|
Rivals Revealed: HMFC |
|
|
|
Written by Steph
|
|
Saturday, 06 August 2005 |
In the fisrt of this season's Rivals Revealed, Dave Henderson from www.jambos.net gives us his views on Sunday's Edinburgh Derby.
Your name: David Henderson
Team: Heart of Midlothian
How long have you been a Hearts fan?
All my life. When I was old enough to start appreciating football, my father would take my brother and I to Tynecastle when he could, sitting in the old main stand. My passion for Hearts has remained ever since and I used to spend my mornings watching old Hearts matches on video before going to school, I was hooked.
What is your all-time favourite HMFC match?
It’s very difficult to pick one. I’ve been to a few memorable matches and watched a few on tv. I never saw the Cup Final win in 1998 as I was working while I missed our away matches last season with Braga and Basle. It would probably be the 2-1 Scottish Cup semi-final win over Aberdeen back in 1996. Although we got pumped in the final, the semi-final win was a great day-out and the first time in my life I had seen Hearts get to a final. The excitement was incredible and the finish was great with Hearts scoring in injury time. A great atmosphere as Hearts had sold all their allocation whilst Aberdeen only sold half.
What is your most memorable match against the Hibs?
Gosh, there are so many, especially in recent years. I guess the 4-4 game for a number of reasons. Normally I would pick a Hearts win but this game had everything, yet the BBC decided to show Aberdeen vs Celtic. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a 4-4 draw in my life and this match never had the 4-4 look to it until the very end. Going behind by 2 goals twice to Hibs during the game, you brace yourself for a defeat and when Hearts managed to score twice in injury to salvage a draw, the scenes were incredible and I’ve never experienced an atmosphere like that. It was very surreal. Following the match, my brother and I went to my Grandad’s to celebrate his birthday so it was a memorable day indeed.
Derbies are always difficult to predict, especially so soon into the season. What are your expectations, both from the head and from the heart?
Hibs have a side which have played together for a whole season under a very good manager whilst Hearts have only just got a side together. This would give Hibs the advantage although the quality of the new signings, gives me hope as good players tend to settle in quickly. Burley needs a bit of time to get his squad right and I’m sure he feels there is shortages in certain positions whilst Hibs have a settled squad, who as a year older, are wiser and probably better than they were this time last season. The heart tells me that Hearts will get off to a blinder this season whilst its good for Edinburgh to have Hibs up there as well. I don’t mind Hibs doing well as long as Hearts are above them.
Who in your opinion are the players to look out for in both teams?
On the Hearts side, any of the new signings would be well worth a look, judging on the reviews I’ve heard and brief highlights watched from last week’s encounter at Rugby Park. The Left midfielder Skacel looks to be a real find while Bednar, the Czech striker is huge and looks to be a top quality striker, something we sorely needed after Lee Miller’s departure. I also would expect Paul Hartley to be a danger to the Hibs defence, given his former connection with them plus he always seems to be up for the derbies.
As regards Hibs, you have a number of talented players. The strike pairing of O’Conner and Riordan is always a threat, especially from outside the box. O’Conner in particular is a strong player and will be a threat to our defence. The young right back Whittaker looks to be of real quality and likes to get forward a lot, I rate him highly and its no surprise he’s been linked with a move away from Hibs. Michael Stewart’s return will be interesting. His only great games for Hearts last season came in our UEFA Cup matches as domestically he seemed to struggle. I wasn’t too bothered to see him leave if I’m being honest as injuries always seemed to strike him.
Now that Ian Murray’s gone, who do Jambos hate the most?
I still hate Murray but will save that for the Rangers game! Hearts fans tend to despise players like Riordan and O’Conner the most, mainly for scoring against us quite a bit in recent years and for their celebrations, intended to win us up. Its all in the name of banter though.
What are your expectations for Hearts this season?
At one point, it was simply to survive as the manager hunt went on and on while no new players were added to the squad. Now George Burley has come in and added some new faces, I would expect at least a top 6 finish while a cup final appearance would be nice. I think Hearts will finish third this season though that might be me being a tad optimistic.
Likewise where do you see Hibs finishing this season?
I think Hibs will be fifth this season. With Aberdeen strengthening, I can see them just piping Hibs. Last season, Hibs had a great run of form with very little injuries. If one of O’Conner or Riordan were to get injured, I think Hibs would struggle a little. In saying that, Tony Mowbray seems to get the best out of his squad so I’m sure someone else would come in and do a turn for you.
How do you feel about Romanov taking over the Club?
Delighted. Given the previous regime of Robinson and his penny pinching antics, a dose of freshness was badly needed at the club. I was a little cautious to begin with as regards Romanov, which was shared by many supporters, but he appears to be delivering on his promises and his attitude has impressed me overall. Keeping the club at Tynecastle was a huge deal considering how close we were to selling less than a year ago while he has been paying the wages of many new signings out of his own pocket which says a lot for his determination to achieve with the football club.
What are your views on Robbo’s departure and are you happy with the appointment of Burley?
I was seething at the time of Robbo’s sacking, that I refused to go to the next home game against Celtic. My enthusiasm for Hearts had fallen as the club treated Robbo terribly and didn’t give him enough time to do a job. However, getting George Burley in was a dream come true. He in my opinion is the best manager in Scotland and one I always rated highly at Ipswich and the job he did at Derby. He’s been quick to dump the garbage in our team that Robbo wouldn’t do while he talks a very good game. Fans of Ipswich Town must be watching on with interest at the Tractor Boys connection up in the Capital.
Hearts already have a lot of Lithuanian players on loan. Are you concerned that Hearts will become a Club to provide warm up matches for players that aren’t good enough in Lithuania?
Not at all. If the player is a good enough quality, then I’m delighted to see him in a Hearts jersey. I think the FC Kaunas loan deals is a clever tax dodge, which is allowing us to bring in these players, given our current financial position which is pretty bad. It also allows these players to be paid more in wages than they would if they were under contract to Hearts, with higher tax regulations. It also lowers the risk for Hearts is a player is a flop so I’m happy with the current set-up, although it does look bizarre admittenly.
What are your views on the pricing policy for Catergory A gemes for away supporters at Tynecastle? Would you pay £30 to watch a derby?
£30 is far too much to pay for any SPL game in my opinion. I wouldn’t pay £30 myself to watch Hearts play at Easter Road as its way above inflation for any football fan. A family wouldn’t be able to go to these matches and that’s wrong as football needs to be attracting the families to the games.
Finally, what do you think the score will be this Sunday?
Derby matches are always so difficult to predict as form really does go out of the window. With this being Hearts first home game of the season and George Burley’s first competitive match at Tynecastle, I’m tipping Hearts to sneak the match 2-1 and gain a measure of revenge for the last Tynecastle derby. I hope it’s a great game.
|
|
|
|
Upcoming Games |
October
Sat 15th Kilmarnock H
Sat 22nd Aberdeen A
Wed 26th Dunfermline A
Sat 29th Scumski H |
|
|
