Hibs and Black Knights summit - what it tells us about billionaire Bournemouth owner's influence

Oh, to have been a fly on the tastefully decorated wall of Bill Foley’s Las Vegas office when Ben Kensell and Ian Gordon walked in on a mission of reassurance. Just imagine the scene as Hibernian’s CEO and owner arrived to tell Foley and his Black Knight deputies, the grand poohbahs of a sporting empire worth billions, that everything at Easter Road is going swimmingly.

According to Hibs, relations between the billionaire Bournemouth owner and the Scottish branch of his sporting empire are healthier than ever, with Foley’s previous complaints about the club “not listening” to his advice all forgotten. And, if there was an agenda for this face-to-face meeting, David Gray’s future was NOT on it. Quite right, too.

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But no amount of reassurance can cover up the fact that Hibs are in a crisis. Sitting in the automatic relegation spot and facing some tough choices over what happens next, the people making the decisions right now can’t exactly point to their record – five managers in three years, blown budgets and no success to show for it – and claim that they’ve got everything in control.

So what do we know? Let’s break it down …

Gordon calls the shots – but Foley has a keen eye for the rebound

Gordon and Kensell travelled to Vegas during the international break to meet with Foley, fellow Hibs director Ryan Caswell and the president of Black Knight Football Club, Tim Bezbatchenko.

Ex-player Bezbatchenko had already made himself familiar with the running of events at Hibs, having visited East Mains to inspect all departments – and meet with Gray – just before the international break. Academy staff have been availing themselves of Black Knight information and advice. Clearly, the partnership is, in some senses, blossoming.

But we also know that Foley wasn’t happy with the appointments of Malky Mackay or Gray. He had his own ideas on who should take over the roles of sporting director and head coach.

Back in July, he went public with his dissatisfaction over how things were panning out, declaring: “If the other ownership group at Hibernian listens to us, they will do better. So far, they really haven’t been listening to our input. I believe they will listen to our input now.”

The Gordon family, quite properly, pointed out that investing £6 million in exchange for a minority stake might buy you a couple of seats on the board and a say in how things are run – but not the final call on major hirings and firings. No harm, no foul, as the Yanks might put it, with Gordon – speaking just last month – revealing: “There have been discussions since then and the relationship is in a good place.”

With the team sitting at the very bottom of the Scottish Premiership heading into the first Edinburgh derby of the season, everything we know about Foley – a man with a track record of building winning teams with almost indecent haste – tells us he’ll expect to be taken more seriously from here on in. He places a great emphasis on creating a “winning culture” at clubs. Nobody at Hibs can claim to have established that at Easter Road. Not yet anyway.

A swift exit

Head of football operations Derek White’s departure from the club last week was abrupt, to say the least, according to staff surprised to find that the former Livingston secretary had effectively left the building without appearing to serve any notice. If his job title might have been just a tad overblown, losing someone from the football department in these circumstances isn’t a great look for the club.

A united family front

Since the death of Ron Gordon, his family have been very clear in their desire to carry on the great man’s work. Son Ian and widow Kit, both of whom have taken great comfort from the emotional support provided by Hibs fans, genuinely feel like there is potential to do great things in Edinburgh.

What happens, though, if Kit grows weary of the whole business? Universally described by all who know here as one of the loveliest and sweetest people ever to grace a football boardroom, her patience for working in an industry littered with cheats and liars can’t be inexhaustible.

A New Deal?

You don’t need access to the Hibs accounts to take an educated guess at the losses being made, despite directors continuing to plough cash into the business. As a direct result of all the hiring and firing, signing and releasing, they’ve got an enormous wage bill.

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Foley acquiring a 25 per cent stake in Hibs required the SFA to change their own rules – Article 13 – on individuals holding a “dual interest” in clubs, with his overall control of Bournemouth considered a barrier under the old regulations. Aware that clubs are crying out for investment, and hardly blind to the success of multi-team empires all over global football, could the Hampden authorities be willing to further relax their stance on this?

For a lot of fans, gratitude over everything the Gordon family have delivered – financial stability and investment, at a time when so many clubs are struggling just to stay afloat – doesn’t entirely negate the sense of excitement at the thought of Foley swooping into deliver more hard cash as he looks to deliver on his promise of making Hibs the undisputed third force in Scottish football. While it might stop short of a full takeover, a second major investment might work for both parties – if it guaranteed more influence for a man with a track record of delivering success.