There for the taking
Strangely coveted "third best" tag up
for grabs
(John Campbell)
FOR SOME YEARS our
friends across the City laid claim to being the "third best" team in
Scotland and I confess that it always brought a wry smile to my face
that anybody could boast about being "third best" at anything but in a
League dominated for so long by the Glasgow giants I suppose it really
translates to "Best of the Rest." Clearly that "title" no longer
applies down Gorgie way so which Club is the rightful owner these
days?
Hearts fans reading this
will, by now, be jumping up and down, stamping their feet and protesting
loudly that they are still the rightful owners of that dubious title
but lets put the colours away for a moment and look at this point
dispassionately. In 1998, as if they'd ever let us forget it, Hearts
won the Scottish Cup and I for one am envious of their supporters for that.
I've followed Hibs, man and boy, for more years than I care to remember but
have never experienced the utter joy which must come with watching your team
parade the Scottish Cup on an open top bus through the streets of the City.
But that's in the past now and the way things are going at Tynecastle it
might just be all their fans have to cling on to for some years to come.
Beating Hearts is becoming a regular thing
again
Check out the number above the exit!! Prophetic to say the least
(sns)
Hearts are in turmoil.
They've sold off their best players, with the exception of Antii Niemi who
may or may not be there much longer and they have appointed a young and very
inexperienced Manager who, quite frankly, is looking out of his depth in the
SPL They have a Chairman who is widely despised by many followers of
the Club and they have a support which has taken to voicing its protests
outside the stadium after games.
Now before you all enjoy
laughing at them too much, just remember that not so very long ago Hibs were
in a similar state. Relegated to the First Division, fans protest
groups, players leaving as quickly as they could get away, a Manager who
liked doing things in style, like arriving at the stadium in a helicopter,
but who spent the money given to him by filling the team with First Division
quality players and who, like the current postholder at Tynecastle, was
clearly out of his depth There but for the Grace of God and all that.
Any fair minded person
looking at the two Clubs in 1998 would have concluded, and who could have
argued, that Hearts had far more right than Hibs at that time to lay claim
to the coveted "third best" title. Nowadays, however, the tide has
very strongly turned in favour of the Easter Road side. Witness recent
events. Last season Hibs finished third in the League by a long way
and reached the Scottish Cup Final. They also qualified for Europe and
had in the Managers chair an individual who was being openly tipped as a
future successor to Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford. Hearts did none
of those things but did manage to part company with their Manager and
appoint former Captain Craig Levein, who arrived from Cowdenbeath with
little or no Managerial experience under his belt.
This season, Hibs took AEK
Athens, a side with proven quality in European competition, to the wire and
were reckoned by most to be extremely unlucky not to eliminate the Greeks
from the UEFA Cup. Hearts meanwhile were exiting the CIS Cup to Ross
County in Dingwall, having failed to score in 120 minutes of open play and
eventually going down on penalties to one of Scotland's newest League Clubs.
As I write this Hibs are in third place in the SPL having beaten or, more
accurately, demolished Motherwell, Dunfermline and St. Johnstone whilst
scoring 12 goals in the process whilst Hearts are 'enjoying' a three game
run of defeats which has seen them plummet to 9th in the League with only
Hibs' three latest victims below them.
European glory nights - back to stay?
(sns)
Clearly then, Hearts
cannot any longer lay claim to the "third best" tag and are in such a state
at the moment it is looking like it might be a long while before they can
challenge for it again. The other contenders might include Aberdeen,
Dundee, Kilmarnock and, coming up on the rails, Livingston. Aberdeen
can be discounted because they are also a Club in turmoil right now.
Not so very long ago we had the amusing but deeply sad "toaster" scenario
and that really sums up the current state of the Pittodrie Club.
Dundee could be a team which is going places but they are still far too
inconsistent with their results to pose a serious threat whilst Kilmarnock
are, in my humble opinion, a team which has reached its peak and which
doesn't invest enough money in new players to take it to the next level.
And that leaves Livingston. Great things have happened and continue to
happen at Almondvale and regardless of whether they turn Hibs over today
they are still the young pretenders. Right now, Livi must be content
with being second best in the Lothians, given that they are fourth in the
SPL having lost only once in eight starts.
Its obvious then that Hibs
are the "best of the rest" as there are no other Clubs anywhere near being
in contention. Given my mirth at fans celebrating such a title
in the past you might ask yourself why I am bothering to try and claim that
accolade for Hibs? Well, if the Old Firm do depart for the EPL and
it's looking more and more likely, the position of top dogs in Scotland is
going to be vacant and available and I reckon I know just the team to fill
it! |
