On The Terracing

Heart of Midlothian 0 Celtic 4

2012-02-08T15:50:00.000-08:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Wednesday 8 February 2012 - Tynecastle

Another visit to Tynecastle from Celtic. Another night of controversy. The photo above shows Stephen Elliot giving Hearts the lead after just two minutes. Well, they would have done had referee Willie Collum and his hapless assistants had any clue about what they were meant to be doing. They didn't think the ball had crossed the line. Seconds later, Scott Brown opens the scoring at the other end. Hearts fall apart and Celtic coast to an easy win.

Hearts were second best in every department and Celtic thoroughly deserved their win. But, yet again, the atmosphere at a Hearts-Celtic game was poisonous. Hatred seems to have taken over and the sectarian bile spewing out from the away end and, it has to be said, from some of the home support is quite frankly disgraceful. When will it end? Who knows...

Top man: Sadly, not one Hearts player passed muster tonight...

The Art of the Comeback

2012-01-25T11:57:00.000-08:00

We’re only a few short weeks into 2012 but this year has already been labelled the year of the comeback. It was just a week old when Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson pulled off a major surprise - a trait the Glaswegian is prone to now and again - by naming the previously retired Paul Scholes as a substitute for his team’s FA Cup clash with neighbours Manchester City. The reason given for the 37 year old’s return was the lengthening injury list at Old Trafford but there’s no doubt the sly old fox that is Fergie was trying to outwit City boss Roberto Mancini and his money-laden side. United won 3-2 although this was more to do with the controversial sending off of City’s Vincent Kompany than the presence of Scholes, who appeared in the second half but then gave away possession that led to City’s second goal as they threatened an unlikely comeback from 3-0 down.

A day later, there was another comeback from a player that illustrated the sometimes fickle nature of football. Thierry Henry spent eight glorious years at Arsenal and has become a legendary figure in the red and white part of north London. His departure in 2007 to Barcelona left many Gooners fans devastated and his 174 goals in 254 appearances for the Gunners meant he would always be remembered as an Arsenal great. In 2010, Henry left Barcelona to end his glittering career in the United States with New York Red Bulls. When the transfer window opened in January, the possibility opened for Henry to move on loan back to English football - and there was only going to be one club where the Frenchman would head. And so Henry signed an eight-week deal at the club he loves and was a substitute in Arsenal’s FA Cup tie against Leeds United. Those who believe that things are written in the stars will tell you it was inevitable that Henry, wearing the number 12 shirt, would come and score the only goal of the game - his 12^th goal in 12 appearances against Leeds United - 12 minutes from the end of Arsenal’s first home game of 2012...

What surprised me more than Henry’s re-appearance in an Arsenal shirt was that the vilification the Frenchman received a little over two years ago - when he handled the ball before crossing for William Gallas to score France’s winner against the Republic of Ireland in a World Cup play-off - was largely forgotten. Despite calls for him to be banned, at the time of the incident, from the World Cup Finals, Henry was once again the hero, the man who epitomised everything that is good about football…

Hearts, of course, have had their own comeback kings over the years. Fans were devastated in 1988 when the legend that was striker John Robertson swapped Tynecastle for Tyneside in a deal worth £750,000. However, his brief time at Newcastle United didn’t work out and Robbo returned home eight months later for the same fee that took him south in the first place. The wee man’s return to Gorgie saw him resume the mantle of ‘Hammer of the Hibees’ - his first goal second time around at Tynecastle was a late winner against Hibs - and he would go on to become Hearts record league goalscorer.

More recently, Rudi Skacel returned to Hearts after a four-year hiatus. The man who scored Hearts goal in their Scottish Cup triumph over Gretna at Hampden in 2006 left for Southampton soon after but the Czech Republic’s time south of the border wasn’t quite as fruitful as his time in Scotland’s capital city. After spells with Hertha Berlin, Slavia Prague and Larissa in Greece, Skacel returned to Tynecastle in September 2010, much to the delight of his adoring fans.

At present, it isn’t clear if Skacel will still be at Tynecastle beyond his contract, which is due to end on 31 January. While the midfield player extraordinaire spoke about his desire to remain with Hearts until the summer, we all know things can change quickly and dramatically in football. Skacel’s performance against St. Mirren at Tynecastle on 14 January when he bagged a hat-trick as ten man Hearts performed a minor miracle by winning 5-2 was the stuff of legend - the fact the team were 2-1 and a man down meant the result was a fantastic comeback in itself.

All of which just goes to show you can never say never. If Rudi does leave the building, does anyone have Drew Busby’s phone number? Now that would be a comeback!

Twitter @Mike1874

Heart of Midlothian 5 St. Mirren 2

2012-01-14T12:40:00.000-08:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 14 January 2012 - Tynecastle

Occasionally, you just can't apply logic to football. Take today at Tynecastle. Hearts haven't scored too many goals whilst playing towards the Roseburn Stand this season - I'm sure it's something to do with me sitting in Section G - but today, Marius Zaliukas headed home the opening goal after just 52 seconds and we waited for the goal rush. The feast of goals did duly arrive - but only after Zaliukas got sent off after 10 minutes after bringing down McGowan who took the resultant penalty kick to level the scores. Six minutes later, it looked all over when Thompson put the visitors ahead with a header. Not so for this Hearts team...

Five minutes later Rudi Skacel showed why he is a legend in Gorgie when he thumped home an unstoppable effort from fully 30 yards to level the score. Hearts still faced an uphill task being a man short but the interval arrived with the scores still level.

Inevitably, St. Mirren had the bulk of possession but Hearts defended heroically. With 25 minutes left, Skacel collected a lay-off from John Sutton and the Czech Republic star made room before firing an effort past Samson. Hearts ahead, against the odds, and Tynecastle rocked.

Four minutes later, there were real concerns the roof would come off the Wheatfield Stand when that man Skacel completed his hat-trick. Ian Black showed his competitiveness by winning the ball and when he found Skacel, Rudi did not fail. Remarkably, Hearts were now 4-2 ahead.

St. Mirren, fearing an unlikely defeat, poured men forward and another goal arrived in stoppage time. Saints were penalised for a pass-back and from the free-kick, Ian Black set up John Sutton to blast the ball home. Astonishingly, the final score was Hearts 5 St. Mirren 2.

There has been much talk in recent weeks about Hearts players walking out, refusing to play and looking for a move as quickly as possible in the January transfer window. The BBC have linked Rudi Skacel with a move to Crawley Town and quote Marian Kello as 'looking forward to leaving'. What Kello actually told the Hearts website was that he was looking to stay at Tynecastle but if the club saw fit to sell him it would be a wrench to leave. Skacel, meanwhile, knew nothing about a move to Crawley and said he hoped he could stay in Gorgie until the summer.

Added to a quite stunning display against the odds this afternoon, this surely dispels the nonsense that morale among the players at Tynecastle is at rock-bottom. Today, Hearts showed what they are capable of.

Top man: Who else but the legend that is Rudi Skacel?

A Touch of the Blarney

2012-01-14T00:39:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, I read a story that the owner of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Steve Morgan, had ‘vowed to keep faith’ with his manager Mick McCarthy. Morgan was quoted as saying ‘you don’t get stability by chopping and changing your manager’. Wolves are sitting in 16^th place in the Barclays FA Premiership, just a point off the relegation places. A wry smile passed my lips as I read the story - and I’m sure McCarthy’s heart must have sunk as he read he was being given the dreaded ‘vote of confidence’. Don't be surprised if, before long, the affable Yorkshireman leaves Molineux 'by mutual consent' and Morgan’s ‘keep the faith’ message will be another example of don’t believe everything you read.

Some football owners and managers can be like politicians when it comes to speaking to the media - but football fans have learnt over the years to take such statements with a large pinch of salt. On the same day Wolves were publicly backing their manager, Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp was playing down his team’s chances of winning the league title for the first time in more than half a century - despite another impressive display in beating Everton 2-0 at White Hart Lane. That result saw Spurs move into joint second place in the league, level on points with champions Manchester United but with an inferior goal difference with both clubs three points behind league leaders Manchester City. ‘The pressure is on Manchester City’ opined Old ‘Arry. ‘They are expected to be there and win. We are just hanging in there at the moment’. Now, I’m a great admirer of Redknapp and the style of football he has his teams playing. However, his attempts at taking the pressure off his players, whilst admirable, invoked bouts of sniggering from those observers who looked at the league table and saw the chase for the league title develop into a three horse race. Yes, Manchester City have spent millions to build their team - far too many millions some might say - but they have still to convince many people they are the finished article, as was proved by their elimination from the UEFA Champions League. Their Manchester neighbours have struggled since their blistering start to the season - their 8-2 hammering of Arsenal in August now seems light years away - and their lengthy injury list shows no signs of abating. Spurs have played consistently well all season - their performance against Hearts at Tynecastle in the Europa League back in August was one of the best I’ve seen from a visiting side to Gorgie in over forty years - and, in my view, are certainly capable of challenging Manchester City. They are at least the equal of Manchester United.

While the above stories were mildly amusing, the story that caused me to spill my pint of Belhaven Best came closer to home. The new Hibernian manager, Pat Fenlon, gave an interview to The Herald. The Glasgow based newspaper carried the following quote from the Dubliner as Hibs fans tried to recover from the pain of yet another defeat in the Edinburgh derby.

'I just felt that there seemed to be an acceptance that if Hearts turned up they were going to win the match. That irked me and it's something I want to change, this idea that we're not as good as them. I don't believe that. Supporters and the club have to start to stand up to people. This is a big club. We've got to be much stronger mentally. We're as big a club as they are, if not bigger.’

Now Fenlon may have taken the Hibs job with his eyes firmly closed and he is desperately trying to get the Hibs fans - both of them - on his side. However, that last sentence was taking things just a tad too far. Perhaps someone ought to show the former Bohemians manager the records of the two clubs. No matter how you look at it - whether it be leagues and cups won, number of international players, size of attendances - the famous Heart of Midlothian outdo their Edinburgh neighbours every time. Always have done and always will. In my view, Fenlon’s statement made him look a tad foolish and while, understandably, he might not know a great deal about Scottish football and may well have been in indulging with a touch of the Irish blarney, I suspect even some Hibbies must have cringed at his ‘we’re bigger than them’ utterance. Or perhaps Fenlon - who played against Hearts in the UEFA Cup in 1988 as a teenager with St. Patrick's Athletic - thinks a crowd of 7,000 at the Two Stands Too Many Stadium makes Hibs a 'big' club. His Wikipedia entry says his nickname is 'Nutsy'. It's not difficult to understand why!

However, spin is what it’s all about these days. Selling the product as the marketing people might say. Even if it means leaving credibility behind!

Twitter @Mike1874

Marketing Genius

2012-01-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

The draw for the 5th round of the Scottish Cup takes place on Monday afternoon at 2.30pm. Another piece of marketing genius by the SFA. As was the above photograph of Peterhead manager Jim McInally getting his hands on the trophy before his team were beaten by Celtic. Nice shot of William Hill's rivals behind him...

Heart of Midlothian 1 Auchinleck Talbot 0

2012-01-07T13:19:00.000-08:00

William Hill Scottish Cup 4th Round, Saturday 7 January 2012 - Tynecastle

When the draw for the fourth round of the William Hill sponsored Scottish Cup paired Hearts with junior side Auchinleck Talbot, the inevitable cliches leapt from sports hacks around the country. Hearts potential banana skin, Hearts will give them the respect they deserve, Talbot's cup final, biggest game in Talbot's history, la de dah...

Auchinleck are the best junior side in Scotland and they would give most Second and Third Division teams - and probably most in the First Division - a run for their money. Given Hearts shyness in front of goal for much of this season, it was inevitable The Bot would do likewise to the Maroons this afternoon - and they did.

Hearts were camped in the non-league side's half for the majority of the game but a much changed home team from the the one that gubbed Hibs five days ago struggled to make the breakthrough. After 20 minutes, Hearts were awarded a penalty when Novikovas was brought down and young debutant Fraser Mullan grabbed the ball with high hopes of reversing Hearts recent fortunes from the penalty spot. He missed but one couldn't fault his courage at wanting to take the spot kick in the first place.

Talbot occasionally threatened on the break but Hearts were dominant throughout without looking like scoring. The embarrassment of an uncomfortable replay in Ayrshire beckoned until eight minutes from the end when Talbot's otherwise heroic goalkeeper Andy Leishman fumbled the ball allowing young Gordon Smith to net the winner for an increasingly desperate home side. The visitors deserved a replay and might well have got one if Pope's late strike had not been ruled out for offside - a questionable decision.

The plaudits go to Auchinleck Talbot and their magnificent support. Clubs like them should be give their chance in the Scottish League - their presence would breathe new life into an increasingly mundane competition.

Top man: Not many Hearts players passed muster but Talbot's keeper Andy Leishman was quite superb.

Junior Choice

2012-01-07T12:57:00.000-08:00

One of the more welcome advents in Scottish football in recent years has been the introduction of junior clubs into the Scottish Cup. The likes of Irvine Meadow, Linlithgow Rose and Pollok have all acquitted themselves well in the national cup competition, as have today’s visitors to Tynecastle, Auchinleck Talbot. There may be those who snide that the participation of such clubs in the Scottish Cup devalues the competition, particularly as the juniors have their own national competition, of which Auchinleck Talbot are the holders. Personally, I think that’s a ludicrous view and if anyone doubted the value the juniors bring to the game, they only have to look the Roseburn Stand here at Tynecastle this afternoon to think differently. The atmosphere created from those from Ayrshire undoubtedly made this afternoon a special occasion.

The Scottish Football Association are to be applauded for amending the rules of the Scottish Cup to allow ambitious junior clubs such as Talbot the opportunity to prove themselves. It’s a pity the Scottish League doesn’t share this widening of horizons. What Scottish football needs, in my humble opinion, is a pyramid system, as happens in England, where non-league clubs are given the opportunity to have their ambition rewarded. Such a system has long been spoken about north of the border but, as yet, nothing has come to fruition. Which must be a huge source of frustration for clubs such as Auchinleck Talbot, Pollok, Tayport and, in the Lothians, Linlithgow Rose and Newtongrange Star. A look through the history books will tell you that many a top player has progressed from Newtongrange Star to Heart of Midlothian; Freddie Glidden, Willie Bauld, Dave Mackay, Alex Young, Bobby Prentice and Walter Kidd among others have all graced the Star colours before heading to Tynecastle. One of the most famous players who plied his trade with Auchinleck Talbot was goalkeeper Hugh Sproat, who moved from Talbot to play with Ayr United in the Premier Division in the 1970s. My abiding memory of the moustached custodian was his outstanding performance for the Honest Men when they defeated Hearts 2-1 at Tynecastle in April 1977 - a result that all but confirmed Hearts relegation for the first time in their history.

As we saw from the size of the travelling support at Tynecastle this afternoon, Auchinleck Talbot has one of the largest supports in junior football. Now, with respect to the likes of East Stirlingshire - whose games I attend regularly when Hearts are not in action - Montrose and Elgin City, these clubs attract little more than 300 fans to their home games. Talbot’s average home attendance this season is around the 700 mark and,at one point, there was talk of nearly ten times that figure coming to Tynecastle this afternoon - although, in the end, it was someway short of that.

Now there’s no one more of a football traditionalist than I. And I certainly don’t want to see our established clubs go out of existence. However, there’s little doubt some clubs struggle away year in year out in the Irn Bru Third Division without being under serious threat of losing their league place and happily playing in front of three men and a dog on occasion. What I would suggest to the powers that be is that a play-off system is introduced, as there is in England. Clearly, there would need to be preliminary rounds before the team at the bottom of the basement league faced their potential replacements in a two-legged play-off - the junior game in Scotland has a strong presence not only in Ayrshire, Glasgow and the Lothians but in Tayside and, as Culter proved against Partick Thistle in the last round of the William Hill Scottish Cup, Aberdeen. However, this hurdle could be easily overcome. Moreover, think of the interest generated in Ayrshire if Auchinleck Talbot or, dare I say it, Cumnock played against the likes of East Stirlingshire for a place in the Scottish League. It took several long years for Highland clubs such as Inverness Caledonian, Ross County, Peterhead and Elgin to gain admittance to the Scottish League. Caley Thistle, as they became, are now an established SPL club while their neighbours Ross County look likely to join them in the top flight next season.

The ambition of these clubs has been rewarded and rightly so. Ambition is usually rewarded in any line of business. It’s time for Scotland’s leading junior clubs to get their chance.

Twitter @Mike1874

Hibernian 1 Heart of Midlothian 3

2012-01-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

BBC Scotland photo

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Monday 2 January 2012 - The Two Stands Too Many Stadium

The 'Hearts in Crisis' headlines are never far away from the newspapers and now we've reached January and the opening of the transfer window, there are spurious stories about players queueing up to leave Tynecastle, heartily fed up (if you'll excuse the pun) of not getting paid on time. Eggert Jonsson has already gone, Ryan Stevenson refuses to go back and likes of Andrew Driver and Rudi Skacel are likely to be among the others taking their leave. However, amidst such turmoil, there is one constant in Scottish football - Hearts domination of the Edinburgh derby.

This latest victory at Easter Road took Hearts unbeaten run in the capital derby to nine games and the only disappointment for the goading visiting fans was that the winning margin wasn't greater. A ten minute spell at the beginning of the second half apart, Hearts dominated the game. After 15 minutes, the mercurial David Templeton skipped past home defender Hanlon, cut inside the Hibs penalty box before firing in a low effort that smacked off the post with Hibs keeper Stack rooted to the spot. 'Temps' had another effort shortly afterwards that flew over the crossbar before Mehdi Taouil diverted Stephen Elliott's cross wide of goal - and injured himself in the process, going off to be replaced by Andrew Driver.

Just on half-time, Hearts should have gone ahead. Elliott pounced on a defensive error and raced into the Hibs penalty box. Home keeper Stack bundled him off the ball. Penalty roared the Hearts supporters behind the opposite goal - and it was. We waited for referee Calum Murray to show the Hibs custodian a red card for denying Elliott a clear goalscoring opportunity. The official duly reached into his pocket - and flashed a yellow card. A mystifying decision which puzzled Hearts players and supporters alike - an emotion that turned to despair when Ian Black missed the subsequent penalty kick, his weak effort saved by Stack who, by now, should have been in the bath. It was Hearts third penalty miss in four weeks.

Hibs began the second half the more dangerous team - briefly - but it was Hearts who took the lead after 57 minutes. Andy Webster's header looked to be going in but Ryan McGowan made sure although there was a hint of offside over Elliott's positioning - not that we were complaining. However, Hearts fans joy was short-lived. Less than a minute later, Marius Zaliukas turned Galbraith's cross past a helpless Marian Kello and the home team were level. Hibs fancied their chances now but it was Hearts who regained the lead with eight minutes left when substitute John Sutton controlled the ball well to set up Andy Webster who stroked the ball past Stack from just inside the penalty box with all the skill of an experienced striker. Bedlam in the away end.

Minutes later, Andrew Driver really should have ended the game when he was clean through on goal but the Englishman took too much time on the ball at the edge of the penalty box and the danger was averted. However, in injury time, Hearts broke away again and Sutton delivered a cross for fellow substitute Rudi Skacel to drive the ball past Stack to end the scoring at 3-1 to Edinburgh's finest.

It was a fine performance from Hearts, even allowing for the poor quality of the opposition. Had the Maroons taken all their chances it may well have been 6-1 - which really would have been a spectacular start to the New Year.

If some of the Hearts players are about to take their leave as has been widely reported, it was a fine way to take their leave.

Top man: Ian Black - despite his penalty miss, the midfield man was in top form.

Standing Up to be Counted

2012-01-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

There has been some talk recently about the possibility of the return of standing areas to top flight football in Scotland. Celtic are exploring the feasibility of turning part of their impressive stadium into a standing area and Rangers are also believed to be considering a similar proposal for Ibrox. The idea, it seems, has been mooted from supporters and the fact some of their views are at least being considered is welcome - I can remember a time when the views of the fans wasn’t even part of the agenda of some clubs’ board meetings, far less being treated as a serious proposal. Even the SPL Chief Executive, Neil Doncaster, has been quoted as saying the return of standing areas to SPL clubs is ‘something he would like to see explored’. I have to say I agree with him.

Tynecastle Stadium today is an impressive, all-seated amphitheatre generating an atmosphere that few clubs can better. However, it could be argued that transforming the old lady from the crumbling terracings of two decades ago to the stadium we have now has bucked the trend somewhat when it comes to creating an atmospheric arena. Celtic and Rangers may have larger attendances than anyone else in Scotland and, indeed, most of the United Kingdom, but this doesn’t necessarily mean the atmosphere at Celtic Park and Ibrox is always fervent. This is reflected in the Celtic Supporters’ Trust proposing the safe standing area in the first place.

With all-seated stadia came the penchant of fans purchasing season tickets - the cost of which rocketed a decade and a half ago in order to finance redevelopment. Fans have now become accustomed to sitting in the same part of the stadium every home game and this had bred a familiarity that is comforting in many ways - fans know where they’re heading to and have mostly familiar faces around them - but can also result in a more passive approach, particularly if the opposition is one of the smaller clubs with a travelling support in their dozens rather than hundreds, thus falling short of creating anything like a decent atmosphere.

Those of us who were Tynecastle patrons pre Wheatfield Stand will recall the comparative ease of going to watch Hearts play. A few pints in The Diggers before the game before heading to the game ten minutes before kick-off, standing in the old shed or on the open terracing behind the goal. It was mostly cash at the gate in those days, which meant you could decide pretty much up until kick-off if you fancied going to see the Maroons that day. Today, there is the added task of going to the ticket office to buy a ticket on the day which some may think is an added inconvenience.

We live in a different age now and Hearts have a significant number of season ticket holders. Smart card technology means they can have cup-ties and friendly games added to their card simply by picking up the telephone or clicking a mouse on their computer. Which is fine for those fans who can afford to purchase a season ticket. A safe standing area would a least give those fans who cannot afford to pay up front for their football - and in these recession hit times these will be increasing in number this year - the opportunity to head to a game if they had the opportunity or finance to do so. Presumably, the cost of standing at the game would be reduced accordingly - clubs could hardly charge the same amount to fans choosing to stand for 90 minutes as they would for those who have a seat. Now, I’m no expert but if the cost of standing would be, let’s say 75 per cent of a seated supporter, this might encourage fans to head to the game at an affordable price.

If Hearts were to consider a safe standing area, it would probably be in the enclosure at the front of the old main stand. This area isn’t always full but I can envisage a return to standing in this area and it being well populated most home games. One might argue the revenue from admission to this area might drop as a result of decreased admission charges - but I would argue there would be increased numbers as more and more fans would be attracted to this part of the stadium. Moreover, more people in this part of Tynecastle would mean more people buying food, match day programmes, half-time draw tickets and visits to the club shop.

No one wants to return to the dark days of the 1980s when unsafe terracings cost lives at places like Hillsborough in Sheffield. Standing at football can be safe if it is kept under close observation and control - most of us who made the post Christmas trek to Pittodrie last week ago didn’t bother sitting down in the Artic conditions and there were no incidents (although the fact most of us were too busy fighting hypothermia was possibly a factor!) Anything that can attract more people to the game must surely be considered. It’s time for Scottish football to, literally, stand up and be counted.

Twitter @Mike1874

Aberdeen 0 Heart of Midlothian 0

2011-12-30T12:14:00.000-08:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Wednesday 28 December 2011 - Ice Station Zebra (aka Pittodrie)

I ventured to the frozen wasteland that is Aberdeen on Wednesday to see if Hearts could extend their recent good run over Aberdeen. The salient points of the evening were:

It was fecking cold (as it always is at Pittodrie)

There was what appeared to be a force ten gale howling in from the North Sea

The game was a farce and should never have been played. Credit to both teams for at least trying to play football.

Hearts fans were charged £2.10 for a steak pie. Nice as it was, I later discovered from an Aberdeen fan that they are charged just £1.80...

Summer football has never seemed so attractive...

Heart of Midlothian 2 Motherwell 0

2011-12-24T12:20:00.000-08:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 24 December 2011 - Tynecastle

Two impressive performances from Hearts within a week - it must be Christmas. After last week's hammering of Dunfermline Athletic at Tynecastle, Hearts recorded a well deserved win over third placed Motherwell in Gorgie this afternoon.

The Maroons played well throughout and if there are those who believed the not so behind the scenes problems with the players wages would have an adverse affect on the team, then, on the evidence of the last couple of weeks, they are mistaken.

After early efforts from the overly physical Higdon and young David Templeton, it was the Hearts winger who created the opening goal after 16 minutes. After leaving Hateley for dead, Temps shot was deflected into the path of Ian Black who finished with a superb shot that gave visiting keeper Randolph no chance.Templeton was back to his best and he tormented the Motherwell defence throughout the first half. After 28 minutes, the wee man went on a mesmerising run which tied Hateley in knots before crossing to give Stephen Elliott the simplest of chances to double Hearts lead.

There endeth the scoring but Hearts dominated the game from start to finish. They lost a wee bit of impetus when Templeton was replaced by Andrew Driver after an hour. A curious one this, as Temps didn't look injured and one had to surmise this was a decision from Kaunas in order to put Driver in the shop window with a January transfer in mind.

Motherwell have impressed many this season - but not this afternoon. Hearts now have the Steelmen in their sights for third place in the Clydesdale Bank SPL and on this form there's no reason why they can't catch up. However, much depends on which players depart Tynecastle in January.

And so to Pittodrie Stadium on Wednesday and Easter Road a week on Monday. Six points from that will make it a very Happy New Year for Hearts supporters.

See you in Aberdeen!

Top man: David Templeton only played an hour but he was back to his best today.

Heart of Midlothian 4 Dunfermline Athletic 0

2011-12-18T13:29:00.000-08:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 17 December 2011 - Tynecastle

Hearts recorded their biggest win for over a year with this comprehensive gubbing of Dunfermline Athletic. The Maroons have struggled to score goals all season so it was pleasing to see striker Stephen Elliott given a rare starting place and the former Sunderland man took just three minutes to show he was worth his place in the starting eleven when he turned home Ryan McGowan's wayward effort across the Pars penalty box.

Keddie then had a chance for Dunfermline but drove his effort wide before Hearts Marius Zaliukas really should have done better with a free header at goal which soared over the crossbar. Then, the gifted Mehdi Taouil doubled Hearts lead in the 21st minute, again after work from McGowan. The ball fell to the Moroccan just inside the penalty box and while his shot on goal wasn't the most powerful he's ever struck, the ball trundled past Pars keeper Gallacher.

Early in the second half, Hearts keeper Marian Kello produced a brilliant save to deny Buchanan. It was a missed chance the visitors would soon regret as David Templeton increased Hearts lead further with 20 minutes left when he dispossessed Hardie before driving home for Hearts third goal. Home substitute Rudi Skacel put the icing on the cake in stoppage time when he headed home Hearts fourth after Gallacher couldn't hold a fierce effort from fellow substitute Ryan Stevenson.

Rumours abounded before the game that Hearts Andrew Driver had refused to take his place on the substitutes bench and this was confirmed afterwards when Hearts manager Paulo Sergio said Driver no longer wished to play for the Portuguese coach. It seems a near certainty Driver will be one of the many players leaving Tynecastle next month.

At least those who did want to play on Saturday produced a performance that pleased the home fans. McGowan, Black, Robinson and the always impressive Taouil were a cut above the rest. Dunfermline looked dangerous on the counter attack but I fear their porous defence may be their undoing in their attempt to remain in the SPL. I reckon it's between them and Edinburgh's wee team for demotion - I wish the Pars well!

Top man: Mehdi Taouil

Managing on a Par

2011-12-16T12:08:00.000-08:00

It’s not been the greatest of seasons for Scottish football. However, a few weeks ago a result lit up the gloom like a shooting star across the black November sky. Scotland’s Under 21 team defeated their Dutch counterparts 2-1 in Nijmegen in the Netherlands in a European Championship qualifying tie. It was an unexpected but most welcome result for coach Billy Stark’s side and one that made the rest of Europe sit up and take notice. The scorer of Scotland’s opening goal was striker Jordan Rhodes, who had taken his international bow, albeit briefly, for the senior side three days earlier in the friendly win over Cyprus. Much as I take a fair bit of stick for my advancing years, I like to think I’m not the only one who remembers Jordan’s father Andy keeping goal for Dunfermline Athletic two and more decades ago.

Andy was a decent keeper who moved to Fife from Oldham Athletic in 1990. I recall he displayed heroics against Hearts, helping to secure a 1-1 draw for the Pars at Tynecastle in November 1990. Now, I realise I should really have better things to do but a quick look at the teams for that game reveals names who would make names for themselves years later in managerial circles.

Hearts centre-half was a big strapping defender - from Fife, ironically. Craig Levein would, of course, go on to manage Hearts before heading to Leicester City and Dundee United before taking the job of national coach in December 2009. And selecting the son of a Dunfermline goalkeeper from two decades ago for international duty. Sadly, few of Levein’s team mates that day did anything of note in the managerial field. However, for some of the Dunfermline team, it was a different matter.

Defender David Moyes marshalled the Pars defence that afternoon. Moyes would go on to make a name for himself as one of the top managers in the Barclay’s FA Premiership, conducting minor miracles at Everton with a budget only a fraction of some of the top clubs. In midfield, was Dunfermline’s new signing - former Rangers player Billy Davies. He signed from Leicester City and spent three years at East End Park before moving to Motherwell where he became player-manager. A successful spell at Preston North End followed before Davies took Derby Country into the FA Premiership. Davies was manager at Nottingham Forest until the end of last season.

David Irons was approaching the end of his playing career but was clearly taking on board what was required to be a decent manager. Irons would go to become part of the Gretna fairy story and played against Hearts in the Scottish Cup Final of 2006 at Hampden Park. A year later, he was manager of the club and he led them to promotion to the Bank of Scotland Premier League. Sadly, things turned sour for Irons and for Gretna thereafter.

Another member of the Dunfermline team from that afternoon 21 years ago - Ian McCall - would also forge himself a reputation as a manager of some standing with successful spells at Airdrieonians and Falkirk leading to the former Rangers player being appointed manager of Dundee United. Things didn’t work out for McCall at Tannadice and after leaving Tayside, he took over at Queen of the South and then Partick Thistle.

Paul Smith was alongside McCall in that Dunfermline team. Smith would later join Hearts for a brief spell in 1995 under the short managerial reign of Tommy McLean. Jim Jefferies then sold him to Ayr United but he was then appointed manager of Berwick Rangers for seven years from 1997. Indeed, he was manager of the English side when they held Craig Levein’s Hearts to a goalless draw in a Scottish Cup tie at Shielfield Park in January 2001.

It says a lot for that Dunfermline team that drew at Tynecastle more than two decades ago that so many of them made a decent stab at the managerial game. The side was fairly workmanlike - their star player was Hungarian Istvan Kozma who sensationally signed for Liverpool for £300k two years later - but the studious nature of their manager at the time, Ian Munro, clearly rubbed off on some of the players.

One of whom in particular - Andy Rhodes - must feel his heart swell with pride at seeing his son now being touted as the next Scots scoring sensation!

Twitter @Mike1874

Lawrie Tierney

2011-12-06T11:43:00.001-08:00

1977 was a wretched year for Hearts supporters. Years of selling our best players to keep the financial wolves from the front entrance of Tynecastle had resulted in relegation from the top flight of Scottish football for the first time ever. I was just 15 years old but had already experienced nearly a decade of being a Jambo and learning that disappointment was never far away from the streets of Gorgie.

Willie Ormond left his post of manager of Scotland to take the Hearts job in the summer of 1977 and he was charged with getting the Maroons back into the Premier Division at the first time of asking. Season 1977/78 would prove to be a difficult one and there were times when many Hearts fans wondered if promotion would be achieved. Ormond turned to some of the younger players for salvation with Eammon Bannon and Walter Kidd given their opportunity to shine. As was a young midfield player called Lawrence Tierney.

I first saw 'Lawrie' play for Hearts against Montrose on a cold Wednesday evening in October 1977. These were dark days for anyone associated with Heart of Midlothian FC and the Maroons struggled from start to finish against their more spirited opponents. Montrose won 3-1 that evening, Drew Busby grabbing Hearts goal. However, there was a shining light in the gloom - the performance of the teenage Lawrie Tierney who gave a performance above his years in midfield.

Tierney became a first team regular that season, making 30 league appearances. He scored the winner against Queen of the South at Tynecastle in January 1978 in what proved to be a crucial victory as Hearts gained promotion back to the top league by the skin of their teeth. However, it proved to be a brief respite as Hearts struggled again the following season and Tierney made just 14 league appearances as Willie Ormond struggled to put together a team good enough to compete in the cut-throat Premier League.

Tierney's appearances in maroon became fewer and in 1980 he left Hearts for six unhappy months at Hibernian before a spell at Wigan Athletic. Lawrie ended his playing career in the United States.

Today, came the news that Lawrence Tierney has passed away at the tragically young age of 52. Those of us who remember Hearts dark days of the late 1970s knew that Tierney may not have been the greatest player ever to wear maroon but his commitment, work-rate and dedication to Hearts cause could never be questioned.

May I pass my condolences to his family and those who knew him.

Countdown

2011-12-06T11:11:00.001-08:00

The Real Mackay & Thru'penny Bits

2011-12-03T01:15:00.001-08:00

Like many other Hearts supporters, I sat in awe at Tynecastle in the middle of August as Tottenham Hotspur ripped the Jambos apart with a devastating display in the first leg of the final qualifying round of the Europa League. It seems Harry Redknapp’s side have got even better since then and have surged up the Barclay’s FA Premiership table. Last month, ‘Arry was waxing lyrical about a player he brought to White Hart Lane shortly after his side demolished Hearts - Scott Parker. After a sublime display against Queens Park Rangers, Redknapp likened the midfielder to the legendary Dave Mackay. The day after the Spur manager’s comments, the BBC Sports website saw it fit to run a feature called ‘Who is Dave Mackay?’ Granted, this was likely aimed at younger readers but I have to say my heart sank when I read that the country’s principal national broadcaster felt it had to clarify who one of the greatest players this country has ever produced is.

I reach the half century next year and I must confess to feeling my age, particularly when I discover the BBC feels it has to explain to the world about Dave Mackay. Now, I never saw the great man play in a Hearts shirt, the player having joined Tottenham Hotspur three years before I was born. However, like thousands of other Hearts fans, I didn’t need to see him play to understand what a great talent and a huge influence he was on the Hearts team of the 1950s and the Spurs team of the 1960s.

Perhaps I‘m at that stage in life. I’m presently writing a book on Hearts 50 Greatest Games and doing the huge amount of research required is something of a labour of love. There’s no doubt that football has changed so much over the past 40 years or so - and not all for the better.

Something that has vastly improved from decades gone by is the match programme. When I mentioned to a fellow Hearts fan several years my junior, that buying a Hearts match day programme in 1970 cost just a shilling he gave me a look of pity that suggested he was looking for a nurse to assist in coming to rescue me. Talk of ‘old money’ from before 1971, i.e. shillings, sixpences and thru’ penny bits went way above the lad’s head. When I further ventured that Tommy Murray, the Hearts player of the early 1970s, was a tanner ba’ player who could turn on a sixpence, my younger Jambo associate ran away. Perhaps it was something I said.

I attended the excellent Billy Bragg gig in Edinburgh last month, which was hugely enjoyable. However, when I purchased the tickets from the Queens Hall box office in the capital city, the pleasant and well-meaning young lady placed her hand on my lower arm and said ‘you do know it’s mostly standing at this show’. Clearly, she felt I wouldn’t be able to last two hours or so standing up. I was tempted to launch into a tirade about how I used to stand on the Tynecastle terracings every home game, probably before she was born. However, I realised this would merely come across as the ramblings of someone who should know better and would likely increase her pity shown towards me.

I have to confess I stand guilty as charged at looking at decades gone by through rose - or should that be maroon-tinted spectacles. Much as I enjoyed watching Tommy Murray, Rab Prentice, Drew Busby and Donald Ford strut their stuff in the 1970s, I can’t forget the pain endured when Hearts suffered relegation for the first time in their history in 1977. Or the trouble on the terracings when Hearts visited the likes of Dumbarton, Alloa and Queen of the South during their sojourns ‘downstairs’. But part of me does hanker for more simpler times when one didn’t have to buy a ticket to go to the game; when fans swarmed on to the terracings ten minutes before kick-off; when Tommy Murray sat on the ball at Ibrox before passing to Jim Brown who delivered a cross for Donald Ford to score a goal; when Hearts played Hibernian on a Saturday afternoon at three o’clock (ask yourself, dear reader, when did that last happen?) A time when the media didn’t have to explain to its audience who Dave Mackay was.

One thing is for sure - nostalgia ain’t what it used to be!

Twitter @Mike1874

Heart of Midlothian Nil

2011-11-20T11:08:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, Hearts played Dundee United at Tannadice. Being five weeks before Christmas and looking at an already stretched budget, I didn’t venture to Tayside. Instead, I spent a rare Saturday afternoon on front of the television and watched the excellent BBC’s Final Score. It was Scottish Cup afternoon and Airdrie United thrashed Gala Fairydean 11-0.

It was one of those scorelines that the teleprinter deems it appropriate to spell out, almost as if it patronisingly doesn’t think you’re smart enough to read ‘11’ without thinking it’s a mistake. The teleprinter has been part of the football results service for years now and in the age of cutting edge technology, you know if your take your eyes off the screen for a few minutes you risk the chance of missing an update on your team.

I’m old enough to recall the days when the BBC had Grandstand as its Saturday afternoon sports showcase and in the early 1970s there would be the legendary sports commentator/presenter David Coleman displaying a knowing grin as the final scores began to roll in at twenty minutes to five (in those days the half time interval lasted just ten minutes) I lived in Aberdeen 40 years ago and as a child at this time of year would be prone to being trailed round the shops with my mother in a last minute attempt to complete the Christmas shopping. I recall a couple of days before Christmas 1972 standing in Aberdeen’s Union Street outside a branch of Radio Rentals (ask your parents, young ‘uns) An array of television sets beamed at me from the display window - some were even in colour - and the old typewriter style printer would tap Heart of Midlothian 1.….Dundee……..then nothing but a flickering star symbol. The tension felt while waiting for the teleprinter to complete the job was quite unbearable. I crossed my fingers and hoped the next character would be ‘0’. When, after what seemed an eternity, the teleprinter typed out ‘2’, my heart sank. Being just ten years old, I wasn’t really into conspiracy theories but I harboured a suspicion about the BBC that day that has surfaced all too regularly ever since - usually at quarter to five on a Saturday. I can’t remember for sure if it was David Coleman on duty that afternoon but I can envisage his smug grin and uttering the words ‘Hearts unbeaten in four - until today’.

Even worse was the odd occasion when the teleprinter got the result wrong. I can’t remember exact details when it came to Hearts games but believe me dear reader, it did. For example Celtic…2 Hearts….3. Much dancing and leaping for joy on the streets of Aberdeen invoked looks of contempt from the locals, which turned to mirth a few moments later when the blasted teleprinter typed Corr. Celtic 2 Hearts 0. The emotional damage that could cause a young Hearts fan is incalculable.

Today, the internet and smart phone technology means we no longer have to rely on ‘Final Score’ to tell us about the fortunes of our team. However, it’s good to see the BBC have retained at least one piece of Saturday afternoon tradition. And it would be fun to see the teleprinter have a sense of humour to lift the gloom of those who are being constantly reminded of their team getting beat. For example, a few weeks ago it could have typed out Deveronvale 4 Berwick Rangers 0 (a bloody long way to go to see your team get knocked out the cup by non-league opposition); Culter 1 Partick Thistle 1 (ha-ha, Smith, that’s your fixed odd coupon busted and it’s only half time in the other games); QPR 2 Man City 3 (uh-oh, that will mean another post match rant by Neil Warnock); Newcastle United 2 (Ameobi 88) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (hah! Quick, let’s have a shot of Garth Crook’s face on camera 1 - see, not so smug now, eh Crooksy?!)

I know this is quite a juvenile way of thinking but Hearts are causing me and many others a lot of pain just now. The fella who has read the football scores on BBC1 for the last 40 odd years retired on Saturday and I was thinking how he usually gave Hearts their full name - Heart of Midlothian. Although even Tim Gudgin has now resorted to Hearts Nil...

My pain isn't eased by the crass pre Christmas period that has set in, even earlier it seems this year. However, my spirits would be lifted if the teleprinter begins 2012 on 2 January by flashing across the screen Hibs 0...Hearts… 8 (eight)

That would make it a Happy New Year...

Twitter @Mike1874

I'd Like to Know Who the Alligators Are

2011-11-12T01:04:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago Dunfermline Athletic manager Jim McIntyre spoke after his side’s Clydesdale Bank SPL encounter with Hearts. ‘I don’t think we were ever in danger of losing the game’ he said, ‘but for all we didn’t look like conceding we needed to threaten more’. An interesting analysis from the Pars boss, particularly when one considers Hearts won the game 2-0. Although the match statistics seemed to back up his need to threaten more - attempts on target 0; attempts off target 1.

Now the bold Jim was merely doing what any manager worth his salt does - he was backing his players and trying to accentuate the positive. However, losing two goals without reply does make his assertion that he didn’t think Dunfermline was ever in danger of losing the game a tad inaccurate.

The following weekend, Manchester United were giving something of a shock when their city neighbours gate crashed Old Trafford and trashed the place, City cruising to a 6-1 win. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said afterwards that it was the worst result of his career, as either a manager or a player. Naturally, this had many football anoraks out there trawling the record books for the last 50 years to see if Fergie was right. And, sure enough, it emerged that when Ferguson played as a bustling centre-forward for Falkirk, he was part of the team that lost 7-1 to Airdrieonians on the final game of season 1971/72. To be fair, you couldn’t really blame a shell-shocked Fergie overlooking a meaningless, end of season result from nearly 40 years ago, although it’s doubtful he’ll forget the Manchester derby hammering - no matter how hard he tries.

When Ferguson was a player, the managers he played under at Falkirk, Rangers, Dunfermline Athletic etc. didn’t have television cameras and microphones stuck under their noses five minutes after the end of a game. Sure, they spoke to journalists after the game but it was a much more informal arrangement in those days, perhaps a glass of beer in the boardroom and the knowledge that not everything would be reported. Nowadays, with television covering every top flight game and instant communication a necessity thanks to the internet and the advent of instant news, websites and blogs, a manager only has to look at someone the wrong way and it’s reported for the whole world to see.

McIntyre’s words after the defeat from Hearts brought to mind some other quotes from football managers from years gone by that are filed under ‘we know what you mean’ drawer. Former Aston Villa manager Ron Saunders was once asked about unrest in the dressing room and supposedly replied, 'Allegations are all very well but I would like to know who these alligators are.' A snappy response in some ways.

Former England manager, the late Ron Greenwood, once remarked that ‘playing with wingers is more effective against European sides like Brazil, than English sides like Wales’. Unsurprisingly, these comments didn’t go down particularly well with the Welsh nationalists. Another former England manager, Kevin Keegan, once said ’I came to Nantes two years ago and it's much the same today - except that it's totally different.’ Sunderland manager Steve Bruce has come under a fair bit of pressure recently. Bruce is one of those managers who is always good to listen to because he has a passion for the game that is admirable. Particularly when he says things such as ‘If you are in the six-yard box, standing in an offside position, then you are offside’.

Back in the 1960s, a Welshman, Ivor Powell, who successfully managed Bradford City and Carlisle, allegedly uttered these words after a good season on the field, 'Without doubt, one of the secrets of our successful season was the harmonium in the dressing room.' After a celebratory dinner, he was heard to say, 'We had a lovely meal. Lovely. We had a big steak with all the tarnishings.'

I’ll leave the final quote from the manager of Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Terry Butcher is another who has the gift of getting people to listen whenever he talks. His passion for the game and for his country is second to none (even if it is England…) Back in January 2010, during the week when the top flight clubs came into the Scottish Cup, Terry was quoted as saying ‘The beauty of Cup football is that Jack always has a chance of beating Goliath.’

I hope Jack isn’t a happy boy in a couple of weeks when the Highlanders visit the capital city...

Twitter @Mike1874　

1976 Remembered - Motherwell 1 Hearts 4

2011-11-03T12:55:00.000-07:00

Scottish football restructured its league set up in the mid 1970s and the clubs in the top flight knew they had to finish in the top ten to be included in the new-look Premier Division. Hearts made such an awful start to season 1974/75, not only were they not in the top ten in the early weeks of this crucial season - they were 18th in a league of eighteen! When Hearts lost 5-0 to Dundee United at Tannadice on 12 October 1974, they slumped to the foot of the table, having not won a league game all season. Before the Tannadice torment, Hearts had lost 4-1 at Aberdeen and by the same scoreline at Partick Thistle. Although they were only four points off the crucial tenth place in the league, the Hearts board of directors knew action had to be taken sooner rather than later and they dismissed manager Bobby Seith, replacing him with coach John Hagart.

The results were immediate. Hagart’s infectious enthusiasm for the game rubbed off on previously demoralised players and they defeated Airdrieonians to record their first win of the season before grabbing a 1-1 draw against Rangers at Ibrox the following week. There was still the odd rogue result but slowly Hearts began to climb the table. The improvement was such that the maroons ended season 1974/75 in eighth place in the league - and would therefore be part of the top ten Premier League of clubs for 1975/76. Their recovery was laudable but they were only four points away from not making it and being relegated for the first time in their history. The cracks had been papered over - for now.

Hearts fared only slightly better in the first season of the Premier Division and ended in fifth place in the table - their best league finish in six years but, again, perilously close to the drop, finishing just three points ahead of relegated Dundee. The league set up wasn’t without its critics. Many observers said the league was too tight, teams playing each other four times a season would be a classic case of familiarity breeding contempt; safety first would be the order of the day in order to survive this new cut-throat league rather than trying to entertain the fans. It was difficult to argue with these assertions.

Away from the intensity of the Premier Division, Hearts had at least reached the Scottish Cup Final in May 1976 where they faced treble-chasing Rangers at Hampden. Hearts path to the final was laboured to say the least and involved replays over Clyde, two replays over Montrose (Graham ‘Shuggie’ Shaw’s scrambled last minute equaliser in the first game at Links Park remains a vivid memory) and a semi-final replay over Dumbarton where a certain Walter Smith helped Hearts reach the final by scoring an own goal for the Sons of the Rock. Sadly, Hearts luck ran out in the final itself. The omens weren’t good when referee Bobby Davidson blew for kick off at two minutes to three - and Rangers scored in the opening minute. Thus Hearts were a goal behind before the official kick off time. Rangers won 3-1 and with Hearts about to enter some dark days, it would be another decade before the maroons would grace another Scottish Cup Final.

The summer of 1976 was a long, hot one. While most of us enjoyed the baking heat the country was affected by a serious drought. I was 14 years old in 1976 and, as usual during the summer months, I looked forward to the end of the football drought. Hearts began season 1976/77 with a friendly - or challenge match as the marketing people like to call them - at Tynecastle against Southampton. It was a considerable coup to get the Saints to Edinburgh as Lawrie McMenemy’s side had sensationally lifted the FA cup just weeks before, defeating much fancied Manchester United in the final. However, Hearts won 3-0 and followed this up two days later by winning the East of Scotland Shield thrashing Meadowbank Thistle 8-0 in the final at Tynecastle (I can’t recall what happened to Hibs but then I don’t really care) These two wins might not have meant that much but they did put the Hearts players in a confident frame of mind for the start of the League Cup a week later.

Hearts recent record in this competition was nothing to write home about and they were drawn in a tricky section with Dundee, Partick Thistle and Motherwell. Hearts, though, made a brilliant start and won their first three games before sharing six goals with Partick Thistle at Tynecastle. John Hagart’s men then travelled to Fir Park for the return fixture with Motherwell and this seemed the most difficult fixture in the section as The Steelmen, with striker Willie Pettigrew one of the most feared strikers in Scottish football. Alongside Pettigrew was the former Celtic striker Harry Hood so the Hearts defence were prepared for a difficult afternoon. Or so they thought…

Motherwell: Hunter, Millar, Wark, Farrell, McVie, Stevens, Hood, Pettigrew, Graham, McLaren, Marinello

Hearts: Wilson, Brown, Kay, Jefferies, Gallacher, Clunie, Park, Busby, Gibson, Callachan, Prentice.

Referee: C. Hutton

In bright late August sunshine it was the home team who started the more impressively and it was no surprise when Hood put them ahead with a close range effort after sixteen minutes. Despite Hearts impressive start to the season, one suspected it was going to be a long afternoon for the maroons. However, within a couple of minutes they drew level. Jim Brown delivered a long ball towards the Motherwell penalty box. Well’s keeper Hunter and centre half McVie both went to clear the ball and then decided to leave it to each other. Hearts Drew Busby didn’t hang around and he nipped in to drill the ball into the net for the equaliser.

One could almost see the confidence drain from the home side after gifting such a goal and it took just another four minutes for Hearts to go in front. Ralph Callachan, the impressive young midfielder, was given plenty room on the edge of the Motherwell penalty box and he fired an unstoppable shot past Hunter to put Hearts 2-1 ahead. Two minutes later, the home side should have made it parity when Jim Jefferies handled the ball inside his own penalty area and referee Hutton blew for a penalty kick. Former Hibs and Arsenal star Peter Marinello - once dubbed the new George Best - took the kick and struck it well but Hearts keeper Brian Wilson produced a brilliant save to keep Hearts ahead. It was all happening and only two further minutes were played when Hearts increased their lead. Little Donald Park was causing the home defence plenty of problems and he set off on a run that took him away from McVie and full back Wark. Within shooting range of goal, wee Parky’s fierce effort left Hunter without an earthly and Hearts were 3-1 ahead before half an hour was played.

It had been a remarkable transformation in such a short period of time and with Park and Rab Prentice wreaking havoc down the flanks, Ralph Callachan orchestrating the midfield and Willie Gibson and Drew Busby looking threatening up front, Hearts were now in total control and looking like they could score at will. Most impressive, though, was the way this Hearts team worked for one another. Park and Prentice would double up as extra defenders as Motherwell tried desperately to try and come back into the game and if defender Jim Jefferies would lose out in a tackle he knew there was the likes of John Gallacher or Dave Clunie on hand to help out. Hearts looked worthy of their 3-1 half time lead.

It was inevitable Motherwell would come out with all guns blazing at the start of the second half. They knew they had to win to keep alive their hopes of progressing to the knock out stages of the competition and Pettigrew and Hood tried their best to get on the end of deliveries by Marinello and Graham. Hearts were pinned back for a spell at the beginning of the second half but in the 52^nd minute the maroons broke forward to devastating effect. Rab Prentice collected the ball from a clearance from his defenders and ran into the Motherwell penalty box. The mercurial skills of the ebullient Prentice could cause any defender problems when was on form and Rab was on fire that afternoon. As he danced into the penalty box home defender Millar brought him down and Hearts were awarded a penalty kick. Unlike Marinello in the first half, Drew Busby made no mistake to end the game as a contest at 4-1 to Hearts. There endeth the scoring and a quite superb Hearts performance that put one of the best teams in Scotland to the sword in their own patch. Curiously five of that defeated Motherwell team - Willie McVie, Peter Marinello, Stewart McLaren, Gregor Stevens and Willie Pettigrew - would later play for Hearts at some stage in their career.

Hearts duly progressed to the quarter finals of the League Cup and were again in fine form as they defeated First Division Falkirk 4-1 in the first leg at Tynecastle - although they did lose the return leg 4-3. In the semi final Hearts faced Celtic at Hampden Park on a Monday evening in October. John Hagart’s men again played well and in an incredible final five minutes of the first half took the lead through Jim Brown only for Kenny Dalglish to equalise seconds before the break. In the second half Hearts were than holding their own before s shocking challenge on Graham Shaw incredibly went unpunished. As the Hearts players waited in vain for the referee Hugh Alexander’s whistle, Celtic raced up the park and Dalglish fell theatrically in the penalty box after a challenge by John Gallacher. Penalty said the referee, Dalglish converted and Celtic were 2-1 ahead. Both these decisions - not to award a free kick to Hearts and to award a penalty kick to Celtic - angered the Hearts players and Rab Prentice in particular. The winger brought down Celtic’s Doyle in a chalenge that was certainly no worse that the one minutes earlier on Shaw. However, Prentice was sent off and with him went Hearts chances of reaching the League Cup Final. An incensed Shaw very nearly joined Prentice for an early bath, captain Jim Brown succeeding in calming the former Dunfermline player down.

It was to Hearts immense credit they continued to take the game to Celtic, even with ten men. Full back Roy Kay forced Celtic keeper Latchford into a fine save but the Hoops held on for a narrow and extremely fortunate win.

Hearts had already played in the European Cup Winners Cup this season - this is covered in the next chapter. However, their season would be defined the next time they played Celtic four weeks later in the Premier Division at Tynecastle. A Willie Gibson hat trick had Hearts 3-1 ahead after a tremendous first half display. However, the roof fell in on the home team in the second half and the visitors won 4-3. It was a defeat that altered the course of Hearts season. Confidence drained, they never recovered their early season sparkle and struggled thereafter. I’ll draw a veil over the rest of the season, suffice to say Hearts slump resulted in a ninth place finish in the top ten Premier Division - and with two clubs being relegated, Hearts, agonisingly, found themselves demoted for the first time in their long and proud history.

A sad state of affairs that would have seemed unthinkable that August day in Motherwell when an impressive Hearts team looked like they were good enough to actually win the League Cup. How things changed in such a short space of time…　

Heart of Midlothian 0 Kilmarnock 1

2011-10-30T07:10:00.000-07:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL- Saturday 29 October 2011, Tynecastle

Almost a year to the day since Kilmarnock coasted to a 3-0 win over Hearts at Tynecastle, the Ayrshire men were at it again on Saturday as they took all three points against an aimless home team. Hearts weren't helped by the foolish sending off of tempestuous midfielder Ian Black after just 15 minutes. The former Caley Thistle man lunged in on former Hibby Dean Shiels, leaving referee Alan Muir little choice but to flash a red card. Being a man short for 75 minutes would always mean an uphill task for the home team to take anything from the game but, curiously, they continued to dominate the first half. Skacel and Stevenson both had chances before a decent shout for a penalty when the ball hit the arm of Pursehouse was ignored by referee Muir, some of whose decisions were, shall we say, questionable to say the least.

Unsurprisingly, given their numerical advantage, Killie came more into the game in the second half and scored the game's only goal after 55 minutes, when Hefferman ran through on goal only to be fouled by Marius Zaliukas. From my vantage point in the Wheatfield Stand, I thought the foul was committed outside the penalty box. Referee Muir consulted with his assistant before awarding a penalty kick to Killie - Dean Shiels duly converted. For reasons known only to himself, referee Muir showed only a yellow card to Zaliukas for his indiscretion when it seemed to me he clearly denied the Killie man a goalscoring opportunity. But then, the referee had a bizarre afternoon, something Hearts manager Paulo Sergio seemed to agree with when he was sent to the stand by the official in the second half.

For the second game in succession, Hearts have been left empty-handed from a game they deserved to take something. Black's dismissal didn't help and the home players visibly tired towards the end of the game. However, it's perhaps time for changes to be made to this Hearts team. Ian Black is a talented player but he is fast becoming a liability. Quite what he was thinking of when he lunged in on Shiels, one can only guess. At the back, Zaliukas is another who can hardly be described as dependable - how many times has the Lithuanian cost Hearts dear? Again, Hearts began the game with no recognised strikers although I thought Sergio had taken a nose bleed when he brought on both Stephen Elliott and Gordon Smith late in the game in an effort to salvage a point.

It would be nice to think this might change at St. Mirren next week. Black will be suspended so there should be a welcome return for the gifted Mehdi Taouil. A front two of Elliott and Smith with, perhaps Darren Barr in defence? Probably not...

Top man: David Templeton - looking back to his best before he tired in the second half

Fergie's Worst Defeat...

2011-10-27T11:17:00.000-07:00

Sir Alex Ferguson described Manchester United's 6-1 hammering from rivals City last Sunday as 'the worst result in his history' Apparently, he had never lost by such a heavy score even as a player.

The above team photo is Falkirk from season 1970/71. On 26 April 1971, the Bairns lost 7-1 to Airdrieonians. Pictured front right is a player who who played that afternoon - 29 year old Alex Ferguson...

Mario Balotelli

2011-10-24T23:41:00.000-07:00

The Manchester City striker is now the face of a firework safety campaign - days after his house caught fire after someone let off a firework in his bathroom. There are some things you just can't make up...

Heart of Midlothian 0 Rangers 2

2011-10-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Sunday 23 October 2011

Having seen their team dispose of Celtic three weeks ago, Hearts fans held high hopes their heroes could complete an Old Firm double at Tynecastle this afternoon. But we older Hearts supporters know only too well what happens when we get high hopes...

Hearts certainly began the game brightly and dominated the opening 20 minutes. David Templeton was in the mood to cause problems and Rangers defender Whittaker was cautioned after just ten minutes for a lunge at the winger. The hard working Ryan Stevenson had a chance to open the scoring but failed to take it and there was an inevitability about Rangers taking the lead on 20 minutes. The aforementioned Whittaker was allowed to run at length through a far too accommodating Hearts defence and the former Hibby set up Naismith who slotted the ball beyond Marian Kello. It was a lead the visitors scarcely deserved and it took the wind out of Hearts sails. Gradually, they got a head of steam once more. Stevenson got on the end of a through ball from Ian Black but he was denied by the combined effort of former Hearts player Lee Wallace and Bocanegra. The best chance, though, fell to Rudi Skacel who fired in a great effort from 20 yards which brought a brilliant save from Rangers keeper McGregor.

Hearts began the second half the same way they began the first with Templeton causing problems. On 64 minutes, Temps danced his way into the Rangers penalty box and crossed for Adrian Mrowiec. It seemed certain the Pole would score but he needed more than one touch and his effort trundled wide of the goal when it seemed easier to score. Inevitably, Rangers took full advantage and substitute Jelavic scored Rangers second when he steered home a Bocanegra cross and that was that.

Despite flashes of skill from David Templeton and the industry of Ryan Stevenson and Ian Black, it was a poor showing from the home team. Both full backs - Jamie Hamill and Danny Grainger - had days to forget while Rudi Skacel, his effort on goal apart, looked off the pace. Worryingly, Hearts look clueless up front - perhaps this is not surprising given manager Paulo Sergio's penchant for not playing any recognised centre forwards. John Sutton wasn't even on the substitute's bench today.

And, man, Hearts could have done with a presence up front.

Top man: Ryan Stevenson

Matchstick Men (and women)

2011-10-22T00:59:00.000-07:00

The above photograph of deeply troubled souls departing Aberdeen's Pittodrie Stadium is the banner of Kenfitlike's excellent blog Whale Oil Beef Hooked

As Ken says, if the artist LS Lowry was still around today, he would surely have taken inspiration from this image.

Rooney in Plea to UEFA

2011-10-17T12:50:00.001-07:00

Pride & Passion Counts Too

2011-10-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

There was a fair bit of hoo-ha the other week about Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez apparent refusal to come on as a second half substitute during the UEFA Champions League game with Bayern Munich. The Argentine playmaker was subsequently banned for two weeks for his actions (or lack of action)

It added further weight to the theory that some of today’s highly paid footballers in the Barclays FA Premiership have inflated egos and are in a world far removed from the working class origins that started football a century and a half ago. Many fans opined, quite rightly, that those players earning upwards of £150k per week should, at the very least, be carrying out instructions from their manager.

Those of us lucky enough to have jobs in today’s rapidly downtrodden economic climate would certainly think long and hard before refusing to carry out an instruction from our bosses. When my manager stomps towards my desk on Monday morning demanding I produce that report that should have been on his desk on Friday afternoon, I harbour a sizeable suspicion that he won’t take kindly to my response of ‘sorry, boss, I’m unable to produce that report as I’m not mentally attuned’. Like Tevez, I could run to the press and tell them my side of the story - I have personal problems, my wife has ran off with my best mate…and I miss him terribly - but a) the tabloid press wouldn’t be in the least bit interested and b) I would be handed my P45 before I made it out the office. Some footballers in today’s money laden football world think they can do whatever they please.

However, Carlos Tevez isn’t the first player to disobey an instruction from his manager. Back in season 1997/98, Dutch striker Pierre Van Hooijdonk went on strike at Nottingham Forest, apparently over the lack of signings at the club. The former Celtic player was unhappy at what he perceived to be a lack of ambition and asked for a transfer. Having just paid £4.5m for the player, Forest quite understandably, didn’t agree to his request and so the player went on strike. The Forest manager at the time, Dave Bassett, was furious and the affect it had on team morale was considerable as the team slumped to the bottom of the FA Premiership. Bassett was sacked following the team’s poor start and when Van Hooijdonk eventually returned to the team and scored against Derby County, very few of his team mates celebrated with him. He had been metaphorically sent to Coventry although even if you leave the metaphor aside it’s doubtful if City would have taken him anyway…

A surprising aside to this story emerged a couple of days later when former Manchester United player Paul Scholes revealed he once refused to play for the Red Devils in a League Cup tie ten years ago. He had been dropped by Sir Alex Ferguson for United’s previous game against Liverpool, Scholes went in, what we Scots call ‘the huff’ with his manager - a dangerous ploy given Fergie’s notorious temperament. However, Scholes soon realised the error of his ways and apologised to the manager soon after - perhaps realising his lucrative career at Old Trafford would be flushed down the pan if his foolhardy attitude persisted.

Player power can have its positive side with players bonding and showing a unity that can help a team through periods of adversity. However, selfish actions such as those displayed by Carlos Tevez are a kick in the teeth to the fans who help pay towards his considerable wages. One of the many good things about grass roots football is that such attitudes rarely exist at this level and while the football may not reach the standard of skill of Tevez and co. there’s a lot to be said for good, honest endeavour.

There’s also a lot to be said for local lads representing their local team, something supporters can associate far more easily than the here today, gone tomorrow, badge-kissing mercenaries of top-flight football. Hearts have been lucky in recent years to have had the likes of Gary Mackay and current assistant coach Gary Locke wear the Hearts shirt with pride. Perhaps they weren’t as skilful as Tevez but they played with a passion that couldn’t be matched.

I have to go now, as I’ve just received a text message from my best mate. Do I want the missus back…?

Twitter @Mike1874

Does it Go All the Way?

2011-10-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

I suspect not. Someone at Lothian Buses with a sense of humour!

Heart of Midlothian 2 Celtic 0

2011-10-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Sunday 2 October 2011

A recurring theme in a book I'm working on - Hearts 50 Greatest Games (book plug number 94) - is the inconsistency that has blighted Hearts throughout the years. It seems season 2011/12 is proving to be just like any other. After poor performances against Ayr United in the Scottish Communities League Cup and St. Johnstone in the Clydesdale Bank SPL, Hearts at last gave their long-suffering supporters something to cheer with a well-deserved victory over Celtic.

Heavy overnight rain in Edinburgh - a couple of days after temperatures in the capital were in the mid 70s - cast some doubt as to whether the game would go ahead but the Tynecastle pitch passed a 10.45am pitch inspection and battle commenced two hours later.

Hearts manager Paulo Sergio made some changes with David Templeton and Rudi Skacel coming in to give the team some much needed width. Just four minutes had gone when the hugely impressive Ryan Stevenson was left unmarked in the Celtic penalty area and the former Ayr United man's header was saved by Forster. Marius Zaliukas then hit the post with a shot from the edge of the penalty box as Hearts began to believe in themselves. However, Celtic should have taken the lead after 20 minutes but Bangura's header was not strong enough to beat Hearts keeper Jamie MacDonald.

The game swung from end to end but it seemed a goal would not arrive - until the 58th minute. David Templeton struggled to control a cross from Jamie Hamill but the ball fell to Rudi Skacel who drilled it home for the opening goal. The Czech Republic star was about to be substituted but his well taken goal gave him a stay of execution. Minutes later, Celtic's Kris Commons was shown a straight red card by referee Craig Thomson after a lunge on Mrowiec and the game ran away from the visitors.

Hearts clinched a fine win ten minutes from the end when David Templeton chased a ball inside the Celtic penalty box before cleverly back-heeling a pass to Ryan Stevenson. 'Stevo' showed great composure as he took the ball round Forster before firing into the net to seal Hearts victory.

Hearts are now fourth in the Clydesdale Bank SPL. Under Paulo Sergio, The Maroons have won four games at Tynecastle and have yet to concede a goal. It's a different story altogether away from Gorgie - something the manager knows he has to address if Hearts are to make anything of this season.

Top man: Ryan Stevenson. He may not be the most gifted player ever to wear maroon, but no one works harder or is more committed. And he took his goal well.

Not Hearts v Celtic

2011-10-02T00:48:00.000-07:00

Things you might not hear at Tynecastle this afternoon...

I love coming to Tynecastle. I have such a high regard for Hearts as a club and its supporters - Neil Lennon.

I thought the referee was immense today, he didn't put a foot wrong. He's a credit to his profession - Neil Lennon.

Right, John Sutton - you'll be the target man with Stephen Elliot and I want you, David Templeton and you, Arvydas Novikovas to stretch the Celtic defence down the wings - Paulo Sergio.

And Ian Black pulled out of that 50-50 challenge at the last minute - Sky Sports commentator.

David Obua beat four Celtic defenders before superbly lobbing the keeper for his hat-trick and Hearts fourth goal of the afternoon - Sky Sports commentator.

I'm going to run and run for 90 minutes until my lungs burst - Rudi Skacel.

I feel a bit of a twinge in my hamstring but, hey, it's nothing I won't be able to run off and I'll be fine - Andy Webster.

Okay, lads, I'm expecting a quiet afternoon with no hostility, so let's keep a low profile. Help yourself to tea and biscuits in the police commander's room as I don't think you'll be too busy - Lothian & Borders Police Chief to his officers.

Ah, Paulo. You're doing a brilliant job. I'm going to give you a five year contract and you can pick whoever you want for the team. I trust you - Vladimir Romanov.

Paul Hartley

2011-10-01T06:36:00.000-07:00

Having been out for a couple of shandies on a Friday evening three weeks ago, I didn’t venture north for Hearts Clydesdale Bank SPL clash with Inverness Caledonian Thistle. I figured my delicate constitution, in its post-alcoholic state, would struggle with a three and a half hour train journey to the beautiful capital of the Highlands. Instead, I headed to Larbert to see East Stirlingshire take on a side now managed by a man still hugely popular with supporters of both Hearts and Celtic - one Paul Hartley (as used to be chanted at Tynecastle)

The man who destroyed Hibernian with a hat-trick in the Scottish Cup semi final at Hampden five and a half years ago is now player-manager of Third Division Alloa Athletic and while he opted to remain in his suit, collar and tie for the short trip to Ochilview, there’s no doubt Hartley is already exerting considerable influence over The Wasps. Alloa played a neat, passing game which some may say might prove their undoing in the hurley burley of the basement league, although it didn’t stop Livingston powering their way to the Third Division title a couple of seasons back. With former Aberdeen players Darren Young and Robbie Winters providing experience, The Wasps won 1-0 and it was interesting to see Hartley, a rookie manager, continually encouraging his players from the touchline.

It was Craig Levein who brought Paul Hartley to Tynecastle in 2003 after the former Hamilton and Millwall winger came to the end of his contract at St. Johnstone. Hartley’s 18 months at Hibernian meant he would never become an immediate pin-up hero with Hearts supporters and it’s fair to say it took a couple of years before the Glasgow born player began to make a major impact at Tynecastle. Under George Burley’s tutelage, Hartley was an essential part of Hearts midfield alongside Rudi Skacel, Julien Brellier and, later during season 2005-06, Bruno Aguiar. Hartley’s performances that season were immense, his pace with lung bursting runs from midfield causing havoc with opposition defenders. His three goals against Hibernian in that cup semi-final were, arguably, the apex of his career and the memory of him despatching a penalty kick to complete the four-goal rout before running to the adoring Hearts support with three fingers in the air remains vivid. Hartley, of course, also scored the penalty kick that defeated Aberdeen before tumultuous acclaim at Tynecastle in the penultimate league game of the season - a win that ensured Hearts finished second in the SPL and therefore clinched a place in the qualifying stages for the following season’s UEFA Champions League.

Six months later, Hartley signed for the team he supported as a boy - Celtic - in a deal worth more than a million pounds to Hearts. Perhaps even the man himself would agree that he wasn’t quite as effective during his time at Celtic Park and, after a spell back in England with Bristol City, he returned to Scotland with Aberdeen where he was made club captain. Sadly, injury meant he had to give up top-flight football at the end of last season and he accepted the opportunity to become Alloa Athletic’s player-manager during the summer.

I had hoped to see the great man in action against East Stirlingshire but, with his 35^th birthday just a few weeks away, he believed the players in his team would do the business without his influence on the field. And he was right. The Wasps won the game by a solitary goal but they were never in any danger of losing and it was to their great credit they tried to play a passing game with the studious Paul Hartley analysing almost every move.

Having been relegated to the Third Division following a play-off defeat by Annan Athletic at the end of last season, Alloa are among the favourites to bounce straight back up again. Led by a man who remains a hero to thousands of Hearts supporters, I would be very surprised if The Wasps didn’t live up to expectations. Similarly, in the Irn Bru Second Division, another former Jambo, Colin Cameron - who scored the opening goal in Hearts 1998 Scottish Cup Final triumph over Rangers - is doing a fine job at Cowdenbeath.

The likes of Craig Levein, John Robertson and, of course, Jim Jefferies before them made the transition from Hearts player to Hearts manager. Given the early impression both Hartley and Cameron have made as coaches, one couldn’t rule out the possibility of a Hearts Scottish Cup hero returning to Tynecastle one day in a managerial role!

Twitter @Mike1874

Heart of Midlothian 2 St. Mirren 0

2011-09-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 17 September 2011 - Tynecastle

Hearts continued their renaissance under manager Paul Sergio with a comfortable win over St. Mirren in Gorgie. The Maroons have been unbeaten since Tottenham Hotspur put them to the sword at Tynecastle a month ago but, it has to be said, this was a tedious affair in the autumn sunshine.

I wrote in my column for the Hearts programme about how there are few stadia that can match the atmosphere of a full house at Tynecastle. That appeared to be the kiss of death. There wasn't a full house today and the atmosphere was muted and most unlike Tynecastle. Whether this had an effect on the players, it's difficult to tell but lethargy dominated proceedings, certainly in the first half.

There's a running joke - if you'll excuse the pun - among Hearts fans about how long the perennially injured Andy Webster will last each match. Webster was listed in the starting line up today but didn't even make it to kick-off - he was injured in the warm up and was replaced by Eggert Jonsson. Webster is a decent defender but there has to be questions asked about his fitness for top class football - okay, then, the SPL...

The only moment of note in the opening 40 minutes was a long range effort from the impressive Mehdi Taouil - himself returning from injury - which brought a fine save from Saints keeper Samson. Just as it seemed the game would be goalless at half time, Hearts Marius Zaliukas ventured forward into the visitors penalty box and was tripped by Haddad. Penalty said referee Charlie Richmond and despite the best efforts of keeper Samson to put him off, Jamie Hamill drilled the ball home for the opening goal. Moments later, David Obua should have doubled Hearts lead when he burst into the penalty box but his effort on goal was saved by Samson when the Ugandan really ought to have buried the opportunity.

Hearts were in command in the second half and secured victory with a second goal 20 minutes from the end when Ryan Stevenson dived to head home Danny Grainger's cross although some reports are stating it was an own goal from Lee Mair. 'Stevo' certainly took the acclaim. There endeth the scoring.

Hearts are now a point off third place in the Clydesdale Bank SPL. A victory is most welcome but Paulo Sergio's mission to change Hearts style of play will be a long-term project - and managers at Tynecastle don't tend to be there long enough for such a transition. Certainly today, it seemed like the game lasted far longer than 90 minutes...

Top man: Mehdi Taouil, who just oozes skill.

David Francey

2011-09-15T11:13:00.000-07:00

Sad news today about the passing of one of the great football commentators in Scotland - David Francey. The man who commentated on hundreds of Scottish football games for more than two decades until he retired in the late 1980s had been ill for some time.

I grew up listening to David Francey on the radio. He was the voice of football. There was a great story about him commentating on a Scotland game in Romania in the 1970s when he turned, off microphone, to summariser Ian Archer and asked 'Who's that Romanian number 4?' Archer replied 'F*cked if I know!'

Francey then told the listeners 'And Romania clear through Fuctifino...'

Francey said later this was a myth but it's still a great story. There was something almost comforting about listening to the great man on the radio. He sounded like a loveable grandad who would never criticise players or managers and his knowledge of the game was legendary.

A sad loss to football and to Scottish broadcasting.

East Stirlingshire 0 Alloa Athletic 1

2011-09-11T11:57:00.000-07:00

Irn Bru Scottish League Third Divison, Saturday 10 September 2011 - Ochilview

Having been out for a couple of shandies on Friday evening, I didn’t venture north for Hearts clash with Inverness Caledonian Thistle. I figured my delicate constitution would struggle with a three and a half hour train journey to the beautiful capital of the Highlands. Instead, I headed to Larbert to see my other team, East Stirlingshire, take on a side now managed by a man still hugely popular with Hearts supporters - one Paul Hartley (as used to be chanted at Tynecastle)

The man who destroyed Hibernian with a hat trick in the Scottish Cup semi final at Hampden five and a half years ago is now player-manager of Third Division Alloa Athletic and while he opted to remain in his suit, collar and tie for the short trip to Ochilview, there’s no doubt Hartley is already exerting considerable influence over The Wasps. Alloa played a neat, passing game which some might say will prove their undoing in the hurley burley of the basement league although it didn’t stop Livingston powering their way to the Third Division title a couple of seasons back. With former Aberdeen players Darren Young and Robbie Winters providing experience, The Wasps won 1-0 and it was interesting to see Hartley, a rookie manager, continually encouraging his players from the touchline.

Shire played some decent football at times and manager John Couglin has the team playing more of a passing game. However, as has been proved so far this season, Shire have nothing up front and their decent play counts for nothing when they get to the final third of the field. Chances are few and far between so when they do come along they really have to take them. After half an hour, Ally Love had a glorious chance to open the scoring when he pounced on a mistake from Ben Gordon but the Shire man, having rounded the goalkeeper, then contrived to place his shot wide of the post. Inevitably, Alloa scored just before half time when the aforementioned Gordon diverted McCord's cross for the only goal of the game.

I had hoped to see Paul Hartley in action but, with his 35^th birthday just a few weeks away, he believed the players in his team would do the business without his influence on the field. And he was right. Having been relegated to the Third Division following a play-off defeat by Annan Athletic at the end of last season, Alloa are among the favourites to bounce straight back up again. Led by a man who remains a hero to thousands of Hearts supporters, I would be very surprised if The Wasps didn’t live up to expectations.

As for Shire, they may be bottom of the league but they won't be there for long. If only they could unearth a striker who knows where the goal is...

Twitter @Mike1874

Death of a Football Ground

2011-09-10T13:03:00.001-07:00

A highly emotive video for devotees of East Stirlingshire FC...

Laced Up Boots and Paulo Sergio

2011-09-04T10:53:00.000-07:00

Money may be changing football in a way many of us find disconcerting but while the rich clubs get stronger and stronger as others struggle for survival there remains one constant that has almost become a tradition in the game - certainly from when I first began following Hearts as a six year old in 1968. Namely, the adaptation of popular songs into football chants. Last week, as Hearts celebrated yet another Edinburgh derby victory over Hibernian, Tynecastle Stadium announcer extraordinaire Scott Wilson played a song that has quickly become adapted by the Maroon Army following the recent appointment of Paulo Sergio as Hearts manager. Unlikely as it may seem but the chorus of KC and the Sunshine Band’s 1982 hit ‘Give it Up’ was belted out with some gusto by Hearts fans, their arrangement being Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na, Na - Paulo Sergio, Sergio, Paulo Sergio! (forgive me if I’ve missed out a Na or two there!) As I departed the atmospheric Section G of the Wheatfield Stand, Hearts fans were gleefully chanting this little ditty in the direction of those Hibs fans still left in the Roseburn Stand by the time the game ended. Why it has taken nearly 30 years for this song to be adapted is not entirely clear but it’s the latest in a long line of songs to be adapted by Hearts fans for football purposes.

It wasn’t that long ago that another song from that era - Culture Club’s ‘Karma Chameleon’ - was sung by Hearts fans in homage to legendary striker John Robertson (Robbo, Robbo, Robbo - well, you get the picture) However, there are songs from even further back that have become Tynecastle anthems. The legendary Frank Sinatra passed away just a few weeks before Hearts Scottish Cup triumph in 1998. His most famous song - My Way - has been adopted almost exclusively by Hearts supporters as their proclamation they are heading to foreign shores as in ‘So Make a Noise, We’re the Gorgie Boys, We’re Going to Europe’

It’s incredible to think that another Hearts song - ‘By the Light of the Silvery Moon’ (we’re the boys in maroon) - dates back to 1909, the Edwardian era when football was played in black and white and it had been just seven years since Hibs had last lifted the Scottish Cup. More recently, although I’m still going back four decades, is a song by The Beatles. The chorus of ‘Hey Jude’ has long been belted out by Hearts fans - Na, Na, Na, Na Jam Tarts - and the song is still played today by the aforementioned Scott Wilson as the team runs out on to the Tynecastle field.

Another song from the 1960s by another legendary band has become a relatively recent addition to the football anthems. The chorus from The Beach Boys classic Sloop John B has been re-arranged by supporters of clubs other than Hearts - and some, it has to be said, rather distastefully - but the Maroon Army used it to good effect when Hearts went 2-0 up against Hibs in the derby. ‘Your season is over - why don’t you go home?’ When Tottenham Hotspur came to Gorgie last month their fans were greeted with 'Your city's on fire - why don't you go home?

There have been numerous other songs modified by supporters for the purpose of lending their support to their heroes. ‘When the Saints go Marching in’ began as an American gospel hymn but has been chanted at most football grounds in Britain, including Tynecastle.

One of my personal favourites from a few years ago was Hearts fans rendition of ‘Hersham Boys‘, a classic from punk legends Sham 69. Hearts fans used to chant on the Tynecastle terracing Gorgie Boys, Gorgie Boys, Laced Up Boots and Corduroys - although admittedly this had more sinister connotations in an age when violence on the terracings was commonplace. I seem to recall this being chanted frequently during Hearts sojourn in the First Division when the Gorgie Boys would announce their arrival at places such as Dumbarton, Dumfries and Dundee.

I’ve written before about how there are few stadia that can match the atmosphere of a full house at Tynecastle. Money may be influencing football like never before but thankfully, the fans and their songs of devotion to their team will ensure the game will never stray too far from its working class roots. And with any luck, Scott Wilson will be belting out Jeff Beck’s Hi Ho Silver Lining at Tynecastle at the end of the season!

Twitter @Mike1874

Heart of Midlothian 2 Hibernian 0

2011-08-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Sunday 28 August 2011 - Tynecastle

As I took my seat in the Wheatfield Stand this afternoon, I have to confess I felt uneasy. Edinburgh derbies are always tense occasions (at least until Hearts inevitably open the scoring) but when I heard the Hearts team announced by the always excellent Scott Wilson my anxiety increased. David Templeton, Rudi Skacel, Arvydas Novikovas and Eggert Jonsson were all on the subsitutes bench. John Sutton, Mehdi Taouil and the youngster who was so impressive at White Hart Lane on Thursday - Ryan McGowan - didn't even get on to the bench. The much-missed Kevin Kyle, who had targeted the Edinburgh derby as his comeback game, was nowhere to be seen.

Ryan Stevenson, who knows a thing about scoring in Edinburgh derbies, partnered Stephen Elliott up front. Full backs Jamie Hamill and Danny Grainger were encouraged to make forward runs. I wasn't convinced this would work but, in the end, I need not have worried.

It wasn't the greatest Edinburgh derby ever played but Hearts won comfortably after dominating the proceedings. There was a slight delay to the kick-off after some lout in the Hibs end thought it smart to lob a smoke bomb on to the pitch. A flare then appeared on the corner of the field but it was unclear where this was thrown from. What can be done about these idiots?

Hearts enjoyed plenty possession but a lapse in concentration in defence allowed O'Connor a header at goal which, thankfully, went wide. Six minutes before half time Hearts took the lead their domination deserved when fine play from Jamie Hamill on the right wing found Ryan Stevenson in the penalty box and former Ayr United man calmly stroked the ball past Hibs keeper Stack.

The second half followed the same pattern as the first with Hearts on top. Stephen Elliot hit the post before forcing a fine save from Stack who then saved well from Andrew Driver. Hearts doubled their lead with 20 minutes left when a brilliant cross from Hamill was headed home by Andy Webster. Hibs Sodje hacked the ball off the line but it seemed the ball had crossed for a goal. Jonsson blasted the rebound into the net to make sure but the goal was Webster's.

There endeth the scoring and a good week for Hearts who restored some pride with a goalless draw with Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane during the week and continued their domination of the Edinburgh derby. It was pointed out after the game that Hearts have won 276 Edinburgh derbies to Hibs 200. Even if Hibs were to win four derbies a season from now it would take them 20 years just to catch up.

Hearts are now fourth in the SPL. Hibs are bottom...

Top man: The quite brilliant Jamie Hamill

Believe in Better?

2011-08-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

Sky TV's marketing catchphrase is currently 'Believe in Better'. The billions of pounds the satellite broadcaster has thrown at English football in the past two decades illustrated this adage to devastating effect at Tynecastle last Thursday evening.

Hearts Europa League qualifying round opponents, Tottenham Hotspur, even without several first team regulars, still had a team full of multi-million pound talent that was simply streets ahead of Hearts who, it has to be said, seemed in awe of their illustrious opponents. It's become something of a cliché that Scottish football lacks the technical ability of the more successful countries but tries to make up for this with fight, determination and an 'up-and-at-'em' attitude. This has worked for Hearts in the past as the likes of Bayern Munich, Vfb Stuttgart, Atletico Madrid and Bologna - who have all lost at Tynecastle in European competition - would testify. Sadly, even this commendable trait was lacking from the Maroons last week. The only good thing from the night was the truly magnificent Hearts support who gave their team tumultuous backing all through the evening - even as the goals were raining in. Hearts fans were hanging on at the end hoping there wouldn't be a sixth goal. Indeed, when the Spurs fans demanded 'we want six' the Hearts support retorted 'we want one...'

The following statistics perhaps highlight why no one should be surprised at the scale of the difference between Hearts and Spurs. Sky TV’s current deal with the Barclay’s FA Premiership is for around £1.3 billion over three seasons.

In Scotland, the current deal with Sky TV and its satellite rival ESPN is worth £65 million - over five seasons. You don’t have to be Einstein to work out why the London side won as easily as they did in Gorgie last week.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp was moved to say how impressed he was with the Hearts support and 'how fans like these deserve success'. They do, but success has to be measured against reality. Hearts will not win a European trophy and although they may occasionally challenge for the SPL title, reality dictates they will not win it. More than a quarter of a century has passed since a team other than Celtic and Rangers were champions of Scotland - and this was an era before money influenced even the Old Firm.

For clubs like Hearts, ‘success’ is achieving third place in the SPL, getting to a cup final with a half-decent chance of winning it, and the occasional decent result in the Europa League although Scotland’s rapidly diminishing co-efficient in Europe means even qualifying for the group stages of this competition is an achievement in itself.

Despite protestations from Neil Lennon and Ally McCoist - whose Old Firm sides also failed to win their Europa League first leg ties against much weaker opposition than Spurs - the standard of Scottish football is as poor today as it has ever been. Money talks in football like never before and it's clear that thanks to television companies such as Sky the strong are getting even stronger while the weak are facing oblivion. The more successful the Barclays FA Premiership becomes, the more people will subscribe to Sky TV to watch exclusive live matches; thus, the more Sky will throw millions of pounds at clubs to keep it going. English, Spanish and Italian clubs feast at the top table of European football, laden with hugely expensive fine cuts. Scottish football doesn't get near the top table to feed off the scraps - in fact, it currently doesn't even get in to the dining room.

As impressive as Spurs were last Thursday, they are unlikely to win the Barclays FA Premiership because of the even larger resources of the four or five clubs ahead of them - and this was underlined by Manchester United’s 3-0 win over Harry Redknapp’s team at Old Trafford on Monday. This underlines how the allocation of TV money, along with the extra money it attracts e.g. big investors at Chelsea and Manchester City, has influenced football - and made success less achievable for the majority of clubs.

The top four in England - who qualify for the UEFA Champions League - get a larger slice of the massive FA Premiership cake, because they are on television more than other clubs. The same argument applies on a smaller scale in Scotland where provincial Scottish clubs get a reduced slice of much smaller Scottish cake because the Old Firm are always on the box. The outcry last week that Scottish football is in a bad way was not unexpected but it is so because it does not have the resources to be any better.

Yet, there are some Scottish players doing quite well in the money-laden English league. Charlie Adam at Liverpool and Steven Fletcher at Wolves are cases in point. A quick look at the Scotland side that defeated Denmark the other week tells you the number of players in Head Coach Craig Levein’s thoughts who are plying their trade south of the border. This suggests that there are more problems with the way that Scottish football is managed and coached.

Last year former First Minister Henry McLeish published the recommendations of the Scottish football think tank. Various ideas were discussed including league reconstruction, a pyramid system to enable ambitious non-league clubs to compete for league status, a winter break and a possible merger of Scottish football’s three governing bodies. There were some decent recommendations in Mr McLeish’s report - yet, still nothing has happened

The average football fan can see what needs to be done. Television money needs to be fairly distributed, a larger league where teams play each other twice each season, and a change to the season from August to May to March to December. This would see the close season take place during January and February when the Scottish winter is usually at its most severe. As an added incentive, I would have the League Cup winners play-off against the fourth placed team in the SPL to decide who would play in the following season’s Europa League.

I would also scrap the SPL and SFL and have just one governing body running Scottish football - perhaps a revamped SFA where the Chief Executive makes decisions rather than the plethora of outdated committees we’ve had for decades. The Chief Executive could be part of an elected board that require being re-elected every four years.

The way Tottenham Hotspur dismantled Hearts last week was yet another wake up call for Scottish football. Few Hearts fans expected their team to beat Spurs over two legs although some harboured a vain hope they might win the home leg. That faint hope was cruelly destroyed at Tynecastle last Thursday evening. Nonetheless, hope is all that Scottish football has to cling on to. There is a great line in that classic film The Shawshank Redemptionsays 'hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and good things never die’.

Those of us who love Scottish football and mourn its present state can only cling on to this thought. Or as Sky TV likes to tell everyone - believe in better.

Twitter @Mike1874

Heart of Midlothian 0 Tottenham Hotspur 5

2011-08-20T01:21:00.000-07:00

Europa League Play-off Round 1st leg, Thursday 18 August 2011 - Tynecastle

Sky TV's marketing catchphrase is currently 'Believe in Better'. The billions of pounds the satellite broadcaster has thrown at English football in the past two decades illustrated this adage to devastating effect at Tynecastle on Thursday evening.

Spurs, even without several first team regulars, still had a team full of multi-million pound talent that was simply streets ahead of Hearts who seemed in awe of their illustrious opponents. It's become something of a cliche that Scottish football lacks the technical ability of the more successful countries but tries to make up for this with fight, determination and an 'up-and-at-'em' attitude. This has worked for Hearts in the past as the likes of Bayern Munich, Vfb Stuttgart, Atletico Madrid and Bologna - who have all lost at Tynecastle in European competition - would testify. Sadly, even this commendable trait was lacking from the Maroons on Thursday as Harry Redknapp's gifted side ripped Hearts apart.

Hearts seemed in awe right from kick off. It took the hugely impressive van der Vaart just four minutes to open the scoring before Defoe and Livermore added further goals in an embarrassingly one-sided first half. Hearts manager Paulo Sergio doubtless had a few words to say to his shell-shocked troops at half-time and the home side at least threatened for a ten minute period at the beginning of the second half. However, further goals from Bale and Lennon completed the rout and Hearts fans were hanging on at the end hoping there wouldn't be a sixth goal. Indeed, when the Spurs fans demanded 'we want six' the Hearts support retorted 'we want one...'

The only good thing from the night was the truly magnificent Hearts support who gave their team tumultuous backing all through the evening - even as the goals were raining in. Spurs manager Harry Redknapp was moved to say how impressed he was with the Hearts support and 'how fans like these deserve success'.

Despite protestations from Neil Lennon and Ally McCoist - whose Old Firm sides also failed to win in the Europa League against much weaker opposition than Spurs - the standard of Scottish football is as poor today as it's ever been. Money talks in football like never before and it's clear that thanks to television companies such as Sky the strong are getting even stronger while the weak are facing oblivion. The more successful the English FA Premiership becomes, the more people will subscribe to Sky TV to watch exclusive live matches; thus, the more Sky will throw millions of pounds at clubs to keep it going. English, Spanish and Italian clubs feast at the top table of European football, laden with hugely expensive fine cuts. Scottish football doesn't get near the top table to feed off the scraps - in fact, it currently doesn't even get in to the dining room.

Few Hearts fans expected their team to beat Spurs over two legs although some harboured a vain hope they might win the home leg. Those faint hopes were cruelly destroyed at Tynecastle on Thursday evening. There is a great line in that classic film The Shawshank Redemption that says 'hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and good things never die'.

I can only hope, for Scottish football's sake, this is so.

Heart of Midlothian 3 Aberdeen 0

2011-08-14T05:30:00.000-07:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 13 August 2011 - Tynecastle

Hearts recorded their first win in the SPL for several months with a comfortable victory over Aberdeen. The game was fairly even for the opening 20 minutes and the Dons could have opened the scoring when Arnason - who was on trial with Hearts during the summer before then manager Jim Jefferies decided against him - hit the crossbar with a header. Craig Brown's side were made to pay for that miss when Arvydas Novikovas opened the scoring after 24 minutes. The Lithuanian winger collected the ball inside the Aberdeen penalty box before rifling a a left shot foot into the corner of the net.

Hearts doubled their lead ten minutes later when David Templeton hared past a bemused looking Aberdeen defence before crossing for John Sutton who tapped home from six yards to open his account in a maroon shirt. Hearts could have had more in the first half but it remained 2-0 to the home side at half time.

Hearts began the second half the way they ended the first and secured the win when Sutton capitalised on slack defensive play to steer the ball home for Hearts third goal. Thereafter the game petered out somewhat with the visitors appearing to give up the ghost and the home side looking like they were keeping something in reserve for the undoubtedly far greater challenge of Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League. Spurs boss Harry Redknapp clearly doesn't think Hearts will pose much of a threat as he sent his assistant Clive Allen on a 'spying mission' and I have to say on the evidence of the the first 25 minutes he's probably right.

It should still be a grand night at Tynecastle on Thursday. At least until Spurs score...

Top man: Scott Robinson - redeployed to midfield he was a revelation

Seasons in the Sun

2011-08-13T00:08:00.000-07:00

‘It didn’t really work, did it?’ bemoaned a Rangers supporter to me the other week. ‘Next season we’ll need to start the season in February…’ The despairing bluenose was referring to the early start to this season’s Clydesdale Bank SPL with the league kicking off on 23 July, ostensibly to support Scots clubs campaigns in Europe. However, before July was over, Dundee United had already gone out of the Europa League and Rangers were hurtling towards the exit door the UEFA Champions League having lost the first leg of their third qualifying round tie with Swedish champions Malmo at Ibrox. There may have been a strong element of sarcasm in that Ranger’s man’s assertion but, on reflection, perhaps he had a point.

A few months from now, we’ll be heading to Tynecastle in the depths of winter. If last winter is anything to gauge, you will require several layers of clothing, a couple of Hearts scarves and the thermal socks you got from Auntie Betty at Christmas for the eighth year in a row (for which you will be nonetheless grateful for come the trip to Easter Road on 2 January) I sincerely hope I’m wrong, particularly from a Hearts perspective, but by then there will be a fair chance there will be no Scots clubs left in European competition and the excitement of the UEFA Champions League and Europa League will be a distant memory. And as we huddle from the howling wind, driving rain and snow, Scottish football pundits will be asking how things can improve.

When Rangers played Malmo the consensus was that the Swedes were no better than Ally McCoist’s side but were much fitter, having already played eight games in their domestic season. Now, summer football has been debated more times in this country than stamps in David Obua’s passport but the traditionalists always seem to win the argument. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no more traditionalist than me. In fact, if it were down to me teams would still be playing each other just twice a season and Rab Prentice would still be playing on the wing (even if he is now in his fifties - God bless you, Rab!) However, one of the many changes in football in recent years has been the expansion of both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League to reflect the changes in the European continent over the last quarter of a century ago.

In 1983, Aberdeen won the European Cup Winners Cup (defeating Real Madrid, no less, in the final) A year later Dundee United reached the semi-finals of the European Cup before reaching the final of the UEFA Cup in 1987. Three rounds of preliminary qualifiers beginning in mid July were unheard of for Scots. However, the break up of the Soviet Union and then the former Yugoslav and Czechoslovakian states, added to the admittance to FIFA of the likes of the Faroe Islands saw a sea change in European football. More clubs in European competition meant more preliminary rounds starting earlier and earlier and as Scottish football stock has fallen in Europe so it has become much tougher for our clubs to make an impact. True, both Celtic and Rangers have reached the former UEFA Cup final in recent years but the underlying story of Scots clubs in Europe in the last decade or so is of being out before the end of the various trades fortnight summer holidays around the country.

It’s clear that when Scots clubs are drawn against sides from those countries that play the majority of their football during the summer months, they struggle to match their opponents’ fitness levels. In my view starting the domestic season a couple of weeks earlier than usual doesn’t really help that much. A more radical approach would be for Scotland to change the season from August to May to March to December.

I would suggest starting with the Scottish Cup and play it over successive Saturdays in spring with the final remaining in its traditional May date. Then the Clydesdale Bank SPL could take over and, to keep things fresh for clubs and supporters alike, the season could end with the League Cup just before Christmas (it wasn’t that long ago that League Cup finals were held in November) As an added incentive I would have the League Cup winners play-off against the fourth placed team in the league to decide who would play in the following season’s Europa League. This would see the close season take place during January and February when the Scottish winter is usually at its most severe.

As I’ve said this would be a radical approach but surely something has to be done to reverse the trend of Scots clubs crashing out of European competition so early. At least when the preliminary rounds begin in mid July, the Scots would be prepared like never before. Add in the pleasure of watching football during the warm sunny months (okay, I’ve used poetic licence here given the weather in recent summers) and the potential of a television deal with one of the satellite companies then the idea of summer football might even be lucrative.

Yes, there might have to be a mid-season shutdown when there is a World Cup or European Championship finals to be played. However, as it’s been 13 years since Scotland last played in the finals of a major tournament then that’s an obstacle that can be jumped on approach.

Would it work? Sadly, I suspect we may never know…

Twitter @Mike1874

Out With the Old at Tynecastle

2011-08-07T05:35:00.000-07:00

A week ago, I was at Tynecastle to watch Hearts lose 1-0 to Dundee United. As the score line indicates it wasn’t the greatest game I’ve ever witnessed as a Hearts fan and while the home side had plenty possession of the ball they didn’t use it particularly well, opting for the all too familiar tactic of hitting long towards the increasingly forlorn looking figure of striker John Sutton. United, no longer with the potent goal scoring threat of David Goodwillie, defended well and, more importantly, used the ball far better than Hearts. The game was a succinct summary of Hearts in the calendar year of 2011 - plenty of effort but becoming rather predictable.

The day after Hearts defeat, manager Jim Jefferies was sacked along with his assistant Billy Brown. While Hearts say it was a board decision there’s no doubt that majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov calls the shots and fires the bullets at Tynecastle. His decision wasn’t a reaction to the loss from United; the fact Romanov appointed Paulo Sergio as Jefferies’ replacement just hours later is evidence the Russian had been thinking about a change for some time. In fact, he alluded to his unhappiness at the end of last season when he publicly questioned Hearts form in the last quarter of the season where they nearly relinquished third place in the SPL to Dundee United after having a substantial lead over the Tannadice team at the start of the year.

The decision to dismiss Jefferies didn’t go down well with many Hearts supporters and much of those in the media. Romanov has little respect for those in the press, a notion enhanced when he issued a statement the day after the sacking of Jefferies referring to the ‘media monkeys’. Hearts supporters laud Jefferies as a legend in Gorgie. He is afforded this status by way of the memorable season of 1997/98 when he created a Hearts team that played the best football seen at Tynecastle since the halcyon days of the 1950s when the Maroons won every domestic honour going and were the dominant force in Scottish football. The class of 1997/98 with the likes Neil McCann, Colin Cameron, Stephane Adam and Stevie Fulton produced some sparkling football and ran the Old Firm close for the league championship until a dip in form at a crucial stage in the league campaign cost Hearts dear. Jefferies did, however, lead Hearts to a Scottish Cup triumph thus ending 36 barren years without a trophy. It wasn’t just ending the long wait for success; it was the exorcising of so many Tynecastle ghosts after numerous near misses, particularly in 1986 when Hearts came within eight minutes of winning the league and lost the Scottish Cup Final a week later.

Jefferies devotees tend to overlook the season after Hearts 1998 Scottish Cup triumph when the club flirted dangerously with relegation and, having to contend with the club’s decision to sell Neil McCann to Rangers and David Weir to Everton and the long-term injury absence of Colin Cameron, the manager appeared to press the panic button with some bizarre signings in a bid to prevent the ship from sinking. Remember Mohammed Berthe, Derek Lilley and Leigh Jenkinson?

Jefferies left Hearts for Bradford City in 2000, shortly after a horrendous 6-2 hammering from Hibernian at Easter Road. It’s fair to say some Hearts fans had turned against the manager although there remained those who were steadfastly loyal. I wrote at the time when Craig Levein was appointed Jefferies’ successor at Tynecastle that the former Hearts and Scotland centre half had the team playing a more studious, passing game that was pleasing on the eye.

Ten years later, I cannot help a feeling of déjà vu. For the first half of last season Hearts played some decent stuff under Jim Jefferies although I don’t believe I’m the only person who feels the remarkable run of results towards the end of 2010 when Hearts took 31 points from a possible 33 papered over the cracks somewhat. There was talk of Hearts challenging the Old Firm for the title but this was more wishful thinking than a serious consideration. Given his physical presence, striker Kevin Kyle was the understandable target for much of Hearts play but when the former Scotland man suffered a serious injury in January there was no Plan B for the team to adapt to. It didn’t seem to matter too much as Hearts were so far ahead in third place in the SPL, 13 points ahead of fourth place Kilmarnock and 20 points ahead of Dundee United. However, Jim Jefferies’ side them embarked on a run of just one win in 12 games and in the end clinched third place in the SPL by just one point from a resurgent Dundee United.

Hearts began the 2011/12 with an impressive opening 45 minutes at Ibrox and led defending champions Rangers 1-0 at half time. However, Jim Jefferies’ side sat back in the second half and the feeling persisted that Hearts had handed the initiative back to Rangers and were perhaps lucky to leave with a draw - when all three points were there for the taking. In the Europa League 3^rd round qualifier against Paksi, Hearts secured a 1-1 draw but against Dundee United three days later appeared lacking in ideas.

Vladimir Romanov was at Tynecastle for the United game. History tells us he has never been the most patient of men and he clearly had enough after watching Hearts huff and puff for 90 minutes. Romanov is not a man who backs away from making difficult decisions - in fact, it would seem he relishes doing so. He would have lost no sleep over what the fans might think about dispensing with the services of a man hugely respected by the majority of the Hearts support. He would care even less about the diatribe directed a him by the press, many of whom condemned his decision without considering the reasons behind it. My own concern was with the timing of the decision, just three days before an important European game. That aside, I feel I’m not the only Hearts supporter who felt a change was required. One journalist, Graham Spiers, described Hearts as a ‘ludicrous fiasco’, which I found mildly amusing, given the scribe in question works for News International…

The new man charged with delivering a winning Hearts team is Paulo Sergio whose last job was as manager of Sporting Lisbon. They sacked him after Rangers knocked Sporting out of last season’s Europa League. Given Scottish clubs abysmal record in European competition in recent years, one could perhaps understand that decision. The 43-year-old Portuguese will bring a different perspective to Hearts. Already there were signs of Hearts playing more of a passing game in the return leg against Paksi at Tynecastle, which the Maroons won 4-1 - their first win in a competitive fixture since a fortuitous 3-2 win over St. Mirren on 19 March.

Romanov has said he expects the new man to deliver the league title. Again, this brought smirks from some in the media who said such an expectation was wholly unrealistic. However, what’s the point of clubs such as Hearts competing in the SPL if they don’t feel they can win it? Are clubs really asking supporters to shell out small fortunes for season tickets to watch their team lose? I admired Sergio’s response to Romanov’s statement - give me the money to strengthen the team and I will get Hearts the title.

As with all things concerned with Heart of Midlothian FC these days, you cannot rule anything out….

Hearts 4 Paks 1

2011-08-06T12:33:00.000-07:00

Europa League 3rd Qualifying Round 2nd leg - Tynecastle

After another traumatic week when Hearts dismissed manager Jim Jefferies and assistant Billy Brown - and appointed Paulo Sergio as manager - the Maroons managed to secure a place in the play-off round for the Europa League with a convincing win over Hungarian side Paks.

A cracking atmosphere helped Hearts achieve their objective and although the home side dominated proceedings, it wasn't entirely one-way traffic with the Hungarians dangerous on the counter-attack. For the opening half hour, Hearts struggled to break down Paks defence and there were a couple of worrying lapses from the home defenders. However, Ryan Stevenson's header gave the home side the lead after 34 minutes although the visiting goalkeeper didn't look too clever. Stevenson added a second goal right on half time.

The return of Andrew Driver was a welcome sight and the winger scored Hearts third goal five minutes into the second half. While Paks forced a couple of fine saves from Marian Kello, the third goal killed the tie and the goal machine that is Rudi Skacel added a fourth after a brilliant effort from David Templeton was only parried by the keeper.

Bode scored a late consolation for Paks but Hearts progressed to the next round on a 5-2 aggregate. Lying in wait - Tottenham Hotspur who visit Tynecastle on 18 August. It promises to be a night to remember!

A Long Summer

2011-07-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

Some people who know me are of the opinion I’m a miserable old so-and-so. Okay, that’s not strictly 100% accurate - it’s most people who know me. And this includes members of my family. In fact, particularly members of my family…My levels of grumpiness have been even higher than usual these last few weeks. You could argue this could be down to any number of things - the wet summer (and when the sun does make a rare appearance the high pollen count), pressure of work, not having a decent holiday until the end of August, the incessant natterings of the infamous Mrs Smith…all of these are factors. However, the biggest one is, I suspect, familiar to many people the absence of fitba’.

Last summer we at least had the World Cup to fill the void, even though Scotland didn’t participate (as it turned out neither did England even though they were in South Africa) This year there’s been nothing. Until this afternoon's disappointing display against Dundee United, it had seemed like an eternity since Hearts played a competitive game at Tynecastle. However, even with season 2011/12 kicking off early the long summer weeks seemed to have dragged by.

The days of scouring the newspapers for little titbits about football have long gone. Now the internetFacebook and Twitter can give you information immediately in an age when we demand instant communication. Hearts themselves were offering a text messaging service to deliver first news of the fixtures for the new season. Those of us yearning for our football fix had already marked 17 June as a red-letter day. Mrs Smith has always struggled to understand the anticipation associated with the issue of the new fixture list. She is of the opinion that as Hearts have to play everybody in the Clydesdale Bank SPL at some point what does it matter when and where? That is the opinion of someone who doesn’t understand football.

Most Hearts supporters wasted little time in checking their text messages or various websites that morning in order to plan their lives for the next few months. First Edinburgh derby of the season? 28 August. Right, no going away for the weekend at the end of that month then. Fancy a nice wee trip to the Highlands? Hmm - 10 September would be nice. A relaxing couple of days on the banks of Loch Ness in late summer - just the thing to recharge the batteries. Oh, and Hearts are playing Inverness Caledonian Thistle. I suggested to Mrs Smith that, for a change, we could visit her family in Aberdeen a couple of days after Christmas. Well, she knows how fond I am of her mother…What’s that I hear you say? Hearts are playing at Pittodrie on 28 December? Well, what a remarkable coincidence (I know, dear reader, you won’t say a word to Mrs Smith)

This summer the anticipation of the domestic fixtures was surpassed by the draw for the third qualifying round of the Europa League on 15 July. Now planning for this was more of a challenge. At least with the domestic fixtures we knew where we would be heading in the months ahead - just not when. With the Europa League, there was any number of possibilities. A trip to Croatia to face Hajduk Split? Or Cyprus to face Omonia Nicosia? Or a trip to Ireland to face Sligo Rovers? It’s six years now since I took Mrs Smith to Dublin for a weekend in July. The presence of several passengers on the flight from Edinburgh wearing maroon and white scarves immediately alerted her to the real reason we were going - Hearts pre-season friendly against St. Patrick’s Athletic.

The release of the Clydesdale Bank SPL fixtures and the Europa League draw were the highlights of a long and far from hot summer that seemed to take an age to pass me by. Sad, I know, but I’ve felt pretty much the same way every summer since 1969. Apart from 1982 when I got married in the middle of June. Even then, Scotland were playing in the World Cup Finals in Spain…

Now fitba’ is back. All is right with the world again. Until ten months from now when we have to go through it all again…

Heart of Midlothian 0 Dundee Utd 1

2011-07-31T12:42:00.000-07:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Sunday 31 July 2011, Tynecastle

There's something about Hearts whenever they're involved in European competition - league form seems to desert them. After an impressive showing eight days ago in the SPL opener at Ibrox where they shared a 1-1 draw with champions Rangers, Hearts secured the same scoreline five days later against Paksi - a decent result in the Europa League qualifer in Hungary. Today, however, it was a different story.

Hearts were missing Andy Webster, Mehdi Taouil, Kevin Kyle, Andrew Driver, Suso Santana and Jamie Hamill but still had a decent enough team on the park to do the business against a Dundee United team without striker David Goodwillie, believed to be joining Blackburn Rovers this week. However, the Maroons looked sluggish from the start and created few chances in a disappointing 90 minutes - well, 94 minutes to account for the ridiculous time wasting tactics of the visitors.

United posted their early intention when John Rankin's free kick from the edge of the penalty box smacked off the crossbar. Hearts only decent chance of the first half fell to Stephen Elliott who had time to turn in the United six yard box but he made a hash of his shot on goal that trundled wide. Shortly afterwards, Hearts paid the price for that miss when United's Jon Daly was given the freedom of Gorgie Road to bullet home Flood's excellent delivery. Quite what Hearts defender Marius Zaliukas was doing when Daly rose unchallenged is debatable.

Hearts huffed and puffed in the second half but never looked like getting the equaliser - not even when talisman Rudi Skacel was introduced with 20 minutes left. In the end, United deserved all three points for the simple fact they used the ball much better when they had possession. Far too often Hearts resorted to playing a long ball to an out of sorts John Sutton.

European football returns to Tynecastle on Thursday night. Despite having secured an away goal, Hearts will have to up the tempo against Paksi if they want to progress.

Top man: Danny Grainger

East Stirlingshire 0 Ayr United 3

2011-07-31T01:18:00.000-07:00

Scottish Communities League Cup, 1st Round - Ochilview Park

With Hearts not playing until Sunday I took the opportunity to head to darkest Larbert - actually it was a very sunny and warm Larbert - on Saturday to watch my 'other team' take on Ayr United in the Scottish Communities League Cup. As was the case a year ago Shire have had numerous changes in personnel with only a handful of players remaining from last season. In addition, coach Jim McInally left at the end of last season and his replacement is the vastly experienced John Coughlin.

It was a decent game played in warm weather and there was much to entertain the shirt-sleeved crowd, in particular a noisy travelling support who gave Ayr United huge vocal encouragement from start to finish. Being something of an old punk (insert your own punchline here) I was quite impressed by their version of the Sex Pistols classic Anarchy in the UK...

Ayr United are two divisions higher than Shire - and it showed. Despite a spirited showing from the home team, Ayr had more skill and experience - Alex Burke and Mark Roberts showed some of the Shire youngsters a thing or two - although after an opening five minutes when Shire could barely get out of their own half, the home side did come more into things. After the visitors passed up several chances to score, it was Shire who almost opened the scoring when Ally Love had an effort well saved by Cuthbert. Just when it seemed they might get to half time on level terms, Shire's good work was undone when Trouten took advantage of hesitancy in the home defence to poke the ball past Sorely to give the visitors the lead. Five minutes later the roof fell in on the hosts when Moffat tapped home after Sorely had saved well from Trouten.

Ayr United then put the issue beyond doubt five minutes after the break when Roberts was first to react in the six yard box to tap home and end the scoring at 3-0 to The Honest Men.

However, it was a decent game and while there is a lot of work for Shire manager John Coughlin to do there are some promising signs and some good young talent who work hard for each other. I sense a more passing style from Shire this season than was the case under Jim McInally. One thing that might become an issue, though - indiscipline. I sat just a few yards away from an incident in the second half when Love belied his surname by having a real go at the standside assistant referee in a manner that could easily have brought the Shire man a yellow card. The Scottish Communities League Cup has respect as a buzzword - something a few players should think about.

Hearts 1 Royal Antwerp 0

2011-07-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

Friendly, Sunday 17 July 2011 - Tynecastle.

The highlights of this pre-season friendly were:

1) The impressive away support. Around 250 Royal Antwerp fans gave their team magnificent backing from start to finish.

2) Novikovas' run which resulted in a penalty for the home side converted by Jamie Hamill with 5 minutes to go.

Er....that's it.

When Cruickie Beat Fergie...

2011-07-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

A late goal from Donald Ford earned Hearts a 1-0 win over Rangers in this Scottish Cup quarter final replay at Tynecastle in March 1968. The maroons reached the final - only to lose to Dunfermline Athletic...

Building for a New Season

2011-07-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

Hearts supporters of my generation - trying to fend off the rapidly advancing half century - may ponder certain symmetry between this summer and the first half of 1973. Now before younger readers swiftly turn off, let me try to explain. 1974 marked Heart of Midlothian FC’s one hundredth birthday (no, I wasn’t around at the club’s inception, thank you) With the centenary season approaching, Hearts made some major moves into the transfer market as the importance of the season was recognised. As Hearts stumbled towards the conclusion of a disappointing 1972/73 campaign the manager at the time, Bobby Seith, signed diminutive winger Kenny Aird from St Johnstone and midfielder John Stevenson from Coventry before signing a player who would go on to attain cult status at Tynecastle - Airdrieonians attack-minded midfielder Drew Busby. Another new arrival at Tynecastle was winger Bobby Prentice from Celtic and it was a revamped Hearts side that began the 1973-74 season hoping to mark one hundred years with a long-awaited trophy.

I remember how excited we Hearts supporters were at the time and the keen anticipation felt as the new season commenced. Hearts hadn’t been as active in the transfer market for some years but the board of directors clearly wanted to push the boat out to mark the club’s centenary. The early signs were good as Hearts began the league campaign with a win at Morton - legendary striker Donald Ford hitting an historic hat trick of penalty kicks - and the fans travelling back from Greenock were hoping this was an omen in Hearts’ quest for glory. A week later Hearts avenged a certain New Years Day defeat by hammering Hibs 4-1 at Tynecastle. Buoyed by this impressive start Hearts embarked on an unbeaten run that lasted until the end of October - and took them to the top of the League. Ultimately, Hearts could not maintain such fine form but for a few weeks in the autumn of 1973, we were convinced our team were genuine title challengers once more.

38 years later, Hearts have again been actively recruiting to an already impressive squad of players that finished the best of the rest behind the Old Firm last season. On one memorable day towards the end of May and with the dust barely settling on season 2010/11, manager Jim Jefferies - who was a young Hearts defender during the maroon’s highly impressive start to the 1973/74 season - wasted no time in putting his plans in place for the new season by recruiting defender Danny Grainger, midfielder Jamie Hamill and centre forward John Sutton. He almost added a fourth player that day but the move to bring Aberdeen’s Zander Diamond to Tynecastle ultimately fell through. It was a day to take the breath away and signalled Hearts intention of building on last season’s success and challenging Rangers for their league championship. At one point last season Hearts looked to be giving the Old Firm a run for their money - an astonishing run midway through the campaign brought an remarkable 31 points from 11 games - and only injuries to key players such as Kevin Kyle brought the maroon express to a halt. It was with this in mind that the Hearts manager sought to strengthen the squad to ensure Hearts had the depth necessary to mount a serious challenge for honours.

A few weeks later, Jefferies did add a fourth player - the hugely talented Mehdi Taouil from Kilmarnock. Like the gaffer, I have been a huge admirer of the attacking midfielder and whenever Kilmarnock came to Tynecastle, I hoped the Moroccan wouldn’t be playing as he always caused Hearts problems. As with most Hearts supporters, I was thrilled to see him sign for the maroons and the prospect of Taouil and David Templeton in midfield is a mouth-watering one.

Like 1974, this year is a landmark year for Hearts. 2011 has seen the club celebrate 125 years of playing at Tynecastle and with season ticket sales already exceeding expectations there is an optimism and anticipation in Gorgie not felt for some time. Even if there are no further additions, Hearts are looking stronger than they have done for some years. As they did when season 1973/74 kicked off. It would great to think Jim Jefferies could go one step further than he did 38 years ago - and lead Hearts to silverware. Now that would be a landmark season!

Hearts Double Winners

2011-07-09T02:19:00.000-07:00

The Hearts squad who won the League Championship and League Cup during season 1959/60.

Hibs Latest Signing Targets...

2011-06-14T14:27:00.000-07:00

Meanwhile, Hearts add Mehdi Taouil to John Sutton, Danny Grainger and Jamie Hamill...

Hair Today...

2011-06-11T12:13:00.000-07:00

Manchester United's Wayne Rooney has announced on Twitter he's receiving hair replacement treatment in London. Unfortunately, he went to seek advice from former United defender Jaap Stam...

1971 Aberdeen 2 Hearts 3

2011-05-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

'See this nonesense?' asked the old fella standing next to me on the crumbling Tynecastle terracing one day in April 1971, ‘it’s just a gimmick. Fitba’s fitba. There’s nae place fur all this commercial rubbish’

Rubbish was an oft-used word that spring evening as Wolverhampton Wanderers put Hearts to the sword in the newly created Texaco Cup by winning 3-1. It was the changing face of football and while the muttering Jambo chewed on his pipe and reflected on Willie Bauld doing a shift down a Midlothian coal mine hours before turning out for Hearts twenty years earlier, the next generation of Hearts fans in the 1970s were being weaned on a diet of Texaco Cup games, one of the first football tournaments in Britain to be sponsored. Commercialism had indeed arrived but while the Texaco Cup was an early form of a British Cup, it was a poor consolation for those clubs not good enough to compete in European competition.

Back in the decade of long hair, tank-tops and Gorgie Boys with laced up boots and corduroys, we cast envious glances across Edinburgh where Hibernian were pitting their wits against the likes of Juventus and Liverpool in the U.E.F.A. Cup. Hearts were sliding down the slippery slope at an alarming rate as the 1970s began so we made the most out of our achievement of reaching the final of the Texaco Cup in 1971. Defeat from Wolverhampton Wanderers was hard to take, particularly as Hearts typically won the second leg 1-0 down in the Black Country - after losing the first leg 3-1 at Tynecastle. At this juncture, thoughts of Hearts actually playing, far less competing, in Europe were a million miles away.

In comparison to the Tynecastle experience we have today, the Tynecastle experience of 1971 could have been from a different planet. Four decades ago, there were just two divisions in Scottish league football. The patently obvious First and Second Divisions - despite the Texaco Cup sponsorship was still some distance from the hallowed corridors of the Scottish league. In 1971, Hearts were on the slippery slope although no one at the time realised what lay at the bottom. Eleven years had passed since Hearts had last won the Scottish League Championship with the remnants of the all-conquering side of the 1950s lifting the title - an honour that hasn’t bestowed on Hearts since, although they’ve come mighty close on a couple of occasions. By 1971, Hearts were no longer challengers for any domestic honours. That well-versed football cliché midtable mediocrity may well have been penned for Hearts as each season saw the boys in maroon ensconced in the middle of the league. This invariably meant when Hearts were knocked out the Scottish Cup there season was over and meaningless end of the season league games against the likes of Arbroath and East Fife saw sparse crowds at Tynecastle, the wide open spaces on the crumbling terraces telling their own story.

I was nine years old in 1971 and had already endured three years of being a Hearts fan. When my parents divorced, I was taken to live in Aberdeen, 130 miles away from Gorgie Road but the way Hearts were playing at the time this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. My visits to Tynecastle were few and far between at this time; my father had wanted me to be a Falkirk fan but his intention backfired somewhat on an October day in 1968 when he took me to my first game - Falkirk against Hearts at Brockville. I was bitten - by the Jambo bug. Consequently, my father never really supported the idea of me supporting Hearts - but once bitten etc. etc. However, it did mean that when Hearts visited Aberdeen this would be the highlight of my season. My father would travel up from his home in Cumbernauld and take me to Pittodrie. Being an Aberdonian, he was keen to show his support for his hometown team - as I was for the boys in maroon.

Hearts had made a decent start to season 1971-72 - something that could not be said for the majority of the decade. Four weeks before Christmas, they headed to Pittodrie in third place in the league having lost just once in eleven games. Those in maroon heading north on 27 November 1971 with unaccustomed optimism knew that while those statistics were impressive they weren’t as impressive as Hearts opponents that afternoon. For Aberdeen were top of the league, unbeaten all season and not having lost at Pittodrie for eighteen months.

Aberdeen: Clark; G. Murray; Hermiston; S. Murray; McMillan; M. Buchan; Forrest; Robb; Harper; Willoughby; Graham

Hearts: Cruickshank; Sneddon; Kay; Brown; Anderson; Thomson; Townsend; Renton; Ford; Winchester; T. Murray

Referee:T. Marshall, Glasgow

The Dons, managed by Jimmy Bonthrone who had taken over when Eddie Turnbull returned to his first love Hibernian a year before, had set Scottish football alight. With a forward line containing Joe Harper, Davie Robb and youngster Arthur Graham, the men from the Granite City had scored an impressive thirty-six goals in just twelve games.

More than 20,000 fans headed for Pittodrie on a dank November afternoon. Forty years ago, there was still open terracing at Pittodrie - as there was at most Scottish football grounds. At the back of the terracing adjacent to the pitch was a giant gas tank that loomed over the ground. At the top of the terrace stood the inevitable half-time scoreboard with a yellow clock. Hearts fans, as ever, headed north confident despite the home team’s record.

It wasn’t a complete surprise that Aberdeen dominated the first half. Harper and Forrest came close to opening the scoring and Hearts were indebted to goalkeeper Jim Cruickshank who was in fine form to keep the highest scoring team in Scotland at bay. Hearts, however, weren’t sitting back and Derek Renton fired in an effort, which smacked off the crossbar. It appeared Aberdeen’s frustration at failing to break through the Hearts defence was boiling over. Robb was booked just before half time for a crude foul on Jim Townsend. Half time arrived with a somewhat surprising goalless scoreline - but with hackles raised.

The second half began in the same manner as the first - with Aberdeen in the ascendancy. It seemed just a matter of time before the opening goal and it duly came ten minutes into the second half - but not at the end the home crowd expected. Great work by Hearts Tommy Murray took him beyond his Aberdeen namesake George before he passed to Donald Ford who fired in a great goal from an acute angle. Hearts Murray was capable of such sublime skill - he once sat on the ball at Ibrox before crossing to make a Hearts goal. The home side were stunned and the crowd were angered minutes later when their side was awarded a penalty kick - only for the referee to change his mind and award an indirect free kick instead, which came to nothing. With twenty minutes, left Aberdeen replaced young Arthur Graham with veteran Bertie Miller - and the impact was immediate. With the Hearts defence keeping their collective eyes on the substitute, Willoughby steered the ball beyond a trailing Hearts defence to allow Harper to equalise.

It was anyone’s game now and Ford set off on a great run with a chance to put Hearts back in front but home keeper Bobby Clark saved well. With fifteen minutes left, an already controversial game erupted once more when Aberdeen took the lead. There was more than a suspicion of offside when Davie Robb latched on to a long through ball and danced away from the Hearts defence. Robb finished with aplomb but the Hearts players were furious to the extend Jim Townsend was sent off as he doth protest too much. With Townsend seemed to go Hearts hopes of getting anything from the game. We reckoned, however, without Donald Ford.

There were just four minutes to go when Ford eluded his marker in the Aberdeen defence to head past a startled Bobby Clark to level the score. Those Hearts fans who remained in the ground roared their delight - which would turn to ecstasy in injury time. Aberdeen’s defenders looked shell-shocked, which may well have contributed to Ford having the freedom of Union Street to place another header beyond Clark to snatch a sensational winner for Hearts. Aberdeen 2 Heart of Midlothian 3 was the final score. Hearts fans danced on the terracing. The home support shuffled out not quite believing what they had seen. Aberdeen’s unbeaten record and proud home record had been smashed to pieces.

Ironically, the last team to beat Aberdeen at Pittodrie was Hearts in April 1970. Hearts fans headed south convinced their team would go on to challenge for their first league championship for twelve years. Rangers were struggling that season and many thought the race for the league flag was a two-horse affair between Aberdeen and Jock Stein’s Celtic. Moreover, Hearts had now achieved something no one else had done that season - beaten Aberdeen. The following Saturday, Hearts were involved in another five goal thriller when they defeated Dundee United 3-2 at Tynecastle. However, Hearts fans know what happens when optimism gets the better of them - the following week Hearts travelled to Brockville to face a Falkirk team containing Alex Ferguson and Andy Roxburgh - and were beaten 2-0, former Hearts stalwart George Miller rubbing salt into the wounds by scoring one of the goals.

Hearts took that defeat badly - they didn’t win any of their next seven games. At the end of January, any flicker of title aspirations were well and truly snuffed out when the team capitulated to a 6-0 drubbing at Ibrox - this coming a week after a 5-2 defeat at Tynecastle by Dundee. Hearts league season was over and although they finished the season in sixth place they were twenty-one points behind champions Celtic - in the days when there were only two points awarded for a win. Incidentally, Aberdeen finished runners-up - ten points behind the champions.

Hearts fans sought salvation in the Scottish Cup and the early signs were promising when a very good St. Johnstone team - at the time managed by Willie Ormond who would go on to manage Scotland and Hearts - were beaten 2-0 at Tynecastle. Clydebank were thrashed 4-0 in Gorgie in the next round before Hearts faced Celtic at Celtic Park in the quarter-finals. Derek Renton scored the goal that gave Hearts a 1-1 draw and therefore secure a replay at Tynecastle. The game, on 27 March 1972, attracted an attendance of just over 40,000 - the last time a crowd of such size would be in Gorgie. A Lou Macari goal was enough to take Celtic through and more crushing disappointment ensued for the maroon legions.

It was a disappointing end to a season that, at one stage, promised so much. The triumph at Pittodrie in November 1971 was one of the highlights of the season; particularly in the style it was achieved. Ten men Hearts simply refused to accept defeat and used their perceived injustice at the sending off of Jim Townsend to spur them on to a memorable victory.

I left Pittodrie that day with my father with mixed emotions. I was thrilled my team had won and in such a way that caused considerable angst to the home support. Living in Aberdeen, I knew what awaited me at school on Monday morning had Donald Ford not stepped in with glorious and impeccable timing. However, I knew my father would drop me off at home before driving back to his home in Cumbernauld. I felt a little cheated at not being able to share the joy of victory with anyone.

It was, however, a great day. And these would be in despairingly short supply as the 1970s progressed….

An Unnamed Premiership Footballer

2011-05-23T15:53:00.000-07:00

Why I'm Backing Motherwell to Win the Cup...

2011-05-20T22:30:00.000-07:00

20 years ago Rangers won 3 in a row.This year Rangers have won 3 in a row.

20 years ago the manager left and the number 2 stepped up. Graeme Souness for Walter Smith.

This year the manager left and the number 2 stepped up. Walter Smith for Ally McCoist.

20 years ago a Rangers striker that used to play for Celtic, Mo Johnston, left the club.This year a Rangers striker that used to play for Celtic, Kenny Miller, left the club.

20 years ago Rangers won the league cup 2-1 in extra time v Celtic.This year Rangers won the league cup 2-1 in extra time v Celtic.

20 years ago Rangers had 3 players sent off in a cup game at Parkhead which they lost.This year Rangers had 3 players sent off in a cup game at Parkhead which they lost.

20 Years ago Rangers lost 0-3 at Parkhead and still won the league.This year Rangers lost 0-3 at Parkhead and still won the league.

20 years ago Motherwell were managed by an ex-Rangers midfielder.This year Motherwell are managed by an ex-Rangers midfielder.

20 years ago Celtic had already gone 2 years without a trophy.This year Celtic have already gone 2 years without a trophy.

20 years ago Motherwell won the Scottish Cup....................

25 Years On

2011-05-02T00:57:00.000-07:00

It’s less than a year now until I reach my half-century. I’m at the stage in life where time seems to race ahead at an alarming rate. My children have now grown up and one of them has three children of her own; it barely seems five minutes since Laura was a babe in arms herself. I will be helping her celebrate her 25^th birthday on 17th May - a fortnight after Hearts supporters of my generation will be marking the 25^th anniversary of an event the vast majority of us have, ironically, tried to obliterate from our minds for a quarter of a century.

May 3^rd 1986. Three years after emerging from the wilderness of First Division football, of the inept tactics of manager Tony Ford, of losing to Queens Park and East Stirlingshire and of being threatened with part-time football, Hearts were on the verge of a climax of an astonishing recovery. Former Rangers player Alex Macdonald had replaced Ford as player manager in 1981 and sought the help of his good friend and former Rangers colleague Sandy Jardine to rebuild Edinburgh’s finest football club. Macdonald brought experienced players such as Willie Johnston and Jimmy Bone to the club and they were instrumental in the development of some promising Hearts kids such as John Robertson, Gary Mackay and Davie Bowman. By the time season 1985/86 commenced, ‘Bud’ Johnston and Bone had departed Tynecastle but they left a younger Hearts team that was now established in the cutthroat Premier Division. Macdonald was still in charge and with money tight, his eye at spotting a bargain that would nonetheless improve the team was crucial to Hearts continued development throughout the 1980s. In the summer of 1985, Macdonald paid Celtic £60,000 for winger John Colquhoun and the Stirling born player would provide the service to strikers John Robertson and Sandy Clark. Midfielder Iain Jardine arrived a few weeks into the season and with Craig Levein a commanding presence in defence alongside the evergreen Sandy Jardine and the industrious Kenny Black in midfield, the Hearts team was slowly transforming from one that was looking to survive in the Premier Division to one that might actually think about challenging the dominance of the top two in Scotland. And younger readers may be surprised to learn that in the early 1980s Scotland’s top two clubs were not Celtic and Rangers - they were Aberdeen and Dundee United. The Dons, in particular, were one of the finest teams in Europe and under manager Alex Ferguson had won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1983 as well as several Scottish League championships and Scottish Cups that decade. Indeed, they were reigning league champions when season 1985/86 kicked off.

Hearts began the season with a 1-1 draw against Celtic at Tynecastle. New signing John Colquhoun scored the opening goal against the team he had just left and it took a last minute equaliser from Paul McStay to rob Hearts of a brilliant start to the league campaign. That goal from the Celtic midfielder would prove hugely significant on the very last game of the season…

Hearts were then affected by injuries and suspensions - Sandy Clark and full back Walter Kidd were sent off in a 3-1 defeat to Rangers dubbed ‘the battle of Ibrox’ and when the maroons lost to Aberdeen, Motherwell and Clydebank they were sinking towards the bottom of the league - only pointless Hibernian sparing Hearts the indignity….

Slowly Hearts began to get their absent players back but when Iain Jardine scored his first goal for the club in a 1-1 draw against Dundee at Tynecastle in October few of us envisaged this would be the beginning of one of the most astonishing sequence of games in Scottish football history. Seven days later Hearts travelled to Celtic Park and produced the shock result of the day, a rare 1-0 victory in the east end of Glasgow. They followed this up with a 3-0 victory over St. Mirren and a result that instilled bucketfuls of self-belief - a 1-0 win over champions Aberdeen on a rain-lashed Wednesday evening at Tynecastle thanks to a goal from Craig Levein. When Rangers were comprehensively beaten 3-0 in Gorgie a fortnight later heads began to turn Tynecastle way.

After an injury hit start to the season Hearts player were now fit and raring to go. Alex Macdonald had also instilled a discipline into his players so yellow and red cards were kept to a minimum. Macdonald was able to keep the same starting eleven for several weeks and the players had a system where they all knew what each other was doing. In November, Scotland were involved in a two-legged play-off to reach the World Cup finals in Mexico the following year. Difficult enough but their opponents were Australia - meaning those top flight league fixtures involving Scotland’s ‘top four’ were postponed to allow the national side to prepare. Hearts, however, carried on and continued to produce good football and rack up the results. Four days before Christmas, Hearts defeated St. Mirren in Paisley - and proudly sat top of the league. Yes, other teams had games in hand thanks to the Scotland situation but when Hearts defeated Rangers 2-0 at Ibrox three days after Christmas they had well and truly posted their intentions. Hearts had joined the big players at the table and were blowing their cigar smoke in the faces of the big four.

The question was could Hearts maintain their challenge? The acid test came in the last week in January when they travelled to Aberdeen. 5,000 Hearts fans headed to the Granite City to see their team, unbeaten since the end of September, take on the league champions in their own patch. Macdonald organised his troops accordingly and The Dons struggled to break through the silver-shirted Hearts defence. When Macdonald replaced John Robertson with the old warhorse that was Colin McAdam with just eight minutes left, Hearts appeared to have settled for a priceless away point. Then Walter Kidd played a long ball towards John Colquhoun. JC skipped his way past the trailing Aberdeen defenders Willie Miller and Alex McLeish and stroked the ball past a bemused Dons keeper Jim Leighton to secure a famous and crucial Hearts victory. The travelling support in the Beach End were ecstatic. Their chants of ‘We’re Gonna Win the League’ were now a serious prospect rather than a fanciful whim.

Hearts continued their unbeaten run as the end of the season hovered into view. Their nearest challengers for the title appeared to be Dundee United and when Hearts won 3-0 at Tannadice following an unforgettable April afternoon on Tayside it seemed the fantasy of Hearts becoming champions was about to become incredible reality. A week later though came the first signs of nerves. Aberdeen came to Tynecastle and the game was switched to a Sunday to accommodate live television coverage - the first league fixture to be covered live on television in Scotland. Hearts looked out of sorts and had to thank John Colquhoun for a late equaliser in a 1-1 draw. Celtic had now emerged as the main threat to Hearts title aspirations and Dundee would prove key players in the dramatic end to the season.

When Hearts entertained Clydebank on the last Saturday in April, they had just two games left - and were four points clear of Celtic. Back in the 1980s there were just two points awarded for a win and although Davie Hay’s side had a game in hand, Hearts fans knew if their team defeated Clydebank and Celtic lost at home to Dundee the league flag would be on its way to Tynecastle for the first tine in twenty-six years. A nervous Hearts team won 1-0 thanks to a Gary Mackay goal - but, as they would do seven days later, Dundee proved party-poopers by losing in Glasgow. Inevitably, Celtic won their game in hand and so were just two points behind Hearts when the curtain came down on the league season on 3 May 1986.

Hearts needed just a single point for glory. In fact, they had a superior goal difference of plus five so they might even lose their first game in eight months and still become champions - providing Celtic didn’t score a barrow load of goals against St. Mirren in Paisley…

15,000 Hearts fans headed for Dundee ready to party like there wouldn’t be a 4^th of May. Hearts only needed a draw and were unbeaten in 31 league and cup games. Celtic needed to thrash St. Mirren. Surely, nothing could go wrong…?

The events of that day are ingrained on the memory of every Hearts fan who was there. My wife was expecting our first child just a week later so I was in ecstatic mood anyway. Then I read a copy of the Daily Record on the way to Dundee and read about the events of 1965 when Hearts needed to avoid a 2-0 defeat to Kilmarnock on the last game of the season to clinch the league championship - and duly lost 2-0 to hand the title to the Rugby Park side. In all the excitement, I hadn’t thought about that. Now the first seeds of doubt were planted in my head. I wondered if the same was happening to the Hearts players. Then rumours circulated about a sickness virus affecting the Hearts team. We watched the players warm up on the Dens Park pitch - they looked fine to us. Hang on, though - there was no sign of Craig Levein. Roddy Macdonald was drafted in. It later transpired that the bug had affected five Hearts players. As the game kicked off it certainly looked like it.

Hearts looked a pale shadow of the team that had swept all before them since October. Sandy Clark was bundled off the ball in the penalty box in the first half and 15,000 Hearts fans screamed for a penalty kick. Nothing doing said referee Bill Crombie - ironically from Edinburgh. My anecdotal tale about Mr Crombie is I interviewed him for a job with the council several years later - he didn’t get it…

Hearts struggled all afternoon while Dundee believed if they won and Motherwell won at Ibrox they would be in the following season’s UEFA Cup - so the incentive for the Dark Blues was certainly there. As we stood nervously on the open terracing behind the goal, we wondered if St. Mirren might come to Hearts aid and take a point off Celtic or at least keep things tight. The fella in front of me had a radio to his ear and was nearly embroiled in a fight when he relayed the news to irritated Hearts fans that Celtic were four goals ahead at half time. The Hoops added a fifth in the second half and now had the better goal difference. However, we tried to calm our nerves with the belief that it didn’t matter if Celtic scored ten goals, as long as Hearts secured the single point needed for glory. Although the silver-shirted Hearts players were collectively having a poor game, we still believed they would get this point. I checked my watch for the hundredth time that afternoon. There were just eight minutes to go when Dundee won a corner at the end where the Hearts masses had congregated. As the ball came in it fell at the feet of substitute Albert Kidd. His effort on goal flew into the roof of the net and the Dundee fans leapt for joy. The massed ranks of Hearts fans stood motionless, as if time had stopped. Our world certainly had. As the disconsolate Hearts players made their way to the centre circle to re-start the game, I shouted ‘C’mon Hearts - we can still do this!’ I was a lone voice - in our heart of hearts, we knew the dream was over, a suspicion confirmed when the blasted Kidd added a second goal a minute from the end. It was all over. Hearts lost 2-0, their first defeat in 31 games and eight months. Celtic won 5-0 and therefore clinched the league championship on goal difference.

I lived in Aberdeen at the time and a relatively short journey home turned into the longest trip in the world. My mate and I sat on the bus back to the Granite City and said nothing to each other. On arrival in Aberdeen, we went for a quick pint but our sombre mood didn’t call for alcohol, particularly as more than one smart arse in the pub noticed our crumpled Hearts scarves sticking out our pockets and made a less than sympathetic comment.

I made my way home and my wife greeted me with the news she thought she felt the baby might be on its way. Selfishly and to my eternal shame, I ignored her and headed for bed. It was 7.30pm on a Saturday night and I just wanted the world to end. It was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life, only surpassed by the sudden death of my father in 1997.

Thankfully, my wife didn’t go into labour that evening. Along with 40,000 other Hearts fans I tried recover some kind of composure and headed the Scottish Cup Final against Aberdeen at Hampden a week later. However, deep down we knew the events at Dens Park had ripped the soul out of the Hearts players and Aberdeen won 3-0 to end any dreams of silverware.

A week later and my first child, Laura was born. Three successive Saturdays in May 1986 saw the three most emotional experiences of my life and, thankfully, ended with the joy and gift of a new life.

Of course, seeing Hearts lift the Scottish Cup in 1998 and 2006 exorcised some of the ghosts of 1986. But, try as I might, I can never forget that day at Dens Park…

Montrose 3 East Stirlingshire 0

2011-05-01T00:55:00.000-07:00

Irn Bru Scottish League Division 3 - Saturday, 30 April 2011 - Links Park

Rather than watch Hearts continue their attempts to cross the finishing line in third place in the SPL in the fashion of a drunk old man staggering home from the pub attempting to eat a fish supper on the way, I opted to go and see my 'other team' - the 'not as mighty as they were last season' East Stirlingshire. The last time I was at Montrose was to see Hearts win a League Cup tie with Walter Kidd scoring a goal in torrential rain - all of a quarter of a century ago. Returning to the Angus town brought back a lot of memories. Montrose as a town hasn't really changed that much but Links Park has since the last time I was there - although if I closed my eyes I could still see Hearts Graham 'Shuggie' Shaw scrambling home a last minute equaliser in a Scottish Cup quarter final tie there in front of 8,000 fans in 1976...

There wasn't quite 8,000 at Links Park on Saturday - around 350 - and for all that Shire were awful in the first 20 minutes by which time they were three goals down, it was a decent enough game. Montrose's Sean Pierce headed home the opening goal after just seven minutes as the Shire defenders said 'after you Claude' to each other. Three minutes later Shire keeper Michael Andrews brought down Montrose' Nicol who duly converted the penalty kick to double the home side's advantage. After 17 minutes the impressive Pierce finished off a fine move by driving the ball beyond Andrews to make it 3-0 and I feared the worst for the Shire. However, the visitors improved thereafter although it has to be said they never really looked like scoring - a lack of firepower has been the Shire's undoing this season.

Fellow blogger Groanin' Jock is a Montrose aficionado and I'm quite sure he enjoyed Mo's final home game of the season.

Despite the score, I enjoyed the game and a couple of pints in the town's Market Arms afterwards in the company of a Montrose/Aberdeen fan who I hadn't seen for a while. The end of the season, though, can't come quick enough...

Eddie Turnbull

2011-05-01T00:31:00.000-07:00

I was saddened to hear of the passing of the man synonymous with Hibernian FC - Eddie Turnbull. The word 'legend' is used far too frequently these days but it certainly applies to the great man who died at the weekend. He had just celebrated his 88th birthday a little more than a fortnight ago.. During the late 1940s and 1950s, Turnbull played in the Hibs Famous Five forward line along with Gordon Smith, Willie Ormond, Bobby Johnstone and Lawrie Reilly. In that time, he won three league titles and became the first British player to score in a European club competition.

Turnbull was manager of Aberdeen in the late 1960s/early 1970s and famously won the Scottish Cup in 1970 defeating Jock Stein's Celtic 3-1 in the final. He returned to his first love, Hibs, as manager in 1971 and won the League Cup a year later. The Hibs team of the early to mid 1970s produced some memorable performances as they reflected the style and panache of their manager.

Scotland has lost another footballing great and the football world is a poorer place with the death of Eddie Turnbull.

Heart of Midlothian 1974

2011-04-25T01:18:00.001-07:00

The Hearts squad lines up for a pre-season photo-call in the summer of 1974 - the club's centenary. Some players even look happy to be there...

Heart of Midlothian 3 Motherwell 3

2011-04-23T13:35:00.000-07:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 23 April 2011 - Tynecastle

This being the Easter weekend there will be a fair amount of eggs of the chocolate variety being consumed around the country. Hearts supporters of my generation have something of an aversion to eggs and know only too well to never, ever count any subsequent chickens until they are hatched (yes, I know you don't get chickens from chocolate eggs but I'm trying to make an analogy here...)

Hearts contrived to throw away a three goal lead against Motherwell today as the 'race for Europe' as the stadium announcer kept saying - get well soon Scott Wilson, by the way - has turned into something of a struggle to reach the finishing line, never mind cross it.

Having said this, it was a quite superb game of football, one of the best I have seen this season. After a sprightly opening, Hearts took the lead after 26 minutes when Ryan Stevenson was fouled by Saunders and Craig Thomson, of all people, slotted home the resultant penalty to score his first goal in first team colours for Hearts. After the hard working Stevenson hit the post, Hearts went two goals up when Rudi Skacel played a one-two with Stephen Elliott before firing high into the net. Hearts two goals ahead at the break.

Early in the second half Stevenson showed a fine piece of skill to beat Craigan but the former Ayr United man's fierce effort on goal struck one post and then another before being cleared by a relieved Motherwell defence. Stevenson was not to be outdone, however. After 52 minutes, Suso delivered a superb cross which Stevenson headed past Randolph to put Hearts 3-0 ahead and in easy street. Or so some of the younger Hearts fans thought. Those of us who know better knew the game wasn't over yet. And it wasn't.

Motherwell immediately pulled a goal back through Sutton and when Tom Hateley's free kick sailed into the net with the Hearts defence casting admiring glances, alarm bells began to ring. Hearts could not respond and Frances Jeffers really should have equalised when clean through on goal but the former Everton and Arsenal striker ballooned his effort high into the Roseburn Stand. However, the visitors got the leveller they probably deserved when Sutton flicked a header past an aghast Marian Kello - great to see the keeper back - to end the scoring at 3-3.

While some Hearts fans booed at the end, credit should go to Motherwell for a fine comeback. Stuart McCall has the makings of a fine team here and I have a feeling they'll give Celtic a run for their money in the Scottish Cup Final next month. I wish them well (if you'll excuse the pun)

For Hearts the lead over Dundee United is now just seven points. However - there aren't many games left. Four to be precise - twelve points. Next weekend Hearts head to Rugby Park to face a Kilmarnock side with nothing to play for. The following day Dundee United go to Celtic Park. The 'race for Europe' could be over by the bank holiday Monday.

Hang on - what was I saying about chickens...?

Indiscipline is Nothing New

2011-04-14T13:11:00.000-07:00

I read a newspaper report the other day about how the S.F.A were making determined efforts to clean up Scottish football and threatening some players with lengthy suspensions because of their bad behaviour records. In a little over a month, sixteen players had been red-carded and the S.F.A’s Referee Committee was concerned about a lack of respect in the game. There were a couple of incidents of note - the sending off of a manager who had remonstrated with a referee during a league game and a Hearts game where seven players were booked - and six of them had launched an appeal against the decision. Now, dear reader, if you’re of my generation you may be shaking your head at this point and wishing some players would show more respect for authority like they did in football’s heyday in the 1960s. The more astute reader may read the above and think ‘hang on, this guy Smith is wrong - you can’t appeal against a booking, only a sending off’. However, before you write in, I should point out the newspaper report I was reading was dated September 9th - 1968.

This season has seen more than its fair share of unsavoury ‘incidents’ on and off the field of play. Celtic’s Neil Lennon and Rangers Ally McCoist literally went head to head at Celtic Park a few weeks ago. Earlier this month Aberdeen’s Craig Brown took obvious exception to something Motherwell chairman John Boyle said to him at the end of the game at Fir Park and chased him up the tunnel. Brown’s reaction may have been deemed unacceptable but I have to say I was more surprised by the speed he went after the Motherwell supremo - not bad for a 70 year old! Down south, Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney thought it smart to celebrate scoring against West Ham by aiming a foul-mouthed tirade towards a touch line cameraman. The England player was subsequently banned for two games and the former Evertonian who once displayed a tee shirt declaring ‘Always a Blue’ complained he was being treated unfairly. Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp opined he remembered United legend Bobby Charlton hitting the back of the net with ferocious shots yards from goal decades ago but couldn’t recall the man who helped United win the European Cup in 1968 ever celebrating by swearing on camera.

Many older supporters hark back to days when the game was less money-orientated and more respect was shown for those in authority. However, it’s easy to look back and believe football has always been a gentleman’s game. I’m loathe to mention the 1966 World Cup for obvious reasons but when England defeated Argentina their manager Alf Ramsay instructed his players not to shake hands or swap shirts at the final whistle, deeming the Argentine players ‘animals’ for what he perceived to be brutal behaviour during the game.

STV has recently shown an excellent documentary series called The Football Years. One of the programmes covered the infamous Celtic-Atletico Madrid European Cup semi-final first leg tie at Celtic Park in 1974 which ended in a goalless draw but was marked, if you’ll pardon the pun, by the disgraceful behaviour of the Atletico players, three of whom were sent off as they kicked anything that moved and left Celtic player Jimmy Johnstone covered in bruises. The ensuing brawl involving players and officials in the players tunnel at the end of the game was branded ‘disgraceful’ by the television commentator. 37 years later one of the Celtic players that night - John ‘Dixie’ Deans - spoke of how Strathclyde police had to restrain one of the Atletico players outside the away dressing room - while one or two Celtic players were ‘encouraged’ to dish out their own brand of retaliation on the way past. The Spaniards claim the following day of brutality in Glasgow doesn’t seem quite so incredulous now!

Football has always had its bad boys. Referees have always had their decisions questioned. It’s easy to think this is a modern phenomenon but as that newspaper report from nearly forty-three years ago showed, football’s governing body in Scotland was concerned about a lack of respect even during the swinging sixties. The amount of money in football nowadays means it’s a huge business with so much at stake - it’s no longer just a game. Perhaps it’s fanciful to think players and officials could show there is humorous side to this business.

Such as when a well known Scots player who once asked a referee what would happen if he called him a fecking idiot. The referee looked at him and replied he would have to send him off for foul and abusive language. The player then asked what would happen if he only thought the referee was a fecking idiot. The somewhat bemused ref retorted there was nothing he could do about that, as he wasn’t a mind reader.

‘In that case then’ said the player with a cheeky grin, ‘I think you’re a fecking idiot….’

Lennon Refusing to Change

2011-04-12T13:10:00.000-07:00

Although bans and backlash were levied at Neil Lennon to put the Celtic manager in check after a row on the touchline violation versus Hearts at Tynecastle in November, the young manager, back now in the dugout after a ban of five matches, states emphatically that his style will remain unchanged.

Citing bias in the Scottish Football Association’s handling of other managers’ infractions Lennon claims that he will keep a “close eye” on Aberdeen manager Craig Brown and Motherwell chairman John Boyle after a heated confrontation between the two. His goal: to see if the punishment falls as hard on others as it did—at least according to Lennon—on him.

Over the past couple of months, Lennon has stayed out of the public’s eye and has not addressed the media often at all. But when he came back, he came back with a vengeance, stating unequivocally that he feels he was singled out and punished harshly.

Lennon is on record multiple times stating that the initial six-match ban was a “gross over-reaction.” But just how much of that is actually true and how much of that is a guy crying foul for the sympathy vote?

Fan or not, the gusto shown by Lennon is appreciated to an extent. Footballers love the fiery, passionate manager in their corner, willing to tell things like they are – or at least how any football squad sees it (us against the world). However, the problem-child behaviour, which Lennon practically insists will not cease, can also be a distraction and can turn a well-performing club into a train wreck in no time at all.

Should Lennon grow up and take his licks? It may be true that Lennon’s hand is smacked with a ruler while others’ infractions earn only a stiff finger wave. But with two guys stranded in the woods, the wolves are going to surround the loudest. The quietest and calmest, well, he can get away with walking through the den while the pack is preoccupied with their loud, crying meal.

If we were to break this down into a betting formula, what are the odds that Neil Lennon gets into a confrontation or oversteps the line in criticisms and gets smacked with a fine or ban? If this statistic was found at the best online casinos and sports books out there, we’d probably be looking at 3:1 - maybe even lower if the firecracker can’t pluck his fuse in the coming days.

When asked about the “close eye” comment, Lennon stated that he was only “looking for fairness” and stated that other managers also “criticise referees.” As any Scottish Football fan knows, that’s true. Confrontations and criticisms are nothing new at all. Most managers, however, have a proverbial off switch and can avoid turning a molehill into a mountain.

If you’re begging for punishment, you’re going to get it. Lennon will be made a martyr off, sure enough, if he cannot curb that attitude. Whether he’s right or wrong is not the issue. It’s the time, place, and the limits the league is willing to accept before putting its collective foot down.

Maybe with blackjack online we’d be looking at better odds, but for Lennon, we’ll hold solid to that 3:1 that he ends up suspended for future games or ends up with his wallet a bit lighter as a result of his ranting.

Heart of Midlothian 0 Motherwell 0

2011-04-09T11:31:00.000-07:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 9 April 2011 - (125 year old) Tynecastle

On a day when Hearts marked 125 years since the present Tynecastle Park/Stadium opened, it was perhaps inevitable the occasion would be marked with a goalless draw. However, in my view this was a decent game with some nice passing football from both sides - all it lacked, if I can resort to cliche mode for a moment, were goals.

In fact, despite the nice football on show there were very few chances. Hearts Ryan Stevenson forced 'Well keeper Randolph into action early on while strike partner Stephen Elliott blasted a shot over the bar. For Motherwell, Saunders hit the post shortly before half time and in the second half Forbes hit the crossbar when he should have scored. In the end a point apiece was probably about right.

The plus points from a Hearts point of view was the performance of Craig Thomson. The full back had Motherwell's Chris Humphrey - whose pace is something else - in his pocket all afternoon while Andy Webster, as he had done at Easter Road six days ago, strolled through the game as if he had never been away from the centre of the Hearts defence. Webster captained the Hearts team in the absence of the suspended Zaliukas and I suspect 'Smokey' will be given the armband for keeps next season.

The negatives for the maroons is the worrying lack of a goal threat. Kevin Kyle's absence is keenly felt and while Skacel and Elliott are capable of scoring, when they are both off the pace - as they were today - there is no one else to threaten. With Dundee United continuing to edge closer to Hearts in the SPL - the gap is now eight points - this is something that may well be keeping Hearts boss Jim Jefferies awake at night.

On a positive note - happy 125th birthday, Tynecastle, one of Scotland's best football arenas. And, may I say what a pleasure it was to meet Vicky from Musselburgh at Tynecastle today. Vicky has made the odd comment or two on this blog and it was great to meet her at last (okay, Vickster, that's enough niceties for now...)

Finally, it was great to see Maroon View, a Hearts fanzine on the streets today. It's an excellent read - to get a copy contact maroonview@hotmail.co.uk

Happy 125th Birthday Tynecastle

2011-04-06T11:34:00.000-07:00

Contrary to what some of my so-called friends believe, I was not present when the present Tynecastle opened its gates for the first time 125 years ago. It just feels like it at times. I do wonder, however, what it must have been like coming here in 1886 and it’s a cause for reflection when one considers Hearts home was just 16 years old when Hibernian last won the Scottish Cup….

I’ve been coming to the old ground since 1968 and I’m sure Hearts award winning match day magazine will have a few tales about memorable games that have taken place there. The 5-1 triumph over Lokomotive Leipzig in 1976; the 3-2 win over Hibernian in 1983; the 4-2 Scottish Cup triumph over Rangers in 1995. All memorable Tynecastle occasions. There were two in particular, however, that I remember making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

First off was February 1989. Season 1988/89 had been a peculiar one for Hearts. It had begun with an unfamiliar Hearts line up as legendary striker John Robertson had left Tynecastle for Tyneside and wore the black and white stripes of Newcastle United. Iain Ferguson had been signed as his replacement but Hearts league form was patchy and inconsistent. In the UEFA Cup, however, it was a different story. After wins over St. Patricks Athletic, Austria Vienna and Velez Mostar, Hearts found themselves in the quarter-finals (no group stages to the forerunner of the Europa League then) Alex Macdonald’s side were paired with German giants Bayern Munich with the first leg at Tynecastle. I was living in Aberdeen at the time but there was no way I was going to miss Hearts biggest ever game in Europe so I headed for Tynecastle on a wet Tuesday evening - along with more than 26,000 other fans, mostly bedecked in maroon and white. Tynecastle in 1989 was quite different to the fine all-seated arena it is today and most of the huge crowd stood on the slopes of the terracing. My mate and I stood in what was affectionately known as The Shed and watched with pride as Hearts took the game to their illustrious opponents. A tense game was goalless ten minutes into the second half when Hearts, shooting towards the school end, were awarded a free kick twenty-five yards from the Bayern goal. Tosh McKinlay rolled the ball into the path of Iain Ferguson who smashed an unstoppable shot beyond the despairing arms of Bayern keeper Aumann into the net to give Hearts the lead. Tynecastle erupted in a way I had not witnessed before. We were sent sprawling down several steps of the terracing as grown men danced and leapt on each other in joyous bedlam. The cacophony of noise was quite deafening and one could sense the Germans were rattled. Bayern may have been old hands in the European game but it’s doubtful they had experienced anything like Tynecastle before where the fans were nearly on top of their highly paid players.

Hearts hung on for a famous 1-0 victory - it could even have been 2-0 had Dave Macpherson converted a glorious chance near the end - but, inevitably, lost 2-0 in the return leg in the Olympic Stadium in Munich a couple of weeks later to go out 2-1 on aggregate.

The second Tynecastle occasion to bring a lump to my throat was on 3 May 2006 when Aberdeen came to Gorgie for a SPL match. But this just wasn’t any old match. It was the tail end of a memorable season where Hearts, initially under George Burley then Graham Rix and then carried on by Valdas Ivanauskas had taken Scottish football by storm. Victory over The Dons meant Hearts would secure second place in the league - not only would this result in splitting the Old Firm but would elevate Hearts to the qualifying stages for the following season’s Champions League.

A full house of more than 17,000 packed into Tynecastle on a Wednesday evening and the atmosphere from start to finish was tumultuous. Expectant Hearts fans belted out the club anthems all evening but a determined Aberdeen side seemed intent on spoiling the party. The game remained goalless at half time and Hearts fans contemplated the prospect of having to go to Ibrox the following Sunday needing to avoid defeat to realise their dream of sitting at European football’s top table for the first time since 1960. However, like the aforementioned game against Bayern, Hearts made the breakthrough ten minutes into the second half when Zander Diamond handled Roman Bednar’s goal bound header. A penalty to Hearts that Paul Hartley duly converted. From my vantage point in the Wheatfield Stand, I thought the roof was going to come off such was the noise from jubilant Hearts fans. In fact, I felt sure I felt the stand sway as the delirious home support celebrated. There was no further scoring and Hearts duly took their place in the qualifying stages of the Champions League. I felt a lump in my throat that evening and, I don’t mind admitting, fought back the tears. I never thought I would witness such an occasion and it seemed neither did the majority of the ecstatic home support. Even some Aberdeen fans of my acquaintance commented that the atmosphere at Tynecastle that night was the best they had ever experienced.

As Tynecastle celebrates its 125th birthday, I hope there are more occasions like these to savour. When the old ground is full and Hearts triumph there is no more atmospheric stadium in the country - as fans of Aberdeen and Bayern Munich will testify!

John Colquhoun

2011-03-27T07:35:00.000-07:00

A vital component of the re-emergence of Hearts as a major force in Scottish football in the mid 1980s was John Colquhoun. The Stirling born forward began his career at his hometown club Stirling Albion before Celtic paid £60,000 for his services in 1983. However, his first team opportunities at Celtic Park were limited somewhat due to the established presence of winger Davie Provan and in May 1985 Hearts manager Alex Macdonald paid £50,000 to bring Colquhoun to Tynecastle.

Macdonald had a reputation for bringing the best out of players discarded by the Old Firm and Colquhoun blossomed into one of the finest Hearts players of a generation. ‘JC’ as he was affectionately known was equally effective playing on the wing or through the middle and along with John Robertson and Sandy Clark formed a Hearts front three that caused problems to any defence. Colquhoun was a goalscorer too; his two goals at Ibrox in a 2-0 win over Rangers at Christmas 1985 followed a month later by his memorable winning goal at Pittodrie against reigning champions Aberdeen spring to mind as well as a spectacular volley against Dundee United in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden later that season.

JC won two Scotland caps during his time at Tynecastle, both coming in 1988 against Saudi Arabia and Malta. Joe Jordan replaced Alex Macdonald as Hearts manager in 1990 and less than a year later, Colquhoun moved to Millwall for £400,000. He spent a year in London before Sunderland paid £220,000 for his services but his time at Roker Park wasn’t a particularly happy one and having sold JC two years earlier, Joe Jordan brought him back to Tynecastle in 1993 as part of the deal which took midfielder Derek Ferguson to Wearside.

Colquhoun’s second spell at Tynecastle was equally impressive and he scored Hearts only goal in the Scottish Cup Final defeat to Rangers in 1996. At the end of the following season Colquhoun, now aged 34 joined St. Johnstone for a brief spell before retiring from the playing side of the game and beginning a career in sports journalism. He was a regular guest on the now sadly missed Scotsport show on Scottish Television. He was also chairman of the Scottish Professional Footballers Association and Rector of the University of Edinburgh.

Today, John Colquhoun runs the sports management agency Key Sports Management, which he helped set up in 1999 and includes the likes of Theo Walcott, David James and Steve McClaren among its clients.

A Change in Attitude

2011-03-20T06:43:00.000-07:00

Three weeks ago, STV began a second series of their excellent recall of Scottish football, The Football Years. The first programme was about Scotland’s World Cup squad of 1974 who returned home from the finals in what was then West Germany as the only country undefeated (the West Germans won the competition but lost to East Germany in a group game) The Scots beat Zaire but draws against the reigning world champions Brazil and Yugoslavia were insufficient for progression and so the boys in blue went out in the first round group stage on goal difference (this wouldn’t be the first time this would happen) The STV programme interviewed players who took part as well as journalists who were there.

I remember 1974 very well, being just 12 years old at the time, but what struck me on watching the programme was the attitude and preparation - or lack of - of the Scots and the ‘wha’s like us’ mentality that would be frowned upon today. Scotland manager Willie Ormond had gone to watch opponents Zaire in an African Nations Cup match against Ghana - and according to journalist Rodger Baillie left the game after just 15 minutes stating Zaire were no good and would pose no threat to the Scots. He then invited Scots journalists present to accompany him for a wee dram or three back at his hotel. True, Zaire didn’t pose any threat to Scotland in their opening World Cup game but the image of captain Billy Bremner playing keepy-uppy with the ball in his own half as Ormond’s men settled for a 2-0 win rather than a more emphatic victory is an enduring one, particularly when one reflects on the Scots going out the tournament on goal difference. I have stated in these pages before how I believe Hearts Donald Ford would have been a better option up front instead of an ageing Denis Law but Fordie remained on the sidelines alongside, incredibly, the best Scots player I have ever seen - Celtic’s Jimmy Johnstone. ‘Jinky’ appeared to pay the price for some high jinks as the team prepared - although I use the term loosely - for the finals a few weeks earlier.

Willie Ormond would become Hearts manager three years later and it’s difficult to imagine his laissez-faire attitude to preparation being adopted by today’s Scotland manager, Craig Levein who, of course, also managed Hearts. Zaire were managed by a Yugoslav, Blagoje Vidinic, and when the Africans lost their next World Cup game to Yugoslavia 9-0 questions were asked although the answers weren’t given until several decades later when it was alleged some of the Zaire players were given ‘incentives’ not to give their all in the game. The fact Brazil only managed to put three goals past them indicates there was some substance to those allegations.

The day after the STV broadcast last month, Hearts played out a less than enthralling goalless draw with Aberdeen at Pittodrie. I didn’t find the idea of leaving Edinburgh at eight in the morning to head to the Granite City particularly enticing so I opted to watch the game on television in a pub. However, I was interested to hear Aberdeen manager Craig Brown’s post match assertion that it was a sign of how much his team had progressed that they had secured a nil-nil draw against the high-flying maroons (or turquoise and white stripes in this case) True, the goalless affair was, for The Dons, a big improvement on their last meeting with Jim Jefferies’ boys when they endured a 5-0 thrashing at Tynecastle a fortnight before Christmas. Nonetheless, it was another example of how football has changed over the years.

A decade after Scotland’s adventure in the 1974 World Cup, Aberdeen weren’t just the third force in Scottish football - they were the force and by some distance. I recall Hearts first season back in the Premier Division after securing promotion in 1983 and being at Pittodrie towards the end of season 1983/84 when Hearts secured a 1-1 draw against a side who were at the time the European Cup Winners Cup holders. Wee John Robertson scored a second half equaliser and I recall leaving Pittodrie’s Beach End as it was then thinking how much progress Hearts had made under manager Alex Macdonald. Twelve months earlier, Hearts had been playing the likes of Dumbarton and Alloa Athletic in the First Division; now they had drawn at the home of one of the finest teams in Europe.

Someone once made the wisecrack that nostalgia isn’t what it used to be and there’s no doubt football has changed a lot in the last thirty odd years. Craig Levein certainly would never dream of leaving a game featuring Scotland’s next opponents after just 15 minutes and heading for the pub while nowadays Aberdonians consider themselves satisfied with a goalless draw against Edinburgh’s finest. One thing remains a constant, however. The joy of seeing Hearts and Scotland triumph and the wellbeing that creates. Now that’s something that will never change!

Respect - Just a Little Bit?

2011-03-13T06:25:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago it seemed as if war had broken out in Scottish football. Celtic and Rangers met for what seemed like the umpteenth time this season, this time in the Scottish Cup and having drawn at Ibrox, the sides reconvened at Celtic Park for the replay. The furore during and at the end of this game tainted Scottish football further which, given the state of the game in this country, was the last thing the football authorities needed. Next weekend the Old Firm meet yet again - this time in the Co-operative Insurance Cup Final at Hampden Park - and despite the nondescript nature of this competition, this may turn out to be one of the most important Old Firm fixtures in years.

The Scottish Cup debacle prompted a summit by Scotland’s First Minister, no less, and involved the chief executives of Celtic and Rangers as well as high-ranking officials from Strathclyde Police. I’m not sure quite what this achieved, particularly as Celtic’s Peter Lawell and Rangers Martin Bain were both of the opinion there was little more their clubs could do in relation to the abhorrent violence from supporters of both clubs that usually occurs in the aftermath of almost every Old Firm fixture both in the vicinity of Celtic Park/Ibrox and domestic incidents across Glasgow and beyond as mindless morons take the consequences of defeat out on those they supposedly love and cherish. However, we live in an age when politicians have to be seen to be doing something when a crisis blows, particularly when there’s an election on the horizon…

Bigotry, sectarianism and its associated hatred has been a poison that has blighted not just Scottish football but society in this country for far too many years. And, for years, the same question has been asked by far more qualified people than I - what can be done to eradicate it? Disturbingly it seems there is no definitive answer. Worse, it seems to many observers this cancer on Scots society will never be eradicated.

In the 1970s football became a convenient outlet for hooliganism not only in Scotland but also around Europe. The seeds of social change, planted in the aftermath of the Second World War, harvested the right to be heard and more freedom for all. However, some morals such as decency, tolerance and respect for others were trampled underfoot in the process and hatred became more prevalent. When black footballers first made their presence felt in the UK at this time, racism was rife and much - but not all - of the nation was rightly appalled at the abuse the players received in what was supposed to be sporting arenas. There weren’t so many black players in Scotland as there were over the border but this didn’t mean Scottish football was immune to racist abuse. The treatment of the Rangers player Mark Walters in the late 1980s was sickening but he was far from alone in being subjected to this.

Thankfully, campaigns such as Kick Racism Out of Football and Show Racism the Red Card have proved effective and, thankfully, racist abuse at football games in Scotland is rarely heard these days. With Scotland now a multi-cultural society, any purveyor of such abuse will almost certainly be pointed out to the police by decent, law-abiding fans and likely to be banned from football for life. Why, then, is sectarianism still rife in Scotland? And what can be done to try and address it?

Football showed its responsible face when it took the issue of racism full on. That remains a work in progress but few could doubt its effectiveness. Celtic, Rangers and the Scottish Football Association not only face a huge challenge in addressing sectarianism but they also have a huge responsibility. The competitive nature of football means tempers can flare at any time during a game. In most games, bust-ups between players and officials amount to little more than a few words of righteous condemnation in the press and a slap on the wrist from the football authorities. However, when it happens during Old Firm games there can be more far-reaching consequences.

At the end of the aforementioned Scottish Cup replay at Celtic Park, Celtic’s Neil Lennon and Rangers Ally McCoist squared up to each other right in front of the Sky television cameras, eager to broadcast such a confrontation around the world. We were told a couple of days later that before the evening was over Lennon and McCoist settled their differences over a bottle of beer. A pity, then, that no one thought it would be a good idea for the two men to meet publicly the following day, shake hands before a press conference, and apologise for their irresponsible behaviour. Instead, a baying press stoked the embers of their fiery joust and speculation reached fever pitch about what was said and by whom.

Celtic admitted that Neil Lennon had displayed behaviour that was not of the standard expected of a Celtic manager and he had apologised to the board of directors - although Peter Lawwell thought it wise to add ‘there were mitigating circumstances’. Across the city Martin Bain said Ally McCoist ‘was acutely aware of representing Rangers in the best possible way’ but then could not resist adding ‘he was acting in the defence of our players’

In fairness, the Old Firm have agreed on a six-point plan that came as a result of the summit chaired by the First Minister. However, I suspect I’m not the only person who thinks there is so much more Celtic and Rangers could do. How about Peter Lawwell and Martin Bain holding a joint press conference this week, in the build up to next Sunday’s cup final and both condemning bigotry and violent and abusive behaviour? Neil Lennon and Ally McCoist holding the cup together at Hampden, before a very public embrace? Each player leading out a child dressed in the opposition colours just before kick-off next Sunday? Players from both teams holding up ‘Kick Bigotry Out of Football’ cards in the same way as the Show Racism the Red card campaign?

Small things, I know. Nevertheless, respect for others and decency have to be resurrected in Scotland. For the sake of the game and society in general, there has to be a starting point somewhere.

Stephane Adam

2011-03-09T13:05:00.000-08:00

In the summer of 1997, Jim Jefferies was still in the process of rebuilding the Hearts team, something that had been a work in progress since he arrived as manager two years earlier. He knew legendary striker John Robertson was, by now, in the twilight of his career and it was to the Auld Alliance that Jefferies turned to for someone to take on the number nine shirt. He recruited Stephane Adam from French side FC Metz just days before the striker’s 28th birthday and the Frenchman would go on to become a legend in the eyes of the Hearts support.

Adam made his competitive Hearts debut on a Monday evening coming on as a substitute at Ibrox as Hearts lost their first league game of season 1997/98 3-1; however, by the end of the season Adam and Hearts would have the last laugh over Rangers. The Frenchman’s intelligent forward play was the perfect foil for attacking midfielder Colin Cameron and winger Neil McCann. Adam scored ten goals in his first season at Tynecastle - including three in the Scottish Cup. His last goal of the season is one that will never be forgotten by those Hearts fans lucky to have witnessed it. It came in the Scottish Cup Final when Adam pounced on an error by Rangers defender Lorenzo Amoruso to strike a magnificent shot beyond goalkeeper Andy Goram. Adam ran to the ecstatic Hearts support with outstretched arms. It gave Hearts what turned out to be an unassailable lead and end a thirty-six year wait for silverware in Gorgie - and wrote the name of Stephane Adam into Tynecastle folklore.

Adam would become a regular goal scorer for Hearts over the next four years although he was affected by injury that, at times, limited his effectiveness. By May 2002, Craig Levein had taken over as Hearts manager and it became clear the injury prone Adam would not be part of the Fifer’s long-term plans for Hearts. Adam was given a free transfer and returned to France. In 2006, he returned to Scotland for a brief spell to assist his mentor Jim Jefferies in a coaching role at Kilmarnock.

Today, Stephane Adam is coach of French side Lille OSC’s under 19 team - and is still an occasional visitor to Tynecastle.

East Stirlingshire v Dundee 1981

2011-03-06T10:58:00.000-08:00

A blast from the past for Shire and Dundee fans. The Dees clinched promotion to the Premier Division that day, hence the packed crowd at Firs Park. Commentator Alistair Alexander refers to 18 year old Dundee forward Ray Stephen. About three years later Arsene Wenger would sign Stephen for French club Nancy.

Heart of Midlothian 0 Kilmarnock 2

2011-03-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 5 March 2011 - Tynecastle

There has been talk recently of the Old Firm leaving Scottish football and trying their luck in England. I suspect I'm not the only person who would welcome such a move. However, after their second win at Tynecastle this season, may I respectfully suggest Kilmarnock also move out of Scottish football - I, for one, am sick of the sight of the men from Ayrshire...

Last October, Killie came to Tynecastle, played Hearts off the park and thoroughly deserved their 3-0 victory. Today, the match was a much more even affair but Hearts could not make their territorial advantage in the first half pay and, inevitably, paid the price. After last week's dour display at Aberdeen, Hearts sprang out the Tynecastle traps and in an impressive opening period had chances to score through Bouzid, Skacel and Templeton, the latter seeing his looping header bounce off the woodwork with Killie keeper Jaakkola well beaten. Killie looked dangerous on the break and after weathering the storm came more into the game and Pascali should have done better with a free header which he out wide.

Hearts hopes of making an early break through at the beginning of the second half were in tatters when the visitors took the lead with a fine goal in the 50th minute. Silva ran at the Hearts defence from the halfway line and with no challenge from a home defender forthcoming, the Portugese player drove the ball past an unprotected Marian Kello to give Killie the lead. Six minutes later Eremenko played a one-two with the aforementioned Silva and finished clinically to double the visitors' lead. There was more than half an hour still to play but Hearts fans had seen it all before and we knew there was no way back even after Killie were reduced to ten men when Eremenko was shown a straight red card for raising his hands to Zaliukas.

Strangely, Hearts played better than they did last week at Pittodrie but ended up with nothing. Then again, Killie are a different proposition to Aberdeen - it's staggering to think they lost 5-0 in the Granite City a few weeks back. However, Hearts lack of depth in their squad is beginning to show. They have struggled since they lost Kevin Kyle to injury a few weeks ago. Inexplicably, Jim Jefferies opted for Calum Elliot up front today - the laddie does his best but, frankly, it's nowhere near good enough. KK would rumble defences up but Calum is not the same imposing figure and is easily bundled off the ball. Hearts also missed Lee Wallace and Andy Webster while Andrew Driver didn't even make it off the bench today.

The gap between Hearts and Killie is now down to 13 points but Jim Jefferies men should still be good enough to take third place - and a place in next season's Europa League. But the style the maroons displayed earlier this season has sadly gone AWOL - they need to find it again sooner rather than later.

Willie Gibson

2011-02-27T06:21:00.000-08:00

Hearts striker Willie Gibson scores a hat-trick against Celtic at Tynecastle in 1976. Hearts were 3-1 ahead - but lost 4-3. It was a turning point in the season for the maroons - they were relegated for the first time in their history in 1977.

On a Wing & a Prayer

2011-02-23T12:02:00.000-08:00

Those who know me will tell you I can be difficult to please. Perhaps it’s an age thing. Being a year away from my half-century and being a grandfather to three aspiring Jambos (if my daughter reads this, I’ll explain later dear) I’m at that stage in life when one tends to look at some of the years gone by through rose-tinted glasses. Or, in my case, maroon ones. Hearts supporters of my generation will recall the days when teams played three players up front. In fact, it wasn’t that long ago that Hearts had the 1980s version of the Terrible Trio - John Robertson, John Colquhoun and Sandy Clark - tormenting defences. In recent years, it seems the ability not to lose games - as opposed to going out to entertain and win games - has brought success. Csaba Laszlo’s time in charge of Hearts more often than not saw just one player up front - and Christian Nade was never going to terrorise defences with his lightning turn of speed.

Jim Jefferies return to Tynecastle has transformed Hearts and many supporters like me are gladdened to see, on occasion, Hearts play with three players going forward with Kevin Kyle, until his recent injury and Stephen Elliot supported by the latest in a long line of Hearts players to have fans on the edge of their seats over the years - David Templeton.

Hearts fans of my age have been brought up on players dancing down the wing in maroon. Back in the 1970s, I remember my delight at Hearts capturing Kenny Aird from St. Johnstone and the breakthrough to the first team of a young Bobby Prentice. Aird was one of those players whose commitment was never questioned and the fans appreciated his all action style. ‘Oh Bobby Prentice On The Wing’ was a chant that regularly emanated from the Tynecastle terracing as Rab would - on his day - torment defences across the land. Even in the dark days of the late 1970s, Prentice would have competition for his place in the first team from Malcolm Robertson, who sadly passed away last year.

Veteran winger Willie Johnston was perhaps past his best when he came to Tynecastle in the early 1980s but his replacement was young John Colquhoun, who, like Rab Prentice more than a decade earlier, left Celtic for Gorgie. JC could be equally effective through the middle as a strike partner for John Robertson. In the 1990s, we had Allan Johnston and the mercurial Neil McCann. ‘Terry’ McCann was, perhaps, the best winger I have seen in my years following Hearts. Those of us who were at the 1996 Coca Cola League Cup Final with Rangers at Celtic Park will never forget McCann tearing the Rangers defence to shreds that afternoon. Hearts lost an epic final 4-3 but McCann’s phenomenal display wasn’t forgotten by Rangers manager Walter Smith who took him to Ibrox two years later.

I have to say no one in a Hearts shirt has excited me in the same way Neil McCann did - until now. He’s still young and inexperienced but there’s something about David Templeton’s displays this season that is a throw back to the days when football was all about entertaining and not the results driven business it is today. ‘Temps’ has always been highly thought of at Tynecastle but it’s been Jim Jefferies and Billy Brown who have brought out the best in the 22 year old Glaswegian. His goal against Hibernian at Easter Road earlier this season was sublime. It reminded me in many ways of Archie Gemmill’s memorable goal for Scotland against The Netherlands in the 1978 World Cup, the way he left defenders trailing in his wake before finishing with style.

You can almost feel the anticipation from the crowd when Temps gets the ball and surges forward. Yes, he is prone to the odd mistake just like any other player but there can be no better tutors for the lad than Messrs Jefferies and Brown. It was the Hearts management duo who made the aforementioned Neil McCann the player he was.

Templeton undoubtedly has the skill and work rate to take him to the very top. I suspect there have already been a few scouts from over the border keeping a keen eye on him. It doesn’t come as a complete surprise to learn his middle name is Cooper - clearly, his family were paying homage to one of the finest wingers in Scotland, Davie Cooper, when their son arrived in the world in 1989.

I hope Temps sticks around Gorgie for at least a couple of more years. I don’t get a lot of excitement at my age but seeing the Glaswegian Wonder Boy fly down the wing takes me back to a bygone age when style and panache was king. Something David Templeton has in abundance!

Heart of Midlothian 2 Dundee United 1

2011-02-19T15:08:00.000-08:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 19 February 2011 - Tynecastle

Hearts strenghtened their grip on third place in the Clydesdale Bank SPL today - and the place in next season's Europa League that goes with it - with a rather fortuitous win over Dundee United, themselves still having designs on repeating their third place finish of last season. Hearts were far from their best today but, to slip into cliche mode, it's the sign of a good team that doesn't play well but still wins - so I'm told.

Hearts, with Andy Webster making his homecoming, looked shaky from the start. David Goodwillie - given stick from the Hearts support all afternoon for the fact the striker has been charged with rape allegations - thought he had scored after just a couple of minutes but referee Calum Murray ruled the effort out for handball. However, when Barry Douglas gave the visitors the lead after just six minutes Tynecastle was stunned. United dominated the first half and Hearts cause wasn't helped when Lee Wallace hobbled off after half an hour but there was relief for the home fans when Rudi Skacel tapped the ball home on the stroke of half-time after a mix up in the United defence.

Hearts replaced the ineffectual David Obua with David Templeton at the start of the second half and began to look like their normal selves. Fellow substitute Andrew Driver really should have put Hearts ahead when he had three chances in quick succession to score late in the game but after seeing his first two attempts on goal blocked his third effort flew across the goal as frustration grew.

Hearts scored what proved to be the winner when Marius Zaliukas headed home Craig Thomson's corner with just three minutes to go and the home support celebrated. The celebrations were cut short, however, when Ruben Palazuelos brought down Robertson in the penalty box. Red card for the Spaniard, a penalty for United and the chance for them to take a deserved point. However, for the third time this season Hearts keeper Marian Kello saved a penalty, this time from Goodwillie and bedlam ensued at Tynecastle. The final whistle blew soon after and Hearts fans headed home to look out their passports for next season. With nearest challengers Kilmarnock going down 5-0 at Aberdeen, Hearts will all but secure third spot if they beat Killie when they visit Gorgie in a fortnight.

Not the best of games today but a feature for me was the return of Andy Webster. Not every Hearts fan was pleased to see the former Arbroath player return to Tynecastle but he was impressive today after a shaky start and his influence on the young players in the Hearts team was there for all to see.

Neil Pointon

2011-02-08T14:17:00.000-08:00

Jim Jefferies first spell in charge of Hearts in the mid 1990s saw him undertake a considerable rebuilding job. In particular, he looked at the defence and recruited goalkeeper Gilles Rousset and Italian no-nonsense defender Pasquale Bruno. Jefferies also brought in a left back who was to prove hugely popular in his three years at Tynecastle - Neil Pointon.

Mansfield born Pointon began his career at Scunthorpe United and his impressive displays caught the attention of Everton manager Howard Kendall who paid £75,000 in 1985 to bring him to Goodison - at that time the home of English league champions. Pointon was seen as defensive cover for the more established Everton stars and while The Toffees reached an all Merseyside FA Cup final with Liverpool in 1986, Pointon played no part in the showpiece game.

When Kendall departed for Spain, Pointon became more of a first team regular but in 1990, he linked up again with Kendall when he signed for Manchester City. Kendall had returned from Atletico Bilbao to Maine Road and he made Pointon one of his first signings. Two years later Pointon signed for Oldham Athletic and scored in their FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United in 1994.

At 31, Pointon accepted Jim Jefferies offer to join Hearts, making his debut in the 4-2 win over Raith Rovers at Tynecastle in October 1995. Pointon became a vital member of the Hearts team that season and was instrumental in helping to develop youngsters like Paul Ritchie and Alan McManus. He played in the Scottish Cup Final in 1996 but couldn’t prevent a 5-1 loss to Rangers. Pointon was never anything less than committed to the Hearts cause and his passionate style of play made him a favourite with the Gorgie faithful. However, with Gary Naysmith emerging as a full back of some talent, Pointon found his appearances in the Hearts first less frequent. While he was part of the squad that lifted the Scottish Cup in 1998, he didn’t feature on the day - other than cavorting around Celtic Park in his cup final suit! At the end of that month, ‘Disa’ as he was affectionately known, left Tynecastle for Walsall. After a spell at Chesterfield, Pointon managed non-league sides Hednesford Town, Retford United and Mossley.

Today, Neil Pointon is a youth team coach at FA Premiership high fliers Bolton Wanderers.

Money Talks

2011-02-02T13:08:00.001-08:00

Politicians continually tell us that times are hard, the country is battling a recession and a very tough year lies ahead. However, no one, it seems, has mentioned this to football clubs in the obscenely rich English FA Premiership where the closing of the January transfer window a few days ago saw millions of pounds change hands - or rather bank accounts. Within minutes on the last day of January, not one but two British record transfer fees were created amid a buzz of helicopters and sports cars racing between Tyneside, Merseyside and London as Liverpool and Chelsea reached new levels of transfer madness.

At the beginning of 2011 Liverpool were adamant that star striker Fernando Torres would not be leaving Merseyside. The very fact the men in suits at Anfield made that statement indicated there were other forces at work and, sure enough, it emerged towards the end of the month that the Spanish striker had a clause in his contract that said he could leave Liverpool if the club didn’t qualify for the Champions League and a sizeable offer was made for his services. Step forward Chelsea with an astonishing offer of £50m - one that even Liverpool could not refuse. The Reds, in turn, made an arguably even more astounding offer of £35m to Newcastle United for the talented but far from the finished article that is England striker Andy Carroll. On the same day they bought Torres, Chelsea splashed out another £20m on Benfica defender David Luiz - and dripping in irony was the fact these two huge signings came in the same week the Stamford Bridge club posted a loss of nearly £71m for the financial year ending June 2010. Earlier in the month, Aston Villa had forked out £24m to bring another striker - Darren Bent - from Sunderland. Heaven knows what fans in Tyne & Wear thought at seeing two half-decent, but hardly world-beating centre forwards leave the north-east of England for a combined fee of nearly £60m.

Meanwhile, in Scotland fans could only look south with open mouths and mounting incredulity. No big money signings this side of the border. Celtic did sign Kris Commons from under the noses of their arch-rivals Rangers who, in turn, displayed an element of tit-for-tat by bringing Blackburn Rovers striker El Hadji Diouf on loan from Ewood Park - this the player who infamously spat at a Celtic fan at Parkhead while playing for Liverpool in an UEFA Cup tie in 2003. Other clubs were looking mainly at loan deals and/or players few supporters had heard of.

In my view, players such as Fernando Torres and Andy Carroll have only one ambition - to make as much money from football as possible. With the vast sums of money available in the English game, no one could really blame them. However, when Torres nets for Chelsea and Carroll eventually breaks his Liverpool duck there may well be the now customary run towards their newly smitten supporters and the quite sickening kissing of the club badge on their new team shirt. Given his much-quoted love for Liverpool and his apparent admiration for all things Scouse when he was a kid growing up in Madrid, what does it now mean to Torres to play for the Red’s bitter rivals Chelsea? Probably not a lot but it does mean a lot to his bank balance. Similarly, Andy Carroll who has replaced Torres in the red and white of Liverpool. Three years ago, few people outside of Newcastle had heard of him. Now, one full season in the Championship and half a season in the FA Premiership, a huge amount of money has made him forget his north-east roots and become a mercenary on Merseyside.

In an age of financial austerity such transfer madness sticks in the throat of the working classes who will find it more difficult than ever to meet the cost of going to watch football. Scottish football learnt the hard way a few years ago when the likes of Rangers spent £12m on Tore Andre Flo and Celtic tried desperately to keep up. Now the Glasgow duo - and others - are paying the price and are left to scurry around Poundstretchers rather than waltz arrogantly like their English counterparts through Harrods. And in a way that might not be a bad thing. Young talent such as David Templeton at Hearts, Chris Maguire at Aberdeen, Jamie Ness at Rangers and James Forrest at Celtic will be given their chance to make an impression in their respective first teams - and in the long term this will benefit Craig Levein as he attempts to make Scotland a half decent football nation again. Most Scots fans will be able to relate better to young talent in their clubs, particularly those coming through the youth set-ups, than over-paid and over-rated fly-by-nights…

The English game has never had as much money as it has now. Conversely, Scottish football has seldom been so financially embarrassed. You might think I’ve been at the brandy but, honestly, I’d rather see a committed Kevin Kyle in a Hearts shirt than a here today, gone tomorrow Spaniard who only has eyes for pound signs. And I’m not talking about Suso Santana!

Frank Boyle

2011-01-31T12:32:00.000-08:00

Mark Burchill

2011-01-30T12:50:00.000-08:00

Burchill with Kevin Kyle during their Kilmarnock days - SNS pic

At the beginning of 2005, Hearts had a new majority shareholder in Vladimir Romanov and then manager John Robertson, Hearts legendary record goalscorer was keen to add to the club’s strike power. He turned to former Celtic and Scotland striker Mark Burchill who had been released from Portsmouth.

Burchill’s early career saw him emerge as a prolific teenager and he scored 20 goals for Celtic at the end of the 1990s. Such form inevitably resulted in a Scotland call-up, the Broxburn born player making his Scotland debut against Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1999. However, money spoke volumes in Scottish football at that time and he faded from the first team picture at Celtic with the arrival of big money signing Chris Sutton. Burchill then spent loan spells at Birmingham City and Ipswich before signing for Portsmouth for £600,000 in 2001.

When Harry Redknapp took over at Fratton Park, Burchill was once again left out of the first team plans and after loan spells at Dundee, Wigan, Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham, signed for Hearts on a short-term deal. He made his debut at the end of January 2005 coming on as a substitute in a 1-0 win over Aberdeen at Tynecastle. In keeping with his career, Burchill’s time in Gorgie was brief. Six months and four goals later he signed for Dunfermline Athletic. A further spell at Rotherham followed before Jim Jefferies took him to Kilmarnock in 2009. However, the nomadic striker struggled to make an impact in Ayrshire and faded from the first team when Jimmy Calderwood became interim manager early in 2010.

Today, Mark Burchill plays for Cypriot First Division side Enosis Neon Paralimni.

Heart of Midlothian 1 St. Johnstone 0

2011-01-29T12:57:00.000-08:00

SNS Photograph

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 29 January 2011 - Tynecastle

I normally only post about a match I've actually attended but I have to make a wee confession here. I wasn't at Tynecastle today as I had to attend a hospital appointment I had been waiting for since early November - and some things take priority even over watching the boys in maroon (not many, admittedly) However, I got back home at 4.30pm, spent a fraught twenty minutes or so waiting for the final whistle before turning on BBC Alba who showed the ninety minutes from Tynecastle in their entirety at 5.30pm. Hurrah for BBC Alba!

Much of the press seemed to take a fair bit of delight at Hearts heavy defeat at Celtic Park during the week - step forward Mr Graham Speirs - so it was going to be interesting to see how Hearts reacted when St. Johnstone came calling to Tynecastle - three weeks after the Perth Saints knocked Hearts out the Scottish Cup in Gorgie. Jim Jefferies made a handful of changes to the team that lost 4-0 in the east end of Glasgow with David Obua partnering Gary Glen up front with Suso Santana tucked in behind. There wasn't even a place on the substitute's bench for David Templeton, whose sparkling form of a few weeks ago has faded somewhat.

Hearts dominated the game from start to finish. They scored the only goal of the game after just three minutes when Rudi Skacel cleverly converted a fine cross from Craig Thomson. Skacel had another chance soon after but missed before Santana really should have doubled Hearts lead but his first touch on the edge of the six yard box let him down. St. Johnstone manager Derek McInnes was clearly unhappy with the way the first half was going and made a double substitution just before half-time. However, Hearts continued to dominate the game and fine play from Lee Wallace set up Skacel early in the second half but the Czech player fired his shot straight at Saints keeper Enckelman when he really should have scored.

The second half was notable for the welcome return of Hearts Andrew Driver after months out through injury. There was a trademark Driver run near the end of the game which so nearly gave Hearts the second goal their play deserved but in the end a single goal was enough. With Kilmarnock spilling points at Hamilton, Hearts are now 15 points clear in third place - time, surely, to look out the passports for next season's Europa League. As an aside, Edinburgh's other team are 32 points - and several light years - behind their superior neighbours. Just thought I'd mention it.

Exclusive to Sky Sports...

2011-01-25T13:19:00.000-08:00

St. James Park, Newcastle

2011-01-23T12:05:00.000-08:00

Taken in 1966 - it's changed a wee bit since then!

Heart of Midlothian 1 Rangers 0

2011-01-22T12:53:00.000-08:00

SNS photograph

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 22 January 2011 - Tynecastle

Hearts recent unbeaten run in the SPL meant today's game against the current champions was always going to be match of the day and Sky Television duly moved the kick-off time to lunchtime and the cameras rolled. This didn't prevent Tynecastle being close to full and the atmosphere was as fervent as ever at Scotland's most atmospheric stadium.

Ironically, Hearts played much better when Rangers last visited Gorgie back in September and snatched all three points at the death thanks to a Steven Naismith strike in the fourth minute of injury time. Today the maroons looked out of sorts. Whether it was due to the absence of the injured Kevin Kyle which meant Ryan Stevenson started the game in an unfamiliar forward role or whether it was the exertions of a tough midweek game at Kilmarnock, Hearts looked off the pace all afternoon and Rangers dominated the first half. Home keeper Marian Kello was the hero as he kept the visitors at bay with a string of fine saves. That said, it was Hearts Rudi Skacel who came closest to scoring when he drove a shot inches wide shortly before half time.

Hearts came more into the game in the second half, particularly when David Templeton came off and was replaced by Gary Glen - this enabled Ryan Stevenson to move into his more customary position in midfield. The game became end to end stuff but just when it seemed like a goalless draw would be a decent result given the way Hearts had played, the deadlock was broken with thirteen minutes to go. Hearts Lee Wallace cut in from the left and found Skacel who went down after a challenge to loud howls of 'penalty!' The ball broke to Stevenson who steered the ball home to ensure bedlam at Tynecastle. There endeth the scoring. Hearts might consider themselves fortunate to claim all three points but in a way it was justice for the September meeting between the pair when Hearts played so well but got no reward.

Hearts are now just two points behind the champions who remain in second place in the SPL. Jim Jefferies side are seven points behind league leaders Celtic - but have a game in hand. And Hearts head to Celtic Park next Wednesday evening. Twenty-five years ago this weekend, I was at Pittodrie to witness a rising Hearts team defeat league champions Aberdeen 1-0 thanks to a late John Colquhoun goal. That result gave everyone at Tynecastle the belief that Hearts could challenge for the title that season. A quarter of a century later dare Hearts fans believe history is about to repeat itself?

At least this season we don't have to go to Dens Park. Can someone check what Albert Kidd is doing these days...?

Something Better Change

2011-01-20T12:37:00.000-08:00

There’s an old adage which goes the more things change the more they stay the same. At the beginning of this month, there were talks among the SPL clubs about the possibility of league reconstruction. This has been a debate in Scottish football that has ran for decades, in fact probably since Hibernian last won the Scottish Cup. At the beginning of 2011 there appeared to be support from clubs in the SPL for two leagues of ten teams - this despite the fact that many fans asked for their opinion on this issue favoured increasing the league from its present size of twelve. However, as the month progressed it seemed this support was on the wane.

SPL chairman Ralph Topping argued that a sixteen-team league wouldn’t work economically and would have a knock-on effect in terms of the quality of players Scottish football would attract. It is true that a sixteen team league would result in just thirty league games a season with teams playing each other twice as opposed to three or four times. I’m old enough to remember when the top tier of Scottish football had eighteen teams and with Celtic and Rangers inevitably leaving the rest behind by Christmas some seasons seemed to be never-ending. No one wants to return to the days when teams played meaningless games in the middle of March in front of a few thousand fans bored out their minds. However, a sixteen-team league doesn’t have to end after thirty games.

There has long been an argument against clubs having to play each other four times in a season in the league. Those against say this makes football stale and repetitive. When you consider there’s a fair chance of encountering SPL opposition in the CIS Insurance and Scottish Cups, you can see why familiarity can breed contempt. However, a sixteen-team league could incorporate a top eight split after those thirty games with teams in the top and bottom eight playing against each other one more time - giving a total of thirty-seven games.

In my view, there would be freshness in those first thirty games. Clubs such as Dundee, leaving side their current financial difficulties, Dunfermline Athletic, Falkirk, Partick Thistle and Raith Rovers have the facilities and would be welcome additions to the top flight. After the split the remaining seven games could become crucial to those with aspirations of qualifying for the Europa League or those who hoping to avoid relegation. I would suggest two teams going down, with the third involved in a play-off to add to the wind of change. This would stimulate interest in the revamped First Division too - can you imagine the attraction of a play-off with possible live television coverage at the end of the season?

I would go further and change the time of the football season so that it begins in March and ends at the Christmas/New Year period meaning it retains the tradition of festive football in this country. Further, I would start the season with the Scottish Cup and still have the final in May. The league season presently accommodates dates for the cup so there would be no change there. As we shiver at football grounds across Scotland this weekend, we know we should expect nothing else as it’s the end of January. However, imagine sitting in June and July, shirt-sleeved, lapping up the warmth of the summer sun watching our team play silky football. True, there may be a clash with World Cup and European Championship tournaments but other countries play through the summer - in any case, it’s been thirteen long years since Scotland had any interest in a major tournament! Hopefully we can qualify for the next World Cup and put a temporary halt to domestic football in June 2014...

My idea may seem radical but I am of the view that Scottish football badly needs radical change. Supporters - the paying customers don’t forget - have indicated they want to see a revolution in the game. It can no longer be taken for granted they will continue to turn up to see poor quality football played in Artic conditions with games being postponed late at considerable inconvenience. It can’t be assumed they will turn up week in week out to see the same teams play with survival in the top league being a priority for many rather than challenging for honours.

My idea may not be perfect but there’s something the vast majority of people in Scottish football - chairmen, managers, players and supporters - agree on. Something better change - and quickly.

Ten Iconic Hearts Goals

2011-01-15T04:39:00.000-08:00

The quality of the video isn't great - but the memories are...

Willie Johnston

2011-01-09T08:32:00.000-08:00

Hearts failure to clinch promotion from the First Division at the end of season 1981/82 prompted player-manager Alex Macdonald to head to his old stomping ground of Ibrox Stadium for the experience need to guide youngsters John Robertson, Gary Mackay and Davie Bowman. As well as appointing former Ger Sandy Jardine as his right hand man, Macdonald also secured the services of winger Willie Johnston in the summer of 1982.

At the age of 36, ‘Bud’ was in the twilight of his controversial career that included 17 red cards and infamously being sent home from the Scotland World Cup squad in Argentina in 1978. Many observers doubted the wisdom of bringing such a character to Tynecastle. However, Willie Johnston achieved much in the game. He scored in Rangers European Cup Winners Cup Final triumph over Dynamo Moscow in 1972 and played at the highest level in English football with West Bromwich Albion who paid Rangers close to £140k for his services - which in December 1972 was a small fortune.

It was during his spell at The Hawthorns that Johnston was sent home from Scotland’s World Cup squad in 1978 after taking medication for his hay fever. However, Reactivan was a banned stimulant and Johnston inadvertently brought shame on his country although it’s fair to say he was naïve rather than trying to cheat. West Brom manager Ron Atkinson met Bud at the airport on his return and reportedly said ‘there is some good news - you’ve got a sponsorship deal with Boots the Chemist!’ It was also reported that Johnston once sold a garden shed to a West Brom fan while waiting to take a corner kick as a player was getting treatment for an injury!

Johnston left the midlands for a spell with Vancouver Whitecaps in 1979 before returning for a brief spell with Birmingham City and a return to Rangers in 1980. Whilst in his second spell at Rangers, Johnston infamously stamped on Aberdeen’s John McMaster who required the kiss of life. Afterwards came a classic Bud quote - ‘I’m not proud of what I did - I thought it was Willie Miller’. Two years later he signed for Hearts and helped Hearts secure promotion. His experience helped the maroons not only survive in the Premier League but qualify for the UEFA Cup - it was Bud who scored the goal in a 1-1 draw against Celtic that secured Hearts place in Europe the following season.

After leaving Hearts, Johnston had a brief sojourn at East Fife before retiring at the age of 39. Willie Johnston was, without doubt, one of the most colourful players to play for Hearts and even today, the likes of Gary Mackay and John Robertson say he was a huge influence on their successful careers. Today, Willie ’Bud’ Johnston runs the Port Brae pub in Kirkcaldy.

Willie Wallace

2011-01-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

Photo - steelmenonline.co.uk

When Hearts sold Alex Young to Everton at the beginning of 1961 manager Tommy Walker didn’t have to cast his net too far for a replacement. He spent £15,000 to bring striker Willie Wallace from Raith Rovers. ‘Wispy’ made his debut at Tynecastle in a 2-1 win over Dundee in April 1961 and would go on to become a huge success, becoming the club’s top scorer in the four years that followed. He scored a remarkable 34 league goals during season 1963-64 and 33 league goals the following season. He was also part of the Hearts team that won the League Cup in 1962 and came within one goal of lifting the league championship in 1965.

However, at the beginning of season 1966/67, Wallace’s form didn’t quite reach the heights of previous seasons and there were rumours Rangers had shown more than a passing interest. It was all the more surprising therefore when Celtic manager Jock Stein paid £30,000 to Hearts to take Wispy to the east end of Glasgow. Months later, he was part of the Celtic side that became the first British team to lift the European Cup. He was to spend five hugely successful years in Glasgow winning every domestic honour as well as another appearance in the European Cup Final of 1970 only to lose to Feyenoord.

Jock Stein set about rebuilding Celtic after that game with youngsters such as Kenny Dalglish, Davie Hay and Lou Macari being given their chance. Aged 31, Wallace was one of the casualties and moved to Crystal Palace in 1971. Sadly, his career down south was not successful and he returned to Scotland with Dumbarton within a year.

In 1975, Wallace moved to the Leichhardt Tigers in the Australian league in a life-changing move. Although he moved back to Scotland for brief spells with Partick Thistle and Highland League side Ross County as well as a spell as coach at Dundee, Wallace missed the life in Australia. In 1980, he returned ‘down under’ only this time for good and continued his coaching career as well as running his own sports business.

Now aged 70, Willie Wallace is still active in Australia and recently helped arranged a friendly between Brisbane Roar and Celtic. Today Willie Wallace still recommends Australian talent to the club where he enjoyed most of his success as a player - Celtic.

Stairway to Heaven

2011-01-02T00:19:00.000-08:00

At Tynecastle yesterday afternoon, supporters of Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian sat in an arena recognised as one of the most atmospheric in Scotland. However, today there is a poignant reminder of a time when going to a football match resulted in tragic circumstances.

For people of my generation, it’s hard to believe forty years have now passed since Scottish football’s darkest day. On 2 January 1971, Rangers played Celtic at Ibrox in the traditional New Year fixture. Celtic were the dominant force in Scottish football at that time and were one of the best sides in Europe. Under the leadership of Jock Stein, they had already won five successive Scottish league championships and were on their way to a sixth when they headed to Ibrox. To explain to younger readers, forty years ago the majority of football fans stood on terracing slopes when watching their favourites. If you were lucky enough to get to the ground early enough you could lean against one of the crush barriers to take the weight off your feet. However, many fans would choose to leave drinking establishments as late as possible in order to be fuelled by alcohol before the game. Hearts fans of my age will remember the open terracing behind the goals at Tynecastle being sparsely populated until around fifteen minutes before kick-off when the Tynecastle Arms, Diggers et al would empty rapidly and fans would head for ‘the game’.

The Old Firm game in January 1971 looked to be heading for a goalless draw when Celtic’s Jimmy Johnstone scored what looked like the winning goal with a couple of minutes to go. However, from the re-start Rangers went immediately up the field and equalised through Colin Stein. We all love scoring a last minute goal against our city rivals - Hearts have done it on more than one occasion against Hibernian. As fans left Ibrox in exuberant mood, some of the barriers on Stairway 13 gave way and led to a huge pile-up of people. Sixty-six people lost their life with another two hundred injured. Many of the dead were children including five school chums from Markinch. It was a tragedy that brought Glasgow and the whole of Scotland together.

I was approaching my ninth birthday at the time and had recently moved from Cumbernauld on the outskirts of Glasgow to Aberdeen. Being a young Hearts supporter I wouldn’t have been at Ibrox that day in any case but I did wonder if any of my pals from the new town had been caught up in the events. Thankfully, none of them were although there was a nine-year-old boy among the dead and many of those who died were teenagers. The devastation felt by their loved ones can only be imagined.

The disaster led to the redevelopment of Ibrox to the all-seated stadium it is today. Tragically, there would be more loss of life at football matches in later years at Bradford’s Valley Parade in 1985 and at Hillsborough in Sheffield in 1989 before the Taylor Report put safety as the number one criteria at football grounds around the country.

There has been a call recently for the restoration of terracings to football grounds. Now I’m something of a traditionalist and I remember the days of standing at Tynecastle with a degree of fondness. However, there is no question that all-seated stadia has made attending football matches safer than ever. I’ve been taking my five-year-old grandson Jack to Tynecastle this season and it helps immeasurably that we sit on the same seats for every game. We now have close circuit TV, stewards galore to assist and clearly signed posted directions. It’s a much different world to when I was taken to football with my father for the first time in the late 1960s when crowds of 40,000 would pack into Tynecastle and 80,000 would be at Ibrox and Celtic Park with 100,000 going to Hampden for cup finals and Scotland-England games.

Now we need a ticket to attend top flight football and some may argue there’s an added inconvenience of having to get the ticket and find your way to your seat as opposed to the days of the terracing when we simply turned up five minutes before kick off (although season ticket holders of a few years standing - if you’ll excuse the pun - can easily locate their seat even after a few pints of foaming ale) However, I would far rather do this knowing my safety and that of others won’t be compromised.

As we remember those who left us in such tragic circumstances forty years ago and whose families’ lives changed forever, that’s something we should give thanks for.

Heart of Midlothian 1 Hibernian 0

2011-01-02T00:04:00.000-08:00

SNS photograph

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 1 January 2011 - Tynecastle

Hearts supporters of my generation know not to get too full of ourselves. The Jambos went into the first Edinburgh derby of the New Year as the hottest favourites for years, given the respective records of the teams of late. In the build up to the first Edinburgh derby to be played on 1 January since Adullamite was a boy, many Hearts fans - and I confess, this includes me - have been teasing our friends of the Hibernian persuasion of just how much pain our free-flowing team would inflict on those from across the city. Such talk, of course, is dangerous and so it nearly proved on the first day of 2011.

Hearts dominated the game from start to finish but dogged defending, an element of luck and a curious decision from referee Calum Murray meant that for 85 minutes the game remained goalless - and it seemed Hibs would leave Gorgie with a precious point. An indication of what was to come came as early as the 6th minute when Hibs Ian Murray launched himself at Hearts Ian Black with a forearm smash that left the Hearts man out cold and requiring smelling salts. When referee Murray called his namesake over we all looked for the red card to be flashed. Instead it was just yellow and the player who once had 7-0 shaved into the back of his head in a previous Edinburgh derby could count himself lucky to remain on the field.

Hearts then camped inside the Hibs half for the remainder of the game but found it difficult to break through the Hibs rearguard. Kevin Kyle and Calum Elliot in particular had glorious chances but Hibs keeper Mark Brown was inspired and kept out everything that was thrown at him. The second half followed the same pattern as the first. Towards the end Hearts withdrew the somewhat quiet David Templeton and replaced him with Novikovas and took off Elliot for Gary Glen. It was the latter who missed the best chance of the game when Novikovas delivered an inviting cross only for Glen to put the ball wide from five yards. We suspected then the breakthrough would never come and it would be a goalless start to 2011. Worse still, on a rare breakaway Hibs substitute Colin Nish had the chance to steal all three points for the visitors but screwed his shot wide of the goal when he really should have scored. But then a little Lithuanian winger produced a piece of magic.

With just four minutes left, Hearts collected the ball from a Hibs throw in and sent it to Novikovas. The wee fella danced his way down the left wing, skipped past a couple of Hibs challenges before sweeping in a superb cross to the far post - where Kevin Kyle headed towards goal. Keeper Brown, despite his previous heroics, could only palm the ball into the net and three quarters of Tynecastle erupted. It was enough to seal the game for Hearts and there was unbridled joy in Gorgie.

The win continued Hearts magnificent run of late. They have now taken an astonishing 25 points from a possible 27 - despite the customary words of caution, this is championship challenging form in anyone's language. Hearts now sit just two points behind Rangers and three behind Celtic - although the Old Firm who play each other at Ibrox today have games in hand.

The new year began as the old year ended - with Hearts winning. With a break now for the Scottish Cup, Hearts next four league fixtures - against Dundee United at Tannadice, Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, Rangers at Tynecastle and Celtic at Celtic Park- will prove a stern test for the revitalised maroons. It's a huge ask but if Hearts take twelve points from those games they really will be serious title contenders.

Ralph Callachan

2010-12-29T03:14:00.000-08:00

There aren’t many players who play significant roles for both Hearts and Hibernian. However, one who did three decades ago is still fondly remembered by supporters of both clubs. Ralph Callachan grew up a Hibby but it was for Hearts that he signed as a sixteen year old in September 1971 from Tynecastle Boys Club. A precocious talent, the midfield player made his Hearts first team debut less than three years later. It was in season 1974-75 that Callachan made a big impression at Tynecastle despite the club struggling in the league and cups. He was a class act in a Hearts midfield that struggled at times but his subtle skills perfectly complemented the more aggressive talents of the likes of Drew Busby.

Hearts were fighting against relegation in April 1976 and I recall a sublime performance from the Edinburgh born youngster that was instrumental in Hearts recording a fine 3-0 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie on a pleasant spring evening. Hearts escaped demotion due in no small part to this result but the following season were again involved in a relegation fight. However, fans could scarcely believe it when Callachan was sold to Newcastle United for £90,000 in February 1977. It was a decision that blew away Hearts chances of survival.

Callachan’s stay on Tyneside was a brief one and eighteen months later, he returned to Edinburgh to sign for the team he followed as a boy as part of a deal that took Hibernian legend John Brownlie to St. James Park. He was to enjoy eight impressive seasons at Easter Road and in 1979 played against Rangers in the Scottish Cup Final. Sadly, like his only other Scottish Cup Final appearance - for Hearts in 1976 also against Rangers - he was to end up with a loser’s medal. After a spell with Edinburgh’s third team in 1986 - Meadowbank Thistle - Callachan became player-manager of Berwick Rangers.

Callachan later ran a pub with Hibs team-mate Jackie McNamara and in 2006 was giving his opinion to the media on that season’s Edinburgh derby Scottish Cup semi-final (which Hearts won 4-0 in case anyone needs reminding…) Today, Ralph Callachan is a taxi driver in Edinburgh and remains a frequent visitor to Easter Road.

The Gloves Are Off

2010-12-26T05:49:00.000-08:00

Three weeks before Christmas I was supping a pint or three of foaming ale in the company of a Hibs fan. He is as passionate about Edinburgh’s lesser team as I am about Hearts and we meet regularly to put the world to rights although as the night wears on I do tend to find his oft-repeated assertion that Hibernian taught Pele and his fellow Brazilians how to play football just a tad weary. However, he also told me a story about how a Hibs legend - if that’s not an oxymoron - namely Pat Stanton had never forgiven Easter Road manager Eddie Turnbull for transferring him to Celtic in 1976. Admittedly, several pints had been consumed by this point but as Stanton’s passion for Hibs is legendary in Leith it was a story I just couldn’t dismiss as ramblings of a drunken old Hibby. Moreover, it brought home to me just how football has changed over the decades.

The following evening I watched the BBC’s excellent Match of the Day programme and watched the two sides of Manchester City’s Carlos Tevez. Now I’m not implying the Argentinean is overweight; rather there was the sublime side when he scored a fine goal against Bolton Wanderers followed by the ridiculous when he displayed considerable anger towards his manager Roberto Mancini on being substituted in the second half. A week later, he handed in a transfer request. Not only that but Tevez was one of several players featuring in the programme wearing what appeared to me to be a cravat around his neck - apparently the snood is a recent ‘accessory’ among modern players to keep warm, as if woolly gloves wasn’t enough.

Those of you who regularly read my ramblings in the match day programme might not be surprised to read I’m very much an old school fella. Perhaps it’s just me but footballers seemed a much tougher breed in decades gone by. Tackles and challenges would fly in from all directions without as much as a booking, merely a stern look from the referee. More often than not, the player on the receiving end of such a tackle would simply note who committed the act and exact suitable vengeance later in the game, out of the vision of the referee. Nowadays yellow and red cards are brandished for what seems like minimal physical contact. Players wearing snoods and gloves might as well have a sign on their shirts stating ‘please don’t touch me, I’m a fragile sensitive soul so please permit me to run to your goal unhindered’

Older Hearts fans who fondly remember the likes of Drew Busby would laugh at the very idea of ‘Der Bomber’ wearing gloves or something round his neck to keep him warm. Busby, like the late, great, Jim Cruickshank, was also of the breed of player who put the team first before any personal gain. Apart from brief spells at Queens Park and Dumbarton which book ended his long career, Cruicky spent his long playing career at Tynecastle. Similarly, Jim Jefferies spent most of his playing career at the club he supported as a boy and most of his success as a manager has come at the club that means so much to him.

Some of the attitudes that prevail today sadden me. In Aberdeen last month, the local newspaper carried a report that stated that three unnamed Aberdeen players had spoken of their delight that Mark McGhee had been sacked as manager of The Dons. The inference was that some of the team’s lacklustre performances of late had been down to the players unhappiness with the manager (although The Dons performance in their 5-0 drubbing at Tynecastle suggested a more serious malaise) Surely players ought to play for their club with pride and professionalism and put any differences they have with the manager aside when they run on to the field of play?

Similarly, those players who publicly declare they no longer want to play for their country dismay those of us who believe representing your country is the highest honour a footballer could achieve. I think back to players like Archie Gemmill who, despite playing for Derby County at the time, drove his wife more than 200 miles to Paisley in order that his son would be born in Scotland. Gemmill, scorer of a wonder goal against Holland in the 1978 World Cup, even named his son Scotland (although he is more commonly known as Scot and like his father played football for his country)

I know we live in a different age now and the days of players devoting themselves to one club as Gary Mackay did in the 1980s and 90s have been consigned to the history books. Nevertheless, tales like the aforementioned Pat Stanton one do make me recall football in years gone by with more than a degree of affection. Having said all that are still some players today who remind me of the likes of Drew Busby and his ilk. However, if Kevin Kyle takes to the field any time soon wearing gloves and a snood, I will fear the game I grew up with has gone forever!

Three Decades Hence

2010-12-20T23:24:00.000-08:00

Drew Busby in 1978

The more mature Hearts supporter will remember 1973. I was eleven years old then but remember the period as the decade style left behind. Glam Rock was in vogue. For the younger reader, ‘73 was a year when the likes of ‘Glam Rock’ stars such as Gary Glitter, Marc Bolan and T-Rex, Sweet and Mud dominate the music charts. The ‘hit parade’ as it was described with irritating cheerfulness by the likes of D.J’s Tony Blackburn and Noel Edmonds on ‘wonderful Radio One’, was full of it. Hearts Stadium announcer Scott Wilson will probably agree with my assertion there wasn’t much decent music to listen to until punk came long later in the decade.

The first day of 1973 saw one of the worst days in the history of Heart of Midlothian Football Club. Hibernian first-footed Tynecastle for the traditional Auld Reekie Derby. And won 7-0. The first time - and by God, it wouldn’t be the last - I cried at a football match. However, let’s move on.

Season 1973-74 promised to be a big one for Hearts. 1974 was the club's centenary year. Special presentations were made from clubs from all over the country as well as the SFA and Scottish League. Hearts made some major moves into the transfer market. Following the arrival of Kenny Aird from St Johnstone and John Stevenson from Coventry, manager Bobby Seith made an audacious attempt to sign the Airdrie duo of Drew Busby and Drew Jarvie who were proving a productive forward partnership. In the end, Seith managed to sign just one of the Drews - Busby - while Jarvie headed north to Aberdeen. Another new arrival at Tynecastle was winger Bobby Prentice from Celtic and it was a revamped Hearts side that began season 1973-74 hoping to mark one hundred years with a long-awaited trophy.

When Hearts met Hibs in September, an indication of the sweeping changes made at Tynecastle was illustrated by the fact that only four of the Hearts team that began the New Year mauling started the rematch nine months later. Youngsters Sneddon and Cant as well as newcomers Busby, Stevenson and Prentice were all sampling their first taste of an Edinburgh derby and their youthful innocence seemed to be a major factor in how the game would unfurl.

A crowd of almost thirty thousand created a frantic atmosphere and the game kicked off with Hearts looking the more confident side. Busby and Ford were already looking to have forged a meaningful partnership and there was plenty of width with both Aird and Prentice foraging down the flanks. Hearts opened the scoring after twenty minutes. Youngster Jim Jefferies floated a cross into the Hibs penalty box. Hibs goalkeeper McKenzie, misjudged the flight of the ball and in the ensuing confusion, Hibs fullback Erich Schaedler headed into his own net after a desperate attempt to clear the danger.

The maroons had looked confident enough from the start but this goal merely gave another surge to the adrenaline. Hibs were forced to back-pedal as Donald Ford and Drew Busby came close with Jim Jefferies proving to be an unlikely threat with his crosses. The only thing missing from a polished first-half performance from Hearts was further goals but half time arrived with the maroons well on top. Further goals did arrive after the interval - three of which occurred within as many minutes! In fifty-four minutes, Kenny Aird set off down the right wing with the Hibs defence chasing. At the edge of the penalty box, the former St Johnstone man fired in a shot that slipped under the body of keeper McKenzie and into the net for 2-0 and the Hearts support went wild. Aird had promised much since his arrival at Tynecastle and scoring against the Hibees saw him crowned a hero by an ecstatic home support.

The celebrations were still in full swing when, seconds later, Hibs moved to the other end of the park and pulled a goal back. The ball was fired in to the Hearts goalmouth where keeper Kenny Garland and youngster Jimmy Cant decided to leave it for each other allowing Alex Cropley to flick the ball into net to make the score 2-1. Now it was the turn of the Hibs fans to celebrate - but not for long.

For, incredibly, Hearts restarted and headed straight for McKenzie in the Hibs goal. This time it was the turn of youngster John Stevenson to run at the Hibs defence and his pace took him past a startled Hibs back four. McKenzie brought the ex-Coventry player to a halt but merely succeeded in teeing the ball up for Donald Ford who thrashed the ball into the net to make it 3-1 and send the Hearts support delirious once more.

Ford and Busby proceeded to wreak havoc and twice Hearts hit the crossbar as Hibs tried manfully to stem the maroon tidal wave. McKenzie redeemed himself for his earlier mistakes by producing some fine saves as Hearts fans demanded their side go for the kill. With just ten minutes to go Hearts did get the fourth goal their play so richly deserved. Thirty yards out the man with one of the most fearsome shots in Scottish football - Drew Busby - let fly with a screamer. McKenzie's day of misery was complete when he allowed the ball to squirm under his body and into the net. 4-1 for Hearts and Busby had opened his Tynecastle account in the best possible manner.

The scoring ended at 4-1 and the maroon half of Tynecastle loudly acclaimed their side at the final whistle. Not quite full revenge for the events of New Years Day. Nevertheless, in a year and indeed a decade in which not a lot went right, it was a day Hearts fans cherished!

Heart of Midlothian 1 Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1

2010-12-19T11:04:00.000-08:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 18 December 2010 - Ice Station Tynecastle

Something had to give. Prior to this game Hearts had won six SPL games in a row; Caley Thistle were unbeaten away from home in league football for more than a year. Somewhat inevitably the game ended in a draw although, in my naturally unbiased opinion, Hearts did everything but win the game. Apart from a strangely lethargic opening spell when the visitors capitalised by taking the lead in the 17th minute through a Grant Munro header, the maroons dominated the game but proceeded to miss chance after chance.

Shortly after Caley Thistle's opener, Hearts equalised when visiting goalkeeper Ryan Esson felled Stephen Elliott in the penalty box. Penalty said referee Brian Winter - which was about the only decision he gave the home side all afternoon - but only a yellow card for Esson. Kevin Kyle duly tucked away the penalty kick - his first league goal at Tynecastle since signing from Kilmarnock in the summer.

Thereafter Hearts dominated proceedings and there was a sublime piece of skill from gifted youngster David Templeton when he rattled the post with a 25 yard effort. I haven't been as excited about a Hearts player since the days of Neil McCann - Temps even drew plaudits from ICT boss Terry Butcher.

Templeton, Rudi Skacel, Kyle and Ryan Stevenson all had chances to win the game for Hearts - but they didn't take them. The game ended 1-1, a result that undoubtedly delighted the visitors given that was what they came to Scotland's capital city for. After winning six games in a row Hearts fans had perhaps become greedy but given neither Celtic or Rangers have managed to defeat the Highlanders at home this season, this disappointment can be overcome. Certainly Caley Thistle offered far more resistance than Aberdeen did a week earlier and Terry Butcher has done a fine job in reshaping the team.

Hearts are now two points behind Celtic - having played two games more. Perhaps talk of splitting the Old Firm was a tad premature

Football Can Be Cruel

2010-12-15T13:14:00.001-08:00

On Saturday Hearts thrashed Aberdeen 5-0. The Dons are going through a bad spell just now - it’s just over a month since The Dons lost 9-0 to Celtic on a dark November afternoon in the east end of Glasgow. Having lived in the Granite City many years ago I still have a few friends in the north-east and I can’t deny I sent numerous texts to some of them that Saturday evening as well as last weekend. As is the way with football fans you would be correct in surmising these texts weren’t of the supportive nature and sending the contact details of the local branch of The Samaritans didn’t go down too well in some quarters.

I actually spent the Saturday afternoon of the 9-0 debacle in the company of an Aberdeen fan - namely my dear old mum. With her health not what it once was she moved from Aberdeen to Edinburgh three and a half years ago in order that she could be closer to me but her affinity to the Dons has not diminished - if anything, it’s strengthened. We sat in her sheltered accommodation flat and watched the BBC’s football results service via the ‘red button’ on her digital television. Once Paul Hartley also pressed ‘red’ and was sent off, the floodgates inevitably opened and my mother watched news of the goals being scored at Celtic Park through fingers covering her eyes.

It was the nature of the afternoon that she was cruelly denied even a brief flicker of hope. Celtic were 4-0 ahead early in the second half when the score flashed on the screen of Celtic 4 Aberdeen 1 - scorer Macgennis. I tried to instil some hope to my mother by saying the comeback was on - after all didn’t a certain team from Edinburgh lose a 6-2 lead earlier this year? Sadly, before she had a chance to respond the screen changed again. This time the score read Celtic 6 Aberdeen 0 - it transpired that the goal Macgennis had scored wasn’t for Aberdeen - it was an own goal. Moreover, by the time the BBC had realised their mistake a now rampant Celtic had scored again. This compounded my poor mother’s misery which rapidly descended into anguish when the seventh, eighth and ninth goals went in.

This little bit of drama reminded me of a couple of occasions when I’ve been at a game where all wasn’t quite as it seemed. Curiously, both those games involved Hearts and Aberdeen. Back in the mists of time at the beginning of season 1976/77, Hearts played the first league game of the season at Pittodrie. I was fourteen at the time and, for reasons I no longer care to remember, I arrived at the ground a couple of minutes after kick-off. There was the usual large Hearts support behind the goal but as the game was just minutes old, I didn’t think to ask if there had been any scoring yet. Aberdeen scored after just five minutes and when home favourite Davie Robb added a second with just five minutes to go I thought that was it. However, Hearts Donald Park scored a couple of minutes later - small consolation I thought. When the final whistle blew, I made for the exits with a heavy heart - until I heard a fellow Jambo say that a 2-2 draw at Aberdeen wasn’t a bad start to the season. It transpired I had missed Drew Busby’s opening goal in the first minute and therefore believed Hearts had lost the game. I learnt two lessons that day - firstly make damn sure you get to the game on time and secondly, if you don’t just ask someone the score.

The other occasion was circa 1992 when Hearts entertained The Dons at Tynecastle. I sat in the company of one of the infamous Mrs Smith’s relatives in the old enclosure. He was - and still is - an Aberdeen fan. Hearts went ahead through John Robertson but the visitors thought they had equalised only for the goal to be disallowed. As the referee was considering his decision, my in-law headed for the gents - unaware the goal was about to be chalked off for offside. When he returned, I was unaware that he was unaware the goal hadn’t stood. There was no further scoring and when the final whistle blew, he put his arm around my shoulder and said ‘well, I reckon 1-1 is a fair result’. It took a considerable effort by me to persuade him that Hearts had actually won the game 1-0...

Which proves, as Aberdeen discovered a few weeks ago in the east end of Glasgow, that football can be a cruel game.

Heart of Midlothian 5 (five) Aberdeen 0

2010-12-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

Clydesdale Bank SPL, Saturday 11 December 2010 - Tynecastle

Hearts produced arguably their best performance of the season to hammer a hapless Aberdeen side who did little to impress watching new manager Craig Brown. Two goals ahead inside eight minutes, Hearts proceeded to tear The Dons to shreds and with a bit more clinical finishing may well have matched Celtic's tally of nine goals against Aberdeen last month.

The highly talented David Templeton - who, as a schoolboy was on Aberdeen's books - showed great determination to squeeze the ball over the line for the opener in four minutes. A superb driven effort from Rudi Skacel four minutes later doubled the lead as Hearts threatened to overrun the visitors. Skacel, Templeton and Kevin Kyle went close to adding to the score in the first half. The only moment of irritation from a Hearts point of view was when referee Mike Tumilty booked Rudi Skacel for taking a free kick before he had blown his whistle. A decision which was even more ridiculous when it wasn't Skacel who took the kick - it was Ian Black who also got booked for trying to show the hapless Tumilty the error of his ways.

The second half followed the same pattern as the first. Hearts scored another two early goals through the hard working Stephen Elliott and Rudi Skacel before substitute Novikovas scored a fine individual effort with twelve minutes left. Calum Elliot and Skacel again should have scored in one of the most one-sided Hearts-Aberdeen games I can remember seeing in more than forty years.

Hearts have now won five games in a row, scored thirteen goals and have conceded none. They are the form team in the SPL - and are now just six points behind Celtic. However, Motherwell - the team Craig Brown has just left - will provide a sterner test at Fir Park on Tuesday evening. Aberdeen? I can't recall The Dons being so poor. However, I suspect Craig Brown will turn things around - given time.

In the meantime I may pay a visit to the site of fellow blogger - and Aberdeen fan - Kenfitlike..

Always in Our Hearts

2010-12-10T23:49:00.000-08:00

Someone once said that middle age is the time when we reflect on our lives the most. We think back to what we have achieved - or not - and wonder what we still have to offer. As a Hearts supporter in his late forties, I have been reflecting recently on the passing of some of my heroes of years gone by. Heroes who I watched play for my team when I was growing up. Jim Cruickshank, whose passing we all mourned last month, was one of those heroes.

Cruickie, like Donald Ford, Alan Anderson and Drew Busby, was synonymous with Hearts in my formative years that were the 1970s. I saw my first Hearts game when I was six years old, towards the end of 1968 at Falkirk’s Brockville Park. Cruickie was playing that day as were Donald Ford and Alan Anderson and it was on that afternoon that I was bitten by the Jambo bug. All things maroon influenced my childhood, my teenage years and even as a young man. I agree with Jim Jefferies when he said people referred to Jim Cruickshank simply as ‘The Goalie’. Years later this would be the moniker given to Andy Goram but to me and thousands of my generation there was only one ‘goalie’ - the man who was number one at Tynecastle in more ways than one.

Cruickie was Hearts through and through. Sure, he fell out with the club on more than one occasion but he was a man who stood up for what he believed in. Kenny Garland challenged him for the number one spot at Tynecastle for many years but, with the greatest respect, Cruickie was the fans favourite.

2010 has been a year when we also lost Bobby Kirk, Malcolm Robertson and former manager John Hagart. Kirk was a mainstay of the glorious Hearts team that swept all before them in the 1950s. His final game for Hearts came just three months after I was born but I know some older Hearts fans who still remember Kirk with a lot of affection. He was part of Hearts greatest ever team.

Malky Robertson came to Hearts at the time when the club were struggling both on and off the field. The man from Ayr United would delight us with his runs down the wing and his tormenting of defences. Sadly, Malcolm Robertson’s time in Gorgie coincided with Hearts fall from grace in Scottish football and a yo-yo period between the Premier and First Divisions. However, I remember his displays with affection and news of his death a few months ago at just 59 made me ask why some people have to be taken away from us so early.

Robertson was signed by John Hagart early in 1977. John passed away in June this year and there was no one more passionate about Hearts than he. He was the manager when Hearts finally succumbed to the pressures of the new ten team Premier Division and were relegated for the first time in their history in 1977. Those of us who frequented Tynecastle at that time were devastated by this turn of events but no one felt the anguish more than Hagart. He resigned in the immediacy of Hearts demotion. The story goes that Hearts wanted him to carry on as his experience and infectious enthusiasm for the game would be just what Hearts required for immediate promotion. Nevertheless, John Hagart was a man of integrity and he left Tynecastle.

Hearts as a club is very much a family affair. The passing of men who have served the club with distinction is keenly felt by those who support the club. We mourned the tragically early deaths of Eddie Thomson, Bobby Robinson and going back a few years Brian Whittaker, Arthur Mann, Roald Jensen and Willie Bauld among others. This is the time of the year when we tend to look back on the twelve months that have gone by. 2010 will be remembered as a year when Hearts were resurgent under the superb leadership of Jim Jefferies and Billy Brown. Sadly, 2010 will also be remembered as the year when a Hearts legend of the 1950s, Bobby Kirk and three Hearts icons of the 1970s - John Hagart, Malcolm Robertson and now Jim Cruickshank - passed away. Those of us who grew up with them will not forget their contribution to a footballing institution.

Colin Cameron

2010-12-08T13:12:00.000-08:00

A mainstay of perhaps the best Hearts side of the past forty years was Kirkcaldy born Colin Cameron. ‘Mickey’ as he was affectionately known to Hearts fans began his career with his home town team Raith Rovers as a sixteen year old in 1988. An attacking midfield player, Cameron was instrumental in the Fife club’s famous League Cup final triumph over Celtic in 1994 that led Rovers to a memorable UEFA Cup tie with Bayern Munich the following season.

Jim Jefferies brought Cameron to Tynecastle in March 1996 in a £400,000 deal that saw John Millar head to Starks Park. Cameron was a huge success and quickly became a favourite with the Gorgie faithful after making his maroon debut in a 2-0 win over Rangers in April 1996. However, it was the following season ‘Mickey’ really established himself. His skill in linking midfield to attack was a joy to behold and this was a feature of Hearts memorable 1997/98 season when they lifted the Scottish Cup and ran the Old Firm close in the league. Cameron scored Hearts opening goal from the penalty spot in the Scottish Cup Final of 1998 when the maroons lifted the famous old trophy to bring silverware to Gorgie for the first time in thirty-six years.

Cameron’s form for Hearts was recognised by his country and he won the first of his twenty-eight caps for Scotland in Germany in April 1999 when the Scots recorded a rare but memorable win over the Germans.

Hearts struggled somewhat in the season that followed the cup triumph. The fact Cameron missed a fair chunk of the season through injury was a major factor especially when you consider that when he returned to the team in the spring Hearts rediscovered their form and rose up the table once more. Cameron continued to bang in the goals and he scored sixteen in season 2000/01. Inevitably, other clubs noticed such form and in August 2001, Cameron joined Wolverhampton Wanderers for a fee of £1.75m.

Cameron displayed the same tenacity and will to win at Molineux as he had at Hearts and Raith Rovers. Indeed, Wolves never lost a match in which he scored. He was part of the Wolves team that secured promotion to the FA Premiership in 2003. When Glen Hoddle took over as Wolves manager after their demotion the following season it was the beginning of the end for Mickey’s time in the Black Country and he moved to Coventry City on a free transfer in 2006. His spell at City wasn’t a great success and after a spell at MK Dons, Cameron returned to Scotland and signed for Dundee in July 2008. However, he was troubled by a knee injury and when Jocky Scott took over at Dens Park the aim was to try to get Mickey back to full fitness. After a loan spell at Arbroath, Cameron returned to Dundee but injuries continued to take their toll and he was released at the end of season 2009/10.

Today, at the age of 38, Colin Cameron is a UEFA qualified coach and combines his playing with his role as assistant manager to Jimmy Nicholl at First Division Cowdenbeath.

Moonlighting McGhee?

2010-12-05T00:25:00.000-08:00

McGhee

Barlow

Perhaps the real reason Mark McGhee was sacked as Aberdeen manager is that he's been moonlighting in Coronation Street as Ken Barlow's son...

Andy Watson

2010-12-02T12:06:00.000-08:00

Season 1983/84 was a successful one for Hearts. They had completed their first season back in the Premier Division and had not only avoided relegation thereby ending the yo-yo syndrome they had become synonymous with, they qualified for the UEFA Cup the following season. When one of the mainstays of that side, Davie Bowman, was sold to Coventry City in 1984, there was disappointment among some Hearts fans. However, manager Alex MacDonald paid £70,000 of Bowman’s transfer fee to Leeds United to secure former Aberdeen midfielder Andy Watson.

The Aberdonian made his Hearts debut in a 1-0 win over Greenock Morton just after Christmas 1984. He was a regular in the Hearts midfield in the mid 1980s alongside Kenny Black and Gary Mackay. His first goal for Hearts came, ironically, at the ground he had spent his formative years - Pittodrie - as Hearts came from 2-0 down to grab a 2-2 draw against the Dons in February 1985.

Season 1985/86 was a momentous one for Hearts who embarked on a long unbeaten run in the league and manager MacDonald was loathe to change a winning team. Watson was very much a peripheral player that season and while he made more first team appearances, the following season it became evident Watson would be behind players such as Mackay, Black and Iain Jardine when it came to patrolling Hearts midfield.

Watson became one of the few players to move across Edinburgh when he joined Hibernian for £30,000 in 1987. However, his career at Easter Road was similar to his one at Tynecastle. He began coaching the Hibs youngsters before joining his old Aberdeen team mate Alex McLeish at Motherwell in 1994 where he was appointed Big Eck’s assistant manager. It was a partnership that was to prove successful and he returned to Easter Road when McLeish was appointed Hibs manager four years later. The pair transformed Hibs from a First Division side to SPL challengers and their achievement was recognised by Rangers where Watson joined McLeish in 2001.

The duo spent five successful years at Ibrox before answering the call of the nation, Watson assisting McLeish as Scotland manager at the beginning of 2007. After ten months, McLeish left the Scotland job to take charge of FA Premiership side Birmingham City - and inevitably took Watson with him.

Today, Andy Watson is still assisting Alex McLeish at St. Andrews as they strive to make Birmingham City an established FA Premiership side.

Brockville Four Decades Ago

2010-11-30T12:25:00.000-08:00

10,000 to see Falkirk play Cowdenbeath more than forty years ago. The Falkirk Historian will know for sure but I think this was a second division game too.

Book Review - Scotland On This Day

2010-11-28T08:12:00.000-08:00

If, like me, you love history and football and enjoy recalling events of yesteryear, you will love this new book from Derek Wilson. Derek is a Motherwell fan - we all have our cross to bear - and has already published two other books Motherwell On This Day and Motherwell Miscellany (Pitch Publishing)

Scotland On This Day is a wonderful collection of history, facts and figures from every day of the year. It is one of those books that you can read while having a quick coffee or while the missus is having her usual rant about when you're going to redecorate the bedroom. However, I found that once I picked it up I found it difficult to put down again!

Did you know that on 13 February 1961 Scotland's Under 23 team, containing Denis Law and Ian St. John defeated the British Army 3-2 at Fir Park? You might think it should have been a better score against a team of soldiers - until you read that a young Jim Baxter was in the Army team at the time!

Fascinating snippets like these are contained throughout the book. I highly recommend it - it would make the ideal Christmas gift!

Jim Weir

2010-11-22T09:22:00.000-08:00

In 1993 Hearts weren’t short of top class quality defenders with Craig Levein, Alan McLaren and Graeme Hogg all vying for places in the first team. It was something of a surprise, therefore, when manager Sandy Clark paid £300,000 to Hamilton Academical for centre half Jim Weir.

Motherwell born Weir began his professional career at Douglas Park in 1987 and his fine form attracted some of the country’s leading clubs. He made nearly 200 appearances for Accies and much was expected of him when he moved to Tynecastle. He made his debut in a 1-0 win over Hibernian at Tynecastle in August 1993 and he was a regular first team member throughout season 1993/94 although with Levein and McLaren the established central defensive partnership, Weir was often played in midfield where, perhaps, he was less effective.

When Tommy McLean took over as Hearts manager for season 1994/95, he accepted an offer from St. Johnstone for Weir who moved to Perth in exchange for Colin Miller. Weir was a big success at McDiarmid Park despite incurring a serious injury that caused him to miss much of season 1998/99. His return from this injury was triumphant as he scored a rare goal in a 3-1 win over Rangers in April 1999.

Weir continued to be blighted by injuries and a serious knee injury all but put paid to his playing career in 2004. He turned to coaching and assisted John Connolly and then Owen Coyle who managed the Perth Saints. In 2007, Weir was appointed manager of Third Division Montrose but with the Angus club third in the league, Weir was sacked after a disagreement with those in charge of the club. In November 2009, Weir took over at Arbroath but he angered the Red Lichties officials and fans when he left at the end of last season when the Gayfield Park team were relegated to the basement league. Within days, Weir was appointed manager of Brechin City.

City, with former Jambos Neil Janczyk and Craig Nelson, have high hopes of securing promotion.