Seasons End

Apocalypse Now was on the telly the other night and as i settle down to write this final entry, a summation of season 2006/2007, the opening title music and scenes fill my head. "This is the end ......" and tropical forests are napalmed into oblivion - for a season that lacked almost everything a melodramatic image to conclude it all.

If i could have i would have napalmed that season




Guess i could just stop now, that about sums the whole thing up ...

Not quite!

Given that the Romanov era is still with us at Tynecastle and last season ( i need to stop thinking of it now as last season - season before last ) was such a powerful and intoxiting brew, it is impossible in my eyes to sum up 06/07 without comparison to 05/06. That i think is part of the problem i have with this newly concluded campaign.
If 05/06 was played out in glorious technicolor, a tragi-drama of epic proportions, sumptous cinematography and a cast of thousands. Then 06/07 flickered by in cracked and ancient sepia a pale ghost of it's predecessor, 90% of which deserved to be left on the cutting room floor.

We had our dramas this year ofcourse, there is no mistaking that but for the most part they were more like watching a disturbed adolescent self harm, than they were like witnessing the crash, bang, wallop of our rampage through the fun fair of the previous year.
It just wasn't fun this year and that is the most damning statement i can make about the whole sorry show.
There is a thought though, could this year have been the Vlad era's troubled adolescence? Are we set to bloom into a fully fledged mature and powerful buck ready to take on the old guard next year?

I will follow last years example and stick to some ordered categories so that this entry doesn't spiral up my trouser leg in a fit of superlatives -

Best goal
This is really tough because goals themselves have been at a premium never mind good ones.
I really like Driver's free kick against Celtic to make it 2 - 0 to the good guys.
Any goal we scored which came as a result of a goal keeping error which pretty much means all goals we scored against Hibs.
Putting my sensible head on though the best goal was Panilla's in the first game at Pittordrie, great team work, fast paced and accurate passing, completed by intelligent and clinical finishing.

Worst Goal
Tough one this for exactly the opposite reason to the first category, i have witnessed too many goals for the opposition this year. I can't really remember any that were as you might say - a thing of beauty. So i will go for the goals that bothered me most.
Aberdeens equaliser a few weeks back at Tynecastle was very painful but not as painful as the Hibs goal in the diddy cup.

Best Game
Not the best game we played but the most exciting and therfeore enjoyable has to the boxing day game against Hibs.

Worst game
Without a shadow of a doubt, even although we took 4 - 0 drubbing from Dundee Utd at Tynecastle later in the season, the worst game Hearts played this season was the 1 - 0 defeat to Hibs at easter Road. Actually i am not even sure if we could count that as a game from Hearts, i left that ground feeling ill. A million miles past frustrating, just awful.

Best Player
There is absolutely no mistaking that Craig Gordon is in a different league entirely to the rest of the Hearts team, but for me he has not had the best of seasons. So i will leave him out because it should have been a no brainer for him to take this accolade, i have to give it to Christophe Berra who has been there 100% through the thickest of the fog this year and never wavered once.

Worst Player
Oh my god where to begin, it would be unfair to point the finger at one of the newer candidates but Philibaitus takes the biscuit, could have gone to baressa i think but it has been so long since he played i have forgotten the horror.

Comedy Moment
It has got to be the post derby day sit in at Easter Road to spoil the party parade. Absolute unfettered genius.

High Point
Through all the troubles of this year we have actually faired better against Hibs than we did last year taking 10 points out of 12 in the league, obviously the 3 wins were fairly high up there, but...
Unfortunately the high point of the season was the 30s before kick-off in the Athens game at Murrayfield.

Low Point
I am tempted to say the following 90 minutes, but no quite.
I have to refer back to the league cup defeat to Hibs, but there have been so many that really hurt that it is hard to single one out. Wait it is not a game, the lowest point was Malofeev / Riabovas handover that never happened - we were in danger of imploding right then.

Best Performance
My brain has stopped working, i can't think of a single game that was any more than OK.

Hero
Don't do hero worship this year

Manager of the year
Once again we have far too many to choose from, i am of the opinion that we have improved since moving to the pairing of Korobochka and Frail that is not to say that we are any good just better than we were.

Vlad's best decision
I could say that Vlad's best decision has been to keep a low profile over the past few months but i guess it has to go to getting rid of Malofeev. When you consider that it was Romanov who appointed Malofeev in the first place then does it count as a good decision when you get shot of him. I don't care, just so long as he doesn't come back.

Vlad's worst decision
Not really a single decision here, his handling of the Riccarton 3 was typical of Vlad at his most intransigent and unreasonable, but that pales into insignificance when you weigh that against 2 of the 3 now playing for Celtic and for next to nothing. Just makes you want to weep.

Best Save
Craig Gordon made a couple of saves against Sparta Prague, just before they scored there were truly breathtaking, each one should have added a 6 figure sum to his value.

Best Team
OK here goes ( i will only use players who were at the club for the 2nd half of the season as i do not hold Hartley or Pressley 100% innocent in their own departures ). This is nigh on impossible, this team does not reflect performances this season, it is just the best i think we could turn out right now.

Gordon

Tall Zaliukas Berra Goncalves

Miko Kingston Aguar Driver

Velicka Bednar

Worst Team
Most annoying team by a mile were St Mirren, Dunfermline have got to be in the running for getting relegated the numpties but for me the worst team were Motherwell, just plain gash.

So there you go that about sums it all up from me, i notice from writing this that my attention has focussed this year more on Hibs than it did last year. That i think is a mark of the change between o5/06 and 06/07 where in the former season our ambitions were loftier than simply being better than our neighbours.
So i hope that next season Hearts will spend once again less time considering how we are fairing compared to our friends in the East

So in readiness for that time

HOOOOOOO ON THE JAMBOS