James Collins was woeful with Hibs, but he’s continuing to prove to those at Easter Road that he’s actually a very good player.
Since his woeful run in Leith, Collins’ career has went from strength to strength. His latest achievement is netting his first international goal for the Republic of Ireland.
The Luton Town hitman was introduced after 60 minutes during Ireland’s friendly with Bulgaria. After 26 minutes on the park, Collins found the net to wrap up the scoring.
Collins form will perplex Hibs fans
After signing for a reported £200k from Swindon Town (BBC), expectations were high for the striker in Leith.
It turned into a nightmare, scoring just six times in 40 appearances as Hibs were relegated from the top flight.
That would be his only season in Edinburgh, moving back to the EFL with Shrewsbury, where he played 154 games, scoring 48 goals.
Spells at Northampton and Crawley Town followed, before a permanent move to Luton in 2017 seemed to seal his fate as an EFL journeyman.
Instead it has really kickstarted his career, with Collins scoring 48 times in 99 appearances for the Hatters as they undergo a renaissance up the EFL ladder. Back to back promotions later and now Collins is firing in the Championship, scoring three times in six games.
It’ll make Hibs fans wonder what exactly went wrong for Collins in Leith. He’s clearly a talented striker, so how did he not get firing in the Scottish capital?
Many fans were glad to see the back of Collins when left Easter Road. He is a different beast altogether now compared to the tame striker that flopped in Leith.