100mpg

As ever, i was looking forward to the Falkirk game. Like when we play Kilmarnock my opinion is firmly in the - this should be a good game, corner. This is good because it has nothing to do with ancient rivalries - the Hibs, the Celtic or the Ra-angers, or more modern equivalences Aberdeen or as the world used to be Dundee Utd. I have enjoyed playing Falkirk over the past few seasons because - they play decent football at you and the have a fairly healthy disrespect for all comers.
So i was looking forward to a good game, had predicted an optimistic 3 - 1 to the good guys.

For the vast majority of the game however you could have gotten the full 100 miles to the gallon, given the woefully low octane content. The opposite of what i wanted or expected.

After this one i am left with the understanding that Hearts are a bit of a multi-dimensional jigsaw puzzle - we can't seem to get all parts of the team playing well at the same time or if we can, only for short tantalising periods in the game, before it all degenerates to a box full of mixed up bits that don't fit together.

There was an offer during the week of 2.5 million for Craig Gordon, i have not been his biggest fan of late but i think we should expect to command a fair whack more than that for him. Were Fulham just chancing there arm? see if we are in a more precarious financial position than outwardly apparent, ready to jump at the first 7 figure offer. The offer was firmly rejected by HMFC with the retort - you better be ready to part with £10M. So by the laws of the barter that means we will sell for £6M or there abouts - i believe we will sell for less than that however.
Interested to see that on MOTD on Saturday morning, celebrating the anniversary of some mental French plan to have a combined Franco - UK national team, back in the fifties or something like that. Maybe some post war act of fraternity, who knows surely not some plan to improve the French team. Any roads the only Scot that made it near the team was none other than our very own Craig soon to be gazillionaire Gordon. Fantastic! but i suppose they had to have 1 Scot and who else could it possibly have been!
Craig hurt his groin early in the week so was left out for Steve Banks, absolutely no conjecture by the media whatsoever that this had anything to do with transfer speculation or club/player turmoil so i guess there were no rumours/speculation to that effect. Has the media finally started to bore itself with the Tynecastle circus?
Transfer dealings at the moment seem more down to earth, sensible and realistic, i would go as far as to say relaxed if you get my drift. The players being mentioned, appear in any case to be, an enhancement rather than simply an augmentation to the squad. Still plenty of time for the mad final day flurry though.
Gogita Gogua and Laryea Kingston being the two most likely enhancements both of which would bring something to the team. Both do seem to have a bit of a history of combustion though but both also seem to be hand picked for their ability to handle the rigours of a frenetic SPL.
Looks to most of us supporters that we also really need a striker who is consistently going to put the ball in the proverbial onion bag, not much sign as yet in this transfer window. With Panilla and Makela both leaving our extended options are not looking too good in that department.

Hearts started the game in fairly good fettle with most if not all pieces of the jigsaw in place at the same time, it did not last long however as Hearts lapsed back to a long ball game which looked to me to be designed to reserve energy. Maybe i am reading between the lines here, last week against Celtic, Hearts were found out to have a serious problem pacing themselves through the game, looking almost out on their feet by half time. Don't the best teams play in phases of containment and punishment, conscious decisions to move through the gears as they navigate their way to victory. If only i could view a Hearts game like that!
I don't watch Falkirk that often of course so i don't really know but it seemed to me that their problem was where they were playing Russel Latapy, too far forward. He seems to do his best work these days in a deep midfield role where he can dictate the pace and flow of the game from the generals position up on the hill. He still seemed to have that magical ability to find the only pocket of space on the park at any one time though, the rest of his team always knew exactly where he was as well. To Falkirk's detriment he was closed down just that wee bit too quickly to be used to maximum effect.
Falkirk had the first decent chance a cross from the right headed goal ward and very well saved by Banks, palmed out to Falkirk front man only to be headed narrowly wide. This was countered quickly by some great work by Paul Hartley to move towards the box taking three defenders with him, he squared to Salius Mikoliunas who lashed a shot which crashed off the bar.
This brought a disappointing half to a close.
HMFC 0
Farlirk 0

Wish i could say that the second half was better but it wasn't, the only solace being that Ivanauskas's substitutions worked! Andrew Driver was brought on for Mikoliunas. Miko had had a decent enough game and i hope that his many detractors are keeping themselves very quiet at the moment, but he should take a look at the run Driver made for the goal. If Miko can add that kind of run to his game Miko and it will transform him as a player. Roman Bednar came on for the ineffectual Jamie Mole, i spent the next 15 minutes lambasting him for his complete lack of ability to get a head to a ball. Really though this is Ivanauskas's fault, this is not Bednar's game so why do we persevere with it when he is on the park. He was far more comfortable and effective with balls knocked down the channel than a Gary Owen coming down on him from the heaven's. He was also much more effective for the goal.
Driver collected the ball on the right just at the edge of the box, he put his head down, knocked the ball past the defender and made for the bye line where he knocked a low ball to the near post and towards where Bednar and two Falkirk defenders were thundering. It just doesn't get simpler, a bit of pace on the wing, a decent predatory striker and you get a very good return for that move. Hearts scored about 40% of their goals from that last season with low balls knocked in from the byline, that is only about the third we have scored in that fashion this year.
The game appeared to be concluding in a hard fought and just about deserved 1 - 0 win when it exploded in a melee and sending off for Falkirk's Darren Barr for his reaction to Andrius velicka's foul. There have been many recriminations and brandings of cheat for Velicka's part, so much so that i am doubting what i saw. Firstly the tackle by Velicka was a disgrace, it was more just a petulant lash out than any attempt to tackle, pretty close to a straight red itself. My immediate reaction to the response by Barr was - "Send that eejit off", seemed to me that there was contact, arms were raised and Velicka fell to the floor. Nobody else in the world though seems to think that there was any contact at all. Apart from, the ref and my 14 year old who both seem to agree that a head butt was the reason for dismissal?
Don't know, pretty sure Velicka has a lot to answer for. Now there was a lot of teeth gnashing, comments of racism against Hearts Lithuanian players aimed at the media, who all have gone down the no contact, Velicka's a cheat route.
I will not defend Velicka.
Tell you what though, this has gone on for as long as i can remember, it has nothing to do with Lithuanians per say could be any nationality outside of dear old blitey. The British punditry have a pathological inability to see UK born players as anything other than fundamentally fair minded and honest gentlemen, the opposite being true of all non UK players, each of whom will whenever is necessary adopt any and all underhanded and unsporting tactics available. Only Johnny foreigner could do such a thing!