Ann Budge’s review of the football department

[Selkirkhmfc1874]

2 minutes ago, Gambo said:

Who signed this PR disaster off?

Budge herself?

Levein?

All of the board including the 2 FoH reps?

The PR dept?

 

 

It's about time the 2 foh reps had something to say to the fans they represent in my opinion! They've plenty to say when they want our money 

[Nookie Bear]

 “Certain reporters and pundits have made numerous ill-informed “statements” regarding how things operate at the Club, how decisions are made and who is involved in the decision-making process.”

 

Errrr that was you, Ann, when you asked Levein who certain staff reported to and he replied “me, I suppose”. 

[Rannoch]

I've been keeping my own counsel of late believing  that wise heads would prevail and Levein would be gone soon. My heart sank however when I read this statement. Even a dictator of a banana republic would have a better sense of PR than our CEO. No attempt to reach the fans but instead a cringing , defensive justification of what has become an intolerable situation. No plan B, no attempt to sound out an alternative manager in the face of the worst sequence of results we have ever witnessed. A complete detachment from reality by putting all her faith in a manager who has become toxic. So toxic that when the Motherwell fans sang " your getting sacked in the morning " a few who sit beside me started to join in ! Not one, repeat not one, of the wide circle of Hearts fans I know want him to stay. 

The irony is that when I subscribed to FOH I didn't have lofty ideas but just thought there would be more fan involvement and an element of democracy; that's all I was looking for. Instead we have a dictatorship, a cabal that are digging themselves in and immersing themselves in denial as they become entrenched in their silo. 

No other British football club would put up with this. Indeed no PLC would be able to withstand such a downturn in results as the shareholders would revolt. The fans feel ground down and powerless. A disgraceful set of affairs. 

[kila]

Just now, Nookie Bear said:

 “Certain reporters and pundits have made numerous ill-informed “statements” regarding how things operate at the Club, how decisions are made and who is involved in the decision-making process.”

 

Errrr that was you, Ann, when you asked Levein who certain staff reported to and he replied “me, I suppose”. 

 

Exactly!

 

 

[DETTY29]

It's a formal vote of confidence and I suppose we know how these can pan out.

[Innocent Eggboniki]

Boycott is the only way 

[Nookie Bear]

4 minutes ago, indianajones said:

I am an extremely reasonable person and that statment is nonsense. 

 

Being a boss and a friend of someone is dangerous business and this is what it screams off. She just doesn't have the guts to do it for whatever reason. 

 

Your plans can stay the same but just with a different man in charge Ann. The guys holding everything back. 

 

That is an excellent point, although whose plans are they?

[J80MBO]

30 years a season ticket holder...

 

Completely disillusioned...

 

 

[kila]

If it had been Levein who forgot to order the new stand seats, she would've released a statement saying the board still fully back him and believe in what he is trying to achieve, that the seats will come eventually.

 

 

[Craig Gordons Gloves]

I'm a fan of Ann Budge and the approach she's taken to leading the turnaround of the club BUT this statement has pissed me off.  Yes, she's been clear and reasoned in explaining what's been done.  At the same time though, she's also been beyond patronizing and made an assumption that she's talking only to dafties.  " what we do not do is throw those plans out the window!".  Well yes, that's exactly what you do when there is clear evidence that they haven't been working for a considerable time. 

 

Don't get me wrong, i think she has every right to call out the arseholes but at the same time, treating all fans as clueless numpties is cheeky as ****,

Edited September 18, 2019 by Craig Gordons Gloves

[Spoleto]

Just now, Innocent Eggboniki said:

Boycott is the only way 

 

Excellent. 

 

Please stay away. You won't be missed.

[i8hibsh]

3 minutes ago, MMHearts said:

I’d be interested in what her definition of a genuine Hearts fan is....

 

 

Not her. She never gave a **** until the late 90s. She is 71 and has probably never heard of Bobby Prentice until 24 hours ago. Everything about her is fake. 

 

[Back to 2005]

4 minutes ago, DETTY29 said:

It's a formal vote of confidence and I suppose we know how these can pan out.

If we were run like a normal football club...

[18Jambo_dave74]

16/17th - 5th (Cathro)

17/18 - 6th

18/19 - 6th

19/20 - currently 12th

 

See this plan she talks about, how come this didn’t apply to Cathro but it applies to Levein? Under Levein, it has been sustained failure and under achieving - not because of 5 league games this season.

 

”Genuine” fans - does this apply to the fans that watch us get beat 5-0 at Livingston or the fans that pay to go and watch us fail to beat East Fife, Patrick Thistle, Dundee Utd, Hamilton, Dundee etc? 

 

We have the best squad in 6 years apparently...yet we are bottom of the league. 

 

But we’ve had injuries? Maybe we should stop playing players when they are injured or carrying knocks. 

 

 

Edited September 18, 2019 by 18Jambo_dave74

[Ron Burgundy]

2 minutes ago, Spoleto said:

 

Excellent. 

 

Please stay away. You won't be missed.

You’ve been a member for 10 years but only sprung into action of late. 

Still hurting mate 5–1. NLTF. 

[merrymac]

7 minutes ago, indianajones said:

I am an extremely reasonable person and that statment is nonsense. 

 

Being a boss and a friend of someone is dangerous business and this is what it screams off. She just doesn't have the guts to do it for whatever reason. 

 

Your plans can stay the same but just with a different man in charge Ann. The guys holding everything back. 

She contradicts herself  - Doesn't want to change the plan then proceeds to give a number of examples of when they went back to the "planning board".

Changing the Manager is not changing the plan just a component part, which she has already done for other issues.

Whoever wrote that statement needs sacked for a start.

[Tennant's 6's]

6 minutes ago, Nookie Bear said:

 “Certain reporters and pundits have made numerous ill-informed “statements” regarding how things operate at the Club, how decisions are made and who is involved in the decision-making process.”

 

Errrr that was you, Ann, when you asked Levein who certain staff reported to and he replied “me, I suppose”. 

😂😡🤬😂

God, I really hope we beat the hobbits & sheep. If not, it doesn't bare thinkg about. 

[AuldReekiee]

5 minutes ago, DETTY29 said:

It's a formal vote of confidence and I suppose we know how these can pan out.

 It looks pretty genuine. She could have said nothing if she was thinking his time was possibly up soon.

[Jambo 4 Ever]

9 minutes ago, MMHearts said:

I’d be interested in what her definition of a genuine Hearts fan is....

One that supports the team and doesn’t use abusive language or behaviour 

[Mac80]

Baffling. 

 

Shes taking us for fools. 

 

[Innocent Eggboniki]

5 minutes ago, Spoleto said:

 

Excellent. 

 

Please stay away. You won't be missed.

Not a penny more of my hard earned cash til he’s gone 👋🏼👋🏼

[Threebs]

There will be absolute carnage on Sunday now .... in all sorts of ways. 

[Sirudi]

The views of the fans, genuine or otherwise, mean nothing to her.

Patronising, deluded and disrespectful to those that have been following and putting their money into the club a lot longer than her.

The key comment is that she obviously believes the problem lies with the last 5 games. Incredible.

They have a plan. Really ????

 

[Bull's-eye]

The genuine supporters will get behind the team as usual. 

[Ron Burgundy]

Just now, Spoleto said:

 

I've never heard so much xxxxx coming from so called Hearts supporters before. You sound more like Rangers fans. 

I just like to highlight peoples ignorance. 

 

You rank highly on the list.

Not a peep during administration. But now you’re like a fly on shite. 

[kila]

Will her statement be translated into Japanese for the club's www.heartsfc.jp website?

 

 

[Hercules]

45 minutes ago, August Landmesser said:

Is it just me, but I think that statement is fairly inoffensive (apart from all the ellipses of course)

 

1.Plenty of information on how the club has tried to address problems in the past; the problems of 17/18 (shite football and Cathro) were different to those of 18/19 (injuries absolutely ****ing us when we were top of the league), and the problems of 19/20 are (so far) a result of steps taken to address 18/19 problems (i.e. a big squad of new players intended to provide injury cover)

 

2. Admission that the board etc don't always get it right, but that when they make mistakes they do try to fix them; we've stopped major infrastructure spending in order to focus on the team - plenty people on here were clamouring for that when various design decisions were being made about the new stand.

 

3. A clear explanation of CL's roles and responsibilities and accountability to the board - i.e. he doesn't have power over his own employment (which should be obvious to anyone who knows how a job works). That's clear enough for even the Sportsound mob to understand I reckon.

 

4. Clarification of rumours in the press, and a 'shut up' to Michael Stewart and Gary Mackay (plenty people on here have said that in the past)  

 

I'm not sure what people really expect just now. As she clearly points out, "Be assured that [the board] are not ‘burying our heads in the sand’; we are in constant dialogue about performances and what is going wrong on the pitch".

 

That seems obvious to me that if things don't improve - with this new, better, more expensive squad - that change will happen.

 

For now, that's the state of play, things won't change before 5pm on Sunday, so I'm going to get along to Easter Road and support the team. 

 

And the 'genuine Hearts fans' line hasn't riled me up one bit. It was clearly aimed at the bigoted wee shites who don't give a **** about the club's reputation and just want to sing their 'folk songs' and chuck flares on our pitch. 

 

*tin hat on*

I find it offensive as she is basing the shit show we are witnessing on the first 5 league games. What about the dismal performances in the league cup section ? She, like her poster boy, conveniently fail to mention the utter dross we’ve been watching for years now. Awful statement. 

[Robbo-Jambo]

13 minutes ago, Rannoch said:

I've been keeping my own counsel of late believing  that wise heads would prevail and Levein would be gone soon. My heart sank however when I read this statement. Even a dictator of a banana republic would have a better sense of PR than our CEO. No attempt to reach the fans but instead a cringing , defensive justification of what has become an intolerable situation. No plan B, no attempt to sound out an alternative manager in the face of the worst sequence of results we have ever witnessed. A complete detachment from reality by putting all her faith in a manager who has become toxic. So toxic that when the Motherwell fans sang " your getting sacked in the morning " a few who sit beside me started to join in ! Not one, repeat not one, of the wide circle of Hearts fans I know want him to stay. 

The irony is that when I subscribed to FOH I didn't have lofty ideas but just thought there would be more fan involvement and an element of democracy; that's all I was looking for. Instead we have a dictatorship, a cabal that are digging themselves in and immersing themselves in denial as they become entrenched in their silo. 

No other British football club would put up with this. Indeed no PLC would be able to withstand such a downturn in results as the shareholders would revolt. The fans feel ground down and powerless. A disgraceful set of affairs. 

Great Post 👍

[soonbe110]

57 minutes ago, fabienleclerq said:

What I'm taking from it is she won't be swayed by criticism and has her own mind. I can understand her reasons for keeping CL I just don't agree with them. 

 

I think the statement is pretty decent. 

 

Tin hat attached.... 

Seconded

[indianajones]

10 minutes ago, Nookie Bear said:

 

That is an excellent point, although whose plans are they?

 

More than likely the man in question which is extremely worrying. 

 

6 minutes ago, merrymac said:

She contradicts herself  - Doesn't want to change the plan then proceeds to give a number of examples of when they went back to the "planning board".

Changing the Manager is not changing the plan just a component part, which she has already done for other issues.

Whoever wrote that statement needs sacked for a start.

 

After a second read it just made me angry to be honest. What an utter car crash of a statement to release. 

[RudiHMFC]

Genuine hearts supporters need to do everything in their power to get rid of these cretins, she certainly isn't a Hearts supporter and she isn't genuine.

[Bull's-eye]

Who could have predicted JKB screaming for a statement then skittering it's undercrackers when a statement appears not pandering to its screeches. 

 

Um shocked. 

[1874robbo]

Genuine Hearts fans!!!!

Condescending old bint!!!

[soonbe110]

54 minutes ago, 1874robbo said:

How did you come to that conclusion reading that statement?

Because that’s what it says. 

[1874robbo]

Just now, soonbe110 said:

Because that’s what it says. 

He’s going nowhere under her guidance that’s what I take from that.

its only 5 games she says.

[Maroonjam]

It is clear she is running this club as a business, not a club. While I respect what she has done building the infrastructure and commercial arm, it is clear she doesn't know how the football side should be ran. 

 

The fans are not idiots, we HAVE stood by levein, however we want a return for this  heavy investment in the squad. If after 11 months she is still happy then I am gravely concerned. 

 

She uses the we haven't seen the strongest squad yet.... That's the whole point of a squad the the investment. 

 

We can argue all day but its clear that he is here for the long haul. I for one will continue to support us however not by attending games while this dross is on offer. Arm chair fan I will become until we get a new manager. 

Edited September 18, 2019 by Maroonjam
Spelling

[Back to 2005]

2 minutes ago, thewiseone said:

Anyone else smell something here!

Absolutely rancid vermin.

[1874robbo]

1 minute ago, thewiseone said:

Anyone else smell something here!

From his first words definitely 

[Sagan]

It wiznae working so we flung money at it, 

It wiznae working the next year so we flung money at it again, 

This year we're still fully sticking to the plan, 

if it doesnae work, we'll fling money at it. 

 

[Smack]

1 minute ago, thewiseone said:

Anyone else smell something here!

Aye, he'll be launched once the mods catch up. 

[peebles jambo]

1 hour ago, SectionN said:

She is now part of the problem. 

Big Style, 

 

 

[Nookie Bear]

6 minutes ago, Noah Claypole said:

Who could have predicted JKB screaming for a statement then skittering it's undercrackers when a statement appears not pandering to its screeches. 

 

Um shocked. 

 

The only statement anyone wanted to see was one that started “Craig Levein has left his role as Head Coach with immediate effect...”

[Famous 1874]

We need to force her out. ****ing sick of it now. 

[pablo]

 

Well, that's a bit pish. How long now till she's paid off and gets to ****?

 

 

[S Form]

My take on this is that it’s the ‘vote of confidence’ that really means ‘start winning or collect your belongings’. I couldn’t speculate on how long she’s given him but I can’t see the club resisting the pressure if he loses the next two games.

[soonbe110]

1 hour ago, August Landmesser said:

Is it just me, but I think that statement is fairly inoffensive (apart from all the ellipses of course)

 

1.Plenty of information on how the club has tried to address problems in the past; the problems of 17/18 (shite football and Cathro) were different to those of 18/19 (injuries absolutely ****ing us when we were top of the league), and the problems of 19/20 are (so far) a result of steps taken to address 18/19 problems (i.e. a big squad of new players intended to provide injury cover)

 

2. Admission that the board etc don't always get it right, but that when they make mistakes they do try to fix them; we've stopped major infrastructure spending in order to focus on the team - plenty people on here were clamouring for that when various design decisions were being made about the new stand.

 

3. A clear explanation of CL's roles and responsibilities and accountability to the board - i.e. he doesn't have power over his own employment (which should be obvious to anyone who knows how a job works). That's clear enough for even the Sportsound mob to understand I reckon.

 

4. Clarification of rumours in the press, and a 'shut up' to Michael Stewart and Gary Mackay (plenty people on here have said that in the past)  

 

I'm not sure what people really expect just now. As she clearly points out, "Be assured that [the board] are not ‘burying our heads in the sand’; we are in constant dialogue about performances and what is going wrong on the pitch".

 

That seems obvious to me that if things don't improve - with this new, better, more expensive squad - that change will happen.

 

For now, that's the state of play, things won't change before 5pm on Sunday, so I'm going to get along to Easter Road and support the team. 

 

And the 'genuine Hearts fans' line hasn't riled me up one bit. It was clearly aimed at the bigoted wee shites who don't give a **** about the club's reputation and just want to sing their 'folk songs' and chuck flares on our pitch. 

 

*tin hat on*

Good post, pretty much states the way forward. Pity the majority on here didn’t take time to think or reflect after they read her statement for the first time. 

[Governor Tarkin]

24 minutes ago, DETTY29 said:

It's a formal vote of confidence and I suppose we know how these can pan out.

 

Jotters by the weekend. 👍

[gashauskis9]

If I ran a business that made a profit, but I spent most of my days reading customer complaints and shite feedback I wouldn’t be singing from the rooftops about how successful I was.  

[soonbe110]

45 minutes ago, Footballfirst said:

If AB was to get away with a statement supporting CL, then it needed to reflect some short term targets for improvement in results otherwise the Board would have to explore all options. 

I think she said they have those short and long term targets and would take action if they are not met. Don’t think any business worth it’s salt would put short term targets into the public domain 

[Haringshairband]

17 minutes ago, Noah Claypole said:

The genuine supporters will get behind the team as usual. 

You're at it.