael Hart, Daniel Boateng, Pa Kujabi, Colin Murdock, Phil Airey, Edwin de Graaf, Joe Keenan, Alan O’Brien, Islam Feruz, Eduardo Hurtado.
PLAYER
B: There’s plenty of competition but, for my generation, it’s ‘Le God’ Franck Sauzee: an absolute master of football. W: There’s plenty of competition for this too, but the worst was Eduardo ‘The Tank’ Hurtado. Actual tanks have a smaller turning circle and a better turn of pace.
MOMENT
B: Sir David Gray’s glorious baldy napper connecting with a Liam Henderson corner to win the Scottish Cup in 2016 [right], ending a 114-year hoodoo. W: Hamilton Academical turning around a two-goal deficit to relegate Hibs on penalties in 2014.
GAME
B: Taking that all-too-obvious Scottish Cup final victory in 2016 out of the equation, 2000’s famous 6-2 win over Hearts is every Hibees’ next favourite. W: The 2021 Scottish Cup Final, with one of the worst Hibs performances in years, was bleak. The only saving grace was that we all had to watch it on TV. Zero stars, would not recommend.
GOAL
B: Latapy sealed the emphatic 6-2 derby romp with a sublime volley. The little magician picked the ball up in the Hearts half, turned a defender inside-out, played a one-two and then hammered it past Antti Niemi. W: More or less any goal scored by Christian Doidge. The Welshman was prolific in his first season but managed to make every goal look accidental.
SEASON
B: The 2015-16 season is the obvious choice thanks to the Scottish Cup win, but the first campaign back in the top flight under Neil Lennon in 2017-18 was also brilliant, culminating in a 5-5 draw against Rangers at Easter Road. Hibs played some exceptional football with a midfield of Scott Allan, Dylan McGeouch and Super John McGinn. W: The 2013-14 season had very few redeeming features. It started with a 7-0 drubbing in Europe to Malmo. We were knocked out of the League Cup by Hearts at Easter Road, then Terry Butcher oversaw our relegation, but not before we were put out of t
