Let's Make Some Noise, The Gorgie Boys

ARE GOING TO EUROPE !!

Another bizarre week in Jamboland. We do it ourselves but the media hounds are glorying in everything and anything that makes the good old Jambo's look even slightly askew. They blow it up and turn it into a mad circus at Heart of Lithuania. This week it was all about the medical staff - we now have a faith healer who wears pygamas, he is called of all things 'Jambo' and we have an old witch with a big gold stick who will strike a player and decide if he is fit for the game. OK, OK if there is even a shred of truth in any of that then we deserve everything we get i guess. There has to be something in it because our chief physiotherapist Ollie Finlay got himself suspended on Saturday - probably giving it "I am not letting that hacket auld witch anywhere near my boys with that big stick" I just kind of sit back trying to smile. If truth be known the league position and cup final place speaks for itself. If and when we manage the Champions League and the cup then who gives a flying f**k what anyone thinks - it is all just sour grapes especially, from the blue nosed legions. Actually you know what, sitting back thinking about it right now - Rangers and their masses of supporters have conducted themselves OK through all of this, it's everyone else that has been totally off on one, having a dig at Hearts at any opportunity. For a third of the season Rangers simply went through the worst run in the history of the club running up something like 11 games without a win. Since then they have just plugged away and tried their best to claw us back - i think they will just fail, but it has been a bloody good effort nonetheless.
The rest of the weeks circus has been concerned with disgruntled players who were 1st team regulars and are now not getting a game.
Brellier, making the most noise. He has been brilliant for most of the season, it has allways been good to see the line-up when he is in the middle there with Hartley, you know you will get 100% out of him. His place has been taken by Aguair and thats the problem, Aguair is pretty damn good as well. They are different players with Aguair being a bit more creative. So what can you say, stay and fight for your place Brellier. The media blow this up ofcourse, they make it seem like the dressing room is about to implode with in fighting and premadonna walk outs. None of it is real. Except Webster i guess which is a bit of a sickener, somehow he seems to have manufactured a corner and been forced to sit in it. The best i can see is that he will get a good offer from down south close season and be able to pick his career up without too much of a problem. It is well known that he is looking for a move to Rangers but they will be getting a new manager so there are no garauntees.
From all of this i would say, what else can you expect from such a large squad, this must happen inside bigger teams constantly and nobody bats an eyelid.
So to this weekends action,
Rangers played Killie on Saturday and won 3 - 1 to take them to within 1 point of Hearts.
Hibs went up to Aberdeen bouyed by their derby win and got royally horsed 4 - 0 excellent ( how many times have Hibs been stuffed 4 - 0 this season and is it a record? i think it probably is you know ).

So the pressure was on and we had to stand up and be counted. I was wrong on all counts as usual.
I thought Celtic would be on the beach already, i thought only half the 1st team would be picked and they would be devoid of passion and hunger. Celtic turned up, thats for sure.
I thought that Hearts would be nervous and that would if anything be our downfall.
We were lucky i guess the nerves never got a chance to flutter, ten minutes into the game and we have a free kick to the left of the box. Swung in with pace by Hartley, it was met by Celtic's McManus - it screamed into the top corner.
HMFC 1 - Celtic 0
2 minutes later we have a free kick on the left of the box. Somehow Hartley managed to get sanction to take the free kick whilst the Celtic defence were still scratching their arses and making a wall. Hartley swung a beautiful curled shot into the top of right top of the net. Christ he must have loved that, i certainly did.
HMFC 2 - Celtic 0
This was fantastic but it was also exactly what we did against them in that game in January, so i was taking nothing for granted. We played some good stuff during the next 15 minutes and the game was nip and tuck with chances at both ends. Most notably a couple of efforts which fell to Celtic players in the Hearts box, each time tho the finish was weak and easily catered for by Craig Gordon. A blistering counter by Hearts down the left was reminiscent of Skacel at his absolute best, a triangle involving Fyassas, Hartley and Skacel saw him tearing down the left. Skacel outfoxed two defenders to get loose in the box and he fired a great shot that beat the keeper but thundered off the near post - it would have been a screamer and worthy of finishing the game.
The last 10 or 15 minutes of the first half were owned by Celtic they played the ball well in midfield but never seemed to be able to penetrate other than by hopeful balls to the back post which were not dealt with well be the Hearts defence. That Hearts defence tho looked much more like the real thing with Fyassas and Pressley back in. Ibrahim Tall was preferred to Christophe Berra. I got a good look at him in this first half and he had Dublin in his back pocket, played a really good possitive half. It was only Dublin he had to contend with tho so it would have been interesting if Hartson had been on the park.
Half time.
The second half was more one sided in favour of Hearts, Celtic still played their part and definitely wanted to get something out of the game. They competed well enough in midfield, enough for Lennon to get himself booked and then hooked just in time or he would have been sent off any minute. They brought on Petrov, Hartson and Pearson, but not before the game was over at the clinical hands of Roman Bednar. Hearts broke up another keep ball attempt by Celtic in midfield, a couple of quick passes to move into the Celtic half and a fantastic ball clipped forward that must have just beat the offside trap in no more ( playing the offside trap is more like playing the offside lottery these days mind you ). Bednar was straight thro on goal, all he had to do was get control, collect himself and score the goal. I am sure we all know that that is much much harder than it seems, given the amount of times you see strikers make an arse of it. Bednar finished like Thierry Henry would finish.
HMFC 3 - Celtic 0
I have now witnessed the largest winning margin against Celtic i have ever seen, the one i thought we would get in January, wish to hell we had got it in January when we really needed it.
Hearts continued to push, brought on Pospisil, and Berra and Baressa, Celtic continued to play their part as well but i don't think they were ever really going to go the extra yard. So 3 - 0 it finished, bloody marvelous.

For the conspiracy theorists, 2 things.
Celtic definitely turned up and played their part, it was a strong team and they competed well enough.
If the game really mattered to them, it would not have finished 3 - 0
There you go never let it be said that i never sit on the fence.
After lots of chucking abuse at each other, some time after we were 3 up there was a collective rendition of 'Lets all laugh and Rangers, lets all laugh at Rangers Ha Ha Ha Ha'
Sorry thats 3 things.

Conspiracy theories abound at this time of year, and champions Celtic at Tynecastle with nothing to play for except a chance to get it right up Rangers by getting beat, was a doozy.
Get this one tho, how do you read this if you are Aberdeen.
The only way Hibs can get a place in the EUFA cup is for them to finish 4th, for Rangers to pip Hearts into 2nd place and then for Hearts to win the cup. Under those circumstances alone would the 2nd EUFA place go to them and not to Gretna the beaten cup finalists. So the only way ( not a good way but the only way ) that HIbs can make that happen is to .... let Rangers beat them on Tuesday night? WOW get your noodle round that. Riordan runs the length of the park to score a last minute own goal to finish Hibs 0 Rangers 1.
For Aberdeen it is much simpler, they need the same thing to happen but they just have to think about beating us on Wednesday, and hope Rangers horse Hibs.

Could all be over by the time we play Aberdeen at tynecastle on Wednesday night but i suspect Rangers will still be in with a shout so a similar performance will be needed to avoid the possibility of a final day meltdown at Ibrox.