THE supporters have their say.
DUNDEE UNITEDAN OPPORTUNITY missed or a vital point gained? When the dust settled on last week's frantic encounter with Aberdeen it was certainly a case of what might have been in terms of securing that elusive Europa spot. It w
ould be impossible to argue that the fare served up by both teams wasn't total value for money. United thoroughly bossed the first half whilst Aberdeen could justifiably claim the second. Two resurgent teams slugging it out for the end of season European spoils… utterly compelling stuff to watch, if not exactly good for the heart!!
At the time of writing this, the United team are probably en route to Parkhead for our next tussle with a Celtic side no doubt bruised from the weekend's defeat. Hard to say whether this will work to our advantage or not.
Hamish Mackintoshwww.dundeeunited-mad.co.ukHIBERNIANAS FAR as unexpected and welcome wins go, then last week's triumph at Tynecastle is up there with the best of them. If Carlsberg made Thursday nights, it would surely include a wee team win, a Riordan winner and the mother of all wind-ups in front of that lot. Needless to say, the hibs.net message board has been enjoying itself with much laughter directed at Hearts' so-called 'striker' Christian Nade.
Then again, who are we to laugh? He's taking £10,000 or more from them every week, so he's OK for cheeseburgers in the near future! Next up is a visit from the blue half of Glasgow and Hibs have the chance to throw a spanner or two in the title works. Mixu and the team have (finally) brought some feelgood factor back to the fans, so a continuation to the season's end would be sweet.
Eddie Hendersonwww.hibs.netST MIRRENWE'RE going down. We may still be two points ahead of Falkirk, but I've seen nothing in our last two games that suggests we will be able to haul ourselves to safety. Saturday was yet another performance from a side completely lacking in passion, fight and ideas.
If we match Falkirk's result tonight and beat them on Saturday then we are safe, but there's far more chance of us being down by the end of the week. I can't see us getting any more draws this season, let alone wins, especially if the current level of performance keeps up.
Gus MacPherson keeps asking for a reaction after we lose, but sadly it's everyone else who is reacting to the situation they have found themselves in, while we continue our slide towards the First Division.
Stuart Gillespiewww.saintmirren-mad.co.ukABERDEENWE COME towards the end of the season; a poor one for Aberdeen. The quality of football has been uninspiring overall, and at some points desperate. The cup exits have been pathetic, the number of draws has been painful and damaging, and goals have been hard to come by.
So, how much of this mire of dire fare is Jimmy Calderwood's fault? Despite record profits last year, the purse was opened to the tune of around £100,000 to strengthen the squad – about as much as John Prescott spends on toilet seats. The squad's been trimmed closer to completely bare than a Brazilian wax; yet the fans are not rounding on Stewart Milne or the rest of the board for failing to invest in possible success. This investment must happen in the summer, whoever the manager for next season is to be.
Craig Stewartwww.aberdeen-mad.co.ukKILMARNOCKKILLIE blew a gilt-edged chance of going six points clear of bottom club Falkirk by doing what we've done all season and failing to find the net more regularly despite a lot of possession. We've always been dodgy at defending set-pieces and it was no surprise when Falkirk went a goal up. An outlandish Kevin Kyle strike got us a point at least and a chance to do it all again tonight and the big man was the best player on the park by a mile … I hope we can keep hold of him.
In other news, the chairman told us he wanted a bi-monthly meeting with representatives of the KSA, the KFCDSA, the Trust and the 'new' Young Killie. He said he felt responsible for the breakdown in communication between the club and the fans groups and wants these meetings to take on board any ideas or problems the fans had.
Barry Richmondwww.killiefc.comMOTHERWELLWHILE Hearts, Dundee United and Aberdeen are scrambling to reach the Europa League, players at Fir Park may be cursing the fact Motherwell could be handed a spot for nothing. The Fair Play place in Europe is likely to be ours but while the fans are delighted, the players are less so.
That feeling is understandable. They've worked all season long and while many would love to play in Europe, tackling minnows from the Faroes in early July is not quite the same as being in the hat with Valencia. Plans for holidays will have to be torn up and David Clarkson admitted his honeymoon is in jeopardy if we make it.
The nature of their jobs means summer is the only time they can take a holiday – being told you can't fly off to the sun at the end of a long season as a 'reward' is a kick in the teeth.
Derek Wilsonwww.firparkcorner.comHAMILTON ACCIESWE'RE now reaching that stage of the season when the number of teams that can be relegated is going to be reduced. Richard Offiong came mighty close to removing Accies from the list of potential losers on Sunday, but his shot missed the Inverness goal by a few inches.
The various permutations are quite complex, but if Accies take even a point from Falkirk tonight, then they can only be relegated by a freak combination of results in the other games. Of course, Billy Reid will tell you that he's only looking upwards and not down, but you can be guaranteed that everyone will be relieved when we are safe.
James McArthur was sent off for a "robust" challenge on Sunday and while this was appealed, unfortunately our outstanding young midfielder is unavailable to face the Bairns.
Gilbert MowatINVERNESS CTWE HAVE failed in four attempts this season to beat Hamilton, this despite the advantage of an extra home game against them. Even against ten men we were unable to make the extra man count. We failed yet again to find that cutting edge up front and seem determined to continue to punt the ball into the box to nobody.
In this relegation dogfight you have to win your home games and this is something we've failed to do far too often this season. We now have two tough away games on the trot at Motherwell and Kilmarnock and we really need to get something from these. We cannot rely on others to bale us out of this situation and the matter is still firmly within our own hands. The nail-biting is not over yet and we feel we need to be four points clear of 12th place before our final game.
Dave 'Gringo' Wilsonwww.caleythistleonline.comFALKIRKLAST weekend's round of fixtures left us one point nearer to SPL survival and dragged St Mirren back into the pack. If they lose tonight at Kilmarnock and we grab the points on our visit to Hamilton, Saturday's game at home to the Saints becomes a potential epic that could see the loser say bye-bye to the top flight.
The Bairns may have a cup final to look forward to but it is league points that are priority number one right now. To stay up Falkirk need to continue the mini-run that has seen them win two and draw two in recent weeks. There is no doubt the side has the ability to win all their remaining games and if they can show more of the guts and passion as per the second half against Kilmarnock at the weekend, I reckon the Bairns will be an SPL side next season.
Brian Guthriewww.bairnstrust.comCELTICSATURDAY'S loss was disappointing but I doubt if any Celtic fan was surprised. Our away form has been appalling since the start of the year. It cannot have been helped by Strachan's, sometimes, bizarre team selections.
Maloney is a good player but to throw him into this crucial game when he's been absent from the first team for most of 2009 is, frankly, irrational especially when Strachan has stuck with players who are clearly out of form. Our pedestrian pace and lack of width only added to our demise. Sadly, the faults were evident at the end of last season and haven't been addressed.
However, the board's lack of investment is understandable; it appears players added to the squad are quickly discarded to the stiffs. Only one player has improved under Strachan. Unfortunately, he was benched on Saturday.
David DevineRANGERSNOW that the usual breathless post-match Old Firm analysis is starting to subside, let's just encapsulate the whole 90 minutes in four simple words; the better team won. Rangers wanted it more, played in a much more direct and aggressive way than they have in the last few Old Firm matches and were deserved winners. While we are talking about aggression, there's a line and Loovens' shameful assault on Edu should see the book thrown at him. Thank goodness Rangers didn't sign this guy last year.
As much fun as Saturday was, it hasn't finished anything. We need three massive performances to clinch the title and the players must replicate the desire and commitment of Saturday. If they do that, then 52 is a real possibility.
David Edgarwww.theRST.co.ukHEARTSOH WELL that didn't go well did it? I must confess I was expecting us to run up a cricket score against the wee team last week but unfortunately we were unable to rise above their anti-football tactics on the night and the Man We Love To Hate popped up to ruin our night with a penalty which is no doubt being spun into the web of Hibs mythology as we speak.
Despite my disappointment I was able to restrain myself and not respond to the unnecessary (and swiftly glossed over) provocation from young Derek. Those idiots that were unable to do so brought shame on the club and, unfortunately, gave the media yet another stick to beat us with. At least the club's response was swift. So, we move on, and no doubt Black Thursday will go down as a mere blip on what has been a terrific season so far.
Jim Cameron
The full article contains 1814 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
