Where do we go from here?

There's no sugar-coating it, our performances in Europe have been dire, excluding one result against Rosenborg and even then - in typical Heart of Midlothian - fashion we made it difficult for ourselves. The past year it's been the same mistakes, same attitude, same humblings abroad and on occasion in our own back yard. Now is it (to put it in our captain's words) "nativity"? Or in our technical director/manager/first team coach's words "powderpuff"? For me, I have to disagree. It is simply down to the fact that Scottish football is poor - may be above par at best. We've watched us surrender to Greece's 4th best team without even leaving a mark on them, Aberdeen unable to finish their dinner against Hacken, Rangers getting their pants pulled down in Eindhoven and let's be honest, not even the most deluded Hibs fan gave themselves a chance against Aston Villa. So as much as I enjoy their misery there's no real need or benefit to rub it in further for the sake of this argument. The gap between us and other top divisions is the biggest it has ever been; TV deals in similar sized leagues dwarfing ours, obscene transfer fees for bang average footballers. In the race of football economics Scotland has fallen asleep at the wheel.

To point out the 3 teams in European action this week. This is apparently the "best" (minus Celtic for now) of what Scottish football has to offer. If that is the case we are miles off competing at any European level and are now in danger of falling into the category of being looked at as a "soft touch/minnow league" in the next 5-10 years, especially for those teams outside Celtic and Rangers. The likes of Hearts, Aberdeen and Hibs should have done more to compete with the Old Firm over the years and 'close the gap'. Rangers' demotion to league 2 was the perfect opportunity for Aberdeen to challenge. Hearts steam rolling the championship in 2014/15 to the finish 3rd the following season was another building block we failed to capitalise on and Hibs coming close to finishing second in 2017/18 was another opportunity missed. No one has properly challenged the Old Firm consistently to make this league remotely competitive. The rudderless SFA season after season have fallen into a viscous cycle of not proactively promoting/marketing the league in the best way possible. This is the best supported league in Europe (per capita) I should add. Their feeble sales pitch consists of ensuring all 4 Old Firm games are covered and then broadcast the other games consisting of whoever Celtic or Rangers may be playing. Sell it off to the "highest" bidder (which isn't very high), rinse and repeat for next campaign. Edinburgh derbies overlooked, relegation and European battles overlooked; the later two coming with far higher stakes last season than the Old Firm derby. Especially when we knew Celtic were going to be champions and Rangers finishing in second place.

We, the paying fans, deserve more. But where do we go from here to improve the good of our game? Some inspiration may lie in other leagues. I was at a Hertha Berlin game earlier this month and to paint a picture Hertha, albeit 3 games into their season, sat bottom of the second division on zero points and not a goal scored. They pulled a crowd of over 35 thousand to watch their team run out 5-0 winners against Greuther Furth. One incentive to encourage fans to attend matches is free public transport travel with your matchday ticket. Just imagine not having fork out £60 on a train ticket to go to Pittodrie, considering how bad we are away from Tynecastle. It would take the edge off an inevitable defeat or scoreless draw. Now to add insult to injury here, in this particular game I watched Kiomourtzoglou come on for Greuther Furth and look competent with the ball at his feet. Sadly, judging the standard of German second division football first hand and how well supported it is. I hate to say it - he has upgraded from playing in Scotland. However, lets get back on topic. Other smart aspects of German football is the 50.1 rule, ensuring teams are fan owned alongside the encouragement of ultras sections and safe standing.

Could we rant and rave on how bad the Scottish game is run? Most likely, yes. However, it's probably more beneficial to look closer to home for now. Most supporters will agree that the addition of the ultras in the Gorgie stand has been excellent and probably long overdue. Hopefully over the years they continue to grow and awaken that Tynecastle atmosphere at every home game. I'm sure the vast majority of fans predicted a start similar to what has unfolded before us. Nonetheless, it is early days in the season and there is a lot of football to be played. Will the season finish with Steven Naismith at the helm, that remains to be seen.