UNTIL recently a post-match pint to discuss your team's most recent performance was almost as obligatory as a half-time pie and Bovril when going to the football.

But now it would seem that more and more football fans are swapping the pub for their PC with thousands of Hearts and Hibs supporters logging on to their side's supporters' forums.

Jambos Kickback and Hibs.net are the two main forums utilised by football fans in the Capital and are growing in popularity by the day. But, while many are happy to use the free service provided for them, most are unaware of who runs them and exactly what is entailed in doing so.

The man behind Kickback is Pete Lindsell, a 26-year-old Communications Officer, while Hibs.net is run by Trevor Hannant, a 33-year-old who works in a bank marketing department.

Between them they put in countless hours ensuring the sites run smoothly and, despite not receiving a penny for their efforts, both admit it is something of an obsession for them.

"The original kickback website was run by the club," said Lindsell. "But around the time that Hearts fans were beginning to ask for the removal of Chris Robinson it was closed down by the club.

"Basically there were people calling for his removal on the website and saying things about him that he took exception to so he closed it down. I thought, though, that the fans needed a forum where they could discuss Hearts matters so we decided to set it up in January 2004. I just felt the Hearts fans needed somewhere they could express themselves which is why we set up Kickback."

Hannant, meanwhile, has been editing Hibs.net for more than two years and explained what his role entails.

"Basically I have to make sure that the site is always up and running and that we aren't carrying anything that could land ourselves or any of the users in bother legally," he said. "I'm involved in that most days just ensuring that the content is suitable for people of all ages as we have users who range from 12 years old into their late 60s."

Sounds simple enough, but when you have 6000 registered users on Hibs.net and nearly the same number on Kickback it can quickly turn in to a time consuming task.

But both men accept the challenge for one reason - to give the fans of their respective clubs a platform from which to express their opinions.

"Most of our users are in the UK but there are guys from as far afield as Australia and the United States and these guys are probably among our most regular users as it's the main way they keep up-to-date on Hibs matters," said Hannant.

"We have people who work offshore on oil rigs and guys who serve in the armed forces, while I even know of one guy who was in deepest darkest Africa and used to log on to the site from the middle of a jungle so you get people in all sorts of places!

"For these people it's often the best way to find out what fans, just like them, think about what is going on at the club."

And that sentiment is one shared by Lindsell. "One of the main reasons for setting it up was so Hearts fans abroad could find out what was going on at the club," he said. "Yes, they have the Hearts website, and that provides an invaluable service, but we wanted to allow them to see what other fans think. We are not doing this for any kind of financial reward as we don't charge for it. We are doing this purely for Hearts fans and we want to keep it going as long as we can. With everything that has gone on at the club over the last few years it has proved to be an invaluable service."

In fact, it is proving so popular and invaluable that it scooped the BBC's Off the Ball Website of the Year award at the St Andrews awards ceremony, held in Glasgow. But while Lindsell puts in much of the work he insisted it was a reward for everyone who works on the site and the fans that contribute to it.

"I think it was fitting recognition for the work that both myself and my team have put in over the years but also the fans who post on it," he said.

"The board has become so popular with fans, the press, the club and even the players, and the award recognised that. There are some really good fans' websites out there so it was an honour that ours was judged to be the best."

The rivalry between Hearts and Hibs on the pitch is well documented and indeed the websites clashed in a charity match staged at Tynecastle on Sunday with Kickback running out 3-2 winners.

It is hoped that almost £10,000 will be raised for the Edinburgh Hospital for Sick Children from the event, although the rivalry doesn't end on the pitch. Indeed, both websites are always keen to outdo each other.

"We don't try to have a better site than them. Being the wee team, everything they do is inferior!" joked Jambo Lindsell.

"It was nice to get the website trophy leaving them with nothing. Hopefully that turns out to be the case on the pitch this season as well!"

Taken from the Scotsman