Tam Cowan: Hearts' 15 point penalty is grim.. they might not catch Hibs until October

TAM is convinced supporters will ride to the rescue of crisis clubs Hearts and Dunfermline, just as they did for his beloved Motherwell 10 years ago.

LET'S start by congratulating all the Hearts fans on saving their beloved club.

That bold statement might seem a tad premature but I make no apology.

Take it from me, folks, the diehard supporters WILL keep the Jam Tarts afloat. How can I be so sure? Because that’s exactly what fans do.

When Rangers were flogged for £1 to Craig Whyte before going belly up, it was the punters – not Charles
Green – who gave the Ibrox club the kiss of life.

Dunfermline might be in the Second Division but I bet the guys and gals who have organised non-stop fundraising events in the town will secure some sort of future for the troubled Fife club.

It was the same story a decade ago when my mob went bust – the Motherwell fans immediately rallied round.

The show of support started when 4000 travelled to Kilmarnock (our biggest away crowd in years) for our first game in administration.

A few weeks later – ahead of a chilly Cup tie in Arbroath – some fans literally gave the club the shirts off their backs when a shortage of kit saw manager Terry Butcher appealing for long-sleeved jerseys!

Which reminds me ... to help put a few quid in the Tynecastle coffers I went out yesterday and bought a Hearts top from Tesco. The lassie at the till immediately deducted 15 points from my Club Card...

A 15-point penalty in next season’s SPL sounds grim – it might be at least October before the Jambos catch up with Hibs – but I’m sticking with the glass half-full approach.

Surely that gulf represents Hearts with the sort of challenge that will have the fans flocking to Tynecastle?

If I was a Jambo I’d certainly prefer that exciting scenario to last season’s dull campaign spent mainly in No Man’s Land.

It looks dodgy, though. And it might be enough to persuade celebrity Hearts fan Alex Salmond to put independence on the back burner.

Who cares about Scotland breaking away from the UK when there’s a real danger the Jambos could be breaking away from the SPL?

Right now, I guess even Leigh Griffiths’ latest arrest won’t have put a smile on the coupons of the Hearts support.

I’ve enjoyed a good giggle this past week thanks to the usual suspects in the media who have lined up to slate “Mad Vlad”. Yeah, that’s right, the same guys who have still to write a single syllable of criticism aimed at Sir Dave of Govan.

I also laughed this week when a reader posed the question: A year after Rangers became Sevco, will Hearts become Tesco?

To be honest, though, I couldn’t bear the thought of Scottish football without Tynecastle – the most atmospheric stadium in the country – as it holds too many special memories.

Hands up the Well fans who remember Stevie Kirk replacing an injured John Gardiner in goals and saving a last-minute penalty?

And I bet no Motherwell supporter will ever forget the 2-2 draw in the Scottish Cup (after being two behind) that was actually our first game back after the tragic death of Phil O’Donnell.

I wish Hearts and their supporters all the very best and I’m confident all the cheeky “flats, flats, glorious flats” patter is nothing more than Hibs fans extracting the urine.

In saying that – and I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news – I hear that anyone buying a Tynecastle season-ticket will now be charged stamp duty...

PS. In order to raise all-important funds, why don’t Hearts launch a £1million Crossbar Challenge like the one introduced by Charles Green at Ibrox last year?

The beauty of this venture, of course, is that you can forget all about it at the business end of the season and not have to pay out a single penny. Eh, Charles?

PPS. With every penny a prisoner at Tynecastle these days, I understand Hearts have now reduced the £10m bounty on Albert Kidd’s head to just 50 quid.

Taken from the Daily Record