AS the supporters see it.
KILMARNOCKDESPITE the fact our game at Motherwell was meaningless, quite a few Killie fans made the short journey to watch a game without any pressure for a change; and in the end we were glad we did. Danny Invincibile (whose nam
e was spelled wrong on the back of his shirt) opened the scoring for Killie but it was no surprise when Motherwell eventually managed an equaliser.
Just when it looked like both teams were settling for a draw, a Fernandez backheel on the byeline allowed Mehdi to slot the ball home from an acute angle. Our last goal of the season was a candidate for the goal of the season.
I think we "won" the bottom six again. Ten points from the first four games, ten from the last … but only 24 points from the 30 games in between. Must do better, but we've survived.
Barry Richmondwww.killiefc.comST MIRRENDESPITE winning just two league games all year, we've managed to stay up by the skin of our teeth.
Saturday wasn't quite as nervy as it perhaps could have been, although had Hamilton scored in the last 20 minutes or so most Saints fans would probably have required a fresh set of underwear.
We need to make big changes over the summer as we should not have been in the position we ended up in.
Points were thrown away on numerous occasions that could have seen us as good as safe before the split. Instead, we stayed up on goal difference – which is a bit of a laugh considering we were the second-lowest scorers in the league.
Stuart Gillespiewww.saintmirren-mad.co.ukFALKIRKBY 4.30am I had given up any hope of getting any sleep – the pre-match nerves had me running on adrenalin and I soon headed north for the crunch game at Inverness. At 2.15pm it was all over and the wave of joyous relief that followed signified the Mighty Falkirk Bairns had preserved their SPL status. Michael Higdon was the hero with his first goal since January but he was not the only Bairn to dig deep. Dani Mallo was exceptional – his nine shut-outs in the 18 games since arriving at the cl
Now we turn our attentions to the cup final on Saturday and I have a hunch there will be greetin' Bairns come 4.45 – greetin' with tears of utter joy as the famous old cup comes back to Falkirk for the first time since 1957.
Brian Guthriewww.bairnstrust.comCELTICIT HAS been suggested that Gordon Strachan has been driven from his job by Celtic fans who never took to him because he's not "Celtic minded". Tosh! He oversaw a run of results in 2009 that rivalled Paul Le Guen's appalling run when in charge of Rangers with a squad who are paid as much as the rest of the SPL combined.
His failure to inspire the team given the opportunity to win the league by beating Hibs away and Hearts at home was the final straw for many fans. Erratic team selections and insipid football have not just been a hallmark of this season. This team has been on the slide for two years. For every Milan, there was a Clyde. Failure to strengthen in obvious areas last season and in January showed just enough was not good enough. Well done to Rangers for being slightly less useless than we managed to be!
David DevineHAMILTON ACCIESACCIES ended the season just as they started it, with a televised win against difficult opposition. In doing so, they recorded their highest league position since the 1930s and earned a bundle of extra cash too. So it was a great season, with young players coming through and the club also getting to two national cup quarter-finals.
There's a lot to be happy about but the planning for next season has already started, with Billy Reid releasing five players from his first-team squad. They include Chris Swailes, who has been an inspirational figure at the back in the twilight of his career. The bad news is that teenage defender Alan Love has had to quit the game after a long battle with injury. Alan was another of the promising young players at Accies but sadly in his case that promise will be unfulfilled. All the best to Alan for the future.
Gilbert MowatRANGERSIF OUR last title win was dubbed 'Helicopter Sunday', this one could be termed 'Helicopter parked with half-an-hour left' because that's when this was over. Rangers flew out of the traps and delivered their best away result since Parkhead in August. We didn't have a single failure, and may I congratulate Walter, Ally and all the boys on a magnificent achievement. As for Samaras, I won't kick a man when he's down – too much – suffice to say that after taking seven points from Celtic and winning the title by four points, we not only deserved the title, we'd earned it. Whining is for losers, frankly.
So on to the cup final, and with both teams having got the results they desperately needed in the league, the pressure may well be off and we could be in line for a cracker. Here's hoping!
David Edgarwww.theRST.co.ukINVERNESS CTOUR five-year adventure in the SPL has finally come to a sad end after Saturday's defeat to Falkirk.
It's been a good journey with many highs and lows. To be relegated is a feeling that we have never experienced before and to be undone on 37 points and by only two goals makes it even harder to take.
We can blame many factors for our demise this season from poor management to poor refereeing but, at the end of the day, we just did not have what it takes to preserve our place in the top flight.
We remain hopeful of a quick return under Terry Butcher and Maurice Malpas. Congratulations to those who survived this relegation dog fight.
Dave 'Gringo' Wilsonwww.caleythistleonline.comHEARTSWITH third place having been comfortably secured last week, the trip to Parkhead was a bit of a non-event. It did, though, serve to highlight the lack of creativity and goal threat within the squad. It looks like Aguiar is definitely on his way out, and one of Csaba's top priorities will have to be finding another player who can link the midfield and attack.
Talk of an ultimatum over transfer funds seems to be little more than tabloid nonsense, but you never quite know what to expect under Romanov's stewardship. Csaba is right to be concerned about the lack of experience in the squad, and the departure of Robbie Neilson will certainly not help us in that respect. It's a big disappointment to see him being allowed to depart and he will leave behind a gaping hole in our defence which will miss his leadership.
Sandy LeonardDUNDEE UNITEDFOR a team that's shown such panache and guts at various points this season, we certainly chose to end it on a lacklustre low. As if our lame display against Hearts wasn't bad enough, all the pre-match talk of "the boys will be right up for the Rangers game" amounted to nought and we sadly capitulated our European aspirations with a timid display that allowed the SPL to be won for the second year running on our turf.
Definitely not the conclusion to the season all Arabs were hoping for, but possibly one that several feared going into Sunday's game.
"Consistently inconsistent" is a phrase that's been bandied about on United-Mad this week… unfortunately that's been the case too often this season and it's left us Arabs with a severe case of the "what could have beens".
Hamish Mackintoshwww.dundeeunited-mad.co.ukMOTHERWELLMARK McGhee has just announced he will stay at Motherwell and the fans are delighted. We have European football to look forward to and the future is bright ... that was 12 months ago. Now, McGhee is being courted again – although surely by Aberdeen rather than Celtic – and we have won a place in Europe again.
The factor that has changed is the fans. Many accept that McGhee is an excellent manager who has done a lot for the club but very few would admit to liking him. It is hard to say why. Perhaps he is just seen as being too suave, too media savvy and too interested in Mark McGhee rather than Motherwell.
Football fans can ignore logic in supporting their heroes but it is rare when it is ignored to the detriment of the manager.
Derek Wilsonwww.firparkcorner.comABERDEENMOST Dons fans were preparing for the long endurance test of the summer, two months discussing the amount of trainers we own, what our favourite ice cream is or dismissing daft transfer speculation and airport player sightings. Instead our plans have been thrown into disarray by the drama of the season climax. This is now a massive step into the unknown and it really is an exciting time for the club, which is ironic because the entire season has been built on pretty turgid stuff. It's nigh on impossible to remember any highlights, and that was likely a major factor in Jimmy's exit. The foundations are there; emerging talent, a core of solid performers, a place in Europe, so the next appointment is crucial. Get it right and Aberdeen will return as a real force in Scottish football.
Joe Whimsterwww.aberdeen-mad.co.ukHIBERNIANHURRAH, the season is gone, over, done and dusted. What surely must go down as a dire, dull and disappointing campaign has finally ended and not before time in the eyes of many a Hibs fan. A season that started with a string of lacklustre warm-up games, ended in a similarly grim fashion with a meek surrender to a poor Aberdeen team. Yet the post-match proceedings could not have been more different as Jimmy Calderwood left Aberdeen having taken them to Europe, while Hibs fans were told ''qualification' to the top six was again the goal for next term – wow! Patience has been at breaking point for long spells at ER this season and unless there is a sudden, drastic improvement in performances and player quality, then it won't be long before the fans really turn on the manager and board.
Eddie Hendersonwww.hibs.net
