The team that was........

[SectionDJambo]

We benefited, in December 85, from some games involving the top teams being cancelled due to Scotland having to go to Australia for a World Cup tie. We went top, whilst still playing every week as normal, and it gave us the momentum to keep getting positive results.

As others have said, it was a great ride, if heart breaking at the end. It just wasn't to be. 

[martoon]

31 minutes ago, twb said:

The last home game against Clydebank was a big missed opportunity that's forgotten about I think.  We only won 1-0 in a nervy game tbf,  if we'd won 3 or 4 then we'd have been out of sight virtually. 

 

I suspect that if Celtic had needed a a 6-8 goal swing, St. Mirren would have accommodated them.

 

Indeed, I'm sure of it.

[GorgieFifeLife]

2 hours ago, Go for it 1308 said:

What a great man your grandad was mate

Thanks mate👍🏻

[twb]

24 minutes ago, martoon said:

 

I suspect that if Celtic had needed a a 6-8 goal swing, St. Mirren would have accommodated them.

 

Indeed, I'm sure of it.

Aye true enough. 

[John Findlay]

3 hours ago, No Idle Talk said:

 

Your memory is amazing pal.

Long term and mid term memory are fine.

Remembering anything less than a week old, I'm goosed.

[William H. Bonney]

I was only 7 that season. One of my abiding memories is how ****ing cold clydebank was in the winter. I guess it was the 1-1 draw in February.  

I do recall the pain though of my dad's friends that Saturday in May. Saw a lot of grown men crying. 

I saw the same men cry in 98, for entirely different reasons of course. 

 

[queensferryjambo]

Some fantastic goals and wins during that season, sadly not very many televised due to TV strikes. 

[Carl Fredrickson]

2 hours ago, N Lincs Jambo said:

Good post. I heard a different story about the St Mirren keeper that day, ie he knew enough St Mirren players were happy to chuck the game and he wanted nothing to do with it. Campbell Money iirc. No idea what the true story is but that’s the one I heard at the time.

 

I had heard that too but the manager at the time said Money was going to his friends wedding. A friend, not a relative and not his best friend, during the football season. 

 

No matter, water under the bridge etc but I detest St Mirren to this day as most of their players had celtic leanings and if they needed 8, 9 or 10, they would have obliged. 

 

Our home game v Clydebank we were so nervous and playing as if we had done all the hard work. IMO that game and the St Mirren away at the start of the season (if we kept the score reasonable) were ones we could and should have done a lot better in. The first live league game, us at home to Aberdeen showed nerves kicking in big time 

 

JC was untouchable that season - one of the best season performances I have ever seen at Hearts. Tremendous player and along with Robbo and big Sandy made for a tremendous front 3. 

 

I also mind Colin McAdam coming on for an injured big Sandy v Rangers in the Scottish cup and scoring. The game shouldnt have gone ahead as the pitch was frozen. Players wearing trainers and I think McAdam lost a trainer as he scored. Beat them 3-2 and started to believe that day. 

[Thomaso]

2 hours ago, munro9 said:

Great memories!

Often think back and wonder if the point we rescued at Tynecastle with a late penalty against Aberdeen about 3 games from the end of the season back fired on us.

Going to Dens needing a win rather than a draw could have made things very different.

All ifs and buts but that's part of the beauty of the game.

 

We didn’t score from a penalty - Aberdeen did. John Colquhoun scored the equaliser.

[Thomaso]

1 hour ago, twb said:

The last home game against Clydebank was a big missed opportunity that's forgotten about I think.  We only won 1-0 in a nervy game tbf,  if we'd won 3 or 4 then we'd have been out of sight virtually. 

We just couldn’t get the second that would have opened the floodgates.

Celtic played Dundee that day - it was 0-0 until Dundee got a late dodgy red card and Celtic won 2-0

[The White Cockade]

aye i was at all the games that season and like everybody else I thought after Tannadice we had the league won and i am always a complete pessimist 

Will never forget Dens Park and the walk back to the bus and drive home 😩

but strangely enough can’t remember a single second of the final at Hampden 

that has been completely erased from my memory for some strange reason 

as Dickens said 

it was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

A season never to be forgotten 

[PortyBeach]

3 hours ago, GorgieFifeLife said:

I was a young Jambo at this time and my grandad was a big Dundee supporter.  I was very upset when we didn’t win it but not as upset as my grandad who was visibly upset that Hearts had not won as he wanted me to see Hearts win the league.  Still cuts me up a bit at times when I think about him.

I suspect your dear grandad wasn’t alone in neutral fans wanting Hearts (as a non-OF team) to win that title. I think we had widespread backing!

On top of that, he obviously wanted to see his beloved grandson happy…
 

[Henroddy]

Everyone in the squad that season should still be seen as legends. It was a devastating end to the season. But what a journey. So many should have been in Scotland squads. Don't think we will come so close again in my lifetime 

[pettigrewsstylist]

Still an amazing season tbh. Full time at Hampden was tough to bear.

I thought title was ours after Tannadice.

[Henroddy]

15 minutes ago, Thomaso said:

We just couldn’t get the second that would have opened the floodgates.

Celtic played Dundee that day - it was 0-0 until Dundee got a late dodgy red card and Celtic won 2-0

A late decision going the way of the old firm you say? 🤔

[PortyBeach]

19 minutes ago, Carl Fredrickson said:

 

I had heard that too but the manager at the time said Money was going to his friends wedding. A friend, not a relative and not his best friend, during the football season. 

 

No matter, water under the bridge etc but I detest St Mirren to this day as most of their players had celtic leanings and if they needed 8, 9 or 10, they would have obliged. 

 

Our home game v Clydebank we were so nervous and playing as if we had done all the hard work. IMO that game and the St Mirren away at the start of the season (if we kept the score reasonable) were ones we could and should have done a lot better in. The first live league game, us at home to Aberdeen showed nerves kicking in big time 

 

JC was untouchable that season - one of the best season performances I have ever seen at Hearts. Tremendous player and along with Robbo and big Sandy made for a tremendous front 3. 

 

I also mind Colin McAdam coming on for an injured big Sandy v Rangers in the Scottish cup and scoring. The game shouldnt have gone ahead as the pitch was frozen. Players wearing trainers and I think McAdam lost a trainer as he scored. Beat them 3-2 and started to believe that day. 

Yes, we lost it over the first half-dozen or so games.
As with the disastrous finale against Kilmarnock in season 1964-65, it shouldn’t - and needn’t - have come down to a one-game showdown…

[mitchjambo]

We went undefeated against the ugly sisters and still never won the league!!

[merseyjambo]

Think I went to most games that season, except in Jan/Feb where I ended up with pneumonia.

 

So many memories that season. Losing at Motherwell and Clydebank 2 Saturdays on the bounce. Having to run across the pitch at Motherwell after some ‘alleged’ bored Hibby phoned a bomb threat in. Losing that game from a winning position. The late loss at Clydebank the week after was just as bad. 
 

Richard Gough’s last minute equaliser at Tannadice in October. Bloody Eamonn Bannon’s equaliser in the pissing rain at Tynecastle.

 

Sandy Clark squirting that one wide at Easter Road in November which would have been 8 points against them as opposed to 7. 

 

Kenny Blacks (or was it Ian Jardine) missed penalty at Dens Park in December.
 

Horsing Rangers at Tynecastle 3 times. 
 

JC’s 2 crackers at Ibrox. His winner at Pitoddrie. That was the first time I thought we might actually do it. 
 

Sandy Clark scoring without his boot against Rangers. 
 

After beating United in the cup, then victory in the league, I was convinced we were gonna do it.

 

The penalty that Aberdeen got at Tynecastle still grinds my gears. Still to be convinced it was.

 

The least said about the Clydebank game the better. 
 

Dens. We should have had a penalty. Going in front would have calmed the nerves. Coming back on the bus from Dens was bloody awful. It was like a family member had died.
 

Celtic - Their undeserved last minute equaliser in the opening game at Tynecastle. Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggghhhh.

 

So many great memories. Just a pity that so many of the games are missing thanks to the blackout.

Edited February 10 by merseyjambo

[the posh bit]

The scuddings we dished out to Rangers that season were tremendous. 

[leginten]

12 hours ago, mitchjambo said:

We went undefeated against the ugly sisters and still never won the league!!

Celtic didn’t beat us or United all season. They lost three out of four to United.

 

By a distance the least deserving champions ever, especially given the revolting Celticky love-in in Paisley on the last day.

[Gundermann]

14 hours ago, William H. Bonney said:

I was only 7 that season. One of my abiding memories is how ****ing cold clydebank was in the winter. I guess it was the 1-1 draw in February.  

I do recall the pain though of my dad's friends that Saturday in May. Saw a lot of grown men crying. 

I saw the same men cry in 98, for entirely different reasons of course. 

 

 

Yeah, I was in my teens and the bus up to Dens was a party on wheels. 2 hours later, it was grown men everywhere crying.

 

McDonald and Jardine got it.

 

What might have been had we got the double that year?

 

Yeah, as to '98, I went up with my Gorgie-born auld dear to the City Chambers and it was quite moving to see all the old folk there who hadn't seen a trophy in Edinburgh for decades.

[martoon]

58 minutes ago, leginten said:

Celtic didn’t beat us or United all season. They lost three out of four to United.

 

By a distance the least deserving champions ever, especially given the revolting Celticky love-in in Paisley on the last day.

 

I didn't realise that about Celtic and Dundee Utd. I do recall United pumped them 4-2 around the turn of the year and that Celtic only beat Rangers once.

 

Add the fact that we overcame Aberdeen by 2 wins to 1, United 2-0, Celtic 1-0 and Rangers 3-1 it really is criminal that we didn't win the title and they did.

 

Even if you remove Rangers from the equation (they really weren't contenders in those days) the stats are still quite startling.

[OBE]

17 hours ago, munro9 said:

Great memories!

Often think back and wonder if the point we rescued at Tynecastle with a late penalty against Aberdeen about 3 games from the end of the season back fired on us.

Going to Dens needing a win rather than a draw could have made things very different.

All ifs and buts but that's part of the beauty of the game.

 

 

Jim Bett, duped the ref, soft penalty for Aberdeen, who knows, league might've been wrapped up prior to dens...You're right, all Ifs and buts🤷🏻‍♂️

Edited February 11 by OBE

[Gillsland jack]

Oh the memories good and horrific, the good one's include the wee laddie in a full hearts strip running on to the pitch behind the goals at Tannadice , I think their keeper was Billy Thompson who patiently helped the laddie off the park back to his dad, it was a photograph of this wee fella that made the back page of the Sunday Mail the next day.

That wee laddie must be about 42 now, I wonder if he remembers stealing the show that day and if he posts on here.

 

Being kind of superstitious, I was not happy about going to the game on a supporters bus, I had travelled by car to every other away game, however as it was going to be a celebration me and my mates opted to go on a bus, it was shit, it was a one off booking, so not a regular supporters bus, we went to some social club in the back of beyond in Dundee, it was empty, there were no other jambo's there, I started to get this bad feeling as I sat in this miserable place, nobody was singing or jumping around, it was like an undertakers waiting room, how very apt as it turned out.

 

Traveling back down the main dual carriageway on our way out of this dump, all the Dundee based Celtic fans were out waving there scarfs at the Hearts buses as they went by, however I remained as positive as I could, after all we were going to win the league the following year, or so I thought.

Just like the Vlad years, I would do it all again if I could.

[Silvery_Moon]

15 hours ago, mitchjambo said:

We went undefeated against the ugly sisters and still never won the league!!

Just about. Rangers won the first game at Ibrox but we beat them the next four, including the cup win at Tynecastle. 

[jamboozy]

When I see how far we have come as a club from then until now , it gives me hope that we will win the title some day. We have to recall those days and what we almost achieved on a shoestring! I can’t understand why some folks here are so impatient. We WILL get there.

         The part in the documentary when we are told that we had no physio and his machine was taken home to treat a Greyhound!!? .

Edited February 11 by jamboozy

[GorgieFifeLife]

16 hours ago, PortyBeach said:

I suspect your dear grandad wasn’t alone in neutral fans wanting Hearts (as a non-OF team) to win that title. I think we had widespread backing!

On top of that, he obviously wanted to see his beloved grandson happy…
 

Thanks a lot.  I suspect a lot of neutrals did support us that day.

[Gillsland jack]

There was very much a lot of good will from neutral fans towards Hearts as a club, I always had good banter traveling around the country for work, it was never more present than during the 85-86 season, all the Scottish Sports TV shows, Archie McPherson as well.

As I have said previously I would not change the Vlad years for sheer excitement and a certain cup final, however it was 2005-2006 ish that I noticed a change and it seemed everybody started hating us.

[HMFC 86]

18 hours ago, martoon said:

 

I suspect that if Celtic had needed a a 6-8 goal swing, St. Mirren would have accommodated them.

 

Indeed, I'm sure of it.

Agree, that the way it seemed back then and still to this day, particularly with the SFA covid shenanigans 

[martoon]

5 minutes ago, HMFC 86 said:

Agree, that the way it seemed back then and still to this day, particularly with the SFA covid shenanigans 

 

I think if it had still been goal average Celtic would have had to have targeted a 0-9 win, instead of 0-3.

 

You just know, man...

 

 

Edited February 11 by martoon

[pettigrewsstylist]

1 hour ago, Silvery_Moon said:

Just about. Rangers won the first game at Ibrox but we beat them the next four, including the cup win at Tynecastle. 

Wer JCs double with a packed full, Maroon Broomloan, was a tremendous day.

[Boozyuzi]

Pretty sure the bomb scare at Fir Park was the last defeat before we went on that run.    Was the game held up for half an hour while we were all on the pitch? 

Edited February 11 by Boozyuzi

[Gillsland jack]

Were Rangers playing in front of crowds as low as 12,000 during the 85-86 season, or have I remembered that incorrectly?

[martoon]

Just now, Gillsland jack said:

Were Rangers playing in front of crowds as low as 12,000 during the 85-86 season, or have I remembered that incorrectly?

 

They were.

 

Tv coverage of most games at Ibrox in the mid 80's looked like a painters 🎨 with all those multi coloured seats.

[martoon]

10 minutes ago, pettigrewsstylist said:

Wer JCs double with a packed full, Maroon Broomloan, was a tremendous day.

 

Fantastic day and the support, and team, were magnificent.

 

🎶 "we're going tae win the League". 🎶 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 11 by martoon

[Thomaso]

17 hours ago, merseyjambo said:

Think I went to most games that season, except in Jan/Feb where I ended up with pneumonia.

 

So many memories that season. Losing at Motherwell and Clydebank 2 Saturdays on the bounce. Having to run across the pitch at Motherwell after some ‘alleged’ bored Hibby phoned a bomb threat in. Losing that game from a winning position. The late loss at Clydebank the week after was just as bad. 
 

Richard Gough’s last minute equaliser at Tannadice in October. Bloody Eamonn Bannon’s equaliser in the pissing rain at Tynecastle.

 

Sandy Clark squirting that one wide at Easter Road in November which would have been 8 points against them as opposed to 7. 

 

Kenny Blacks (or was it Ian Jardine) missed penalty at Dens Park in December.
 

Horsing Rangers at Tynecastle 3 times. 
 

JC’s 2 crackers at Ibrox. His winner at Pitoddrie. That was the first time I thought we might actually do it. 
 

Sandy Clark scoring without his boot against Rangers. 
 

After beating United in the cup, then victory in the league, I was convinced we were gonna do it.

 

The penalty that Aberdeen got at Tynecastle still grinds my gears. Still to be convinced it was.

 

The least said about the Clydebank game the better. 
 

Dens. We should have had a penalty. Going in front would have calmed the nerves. Coming back on the bus from Dens was bloody awful. It was like a family member had died.
 

Celtic - Their undeserved last minute equaliser in the opening game at Tynecastle. Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggghhhh.

 

So many great memories. Just a pity that so many of the games are missing thanks to the blackout.

For those who suffered those moments that season the cup win of 1998 was made on so special.

[Thomaso]

4 hours ago, OBE said:

 

Jim Bett, duped the ref, soft penalty for Aberdeen, who knows, league might've been wrapped up prior to dens...You're right, all Ifs and buts🤷🏻‍♂️

To this day I firmly believe the ball was handled by the Aberdeen player and not Ian Jardine!

[Sherbet]

That was a fantastic win

   But I hate seeing it as it was the day we thought the league was won

   

[Sherbet]

24 minutes ago, Thomaso said:

For those who suffered those moments that season the cup win of 1998 was made on so special.

Yeh   it was great    but can't make up for the heartbreak

    I will never get over it!!

[Thomaso]

1 minute ago, Sherbet said:

Yeh   it was great    but can't make up for the heartbreak

    I will never get over it!!

Yup me too. Didn’t go to Dens but when the result came through I’m not ashamed to say I cried my eyes out for an hour then went to a pub and drank myself into oblivion!

[PortyBeach]

3 hours ago, Silvery_Moon said:

Just about. Rangers won the first game at Ibrox but we beat them the next four, including the cup win at Tynecastle. 

Undefeated against Celtic, crucially.

I’ve always thought the first measurement of determining who should be declared champions in a situation like ours in 1985- 86, should be the outcome of the head-to-head matches between the two contenders.

If they can’t be separated using that measurement, then compare goal difference, etc.

Celtic were declared champions because they had, if memory serves, a +3 goal difference over us.

That makes them better than a Hearts team they didn’t defeat in four league games? Really?

Edited February 11 by PortyBeach

[Sherbet]

8 minutes ago, Thomaso said:

Yup me too. Didn’t go to Dens but when the result came through I’m not ashamed to say I cried my eyes out for an hour then went to a pub and drank myself into oblivion!

Went to the merchie... dj Larry had the place jumping  in defiance.  Was a better night in the club than98

[jbee647]

On 10/02/2024 at 12:41, No Idle Talk said:

 

Interesting. I don't remember that.

From September 1985 to March 1986

[No Idle Talk]

2 hours ago, Boozyuzi said:

Pretty sure the bomb scare at Fir Park was the last defeat before we went on that run.    Was the game held up for half an hour while we were all on the pitch? 

 

Losing to Clydebank was our last defeat before going on the long unbeaten run. A late Brian Whittaker OG saw us lose 1-0. Walking out of Kilbowie that day you could never have imagined in your wildest dreams what was about to happen.

[OBE]

32 minutes ago, Thomaso said:

To this day I firmly believe the ball was handled by the Aberdeen player and not Ian Jardine!

 

👍🏻...Stuck in my craw for a very long time, even when Bett, donned our Maroon...

[munro9]

On 10/02/2024 at 19:17, Thomaso said:

We didn’t score from a penalty - Aberdeen did. John Colquhoun scored the equaliser.

yeah sorry, don’t know why I got that confused!! 

[Sydney]

I bought my first (child) season ticket in the summer of 85 - it cost 25 pounds.  I went to all home matches, most away matches and lots of home reserve matches too.

 

It was a brilliant season.  Until Dens.  I didn't cry, but I was numb.  At the Cup Final we were defiant and proud.

[bigdav]

7 hours ago, Gillsland jack said:

Were Rangers playing in front of crowds as low as 12,000 during the 85-86 season, or have I remembered that incorrectly?

I'm sure at some point in the 80st they struggled to even get 5 figure gates,4 and 5000 against Partick sticks in my mind,they don't like being reminded of that.

[RudiSkacelsLeftPeg]

Well before my time however have spoken about it to a number of people about that season. Can guarantee if it happened today I’d be bubbling for weeks.