Aberdeen have a really bad day at the office

JAMES TRAYNOR

24 Apr 1989

Hearts 1, Aberdeen 0

WAKING up was a mistake.

Alex Smith swung one leg out of bed and it was downhill from there on in.

The Aberdeen manager has known better Saturdays.

The day began with the revelation that his influential, but much troubled midfield player, Neil Simpson, has decided to leave these shores and ended with the demise of Aberdeen's championship dream.

It was a bad day at the office.

The manner of the Pittodrie side's insipid capitulation in the struggle for premier-division supremacy cannot pass without comment, but Simpson's predicament is the more alarming.

He feels he is being hounded from the country.

A moment of madness last October, when the 27-year-old was the perpetrator of a wicked tackle on Rangers' Ian Durrant has not been forgotten and Simpson, perhaps because of naivety or genuine sensitivity, is unable to cope with the stigma.

His only hope is to find sanctuary in a foreign league.

Aberdeen, who will probably be looking for a fee in the region of £400,000, did have a couple of inquiries from clubs in the north-east of England last year, and it is possible they may attempt to sign him even though Simpson's own belief is that his best move would be to the Continent.

It remains impossible for Rangers to put a date on Durrant's comeback, such is the extent of his knee ligament damage and there is no guarantee he will perform with all his old flair and imagination whenever he does take the field again.

It is a great pity the career of one so naturally gifted could be over, and Durrant deserves everyone's sympathy.

However, one important truth was lost in the mass condemnation of Simpson, which bordered on hysteria at times.

The Aberdeen player himself became a victim.

Compromise plays no part in his game and watching him patrol midfield beats where he tackled all-comers with a tenacity fostered the impression he was one of the bad guys, a hard man devoid of thought for the wellbeing of others.

In reality Simpson is a fierce tackler, but he was never vicious or intent on crippling others.

His assault on Durrant was the result of a regrettable lapse, the sort of aberration which afflicts just about every decent, fair-minded player at some unexpected stage.

There is no excuse for the grief he has caused a young player, but surely a professional, whose game is built on honest commitment, was entitled to some compassion? Too late now, of course.

The tackle has had a distrubing effect inside his head -- for a spell his nerve had deserted him -- and he can't cope with the constant reminders.

If his career is to be salvaged a move abroad may be essential, and no one should feel proud or satisfied when he goes, which could be soon.

"He needs a fresh start," said Smith, "so we will listen to offers.

The reaction from the game in the early part of the season has played a major part in his urge to go elsewhere.

"The incident was unfortunate and we thought there was a particularly nasty witchhunt in the press, which we regretted." Smith was talking after having watched his team, without Simpson, lope around Tynecastle without purpose or direction.

Even the game's best double act, Miller and McLeish, struggled.

It was an appalling display from a team well aware of the price of failure.

Their championship challenge was allowed to die without resistance.

The manager admitted he may have played the wrong type of game -- "we didn't go about it with enough zip" -- but he must be concerned more with his team's lack of appetite for battle.

Too many appeared willing to accept defeat as soon as Mike Galloway scored in 15 minutes.

The Hearts player soared above Stuart McKimmie and the ball, delivered from the left by Tosh McKinlay, ricocheted from his forehead with such force that Theo Snelders had no hope.

It was a moment of light in an otherwise dreary encounter.

Without having to excel, Hearts deserved their little triumph, but never again will they find Aberdeen so mild-mannered in their approach.

The aforementioned McKimmie hobbled off on a twisted ankle after having slipped off the edge of the pitch.

"That's in keeping with the rest of the day," Smith muttered before leaving on the long, and no doubt, silent journey home.

HEARTS -- Smith, McLaren, McKinlay, McPherson, Berry, Sandison, Galloway, Ferguson, Colquhoun, Black, Bannon.

Substitutes -- Robertson, Jardine.

ABERDEEN -- Snelders, McKimmie, Irvine, Grant, McLeish, Miller, Nicholas, Bett, Wright, Connor, Mason.

Substitutes -- Hewitt, van der Ark.

Referee -- M McGinley (Clydebank).