Has Anyone Read This Little Piece ?

[The Dude 20,027]

Smith is a rabid Hibee and never hides his allegiance so the article is pretty much part for the course. Still hurting over the 2-6 skelping.

I don't mind journos showing their allegiances or writing opinion pieces with a clear bias. It's when they start making stuff up it gets on my tits. There's a few bits of pure fantasy in there although there are bits I do also agree with. Rotherham offered 300k for Allan I believe so it's a very similar sum to what we've offered. No one told us we'd get him whatever it takes. There was a third but I've forgotten and can't be arsed reading it again.

[Bellshill_Bear 1,105]

If Hibs were totally out of contention the Allan will be sold to us for a January move.

Don't think I would be happy if we paid money for him in January when we could offer him a contract and get him for nothing in the summer

[The Dude 20,027]

It'll end up like Scott Mcdonald to Celtic if Hibs are out if it by Xmas. He'll sign a bosman in Jan and we'll comments an agreement to pay 100k or something to get him immediately.

[Trooblue 2,018]

I don't mind journos showing their allegiances or writing opinion pieces with a clear bias. It's when they start making stuff up it gets on my tits. There's a few bits of pure fantasy in there although there are bits I do also agree with. Rotherham offered 300k for Allan I believe so it's a very similar sum to what we've offered. No one told us we'd get him whatever it takes. There was a third but I've forgotten and can't be arsed reading it again.

Fair point about the inaccuracies, but I don't have a problem generally with the likes of Smith, who is clear about his allegiance to Hibs, is also quite bright and is capable of writing positive stuff about other teams too (see my comment above about his Dave Smith interview and article a while back). My problem is with the characters who pretend to be 'impartial' but constantly put the boot into Rangers explicitly or implicitly.

[Ibroxholm 2,312]

True, but the newspaper still have editorial obligations.

"They told their fans they’d get him “whatever it takes”"

Can't remember anyone from Ibrox saying this about Scott Alan

That is a blatant lie and our club should ask for a public retraction or else.

[Bad Robot 21,513]

Any c&p ???

[The Dude 20,027]

Fair point about the inaccuracies, but I don't have a problem generally with the likes of Smith, who is clear about his allegiance to Hibs, is also quite bright and is capable of writing positive stuff about other teams too (see my comment above about his Dave Smith interview and article a while back). My problem is with the characters who pretend to be 'impartial' but constantly put the boot into Rangers explicitly or implicitly.

Couldn't agree more. In all the stuff I've written I've never pretended to be impartial. If it's relevant to the piece I'll make it clear I'm a Rangers fan and in any match reports I've done involving Rangers I don't think there could be any complaints about any bias in the reporting. Guys who pretend to be impartial, when it's clear they are anything but, and only ever put the boot into Rangers are starting to get edged out a bit now imo and there's a lot of them who Rangers fans think are out to get the club really aren't. Almost all of them are bloggers, with a few notable exceptions, and tend to speak to a fairly small number of like minded mentalists.

[Trooblue 2,018]

Couldn't agree more. In all the stuff I've written I've never pretended to be impartial. If it's relevant to the piece I'll make it clear I'm a Rangers fan and in any match reports I've done involving Rangers I don't think there could be any complaints about any bias in the reporting. Guys who pretend to be impartial, when it's clear they are anything but, and only ever put the boot into Rangers are starting to get edged out a bit now imo and there's a lot of them who Rangers fans think are out to get the club really aren't. Almost all of them are bloggers, with a few notable exceptions, and tend to speak to a fairly small number of like minded mentalists.

Yes, I think the journalists and broadcasters covering the Rangers saga over the past few years broadly divide into three groups: 1. The Rangers haters who have revelled in it all and don't hide the fact; 2. those who don't care one way or the other about Rangers but have relished the story for its own sake; 3. the Rangers sympathisers who have genuinely tried to see the full picture.

[The Dude 20,027]

Yes, I think the journalists and broadcasters covering the Rangers saga over the past few years broadly divide into three groups: 1. The Rangers haters who have revelled in it all and don't hide the fact; 2. those who don't care one way or the other about Rangers but have relished the story for its own sake; 3. the Rangers sympathisers who have genuinely tried to see the full picture.

Pretty much spot on although I'd add one more, small, group. Those like McLaughlin who got too cosy with PR companies and looked to play the man instead of the ball in return for perks further down the line.

[Dutchy 1,200]

Aiden Smith has always been a cock. Him and Simon Pia I think started writing some really anti-Rangers pieces over 10 years ago, in the Big Issue no less. They are full time haters and I'd never take anything that any of them say seriously. EVER!

[macranger 296]

I'd have sworn that was from a hivs fan forum. Surely the "journalist" that wrote that should have his credentials checked by the scotsman, mind you, I think they employed spiers at one time, so it speaks for itself.

[ritchieshearercaldow 22,434]

I don't mind journos showing their allegiances or writing opinion pieces with a clear bias. It's when they start making stuff up it gets on my tits. There's a few bits of pure fantasy in there although there are bits I do also agree with. Rotherham offered 300k for Allan I believe so it's a very similar sum to what we've offered. No one told us we'd get him whatever it takes. There was a third but I've forgotten and can't be arsed reading it again.

Maybe it was this

Leeann Dempster and her impressive manager

[Stoorie 1,090]

There is no way on this earth I'm clicking on that link! If the op wants to talk about a piece written in a paper, then he should c&p said piece. This should be standard on every site to ensure the haters don't pull in hits from the very people they are attacking!

Copy and paste!

[Community Note FC 8,831]

I'm just delighted that the headline calls the club ballsy without a hint of irony.

[Leeds_Bear 8,300]

True, but the newspaper still have editorial obligations.

"They told their fans they’d get him “whatever it takes”"

Can't remember anyone from Ibrox saying this about Scott Alan

No idea where he's quoting that from? Atrocious journalism.

[AljayBoy 2,358]

If you really want to read a piece about Hivs from the Scotsman, I'd recommend this:

Hibs lack creativity in stumbling loss to Dumbarton

Scott Allan made little impact for an inept Hibs team that failed to get the better of part-time Dumbarton. Picture: John Devlin

ANDREW SMITH AT DUMBARTON STADIUM

22:54Sunday 09 August 201500:00Monday 10 August 2015

14

HAVE YOUR SAY

THE pained look of Hibernian full-back David Gray as he dissected a ghoulish spectacle was that of a haunted man. The spectre of Hearts’ Championship romp last season hung over him. .

Gray had spent pre-season banging on about the necessity of not playing catch-up in the second tier. About how the Easter Road club could not allow a scenario to develop as did last year when the Tynecastle men remorselessly racked up wins as their bitter rivals found themselves on the rack through falling in four of their first six games. Early impressions of a Rangers that have already trounced their Leith title rivals suggest they won’t present Alan Stubbs’ men with too many opportunities to claw back a sizeable gap. Hibs, at all costs, have to prevent one opening up then.

Stubbs, even in taking a wrecking ball to the efforts of his players with a conviction they all too painfully lacked, was at pains to stress the defeat in Dumbarton made for an unwanted outcome to a first league game, and nothing more. Gray was willing to place the reverse in a more alarming context, drawing unwelcome parallels with a year ago, when, incidentally, Hibs won their first Championship fixture.

“That was half the battle last year. Hearts managed to run away quickly as we started so poorly, so we know we need to get back to basics in training this week,” he said.

“Momentum comes from results, and we didn’t get that at the first opportunity so we need to get that turned round as quickly as possible.

“We wanted to begin the season well and haven’t done that. We started really poorly against Dumbarton, gave away two goals from set-pieces – which we shouldn’t be doing – and were always playing catch-up from there.

“We did not create enough to score goals. They did well defending their lead but we have to look at ourselves and we weren’t good enough.”

What caused real consternation among those Hibs followers who travelled through to the weekend league opener is that, against a part-time team new manager Stevie Aitken has put together in six weeks, no department of the visiting side functioned properly.

The saga – or “farce” as Stubbs put it – of Rangers repeatedly lodging below- value bids for a Scott Allan who wants to leave for the Ibrox side but won’t be allowed to by Hibs has proved unsettling for the Leith club. And unsettling for the midfielder. So desperate was he to show he was giving his all for the cause, he produced a display that was over-thought and over-wrought.

The Allan situation is an intractable problem for the Easter Road club. For all that Stubbs publicly maintains otherwise, if Hibs received top dollar for a player who can sign a pre-contract in January, they would surely be silly not to sell him.

But engineering good openings eluded him, and he was one of the real issues for Hibs on Saturday.

Dumbarton, for all that they sat in to protect a lead late on, troubled their opposing backline whenever they put the ball in the box.

Liam Fontaine and Paul Hanlon never seemed to have the measure of Steven Craig and Gordon Smith and were completely wrong-footed in allowing Gregor Buchanan to divert in a free-kick driven low across goal by Willie Gibson after three minutes.

Although Gibson made a sweet contact with the 22-yard free-kick that earned Dumbarton their second goal early in the second period, Hibs keeper Mark Oxley should have presented himself as a tougher obstacle; a weak hand in a ball well inside the goal frame compounding the visitors’ defensive weaknesses.

Not that they were strong in either attack or defence, despite Dominique Malonga supplying a sumptuous finish to even up the scores inside a quarter of an hour. The service both to the Congolese international and Jason Cummings was poor – Stubbs despairing at Hibs’ inability to deliver balls from wide areas to other than opposition players – but the pair don’t look as if they will sniff out goals. Maybe that is harsh when they bagged 37 between them last season. Maybe the teasing centres that Dylan McGeouch was able to supply were a factor in that tally, and a reason why Stubbs is believed keen to fashion a deal with Celtic that would see the midfielder return to Easter Road.

The crumbs of comfort from Saturday will be the driving second-half display from John McGinn. The application and urgency he demonstrated makes him a certain starter when Morton visit Easter Road on Saturday. Moreover, with such as the creative talent Danny Carmichael to be bedded in, there is reason to suppose that Hibs will be able to produce much better than they did in the first league outing. Mind you, with their Dumbarton display so ham-fisted, that isn’t saying much.

[Inigo 33,345]

Shite article, but not annoying other than the fact that it's a few minutes of my life I won't get back.

[mabawsa 888]

Andrew Smith , ex-Celtic View Editor. Stopped reading at that bit.