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Guest JamboRobbo

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The only realistic way to offset the financial impact of a reduction in season ticket sales is by selling players and further reducing the wage bill - this is not spin this is the reality of the situation - season ticket renewals are probably very low currently although we still have almost a month of the season left plus all of the close season & summer for people to re-new - I suspect todays message & the very early sale of ST's this year is to boost cashflow / try to avoid cashflow problems & issues - Sergey Fedotovas did comment last week on the Jan 1st statement although understandably some people want concrete action before deciding to renew.

 

Charlie, ST's have been put on sale at roughly the same time for, at least, the last three seasons.

 

The only difference with this season and those prior is the phonecalls and emails.

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The only realistic way to offset the financial impact of a reduction in season ticket sales is by selling players and further reducing the wage bill - this is not spin this is the reality of the situation - season ticket renewals are probably very low currently although we still have almost a month of the season left plus all of the close season & summer for people to re-new - I suspect todays message & the very early sale of ST's this year is to boost cashflow / try to avoid cashflow problems & issues - Sergey Fedotovas did comment last week on the Jan 1st statement although understandably some people want concrete action before deciding to renew.

 

Kind of threatning people into investing their money up front?

 

I thought we were cost cutting, selliing players, getting rid of high earners and relying upon youth whether we were sold out or not?

 

I know you are the economics guru on this board so can you confirm the ration of season ticket sales income generated to footballers wages at the club, and then confirm why (given what I would predict is a ratio of much less than 50:50) is crucial to whether we sell players or not?

 

We're selling all our top earners anyway according to you

 

So, whats the difference?

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Guest JamboRobbo
The only realistic way to offset the financial impact of a reduction in season ticket sales is by selling players and further reducing the wage bill

 

And the only realistic way for HMFC to get Hearts fans to believe in them again, is to fulfill their promises.

 

Fulfilling the promise of the January 1st statement, and sticking to it (i.e NO intereference from the mad one or his plonker of a son), would be a start.

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A fairly black and white stance for me :

 

An appropriate manager = buy my ST (again)

 

Frail / Pyramid gimp = no renewal / pick and choose games

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Is it only posh platinum ST holders from the Wheatfield that are being called?

 

Why haven't I had a call yet, or are we Old Stand fans not worth calling?

 

Sort it out Hearts - surely it can't take this long to phone round 15,000 folk can it?

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portobellojambo1
Is it only posh platinum ST holders from the Wheatfield that are being called?

 

Right on, been called many things over the years but posh certainly isn't one of them. I am a platinum season ticket holder, haven't received a phone call and don't know how to do posh, having been brought up/lived in areas such as The Grassmarket, Meadowfield, Dumbiedykes, Magdalene, Niddrie Marischal, Sighthill, Leith to name but a few.

 

So the new definition of posh is having a platinum seat in The Wheatfield, looks like I will have to update my business cards.

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Walter Bishop

A friend was collecting tickets for the 11th may game on saturday and the rumour going round was less than 1000 renewals for season tickets?????

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Right on, been called many things over the years but posh certainly isn't one of them. I am a platinum season ticket holder, haven't received a phone call and don't know how to do posh, having been brought up/lived in areas such as The Grassmarket, Meadowfield, Dumbiedykes, Magdalene, Niddrie Marischal, Sighthill, Leith to name but a few.

 

So the new definition of posh is having a platinum seat in The Wheatfield, looks like I will have to update my business cards.

 

Don't you dare look down your nose at me sonny jim ;)

 

Wonder if the phone calls are being done by post code then as I live in Portobello - that must be it :sad:

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Is it only posh platinum ST holders from the Wheatfield that are being called?

 

Why haven't I had a call yet, or are we Old Stand fans not worth calling?

 

Sort it out Hearts - surely it can't take this long to phone round 15,000 folk can it?

 

I'm a Gold ST holder and was phoned last week.

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portobellojambo1
A friend was collecting tickets for the 11th may game on saturday and the rumour going round was less than 1000 renewals for season tickets?????

 

 

If it is a 1,000 so far they are doing well, but even that is a horrendous drop from last season 5 weeks after the initial sale period started. Last I heard it was in the hundreds, and HMFC were making no bones about the fact sales were "fecking awful".

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Charlie-Brown
Kind of threatning people into investing their money up front?

 

I thought we were cost cutting, selliing players, getting rid of high earners and relying upon youth whether we were sold out or not?

 

I know you are the economics guru on this board so can you confirm the ration of season ticket sales income generated to footballers wages at the club, and then confirm why (given what I would predict is a ratio of much less than 50:50) is crucial to whether we sell players or not?

 

We're selling all our top earners anyway according to you

 

So, whats the difference?

 

 

I expect Hearts probably will try to offload higher earners & reduce the wage bill - I also don't expect any major inward transfer activity except some bosmans & maybe lower transfer fee players so anybody expecting huge clearouts & a big influx of new players is deluding themselves as the money isn't there for that - unless buyers can be found then it costs money the club can ill-afford to terminate contracts....anyway I didn't see Hearts or anyone else making threats about buying season tickets or else this or that will happen but it is the logical consequence.

 

Hearts need revenue to remain roughly the same & costs to come down just to start approaching break even - they also need to be able to pay their bills - and I believe Hearts position with creditors is under pressure since the accounts / big debts & losses were made official so Hearts are probably reliant on a big percentage of ST money just to stand still financially.

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portobellojambo1
Don't you dare look down your nose at me sonny jim ;)

 

Wonder if the phone calls are being done by post code then as I live in Portobello - that must be it :sad:

 

Lawrence Broadie was speaking on Talk107 Friday night past, and he did say they had called a number of existing season ticket holders so far, but still had a lot to do, and hoped to get it done this week and next.

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I'm a Gold ST holder and was phoned last week.

 

Does your surname start with the letter A?

 

Just trying to figure out if there is any reason behind who has been phoned and who hasn't. So far it appears that it's not down to where you sit or what colour of ST you have. Maybe they have a database which shows them how long people have had a ST for?

 

Mind you I have had a ST since the days of the shed so I'm getting a bit stumped by it.

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I believe Hearts position with creditors is under pressure since the accounts / big debts & losses were made official so Hearts are probably reliant on a big percentage of ST money just to stand still financially.

 

Doubt it

 

IF Hearts have received the money from Gordon's transfer and it hasnt been siphoned away somewhere (ahem) then our actual current debt is much better than the accounts stated and we should be under no pressure.

 

At the end of the day we have a ?40m overdraft - thats already in the bag.

 

Nothing in your economic model changes by virtue of lower season ticket sales. We cost cut if full every week, we cost cut if half full every week. Under your model we have been cost cutting for 2 years now so that will impact upon our outgoings also

 

And attempts at subtle scaremongering doesnt help your credibility either

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....anyway I didn't see Hearts or anyone else making threats about buying season tickets or else this or that will happen but it is the logical consequence.

 

 

 

Roman bawbag Romanov certainly made some veiled threats during his rantings at the AGM. Whether these were real or just down to his arrogance and manner who knows but if the ST's are way down as expected their exit strategy may start to become obvious even quicker than some of us are expecting.

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Is it only posh platinum ST holders from the Wheatfield that are being called?

 

Why haven't I had a call yet, or are we Old Stand fans not worth calling?

 

Sort it out Hearts - surely it can't take this long to phone round 15,000 folk can it?

 

No,I got a phone call early last week.

 

We don't have that many ST's to sell never mind holders.

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Does your surname start with the letter A?

 

 

No, nearer the middle of the alphabet. I don't know if there is any rhyme or reason to who they are phoning (maybe it's the loyalty points totals, maybe it's random, maybe it's who went to the last European away game, maybe it's simply who they have correct phone numbers for !!).

What I am sure of is that they will be going back with much the same responses each and every time and that is that the majority of Hearts fans have woken up and are making a stance.

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Every Hearts fan WILL continue to support HEARTS, but very fe will continue to support you Vlad, you have lied, lied and lied again and got us in one hell of a financial and footballing mess for which you deserve no support. Therefore until a number of things change the season ticket sales will be a non starter

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Charlie-Brown
Doubt it

 

IF Hearts have received the money from Gordon's transfer and it hasnt been siphoned away somewhere (ahem) then our actual current debt is much better than the accounts stated and we should be under no pressure.

 

At the end of the day we have a ?40m overdraft - thats already in the bag.

 

Nothing in your economic model changes by virtue of lower season ticket sales. We cost cut if full every week, we cost cut if half full every week. Under your model we have been cost cutting for 2 years now so that will impact upon our outgoings also

 

And attempts at subtle scaremongering doesnt help your credibility either

 

It's not scaremongering - Hearts finances are under pressure - believe it or don't believe it - makes no difference to me - but that is the reality of the situation.

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"I believe Hearts position with creditors is under pressure since the accounts / big debts & losses were made official so Hearts are probably reliant on a big percentage of ST money just to stand still financially."

 

If they are so reliant on ST money why do they treat the fans like s**t? If you need investors in your company you wouldn't behave badly to them and then still expect them to cough up hundreds of pounds for your product. In fact if the product your were offering was substandard you still wouldn't expect them to cough up.

 

You seem to be suggesting that because Hearts need the season ticket money we should just pay up - that is not logical, Vlad has got us into even bigger debt than we were before so surely the bigger question is should we be bailing Vlad out because he has run the club so badly, with our own money?

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chester copperpot

Even after these last 2 years of a shambles that is HMFC, it would only take Vlad a few apologies and some home truths to get the fans back.

 

Was thinking about what it would take for me to be back on side. Firstly, tell us the truth. Tell us that we've lowered our sites, and want to fall back in line with the other sides outwith the OF. Do not get your son to prattle on at the AGM about corrupt refs.

 

Secondly, tell us whats happening with the manager. If you're going to give SF the gig, just flaming tell us. I'd admire a bit more up front honesty than holding off to the season ticket deadline passes.

 

Thirdly, communicate with the fans. Stop hiding behind this veil of lies and half truths. For a man with his vast wealth, I cannot believe how poorly he communicates with his customer.

 

Not a lot to get me, and prob the vast majority fans back onside.

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Guest casper
Mind you I have had a ST since the days of the shed so I'm getting a bit stumped by it.

 

They're concentrating on getting the stadium full of 7 years olds and not in people like you.;)

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You seem to be suggesting that because Hearts need the season ticket money we should just pay up - that is not logical, Vlad has got us into even bigger debt than we were before so surely the bigger question is should we be bailing Vlad out because he has run the club so badly, with our own money?

 

You're precisely right mate

 

As I said, subtle scaremongering also, if you note the way the words you quoted have been worded...

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The only realistic way to offset the financial impact of a reduction in season ticket sales is by selling players and further reducing the wage bill - this is not spin this is the reality of the situation - season ticket renewals are probably very low currently although we still have almost a month of the season left plus all of the close season & summer for people to re-new - I suspect todays message & the very early sale of ST's this year is to boost cashflow / try to avoid cashflow problems & issues - Sergey Fedotovas did comment last week on the Jan 1st statement although understandably some people want concrete action before deciding to renew.

 

 

Other than blind loyalty, why the hell should we renew? We are being charged the same price for an inferior product, in any other line of business that would lead to a massive downturn in sales. Hearts fans are voting with their feet I'm afraid.

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Even after these last 2 years of a shambles that is HMFC, it would only take Vlad a few apologies and some home truths to get the fans back.

 

Was thinking about what it would take for me to be back on side. Firstly, tell us the truth. Tell us that we've lowered our sites, and want to fall back in line with the other sides outwith the OF. Do not get your son to prattle on at the AGM about corrupt refs.

 

Secondly, tell us whats happening with the manager. If you're going to give SF the gig, just flaming tell us. I'd admire a bit more up front honesty than holding off to the season ticket deadline passes.

 

Thirdly, communicate with the fans. Stop hiding behind this veil of lies and half truths. For a man with his vast wealth, I cannot believe how poorly he communicates with his customer.

 

Not a lot to get me, and prob the vast majority fans back onside.

 

Fans meetings with Vlads lackies have been trying to force this message home for about 18 months

 

Nothing has changed

 

You'll eventually realise your well thought out hopes and aims for the club under Vlad are worthless

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Charlie-Brown
"I believe Hearts position with creditors is under pressure since the accounts / big debts & losses were made official so Hearts are probably reliant on a big percentage of ST money just to stand still financially."

 

If they are so reliant on ST money why do they treat the fans like s**t? If you need investors in your company you wouldn't behave badly to them and then still expect them to cough up hundreds of pounds for your product. In fact if the product your were offering was substandard you still wouldn't expect them to cough up.

 

You seem to be suggesting that because Hearts need the season ticket money we should just pay up - that is not logical, Vlad has got us into even bigger debt than we were before so surely the bigger question is should we be bailing Vlad out because he has run the club so badly, with our own money?

 

I didn't try to persuade anyone to renew or not - I gave my opinion & theory as to why todays statement was made. People can decide for themselves what they want to do.

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Other than blind loyalty, why the hell should we renew? We are being charged the same price for an inferior product, in any other line of business that would lead to a massive downturn in sales. Hearts fans are voting with their feet I'm afraid.

 

Because NMH is telling you we'll have real cashflow problems if we dont

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Guest JamboRobbo
It's not scaremongering - Hearts finances are under pressure - believe it or don't believe it - makes no difference to me - but that is the reality of the situation.

 

Not from ST sales they aren't. ST sales can vary slightly - an extra million pounds or a million pounds less than the norm. But the difference it makes is insignificant in comparison to other areas in terms of Hearts overall profit/loss

 

The biggest thing we are under pressure from is having a 12.49M wage bill (as opposed to 2 or 3M of the teams we are competing with) yet acheiving fourth place due to mismanagement and interference.

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Because NMH is telling you we'll have real cashflow problems if we dont

 

 

Ah now I get it, we've to renew to help Hearts out of the hole that Romanov's gross financial mis-management has got us into. Right that's it I'm skipping work this afternoon to run off to the ticket office......:rolleyes:

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Guest casper
It's not scaremongering - Hearts finances are under pressure - believe it or don't believe it - makes no difference to me - but that is the reality of the situation.

 

Looks like romanovs plan is progressing nicely then.

I think it would be wise for everybody to save their season ticket money this year so it can be invested in AFC Hearts.

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Because NMH is telling you we'll have real cashflow problems if we dont

 

If Vald has caused Hearts to have serious cash flow problems then that is Vlads responsibilty to resolve, not the season ticket holders. DON'T BUY A SEASON TICKET - It's the ONLY WAY to make VLAD listen. If we all fall for emotional blackmail of Hearts will be in the sh*t if you don't all buy your season tickets then Vlad will get his way and Hearts will never recover

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It's not scaremongering - Hearts finances are under pressure - believe it or don't believe it - makes no difference to me - but that is the reality of the situation.

 

OK then

 

Answer the points I made

 

We have been cost cutting for 2 years

We have an overdraft of ?40m

This years accounts did not include the Gordon transfer money nor any of last years cost cuts

 

Yet we were still a couple of million below our overdraft limit

 

Given these accounts can only have improved since the accounting year they cover, the current debt situation MUST be better than that

 

Precisely why are Hearts under pressure financially? We are surely further away from the ?40m limit than we were?

 

You're tieing yourself in knots and you are scaremongering.

 

I tell you - if 2 or 3 thousand season tickets are THAT crucial to our financial stability I am right in wanting Vlad the feck away from Edinburgh sooner rather than later....

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Guest JamboRobbo

You're tieing yourself in knots and you are scaremongering.

 

 

You forgot to say "As usual" on the end of that.

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If Vald has caused Hearts to have serious cash flow problems then that is Vlads responsibilty to resolve, not the season ticket holders. DON'T BUY A SEASON TICKET - It's the ONLY WAY to make VLAD listen. If we all fall for emotional blackmail of Hearts will be in the sh*t if you don't all buy your season tickets then Vlad will get his way and Hearts will never recover

 

Mate - you dont have to convince me...you are entirely correct

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Looks like romanovs plan is progressing nicely then.

I think it would be wise for everybody to save their season ticket money this year so it can be invested in AFC Hearts.

 

:107years:

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OK then

 

Answer the points I made

 

We have been cost cutting for 2 years

We have an overdraft of ?40m

This years accounts did not include the Gordon transfer money nor any of last years cost cuts

 

Yet we were still a couple of million below our overdraft limit

 

Given these accounts can only have improved since the accounting year they cover, the current debt situation MUST be better than that

 

Precisely why are Hearts under pressure financially? We are surely further away from the ?40m limit than we were?

 

You're tieing yourself in knots and you are scaremongering.

 

I tell you - if 2 or 3 thousand season tickets are THAT crucial to our financial stability I am right in wanting Vlad the feck away from Edinburgh sooner rather than later....

 

It's not just the enormous debt that is the problem. We are run by a guy who took us from ?20M in debt to ?36M in debt in just two years, no one as unprofessional and incompetent should be in charge but he is and will remain so, that is a very serious position for Hearts and not scaremongering. Even Rodney said we are currently around ?25M in debt now which is way more than when Vlad took over, by comparison Hibs are relatively debt free. We are in a very appalling mess of that there is no doubt

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chester copperpot

This message sounds desperate and embarrassing.

 

Could it be that if we dont get the numbers and half say dont renew that we are looking at administration or something.

 

Vlad has ruined this club even more so than say Robinson. I never ever thought that I would say that.

 

This message makes me want to not renew, so has had the opposite effect on me.

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It's not just the enormous debt that is the problem. We are run by a guy who took us from ?20M in debt to ?36M in debt in just two years, no one as unprofessional and incompetent should be in charge but he is and will remain so, that is a very serious position for Hearts and not scaremongering. Even Rodney said we are currently around ?25M in debt now which is way more than when Vlad took over, by comparison Hibs are relatively debt free. We are in a very appalling mess of that there is no doubt

 

Add to that another ?50m debt for a fecking hotel,don't be fooled into thinking he is building a stand for us,that is just a side issue for the redevelopment off the land,what can he build,can I build one without the other,etc,the plot thickens almost every day.

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It's not just the enormous debt that is the problem. We are run by a guy who took us from ?20M in debt to ?36M in debt in just two years, no one as unprofessional and incompetent should be in charge but he is and will remain so, that is a very serious position for Hearts and not scaremongering. Even Rodney said we are currently around ?25M in debt now which is way more than when Vlad took over, by comparison Hibs are relatively debt free. We are in a very appalling mess of that there is no doubt

 

Absolutely but BUYING season tickets wont get us out of it

 

NOT BUYING season tickets might just be the start...

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Asset rich and cash poor, Robbing Peter to pay Paul and Flying by the Seat of his Pants. Just a few sayings that sum up the mad one for me.

I too wouldn't be surprised if he chucked it in soon and had the nerve to try and blame for lack of support any one or all of the Supporters /the Council, the SFA and the British Banking System.

I think I'm now past the stage of making my ST renewal conditional upon giving him the "last chance" of appointing a decent manager. My feeling is that even if he did that, there's more than an even chance that he'd sack him shortly afterwards and land US with yet another compensation payment.

Utterly demoralised I am.

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Buffalo Bill

I'm quite sure Lawrence, David at the people at Hearts are WELL aware of how we feel about the way our football team is being run.

 

It's not their fault, but nor is it ours either.

 

Hearts will get what they deserve.

 

If we get the manager we were promised: the fans will be there is huge numbers.

 

If we get 'influenced' Frail or some old age gimp then the gaps in the Wheatfield will be bigger than the space between Rodney's ears.

 

It's sad, but the fans aren't looking for trouble. All the hassle is coming from the boardroom, 2,000 miles away.

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

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It's sad, but the fans aren't looking for trouble. All the hassle is coming from the boardroom, 2,000 miles away.

 

Buffalo Bill

 

.

 

So very true.

 

Whatever your stance on Vlad. Whether you think he can change or not, whether you think he should leave or not, whether you think he saved Hearts or not...

 

It cannot be denied that it is his actions that have split the fans of Heart of Midlothian and pitted them against each other.

 

For that alone we should all be united in our unhappiness that he has caused this

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It's not just the enormous debt that is the problem. We are run by a guy who took us from ?20M in debt to ?36M in debt in just two years, no one as unprofessional and incompetent should be in charge but he is and will remain so, that is a very serious position for Hearts and not scaremongering. Even Rodney said we are currently around ?25M in debt now which is way more than when Vlad took over, by comparison Hibs are relatively debt free. We are in a very appalling mess of that there is no doubt

 

 

We were lucky we got what we did for Gordon or we would be fecked!. the way I see it Vlad has mismanaged us and therefor should dive into his personal wealth to recify his mistakes......haha so he would!!! he is using us!

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By The Light..

I am quite sure they are going to be needing ST cash but I damned if I am paying for the likes of more Bassos!

 

?7,000 a week for 50 weeks (?350K for 8 games) requires the sale of 1,000 STs at ?350 a pop.

 

Or 20 STs for every week he is under contract if not the full year!

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I am quite sure they are going to be needing ST cash but I damned if I am paying for the likes of more Bassos!

 

?7,000 a week for 50 weeks (?350K for 8 games) requires the sale of 1,000 STs at ?350 a pop.

 

Or 20 STs for every week he is under contract if not the full year!

 

Jeez! when you look at it like that...it makes you wonder what Vlad was thinking when he sanctioned that spending spree in the january of 2006. There was rumours he was pying wages from his own pocket....which has since been well and truly put to bed!!

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It's not scaremongering - Hearts finances are under pressure - believe it or don't believe it - makes no difference to me - but that is the reality of the situation.

 

But I thought your employer said we didn't have any debt to worry about?

 

:confused:

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But I thought your employer said we didn't have any debt to worry about?

 

:confused:

 

Good point!

 

Oi! NMH, what debt you talking bout...we aint got none?

 

Gareth said so!

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But I thought your employer said we didn't have any debt to worry about?

 

:confused:

 

You see, I'm so busy unwinding the layers of detail NMH heaps upon us, I take my eye off the most obvious of facts which pull the rug away...

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You see, I'm so busy unwinding the layers of detail NMH heaps upon us, I take my eye off the most obvious of facts which pull the rug away...

 

Just aswell you have some faithfull and trusted allies ;)

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