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

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
2 July 2006 Intertoto CupHibernian5 – 0DinaburgEaster Road, Edinburgh
Killen  38'
Brown  49'
Sproule  72'
Murphy  75'
Fletcher  85'		 Attendance: 11,731
Referee: Sinisa Zrnic
8 July 2006 Intertoto CupDinaburg0 – 3HibernianCeltnieks Stadium, Daugavpils
Konte  18', 56'
Sproule  75'		 Attendance: 350
Referee: Petteri Kari
15 July 2006 Intertoto CupOdense1 – 0HibernianFionia Park, Odense
Sorensen  33' (pen.) Attendance: 2,341
Referee: Philippe Kalt
22 July 2006 Intertoto CupHibernian2 – 1OdenseEaster Road, Edinburgh
Jones  55'
Dalglish  80'		 Grahn  51' Attendance: 10,640
Referee: Matteo Trefoloni
25 July 2006 Friendly matchHibernian3 – 2Charlton AthleticEaster Road, Edinburgh
Brown
Brown
Campbell 		Hasselbaink
Walker 		Referee: Calum Murray

League season
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
29 July 2006 SPLHibernian1 – 1AberdeenEaster Road, Edinburgh
Shiels  31' Crawford  19' Attendance: 15,046
Referee: Stuart Dougal
5 August 2006 SPLKilmarnock2 – 1HibernianRugby Park, Kilmarnock
Nish  48'
Naismith  72'		 Shiels  31' Attendance: 6,299
Referee: Mike McCurry
12 August 2006 SPLInverness CT0 – 0HibernianCaley Stadium, Inverness
Attendance: 4,623
Referee: Iain Brines
19 August 2006 SPLHibernian3 – 1MotherwellEaster Road, Edinburgh
Benjelloun  30'
Brown  65'
Jones  82'		 McDonald  90' Attendance: 13,274
Referee: Dougie McDonald
26 August 2006 SPLCeltic2 – 1HibernianCeltic Park, Glasgow
Zurawski  62'
Vennegoor of Hesselink  66'		 Brown  8' Attendance: 58,078
Referee: Charlie Richmond
10 September 2006 SPLDundee United0 – 3HibernianTannadice Park, Dundee
Killen  52'
Shiels  81'
Sproule  90'		 Attendance: 6,387
Referee: Craig Thomson
17 September 2006 SPLHibernian2 – 1RangersEaster Road, Edinburgh
Killen  8', 81' Sebo  65' Attendance: 16,450
Referee: John Underhill
23 September 2006 SPLHibernian0 – 1FalkirkEaster Road, Edinburgh
Milne  9' Attendance: 14,828
Referee: Alan Freeland
30 September 2006 SPLSt Mirren1 – 0HibernianLove Street, Paisley
van Zanten  39' Attendance: 6,008
Referee: Stuart Dougal
15 October 2006 SPLHibernian2 – 2Heart of MidlothianEaster Road, Edinburgh
Zemmama  5'
Killen  16'		 Velicka  28', 72' Attendance: 16,623
Referee: Charlie Richmond
23 October 2006 SPLDunfermline Athletic0 – 4HibernianEast End Park, Dunfermline
Sproule  44'
Killen  62', 90'
Benjelloun  89'		 Attendance: 6,057
Referee: Mike McCurry
30 October 2006 SPLAberdeen2 – 1HibernianPittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Miller  56'
Severin  90'		 Killen  47' Attendance: 11,179
Referee: Kenny Clark
4 November 2006 SPLHibernian2 – 2KilmarnockEaster Road, Edinburgh
Stewart  53'
Fletcher  57'		 Martis  48' (o.g.)
Naismith  65'		 Attendance: 13,510
Referee: Charlie Richmond
11 November 2006 SPLHibernian2 – 0Inverness CTEaster Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher  65'
Killen  83' (pen.)		 Attendance: 12,868
Referee: John Underhill
18 November 2006 SPLMotherwell1 – 6HibernianFir Park, Motherwell
McGarry  83' Brown  10'
Killen  25'
Sproule  29', 40'
Jones  73'
Shiels  90'		 Attendance: 6,190
Referee: Iain Brines
26 November 2006 SPLHibernian2 – 2CelticEaster Road, Edinburgh
Sproule  12'
Thomson  63'		 Sno  70'
McGeady  74'		 Attendance: 16,747
Referee: Mike McCurry
2 December 2006 SPLHibernian2 – 1Dundee UnitedEaster Road, Edinburgh
Jones  45'
Fletcher  73'		 Martis  24' (o.g.) Attendance: 14,032
Referee: Steve Conroy
9 December 2006 SPLRangers3 – 0HibernianIbrox Stadium, Glasgow
Prso  16'
Sionko  32'
Ferguson  36'		 Attendance: 49,708
Referee: Iain Brines
16 December 2006 SPLFalkirk2 – 1HibernianFalkirk Stadium, Falkirk
Martis  14' (o.g.)
Craig  21'		 Fletcher  56' Attendance: 6,142
Referee: Charlie Richmond
23 December 2006 SPLHibernian5 – 1St MirrenEaster Road, Edinburgh
Beuzelin  21'
Killen  32'
Shiels  58'
Zemmama  65'
Benjelloun  74'		 Sutton  41' Attendance: 13,053
Referee: Craig Thomson
26 December 2006 SPLHeart of Midlothian3 – 2HibernianTynecastle, Edinburgh
Hartley  2'
Jankauskas  49'
Mikoliunas  70'		 Killen  55'
Shiels  61' (pen.)		 Attendance: 17,369
Referee: Mike McCurry
30 December 2006 SPLHibernian2 – 0Dunfermline AthleticEaster Road, Edinburgh
Killen  63', 72' (pen.) Attendance: 14,061
Referee: Iain Brines
2 January 2007 SPLHibernian0 – 0AberdeenEaster Road, Edinburgh
Attendance: 16,278
Referee: Brian Winter
15 January 2007 SPLKilmarnock0 – 2HibernianRugby Park, Kilmarnock
Sproule  51'
Fletcher  87'		 Attendance: 4,963
Referee: Charlie Richmond
21 January 2007 SPLInverness CT3 – 0HibernianCaley Stadium, Inverness
Dargo  20'
McBain  30'
Wilson  42'		 Attendance: 4,577
Referee: William Collum
27 January 2007 SPLHibernian2 – 0MotherwellEaster Road, Edinburgh
Brown  66'
Benjelloun  90'		 Attendance: 14,280
Referee: Mike McCurry
10 February 2007 SPLCeltic1 – 0HibernianCeltic Park, Glasgow
Beattie  54' Attendance: 59,659
Referee: Stuart Dougal
18 February 2007 SPLDundee United0 – 0HibernianTannadice Park, Dundee
Attendance: 6,453
Referee: Kenny Clark
4 March 2007 SPLHibernian0 – 2RangersEaster Road, Edinburgh
Adam  4', 60' Attendance: 16,265
Referee: Charlie Richmond
10 March 2007 SPLHibernian2 – 0FalkirkEaster Road, Edinburgh
Benjelloun  52', 74' Attendance: 12,572
Referee: Craig Thomson
1 April 2007 SPLHibernian0 – 1Heart of MidlothianEaster Road, Edinburgh
Zaliukas  81' Attendance: 15,953
Referee: Kenny Clark
4 April 2007 SPLSt Mirren1 – 1HibernianLove Street, Paisley
Sutton  89' Jones  20' Attendance: 4,031
Referee: Iain Brines
7 April 2007 SPLDunfermline Athletic1 – 0HibernianEast End Park, Dunfermline
McGuire  84' Attendance: 6,001
Referee: Craig Mackay
21 April 2007 SPLAberdeen2 – 2HibernianPittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Anderson  25'
Foster  80'		 Gray  19'
Shiels  44'		 Attendance: 9,753
Referee: Stuart Dougal
28 April 2007 SPLHibernian3 – 3RangersEaster Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher  20'
McCann  45'
Whittaker  62'		 Adam  24', 78'
Hutton  54'		 Attendance: 16,747
Referee: Charlie Richmond
5 May 2007 SPLHibernian0 – 1KilmarnockEaster Road, Edinburgh
Nish  49' Attendance: 10,674
Referee: David Somers
12 May 2007 SPLHeart of Midlothian2 – 0HibernianTynecastle, Edinburgh
Pospisil  1'
Driver  23'		 Attendance: 17,349
Referee: Stuart Dougal
20 May 2007 SPLHibernian2 – 1CelticEaster Road, Edinburgh
Brown  60'
Sproule  90'		 Riordan  56' Attendance: 13,885
Referee: Iain Brines

Final table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1]
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
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
22 August 2006 Scottish League CupHibernian4 – 0PeterheadEaster Road, Edinburgh
Good  7' (o.g.)
Benjelloun  32'
Brown  52'
McCluskey  66' (pen.)		 Attendance: 5,500
Referee: Chris Boyle
20 September 2006 Scottish League CupHibernian6 – 0GretnaEaster Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher  11'
Brown  18'
Jones  20'
Shiels  24', 63'
Benjelloun  72'		 Attendance: 11,075
Referee: Craig Thomson
8 November 2006 Scottish League CupHibernian1 – 0Heart of MidlothianEaster Road, Edinburgh
Jones  32' Attendance: 15,825
Referee: Calum Murray
31 January 2007 Scottish League CupSt Johnstone1 – 3 (a.e.t.)HibernianTynecastle, Edinburgh
Scotland  76' Fletcher  3'
Murphy  92'
Benjelloun  120'		 Attendance: 16,112
Referee: Craig Thomson
18 March 2007 Scottish League CupKilmarnock1 – 5HibernianHampden Park, Glasgow
Greer  77' Jones  28'
Benjelloun  59', 85'
Fletcher  66', 87'		 Attendance: 52,000
Referee: Dougie McDonald

Scottish Cup
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
10 January 2007 Scottish CupAberdeen2 – 2HibernianPittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Brewster  58'
Nicholson  89'		 Sproule  43'
Killen  73'		 Attendance: 7,905
Referee: Craig Thomson
18 January 2007 Scottish CupHibernian4 – 1AberdeenEaster Road, Edinburgh
Fletcher  13'
Stewart  45'
Benjelloun  47', 56'		 Nicholson  10' Attendance: 11,375
Referee: Craig Thomson
3 February 2007 Scottish CupHibernian3 – 1GretnaEaster Road, Edinburgh
Jones  28'
Fleming  54' (o.g.)
Benjelloun  59'		 Berkeley  80' Attendance: 14,075
Referee: Iain Brines
24 February 2007 Scottish CupQueen of the South1 – 2HibernianPalmerston Park, Dumfries
O'Neill  48' Murphy  45'
Sowunmi  51'		 Attendance: 6,400
Referee: Stuart Dougal
15 April 2007 Scottish CupHibernian0 – 0Dunfermline AthleticHampden Park, Glasgow
Attendance: 25,336
Referee: Craig Thomson
24 April 2007 Scottish CupDunfermline Athletic1 – 0HibernianHampden Park, Glasgow
McIntyre  88' (pen.) Attendance: 8,536
Referee: Craig Thomson

Transfers
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 Atthletic.

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

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

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 TotalSPLScottish CupLeague CupIntertoto Cup
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
GK Simon Brown 10040200040
GK Zibi Malkowski 220190003000
GK Andrew McNeil 220150502000
DF Chris Hogg 240150401040
DF Rob Jones 499344615341
DF Oumar Kondé 3030000000
DF Shelton Martis 340270205000
DF Dermot McCaffrey 1010000000
DF Kevin McCann 12181202000
DF David Murphy 473330515141
DF Jay Shields 6040002000
DF Steven Whittaker 491351604040
MF Guillaume Beuzelin 341251603000
MF Scott Brown 428305505221
MF Ross Chisholm 7060100000
MF Stephen Glass 130100001020
MF Sean Lynch 5030200000
MF Jamie McCluskey 8150002110
MF Dean Shiels 339237403230
MF Ivan Sproule 4610327614042
MF Lewis Stevenson 240160602000
MF Michael Stewart 392291313040
MF Kevin Thomson 311231103040
MF Merouane Zemmama 262232003000
FW Abdessalam Benjelloun 4514336635510
FW Ross Campbell 4030100000
FW Paul Dalglish 5120000031
FW Steven Fletcher 4412316515431
FW Damon Gray 5131200000
FW Chris Killen 24151813112031
FW Amadou Konte 3210000022
FW Thomas Sowunmi 6150110000

See also

Notes
  1. "Average Home League Game Attendances". www.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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