Originally Posted by
fat freddy
I was a guest at Tynecastle this afternoon. A few observations....The main stand, while retaining some character, hasn't changed since the first time i was in it in the late seventies. The roof has netting underneath it to catch any falling corrugated asbestos. The toilets are old and filthy . The catering i avoided but i did notice they provide a vegetarian option, probably vinegar crisps. The crowd were quiet for most of the match and the atmosphere was subdued but fairly supportive, they seem to understand their prediciment and accept that the football will be of a poor standard. There seems to be a general feeling that Gary Locke is clueless but he escapes vocal critisism due to the fact that they understand there is no alternative. The crowd looked to be around about the figures given, i guessed 11,000 although it dropped to around 3,000 by the time the final whistle blew.
The match itself was fairly even in the first half with hearts maybe even having ther upper hand but in the second half Inverness got their act together and killed hearts with a couple of sucker punches...Billy McKay was the difference and his movement and finishing were top drawer. The hearts kids were ok and fought hard but their inexperience shone through on numerous occasions.
the hearts goalie was the busier of the the two and one save in particular was top class, mchattie seems to get it tight from the boo boys but he just gets on with it, hammil gets it tight too but the general feeling is he plays better at full back where he was positioned today, in midfield it is all kids and they have enthusiasm in abundance but lack guile and match awareness, up front they have paterson who spent most of the match rolling about on the floor moaning at the ref for free kicks that never were, he was ineffective and posed little or no threat to a solid and impressive ict back four
all in all the feeling inside the ground is hearts are going down and the football will continue to be painful to watch until new blood can be brought in, one deluded soul, who thought i was a jambo turned to me at half time and said ''we just need an experienced striker and midfielder and we will be able to challenge''...i resisted the urge to pat him on the head and say ''there there'' instead i agreed with him adding, ''if only we had rudi we would be beating this lot today''...he looked wistfully at me as i uttered these calming words and i almost heard him think, 'oh rudi, where for art thou, why have you forsaken us in our hour of need'
nice day out for those prepared to sit amongst the famous unwashed, theres nothing better than watching them get pumped and to do it as your jambo mates sit squirming beside you just makes it more fun...if your spying again M.E. :na na: ...cheers for the ticket and the comfy seat