Hearts 1 - 2 Aberdeen

ROB ROBERTSON at Tynecastle February 13 2006

Hearts – Elliot (9); Aberdeen – Pressley (68 og), Clark (87)

Crisis is not the word to sum up the state of affairs Hearts face at present. To describe them as being in a mess is a better description.

The Tynecastle club has too many players, a weak head coach and a dictatorial owner, yet can still make next season's Champions League and win the Scottish Cup.

Considering the madness which has befallen Tynecastle, to achieve either will be one of the great stories of recent Scottish football history.

Vladimir Romanov's power without responsibility is threatening the very fabric of the club. There have been suggestions that the SFA will probe his links with FKB Kaunas, the team his bank sponsors, and MTZ-RIPO, the club in Belarus with which he also has involvement.

The Lithuanian met with senior players after the Aberdeen game where it is claimed he agreed not to pick the team like he had done against Dundee United last Tuesday. However, the nine players on loan to Hearts from FKB Kaunas did not want to meet him, which suggests two factions in the dressing room.

Romanov may not pick the team but he certainly has well-placed individuals who can influence the selection. Valdas Ivanauskas, the Lithuanian coach, who was moved into position quietly, was by

Graham Rix's side on Saturday.

Whoever picked the team on Saturday made a mess of things. Hearts played a negative 4-5-1 formation. As the game progressed Aberdeen had four up front at one stage, showing they sensed victory.

Calum Elliot put Hearts ahead with a fine goal in eight minutes, but Craig Gordon was the busier goalkeeper, pulling off some top saves.

Both Aberdeen goals were fortunate. The first came when a Scott Severin cross was put into his own goal by Steven Pressley then a Chris Clark shot three minutes from time was deflected in off Paul Hartley.

At the final whistle a small group of Hearts fans in the section below the main stand turned on Romanov. His new signings do need time to settle but, in an era when Rangers couldn't pay £500,000 for Derek Riordan from Hibs, paying a club record £850,000 for Bosnian midfielder Mirsad Beslija seems folly.

Martin Petras, a defender from Sparta Prague and Bruno Aguiar, a midfielder from Benfica, do not look better than the players Rix had at his disposal when the season began and were both hooked at half-time.

Takis Fyssas, one of the most consistent performers for Hearts, said the new players need time to settle. "They have to get used to us and we have to get used to the club," he said. "I can't close my eyes to what is going on but things will get better."

Hearts – Elliot (9); Aberdeen – Pressley (68 og), Clark (87)

Taken from the Herald