Scotland's Game

[Maroon Sailor]

It doesn't matter what he said. It's what he did that was the problem.

Does that not tell you how desperate things were in the dressing room and how ridiculous Romanov was being. Maybe all other avenues had been exhausted. The fact Romanov bottled it to see Pressley afterwards sums him up.

 

Sometimes people have to take a stand against these people who treat people like shit and abuse their power.

 

Everything was going along nicely until the Burley sacking but of course that meant Romanov wasn't centre of attention.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Does that not tell you how desperate things were in the dressing room and how ridiculous Romanov was being. Maybe all other avenues had been exhausted. The fact Romanov bottled it to see Pressley afterwards sums him up.

 

Sometimes people have to take a stand against these people who treat people like shit and abuse their power.

 

Everything was going along nicely until the Burley sacking but of course that meant Romanov wasn't centre of attention.

The Riccarton 3 happened 12 months after Burley got emptied. It was triggered by Valdas' "health" issues and the arrival of Mad Eddie. Yes, that would have pissed me off as a player as well but you can do one of two things. One, suck it up or two, hand in a transfer request. What happened? The fans turned on Miko!

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Oh and for those criticising his methods. Why would any sane person have bought HMFC from Robinson in the first place given the state we were in?

[argyjambo]

Yes, because calling people "clowns" is a sign of maturity.

Behave like a clown, don't be suprised if people refer to you as one!

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Behave like a clown, don't be suprised if people refer to you as one!

Good stuff.

 

Meantime, I stand by what I said.

[DH1986]

Romanov saved Tynecastle....not Hearts. Everyone really should remember that.

 

And whilst he was good for the club from the outside for a period of time, the damage he did to the club on the inside was almost deadly.

 

For us to go as close as we did to liquidation makes him, imo, not a good owner or man at all. He didn't really care and anyone who thinks this is acceptable is a complete idiot.

[Beast Boy]

Although it is true that he saved Tynecastle from being a housing development which I will always thank him for (& the Scottish Cup Success & the Euro ties we enjoyed), you cannot dismiss the fact that he took the club to within an inch of it's life. Even the pie man didn't do that.

I'm not dismissing that, he did. He also saved the club from certain death.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Romanov saved Tynecastle....not Hearts. Everyone really should remember that.

 

And whilst he was good for the club from the outside for a period of time, the damage he did to the club on the inside was almost deadly.

 

For us to go as close as we did to liquidation makes him, imo, not a good owner or man at all. He didn't really care and anyone who thinks this is acceptable is a complete idiot.

Tynecastle - the club's only asset, being sold to clear debts but wouldn't have cleared them.

 

Vlad saved Hearts when he saved Tynecastle.

[Beast Boy]

I hate having to agree with certain people, but Hearts were ****ed without Romanov.

[Victorian]

I hate having to agree with certain people, but Hearts were ****ed without Romanov.

I'm with Mothosaurus here. No matter how rancid the patter is, the 'certain person' has a reasonable point for once. Proof the exception proves the rule.

[DH1986]

Tynecastle - the club's only asset, being sold to clear debts but wouldn't have cleared them.

 

Vlad saved Hearts when he saved Tynecastle.

 

Lets just stick to the absolute facts please.

 

Your last statement is pure speculation. You have no real idea or absolute proof what would have happened next if the Cala deal had gone through.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Lets just stick to the absolute facts please.

 

Your last statement is pure speculation. You have no real idea or absolute proof what would have happened next if the Cala deal had gone through.

Actually, we do. We know what Hearts debts were, we know what Cala were offering was less than that debt and we know we had to pay for site clearance. Oh and Cala weren't paying as a lump sum.

 

In short, we were screwed.

[adayinmay]

Quite enjoyed the programme but I think it got the time line and reason for our downfall wrong.

 

I thought Romanov's business and crucially his Bank collapsed meaning then the Banks administrators came looking to us to pay our debt.

The BBC programme painted a picture of the Lithuanian authorities uncovering embezzlement as the reason for our collapse. The program even stated that Romanov's businesses had survived the economic crash.

It might seem like a minor incorrect detail but for me its not. The programmes narrative allows the accusation of Hearts (throw their owner) being guilty of embezzlement, which we are not.

 

Asides that the story of our fans self determination for survival was as an inspiring tale you will ever see in Scottish football.

[DH1986]

I hate having to agree with certain people, but Hearts were ****ed without Romanov.

 

It depends what you mean by ****ed ?

 

I maintain we would not have gone out of business.....we may have not been what we were but if much much much smaller club than Hearts escaped closure for what would have been a few million owned the I'm absolutely certain we would have got out the hole we were in.

 

In very recent years the fans have gone to ridiculous lengths to save the club.....what was different about Hearts fans 2004 ? 

[the big show]

 F CUKED without Romanov . !! Maybe so but the way he conducted himself at times was nothing short of shocking , I give him credit for standing up to the SFA and the OF and a few other things but over all he was a bad egg and a dictator that was found out in the end . Lucky escape for us .

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

It depends what you mean by ****ed ?

 

I maintain we would not have gone out of business.....we may have not been what we were but if much much much smaller club than Hearts escaped closure for what would have been a few million owned the I'm absolutely certain we would have got out the hole we were in.

 

In very recent years the fans have gone to ridiculous lengths to save the club.....what was different about Hearts fans 2004 ?

Simple. Where were we getting money from to buy land and build a new stadium?

 

Oh and bear in mind this was at the height of the property boom.

[Beast Boy]

Before Romanov stopped the sale of Tynecastle we were getting crowds of about 10/11k for games that didn't involve the OF or Hibs. We were releasing black balloons and putting money in envelopes to try and save the club. The Cala deal wasn't going to clear the debt, and those crowds would have dropped further as a diminished shell of a club playing out of a giant rugby stadium which would not have been cheep to rent. We were gone.

[DH1986]

Actually, we do. We know what Hearts debts were, we know what Cala were offering was less than that debt and we know we had to pay for site clearance. Oh and Cala weren't paying as a lump sum.

 

In short, we were screwed.

 

We were in shit....but we've got out the shit before. 

 

I never thought we were going to die as a club 2 years ago and I don't think we would have died as a club 12 years ago.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

We were in shit....but we've got out the shit before.

 

I never thought we were going to die as a club 2 years ago and I don't think we would have died as a club 12 years ago.

Without Vlad we would have been an Airdrie, slowly dying and homeless. Imagine trying to sell season tickets to Murrayfield to watch Dennis Wyness. That was the reality.

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

I do love a good Pressley Vlad debate.

 

Both did great things and awful things. In a roundabout way Romanov has actually contributed to our position today. Not by inteniton of course but had that stadium gone we would have been liquidated, no doubt.

 

Pressley was a great captain but he thought he ran the club, he didn't. He to this day is full of misplaced self importance.

 

Vladimir was random but in his culture the boss is the boss. It was his money and no matter how misplaced in his own dream world he was when he bought us we allowed a deal with not quite the devil but a devilish fool.

 

One last thing to remember our debt peak was 40 million, it reduced to 25 million. I don't think he ever wanted to break us he was simply a shocking businessman with extravagant dreams.

 

Let us look forward, now that chapter is over, but it is some story and one that I am immensely proud to have been even a small part of

[DH1986]

Simple. Where were we getting money from to buy land and build a new stadium?

 

Oh and bear in mind this was at the height of the property boom.

 

There is no point in this.....we will go round and round and round.

 

My point stands....you or anyone else who says we would have been liquidated are speculating.

 

This is an absolute fact I'm afraid. 

[Maroon Sailor]

Simple. Where were we getting money from to buy land and build a new stadium?

Oh and bear in mind this was at the height of the property boom.

You could say that about clubs like Brighton - they have got a singing and dancing stadium on the outskirts of the city despite being homeless and rudderless for years. They even survived going in to the conference on the last day of one season late 90's.

 

Rotherham are another example of being homeless for years and survived.

 

Who's to say Hearts wouldn't have done the same ?

[DH1986]

Without Vlad we would have been an Airdrie, slowly dying and homeless. Imagine trying to sell season tickets to Murrayfield to watch Dennis Wyness. That was the reality.

 

Again......pure speculation. You have no idea how many supporters would have decided to call it a day.

 

I think this is a real kick in the teeth to Hearts supporters tbh. Airdie are nothing club with a small number of supporters.

 

We have shown what we are capable of when the shit hits the fan and to say we would have turned our backs is wrong imo. 

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

You could say that about clubs like Brighton - they have got a singing and dancing stadium on the outskirts of the city despite being homeless and rudderless for years. They even survived going in to the conference on the last day of one season late 90's.

 

Rotherham are another example of being homeless for years and survived.

 

Who's to say Hearts wouldn't have done the same ?

Would you have swapped that off chance for not having Vlad in the first place? As I said, we had 10 years we had no right to, to which we had 2 years of hurt to sort out the mess. I know which I would choose any day of the week.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Again......pure speculation. You have no idea how many supporters would have decided to call it a day.

 

I think this is a real kick in the teeth to Hearts supporters tbh. Airdie are nothing club with a small number of supporters.

 

We have shown what we are capable of when the shit hits the fan and to say we would have turned our backs is wrong imo.

Given what our crowds were (and indeed under Robbo they fell under five figures) then I think your faith is misplaced. Airdrie are a comparison because they were homeless for years and fans drifted away. I've no reason to doubt we would have suffered as well. Our fans were sick of the years of cutbacks and losses.

[XB52]

Exactly. Criticized for not talking about Rangers administration in detail but they'd be criticized for focusing too much on Rangers if they did.

 

Programme was decent to be honest, and as far as bbc Scotland goes fairly balanced in its reporting of all clubs rather than focusing solely on the OF.

have to agree with that. I purposely didn't watch the first episode as I presumed it would be an OF ****fest but reports said differently so watched last night. It was a fairly well balanced programme   

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

Again......pure speculation. You have no idea how many supporters would have decided to call it a day.

 

I think this is a real kick in the teeth to Hearts supporters tbh. Airdie are nothing club with a small number of supporters.

 

We have shown what we are capable of when the shit hits the fan and to say we would have turned our backs is wrong imo.

But perhaps not in the same number that we have.

 

I don't think we would have died but our recovery would have been painful

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

But perhaps not in the same number that we have.

 

I don't think we would have died but our recovery would have been painful

And what kind of recovery are we talking about? No money to sign players and Gordon, Pressley, Webster and Hartley all away on the cheap to stay afloat.

[XB52]

They are running with sectarianism being a Scottish disease and that picture and the attack on Neil lennon are being used as the sole evidence.

I take it you didn't watch the programme???? They spent ages going on about Lennon suffering physical and verbal abuse in Glasgow; getting sent bombs and bullets in the post and RIP Lennon graffiti on the walls in Glasgow. Also showed McCoist goading him during an OF game. The only tv evidence of him being attacked (sort of) was the John Wilson incident so of course they were going to use it   

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

have to agree with that. I purposely didn't watch the first episode as I presumed it would be an OF ****fest but reports said differently so watched last night. It was a fairly well balanced programme

Too much Glasgow in the first one but last night was Hearts centric and fairly well balanced.

 

Aberdeen and Hibs not much of a look in. Programme does seem to jump around and is only suited I feel to those who have witnessed the periods start to finish

[DH1986]

Given what our crowds were (and indeed under Robbo they fell under five figures) then I think your faith is misplaced. Airdrie are a comparison because they were homeless for years and fans drifted away. I've no reason to doubt we would have suffered as well. Our fans were sick of the years of cutbacks and losses.

 

We may well have suffered on the pitch but not to the point where we just closed as a club. No chance.

 

10,000 folk don't just decide to stop going to games over night. Even if we had move to groundshare with Livingston we would have got bigger crowds than them.

[DH1986]

But perhaps not in the same number that we have.

 

I don't think we would have died but our recovery would have been painful

 

I agree.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

We may well have suffered on the pitch but not to the point where we just closed as a club. No chance.

 

10,000 folk don't just decide to stop going to games over night. Even if we had move to groundshare with Livingston we would have got bigger crowds than them.

Like that's an achievement!

 

Still owing money, paying rent and unable to sign a team to generate any kind of profit to cover costs.

 

Screwed.

[XB52]

You epitomise the type of clown I was referring too Geoffrey.

 

He was an absolute disgrace

saved our club, end of story

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

And what kind of recovery are we talking about? No money to sign players and Gordon, Pressley, Webster and Hartley all away on the cheap to stay afloat.

Slow and painful.

 

Maybe you missed Save our Hearts and Foundation of Hearts.

 

Those of us who buy our season tickets regardless would never let the club die completely. Proud to be one of those for pretty much the last 27 years, I am but one of many who adore the club. That feeling in itself is why we adore the club. Stupidly we sometimes even prioritise above family, not so proud.

 

Recent history proves we won't die but you are absolutely correct in the assertion that Murrayfield would have been grim. I think it would have been a rebirth, thankfully we never had to find out

[DH1986]

Like that's an achievement!

 

Still owing money, paying rent and unable to sign a team to generate any kind of profit to cover costs.

 

Screwed.

 

As a club and football team we would have survived. We may not have been what we were but we would have survived...the supporters would have seen to that. just like we did pre Ann Budge.

[Hagar the Horrible]

The program was good, it glossed over a lot of issues and it was edited as a magazine, each main subject could have had a whole show on its own and not done it Justice.

 

My thoughts though and I criticise Rangers fans for the same thing is : it is OK for us to slag off Romanov but not the media?

 

Vlad good stuff, saved the club and the stadium from certain doom, brought in a great squad, won 2 cups gave us one helluva ride, made us the only show in town.

Vlad bad stuff:  hit the self destruct button every time it was going well, too many managers, too many players, The Fax machine! put us ?25m in debt to himself rather than the ?20m in debt to the bank the Pieman got us into!!!!!! and you could go on!  The Monster??

 

Truth of the matter, I cant bring myself to hate him, even though the media as quoted last night painted him as a Bond Villain, and the media just dont get he in all probability actually cared about us.

 

Compare that to SDM???   Last nights sportsound apart from laughing at the "Big Hoose must stay open" guy, nobody brought up during their preview of the show  how bad and how big a role David Murray actually played in this?  It was all Whyte who was the bad guy.  No talk of Green either????

 

I dont agree with a lot of stuff Tom English says, but I respect what he says and the way he says it, at least he opens up debating points.  Tom Last night was spot on Blaming SDM for the mess at Glibco.   Good on the BBC for allowing it, however shame on the BBC for none of your on the books paid staff backing him up.  Good on Thommo as well.

 

But lets paint a massive picture of how bad SDM was, He brought in a never ending stream of players, he forced the managers to play them.  He cheated with the EBT's he broke the rules by not disclosing the dual contracts..CHEATED the entire sport.  He killed off Airdrieonians for a mere ?30k which he spent more on mint sauce for his succulent lamb,  This in turn allowed Gretna in, and Airdrie Utd took over Clydebank,  so he killed off 4 clubs including Gretna by allowing them to be born!

 

The other point of note, was it was clear most chairmen were going to allow Newco straight back to the top, until the fans  demonstrated backbone and a moral compass something that the SFA the SPFL and our clubs lack, yet the fans are the ones pillared.  Stephen Thompson admitted this, and if you heard the full Wee Fergus interview who made it clear that the fans were wrong because money should come first, and Celtic and even Rangers ARE Scottish football, even though we all hate celtic like some bullying big brother, their needs must come first as  they fill every ground in the country.

 

WE came out smelling roses granted even with the 2 shameful attacks by Lennon on that fan asking for his autograph and the vicious assault on McCoist.

 

Hibs must be spewing!!!  We were praised

 

The other point of note was Roger claiming that one club in particular sabotaged the SPF TV deal by leaking all to SKY, he hinted that it was the OF and we can guess which one it was.  Still it is one serious accusation and stinks of industrial espionage and insider dealing.  Still no backbone by all member clubs allowing this to go without impunity.

 

Still the sad thing is the game is promoted by the powers at bee by just 2 clubs who use their hatred and biggotry of each other as a selling point for a TV deal, Big Brother, Jeremy Kyle, the X factor, eat your heart out.  Scottish football knows no low

[Prince Buaben]

We may well have suffered on the pitch but not to the point where we just closed as a club. No chance.

 

10,000 folk don't just decide to stop going to games over night. Even if we had move to groundshare with Livingston we would have got bigger crowds than them.

 

They might not decide to stop going over night but there would have been a drop off just by the move itself and it would have been gradual as the budget starts to decrease to cover the rent as it would have no doubt increased over the years. I know people who refused the European games there never mind a full season Then there is getting moved about for the Egg chasing as it would have been the priority in the stadium or some daft U2 gig etc. People would have got sick of it.

 

We would have given the OF fans as many tickets as they wanted to cover costs.. imagine a 'home game' with thousands of OF fans in the ground aswell.. sounds ****ing awful.

Groundshare with Livingston? That sounds worse than Murrayfield. 

 

Im glad Vlad came in.. it was never dull. We Won 2 scottish cups and seen some cracking players.. (Seen some dire too) 

[gorgie rd eh11]

 Would anyone swap where we are now with where Robinson was taking us?

 

 Romanov gave us time and when the opportunity arose we took it, i'm very glad he showed up.

 

 It was a roller coaster but it gave us moments we'll never forget, good and bad, is that not what it's all about?

[Beast Boy]

As a club and football team we would have survived. We may not have been what we were but we would have survived...the supporters would have seen to that. just like we did pre Ann Budge.

Our supporters have shown time and time again just how good we are.

 

We should be proud of where we are at today.

Accidentally posted this on the wrong thread:

 

Back in 13/14 though. On both occasions it was end game time, but ten years before the crowds were plummeting. SoH did a fantastic job, that should never ever be forgotten, but without Romanov, they would not have saved the club the way we, and they, managed to save it in 2014. I don't know if you were around then chief, and I am not trying to be condescending by asking if you were, but the atmosphere was one of hopelessness and defeat outside of the hardcore. The day Romanov stopped the sale of Tynecastle will always remain one of the most joyous memories of supporting Hearts, the relieve was incredible, like nothing I've experienced since. In 2014 I always believed we were going to save the club, it felt different.

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

The program was good, it glossed over a lot of issues and it was edited as a magazine, each main subject could have had a whole show on its own and not done it Justice.

 

My thoughts though and I criticise Rangers fans for the same thing is : it is OK for us to slag off Romanov but not the media?

 

Vlad good stuff, saved the club and the stadium from certain doom, brought in a great squad, won 2 cups gave us one helluva ride, made us the only show in town.

Vlad bad stuff: hit the self destruct button every time it was going well, too many managers, too many players, The Fax machine! put us ?25m in debt to himself rather than the ?20m in debt to the bank the Pieman got us into!!!!!! and you could go on! The Monster??

 

Truth of the matter, I cant bring myself to hate him, even though the media as quoted last night painted him as a Bond Villain, and the media just dont get he in all probability actually cared about us.

 

Compare that to SDM??? Last nights sportsound apart from laughing at the "Big Hoose must stay open" guy, nobody brought up during their preview of the show how bad and how big a role David Murray actually played in this? It was all Whyte who was the bad guy. No talk of Green either????

 

I dont agree with a lot of stuff Tom English says, but I respect what he says and the way he says it, at least he opens up debating points. Tom Last night was spot on Blaming SDM for the mess at Glibco. Good on the BBC for allowing it, however shame on the BBC for none of your on the books paid staff backing him up. Good on Thommo as well.

 

But lets paint a massive picture of how bad SDM was, He brought in a never ending stream of players, he forced the managers to play them. He cheated with the EBT's he broke the rules by not disclosing the dual contracts..CHEATED the entire sport. He killed off Airdrieonians for a mere ?30k which he spent more on mint sauce for his succulent lamb, This in turn allowed Gretna in, and Airdrie Utd took over Clydebank, so he killed off 4 clubs including Gretna by allowing them to be born!

 

The other point of note, was it was clear most chairmen were going to allow Newco straight back to the top, until the fans demonstrated backbone and a moral compass something that the SFA the SPFL and our clubs lack, yet the fans are the ones pillared. Stephen Thompson admitted this, and if you heard the full Wee Fergus interview who made it clear that the fans were wrong because money should come first, and Celtic and even Rangers ARE Scottish football, even though we all hate celtic like some bullying big brother, their needs must come first as they fill every ground in the country.

 

WE came out smelling roses granted even with the 2 shameful attacks by Lennon on that fan asking for his autograph and the vicious assault on McCoist.

 

Hibs must be spewing!!! We were praised

 

The other point of note was Roger claiming that one club in particular sabotaged the SPF TV deal by leaking all to SKY, he hinted that it was the OF and we can guess which one it was. Still it is one serious accusation and stinks of industrial espionage and insider dealing. Still no backbone by all member clubs allowing this to go without impunity.

 

Still the sad thing is the game is promoted by the powers at bee by just 2 clubs who use their hatred and biggotry of each other as a selling point for a TV deal, Big Brother, Jeremy Kyle, the X factor, eat your heart out. Scottish football knows no low

Fantastic post

[DH1986]

They might not decide to stop going over night but there would have been a drop off just by the move itself and it would have been gradual as the budget starts to decrease to cover the rent as it would have no doubt increased over the years. I know people who refused the European games there never mind a full season Then there is getting moved about for the Egg chasing as it would have been the priority in the stadium or some daft U2 gig etc. People would have got sick of it.

 

We would have given the OF fans as many tickets as they wanted to cover costs.. imagine a 'home game' with thousands of OF fans in the ground aswell.. sounds ******* awful.

Groundshare with Livingston? That sounds worse than Murrayfield. 

 

Im glad Vlad came in.. it was never dull. We Won 2 scottish cups and seen some cracking players.. (Seen some dire too) 

 

I'm not argueing with any of this....it would have been pretty grim for god knows how long.

 

But we still have had a team to support for those who wanted to continue to support it.

[Irufushi]

Mr Romanov made huge mistakes, there is no doubt about that.

But one thing is certain, without his involvement, Heart of Midlothian would not exist today.

That is not open for debate, that is a FACT

And Tynecastle would be long gone.

[SectionDJambo]

Romanov will provoke arguement for years to come.

In his favour, he came in to keep us at Tynecastle and bankrolled a team we could only have dreamed of having. Without him, there would have been no Rudi Skacel, for one, now a club legend. We won the Scottish Cup twice, stopping Hibs doing it both times. Our debt problems were already well down the road to disaster, and not initially caused by him.

Against him, the behaviour of an erratic bully. Goodness knows how much money he threw away running Hearts, whether it was his in the first place or not. With the kind of investment made over his time in charge, Hearts should have ended up winning far more than the 2 cups and not ended up on our backside. So he, obviously, had no idea how to run a football club, both on the field and off it. Our infrastructure passed onto the new management was a shambles, and has resulted in a major overhaul.

What is undeniable, is that the level of interest generated in our club, both good and bad, whilst he was here, had never been experienced before.

I'm happy he was here, but I'm much happier he's now gone.

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

They might not decide to stop going over night but there would have been a drop off just by the move itself and it would have been gradual as the budget starts to decrease to cover the rent as it would have no doubt increased over the years. I know people who refused the European games there never mind a full season Then there is getting moved about for the Egg chasing as it would have been the priority in the stadium or some daft U2 gig etc. People would have got sick of it.

 

We would have given the OF fans as many tickets as they wanted to cover costs.. imagine a 'home game' with thousands of OF fans in the ground aswell.. sounds ******* awful.

Groundshare with Livingston? That sounds worse than Murrayfield.

 

Im glad Vlad came in.. it was never dull. We Won 2 scottish cups and seen some cracking players.. (Seen some dire too)

Exactly. It's part of the history, we lived it we survived it, it was ecstasy and agony , but never dull. Part of the current situation where we are being criticised. People are craving drama, it's what we have become accustomed to

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Slow and painful.

 

Maybe you missed Save our Hearts and Foundation of Hearts.

 

Those of us who buy our season tickets regardless would never let the club die completely. Proud to be one of those for pretty much the last 27 years, I am but one of many who adore the club. That feeling in itself is why we adore the club. Stupidly we sometimes even prioritise above family, not so proud.

 

Recent history proves we won't die but you are absolutely correct in the assertion that Murrayfield would have been grim. I think it would have been a rebirth, thankfully we never had to find out

Save our Hearts greatest achievement was exposing the sham of the Cala deal but they were in no position to change anything. Vlad and his money saved us.

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

Save our Hearts greatest achievement was exposing the sham of the Cala deal but they were in no position to change anything. Vlad and his money saved us.

I agreed with that Geoff. Things worked out in a very bizarre living on the edge way.

 

It is only fair to say though he left not much more than a skeleton on life support and has killed our credit rating!

 

I genuinely believe he wanted Hearts to survive and he did "get" Hearts

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

I agreed with that Geoff. Things worked out in a very bizarre living on the edge way.

 

It is only fair to say though he left not much more than a skeleton on life support and has killed our credit rating!

 

I genuinely believe he wanted Hearts to survive and he did "get" Hearts

I agree with the second point but I would say our credit rating was non existent before he took over. The Bank of Scotland, the bank who lent to anyone back then and who went tits up because of it, were refusing to lend us more and needed us to sell Tynecastle to maintain our overdraft!

[Prince Buaben]

I'm not argueing with any of this....it would have been pretty grim for god knows how long.

 

But we still have had a team to support for those who wanted to continue to support it.

 

Absolutley no doubt that We would have a team but we wouldn't be where we are now.. we would have been toiling.. the crowds would be low. Look at out League cup crowds for an indication of what it might look like. The more we toiled the more the crowds would have dropped. 

[DH1986]

Accidentally posted this on the wrong thread:

 

Back in 13/14 though. On both occasions it was end game time, but ten years before the crowds were plummeting. SoH did a fantastic job, that should never ever be forgotten, but without Romanov, they would not have saved the club the way we, and they, managed to save it in 2014. I don't know if you were around then chief, and I am not trying to be condescending by asking if you were, but the atmosphere was one of hopelessness and defeat outside of the hardcore. The day Romanov stopped the sale of Tynecastle will always remain one of the most joyous memories of supporting Hearts, the relieve was incredible, like nothing I've experienced since. In 2014 I always believed we were going to save the club, it felt different.

 

I was there. I was in the Gorgie Suite when he walked into that AGM/EGM.

 

I was in Braga as things were gathering pace and recall talking to George Foulkes about the situation. I was as happy as anyone when VR came into the club but I knew he had to be slightly crazy....he had to be. I was wary as I'd read how we were his 4th option and knew his plans would involve bringing in players from Lithuania but I was comfortable with that as we would still have Tynecastle.

 

Yes...we had some wonderful times....it was never ever dull and the interest then probably laid the foundations for many of the supporters going now.

 

But we were badly run as a club. Horrendously in fact. We will probably never know the full scale of the ridiculousness of the decisions and money squandered on outrageous signings. The guy had completely lost the plot.

 

To take us as close to absolute death as he did is unforgivable. He will not be remembered as a saviour of Hearts by me...he will be the remembered as the who almost killed us. He nearly ended it all.