the Romanov Disillusion?

After nearly 2 months of football-free inertia, I hoped that a degree of normality would return once the new football season started. However, that feeling of longing, that sense of being reacquainted with an old friend didn’t last long. The derby was always going to be a difficult game to start the season with, the winners getting to bask in early season positivity and the losers gurning in their pints – as it transpired, it was us who were left bereft in the Slough of Despair. As predicted many moons ago, Craig Gordon finally secured his well-deserved transfer to the Premiership and with it swelled Hearts coffers by up to £9m. However, whilst no one should begrudge the lad from Balerno his move south, the timing of it could not have been worse. To announce it on the afternoon of the derby was probably a portent of things to come. Losing a derby is never fun – ever. Its shit, isn’t it? But, at least if the team has appeared to try a leg and to actually care about the result you can sometimes accept it. What supporters do not accept is the sort of insipid and thoroughly uninspiring fare that was served up last Monday night.  

For many, the worst display they’d seen from a Hearts team at the Cabbage Patch was in the CIS Cup-Tie last season; now, less than a year later, I think we can claim to have seen the worst display by a Hearts side in a derby match at Tynecastle. Thankfully, I wasn’t around for the infamous 7-0 game, but I’m told (usually by those of a green-and-white persuasion) that, whilst Hibs were “majestic” (sic), Hearts at least made Jim Herriot work to keep a clean sheet. For all the praise that their new keeper received, most goalies would have “dominated” their penalty against such an impotent attack. Whilst no one likes to see their own players booed by their own supporters, it was difficult not to understand the anger felt by those booing when Beniusus was substituted. Indeed, if anything, rather than a personal attack on the hapless Lithuanian striker, the cacophony that heralded his departure was an expression of the frustration more and more Hearts fans are feeling towards the way the team is being run. 

Worryingly, Hearts had the longest pre-season preparation of any of the SPL Clubs and yet they still looked unfamiliar with the formation they were being asked to play. The fact that players were playing out of position couldn’t have helped – if you have midfielders on the bench, what is the sense in playing a defender out of position in the middle of the park? Yes, Tall improved as the game progressed, but for the first 20 minutes he was all at sea. Against Aberdeen, Palazuelos and Eggert Jonsson played admirably and it is all the more baffling that they were overlooked for the Hibs game. What substitutions were made also puzzled and the home support were clearly unhappy at the sight of Miko being replaced by Makela, with the Finn lining up in the unfamiliar position of right midfield – unbelievably, for once the boos weren’t directly aimed at Miko himself! All-in-all it was a disaster from kick-off to final whistle, and it only served to rekindle the debate as to the influence Vlad is – or is not – having on team affairs. At January’s AGM, when one shareholder pressed the Board on whether any coach coming into the Club would ever be given full control over team selection, the Chairman answered, “Maybe 50%, maybe 60%, but not 100%, because there are many different reasons for choosing the team…”. It would now appear that Korobochka has been granted his wish to take a step back from the front-line duties and it will be Frail and the Bulgarian Angel Cervenkov - formerly of Kaunus - who will be coaching the first team. Surely this is another decision that should have been made earlier, during the close season, and not into the early stages of the new season; afterall, it took long enough for Frail and Korobochka to be confirmed as part of the coaching team in the first place. Whereas other Clubs already have settled on a formation and starting line-up, it looks like we can anticipate further changes to the team when we should be having a consistent selection and building up momentum. It was hard not to have a wee chuckle when Vlad said that he had been disappointed in the Hearts performance against Barcelona in the glamorous pre-season friendly at Murrayfield. Had he attended any games in the previous six months then he would have known how bad some of the performances we’ve witnessed have been.  No wonder sightings of him at Hearts games last season were rarer than a howler-free performance by Dougie MacDonald. Perhaps he hadn’t been convinced by this: 

The Heart and Soul of Edinburgh presents… An incredible, unforgettable, and truly mesmerizing adventure. A story of men in mighty maroon fighting their hearts out for thousands in pursuit of glory. Get ready to watch Heart of Midlothian in another unmissable tale of emotion and adventure. Welcome to Heart of Midlothian Football Club, where dreams really can come true… 

Very inspiring, I’m sure you’ll agree. This was how the Season-Ticket brochure for Season 2007/08 began, and the marketing folk at Hearts no doubt thought that emotive hyperbole like this appeals to supporters. Unfortunately, the blurb on the movie-poster-styled cover sounded about as appealing as an invitation to a Norwich City barbeque. When Hearts were on the verge of announcing next Season’s ticket prices, the last thing the Club needed was for Dundee United – a team that hasn’t been renowned for its attacking style in recent years – to inflict one of the most comprehensive and abject defeats upon Hearts in a long time; when Hunt scored United’s third goal, it heralded the sort of mass exodus from the stands not seen since the reign of the Pieman. Perhaps my myopia is getting worse, but I can’t say I saw many on the “men in mighty maroon” on the Tynecastle pitch “fighting their hearts out for thousands in pursuit of glory” that day, and certainly not during Monday’s derby. For many, the United game became the nadir of an increasingly frustrating and disappointing season that had promised so much last year, and the sight of so many leaving then, coupled with the negative reaction to the team’s efforts in the derby defeat, should be a warning to those running the Club. As season-ticket renewals have hit the 13k mark show, the hardcore supporters will stick with the Club – we’ve definitely all experienced worse times being Hearts supporters - but I dare say there will be a lot of fans who will have had second-thoughts about coughing up £400, or more, for the new Season if they’re going to be subjected to more of the uncommitted, heartless shit that was served up against Hibs, as it was in other games last season. Furthermore, the decision to reset the loyalty points at zero, surely defeats the purpose of such a loyalty scheme, and hardly repays the loyalty shown by those who travelled the length and breadth of the country during such a trying season.  

If anything we need a focal point we can look to for some inspiration, whether that be a manager who can get to grips with the team or a player to excite the fans. There are some very good players at Hearts already and some of the new arrivals – such as Stewart, Palazuelos and Ksanavicius - look like they may be useful additions to the squad, but overall we still look some way short of being able to really push the Gruesome Twosome for the title. The squad still seems inflated and the experience of last season shows that simply having a huge pool of players is no guarantee of success; furthermore, it surely serves no use telling a set of players they aren’t needed one day only to be given new deals the next. However, if we were to start to see some consistent team selections and a reorganisation of the squad – and by that I mean the chaff are removed and replaced by players with a decent pedigree (not loanees on short-term deals from you know where) who can add something to the Club – then there’s no reason why we can’t be challenging at the upper echelons of the league. 

The United game proved to be a turning point in the listlessness of last Season. The coaches and players were able to bring us back from the brink of implosion and we almost secured a European place that had looked way out of reach at one point; one can only hope that the Derby proves to be an extremely early wake-up-call and that the team is able to galvanise itself and improve dramatically. Were we to see a bit more of the fight and spirit, as shown in glimpses last season - down at the Cabbage Patch or at Darkheid - if it actually looks like the players are putting some effort in, you never know, supporters might actually start to believe in the team again and we might get the lift we need. If they don’t, then we may be in for a long season.  

Here’s hoping for the former, eh?

J.D.

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