When Hibs fans blethered on about the youthfulness of their squad we tittered in amusement, and we were quite right to do so as for a while, claims of inexperience were their favourite way to excuse mediocrity. But in the aftermath of this weekend's debacle against St Mirren, I've heard plenty of Jambos using much the same reasoning in their defence of what was quite simply a rubbish performance from the boys in maroon. Furthermore, we've also heard Csaba Laszlo complaining about the height of the team that took to the field on Saturday, players so afflicted by vertical challenges that they're probably now down on record as the shortest team fielded by Hearts in the last 5 years.
But does any of this stuff really matter? I'm not convinced. Yes, we have a relatively youthful squad but in those ranks we have a number of younger players who are almost seasoned first teamers these days: Andy Driver, Lee Wallace, Eggert Jonsson. If youth and inexperience are such huge obstacles, then why was Gary Glen probably one of our best players on the day? As for the height issue, would being a few inches taller really have ensured that our players remembered to mark their opposition? It wasn't height advantage that gave Dorman all the room in the world to stick in that equaliser, and I certainly don't remember our defenders being overwhelmed by aerial challenges. In fact, I don't remember our defenders being overwhelmed by St Mirren at all.
I could go into the players-out-of-position argument and while I'm happy to acknowledge that this might have an effect, I don't believe that it had any real impact upon the game this weekend. St Mirren were livelier than we might have expected following their mid-week Cup rumble with Motherwell on Thursday, but they didn't ever really test us. Indeed, we were hardly unleashing wave after wave of attack either but the difference was that I don't remember us ever really looking like we weren't in control of the game - we just didn't have that final ball. It was sloppy, unlucky and frustrating stuff to watch though. It was mediocrity in motion.
It's little consolation to hear that both Aberdeen and Dundee United failed to bring home three points, and even less so when you consider that our two nearest competitors for the coveted 3rd spot were playing each other. Make no bones about it, this was an opportunity lost and there's no amount of excuse mongering that can disguise the fact that this weekend might prove to be memorable for all the wrong reasons. I'm tired of pulling out that old cliche, the one about how being a Hearts supporter is bad for the blood pressure because they never do things the easy way. I'm even more tired of hearing it being used when lady luck had absolutely nothing to do with the problems we're facing. We could have given ourselves a cushion but we failed, it's that simple. There are no excuses, and I hope the players realise that too.
But does any of this stuff really matter? I'm not convinced. Yes, we have a relatively youthful squad but in those ranks we have a number of younger players who are almost seasoned first teamers these days: Andy Driver, Lee Wallace, Eggert Jonsson. If youth and inexperience are such huge obstacles, then why was Gary Glen probably one of our best players on the day? As for the height issue, would being a few inches taller really have ensured that our players remembered to mark their opposition? It wasn't height advantage that gave Dorman all the room in the world to stick in that equaliser, and I certainly don't remember our defenders being overwhelmed by aerial challenges. In fact, I don't remember our defenders being overwhelmed by St Mirren at all.
I could go into the players-out-of-position argument and while I'm happy to acknowledge that this might have an effect, I don't believe that it had any real impact upon the game this weekend. St Mirren were livelier than we might have expected following their mid-week Cup rumble with Motherwell on Thursday, but they didn't ever really test us. Indeed, we were hardly unleashing wave after wave of attack either but the difference was that I don't remember us ever really looking like we weren't in control of the game - we just didn't have that final ball. It was sloppy, unlucky and frustrating stuff to watch though. It was mediocrity in motion.
It's little consolation to hear that both Aberdeen and Dundee United failed to bring home three points, and even less so when you consider that our two nearest competitors for the coveted 3rd spot were playing each other. Make no bones about it, this was an opportunity lost and there's no amount of excuse mongering that can disguise the fact that this weekend might prove to be memorable for all the wrong reasons. I'm tired of pulling out that old cliche, the one about how being a Hearts supporter is bad for the blood pressure because they never do things the easy way. I'm even more tired of hearing it being used when lady luck had absolutely nothing to do with the problems we're facing. We could have given ourselves a cushion but we failed, it's that simple. There are no excuses, and I hope the players realise that too.
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