SPL Fanzone: The fans have their say

DUNDEE UNITED

Rudi Skacel received a deserved hero’s welcome on his return to Tynecastle and, after 51 minutes, the Hearts supporters rose as one to salute their cup final hero.

However, his reaction [and performance on the day] irked the fans of the team who currently pay his wages.

The jury was already out on a player who originally arrived at Tannadice with much fanfare but even the most stoic of United fans made their feelings known when he left the field after being substituted.

There is now a sense that Rudi must redeem himself with the Arab faithful and quickly.

With local rivals St Johnstone making a Boxing Day visit, today would be as good a time as any...

Jamie Kidd

www.dundeeunited-mad.co.uk

HEARTS

IT WAS a surreal experience at Tynecastle on Sunday, the 4.30pm kick off and the sight of King Rudi in another team’s colours. I thought we had the better of the first half and you could see in Ryan Stevenson the confidence that players get from a goal. It was exactly the type of performance from him that got him a move to Ipswich in the first place and hopefully he can continue in a similar vein.

To be fair to Dundee United, they probably deserved a draw on the basis of the second-half performance, but we defended well and got a wee bit of luck when we needed it.

It is important that we continue to keep the confidence building in the run-up to the derby with two tricky away games to negotiate, but the shape of the team looks a lot better with two up top and we now pose a goal threat away from home. Merry Christmas to all Jambos.

Broxburn Jambo

ST JOHNSTONE

A DISAPPOINTING effort at Pittodrie on Saturday in truly atrocious conditions saw Saints slip down the table to sixth. And, just to rub it in, the 2-0 win for the Dons saw them jump above us and, in fact, into fourth place.

It won’t be any easier today with a trip,

albeit a short one, to Tannadice for a Boxing Day derby of sorts. The kick-off time of 12 noon, presumably to allow a gap afterwards before the Celtic fans arrive for the game at Dens, is a bit of a pain. There will be plenty of fans still suffering from the over-indulgence of the day before and it wouldn’t be surprising if the atmosphere was a bit flat, at least to start with.

We’ve suffered recently from not being able to field a consistent side and Chris Millar is the latest doubt with a groin injury. Peter Pawlett should be back as he couldn’t play against parent club Aberdeen.

Niall Philip

HIBERNIAN

With the previous week’s capitulation to Motherwell still fresh in the mind, the loss of an early goal at Rugby Park on Sunday set alarm bells ringing. The players therefore deserve credit for refusing to panic and working their way back into the game.

We really do have to cut out the defensive blunders, though, as other teams could punish us badly. As it was, a draw was fair, as there was not much between the teams. What certainly was not fair was the booking Paul Cairney received for diving in the penalty box. Replays clearly showed the referee had made a mistake, but, as the rules stand, no appeal can be made. Surely this has to be changed?

With a busy festive schedule, let’s hope for decent crowds and entertaining football everywhere. Merry Christmas to all Scottish football fans. After the upheaval of the past 12 months, we surely deserve it.

John Robertson

www.hibs.net

ST MIRREN

Our first bash at Friday night football was a belter and the Motherwell game must have been thrilling for any neutrals. We looked comfortable at 2-0, could have extended our lead then found ourselves clinging on for the last 20 minutes. We somehow managed to see it out with players flinging themselves in front of everything they could. It was a much-needed win that looked even better after Ross County and Dundee lost on Saturday. Hopefully we can now go on a decent run.

Steven Thompson was outstanding on Friday and his header from Gary Teale’s terrific cross was fantastic, but the star for me was John McGinn, who seems to be getting better every week. He is a joy to watch with some terrific passes. It’s looking more and more likely that Kenny McLean will leave next month, but we have a ready-made replacement.

Stuart Gillespie

www.saintmirren-mad.co.uk

ROSS COUNTY

Saturday was my first visit to Celtic Park with Ross County for a league game and, while the scoreline didn’t help with the enjoyment, the area set aside for away fans at Parkhead is nothing short of a disgrace.

The official crowd was given as 49,000 but, to me, it looked closer to 25,000 as there were large gaps around the entire stadium. I’m not having a go at Celtic fans for not turning up, but away fans are tucked into a corner of the stadium with a terrible view. The only seats available with an unrestricted view are at pitch level, with all those higher up having a severely restricted view due to the main stand. Yet there are thousands of empty seats with perfectly good views. Also, at £26m it’s the most expensive away ticket in the league. Maybe it’s the pricing at Celtic Park which is the main reason their crowds have been low this season.

Alan Ross

www.thejailender.com

INVERNESS CT

The team have undoubtedly played better this season, but, in stages against Dundee, we played some very pleasing football.

Owain Tudor Jones has quickly become an essential part of the team. He provides the defence with great cover and did a brilliant job at pressing Dundee high up the pitch and forcing them into giving the ball back to us or making mistakes. His range of passing is very important and he and Ross Draper are the backbone of the team.

Billy McKay ran himself into the ground once again. He doesn’t know when the ball is lost and anything he touches at the moment seems to end up in the back of the net.

The disappointing thing was the size of the crowd. An attendance of just over 3,000 for a team on a great run and sitting second in Scotland’s highest league just doesn’t make sense.

Dave Wilson

www.caleythistleonline.com

ABERDEEN

The fans at the game on Saturday may just about have dried out in time for their Christmas lunch. For those who avoided Christmas shopping and braved the weather, there was a fair reward. The Jekyll and Hyde nature of our season continued with only the brilliance of Mannus in the Saints goal preventing a hammering. While some complained about the conditions – nod towards Mr Lomas – it is credit to the Aberdeen players for showing the ability to adjust and not resorting to the long ball.

Consistency now has to be the watchword as this week. It was an improved performance from the Kilmarnock game and maybe enough to entice a few more fans to work off some of that Christmas lunch with a Boxing Day trip to Motherwell.

Steve Wilson

www.afc-chat.co.uk

MOTHERWELL

Traditionalists in Scottish football will relish this time of year as we continue to cram as many games as possible into the Christmas period. Whether or not it is good for players is a separate debate to the fact fans love it – it’s just a shame nearly 1,000 Motherwell fans were let down so badly in Paisley on Friday night! The performance was horrific.

Thankfully, we have matches coming up immediately where we can look to bounce back and even improve our woeful home record. Despite losing at St Mirren, Motherwell continue to boast one of the best away records in the SPL. If only our Fir Park form was stronger, we would be established as the main pursuers of Celtic. Wins over Aberdeen and Kilmarnock would certainly make it a Merry Christmas for ‘Well fans.

Derek Wilson

www.firparkcorner.com

KILMARNOCK

It was nice to see the Heff back on fire with a well-taken goal in our match against Hibs on Sunday. It is just a pity we are such a shambles at the back and let the Edinburgh side back into the game.

Killie started the brighter of the two sides, but after we scored we just seemed to sit too deep and when the equaliser came in the 26th minute, the home fans knew that it was probably deserved. Hibs dominated the game after that and I think we have to be happy coming away with a point given how poorly we played.

The midfield simply couldn’t cope without Liam Kelly in there and I sincerely hope that the contract he has been offered is not just a token gesture by the chairman, who really wants to sell him in January to balance the books. The same applies for our keeper, Cammy Bell.

Barry Richmond

www.killiefc.com

CELTIC

DELIGHTED to have two clean sheets in a week and it was also great to see Forrest back. He brings much-needed energy that rubs off on everyone else. Hooper grabs the headlines for his goalscoring, but his set-up play is a part of his game that is seldom commented on. Not only did he score two on Saturday, he also set up the other two. His pass to Broony for the first goal was phenomenal.

However, never mind Juve, it’s arrivederci Gary Hooper, Victor, Sami, Fraser, James, Izzy, Joe, Adam etc. Sorry I won’t be at Dens for your last Celtic appearance as according to the pundits, you’ll be on your way to the EPL. In fact, how will we field a team come February?

Celtic have a tough Champions League draw, but there were no easy ties so, for now, I’ll be happy with the revenue, the prestige and the dream of making the last eight.

Dave Devine

dundee

Inverness are playing well enough without Dundee giving them Christmas presents. We conceded a needless early penalty, scored a fine equaliser through Nicky Riley then gave Owain Tudur Jones plenty of time and space to slot one past Rab Douglas. We played well in the first half, but it all unravelled in the second as Billy McKay got the bounce of the ball to prod one in soon after the break and they went on to repeat their 4-1 win at Dens. Our goal difference is now shot and is effectively another point that we could ill afford to lose.

On the plus side (yes there was one) we are scoring regularly, albeit one goal a game, and the injuries are clearing up. We can score against Celtic this evening, too, in the live TV game, the only question is how many will we concede? Fingers crossed for a result.

The Club 12th man