Matthew Hoppe arrived on Teesside last summer, ready and determined to make an impact as a Middlesbrough player. He managed that without kicking a ball, as the US capped youngster rocked up sporting a bleached blonde Eminem-style hair cut and a vast amount of confidence to boot. He did, in fact, ask Chris Wilder for the number 9 shirt, such was his intention to do well.
In hindsight, maybe Wilder should have encouraged that initial confidence rather than rebuff the American’s advances, labelling him a ‘development signing’, instead giving the shirt to Rodrigo Muniz who struggled to make an impact.
After just six appearances, Hoppe was loaned out to Hibernian in January. The club clearly saw something in the international, who came with a decent pedigree after turning out for teams in the top German and Spanish leagues. With the forward returning to the Riverside this summer, I spoke to Patrick McPartlin, Sports writer for Edinburgh Evening News, about Hoppe’s time in Scotland.
When Matthew Hoppe arrived at Boro, fans were excited to see what he could achieve. Did Hibs fans hold similar excitement?
Patrick McPartlin: The strange thing was that Hoppe’s signing was announced during the half-time break of a match on transfer deadline day, so it was difficult to gain an impression of the supporters’ reaction for obvious reasons. He was an early substitute in the next game and seemed to do okay – I wasn’t at the game myself – but he scored in his first home appearance and got two assists in the next two games, so it looked like he would be a good addition. It’s important to point out that most of his game time came when Kevin Nisbet (Hibs’ first-choice CF at the time) was out injured. Once Nisbet was back, Hoppe was used less. After April 1st, he only came off the bench in three of eight games for a total of just 11 minutes. Hibs definitely needed a versatile forward in January and he ticked the boxes. I don’t think many fans were aware of him despite his time in Germany and his USA caps, but hoped he might offer something different in the final third.
In the few glimpses at Boro, it looked like he was almost trying too hard. What has Hoppe’s work ethic been like?
PM: Definitely a hard worker, I’m not sure I’d say he was trying too hard. He always worked hard on and off the ball, got back to help the defence, chased down everything. It’s no secret that the way Lee Johnson wants to play, he needs hard workers who play for the team, and Hoppe was certainly that.
Did he suit Hibs’ system? If not, what kind of forward do you see him as? Lone striker? Second striker?
PM: Hibs played a number of different formations including 5-2-1-2 and 4-2-3-1. He was used wide left in the 4231 but mostly in a partnership in a front two. He performed well in both positions but he doesn’t strike me as a the type of forward who could play on his own up top – maybe in time, because he’s still young and it might come with experience. At the moment I’d say his strongest position is either as a wide forward in a 4-3-3/3-4-3 or in a two-man strikeforce.
Did he have any memorable performances?
PM: Against Livingston in early March, Hibs won 4-1, he started in a front two and he looked good. He provided an assist for his strike partner and caused the defence problems during his 68 minutes on the pitch. One of his counter-attacks ended with a defender being sent off for illegally stopping him en route to goal so he definitely played a big part in that game.
Would you say he could be a player at top level, given that he is only 22?
PM: I don’t think it’s any coincidence that he’s played in England, Germany, Spain, and in the Scottish top flight and been capped by the USA – he definitely has something about him. I think what he needs is a season where he’s playing regularly as a starter and can get a run of games to build up consistency. He hasn’t really had that yet and I think it could be crucial to his development.
Did the Hibernian fans take to him?
PM: I think so; not to the same extent as other players but he played his part in a strong second half to the season and earned respect for that. Scoring on his home debut probably endeared him to the supporters as well. I imagine it’s the same at most clubs but if a player, loan or otherwise, always works hard and never hides then the fans will take to them and Matthew certainly did that at Hibs.
With only nine matches and one goal, was he ultimately seen as a disappointment?
PM: I wouldn’t call him a disappointment; he was brought in primarily to provide cover in the event of injury to the first-choice striker and had three goal contributions in his first four games. He was unlucky that two of the first picks in positions he could fill were on good form in the second half of the season but I think he came in and did a job. I would imagine the experience of playing against Celtic and Rangers will have helped his development and his goal contributions ended up contributing towards Hibs qualifying for Europe as well. Given that he was adapting to senior football after half a season of playing mostly for Boro’s underage sides, and given the uniqueness of Scottish football, I think he acquitted himself well but might have wanted more game time to really show what he could bring to the team.
Ultimately, the decision lies with Michael Carrick, his coaching team and the club as a whole as to whether Matthew Hoppe has shown enough in his loan spell and also during the minutes his has featured in pre-season so far this summer, to warrant a place amongst the Boro squad for this season. At only 22-years-old, he surely has plenty to offer. It remains to be seen whether that will be on Teesside or elsewhere again for this coming season.
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