Another game at Murrayfield and this time against Rangers. I find Rangers the unacceptable face of Scottish football. They went into administration some years ago and could not be saved and were therefore liquidated. A new club was formed and the SFA, in their wisdom, decided to start them of in League Two. After winning leagues 1 & 2 they came up against Hearts in the 2014/5 Championship and were unable to win that league due to Hearts superb form. They were promoted to the SPL the following season and both the the SFA and their deluded fans think they are the same team that previously cheated to dominate Scottish football. Sorry, they are not as all previous honours were won by a different club ! Their fans continue to follow the traditions of the previous side and chant their hymns of hate at most matches. This week they sacked their Portuguese manager, Pedro Caixinha. after   some poor results. Graeme Mutry will be in charge for this game. With the game being at Murrayfiel

The first top league Edinburgh Derby for a number of years today at Easter Road. £28 a ticket for Hearts fans but it should be a good night. I love derby matches with some of my best footballing memories being games against Hibs. The first game I was taken to was an Edinburgh Derby at Easter Road. Unfortunately Hibs won 3-1 with Don Kerrigan being the first player I saw scoring for Hearts. Games that spring to mind as I write are first time I saw Hearts win at Easter Road, 3-1 in 1968, the 4-1 victory at Tynecastle in 1974, John Robertson's first game against Hibs when we won 3-2 on our return to the Premier League and best of all the 5-1 Scottish Cup Final victory on 19th May 2012. Recent memories have not been so good with Hibs knocking Hearts out of the Scottish Cup in the last two seasons. I walked down to the far end of Princes Street and then caught a bus to Leith Walk. A walk along Montgomery Street, the site allegedly of Gordon Strachan's favourite chippy, and I wa

Another Hearts match after what seems like months since I saw them. The game is again at Murrayfield as new stand is still not complete. This week there was talk coming from Tynecastle that the stand may not be ready by the scheduled opening date of 5th November when Patrick Thistle are visitors. If that is the case that match may be switched to Murrayfield. However if the opening is delayed any longer problems may arise as the following week Scotland start the rugby autumn test series at Murrayfield and the stadium will not therefore be available to Hearts. We shall see how this develops.   We had Harper with us in the morning and after Natalie went out with him and Rufus, our dog, I watched the end of the Hibs BetFred Cup semi-final against Celtic on BT Sport. I don't really like either team but was quite pleased when Hibs were knocked to as I did not want to hear gloating Hibs fans talking about reaching a cup final. I left house at ten past two and walked down to the

Another game at Ainslie Park. Spartans are playing Ormiston in the South Region Challenge Cup Round 2. The other ties in this competition are being played on Saturday but Edinburgh City are playing at Ainslie Park against Annan on that date so Spartans have to play on another date. The game was originally scheduled for Sunday 22nd but after Spartans got through in the Scottish Cup against Clachnacuddin on Saturday it was moved to tonight.  Ormiston Football Club are a senior football club based in Ormiston, near Tranent, currently playing in the East of Scotland Football League, the league below Spartans. Ormiston play their home matches at Recreation Park, Ormiston. I have been there when Eammon played with Crammond and I was helping with coaching. It is the only juvenile game I have been to where coaches and substitutes had a dugout at the side of the pitch rather than standing at the side of the pitch. The pitch has moved since I was there but I understand is adjacent to the

Hearts are playing today in Dingwall and I don't fancy the journey. However I had a choice of three Scottish Cup ties in Edinburgh and I chose to go to Peffermill for Edinburgh University against Fraserburgh. My dad was brought up in Fraserburgh and played a few games for them and I still have family connections in the Broch, as it is know by the locals. I therefore went along looking to see Fraserburgh for the first time and hoping they could get through to the next round of the cup. Fraserburgh play in the Highland league. They are currently top of the table, one point ahead of Cove Rangers who have two games in hand. With forty-five goals in thirteen matches they certainly look like a team who know how to find the net. The Broch's moment of glory came in 1959 when they defeated then first division Dundee 1-0 at their home ground of Bellsea Park. They previously played Edinburgh University in the Scottish Cup in 1954 and beat them 9-0. Edinburgh Uni have had an

Hearts are playing Ross County in Dingwall tomorrow and I did not fancy the journey. It is however Scottish Cup weekend and I decided to go and watch Edinburgh City take on Stenhousemuir at Ainslie Park. I decided to be lazy and took a bus to the ground. A short walk down the hill and then into the ground. Admission charge was £12 as discount for Hearts season ticket holders does not apply for cup-ties. I met Alex and Jim and we took our seats in the stand. City are going through a traumatic time and after their last game, a 3-0 league defeat by Stenhousemuir, manager Gary Jardine resigned. Gary had been with City since 2003 as player, coach and manager. He was appointed joint manager in 2010 and had been in sole charge since 2012. With seven years in the managers role he was the longest serving manager in the SPFL when he resigned. The City board wasted no time in bringing in his successor with James McDonaugh being appointed earlier this week. James had previously been assista

Another game at Ainslie Park and again I walked down to the ground. It was a beautiful sunny day and on arrival at the ground I went to the cafe/bar for a sausage roll and a diet coke. No programme was issued specifically for this game with Saturdays programme being a doodle issue covering matches against Vale of Leithen and Whitehill Welfare. As kick-off loomed I wandered down to the stand and found there was a problem. At Ainslie Park in the autumn for evening kick-offs the Pilton end of the ground is generally covered by the setting sun meaning spectators have to squint or wear sunglasses to see clearly. Today the Ferry Road end was caught in the setting sun and it was difficult to see what was happening at that end on occasions. Would have never thought that I would have to bring sunglasses to wear at a match in Scotland in October ! Spartans against Whitehill used to be a top of the table clash but Whitehill have fallen away over the last few seasons. Last season under Davi

Made a late decision to go to this game as only a short bus ride from my house. Checked Twitter when on the bus and found out game had been called off. Got off bus and crossed road to get a bus home. Caught a 1 which was a bad idea as there were roadworks at Dalry and bus took ages to get along Gorge Road. Arrived home for a night of Coronation Street on the TV (not my choice !). I was not surprised that the game was called off. Saughton Enclosure is a council facility and is used by both LTHV and Tynecastle for East of Scotland League games. With the heavy usage the pitch is not the best and postponements in inclement weather are not unusual. 

After the Scottish Cup tie a fortnight ago Spartans met Vale of Leithen again in the Lowland League. Malcolm decided to go to the game and we met in Mathers at the West End for  couple of pints before heading to Ainslie Park. I had not been in Mathers for ages but it is what I would call a ‘real pub’ with good beer and a good atmosphere. No fancy decor or over-priced meals in Mathers. Malcolm told me an amusing story about when he was coaching and had to tell a boy that he was not being retained for the following season. As he knew the boy was going to a fee-paying school the  following  year he suggested that the lad took up rugby. He felt vindicated a number of years later when Marcus Di Rollo was picked for the Scotland Rugby XV !  After our pints we caught a bus to Crewe Toll and walked to Ainslie Park arriving just before kick-off and catching up with Alex and Jim in the stand. The programme was a double issue covering tonights game and Saturdays match against Whitehill Welfare

Another away trip and another wander to Haymarket to catch the train to Dundee. I did not know that there had been an incident on the line in Princes Street and trains were being cancelled and delayed while a track inspection was carried out. Thankfully the 12.34 I was catching did run although was ten minutes late in reaching Haymarket. The train was also going to make an unscheduled stop in Kirkcaldy as a number of Fife trains had been cancelled. Despite everything I finally arrived in Dundee around 1.45 and walked to the ground arriving around 2.15. I don't like Dundee after they cost Hearts the league in 1986. I do think however that St Mirren were more guilty in lying down to Celtic while Dundee at least had a European spot to play for against an illness weakened Hearts side. I saw the Hearts team announcement on my phone before I reached the ground and there were a few changes from the previous week. Connor Randall moved to right wing-back with Michael Smith switching