At the start of October, future sporting directors were invited to gather in central Manchester to learn at the feet of the ‘Golden Quadrant of Leadership’.

VSI Executive Education organized a forum with the aim of training future football leaders in the art of developing a clear and compelling vision for their organization.

This included implementing strategies with precision and efficiency, managing challenges and changes with resilience and agility and, last but not least, inspiring and empowering their team to reach their highest potential.

Four representatives from the Hibernian leadership team preached this “unwavering dedication to excellence in all aspects of leadership”.

Manager Ian Gordon told Professor Rob Wilson how his ‘golden quadrant’ – also including chief executive Ben Kensell, sporting director Malky Mackay and non-executive chairman Malcolm McPherson – planned to operate a multi-club partnership of 6 million pounds sterling with the Texan billionaire. Bill Foley will be expected to deliver excellence in all areas at the Easter Road club.

Hibs manager David Gray has only led them to one win in their 12 Premiership matches.

News of the forum sparked predictable hilarity. Far from delivering excellence at all levels, the Gordon family – owners of Hibs since the summer of 2019 – have struggled to deliver excellence at all levels.

Handing one of the biggest jobs in Scottish football to a manager wearing ‘L’ tags is just one of the poor decisions made by the men running the show at Leith. This is by no means an isolated example.

Bottom of the Premiership, Hibs have won one of their 12 matches. Saturday’s home defeat to St Mirren was the latest in a series of defeats which raise urgent and legitimate questions about the future of manager David Gray.

The coach should not be the only one to be guillotined.

Whether or not Hibs will stick by their former captain, a bigger question now arises.

Since the sacking of Jack Ross the week before the team appeared in the 2021 League Cup final, the club’s hierarchy have appointed four managers in three years. In two of those three games, they finished eighth in a 12-team league.

CEO Ben Kensell and sporting director Malky Mackay part of a ‘golden quadrant’ at Hibs

Bill Foley, who owns a 25 per cent stake in Hibs, claims his input into key decisions was ignored

Shaun Maloney, untested, was followed by Lee Johnson. Chosen ahead of current Swedish coach Jon Dahl Tomasson, the Englishman lasted 15 months. After that came a short-lived experience with Nick Montgomery.

Fans – just like big investor Foley – are entitled to wonder why they would trust the hierarchy to get anything good from here.

Last month, Gordon and Kensell traveled to Las Vegas for clear talks with the Texas businessman and his lieutenants at the Black Knight Football Club, Ryan Caswell and Tim Bezbatchenko.

Since buying a 25 per cent stake in Hibs for £6m in March, Foley has complained his input into key decisions has been ignored. It was reported that Mackay’s appointment as sporting director went against his wishes. Handing the head coaching job to Gray, a former player with no front-line management experience, seemed like an unnecessary leap in the dark.

Bournemouth FC owner Foley, whose multi-club network includes Auckland and Lorient, made his displeasure with Hibs public before the Las Vegas summit, telling the BBC: “I absolutely look out for them. If the other group of Hibernian owners listens to us, they will do better. So far, they haven’t really listened to our comments. I believe they will listen to our contribution now.

Since then, Hibs bosses have opened a weekly dialogue with Bezbatchenko to strengthen ties and bring the two sides closer together. In exchange for a few million dollars, Foley expects some serious thunder.

Garvan Stewart, Bournemouth’s head of recruitment analysis, has been tasked with solving the Edinburgh club’s recruitment woes – and it seems highly unlikely that this will be the only improvement Black Knight FC recommends.

Ultimately, a football team is only as good as the recruiting of its players. Recruiting 56 players since Ross’ dismissal in December 2021, the appointment of the clearly unqualified Ian Gordon as head of recruitment between October 2021 and May 2023 was an absurd affair that typified a haphazard and dysfunctional approach.

Chris Mueller, a winger signed from Orlando City, left the club after one goal, 15 appearances and four months.

The sale of Kevin Nisbet to Millwall resulted in the signing of 19-year-old Norwegian Elias Melkersen, a player who had never played on a grass pitch before.

In July 2022, Belgian defender Rocky Bushiri signed a three-year contract, a week after the club announced his departure.

During Gordon’s tenure the club signed 30 players. The likes of James Scott, Nathan Wood, Jake Doyle-Hayes and Jamie Murphy have failed to make a real impact and the list is by no means exhaustive.

A needed overhaul of football operations allowed Gordon to focus on business upstairs. Mackay arrived as sporting director, with former Hibs goalkeeper David Marshall appointed as head of technical performance.

The club handed the head coaching role to the unproven Gray, while two new analysts and three new scouts were also hired. Gray cannot be exempt from criticism.

While the main offensive threats come from 34-year-old Junior Hoilett and 35-year-old Dwight Gayle, the lack of offensive dynamism could be as much due to the natural aging process as it is to plodding, one-dimensional tactics.

On-loan goalkeeper Josef Bursik has been unconvincing, while the club appear unable to recruit a solid pair of centre-backs capable of seeing a game through for 90 minutes.

Conceding late goals contributed to the winning positions losing 11 goals.

Even if the loss of Kieron Bowie’s signature due to injury was due to simple misfortune, the signing success rate remains dangerously low.

Failure has an unbearable cost. Managing director Kensell has blamed last year’s £3.9 million loss on a lack of sporting success, with a wages-to-turnover ratio of 81 per cent telling the story of a team who have performed dismally stranded on the ground.

Not to mention a golden quadrant that consistently fails to provide strong leadership and value for money.