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Wallace Mercer takeover of Hibs


bauld willie

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bauld willie

My daughter, another ardent Jambo, asked me earlier what I remember of the Wallace Mercer attempt to merge Hearts and Hibs back in 1990. It brought back a lot of memories and made me think there must be quite a few people on here who know very little about it. For what it is worth then, I will try and have a bash at recalling it, but it would be interesting to hear what others can recall from the period.

 

The first I heard about it was on the ITV news at 10, it was actually a prominent national headline which shows you how big a story it was. Remember, there was no social media and 24 hour news channels didn't exist.

 

Mercer, the Hearts owner and always a guy who loved the limelight, wanted to merge the clubs together and form some sort of super Edinburgh team to compete with the ugly sisters. Hibs were in trouble and Mercer was trying taking advantage of some reckless investments made by their board in a chain of pubs, which made the underlying Hibs company vulnerable to takeover.

 

Frankly no one could believe it. Mercer didn't really have a football background and I'm sure he was more focused on selling Tynecastle and Easter Road to make money out of it, but he also wanted to relocate this combined team at a new site at Hermiston.

 

Nothing happened for a while and I'm pretty sure it was the close season at the time, but the longer it went on, the more difficult it became for him. Hibs supporters eventually got their act together in a combined front to try and save their club any way they could, but they weren't alone.

 

The Hearts support was split right down the middle. As you would expect, many backed Mercer to the hilt and saw this not as a merger but a takeover which would finally eliminate our rivals. Just as many however, thought the loss of Hibs, the derby, the rivalry the office banter was just to much to lose.

 

Moving to some new out of town large capacity stadium also went down like a lead balloon. No one other than Mercer really believed Hibs supporters would support the new combined team either. I'm pretty sure Mercer also made a comment about asking Alex Ferguson  to be manager, as if he would. Many Hearts supporters actually joined the Hibs fans in their protest marches.

 

In the end, I'm pretty sure it was the death threats to Mercer that eventually scared him off, but there was never a dull moment during the whole episode.

 

The hostility at the first derby after it was incredible and I might be wrong here, but I think it also ended our 21 game unbeaten run against them.

 

Anyone else rember this?

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Yes, I was working in the share registration part of the bank dealing with the transaction and was told very clearly I couldn't talk externally about any aspect of the deal or would be sacked!

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Heartsofgold

My daughter, another ardent Jambo, asked me earlier what I remember of the Wallace Mercer attempt to merge Hearts and Hibs back in 1990. It brought back a lot of memories and made me think there must be quite a few people on here who know very little about it. For what it is worth then, I will try and have a bash at recalling it, but it would be interesting to hear what others can recall from the period.

 

The first I heard about it was on the ITV news at 10, it was actually a prominent national headline which shows you how big a story it was. Remember, there was no social media and 24 hour news channels didn't exist.

 

Mercer, the Hearts owner and always a guy who loved the limelight, wanted to merge the clubs together and form some sort of super Edinburgh team to compete with the ugly sisters. Hibs were in trouble and Mercer was trying taking advantage of some reckless investments made by their board in a chain of pubs, which made the underlying Hibs company vulnerable to takeover.

 

Frankly no one could believe it. Mercer didn't really have a football background and I'm sure he was more focused on selling Tynecastle and Easter Road to make money out of it, but he also wanted to relocate this combined team at a new site at Hermiston.

 

Nothing happened for a while and I'm pretty sure it was the close season at the time, but the longer it went on, the more difficult it became for him. Hibs supporters eventually got their act together in a combined front to try and save their club any way they could, but they weren't alone.

 

The Hearts support was split right down the middle. As you would expect, many backed Mercer to the hilt and saw this not as a merger but a takeover which would finally eliminate our rivals. Just as many however, thought the loss of Hibs, the derby, the rivalry the office banter was just to much to lose.

 

Moving to some new out of town large capacity stadium also went down like a lead balloon. No one other than Mercer really believed Hibs supporters would support the new combined team either. I'm pretty sure Mercer also made a comment about asking Alex Ferguson  to be manager, as if he would. Many Hearts supporters actually joined the Hibs fans in their protest marches.

 

In the end, I'm pretty sure it was the death threats to Mercer that eventually scared him off, but there was never a dull moment during the whole episode.

 

The hostility at the first derby after it was incredible and I might be wrong here, but I think it also ended our 21 game unbeaten run against them.

 

Anyone else rember this?

The 1st Derby after?  did we not pump them 3-0?  I remember the atmosphere being venomous.

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The 1st Derby after?  did we not pump them 3-0?  I remember the atmosphere being venomous.

3-0 up at half time at Easter road and legend has it that the police came in to the hearts dressing room and told them to take their foot off the gas and not score any more goals.

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queensferryjambo

The hostility at the first derby after it was incredible and I might be wrong here, but I think it also ended our 21 game unbeaten run against them.

 

Anyone else rember this?

 

No.

 

It wasn't even close to the end of the 22 in a row run. There were 16 games after the 3-0 Mercer derby.

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Coburg Hearts

No Hearts supporter could forget the first derby after the takeover bid.

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queensferryjambo

No Hearts supporter could forget the first derby after the takeover bid.

 

 

Or that it was 22 in a row not 21.

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zoltan socrates

Mercer was invited to make a bid by hibs owners as they were in serious financials, had to sell and no one was coming forward, the end was very nigh for them

 

 

Mind robbo getting his wrists slapped for not toeing the mercer line and stating that edinburgh needed both clubs and was concerned about the jobs of players surplus to the requirements of a newly merged team

 

My recollection is that more jambos wanted hibs to survive, they forgot that in more recent years

 

Millerhill would have been the new home of an amalgamated team

 

Thank **** it never happened but mr mercer was right that it would have allowed sustained competition to extend beyond the toilet bowlof glasgow

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It was a takeover, not a merger.  That word was used to try and appease the vermin supporters.

 

Mercer was asked after everything had died down what his plan was and he said that the club would have played at Tynecastle initially, in maroon and be called Heart of Midlothian.

 

It was a business venture, pure and simple.  He would have paid about ?1.5M for the shite and got about ?10M worth of land with Andy Goram and John Collins into the bargain (the rest of their squad wasn't worth a piss).

 

It was a fecking brilliant laugh when it was happening and I still wish he'd seen it through and killed the *******s.

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It was a takeover, not a merger.  That word was used to try and appease the vermin supporters.

 

Mercer was asked after everything had died down what his plan was and he said that the club would have played at Tynecastle initially, in maroon and be called Heart of Midlothian.

 

It was a business venture, pure and simple.  He would have paid about ?1.5M for the shite and got about ?10M worth of land with Andy Goram and John Collins into the bargain (the rest of their squad wasn't worth a piss).

 

It was a fecking brilliant laugh when it was happening and I still wish he'd seen it through and killed the *******s.

Goram and collins would have been a great addition to the side. Mackay and Collins running the show in middle of park

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Ricardo Shillyshally

The leith filth demonise Wallace Mercer but most probably have no idea who David Rowland was.

 

Muppets.

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Mars plastic

I was at that game in 1990. Was 15 at the time and probably one of the radgest games I've ever been to. Was a gloriously sunny day and we utterly destroyed them in the first 45 minutes.

 

Would love to know the actual number of hearts fans were in the Dunbar end that afternoon.

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gorgie rd eh11

 

 

Mercer saved hibs.

 

Hibs were a financial basket case and approached Hearts.

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I wanted Hibs to die

 

And it was a Takeover

 

There was talk of 'Edinburgh United' but I think that was just to sweeten the deal. It would have been Heart of Midlothian.

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Sandy Clark

No Hearts supporter could forget the first derby after the takeover bid.

Agree. It is etched.

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It was a takeover, not a merger.  That word was used to try and appease the vermin supporters.

 

Mercer was asked after everything had died down what his plan was and he said that the club would have played at Tynecastle initially, in maroon and be called Heart of Midlothian.

 

It was a business venture, pure and simple.  He would have paid about ?1.5M for the shite and got about ?10M worth of land with Andy Goram and John Collins into the bargain (the rest of their squad wasn't worth a piss).

 

It was a fecking brilliant laugh when it was happening and I still wish he'd seen it through and killed the *******s.

Spot on.

 

Remember working in Ferranti at the time.  All the greetin faced Hobos.  Happy days.

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queensferryjambo

The leith filth demonise Wallace Mercer but most probably have no idea who David Rowland was.

 

;)

 

 

kevin-rowland-dexys-midnight-runners-198

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The irony is we saved them from a charity thieving tax evading fraudster....memories are very short down easter road way.

 

The game itself was bonkers. Pitch invasions in between goals. The Dunbar end was full to bursting. Most certainly was police intervention at half time. I reckon had we got a 4th early in the 2nd half the game would've been abandoned.

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queensferryjambo

Spot on.

 

Remember working in Ferranti at the time.  All the greetin faced Hobos.  Happy days.

 

I was an apprentice at Ferranti at the very same time. The place was packed with Hearts and Hibs fans and definitely a fun time. 

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gorgie rd eh11

Jim Gray stopped it

Did he change his mind?

Got wind that someone else with money might be interested. Maybe thought hibs could screw over a few more people.

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Joey J J Jr Shabadoo

No Hearts supporter could forget the first derby after the takeover bid.

 

I was thinking the same.

 

Good times, though, that 3-0 game.

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HeartsInMyBlood

2 things come to mind:

 

- as it was a merger we'd keep 'Heart of Midlothian' from us and take 'football club' and from them when deciding on the name

 

- the 0-3 at Easter road : they were raging, fans on the pitch, plenty fighting and the glorious urban myth of the coppers pleading with us not to score any more goals after HT

 

The atmosphere was amazing that day and I'd (honest) rate it "better" than 1-5 and the Foster game in terms of sticking it right up them. They were so self righteous that they didn't realise Wallace Mercer was saving them from almost definite closure (granted his business acumen was more about ? than community).

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I wanted them dead then. I want them dead now. Mercer was a ******* legend.

For sure Son.

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My daughter, another ardent Jambo, asked me earlier what I remember of the Wallace Mercer attempt to merge Hearts and Hibs back in 1990. It brought back a lot of memories and made me think there must be quite a few people on here who know very little about it. For what it is worth then, I will try and have a bash at recalling it, but it would be interesting to hear what others can recall from the period.

 

The first I heard about it was on the ITV news at 10, it was actually a prominent national headline which shows you how big a story it was. Remember, there was no social media and 24 hour news channels didn't exist.

 

Mercer, the Hearts owner and always a guy who loved the limelight, wanted to merge the clubs together and form some sort of super Edinburgh team to compete with the ugly sisters. Hibs were in trouble and Mercer was trying taking advantage of some reckless investments made by their board in a chain of pubs, which made the underlying Hibs company vulnerable to takeover.

 

Frankly no one could believe it. Mercer didn't really have a football background and I'm sure he was more focused on selling Tynecastle and Easter Road to make money out of it, but he also wanted to relocate this combined team at a new site at Hermiston.

 

Nothing happened for a while and I'm pretty sure it was the close season at the time, but the longer it went on, the more difficult it became for him. Hibs supporters eventually got their act together in a combined front to try and save their club any way they could, but they weren't alone.

 

The Hearts support was split right down the middle. As you would expect, many backed Mercer to the hilt and saw this not as a merger but a takeover which would finally eliminate our rivals. Just as many however, thought the loss of Hibs, the derby, the rivalry the office banter was just to much to lose.

 

Moving to some new out of town large capacity stadium also went down like a lead balloon. No one other than Mercer really believed Hibs supporters would support the new combined team either. I'm pretty sure Mercer also made a comment about asking Alex Ferguson to be manager, as if he would. Many Hearts supporters actually joined the Hibs fans in their protest marches.

 

In the end, I'm pretty sure it was the death threats to Mercer that eventually scared him off, but there was never a dull moment during the whole episode.

 

The hostility at the first derby after it was incredible and I might be wrong here, but I think it also ended our 21 game unbeaten run against them.

 

Anyone else rember this?

As a younger fan Wallace was like my Grandad, a smiley everything is great happy guy in the programmes I read and that was all I knew, seen him on the telly during it and again, like my grandad trusted him and liked him. That's about as much as I can remember. I remember my parents turning off the match at Easter road on STV tho as Hibs fans came on the pitch, Gerry mcnee the commentator - you always knew if the main highlights where going to be on STV of the big crane was up behind the now roseburn. I wish we finished them off though. Not because ot what happened after Romanov, but because they would have came back some way without this were better than you because of all the debt pish.

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Didn't want them dead then but didn't what a bunch of tumshieheids a number of them would be 3 and a half years ago and some continue to be now

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queensferryjambo, on 11 May 2017 - 10:30 PM, said:

;)

 

 

kevin-rowland-dexys-midnight-runners-198

yeah he sang about Jocky Wilson :tiny:

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3-0 up at half time at Easter road and legend has it that the police came in to the hearts dressing room and told them to take their foot off the gas and not score any more goals.

Yeah that's the game I remember, not allowed to watch the highlights after Robbo (I think) scored the third.

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I think mercer had access to enough shares to push it through, but stopped at the last minute.

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Sandy Clark

Like this?

 

IMG_0539.jpg

No. What is that?

 

I just meant in your mind. Someone says 'the mercer derby' and you know exactly where you sat/stood. The first goal when the Hibs boy ran on the pitch and you couldn't help Robbo (he didn't need it). The precision we carved those inbreds with the third goal was delicious.

 

Those, along with others, are etched.

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nice

Thanks!

 

Got it made in Barcelona would you believe?

 

Dead proud of it and spit on it every match day as if it was outside St. Giles Cathedral.

 

:fth:

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queensferryjambo, on 11 May 2017 - 10:48 PM, said:

They certainly did :)

 

Dexys-Midnight-Runners-008.jpg?w=700&q=5

yup that's the one :tiny:  :tiny:

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No. What is that?

I just meant in your mind. Someone says 'the mercer derby' and you know exactly where you sat/stood. The first goal when the Hibs boy ran on the pitch and you couldn't help Robbo (he didn't need it). The precision we carved those inbreds with the third goal was delicious.

Those, along with others, are etched.

I knew what you meant. I was there.

 

Was just showing you something that was made for me and it reminds me of these fantastic times e.g. The Mercer Derby.

 

:fth:

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Merger? Lost the first derby afterwards? I'm having doubts about the OP.

 

It was a takeover and we pumped them dry in the first derby after.

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Thanks!

 

Got it made in Barcelona would you believe?

 

Dead proud of it and spit on it every match day as if it was outside St. Giles Cathedral.

 

:fth:

That must please your missus :tiny:  :tiny:

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That must please your missus :tiny:  :tiny:

She's a fellow Jambo.

 

She pees on green paper every Saturday morning.

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Morgan, on 11 May 2017 - 10:58 PM, said:

She's a fellow Jambo.

 

She pees on green paper every Saturday morning.

yvACs4z.jpg

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jambos are go!

I was one of around 17 shareholders who voted against the deal at a SGM. Barmy idea that was based on economics not reality.

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Merger? Lost the first derby afterwards? I'm having doubts about the OP.

 

It was a takeover and we pumped them dry in the first derby after.

Nobody can be that obvious. Surely.

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I was one of around 17 shareholders who voted against the deal at a SGM. Barmy idea that was based on economics not reality.

Taking over and destroying your nearest rival is pretty normal behaviour. Just see human history. Not just economics.

 

Another club could have built and taken over a local rivalry.

 

Just some people cared for the Hibs fans. Unusual quaint human emotion. Fair enough though. Probably right.

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Unknown user

My Mrs got me a copy of the offer document sent to their shareholders as a present. I promised to scan it in for someone on here but never got round to it - apologies mysterious stranger.

Anyway, good present, a nice **** you to my wee cousin

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No Hearts supporter could forget the first derby after the takeover bid.

After 98 and 2012 the best game of my life. Better than beating Bayern.

A glorious sunny day ,!proper buggered them and packed like sardines in a proper atmosphere

Wish I could relive that day. Should of shut them down

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