Martyn, Susanna and Lewis evaluate Hibs, Hearts, Rangers and Aberdeen's semi-final action.
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00:00 Hello and welcome to National World Pitbull Talk, your nan's favourite football podcast, Ken.
00:05 It's a show where we break down the latest news and results from around the Scottish Premiership and across the SPFL.
00:10 I'm your host, Martin Simpson, joined once again by regular guests, Lewis Anderson from Glasgow World and Susannah Sealy from Edinburgh Evening News.
00:19 We're going to be looking back at last weekend's VIA Play Cup semi-finals, as Rangers and Aberdeen have set up a final meeting in December.
00:26 We're going to be talking about St. Johnson's decision to appoint Craig Levine their new head coach.
00:30 And we'll be discussing VAR and how we could actually look at improving technology in Scottish football.
00:36 So Susannah, two big semi-finals at the weekend, unfortunately at your end, both Edinburgh clubs exiting.
00:51 Let's start off with Hibs against Aberdeen, a real bitter pill for Hibs to swallow because I think even any Aberdeen fan would admit that Hibs were by far the better team over the course of the match.
01:03 Yeah, I mean, unfortunately, I wasn't at the game, but I think it's sort of it summed up a lot of what we've seen Hibs produce recently.
01:15 We've seen them come in really strong. They've had a lot of possession.
01:18 You sort of think they're on top and then they just somehow they just can't quite get over the line.
01:24 And, you know, they had plenty of chances. They just just couldn't quite do it.
01:30 And I think, you know, well, I know we'll come on to VAR later on, but whenever you have a decision like that and it takes as long as it does, it completely disrupts your flow of the game.
01:42 But I mean, after the match, Montgomery himself gave all the credit to Aberdeen for producing the performance that they did and finally getting the win.
01:51 But, you know, based on if you're having that much possession, I don't think there's any reason you shouldn't really be getting over the line.
01:58 So it'd be definitely it's a hard one for them to take. That's for sure.
02:04 Aberdeen did it, Lewis. They went with a one striker up front as opposed to the two, which was a brave call given.
02:11 Actually, no, sorry, they did. They went with one striker midweek against Motherwell and had a great performance there.
02:15 And then they've done it again. I think maybe this is the sign that Barry Robson is going to stick with that formation going forward.
02:23 Obviously, there are sections of the Aberdeen sport that consider it quite negative.
02:27 And we said, would you do that and match the magnitude of a semifinal when you're not?
02:33 Yeah, it worked against Rangers at Ibrox. It worked to an extent against Interact Frankfurt in Germany.
02:39 But was he really going to line up that defensively against a Hibbs side who player for player of the two teams should be quite evenly matched?
02:47 And he did. And listen, look, it worked.
02:50 It did, yeah, it did. I'm still not fully convinced by this approach, in all honesty.
02:56 Martin, at times I kind of thought they were really there for the taking.
03:01 You know, Nicky Devlin in particular, I thought had a poor game by his standard.
03:06 I thought he was kind of a lot of Hibbs pressure in that first half in particular came down the left hand side.
03:12 And yeah, I just felt Hibbs are obviously easier on the eye, but goals win you games.
03:19 It's as simple as that. And Aberdeen managed to grind it out.
03:24 Yeah, we've spoken a lot about the kind of system that Robson's adopted.
03:27 And, you know, one week it seems to work really well and the next not so much.
03:32 So it's kind of a kind of really hit and miss strategy.
03:36 I personally think it's something he's still going to continue to chip away at and try and improve over time.
03:44 And bearing in mind as well, Aberdeen lost Jack McKenzie as well to a red card.
03:49 So, you know, they were certainly up against it.
03:53 But, you know, a fantastic finish from from Mioski.
03:56 And once again, delivering on the big stage, he was kind of the main threat that Aberdeen posed in that game,
04:04 because, you know, very little in terms of attacking quality, I must say, on display.
04:11 It was all Hibbs. And on another day, I think it would be Hibbs booking their place in the final.
04:18 But it is what it is. And Aberdeen, who, of course, won the final at Celtic Park in St.
04:25 Vanness all those years ago, have a chance to get some silverware back in that trophy room.
04:32 Before we move on, just a note on Mioski.
04:37 Is there a debate that at the moment he's maybe the best striker in Scotland?
04:42 I think overall, everyone's probably going to look, well, no, Kyogo Furuhashi is the best striker in Scotland, pound for pound.
04:48 There's no getting away from that. But where does Mioski rank for you?
04:52 Because I honestly look, we've had flash in the pan strikers in Scotland before.
04:56 Guys will come, they'll hit 20 goals a season and then their form will just nosedive.
05:02 Mioski bagged a lot of goals this season and now in his second season, I think he even actually looks better than he did last season.
05:08 He's such a classy operator and finisher and he can seemingly do everything.
05:14 And yeah, Aberdeen fans probably don't think they're going to hold on to him beyond the summer.
05:18 They might not even hold on to him beyond January, the way he's going, because he looks the real full package, does he not?
05:24 Yeah, I would agree with that. I think in terms of this season, I'd say he probably has been the most consistent.
05:30 I think I've been quite open, obviously I've seen a lot of Celtic and I don't think Furuhashi has been anywhere near the levels he set in previous years.
05:39 And Lauren Shankland as well.
05:41 Hart's obviously endured a bit of a gold drought there before ending it a few weeks ago.
05:46 And by all accounts, we'll get on to Hart afterwards, but he had a really frustrating afternoon, I thought, yesterday.
05:53 So in terms of strikers in the league at this moment in time, you've got to say Mioski is certainly the one that seems to be churning out
06:03 easily an 8 out of 10 performance each week at this moment in time.
06:07 Bearing in mind, Duke's been rested as well the last couple of games.
06:10 He seems to have adopted a slightly different approach with Jamie McGrath playing slightly closer to the striker.
06:17 He was particularly effective, I must say, against Motherwell last week as well.
06:22 So, yeah, at this moment in time, I think, as you said, Mioski is going to eventually move on.
06:29 I think he'll move on for a decent sum of money.
06:32 Aberdeen will be hoping that that isn't in January and they get another full season out of him at least.
06:37 Just going back to the match just to finish up, let's just get our thoughts on the...
06:44 There were a lot of egregious decisions from the referee in that game.
06:47 More so for Hibbs, I think we can admit, but to be honest with you, I could probably sit here and debate the Jack McKenzie card as well.
06:55 But I think the Martin Boyle goal has to be the one we speak about because, in all honesty,
07:01 I've watched it back ten times now and I still can't make a decision.
07:07 And I think in that instance, you just stick with the on-field decision.
07:11 No, when it's that tight and they're drawing the lines and they're drawing the lines and it's like his shoulder that's offside, maybe.
07:18 I don't know. What do you guys think? What do you think, Susannah?
07:21 I mean, I think if you're having to take five or six minutes to make that decision, then what is the point?
07:29 You're missing... Firstly, it's boring for everyone to have to sit through five minutes.
07:35 You're wanting to see football, you're wanting to see a semi-final.
07:38 If you have to take six minutes for a VAR decision, then VAR is not working in that instance.
07:45 That's not why it's there.
07:46 It's not even a subjective decision, like on a challenge where there may be having to consider things.
07:52 It's black or white, it's either off or he's off.
07:54 It's a mix of lines. I mean, when I watch some of it back, you know, the lines you can't...
08:01 There's an argument, and obviously they did make it, that it's his arm or like sort of from about here down that's offside.
08:10 But as you say, it's so contentious and it's such a brief second where that is likely to have been the case that I fit...
08:18 I'm going to sit here and say it, but you have to give the benefit to the on-field decision, which was a goal.
08:25 So, I mean, it's tricky because, you know, there's clearly the argument was made that it was offside.
08:32 And you have to see some of the lines where it shows that it is.
08:35 But it's by such a ridiculous decision and the way that they came to that decision was so contentious.
08:41 And again, I think it's just going back to that taking six minutes to make it.
08:45 If it's taking six minutes, it's not clear. It's not obvious. So you just let it go on.
08:51 Yeah, well, that's exactly what I was going to say, like you need to provide enough evidence to rule out what the referee's on-field decision was.
08:58 I don't know how much that factors into it with offside decision, though, because obviously they always give the offside the benefit of playing on and then we'll check it.
09:06 I don't... I have to say, I don't fully maybe understand that one.
09:10 But just quickly, Lewis, before we move on, what did you think of the decision?
09:13 Watching it in real time, I thought he was offside.
09:16 And then, of course, you see the replay and you forget just how quick Martin Boyle actually is.
09:20 And you realise, oh, no, he's on.
09:22 And then you watch the replay five more times and you're thinking, I can't make my mind up.
09:26 What about you?
09:27 Initial viewing, I thought he was on.
09:31 Martin, I must say, I think the Aberdeen right back, was it Devlin, looked to me that he was playing him on.
09:40 I thought he timed his run really well and it was a great finish.
09:42 But, yeah, Susannah touched it perfectly there.
09:46 I think it was pretty farcical.
09:48 I think the jeers inside the stadium kind of told you everything you needed to know from both sets of supporters, actually, about the length of time it was taken to come to a decision.
09:58 Ultimately, in hindsight, now that I've looked back at it numerous times, he is marginally offside and the correct decision has been made.
10:07 But, you know, something needs to be done here because this is happening time and time again on a weekly basis at the moment.
10:15 And we're taking far too long to come to these decisions.
10:18 And we're going to jump straight back into the second semi-final, Hearts against Rangers.
10:29 Lewis, from a Rangers point of view, the Philippe Clément revolution continues.
10:34 It does. Yeah, it does.
10:37 It still feels as if, you know, Rangers are somewhat of a work in progress.
10:41 But, you know, hats off to Clément.
10:43 He's made a brilliant impact.
10:46 I think John Lundstrom spoke about that to us yesterday in the press after the game about the change in mood, the feeling around the camp.
10:52 Totally different over the last couple of days.
10:55 And there's certainly been a real kind of bounce factor on the field.
10:59 A couple of players look totally revitalised.
11:01 I thought yesterday in particular, James Tavenier, who, you know, he's got plenty of doubters out there, but he was absolutely immense for Rangers yesterday.
11:10 I thought Danilo led the line tremendously well up front on his own.
11:14 And John Lundstrom in particular, you know, Rangers won the midfield battle quite comfortably in my view.
11:19 I thought Lundstrom was key to that, pulling the strings.
11:23 And yeah, I just thought in the whole, you know, I think Susanna will probably agree with me,
11:29 in the grand scheme of things, it was only a matter of time before Rangers took the lead.
11:34 And yeah, they ran out worthy winners in the end.
11:37 It's that interesting point, isn't it, about improving the players, because I think everyone agreed that's what he was going to have to do coming in.
11:45 How much improvement have you seen in particular from the strikers, the Lammers, Dessers and Danilo?
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12:07 Welcome back.
12:08 It was an interesting one.
12:09 He's clearly, you know, a confidence player.
12:11 You know, he's taken a lot of sticks so far in his time at Ibrox, but, you know, looked lively enough when he came off the bench the other day.
12:21 I do think Danilo is a better all-round player.
12:24 I think he offers a kind of different dimension to the attack, which I think Rangers fans would like to see him play, maybe up front with someone, possibly Kemar Roof.
12:35 I think would probably be their strongest pairing.
12:37 I think they would kind of complement each other quite well.
12:41 And, you know, he's clearly starting to get the best out of these players, even Sam Lammers as well.
12:48 You know, his goal against Dundee was a real kind of confidence boost for him because, you know, he's not offered as much so far this season.
12:58 So I think Rangers are starting to kind of see the value of the players that they signed in the summer.
13:07 Of course, it's not going to change dramatically overnight, but you are seeing steady improvement there.
13:13 And I thought Danilo yesterday was arguably one of Rangers' best players, you know, tasked with leading the line himself.
13:22 Rangers got plenty of kind of support up to him.
13:27 I think a lot of fans feared a bit when Todd Cantwell was replaced at half-time, fearing that that was maybe an injury, kind of no real explanation for that.
13:34 But, you know, it was a bit of an inspired substitution with Wright coming on and scoring his first goal since facing Hearts in that 2022 Scottish Cup final.
13:43 So, you know, Rangers are a work in progress, but making positive steps in the right direction.
13:51 If Rangers are a work in progress, Susanna, what does that make Hearts?
13:56 Well, I'm not quite sure, actually.
13:58 I think, I really don't know.
14:03 Yeah, as Lewis said, it was unfortunately, from my point of view, inevitable.
14:08 I think the first half, there were glimmers of hope that, you know, they actually played very well.
14:14 They were challenging up front.
14:16 They were getting the ball.
14:19 I would say they were getting the ball in the box, but actually they weren't.
14:21 They were just sort of challenging in those midfield positions.
14:23 But they do sort of just panic whenever they get near the box, which I think at the moment is their main problem.
14:32 You can see they're working it well up and then as soon as they get there, they sort of panic and keep passing it back.
14:38 And you can hear the reaction from the fans as soon as that ball goes back.
14:41 The fans are all up in uproar.
14:45 But I think a few of us spoke before the game when the team was announced that it seemed it was an odd team, I think, to face.
14:58 It was a team that knew they were going to lose.
15:01 I think was the main one of the main things.
15:04 They picked a few players which a few of them in the press room just wouldn't have started or would have thought that some others on the bench should have started.
15:14 So then when those players did come on, it didn't have the impact that maybe it should have done.
15:20 But yeah, Hearts do have this habit of as soon as they've conceded one, it seems, you know, you could put the stop clock on and two minutes, there'll be another one.
15:30 And I mean, as soon as, you know, that second goal, Scott Wright scored his second goal.
15:36 I mean, that was it. There wasn't really going to be much coming back.
15:40 And I think, you know, the atmosphere at Hampden has a lot to answer for in terms of bringing Hearts down as well.
15:46 I mean, once Rangers scored that first goal, it was unbelievable the noise that was being created.
15:52 So it was going to be a long way back for Hearts.
15:55 But yeah, I mean, we also had a contentious, you know, well not quite VAR decision, but ruling in that one as well.
16:04 So it's quite a spicy game.
16:07 I think that's a good point Susannah raises there about the team selection, because I was the exact same thing.
16:13 I was a bit miffed by, you know, the fact that the midfield in particular, George Grant or Nuenhof, who offered very little, were chosen over someone like Kami Devlin.
16:23 Well, that was one of our main concerns from some of the other Hearts writers, was George Grant.
16:31 I think Grant had obviously a really good game the other day, and because he scored in the last bi-play match,
16:39 I have a feeling that might be why they sort of opted for him.
16:42 But I could not understand why Devlin was not in that starting lineup,
16:49 because it meant that whenever he came on in the second half, the role that he sort of plays in the team, it didn't mean anything at that point.
16:59 His sort of role, they needed him a lot earlier, or in my opinion, they should have had him a lot earlier.
17:04 And I think, I also think Beningame was quite lucky to last as long as he did on the pitch.
17:10 He had a bit of a, arguably a bit of a howl with the second goal.
17:16 So I think he was quite lucky to last as long as he did.
17:20 I didn't put much thought into it at the time, but just thinking now, would George Grant's inclusion maybe be,
17:27 because Hearts in recent weeks, they have started to probably, we've seen more of Alex Lowry's influence on the team,
17:34 and he's probably their most creative, I mean, he is their most creative outlet in that midfield area.
17:38 And you take him out of the team, then who else do you really have that can do what he does?
17:42 And Grant probably is the closest thing in that team to what to replace him.
17:48 From what I've seen from Hearts this season, there is just a complete lack of creativity in that side.
17:55 I saw a fascinating stat today that said they haven't been awarded a single penalty in the league yet.
18:01 And I mean, I know that, like, ball in the back of the net and goals is only stats that matter.
18:06 But that says to me, if you've not been awarded a single penalty,
18:10 and VAR obviously should mean that this isn't just decisions going against you, but it doesn't always mean that.
18:15 That says to me that you're just, you're not getting in the box, you're not taking players on, you're not challenging.
18:21 They're obviously trying to play quite a rigid game with Boyce and Shanklin there doing what they do.
18:26 And that's fine. You can do that and have success, as Aberdeen have shown to an extent.
18:32 But even that, it's just not consistently working out for them.
18:37 What do you think, Susanna? To me, Hearts are, if they're going to be serious about challenging for third,
18:44 I think right now they're good enough that they can still be in contention by the time the January transfer window opens.
18:49 But they're going to need to do some serious investment in that window and bring in one,
18:54 if not two more flair players, for lack of a better term, because I think that's what they're missing.
19:00 Yeah, 100%. They definitely are missing that, you know, that creativity.
19:04 And they're doing a lot of, you know, possession-based football, as long as you keep the ball.
19:09 You know, in that game against Livingston the other day, they had 77% of the possession and scored one goal.
19:16 I mean, that's not to say they didn't have shots on goal, but they just didn't get it in.
19:22 And, you know, they got the three points, so that's what matters.
19:24 But I think, you know, if you're having that much possession and in the first half against Rangers,
19:29 they were, you know, they had a fair share of that possession and they were just...
19:34 But it was not in the goal, it was not in that top third.
19:37 Yeah.
19:38 And, you know, that's what...
19:40 You're not going to win a game just by holding onto the ball. You need to score it.
19:44 Yeah.
19:44 Well, yeah, it's unfortunate for Hearts, it's unfortunate for Hibs as well,
19:49 but overall I think we're going to get a really good final in December.
19:53 Aberdeen against Rangers, it's been a long time since those two have met in a final.
19:57 A few semis along the way, but yeah, it should be a really good game against two sides.
20:02 It's fair to say, you know, the supporters do not like each other.
20:05 It's probably the next best thing to a Celtic Rangers final that the neutral could really hope for, I think.
20:09 But we need to move on. We need to speak about St Johnstone Football Club.
20:13 They have a new manager.
20:15 Lewis, this is the Martin Boyle offside decision of managerial appointments for me,
20:21 because I cannot make my mind up on it.
20:23 I'm sat here thinking that is either a masterstroke or it's going to be a disaster.
20:30 Where are you, Craig?
20:30 Yeah.
20:31 St Johnstone's new manager, Andy Kirk comes in as an assistant.
20:36 I honestly, I can't in my head picture how this is going to go,
20:40 but I know one thing, it's going to be a hell of a toboggan ride.
20:44 Yeah, yeah.
20:46 I don't think many people saw this one coming, that's for sure.
20:51 It was a strange appointment, to say the least, but you know,
20:55 you look at his managerial pedigree, it could prove to be a bit of a masterstroke.
21:02 Time will tell.
21:04 Obviously, he's brought in Andy Kirk, who's, as we mentioned earlier,
21:09 very highly thought of at Beacon City.
21:11 So a good, good kind of experienced coach to have in alongside him.
21:16 Certainly needs to try and get reaction out of this team
21:19 and get them out of the predicament they find themselves in.
21:22 He's probably coming in at a good time,
21:24 given that they had their first win as well of the season at the weekend.
21:31 So, you know, a big kind of confidence boost.
21:36 Imagine, you know, a new face in the door will give them a bit of a massive lift.
21:41 He certainly will fire a rocket up the backside of a few players, that's for sure.
21:47 Craig Levine, he's that type of manager, a bit old school.
21:51 So, yeah, it'll be an interesting appointment.
21:54 And it's too difficult to call it a stage, how it's going to go,
21:59 but certainly a lot of work needs to be done to get them out of the position they find themselves in.
22:04 Levine's been out of management, Susanna, since 2019, since his time at Hearts End.
22:09 He's still been involved in football.
22:10 He's done a lot of sort of podcast and media work, which has been really fun.
22:16 But he's obviously had his advisory role at Brecon City,
22:20 where he was advising Andy Kirk, who he's now brought in as his assistant manager.
22:24 But I don't know.
22:26 When someone's been out of that, out of football that long,
22:29 and they are getting maybe up there in age,
22:34 look, I don't want to be ageist because to me it doesn't matter in football.
22:37 You look at like Dick Campbell, for example, who's 69 and is arguably the best manager in the SPFL.
22:42 You look down at England at the relative success guys like Neil Warnock and Roy Hodgson have well into their 70s.
22:49 So it's not about that.
22:50 But when you combine it with the fact that you've been out of football for a while, I don't know, is it concerning?
22:56 Does it scream to you that there's a reason no one's taken a punt on them since then?
23:02 Well, I mean, quite possibly, but I think St.
23:05 Johnstone is quite a, it's a team that I think they have to, they've got to try something new.
23:12 So if this is the way they wanted to, well, yeah, try something old.
23:18 Yeah, try something old.
23:20 Let's go with that.
23:21 I mean, hopefully it works out for them because, you know, all that we want to see is just more competitive football.
23:25 So, yeah, it'll be an interesting one to watch.
23:30 I mean, I hope it works out for them too.
23:31 I'm a big fan of Craig Levine.
23:34 It took a lot for me to forgive him after his disastrous tenure as Scotland manager.
23:38 But I'm actually so happy that we're going to have the Craig Levine press conferences back again because the man's just a gold mine of banter.
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