A penny for the thoughts of Hearts investor Tony Bloom amid the madness and mayhem that enveloped Celtic Park in those closing, agonising moments upon the extinguishing of the fairytale, the death of a dream.
What he experienced from his seat in the main stand, at the heart of the maelstrom yesterday, will have certainly left a lasting impression. There’s always the chance of those disgraceful scenes – the pitch invasion, Lawrence Shankland being helped off by stewards after appearing to be struck by a rival supporter, the game somehow appearing to be brought to an end without the referee’s whistle – making him question the wholesomeness of Scottish football in the wake of a week dominated by chaotic refereeing decisions that have undoubtedly hurt his club and taken quite some figuring out.
He doesn’t come across as the kind to give up easily, though. Indeed, what he sat through and eventually suffered will surely give him the fire in the belly to turbocharge the Jamestown Analytics revolution and make sure Year Two of Project Gorgie really pushes the envelope.
There will be anger for a start. Anger over being denied two stonewall penalties at Motherwell last weekend that would have altered the landscape and dynamic of yesterday’s title-decider against Celtic considerably. Anger at key decisions elsewhere that helped keep Martin O’Neill and his squad so heavily in the mix.
There will no doubt be anger, too, that such a historic day should end like this. Being escorted off the field by stewards – pushed and jostled and goaded and assaulted – and forced to leave Glasgow immediately for the sake of their own safety.
Hearts didn’t deserve that after what they’ve given to this title race. No one deserves that. It is a stain on the face of a game already battling for real credibility.
Amid the emergence of a third force from the east and the most exciting battle for the crown in decades, this is also a season in which the bad behaviour of supporters – most definitely including those of Celtic – has been excused and brushed under the carpet.
Derek McInnes has done wonders with Hearts, even if they did fall short against Celtic
Well, no more. This kind of stuff cannot happen again. Interim chairman Brian Wilson can’t be stating that what happened after Callum Osmand’s clinching goal in the defending champions’ 3-1 victory was just the same kind of euphoric celebration that sparked on-field confrontation at Ibrox in March.
Something really is going to have to be done by the authorities and the clubs to get a grip on this nasty undercurrent. Certainly more than we have witnessed up until this point.
From Bloom’s perspective, though, there was much more to take from yesterday afternoon than just the horror of Hearts’ players seeing a season that should live long in the memory end in such atrocious circumstances. Much more to take from the season as a whole. So much to build upon and use as a springboard.
What Derek McInnes has developed at the club in one year as head coach deserves immense praise. Even in that bearpit of Parkhead yesterday, up against it in front of 60,000 home supporters, the spirit he has fostered and used to galvanise the team was there in absolute spades.
They stood strong throughout. They took the sting of the game for large spells and restricted Celtic, getting their noses in front through Shankland on 43 minutes. Even when conceding a penalty – and their one-goal advantage – before the break, they dug in, kept at it, stuck together, took it all the way into the trenches.
Players were falling like flies. The shape of the team was being tweaked with every substitution. Michael Steinwender, clobbered a fair few times during the first half and clearly limping from the start of the second, looked like someone coming off the battlefield.
Hearts have spent nothing like the kind of money ploughed into their squads by the Old Firm. For all Martin O’Neill somehow pushed a dysfunctional, badly-constructed Celtic squad over the line to take the title, what McInnes dredged out of the players at his disposal has been even more impressive.
Losing another title on the final day after 1986 and 1965 will ache deep in the chest of Hearts fans waking up this Sunday morning. It is almost too much to take having led the table from September until the last three minutes of the campaign.
However, they must be proud of these guys. They had to compete at Celtic without Craig Halkett, who picked up an injury at Motherwell having been a real colossus at the back this term. The likes of Oisin McEntee, Tomas Magnusson, Marc Leonard were ruled out too.
Yet, Stuart Findlay, also outstanding in defence, marshalled the troops so well in Halkett’s absence.
Alexander Schwolow came from nowhere and has been a steady presence. Claudio Braga, signed from second-tier football in Norway, is the player of the year and will easily deliver handsome profits on the £500,000 it cost to sign him.
Lawrence Shankland led by example as Hearts skipper this season
Shankland has been everything you want from a captain. Cammy Devlin was magnificent before injury disrupted his progress. Even when both of those guys were out at the same time, everyone else rallied and bonded to keep the challenge for the crown on track.
Harry Milne was underestimated and has been brilliant. Alexandros Kyziridis has been another talent plucked from nowhere who will attract strong interest. Even guys like Blair Spittal, Stephen Kingsley and Sabah Kerjota made key contributions at key times, showing that McInnes had discovered a way to keep the entire squad happy no matter their game time.
It was soul-destroying to see their campaign end like it did at Parkhead. Not just in defeat. Not just in seeing their endeavours to smash the game apart fall on stony ground. But to be maltreated and disrespected and prodded and poked – and allegedly even punched – in that way. Sickening stuff.
Bloom walked into Hearts and lit a fire under the place, claiming they *will* win a title within 10 years and had a team capable of challenging for it this term. That they did. With a different bounce of the ball here and there, they might well have gone the whole hog.
They didn’t, but they electrified the national sport this year. They took Celtic all the way to the wire and proved too good for a Rangers squad that spent upwards of £40million on their squad.
They also made our national game the focus of the global media and brought the kind of eyes and clicks and numbers to it that the SPFL’s marketing team can only dream of and surely must be working now to capitalise upon.
Perhaps more important, though, is the fact the Jam Tarts have shown all sorts of clubs – Aberdeen, Hibs and anyone else who wants to dream – what is possible when you believe in yourselves. Why Scottish football *can* have special stories that exist outwith the Old Firm and their money.
For that reason alone, alongside congratulations to the mercurial Martin O’Neill and his title-winning side, there is one lasting message to leave this remarkable season with…
Thank you, Hearts. And may you rest, recover and replenish over the summer before bouncing back even stronger. You deserve it.
