Why
it makes sense
For
the Club
If Pat Fenlon is going to go with two up front, which at the moment seems
likely then another experienced striker was probably needed. Hibs
have James Collins, Ross Caldwell, Rowan Vine and Daniel Handling who could all be called
forwards, but in truth only Collins and Caldwell are strikers. With
Caldwell being so young it is probably smart business to bring in a
more experienced, tried and trusted striker.
With
Heffernan what you see is what you get; an experienced penalty box
striker who will get you around the 15 goal mark if he can stay fit
for the season. He is no thrills but does possess a decent first
touch and good reactions in and around the box. Fenlon may have came
to the conclusion that Collins is a player who wants to get involved
and link the play by dropping deep. So the perfect match for that is
a player who loves the penalty box as much as Kris Boyd loves a firm
mattresssssss. The Heff has a strike rate of one in three in
his career and since moving to Kilmarnock he has scored 27 goals in
66 appearances in all competitions.
For
the player
Since
Kris Boyd rejoined Kilmarnock, Heffernan has been appearing less and
less and Johnston does not seem to fancy him at all. At the age of 31, Heffernan will need games to stay sharp and ultimately continue his
career in football. He has mainly played lower league English
football at a whole host of clubs, the biggest being Sheffield
Wednesday, so you could argue he is getting one of the biggest moves
of his life late on. He is settled and happy in Scotland so moving to
a bigger club within his current framework makes sense. There were
also rumours of falling out with club hierarchy at Kilmarnock, which
would explain the sudden exit. If true then it would make sense to
get out without going through the usual nonsense cut adrift players
do.
Why
it doesn’t
For
the club
Heffernan
is a player who has been at his most productive as a lone gunman. You
have to imagine at Hibs if they do choose to play that way then £200,000 James Collins would be first pick. You would think Heffernan will
be on a reasonable wage as a player who has more than proved himself
at this level. If so then giving a player good money who may not play
every week or not play in his favoured way could be deemed a risk by
the club. Furthermore as I mentioned before Ross Cladwell looked to
be coming on to a game last season and this may stifle his
development through lack of game time.
The other issue comes through partnering their new striker with Collins, both are quite samey as far as striker go. Both have physical limitations (not overly quick or strong) and rely on their movement around the penalty box. They could end up occupying the same space and cancelling out each other’s input.
For
the player
Well
like every player Hibs sign there is a risk their reputation could be
in tatters in a matter of months. Over recent times numerous SPL
players have came to Hibs or been brought through the youth system
and for one reason or another have had a torrid time. The fans are
also at boiling point and it would not take much for them to turn on
a new signing one would imagine.
If you’ve enjoyed the blogs make sure to check out the podcast. Our latest episode was entitled Craig Who?
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