It can't be <b>that</b> much of a shock. They finished 5th last season and a decent 9th in their first season back in the top tier. Now, sitting in first or second place, would be a minor miracle. Heck, that's would be a full-fledged miracle.
They're a decent side going forward, with two good main strikers in Stevie Crawford and Craig Brewster. They are both in the top ten in the goalscorers list. But some defensive weaknesses (attack minded, and don't have the best defenders) mean that they can't really be that consistent and have more problems than most when playing Rangers/Celtic.
No that much of a miracle Hibs sat in second or first for much of the season the year we won the treble, it was a couple of injuries to their key defensive players that cost them second cos they were playing much better than rangers whos bigger squad won them second IMO. This dunfermline side are probably better than that hibs side, Crawford is excellent and consistant and brewster is the perfect foil despite his age, If they had a franck sauzee type at the back though they would be much better for it, Skerla is excellent tho, a player I like very much.
I understand and agree with what you're saying. I was thinking more along the lines of finishing the season first or second. It is very difficult for any non-Old Firm team to finish second, let alone first. Not only do they need to play incredibly well for the entire season, they need to hope an Old Firm team plays below expectations for the entire season. That's not likely to happen, given A) the size of the squads and B) the buying power of the Old Firm. Especially when you factor in the European places at stake. Personally, I'd love to see any team make a run over the course of the season, even being a Celtic supporter.