Hello everyone, and welcome to a dual story between myself and ebEliminator. Here we will each take charge of one half of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, with myself managing Hibernian and Eliminator managing Heart of Midlothian.

Our managers will be two, fictional old friends, both hailing from Edinburgh and divided by the football clubs they each support. Ally McDaid is a lifelong Hibernian fan while Dave Gordain has supported the other side of the capital, Hearts, for his whole life. Having previously had dreams dashed during their playing careers and having worked at either club as coaches, the pair have been given the dream chance to manage their boyhood clubs, with both in relative turmoil. Who will come out on top? Keep following to see for yourselves...

A co-story is something we've both had our minds set on doing for a long time now, so when the opportunity arose it was too tempting to finally do. We both hope you enjoy what we plan on providing you over the coming weeks, each with our unique writing styles and ways of playing Football Manager. May the games commence!

The earlier of the two Edinburgh clubs by a single year, Heart of Midlothian Football Club, commonly known as Hearts, play their home games at the city's Tynecastle Stadium. Historically one of the four best teams in Scotland, Hearts were last Scottish champions back in 1960. They have, however, won the Scottish Cup on a number of occasions since then, most recently hammering their city rivals 5-1 in the 2012 final. While the SPL in its 1998-2013 format was only ever won by Old Firm clubs Celtic and Rangers, Hearts are the only team ever to have split the pack in that league, which came in the form of a 2nd placed finish in 2006.

The Roman Abramovich of the Scottish capital, outspoken chairman Vladimir Romanov was at the helm of the Jambos for a number of years, commencing in 2005, and brought about plenty of success, but a lack of financial backing and the collapse of Romanov's Lithuanian bank drove Hearts towards administration, which they finally entered in 2013. For the coming season, Hearts will begin with a 15 point deduction, and with a squad with the youngest average age in the league and an ongoing transfer embargo, survival will be a very tough ask for the never-relegated SPL team.

Hibernian Football Club (Hibs) share the city with Hearts, and the pair have shared a fierce rivalry for over a century. Much like Celtic, Hibs were formed by Irish immigrants and thus share the green kits and Irish heritage. Last being crowned Scottish champions all the way back in 1952, they themselves have had far less cup luck. Despite beating Kilmarnock 5-1 in a 2007 League Cup Final, Hibs have lost the last ten Scottish Cup Finals they have participated in, including the most recent edition, which brought about more disappointment after the embarrassing loss to Hearts by the same scoreline.

With long-serving chairman Rod Petrie still at the top, Hibernian themselves have far better finances than their neighbours, but their recent league performances are far worse than that of Hearts. They play their home ties at Easter Road Stadium, the larger of the two stadia which has underwent incredible renovations over the past 20 years, making the transition from something straight out of the 70s into a modern, large-capacity football stadium. Unlike Hearts, the Hibees were once relegated from the SPL, in its first edition.

But the rivalry, one of the oldest in world football culture, would probably not still exist were it not for the intervention of fans. In the early 1990s, Hearts' chairman attempted to buy out the 75% share in Hibs needed to be allowed to merge the two clubs into one. Thankfully, the fans protested and were eventually able to block the takeover, and so, the derby lives on to this day.

Good luck in this story.

Hopefully this will be an interesting story! Good luck!

I was unaware that Edinbugh was the spelling

Gaway, Emma.

STEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVE

Interesting idea I'm keen to see how this works out. Best of luck to the pair of you

Great idea, will be following. thought i'd be funny and add something here but rab found it goddamn he is my master though so i love him no matter what

"They have a transfer embargo," they said. "You'll start with a 15 point deduction," they said, "You'll have to play a bunch of kids," they said. But you know what? None of it matters to me. None of it matters when you're faced with the opportunity of a lifetime, the opportunity to manage a club you love and take them to great heights.

I know the job was only offered to me since I was already on staff and they didn't want to keep Gary Locke, and they knew I'd take the job for cheap, but it doesn't matter. I feel I have a lot to bring to the table, and Scottish football needs a shot in the arm. Celtic are really popular, but Celtic alone can't sustain 12 clubs and the league. Rangers are going to come back soon and Celtic and Rangers are just going to fight over the top spot. Not if Edinburgh has anything to say about that. Not if Hearts has anything to say about that.

I just hope I can give Heart of Midlothian what it needs. Gary Locke being forced out is tough, and I know he loves Hearts, but I love them just the same, if not more, and I have 153 less first team appearances than he does.

That reminds me, I picked up today's newspaper and it said Ally McDaid was hired by Hibernian to be their manager today. I remember him, we used to play football with each other when we were in primary school, and we would always say that we would be the star striker for the team we supported, his family supported Hibernian and mine supported Hearts, and that's who we support, but we still managed to be friends just the same, although we saw less of each other as we grew up and went into our clubs' youth systems. We definitely weren't the star players our clubs needed, however, and our playing careers took a sour turn, but still, this is amazing news. It just hurts because I'll probably have to slag him in the media because the fans demand it.

It's 4:34am on the 2nd July 2013. There is a strange man dancing around the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland, in the early hours of the morning. He's not drunk out of his mind, though, swaggering out of his 15th "local" of the night, hoping sheer willpower will guide him home safely, or that those breadcrumbs he threw down on his way out haven't been eaten by some witch in some cottage or other.

This man is Alistair "Ally" McDaid, a man with but two honours to his name:
1. Possibly the most-Scottish name in the history of Scotland.
2. The title of "first team manager" at a certain Hibernian Football Club, the best club in Edinburgh and, of course, the whole wide world.

Though he'd seemed professional when being offered the job by Hibs' chairman, Rod Petrie, and his board of directors, the uncanny smile on the face of McDaid as he left the boardroom told a whole different story about this man's feelings towards the club, one of passion and the overused illusion that is the "die-hard" attitude of many a supporter.

And now, he found himself here, torn between pure ecstasy and sheer disbelief. Not the greatest combination of feelings to endure on a bitter cold night in the capital.

"When do I start?" he exclaims to an early-hours pedestrian in an alleyway just off the Royal Mile, catching them clearly unaware.

"Get tae fuck ya creepy bastard," he gets in response, becoming the spectator to a classic piece of, as it is known in these parts, "reacting like normal to the usual drunks approaching you".

McDaid stops and looks at himself for a moment, but later dismisses any thoughts that maybe nobody cares about him and his fancy new job, and carries on beaming, slowly drifting out of his own personal bubble.

But there's nothing a little black coffee can't cure.

His eyebrows... OH GAWD. Eb, nice writing, Rab.. suk dis

Rab and eb writing together. This is gonna be brilliant.

Must admit, I like Hibs better

EDIT: Rab 2-0 Pauker

Good luck

Thanks for the praise, I really appreciate it

lovely idea and ofcourse i will be following but EB will do better

No hard feelings, Eb, but I think I'll be on Limmy's Ally McDaid's side with the mighty Hibs Once again, I can't wait for this

Just one more fan who's not with Hearts. It's okay, we didn't need you anyway, but I'm sure it'll be nice to make you eat crow when you see how we're doing 5 years from now.