Salt ‘n’ Sauce is running a collection via our forum whereby you can donate £10 to a fund and will be entered into a draw for prizes. We felt buying shares meant money wouldn’t go straight into the club, so we have decided to allow people to donate £10 into a ‘kitty’ and at the end of next week we will go and buy a number of items ranging from match tickets to club merchandise from Hearts. Then everyone who donated £10 will be entered into a raffle draw for the prizes. We felt this was better than buying shares as instead of paying off the tax bill, the money is going into the club, we aren’t being conned by Vlad that the shares mean anything and those donating have the opportunity to win some prizes.
If any Jambos (or non-jambos if you want to help :/) would like to join in and donate £10 towards the club and enter the draw then go to Salt ‘n’ Sauce and see the details of how to do so. You will need to sign up as you need a username, but that doesn’t take long.
Vsit here- http://saltnsauce.boards.net/index.cgi?board=hearts
For those that have known me from the old BBC606, through to Salt ‘N’ Sauce, you will know I have been a season ticket holder (for the 2nd time) at Easter Road since my boy turned 6, next week he turns 10.
In those years we have missed maybe 2 or 3 games at home because of other family commitments, but we always try to get to a handful of away days games.
This season our first visit was Parkhead for the 2-2 draw with Celtic and with our improving home form, we decided to head to Dingwall on a bus with friends for the Ross Co match.
The original bus fell through but we did manage to get booked onto another bus and clarify that tickets would be on sale at the ground on the day.
7.30am – Was time to get up and get ready, full of anticipation. Breakfast was had and bag was packed.
8.30am – Left home for the short walk to Corstorphine for the bus.
9.00am – Bus arrived at we all got seated.
9.00am – 12noon The bus journey to Dingwall, yes even i was surprised that it was only 3hrs, the driver was great, the music was good that was played and a nice journey was topped with a nice erm packed lunch
12 noon – As we got of the bus we noticed that the ticket portacabin was shut and we asked a security guard about match tickets, he grumbled something about checking at main reception. We (meaning the 6 of us) went into the main reception, where a guy was more than helpful sorting us with match tickets and by the looks of it most of the bus were right behind us.
Tickets acquired we headed to the pub next to the railway station The Mallard, where several pints were consumed watching the Celtic v St Mirren and Spurs v Chelsea matches. The staff were great even playing Sunshine on Leith which got the atmosphere started. The local police popped in a couple of times and were pretty happy to let things get on as there was no problems, we even wound them up for leaving the door open and letting in the cold air.
3.00pm Kick off! To be fair the first half from Hibs point of view was a let down, we got the early Griffiths goal, which gave us false hope about what was to happen as County came back to lead 2-1, but a nice McPake volley gave Hibs a somewhat undeserved half time draw. The 2nd half from a Hibs performance was much better, so it was probably apt when it was Ross Co who nipped up the park to score the winner with really the only shot on target the whole half from either team.
Best for Hibs were Claros seems settled now, Griffiths never stopped working and McGivern who looks like a good find, hopefully all 3 will be at Easter Road after Jan window.
5.00pm Journey started and due to an accident on the A9 and diversions in place, we didn’t get back to Corstorphine until 9.45pm, only time for a quick feed and bed as we were knackered and full of beer.
Great away day even if a poor result at the end! Roll on the next Away Day!
dav62
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“Away up in Gorgie at Tynecastle Park….”
The opening line to probably the most famous song in Scottish club football.
My first trip away up to Gorgie to Tynecastle to see the Hearts was when i was aged about 5 or 6. I can’t claim to remember much about the game that day, it was the late sixties and i don’t think Hearts were playing a brand of football at the time which would inspire memories in adults, far less a bairn. I do remember my dad lifting me over the turnstile at the old school end and then having to wait for him as he dashed into the old toilet block just inside the turnstile to add to the stream of hot pee running down the slope. I also remember being fascinated by the drinking water trough, complete with brass cup on a chain at the bottom of the steep flight of steps leading up to the terracing.
When we got onto the terracing itself i couldn’t believe the size of the place, the large terraces behind either goal, the long shed running almost the length of one touchline and the wooden main stand running the entire length of the other. There wasn’t a particularly large crowd there that day, but it was still the most people I’d ever seen in one place at the same time. When the teams took the pitch i immediately fell in love with the bright maroon tops one of them was wearing. I was hooked, that was it. I was a Hearts fan.
My dad seems to remember we played Ayr United that day, although it really could have been Leeds United for all i knew. I spent the remainder of that afternoon down at the wall directly behind the goal at the school end running around with a couple of my cousins, paying very little attention to what was going on, on the pitch.
The “down at the wall” thing continued for a few seasons. I think we were sent there so that the adults could vent their frustrations at events on the pitch without abusing “delicate” ears. Let’s be brutally honest, Hearts were rubbish around this time and several mind-numbingly poor performances were only slightly alleviated by the occasional good performance which always led to the never answered question “why can’t we play like that every week dad ?”
By the time i was 15 or 16 i was at Tynecastle every second Saturday, come rain or shine (mostly rain). Dark clouds were gathering on the field too as relegation approached for the first time. My love affair with Hearts started to wane as i realised that rather than spend my meager supply of money on watching the likes of Alloa or Arbroath, I’d be better spending it on new found loves (beer and girls).
This remained the case for a few seasons as Hearts struggled to find any consistency on the pitch and yo-yo’d between the top flight and the first division. By my Early 20’s however, i was back with a vengeance. Season ’84-’85 saw me attend every single game, home and away, and this was also the plan for the following season.
Tynecastle hadn’t changed much since my first visit apart from the installation of wooden benches in the “shed”. This meant that the hard core singers and chanters had moved to the top corner of the shed at the school end. This was the preferred vantage point of myself, my brother and our mates. You had to keep an eye out for the Pee running down the steps from the toilets at the top, but the crowds were returning to Tynecastle and it was pretty vibrant in there.
’85-’86 dawned, and there was some optimism at Tynecastle, we had some good youngsters and a few seasoned old pro’s were brought in to add some much needed steel and knowledge. After a fairly innocuous start, Hearts started to gain some momentum and by Christmas were top of the league. Tynecastle was rocking every home game and it was a pleasure to stand on those old terraces and watch the team put in good performance after good performance. Perhaps i was finally going to see Hearts win a trophy? I won’t bore you with the remainder of the season, it’s been well enough documented by better writers than me. Suffice to say the journey home from Dens park, Dundee on the final day of the season left me feeling as dispirited and empty as I had ever felt, before or since. The cup final loss the following weekend only served to compound my misery. I had now given up on seeing Hearts win anything in my lifetime, but as my dad says “you don’t support Hearts to see them win trophies, you support Hearts because they’re Hearts”
My attendance at Tynecastle over the next decade or so was sporadic as I had moved away from Edinburgh and I couldn’t always get back at the weekend. Results and performances were sporadic as well, with a “good” season being invariably followed by a “not so good” season. Hearts had also reached another couple of finals (one Scottish cup, one League cup), only to be beaten by Rangers on both occasions.
By 1998 i was living in Ireland and Hearts had reached the Scottish cup final for the second time in 3 years where we were due to play Rangers again, they’d beaten us 5-1 two years previously and i wasn’t exactly confident about our prospects this time around. I’d decided to skip it, but my partner at the time said “look, if they win it and you’re not there, you will never forgive yourself”, she was right. On the Friday before the game we flew over, we didn’t have tickets for the match but i figured even if I’m in Edinburgh and we win, it’ll be good enough for me. We went for a drink on the Friday night and the pub was jumping, it seemed that every man and his dog was going to the game. I put out the word that i was looking for tickets and within 5 minutes a lad approached me and said he had 4 spares if i wanted them. I almost bit his hand off as i took 2, he also said he was running a bus if we wanted seats. This was too good to be true.
The bus left the pub early on the Saturday and we didn’t even make it out of Edinburgh before we had to stop for a top up for our carry out. By the time we got to Glasgow everyone was flying.
The game itself was a mixture of ecstasy (Colin Cameron’s first minute penalty and Stephane Adam’s second goal) and agony (Ally McCoist’s late goal for them and the seven minutes of injury time…..where that came from I’ll never know), but when the final whistle sounded i stood there in stunned disbelief…..Hearts had won the cup, I’d finally seen them win something. I’m not ashamed to admit i cried, as did my girlfriend who’d never been to a football match in her life, as did the elderly woman on the other side of me who had also grabbed me and was trying to squeeze the life out of me despite her husband’s pleas of “for god sake Mary, will you put that poor laddie doon?”
The Journey back to Edinburgh and the remainder of the weekend was a blur, as I suspect it was for all Hearts fans. I still couldn’t take in the fact that we’d won the cup. Of course, I’ve since see Hearts win the cup on 2 further occasions since, but they are stories for another day
By Kevin Munroe
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It’s a big, big night in Cardiff tonight. The Battle of Britain resumes this time between the two nations often shunned by the pro-English media. This has been highlighted by the BBC’s decision to air England v San Marino, what should be a walkover for England but will probably end up in them holding onto a 1 goal lead for most of the match then nicking a 2nd goal late on making the hard fought win look relatively easy, over what should prove to be an emphatic match between two British nations! The word idiotic, springs to mind.
Both Wales and Scotland need wins. However you wouldn’t know it! Craig Levein has already come out and stated he didn’t feel that Scotland need to win. WRONG!! In complete contrast Wales captain Ashley Williams has claimed his side are desperate for victory over Scotland tonight. No wonder the Tartan Army are fed up with Levein!
A constant refusal to start Jordan Rhodes, a player who had 47 goals in 47 games for club and country, and a bust up which prevented Stephen Fletcher, one of Scotlands best goalscorers in years, from playing for a prolonged period of time, partnered with 2 draws in their 2 opening home games against two sides who Scotland could have expected to beat has made for a torrid time for anyone supporting Scotland.
It’s not even as if he is trying to win either, his 4-1-4-1 tactics are not utilizing Scotlands main assets these days, for once their attacking players! Scotlands defence is probably the worst its been in over 20 years, however Levein refuses to use the attacking options of S Fletcher, Rhodes, Commons, Naismith, Adam and Maloney to name a few, to their full potential.
Whilst the Tartan Army have voiced some frustration, the calls for Levein to go have been relatively muted for such a vocal nation. However you get the feeling that anything but a win against a side who were thrashed 6-1 in their previous outing in the group, would spell all put the end for the Levein. If he does fail to win, it could be to late for Scotland to save their campaign, and the dream of turning vibrant Rio blue and white may be all but over.
Sign up and get talking about Scotlands national side right here- http://saltnsauce.boards.net/index.cgi?board=international
Hibs player Gary Deegan was assaulted on a night out in Edinburgh.
It was a sad day for sport in Edinburgh. A city which recently claimed Europe’s number one destination at the world’s top travel awards, suffered a huge public blow when on of the current Hibs squad was attacked outside a club iin the city, whilst out celebrating his sides 3-0 victory over Dundee earlier in the day.
It has yet o be confirmed, but reports from witnesses suggest that an argument had been on-going inside the nightclub between Deegan, a few other members of the Hibs squad and some fellow clubbers. The argument supposedly originated around footballing matters, with the aggressors reportedly being supporters of Hibs rivals Heart of Midlothian. If this is true then it raises serious concerns about the way football is heading in Scotland’s capital.
Again there are no confirmations of what the argument was about, but it must have been serious enough for the aggressors to wait for Deegan to leave the club, follow him along the road and then attack him outside the Hard Rock Cafe. Deegan was left with a broken jaw and has been ruled out of football for a number of weeks. Its a sore shame, that a player can celebrate a good performance by his team, without getting abuse and in this case assaulted by opposing fans. Remember Edinburgh prides itself on being a city where its clubs share a non-aggressive rivalry.
A number of questions have still to be fully answered, was it indeed a Hearts fan who attacked Deegan, who had instigated the argument, and will this lead to further separation of players from there loyal supporters?
Hibs boss Pat Fenlon has said the the signing of Tim Clancy is just the start of a complete overhaul of his side. The club have acknowledge they have a lot of work to do in order to improve on the previous season which saw them only just stave of relegation although they did reach the Scottish Cup Final.
Hibs have been linked with Partick Thistle midfielder Paul Cairney and Carlisle’s Slovakian defender Lubomir Michalik in recent days, as well as talk of a permanent move for centre back James McPake. The Hibs boss however refused to be drawn into guess who games “We have identified where we need to strengthen. We are speaking to players of the quality we want and who will improve the team. There’s been a lot of e-mails and phone calls but that’s as much as I would like to say at this stage.”
John McGlynn has been given permission to speak to Hearts by his currentl club Raith Rovers.
In a club statement Rovers said they did not wish to stand in the way of McGlynn’s career progression. McGlynn has great affiliations with Hearts having been a coach at the club for a number of years as well as being caretaker manager on a number of occasions. He also has knowledge of a number of the clubs younger player having had many loaned out to him at Raith Rovers.
Welcome to Salt ‘n’ Sauce. The only fan site on the internet created for the best fans in the world, the fans of Edinburgh football, run by fans of Edinburgh football.
This isn’t any old internet fans’ site – it isn’t a site where posters converse with each other in single words of one syllable. Salt ‘n’ Sauce is here to encourage proper banter, debate and conversation. Piss taking is allowed, rivalry is encouraged, but make sure you keep it civil and we all go home friends. Salt ‘n’ Sauce is for posters who love the banter, hate the hate.
Although we’re all here for the Hibs and the Hearts, this site isn’t just football. Salt ‘n’ Sauce is here to allow you to discuss everything that is good (and bad) about Edinburgh. Primarily a sports site we’re here to talk the Derby, the rivalries, the steep slopes of Tynie and the sunshine on Leith. Also what goes on at Murrayfield, what goes on elsewhere within the world of Edinburgh sport and what goes on generally elsewhere that catches the imagination of our folk.
But we’re also here to talk about The Most Beautiful City in the World generally – we are split down the middle when it comes to our clubs but down the boozer we’re all the same. This is what separates us from those who shall not be named through in the west. So let’s also talk pubs and clubs, culture and events, restaurants and chippies – salt ‘n’ sauce.
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