Riordan bound for Anderlecht

[celtic76]

This would seriously damage Hibs SPL and Champions League contentions next season.

http://home.skysports.com/list.asp?hlid=329332&CPID=14&clid=&lid=7&title=Belgians+close+on+Riordan

[YankHibee]

I dont think anyone expected him to stay after his contract expired, but losing him in January would be disappointing. We'll live without him.

[Scottish_Morton]

Hibs have a fantastic young side at the moment but I don't think it will be too long before it is broken up. I can see Riordan, O'Conner, Thompson, Whittaker and Brown all leaving in the next year or so.

[YankHibee]

If Hibs can stay in 2nd or 3rd this year we will keep most of those guys for another two at least. At least we will get decent fees for those guys now.

[celtic76]

If Hibs can stay in 2nd or 3rd this year we will keep most of those guys for another two at least. At least we will get decent fees for those guys now.
Personally I penciled you guys to finish 2nd and maybe gain a suprise entry in the group stages of CL next season. I think Hearts is begining to show the signs of not having enough depth which will sink them to third when all is said and done. Who knows maybe Anderlecht won't pony up the money he is looking for and he will stay at Hibs until atleast the summer window.

[Teso Dos Bichos]

He can do a lot better.

[nach0king]

Personally I penciled you guys to finish 2nd and maybe gain a suprise entry in the group stages of CL next season. I think Hearts is begining to show the signs of not having enough depth which will sink them to third when all is said and done.

Oh aye, and Hibs squad's just loaded with seasoned campaigners.

[themodelcitizen]

if Hibs make the champions league group stages then the financial windfall will be double or triple what the club's entire finances stand at. It gives you an idea of how valuable that is to teams like Everton much less Hibernian!

[Eddie26]

He can do a lot better.

I agree. All Anderlect can offer him is CL football. Sticking it out with Hibs might just bring him that as well.

[Olson50]

I'm a long-time Hibs supporter but I'll tell you now that we are not bound for the Champions League this season or any other season in the foreseeable future. Tony Mowbray has a good young team but the consistency isn't there and I'm afraid the best we can hope for this season is 3rd place and a UEFA Cup spot, or maybe a run at the Scottish Cup.

Unfortunately we raise our game against the likes of the Old Firm and Hearts but then lose games to teams like Dunfermline, Falkirk, Dundee United and Caley Thistle. We ought to be at least 12 points in front of Rangers right now but instead they're only 6 points back and that can be made up easily. When Rangers have dropped points and we've had the chance to solidify our advantage in the table, we haven't taken those opportunities often enough and that is more than likely to come back and bite us in the arse later on this season.

Of course, the experience we're gaining this season could be invaluable for future campaigns. However, that's extremely unlikely as the current young squad will be picked apart by the Old Firm and others as their contracts near expiry or as we're made offers we realistically can't refuse.

Derek Riordan is gone when his contract expires in October, if not sooner, with Sheffield Wednesday the latest club to put in an offer (said to be in the region of £250,000 - a bargain but the best we're likely to get because of his contract situation). Scott Brown is said to be a target for Rangers during the January transfer window even though he has 2 years left on his current deal. It's been said we will sell for a fee in the £1 million region if the Huns are willing to pay it. And it's only a matter of time until the Garry O'Connor rumours start up again and until Ivan Sproule has to take the next step in his career (Dnipro, our UEFA Cup opponents from earlier this season, actually offered £1 million for him last month).

If more Hibs fans would get behind the team, we might be able to hold onto such talented young players for longer. But there are too many empty seats at Easter Road so unless that changes we'll continue to be a selling club, which in turn will continue to keep people away. It's the unfortunate reality of Scottish football and the reason why supporting Hibs and other Scottish teams outwith the Old Firm can be so frustrating.

[TimBhoy]

It's a fact of life with the non OF SPL/ League teams that any decent player is bought by the OF or goes abroad.

[nach0king]

I wouldn't have a problem with it if it wasn't so often the case that these players just rot in the reserves. (This isn't just the OF who do it, it's the clubs abroad too.)

Of course it's easy - and a lot of fun - just to blame the OF, but a bit of blame has to lie with the young players who all must think that THEY'RE the exception to this rule, THEY'LL be the ones to stay in the first team forever. OK, occasionally that is the case, but all too often it isn't. (I dare say the agents have a hand in it as well.)

My own club saw Derek McInnes fall into this trap in 1996. Dozens of other names present themselves. Fernandez, Pearson... just the first two I can think of.

[Hypo-Luxa]

Damn...I'd like to see Riordan at Blackburn Rovers!!

[celtic76]

Damn...I'd like to see Riordan at Blackburn Rovers!!
So he can follow in Fergy's shoes? No thanks

[Teso Dos Bichos]

But as the press will tell you, Ferguson is a world class player, the best Scottish player ever, our captain supreme and was superb down South... :rolleyes:

[Scottish_Morton]

But as the press will tell you, Ferguson is a world class player, the best Scottish player ever, our captain supreme and was superb down South... :rolleyes:

Ferguson wasn't a bad player at Blackburn and on the whole was highly rated by their fans.