Heart of Midlothian 2 Aberdeen 1

SPFL Saturday 24 August 2013 - Tynecastle Stadium

Billed as: The clash of the two biggest clubs in the land outside of the Old Firm with Hearts continuing their quest to claw back the 15 point deficit imposed on them at the start of the season and  Aberdeen looking to get back on track following their defeat from Celtic last week.

Reality: A rip-roaring game played in front of more than 15,000 frenzied spectators at one of Scotland's most atmospheric grounds. Urged on by a noisy and passionate home support, Hearts youngsters yet again demonstrated their hunger, commitment and, at times, skill to secure another three points which may well be crucial at the end of the season when the points are added up and the fight to avoid relegation is concluded. After a splendid opening spell, Hearts went ahead after 17 minutes with a wonderful goal which began in their own half and ended with Jamie Walker waltzing into the Aberdeen penalty area before dispatching a shot low into the right hand corner of the net to put the home side deservedly a goal ahead. Cue the decibel levels from the home support rising to eardrum bursting levels - 'we are the Hearts and we're staying up'. Moments later, great play from Billy King gave Jamie Hamill the opportunity to double Hearts lead but the experienced defender couldn't direct his shot on target and the Dons breathed again. Aberdeen, though, are a decent, experienced side and they dominated the rest of the half. They certainly enjoyed more possession but couldn't find the equaliser by half time.

Hearts began the second half on the offensive and Walker brought out a fine save from Aberdeen keeper Nicky Weaver as the young Jambos sought to add a second goal. The impressive Billy King was proving to be a thorn in the flesh of the visiting defence but his effort on goal lacked the power to trouble Weaver. 12 minutes into the second half the game seemed to turn  - and not to the home side's liking. Hearts highly talented  Brad McKay suffered a head injury after clattering into an advertising board and while he tried to carry on after treatment it was clear the young defender was concussed. Hearts manager Gary Locke - rather than resort to the John Lambie method of telling a player who had a head knock and didn't know who he was that he was Pele and to get back on the field - replaced McKay with yet another Hearts youngster, Jordan McGhee. McKay had been hugely impressive and I felt his enforced absence would be a blow for Hearts, a feeling intensified minutes later when Aberdeen equalised. Home defender Kevin McHattie was adjudged to have brought down Zola inside the penalty box and Hearts were penalised twice as McGinn not only scored from the resultant penalty kick to level the scores but McHattie was ordered off for denying Zola a goalscoring opportunity.

For a brief spell Hearts young heads seemed to go down and the home support understandably feared the worst. The noise was now emanating from the Roseburn Stand as the Aberdeen fans sensed victory against a depleted Hearts team.  However, Jamie Hamill brought inspiration once more by almost scoring following a superb passing movement and this lifted the home side and the supporters. After McGinn headed over from six yards for the visitors, a huge increase in the noise levels rasped around the Wheatfield Stand and rather than settle for a point, this young fighting Hearts team went ahead once more with less than for minutes left to play. A long free kick was delivered towards the Aberdeen penalty box. Dons keeper Weaver came to collect the ball but Hearts substitute Jordan McGhee got his head to it first to nod the ball into the empty net. 2-1 to the ten men and Tynecastle erupted in a cacophony of noise. With an astonishing five minutes of additional time added Aberdeen looked to have secured a point when Magennis had a free header six yards out. This time the effort was on target - but Hearts goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald pulled off a brilliant point blank save to tip the ball over the crossbar. The home support rose as one to acclaim a stupendous save.

Moments later, the final whistle blew and Hearts had secured an incredible win against the odds.

Reaction: Words can barely express the emotion felt by Hearts players, management and magnificent supporters after an astonishing victory against a good Aberdeen side who may well be pushing Celtic at the top end of the league this season. Hearts are now on minus eight points - and are just nine behind St. Mirren. I felt if Hearts were nine points behind at Christmas they would still have a fighting chance of avoiding the drop. They have reached that stage now and the end of August is still a week away. Yes, this young team will hit a barren spell and the points deficit may increase. But the spirit, hunger, will to win and the feeling that everyone is in this together means this may well turn out to be a season that will go down in history for this great football club.

The good: Every Hearts player played their part - as did the truly magnificent supporters who are saving this club not only off the pitch but on it too.

The bad: It seems churlish to moan about the referee but some of Alan Muir's decisions were baffling to say the least.

Top man: Scott Robinson covered every blade of the Tynecastle turf on Saturday - his emotion at the end of the game summed up what every Hearts fan felt.

Heart of Midlothian 1 Hibernian 0

SPFL Premiership - Sunday 11 August 2013 - Tynecastle

Billed as: The first Edinburgh derby of the season kicking off just after high noon (thanks Sky TV - again) and the chance for this young Hearts team to put some badly needed points on the board.

Reality: If it was silky football with the emphasis on the passing game you were after then you were at the wrong game. But for sheer guts, effort and will to win it was excellent. Hearts youngsters rose to the occasion to deservedly beat their more experienced city rivals.

The good: Dylan McGowan struggled most of the afternoon but he delivered a superb cross to enable young Calum Paterson to bullet home a header with 20 minutes to go to give Hearts a marvellous win.

The bad: Hibs overly physical approach - how did Scott Robertson stay on the field - put paid to Hearts Ryan Stevenson who suffered bad ligament damage and had to go off early in the first half.

Verdict: A fine win for Hearts over an admittedly poor Hibs team. The deficit at the bottom of the table is now minus 12 points. A small gain but a gain nonetheless. With the spirit shown by the players, manager and supporters, it's just possible the great escape might happen.

Top man: Jamie Hamill and Danny Wilson were immense in defence but, for me, no one shone brighter than young David Smith.

The Other 5-1...

Heart of Midlothian 5 (five) Hibernian 1 - Bank of Scotland SPL
Sunday 11 August 2002 - Tynecastle

 

In 2002 it’s fair to say Craig Levein was making a name for himself in football management. Here was a young, articulate scholar of the game who, at the height of his playing career, was a brilliant defender in the Franz Beckenbauer mould. He suffered two serious knee injuries, which meant he had to give up the game prematurely - his decision to do so was announced at a tearful Tynecastle press conference in the autumn of 1997. Now, he was back at the club he served so well and where he made his name.

By the time season 2002/03 started, Levein had rebuilt the Hearts team to his specification. Just a little over four years had passed since his predecessor Jim Jefferies had led Hearts to Scottish Cup glory, but most of that team had now left Gorgie for pastures new. This was now Levein’s team. One of his first signings was Andy Webster, a stylish centre-half very much in the Levein mould. Levein paid a handsome sum of £70,000 in March 2001 to Arbroath for the services of the 19-year-old Dundonian. Like Levein, Webster would go on to play for Scotland. He would be a crucial component of Levein’s side that would go on to produce some memorable results, both domestically and in Europe, in the years that followed.

Hearts began season 2002/03 with a steady, if unspectacular, 1-1 draw at Dundee, before welcoming Hibernian for the first Edinburgh derby of the season. The BBC had switched the game to a Sunday afternoon for live television transmission and although it was early August and the Edinburgh Festival was in full swing, the weather was more like November. Torrential rain lashed the capital city all day but this didn’t stop more than 15,000 fans heading to Tynecastle for a game always hugely anticipated.

The game began rather like the weather conditions of the day - with Hearts flooding the Hibernian half. One of Hearts new signings, French winger Jean Louis Valois, was clearly in the mood and took little time to display his obvious skill.  Hearts other significant signing of the summer - Dutch striker Mark de Vries - was making his first start of the season, having come off the substitute’s bench the previous week at Dundee and his big physical presence seemed to have an unsettling effect on the Hibs defence right from the start. Valois, despite the monsoon like conditions, was revelling in the atmosphere and the Hibs defenders were clearly having trouble containing him. That said it was Hibernian who nearly opened the scoring when Townsley played a neat pass to O’Connor whose shot dipped over the crossbar. To say Hibs opening the scoring would have been against the run of play would be akin to saying there was a shower in Edinburgh that day. However, Hearts finally got the goal their play so richly deserved after 18 minutes, when keeper Niemi launched a long ball forward that was nodded on by de Vries towards Andy Kirk. Ulster Andy, as he was affectionately known, produced a lob of some quality over the Hibs keeper and immediately ran to the jubilant Hearts supporters in the Wheatfield Stand. 1-0 to Hearts and Kirk really should have made it 2-0 a few moments later, when he headed a sublime cross from Steven Boyack over the crossbar. In the 27th minute, Hearts thought they had scored a second goal when, following a corner, Valois found Scott Severin, but the midfield man’s spectacular diving header crashed off the Hibs crossbar with the Hibs keeper beaten. As half-time approached, some Hearts fans felt edgy about only having a one goal lead for all their team’s dominance. However, four minutes before the break, that man Valois delivered another fine cross into the Hibs penalty area and de Vries poked the ball beyond Caig to give Hearts a 2-0 lead at the interval.

Hearts fans, of course, can never take anything for granted and a two-goal lead quite often isn’t enough. Five minutes into the second half, Hibs Ian Murray headed home a cross from Brebner and it was game on in the Edinburgh derby. The goal gave the visitors hope and the game developed into an end-to-end affair. Valois continued to torment the Hibs defence and he provided yet another inviting cross, only for Kirk to fail to accept the invitation - but only just. Ulster Andy then produced a ferocious effort from six yards out, which Hibs keeper Caig brilliantly tipped over the crossbar. Hearts swarmed forward again on 64 minutes with Valois, inevitably, involved. The Frenchman struck a shot that Caig could only parry and de Vries slammed home the rebound to put Hearts 3-1 ahead to the ecstasy of the home support.

Hibernian brought on the old warhorse Mixu Paatelainen - who played a significant part in Hibs 6-2 win over Hearts at Easter Road two years earlier - in an attempt to score the two goals needed to salvage a draw. Two further goals were indeed scored as the game entered its final stage - but not by those in green and white. As the 90-minute mark approached, some of the home support began whistling for referee Mike McCurry to blow his whistle for full-time. However, the magnificent Maroons - and Mark de Vries in particular - weren’t finished yet. As Hibs pressed for a lifeline, Hearts broke up field in the final minute of regulation time. Good work by substitute Gary Wales set up de Vries, who buried the ball past Caig for Hearts fourth. With the Roseburn Stand emptying quicker than a pint of 80 shillings ale at The Diggers on match day, three quarters of Tynecastle was rocking. Deep in injury time, Steven Boyack delivered a deep cross into the Hibs penalty box, which the inevitable figure of de Vries met with his head and the ball bounced over the flailing Caig to make the final score an incredible Heart of Midlothian 5 Hibernian 1. The big Surminese striker had astonishingly scored four goals on his home debut. Being against Hibs, it was a performance that would place the name de Vries in Tynecastle folklore.

As the fans spilled out on to Gorgie Road, the rain was still hammering down in the capital city but the jubilant Hearts support did not care. They were in dreamland. They had waited years for a result like this over their city neighbours, who still referred to Hibs 7-0 win at Tynecastle on New Years Day 1973 and the aforementioned more recent 6-2 win at Easter Road. Now revenge was sweet indeed.

Few players have made such a debut in the Edinburgh derby as Mark de Vries did that day. The 6ft 4ins striker from Dordrecht 90 was sensational and, incredibly, Hearts manager Craig Levein said afterwards he expected even more from the big man - once he was fully fit! However, as impressive as de Vries’ scoring exploits were that day, the man of the match was not the big striker - but another new boy, winger Jean-Louis Valois. The Frenchman simply destroyed the Hibs defence that rain-soaked afternoon and he was instrumental in Hearts dominant performance. The former Luton Town player, who began his career at Auxerre under the legendary Guy Roux, was signed by Craig Levein on a free transfer and Hearts fans were wondering just how on earth any team could have simply allowed the gifted Frenchman to leave for nothing. The answer would become apparent in the months ahead. On his day, Valois was sublime, but there were other days when he was anonymous - almost the archetypal Scots winger! He was brilliant in season 2002-03 and he enthralled the Hearts fans with his skilful displays. Sadly though, Valois became something of a one-season wonder. A regular in his first season at Tynecastle, something seemed to happen to the Frenchman in the summer of 2003 and he failed to reproduce his form in season 2003/04. After losing form, he fell out of favour with Craig Levein and was released early from his contract in January 2004. After a brief spell in Spanish football, Valois returned to Scotland at the somewhat unlikely port of call that was Clyde. He then signed for Burnley and featured in their famous FA Cup victory over Liverpool in January 2005. Again though, he flattered to deceive and left Lancashire for the United Arab Emirates later that year. As for his Dutch colleague that day, it would not be the last time de Vries would feature prominently in a Hearts game - more of this later!

The next Edinburgh derby following the 5-1 thrashing of the hapless Hibees came at Easter Road in November - and, in many ways, was as sweet as the August hammering. Hearts had struggled all afternoon and trailed 1-0 with just five minutes remaining. As Hibs eyed a small measure of revenge, they reckoned without Hearts substitute Neil Janczyk. Four minutes from the end, the young midfielder crossed for big Kevin McKenna to nod past Hibs keeper Colgan to give Hearts an unlikely equaliser. Two minutes into stoppage time, Janczyk provided a sweet pass to Phil Stamp who darted into the Hibs penalty box, before stroking the ball past Colgan to give Hearts an even more unlikely winner. Even when Hearts played poorly, as they had done that afternoon, they were still good enough to beat Hibs! Craig Levein’s men ended the season in third place in the SPL - and qualified for the UEFA Cup.

Hearts had a decent run in the League Cup, reaching the semi-final before they lost to a solitary goal by Rangers Dutch star Ronald de Boer at Hampden on a cold, miserable February evening. However, Hearts reserved their worst performance of the season for the competition that means so much to the fans as it’s the one we all think Hearts - unlike other teams from Edinburgh - have a realistic chance of winning. Namely, the Scottish Cup. Hearts were drawn away to Falkirk in the third round (the first round that included the top flight clubs)  The Bairns were in the First Division at the time and Hearts had prepared for the game with  a mid winter break in Portugal. Perhaps the players were still thinking about this when they took to the field at ramshackle Brockville Park on a freezing cold January afternoon; it certainly wasn’t the cup-tie they were thinking about in a shambolic first half in which they found themselves four goals down to their lower league opponents, thanks to a hat-trick from Colin Samuel and a goal from Owen Coyle. There were shades of a 6-0 hammering at the same ground a decade earlier. Small wonder few Hearts supporters mourned the passing of  Brockville when it was demolished to make way for a supermarket a few years later (okay, perhaps I felt a tinge of sadness, given Brockville was where I saw my first Hearts game in 1968)

Such thoughts, however, could not have been further from the minds of celebrating Hearts supporters as they left Tynecastle in August 2002 after hammering the Hibs. We were too busy asking our Hibby supporting associates what the time was - as we made it five past!

Mike Smith

Hearts 50 Greatest Games is available in all good bookshops or on-line at Amazon

The Golden Age of Broadcasting

BBC Scotland had live television coverage of Celtic’s UEFA Champions League qualifier against Cliftonville the other night. I watched about ten minutes of it before I felt compelled to switch it off. It was an easy enough win in the end for Neil Lennon’s side but what made me reach for the off button on the remote control was the incessant chattering from the BBC commentator. Now, I’m sure Liam McLeod – for it is he – is excellent at what he does and his pre-match research was meticulous. It’s just that his Aberdonian accent grates me more than a little – and I speak as someone who was born in the Granite City. Not only that, but McLeod does appear to enjoy the sound of his own voice. Perhaps this is understandable as the summariser sitting next to him was former Rangers and Aberdeen striker Billy Dodds, a man who puts the ‘oy’ into annoyance.

A couple of days later, I purchased a book entitled ‘A Game of Two Halves’ – the autobiography of former BBC sports commentator Archie Macpherson. The book, first published in 2009 by Black and White Publishing, was on sale at a considerably reduced rate (hence my purchase – did I mention I was born in Aberdeen?) but my initial thoughts are it seems likely to be an excellent read. And it brought back memories of what is perceived by many to be the golden age of broadcasting.

I have to confess I’m one of those people who looks back at a bygone age with rose-tinted spectacles. As a child growing up in the 1970s, a live broadcast of 90 minutes of football was a rare event four decades ago. There were just two broadcasters – the BBC and ITV, the regional arm of which was Scottish Television for viewers north of Hadrian’s Wall. In the early part of the decade the annual Scotland-England game was live on ‘the box’ as well as the occasional Scotland World Cup qualifying tie or European Cup tie – in the days when Scotland actually qualified for the finals of the World Cup or European Championships and Scots clubs i.e. Celtic reached the latter stages of the European Cup. Even the Scottish Cup Final wasn’t covered live until 1977. Other than these small morsels all we got was an half hour edited highlights programme – the BBC’s Sportsreel, later to become Sportscene on a Saturday night and Scottish Television’s Scotsport, usually on a Sunday afternoon.

Archie Macpherson was BBC Scotland’s main man in the 1970s and he was ably assisted in the commentating stakes by Alastair Alexander, a man who seemed to have secured a lifetime sponsorship deal with Brylcreem. There was an authority about Macpherson in particular, akin to a middle aged uncle who knew a bit about life and a lot about football. There’s a famous scene in the film Trainspotting where Ewan McGregor’s character Renton has sex and proclaims he hasn’t felt so good since Archie Gemmill scored Scotland’s third goal in their 3-2 defeat of the Netherlands in the 1978 World Cup Finals in Argentina. Archie Macpherson’s description of that goal is being played in the background. I wouldn’t go as far as to agree with Renton but I still feel goose bumps when I hear Macpherson’s commentary of Scotland’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Wales at Anfield towards the end of 1977, especially the second goal which secured Scotland’s place in the finals. ‘There’s an overlap, Martin Buchan…good running by Buchan, read it well…there’s Kenny Dalglish in there……OH, WHAT A GOAL!! OH YES! THAT DOES IT!’ Macpherson’s description was a passionate as any Scotland fan and encapsulated the feeling we all felt that night.

Perhaps Macpherson let his emotion get the better of him for Scotland’s first goal that evening when Joe Jordan appeared to punch the ball in the Welsh penalty box only for the referee to award a penalty to the Scots. ‘A handball if ever there was one’ opined Archie. Not many Welsh people agreed with Archie’s assertion although the referee’s decision, thankfully, was the final one…

Macpherson was also the commentator when Hearts headed to Dens Park on that final, fateful day of season 1985/86 requiring just a single point from their last game against Dundee to secure their first league title for over a quarter of a century. As a Hearts fan I naturally took my place on the terracing behind the goal but I don’t care to dwell on what happened that day. It took me several months to listen to snippets of Macpherson’s commentary that afternoon but only he could have described the build up to the game so vividly as the silver-shirted Hearts players took to the field – ‘who, away back in August blessed with the second sight, the seventh son of a seventh son could have foreseen Hearts on the very last day of the season playing for the championship, requiring only one point….?’  Words worthy of Keats…

Macpherson’s ‘rival’ over on Scottish Television  - although in truth they were good friends - was Arthur Montford, whose commentaries, particularly on Scotland games, have become legendary. Montford commentated on Scotland’s famous 2-1 victory over Czechoslovakia in the World Cup qualifier at Hampden in 1973, a win which took the Scots to the World Cup Finals for the first time in 16 years. The bold Arthur quite rightly dispensed with neutrality when, towards the end of the game, he shouted ‘watch your back, Denis’ as Scotland’s Denis Law was about to be tackled by a Czech player. Five years later when Don Masson infamously missed a penalty against Peru in the 1978 World Cup Finals, there was a stunned silence for a few seconds before Montford was barely able to utter ‘disaster for Scotland’.

This was a different era, decades before Sky Television, when games weren’t subjected to camera angles from every square inch of the ground, every refereeing decision wasn’t dissected and analysed, managerial tactics weren’t studied in depth and every substitution wasn’t theorised. It was a much simpler age and quite often the renowned commentators of the time just let the football do the talking.

I recall Arthur Montford, resplendent in sports jacket, smiling in the Scotsport studio on a Sunday afternoon welcoming viewers with the words ‘with the top game of the day in Scotland being the Old Firm clash, we took our cameras to Cappielow for the meeting between Morton and Partick Thistle’ And we watched nonetheless.

Macpherson and Montford might have occasionally irritated some viewers, particularly those who didn’t support the Old Firm. And they were from a much less technical era where multi-media coverage was still light years away. However, people of my generation still recall them with great fondness. They were both household names and both afforded respect.

Times change but not always for the better. Kick-off times and dates are changed at Sky’s behest – just after midday on a Sunday for the Edinburgh derby next month is yet another example of the satellite broadcaster completely ignoring the views and the wishes of the fans. The subscription monster that is Sky Television now dictates, leaving the terrestrial stations to grab what they can. Even ITV’s deal to cover the UEFA Champions League is shared with Sky leaving the BBC to make do with Celtic’s pre-qualifier against a part time team from Northern Ireland. 40 years ago we were lucky to get three games a year live on television. Now, thanks to Sky, there can be three a day. Blanket coverage gives credence to the adage you can have too much of a good thing.

Something you could never say about Archie Macpherson and Arthur Montford…  

 

 

Mike Smith

 

Twitter @Mike1874

Hawick Royal Albert 1 Heart of Midlothian XI 6

Pre-season friendly, Albert Park, Friday 12 July 2013

Billed as: Hawick RA's manager is a friend of the brother of Hearts manager Gary Locke and the Maroons agreed to play a friendly.

Reality: Hearts fielded their under 20 side which was mostly 16, 17 and 18 year olds. On a scorching summer's evening in the Borders, the young Hearts team took control of the game straight from kick off and, a ten minute spell at the start of the second half aside, dominated from start to finish.

The good: If this is the future of Hearts then there is plenty to look forward to. Yes, it was a friendly and the Tynecastle men boys were streets ahead fitness wise of their part time opponents. Nonetheless, the Hearts laddies had skill, pace and vision and I suspect more than one of them will make the first team before the end of the season.

The bad: A wee defensive lapse or two - quite awful defending led to the home side's goal. Something that needs to be addressed.

Reaction: A fine summer's evening and a fine display from the Hearts youngsters.  The accompanying photograph is copyright to Brian Sutherland. For clarification, that's not George Clooney in the background with his two daughters although the likeness is admittedly uncanny...

Spartans 0 Forfar Athletic 2

Pre-season friendly, Ainslie Park - Tuesday 9 July 2013

Billed as: A chance for one of the favourites for the new Scottish Lowland League to pit their wits against Division Two side Forfar Athletic who were involved in the play-offs in the SFL last season.

Reality: With a Ramsdens Cup preliminary tie against Threave Rovers on Saturday, Spartans were keen on getting their fitness levels up. On a beautiful summer's evening in Scotland's capital city, it was a pity there weren't more people at Ainslie Park to witness a decent game.

The good: Both sides tried to pass the ball wherever possible - they both play on an artificial surface and this does lend itself more to a passing game.

The bad: Sadly, a distinct lack of atmosphere. 'This is Ainslie Park, Let's Make Some Noise' rather fell on deaf ears!

Reaction: An enjoyable game with The Loons just deserving their win. With the experienced Gavin Swankie and Chris Templeman, Forfar always carried more of a threat up front. It was Templeman who opened the scoring after just three minutes and while Spartans worked hard the game was ended as a contest with 15 minutes left when Muhsin fired in a ferocious effort which Spartans keeper Bennett could only palm into the net.

Enjoyable stuff and this may be the first of several visits I will be making to see Spartans this season.

At the Crossroads of Fate

 

 

The terms ‘Crisis at Hearts’ and ‘Turmoil at Tynecastle’ have been such constant companions of Heart of Midlothian FC in the last few years it’s perhaps surprising Scotland’s biggest club outside the Old Firm doesn’t charge them rent.

Ten years ago Hearts were around £24m in debt and then Chief Executive Chris Robinson was on the verge of securing – but thankfully didn’t deliver – a deal that would see Hearts sell Tynecastle Stadium in a desperate attempt to alleviate the club’s financial crisis. The main flaw in the plan was that Hearts had nowhere to go. Robinson was prepared to let the club become tenants of the Scottish Rugby Union and play their home games at Murrayfield which has a 67,500 capacity. Hearts had played some UEFA Cup games there as Tynecastle was not fit for European purpose but it lacked the intensity of the Gorgie ground and the prospect of playing run of the mill league games in front of 50,000 empty seats on a wet Tuesday night in November was hardly enticing.

Step forward Lithuania based Russian businessman Vladimir Romanov. With an estimated personal fortune of £240m, Romanov bought a controlling interest in Hearts and immediately declared the club would remain at Tynecastle. Romanov owned Lithuanian side FC Kaunas and as well as vowing to keep Hearts at the ground they had played since 1881, he shipped a couple of Kaunas players on loan to Hearts to help the cause. Hearts won the Scottish Cup in 2006 and split the Old Firm in the SPL to head for the qualifying round of the following season’s UEFA Champions League.

However, there was the other side of the Russian coin. In the years that followed, Romanov displayed a zero tolerance approach to the managers he appointed, wafting P45s regularly. His occasional outrageous statements about the SFA and the SPL, inferring they were corrupt and the media – he once referred to the press as monkeys - brought ridicule to him and the club.

Hearts won the Scottish Cup again in 2012, hammering city rivals Hibernian 5-1 in the first all Edinburgh final since 1896. Now, little more than a year later, Hearts have gone into administration with debts of £25m. Having now declared himself bankrupt, Vladimir Romanov has done a fair impression of former striker Christian Nade – he’s out there but no one is quite sure where. The existence of Edinburgh’s oldest and most successful football club is under threat more than at any time in the last 139 years. Administration means Hearts will begin the SPL campaign – if they survive until August – with a 15 point deduction. With most of last year’s Scottish Cup winning team having long since departed and the first team now principally made up of young players, the fight to avoid relegation begins on the first day of the season.

As bad as that is, the nightmare scenario is what happened to Rangers this time last year – the club is liquidated and has to start all over again in the Third Division. And possibly having to groundshare if the sale of Tynecastle is forced through by the administrator.

There is interest in taking over Hearts with three or four credible bids, including the Foundation of Hearts, a group created by local business people which, if successful will mean the long suffering supporters running the club. Fans have already pledged thousands of pounds to FoH who are in the process of converting these pledges to hard cash in order to submit a serious bid. The next few weeks will prove crucial to the club’s future.

Hearts supporters, as always, have demonstrated an allegiance to the club that is nothing short of astonishing. The administrator announced on 20 June that the club needed to sell 3,000 tickets in 14 days just to keep afloat during the summer months. Unconfirmed reports suggested Hearts sold nearly a third of that number in just 24 hours with the ticket office opening on a Saturday to cope with demand.

I’ve been following Hearts for 45 years. Having endured relegation twice in the 1970s, the cruel twist of fate of losing the league title in the last eight minutes of the season at Dens Park in 1986 and the numerous cup final and semi-final defeats, there’s almost an ingrained pessimistic trait to my outlook.

While the Romanov era brought two Scottish Cup wins - and last year’s hammering of Hibernian in the final will surely never be bettered for Hearts supporters – there has been an unease at how the reputation of our club has taken something of a battering. Now, Hearts stand at the crossroads of fate once more. On the one hand, administration and the real possibility of relegation from the SPL next year are blows the club may never recover from. If Tynecastle Stadium is sold by the administrator, it may well be the death knell of one of Scottish football’s most famous names. There is also an argument that Hearts might have considered administration last season and gone down to the First Division for the new campaign. If relegation happens twelve months from now there’s the prospect of facing Rangers in the First Division in season 2014/15 making automatic promotion that bit more difficult.

On the other, Romanov and his dictatorship has gone, the size of the debt, like a millstone around the club’s neck for decades may be cut like the removing of a cancerous growth. If Hearts can keep their stadium, with season ticket sales increasing by the hour, the atmosphere in Gorgie next season will be more raucous than ever with the fans believing the 15 point deduction can be overcome. Some first team players have agreed a pay cut and the sight of Gary Locke and some of the team at the Tynecastle ticket office today to thank the fans demonstrates the feeling there is for the club. 'Lockie' was always a fans favourite as a player given he is 'one of us' and he has shown more dignity in the last few days than Vladimir Romanov did in eight years.

 

The problem is Hearts are presently unable to sign any new players and the burden placed on the club’s talented youngsters may be too much to bear. However, if Hearts are under new ownership come Christmas and are still within touching distance of eleventh place in the SPL then new faces may arrive during the January transfer window. The cavalry may arrive – one can only hope they’re not too late.

Next year will mark the 100^th anniversary of Hearts players signing up to Sir George McCrae’s Battalion in the Great War, an act of devotion to their country that is rightly remembered every year. The sacrifice of those players is more important than all the games won, lost or drawn by Heart of Midlothian FC in the last century. However, it would be comforting to think Hearts will still be around to mark this important anniversary. 

One of Scottish football’s most famous anthems is ‘follow the Hearts and you can’t go wrong’. No one in Scottish football wants the implications of the opening lines of another famous Hearts song – ‘and now the end is near…’

 

Mike Smith

Twitter @Mike1874