Quote Originally Posted by Real Emerald View Post
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Reconstruction to a 14 team league is purely to save Hearts and has nothing to do with saving Scottish football. I’ve supported Hibs all my life and have had a ST along with my son for many years. Sitting at Hampden watching us being demolished 5-1 by a club who couldn’t afford the players on the pitch, couldn’t pay there wages but still managed to sign a new striker who scored the winning semi final goal stuck in my craw. They were £20m in debt needing to sell Tynecastle when Robinson sold them to Romanov after overspending for years. Then they went on a ridiculous spending spree ending up being very fortunate to survive at all. Six years on and they’ve done the exact same again. After many years I’ve come to the point I can’t watch that anymore and would feel cheated if there was no comeuppance for their actions. I wouldn’t want to go back and watch it all happen again. That’s why I would be out.
It's hard not to agree with any of this post. Unlike some of the other posts on this thread it doesn't come across as bitter and resentful but genuine and well-considered. Certainly a feeling I share and for the Hibs board to bear in mind.

Yes, Hearts thoroughly deserve what's happened to them and are handling it gracelessly. But, we are all made of the same stuff and any differences between Hibs and Hearts supporters probably come down to the relative success Hearts have had in the last 30-40 years compared with Hibs, particularly in the derby. Their attitude and behaviour (arrogance) which so many on here despise has come about by their relative success. Meanwhile, a lot of the Hibs support have genuine humility and grace having been through some very tough times (football-wise). I hated losing derbies, particularly the Scottish Cup semi and final. But when I look back it's something I probably wouldn't change. It made 2016 all the more sweet and I am so proud of all of us who persevered through the dark times. It also means that we are not a club defined by our closest rivals. We stand on our own and we still can going forward no matter what happens with Hearts.

With that in mind, if Hibs were to dominate Hearts in the years ahead (I'm sure I'd enjoy it) then it is highly likely we'd end up just like them and them like us.

Personally, I'd like to see Hibs unafraid of a 'resurgent' Hearts and want to see Hibs take on the best they have got to offer and beat them. Is that not what football rivalries are about? Spurring one another on to better feats? Man Utd never did anything in Europe until Arsene Wenger arrived at Arsenal and made them improve.

I wonder if the will to see them handicapped in some way represents our fear of them?

I also think Scottish football needs all the good teams it can get. While this shouldn't come at the expense of relegation, if there is a genuine possibility of no Championship football and full-time clubs going to the wall then we should do all we can to make sure all full-time clubs can survive - regardless of past misdemeanors. This shouldn't be done though by Anne Budge who, despite her protestations really only has interest. Leann Dempster would have far more objectivity.

We've often criticised the old firm (and rightly so) for scooping up all the money and best players in Socttish football when, for the good of the game, it would be better to share out the money and encourage more competition. With that view in mind, I think people who want the Hibs board to make a decision purely to see a more impotent rival to Hibs is not in the long term interests of the game.

It's a real quandary and there is no clear answer but I hope the clubs can come to a decision which protects our football game as best as it can and the clubs and fans can respect that decision without threatening legal action or refusing to buy season tickets. Surely, if coronavirus has taught us one thing, it's that we are all interdependent and in it together.

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