SPFL and Covid ( Leagues 1 and 2 to restart )

[Anything2]

29 minutes ago, Hagar the Horrible said:

Jaimie and CG both want back, and circumstancies have made a buyers market

I like both and I'm surprised that they haven't been clear first choices for the respective clubs the last few years. Only issue is that neither of them are the sort of ball playing keeper that Stendal wants (assuming he is still here next season), in fact they are the opposite of that. I think Stendal's commitment to that style of keeper was the reason that he stuck with Periera for so long as his distribution was the only strength in his game. 

[ericb]

10 minutes ago, Ex member of the SaS said:

No, you misunderstand, I wouldn't keep them. Someone suggested we could have finished the league next week.  But with players leaving, how could we compete " next week" as has been suggested. Another suggest we would need to recruit, again how would we do this should games be played next week. I was making it clear that there is no way we would be able to complete the season now, and I suspect the other teams are in the same boat.

Why could we not compete next week, are you saying we don't have enough contracted players to put out a team? We could, but may SPL teams couldn't.

Edited June 3, 2020 by ericb

[Glamorgan Jambo]

Anyone that's followed James Anderson as an investor knows that he does due diligence thoughtfully and thoroughly. The idea that he'd hand over a cheque, no strings or conditions attached, is nonsensical. There won't be any strings regarding Hearts but there'll be plenty strings regarding how the money is spent and regular monitoring and auditing of the expenditure. He is the only person in the UK able to get the likes of Jeff Bezos (Amazon) or Elon Musk (Tesla) or even Jack Ma (Alibaba) personally on the end of a phone call at short notice. He has met literally hundreds of  budding entrepreneurs over the years and is pretty quickly able to sort out the chancers.

[TheBigO]

12 minutes ago, Ex member of the SaS said:

No, you misunderstand, I wouldn't keep them. Someone suggested we could have finished the league next week.  But with players leaving, how could we compete " next week" as has been suggested. Another suggest we would need to recruit, again how would we do this should games be played next week. I was making it clear that there is no way we would be able to complete the season now, and I suspect the other teams are in the same boat.

Ok dude.  Using us was a bad example as we still have a full squad despite 15 leaving (which is indicative of our issues!)

 

Motherwell and St Mirren basically don't have enough to make up a match day squad though!

[ericb]

7 minutes ago, OmiyaHearts said:

Most of our foreign players (and our manager) are back in their homelands as well. Ridiculous suggestion we could play next week.

 

We could put this team out, that would surely beat most, considering some don't have 11 players to pick...

 

Stone

Brandon

Halkett

Smith

Hickey

Cochrane

Irving

Naismith

Walker

Washington

Boyce

[TheBigO]

4 minutes ago, Glamorgan Jambo said:

Anyone that's followed James Anderson as an investor knows that he does due diligence thoughtfully and thoroughly. The idea that he'd hand over a cheque, no strings or conditions attached, is nonsensical. There won't be any strings regarding Hearts but there'll be plenty strings regarding how the money is spent and regular monitoring and auditing of the expenditure. He is the only person in the UK able to get the likes of Jeff Bezos (Amazon) or Elon Musk (Tesla) or even Jack Ma (Alibaba) personally on the end of a phone call at short notice. He has met literally hundreds of  budding entrepreneurs over the years and is pretty quickly able to sort out the chancers.

Is the diiference in due diligence perhaps that he's not investing in SPFL, he's gifting.  Still there are bound to be caveats - it isn't a bag of cash, it's money to be spent on specifics, surely

[wavydavy]

50 minutes ago, WorldChampions1902 said:

@Ethan Hunt once again, I congratulate you on yet another well thought-out analysis.

 

I should like to add the following point if I may.

 

On one of the recent BBC Scotland radio broadcasts Brian Mc (I think) made a throwaway comment that could be quite significant. He suggested that there was potential for the benefactors to commit large(r) sums of money on a longer term (ongoing?) basis to support the SPFL. Yes, I know this is the BBC here but I would like to think they are being much more careful about their reporting on this issue now.

 

Assuming this has some credence and given the obsession for many clubs to think solely about money, could it be that rather than a “Sting”, scenario as was described by a previous poster, this is actually a “Carrot and Stick” story?

 

All 42 clubs now understand that JA is the real deal and serious cash is coming their way to enable them to play through COVID. If JA is keen to develop a long term relationship with Donkey and the club members of the SPFL, MUCH more money could be on offer here. Might that just force some of these nay-sayers to reconsider their position on Recon?? The “stick” part of the equation is self evident - all parties in court. And if that happens, the nay-sayers might just jeopardise the offer of future funding from JA.

 

Slowly, slowly, catchy monkey.

 

 

You would probably think this would be the case however I have my doubts as many of these people are to put it bluntly idiots and can't see the wood for the trees.

 

It would not surprise me in the least that they see the money and grab it now but don't look at the bigger long term future of the game.

 

 

[Heartsmad1874]

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/sfsa-covid-19 
 

Scottish Footballers Supporters Association running a survey on how supporters think supporting their team will have changed when we are back playing again.

[Glamorgan Jambo]

2 minutes ago, TheBigO said:

Is the diiference in due diligence perhaps that he's not investing in SPFL, he's gifting.  Still there are bound to be caveats - it isn't a bag of cash, it's money to be spent on specifics, surely

 

Yes there is a difference as he's making a philanthropical gift. Folks tend to spend a fair bit of time and  effort on due diligence when that's concerned too. For example I don't see any way JA would have gifted so much to Hearts had the likes of Romanov, Robinson or Mercer been in charge of the kitty. We've benefited from his largesse for two reasons; firstly his relationship with Ann Budge, and secondly the FOH/supporter ownership model (as well as I'm sure his love of football/Hearts). There's absolutely no way he's giving one thin dime that may end up in the pockets of the chancers that own a lot of the football clubs in Scotland.

[OmiyaHearts]

8 minutes ago, ericb said:

 

We could put this team out, that would surely beat most, considering some don't have 11 players to pick...

 

Stone

Brandon

Halkett

Smith

Hickey

Cochrane

Irving

Naismith

Walker

Washington

Boyce

So, you'd be happy for a team to play with a weeks notice? After only having indicvual training at home (or in a park) and with no manager.

 

With our injury history, that's asking for trouble.

 

Plus that line up is pish.

[Francis Albert]

17 minutes ago, Glamorgan Jambo said:

Anyone that's followed James Anderson as an investor knows that he does due diligence thoughtfully and thoroughly. The idea that he'd hand over a cheque, no strings or conditions attached, is nonsensical. There won't be any strings regarding Hearts but there'll be plenty strings regarding how the money is spent and regular monitoring and auditing of the expenditure. He is the only person in the UK able to get the likes of Jeff Bezos (Amazon) or Elon Musk (Tesla) or even Jack Ma (Alibaba) personally on the end of a phone call at short notice. He has met literally hundreds of  budding entrepreneurs over the years and is pretty quickly able to sort out the chancers.

Assuming  he was the or one of the benefactors who contributed millions for the new stand what happened to his due diligence then e.g. when Ann appointed her brother for a job way  beyond the scale of anything he had done before?

Edited June 3, 2020 by Francis Albert

[Pasquale for King]

3 hours ago, David McCaig said:

In my head it was always the implications and cost of court action that would drive reconstruction.  I've been clear all along that clubs would never agree to change without their feet being held to the fire.

 

Up until Ann's revelation about the benefactor it did indeed seem the cards were falling in our favour and the long game was capable of bearing fruit.

 

Now Ann has once again embarrassed the club by begging for reconstruction and we have sacrificed our tactical advantage by facilitating a financial windfall for clubs who hate us.

 

 

I was hoping that too, that a court case would make them reconstruct and the case would be dropped with us back in the top league. It could still happen.

[Newton51]

3 minutes ago, OmiyaHearts said:

So, you'd be happy for a team to play with a weeks notice? After only having indicvual training at home (or in a park) and with no manager.

 

With our injury history, that's asking for trouble.

 

Plus that line up is pish.

I know we were bottom but that line up Isn’t too bad.

[GinRummy]

4 minutes ago, Francis Albert said:

Assuming  he was the or one of the benefactors who contributed millions for the new stand what happened to his due diligence then e.g. when Ann appointed her brother for a job way  beyond the scale of anything he had done before?

You think he’d want to be involved in the awarding of contracts? I hardly think that someone who deals in tens of millions of pounds every day in life is going to want to micromanage things to that extent. 

Edited June 3, 2020 by GinRummy

[Newton51]

 

[SectionDJambo]

2 hours ago, Ethan Hunt said:

For what it’s worth here’s my take on the last few days.

 

AB has made it 100% clear that she will fight our expulsion from the Premiership. She has stated this twice. For those of you who haven’t seen the Hearts TV, or heard the Sportsound interview (during which her demeanour was very much fighting talk) probably best to go watch/listen to them to hear straight from the horses mouth what action will be taken if necessary. Be under no illusions, we will be going to court.

 

When AB first spoke of court action Doncaster was quick to say it would be the clubs that would suffer financially as a result. He has stated it several times. That statement was to paint AB and Hearts as the bad guys for even suggesting it. The other 41 clubs will be financially punished as a result of having to defend a legal action, and he is right, that would be the case, and even more costly if (when) we win that case. 

 

What also must must be noted is that not all SPFL clubs are our enemy. There are good guys which we must not lose sight of. There are two other clubs who have been as unfairly treated in this as us, Partick Thistle and Stranraer. There were clubs who voted no to the original resolution due to sporty integrity, ICT, East Fife, etc. There are also those clubs who voted yes because the needed the money and had no choice, remember some Chairman said they had a gun held to their heads. There are also clubs who voted yes, but subsequently voted in favour of an independent investigation as they were unhappy with the way the resolution and subsequent votes was ‘managed’. Legal action would financially impact on those clubs, as well as those who voted from self interest, and have subsequently shown malicious intent toward AB and Hearts.

 

AB has tried everything to avoid going down the legal route. She has worked tirelessly to find a solution that avoids that. The SPFL board meantime, and in particular Doncaster, have done the square root of feck all. In addition, he has continued to verbally attack Hearts and deflect and divide. Other football club chairmen have, at best, sat on their hands, while others have been vocal to the point of vitriolic in their criticism of, and attitude toward, AB and Hearts.

 

No reasonable, caring person, or people, could possibly see the treatment of Hearts, Partick Thistle and Stranraer as fair. No caring person, or people, could possibly see the character assassination of Ann Budge and her treatment by the media, and some people within football, as anything other than outrageous. No reasonable person or people would stand idly by watching that happen.  Especially when those people are your friends. Especially when those friends have money, lots and lots of money.

 

So to the benefactors. What has been reported is that it is a consortium of people who are prepared to help Scottish football. Those people would appear to be the same people who have given so generously to Hearts over the years. Those people are ‘connected’ to Hearts, at the very least because they simply have a connection. They have a connection with the club, what we do, how we do it, and they are friends with Ann Budge. A condition of their generosity is that their identities remain anonymous, yet at this most critical of times for Hearts, one of their number - James Anderson - has broken cover. Why now? Why at all?

 

A Philanthropist is defined as - a person who seeks to promote the welfare of others, especially by the generous donation of money to good causes. They seek to do good in the world, not harm. They seek to ensure fairness in an unfair world.  

 

In my opinion the offer of financial assistance - and we do not really know any of the details - to SPFL clubs is to, in some way, offset the financial impact that AB taking legal action will cause some clubs. It will ensure little or no harm will come to those who have supported Hearts, Partick Thistle and Stranraer, the good guys, who have displayed some integrity throughout this whole debacle. The finance will allow clubs to begin play football again, and allow them generate some type of money through whatever means, be it live streaming or delayed transmission on a PPV platform, or some form of sponsorship. It will allow people to get back working and for communities to have a heart again. Unfortunately those who have been vindictive toward Ann Budge and Hearts will also benefit from this financial generosity. That is the perils of fighting fairness, sometimes an indirect consequence is rewarding those that have been unfair.

 

The benefactors money will put some clubs on a better financial footing. It will allow them to function. It will do good. But, and I am convinced about this, it is being done for a number of reasons, but the main one is their wish not to harm the game overall. By giving the money they will effectively be mitigating the damage their support of Hearts legal case will cause. I do not believe, that people who believe in fairness, will allow the SPFL (an organisation they will view as incompetent at best) decision to expel Hearts, Partick Thistle and Stranraer to go unchallenged. It goes against every part of their moral compass. I do not believe, those same people, will standby and watch an organisation they have given so much to - Heart of Midlothian Football Club - being attacked with the verosity it has. I believe even less that those same people will standby by and watch while the character and reputation of a good woman, who they respect, and call their friend, is dragged into the gutter. 

 

I think the benefactors are killing with kindness. There will be a kill (not literally) at the end of this though. 

Good thoughts, in my opinion.

I'm certainly comfortable that Ann Budge is representing Hearts through this crazy affair. Her main fault in the recent past, if it is a fault, has been being too loyal. That isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of someone who can take the current levels of, idiotic and insulting, critisism and keep a clear head for how to overcome the challenges of talking to those who don't want to listen. 

She will know who the two faced protagonists are, and the brainless dinosaurs who can't think beyond their next fish supper. She will know that the Scottish press don't like the west of Scotland football boat rocked. She will suspect, as many of us do, that her being a woman giving opinion on Scottish football is alien to most of the interested parties. 

I think she will win.

[Francis Albert]

1 minute ago, GinRummy said:

You think he’d want to be involved in the awarding of contracts? I hardly think that someone who deals in tens of millions of pounds every day in life is going to want to micromanage things to that extent. 

Yes. If not personally then through an agent. And certainly for the largest contract by far on the project.

The idea that we only care about the cost of the stand doubling because of the first team's failings is ludicrous.

[Pasquale for King]

18 minutes ago, ericb said:

 

We could put this team out, that would surely beat most, considering some don't have 11 players to pick...

 

Stone

Brandon

Halkett

Smith

Hickey

Cochrane

Irving

Naismith

Walker

Washington

Boyce

It was mentioned the other day that we only have Zlamal, Haring, Garuccio and Damour as foreign players, I would class the NI/Irish and English guys too but they could be back here soon if need be.

Im not sure if all that team will still be here next season but you’re right the squad should be good enough to win the Championship, but then it shouldn’t be bottom of the league either. 

[Francis Albert]

2 minutes ago, Newton51 said:

 

"Indicate whether they would support a form of league reconstruction"

"No official vote at this stage".

Kicking into the long grass is the phrase that springs to mind.

[Pasquale for King]

3 minutes ago, Newton51 said:

 

So court proceedings by next week, or keep us hanging and out it to a vote to buy time and get this money from

JA before knocking Budge back.

[BelgeJambo]

It’s all

 

 

 

I think I will just wait for official Hearts statements 

Edited June 3, 2020 by BelgeJambo

[David McCaig]

3 minutes ago, Francis Albert said:

"Indicate whether they would support a form of league reconstruction"

"No official vote at this stage".

Kicking into the long grass is the phrase that springs to mind.

My reading of this as well.

 

It’s now Day 16 since we were expelled from the SPL.

[blairdin]

How's this for a fantasy scenario. 

 

1. Reconstruction is rejected, we're demoted to the Championship. 

 

2. Premiership fixtures announced. 

 

3. JA creates a fund to support Scottish Football through the pandemic. Most of the money made avaialbe to teams outwith the top flight who aren't entitled to 83% of the Sky TV money, and who rely primarily on gate money to play. Championship fixtures announced. 

 

4. Hearts go legal for compensation. Interdict granted freezing the new Sky TV money. 

 

5. Havoc created in the Premiership as clubs reliant on the Sky money to kick off the season are in a pickle. 

 

6. Meanwhile, the Championship gets underway, funded as per point 3.

Edited June 3, 2020 by blairdin

[annushorribilis III]

44 minutes ago, Poseidon said:

Sue for say £4.2m damages now would be £100k per member club but if you are able to prevent the first installment of TV money being paid in August then the Premier teams are taking a huge hit, I.e. if the first installment was £4.2m then 84% of that = £294k per team. Big problems for some, hopefully administration. 

 

For lower league teams, average is £22,400, much less impact, although probably terminal for some.

 

Much prefer this route personally.

It's been mentioned on here in relation to the JA money that if it's prize money , 86% goes to the top clubs.

In which case it'll be interesting to see why (should Hearts win any case) the diddy clubs are carrying a load of risk  for a very disproportionate reward ie prize money goes to the rich but the poor share the blame for any "mistakes" equally ? . In any case, an award of this size would wipe out most clubs in the current climate (whether they pay it direct or via reduced prize money doesn't matter as the effect is still the same). 

 

We might not have much chance of winning the court action but we have even less chance of ever getting any money unless we're willing to wipe out a large number of clubs along the way. Although right now, I couldn't care less about the other clubs.

 

I'm struggling to follow what is happening re  a 27 game Championship on here but one thing is clear : testing (or not affording the cost of it) has been removed as a barrier to starting.

 

The next barrier ? - have a look at the criteria currently in place in England for teams to restart - there's no way on earth Championship (part time) clubs can meet those criteria. We don't just need Holyrood to allow football to return , it would have to return under less strict conditions than England already have .  Chances ? 

 

 

 

 

[highlandjambo3]

21 minutes ago, Newton51 said:

 

I don’t get the “no official vote at this stage” part???  I mean a dummy vote, a let’s see what people think vote before the real vote? Why..... Did we not see a farce recently with Dundee’s vote? 

[luckydug]

48 minutes ago, OmiyaHearts said:

Most of our foreign players (and our manager) are back in their homelands as well. Ridiculous suggestion we could play next week.

My point was that the decision to call the league was made too early. 

If the decision had been delayed the contracts situation could have been worked through as per other leagues in Europe. 

The mad rush to grant Celtic their title has caused all the problems. 

[GinRummy]

20 minutes ago, Francis Albert said:

Yes. If not personally then through an agent. And certainly for the largest contract by far on the project.

The idea that we only care about the cost of the stand doubling because of the first team's failings is ludicrous.

Firstly, other than gifting some money towards the stand I seriously doubt he’d have wanted to have anything else to do with it. Just like he’s looking to gift money to the spfl and as long as it’s spent on broadly what he intends it to be spent on I’d imagine he’ll not want any more input into that either. Just my reading of the situation.

 

Secondly, as long as there is cash for players and we are high up the league, I stand by what I said about the stand overspend. Calling it ludicrous that most fans are only interested in the first team is ludicrous in itself. It would be different if the overspend on the stand put the club into severe financial difficulty but it didn’t. Also, I hear about big building projects going well over budget all the time. Why was our overspend such a big deal? 

[GinRummy]

5 minutes ago, highlandjambo3 said:

I don’t get the “no official vote at this stage” part???  I mean a dummy vote, a let’s see what people think vote before the real vote? Why..... Did we not see a farce recently with Dundee’s vote? 

I think, if it’s looking close from the feedback, we might get the chance to have some robust conversations with the resisting clubs. It’s the spfl way after all. 

Edited June 3, 2020 by GinRummy

[David McCaig]

6 minutes ago, highlandjambo3 said:

I don’t get the “no official vote at this stage” part???  I mean a dummy vote, a let’s see what people think vote before the real vote? Why..... Did we not see a farce recently with Dundee’s vote? 

Could this canvassing of opinion direct the SPFL Board to make an executive decision on reconstruction?

[Borders Jambo]

20 minutes ago, David McCaig said:

My reading of this as well.

 

It’s now Day 16 since we were expelled from the SPL.

The thing is the longer this goes on, the greater the financial implications on many. 

[The Natural Order]

8 minutes ago, blairdin said:

How's this for a fantasy scenario. 

 

1. Reconstruction is rejected, we're demoted to the Championship. 

 

2. Premiership fixtures announced. 

 

3. JA creates a fund to support Scottish Football through the pandemic. Most of the money made avaialbe to teams outwith the top flight who aren't entitled to 83% of the Sky TV money, and who rely primarily on gate money to play. Championship fixtures announced. 

 

4. Hearts go legal for compensation. Interdict granted freezing the new Sky TV money. 

 

5. Havoc created in the Premiership as clubs are reliant on the Sky money to kick off the season are in a pickle. 

 

6. Meanwhile, the Championship gets underway, funded as per point 3.

Would be fun but I don't think so. I've got a growing feeling that we've been betrayed. What if:

 

1. Budge knows and has accepted we'll be in the Championship. She just doesn't want to say it as she's got season tickets and strips to sell.

2. She wants Hearts to be a nice, friendly club and doesn't want to be seen to kill off other clubs via costly legal action.

3. Reconstruction will be knocked back. Budge will make a show of beginning legal action.

4. JA creates a fund with the SPFL.

5. An out of court settlement will be announced. The amount of the settlement and the amount of the JA fund will be stunningly similar.

 

We will be in the Championship. After all the bluster all that will happen is that we'll end up with cash from JA and the guilty individuals and clubs will get away scot free.

[Beast Boy]

3 minutes ago, GinRummy said:

, I hear about big building projects going well over budget all the time. Why was our overspend such a big deal? 

Two reasons:

 

1) Tynecastle being sold was the last throw of the dice for those that hate us. That was the thing that was looming on our horizon after we exited admin. They thought that that would finally be our undoing. That stand is a monument to our survival, and those who wanted us to fail, are looking for anything they can to diminish it.

 

2) Some people in our support do not like Ann Budge and the principles she has adhered to. Anything good that she has achieved needs to be attacked and diminished so that their agenda against her can be made to look legitimate.

 

Theres a third smaller group who just like to moan and criticise absolutely everything, because “debate is good” and “questions must be asked”.

[rory78]

I think the SPFL are stringing us along 🙄 we need to know if clubs are happy to go with reconstruction ASAP as well need to move onto the next stage if as expected it fails,these mutants at the SPFL will release the new fixtures for the top flight very soon seeing as that's Celtics command and once that happens all i can see us do is settle for compensation 

[Glamorgan Jambo]

43 minutes ago, Francis Albert said:

Assuming  he was the or one of the benefactors who contributed millions for the new stand what happened to his due diligence then e.g. when Ann appointed her brother for a job way  beyond the scale of anything he had done before?

well I guess he was either satisfied that Ann was kosher and doing her best  and was trustworthy or he got taken in by a not so elaborate scam to divert some of his cash into her pockets. You choose.

[luckydug]

24 minutes ago, Francis Albert said:

"Indicate whether they would support a form of league reconstruction"

"No official vote at this stage".

Kicking into the long grass is the phrase that springs to mind.

I take that as no official vote at this stage because clubs haven't been asked to report their intentions about playing BCD. 

It's pointless structuring a league with fixtures then finding teams are unable to play imo. 

 

[David McCaig]

40 minutes ago, Pasquale for King said:

I was hoping that too, that a court case would make them reconstruct and the case would be dropped with us back in the top league. It could still happen.

I guess it shows the batshit crazy nature of Scottish Football, that I am criticising our Chairman for being too::

 

- trusting

- ethical

- fair

- forgiving

- patient

 

And our benefactor for being too philanthropic

[Mikey1874]

29 minutes ago, blairdin said:

How's this for a fantasy scenario. 

 

1. Reconstruction is rejected, we're demoted to the Championship. 

 

2. Premiership fixtures announced. 

 

3. JA creates a fund to support Scottish Football through the pandemic. Most of the money made avaialbe to teams outwith the top flight who aren't entitled to 83% of the Sky TV money, and who rely primarily on gate money to play. Championship fixtures announced. 

 

4. Hearts go legal for compensation. Interdict granted freezing the new Sky TV money. 

 

5. Havoc created in the Premiership as clubs reliant on the Sky money to kick off the season are in a pickle. 

 

6. Meanwhile, the Championship gets underway, funded as per point 3.

 

One other point is I don't believe the Premiership will start 1 August.

 

Looking at how cautious the Scottish Government is being. I think end September is more likely. 

 

If Championship starts October it can comfortably do 36 games too. 

[GinRummy]

4 minutes ago, Special Officer Doofy said:

Two reasons:

 

1) Tynecastle being sold was the last throw of the dice for those that hate us. That was the thing that was looming on our horizon after we exited admin. They thought that that would finally be our undoing. That stand is a monument to our survival, and those who wanted us to fail, are looking for anything they can to diminish it.

 

2) Some people in our support do not like Ann Budge and the principles she has adhered to. Anything good that she has achieved needs to be attacked and diminished so that their agenda against her can be made to look legitimate.

 

Theres a third smaller group who just like to moan and criticise absolutely everything, because “debate is good” and “questions must be asked”.

Good points. I think debate is good and questions do need to be asked. If there’s been negligence, nepotism or whatever else is being suggested then ask the questions. To assume that there’s something shady going on because she’s made an arse of the first team and in dealing with Levein is just not that smart. 
 

Like I said, big building projects go hugely over budget all the time and for genuine reasons. 

[ming the merciless]

3 hours ago, Ethan Hunt said:

For what it’s worth here’s my take on the last few days.

 

AB has made it 100% clear that she will fight our expulsion from the Premiership. She has stated this twice. For those of you who haven’t seen the Hearts TV, or heard the Sportsound interview (during which her demeanour was very much fighting talk) probably best to go watch/listen to them to hear straight from the horses mouth what action will be taken if necessary. Be under no illusions, we will be going to court.

 

When AB first spoke of court action Doncaster was quick to say it would be the clubs that would suffer financially as a result. He has stated it several times. That statement was to paint AB and Hearts as the bad guys for even suggesting it. The other 41 clubs will be financially punished as a result of having to defend a legal action, and he is right, that would be the case, and even more costly if (when) we win that case. 

 

What also must must be noted is that not all SPFL clubs are our enemy. There are good guys which we must not lose sight of. There are two other clubs who have been as unfairly treated in this as us, Partick Thistle and Stranraer. There were clubs who voted no to the original resolution due to sporty integrity, ICT, East Fife, etc. There are also those clubs who voted yes because the needed the money and had no choice, remember some Chairman said they had a gun held to their heads. There are also clubs who voted yes, but subsequently voted in favour of an independent investigation as they were unhappy with the way the resolution and subsequent votes was ‘managed’. Legal action would financially impact on those clubs, as well as those who voted from self interest, and have subsequently shown malicious intent toward AB and Hearts.

 

AB has tried everything to avoid going down the legal route. She has worked tirelessly to find a solution that avoids that. The SPFL board meantime, and in particular Doncaster, have done the square root of feck all. In addition, he has continued to verbally attack Hearts and deflect and divide. Other football club chairmen have, at best, sat on their hands, while others have been vocal to the point of vitriolic in their criticism of, and attitude toward, AB and Hearts.

 

No reasonable, caring person, or people, could possibly see the treatment of Hearts, Partick Thistle and Stranraer as fair. No caring person, or people, could possibly see the character assassination of Ann Budge and her treatment by the media, and some people within football, as anything other than outrageous. No reasonable person or people would stand idly by watching that happen.  Especially when those people are your friends. Especially when those friends have money, lots and lots of money.

 

So to the benefactors. What has been reported is that it is a consortium of people who are prepared to help Scottish football. Those people would appear to be the same people who have given so generously to Hearts over the years. Those people are ‘connected’ to Hearts, at the very least because they simply have a connection. They have a connection with the club, what we do, how we do it, and they are friends with Ann Budge. A condition of their generosity is that their identities remain anonymous, yet at this most critical of times for Hearts, one of their number - James Anderson - has broken cover. Why now? Why at all?

 

A Philanthropist is defined as - a person who seeks to promote the welfare of others, especially by the generous donation of money to good causes. They seek to do good in the world, not harm. They seek to ensure fairness in an unfair world.  

 

In my opinion the offer of financial assistance - and we do not really know any of the details - to SPFL clubs is to, in some way, offset the financial impact that AB taking legal action will cause some clubs. It will ensure little or no harm will come to those who have supported Hearts, Partick Thistle and Stranraer, the good guys, who have displayed some integrity throughout this whole debacle. The finance will allow clubs to begin play football again, and allow them generate some type of money through whatever means, be it live streaming or delayed transmission on a PPV platform, or some form of sponsorship. It will allow people to get back working and for communities to have a heart again. Unfortunately those who have been vindictive toward Ann Budge and Hearts will also benefit from this financial generosity. That is the perils of fighting fairness, sometimes an indirect consequence is rewarding those that have been unfair.

 

The benefactors money will put some clubs on a better financial footing. It will allow them to function. It will do good. But, and I am convinced about this, it is being done for a number of reasons, but the main one is their wish not to harm the game overall. By giving the money they will effectively be mitigating the damage their support of Hearts legal case will cause. I do not believe, that people who believe in fairness, will allow the SPFL (an organisation they will view as incompetent at best) decision to expel Hearts, Partick Thistle and Stranraer to go unchallenged. It goes against every part of their moral compass. I do not believe, those same people, will standby and watch an organisation they have given so much to - Heart of Midlothian Football Club - being attacked with the verosity it has. I believe even less that those same people will standby by and watch while the character and reputation of a good woman, who they respect, and call their friend, is dragged into the gutter. 

 

I think the benefactors are killing with kindness. There will be a kill (not literally) at the end of this though. 

Outstanding summary.

[Francis Albert]

12 minutes ago, Glamorgan Jambo said:

well I guess he was either satisfied that Ann was kosher and doing her best  and was trustworthy or he got taken in by a not so elaborate scam to divert some of his cash into her pockets. You choose.

I didn't suggest in any way that cash was going into Ann's pockets. I suggested that the stand project could have done with a bit of due diligence. Particularly after the seats fiasco I am surprised that any contributor of funds (including FoH and Anderson) would not have taken that view.

Edited June 3, 2020 by Francis Albert

[JimmyCant]

11 hours ago, David McCaig said:

Is JA actually a Hearts fan?

 

Does he care about success, does he care about winning and losing? Or is it just enough that we have a club that people can watch every other week and have a jolly nice time regardless of result... In which case the division we are in is immaterial.

 

Our biggest problem over the past 5 years is that as a club we have become soft as shit...but this is taking things to a whole new level.

Could be that he actually doesn’t have that much interest in football and that the link has come about because he knows and likes Ann Budge. He seems to be at a level where a few million quid doesn’t matter a whole lot. Seems to me that we’ve just lucked out in having a relationship with him, irrespective of his feelings for the club.

[David McCaig]

3 hours ago, Ethan Hunt said:

For what it’s worth here’s my take on the last few days.

 

AB has made it 100% clear that she will fight our expulsion from the Premiership. She has stated this twice. For those of you who haven’t seen the Hearts TV, or heard the Sportsound interview (during which her demeanour was very much fighting talk) probably best to go watch/listen to them to hear straight from the horses mouth what action will be taken if necessary. Be under no illusions, we will be going to court.

 

When AB first spoke of court action Doncaster was quick to say it would be the clubs that would suffer financially as a result. He has stated it several times. That statement was to paint AB and Hearts as the bad guys for even suggesting it. The other 41 clubs will be financially punished as a result of having to defend a legal action, and he is right, that would be the case, and even more costly if (when) we win that case. 

 

What also must must be noted is that not all SPFL clubs are our enemy. There are good guys which we must not lose sight of. There are two other clubs who have been as unfairly treated in this as us, Partick Thistle and Stranraer. There were clubs who voted no to the original resolution due to sporty integrity, ICT, East Fife, etc. There are also those clubs who voted yes because the needed the money and had no choice, remember some Chairman said they had a gun held to their heads. There are also clubs who voted yes, but subsequently voted in favour of an independent investigation as they were unhappy with the way the resolution and subsequent votes was ‘managed’. Legal action would financially impact on those clubs, as well as those who voted from self interest, and have subsequently shown malicious intent toward AB and Hearts.

 

AB has tried everything to avoid going down the legal route. She has worked tirelessly to find a solution that avoids that. The SPFL board meantime, and in particular Doncaster, have done the square root of feck all. In addition, he has continued to verbally attack Hearts and deflect and divide. Other football club chairmen have, at best, sat on their hands, while others have been vocal to the point of vitriolic in their criticism of, and attitude toward, AB and Hearts.

 

No reasonable, caring person, or people, could possibly see the treatment of Hearts, Partick Thistle and Stranraer as fair. No caring person, or people, could possibly see the character assassination of Ann Budge and her treatment by the media, and some people within football, as anything other than outrageous. No reasonable person or people would stand idly by watching that happen.  Especially when those people are your friends. Especially when those friends have money, lots and lots of money.

 

So to the benefactors. What has been reported is that it is a consortium of people who are prepared to help Scottish football. Those people would appear to be the same people who have given so generously to Hearts over the years. Those people are ‘connected’ to Hearts, at the very least because they simply have a connection. They have a connection with the club, what we do, how we do it, and they are friends with Ann Budge. A condition of their generosity is that their identities remain anonymous, yet at this most critical of times for Hearts, one of their number - James Anderson - has broken cover. Why now? Why at all?

 

A Philanthropist is defined as - a person who seeks to promote the welfare of others, especially by the generous donation of money to good causes. They seek to do good in the world, not harm. They seek to ensure fairness in an unfair world.  

 

In my opinion the offer of financial assistance - and we do not really know any of the details - to SPFL clubs is to, in some way, offset the financial impact that AB taking legal action will cause some clubs. It will ensure little or no harm will come to those who have supported Hearts, Partick Thistle and Stranraer, the good guys, who have displayed some integrity throughout this whole debacle. The finance will allow clubs to begin play football again, and allow them generate some type of money through whatever means, be it live streaming or delayed transmission on a PPV platform, or some form of sponsorship. It will allow people to get back working and for communities to have a heart again. Unfortunately those who have been vindictive toward Ann Budge and Hearts will also benefit from this financial generosity. That is the perils of fighting fairness, sometimes an indirect consequence is rewarding those that have been unfair.

 

The benefactors money will put some clubs on a better financial footing. It will allow them to function. It will do good. But, and I am convinced about this, it is being done for a number of reasons, but the main one is their wish not to harm the game overall. By giving the money they will effectively be mitigating the damage their support of Hearts legal case will cause. I do not believe, that people who believe in fairness, will allow the SPFL (an organisation they will view as incompetent at best) decision to expel Hearts, Partick Thistle and Stranraer to go unchallenged. It goes against every part of their moral compass. I do not believe, those same people, will standby and watch an organisation they have given so much to - Heart of Midlothian Football Club - being attacked with the verosity it has. I believe even less that those same people will standby by and watch while the character and reputation of a good woman, who they respect, and call their friend, is dragged into the gutter. 

 

I think the benefactors are killing with kindness. There will be a kill (not literally) at the end of this though. 

Ethan,  I know I’m a moaning git, but that is a great post and as I posted in response to Pasquale For King, I know its ridiculous that I am criticising Ann for displaying the traits of being a thoroughly decent human being.

 

My anger is aimed squarely at the clubs trying to screw us over and my frustration at Ann is only that she isn’t as vengeful as me... but again that will be because she is the better person.

[gavin1985]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/52903945

 

Quote

Scottish Premiership clubs will be able to live stream matches and sell virtual season tickets after a deal was struck with Sky Sports.

The SPFL have also reached a settlement with Sky - believed to be £1.5m over five years - for games that were not broadcast when last term was curtailed.

Top-flight campaign is scheduled to start on 1 August behind closed doors.

Sky's £160m, five-year deal allows them to show 48 games each season, but all other matches can be streamed by clubs.

Each team will be able to sell a package to season-ticket holders enabling them to watch all home matches.

• What are clubs' training restrictions?
• Season ticket surge continues despite uncertainty
• Sky win exclusive Premiership rights

"This is an innovative and pragmatic solution to the challenges posed by Covid-19 and I'm grateful for the flexibility shown by our clubs and by Sky Sports," said SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster.

"This agreement means that any liability for games not delivered during Season 2019/20 has now been settled, on terms that reflect Sky's status as a committed partner and supporter of Scottish football."

The Scottish FA will lift football's suspension on 11 June, allowing clubs to resume non-contact group training.

 

[Francis Albert]

24 minutes ago, GinRummy said:

Firstly, other than gifting some money towards the stand I seriously doubt he’d have wanted to have anything else to do with it. Just like he’s looking to gift money to the spfl and as long as it’s spent on broadly what he intends it to be spent on I’d imagine he’ll not want any more input into that either. Just my reading of the situation.

 

Secondly, as long as there is cash for players and we are high up the league, I stand by what I said about the stand overspend. Calling it ludicrous that most fans are only interested in the first team is ludicrous in itself. It would be different if the overspend on the stand put the club into severe financial difficulty but it didn’t. Also, I hear about big building projects going well over budget all the time. Why was our overspend such a big deal? 

I  didn't say most fans are only interested in the first team. I was responding to the suggestion that fans would not have been interested in the doubling of the cost of the stand if the first team had been doing better.

 

And on Anderson I was responding to a poster's claim that Anderson would apply strict due diligence in relation to funds provided to the SPFL. Perhaps as you say he won't but I think he would be unwise if so. But of course it is his money.

[Jambo-Fox]

So Sky Sports are going to be selling virtual season tickets for the Scottish Premier League!

What will their preference be, sell them to 12 or 14 clubs????

Premier League of 14 clubs it is - done!!

[David McCaig]

2 minutes ago, JimmyCant said:

Could be that he actually doesn’t have that much interest in football and that the link has come about because he knows and likes Ann Budge. He seems to be at a level where a few million quid doesn’t matter a whole lot. Seems to me that we’ve just lucked out in having a relationship with him, irrespective of his feelings for the club.

I am sure that is probably the case and I didn’t word my post particularly well.

 

The kindness that JA has shown Hearts is phenomenal and that there is absolutely no expectation that he should be a Hearts fan as such.

 

 

[Hagar the Horrible]

Fully confirmed that we have to and are paying back Sky for the un-televised games due to the league being stopped early?  One of the arguements for Null and Void was we would have to pay back that money we have contracted to pay back. 

 

How can this idiot remain in charge,  Thats why we need to go to court the decision forced to be voted upon was a blattant lie

[davemclaren]

21 minutes ago, luckydug said:

I take that as no official vote at this stage because clubs haven't been asked to report their intentions about playing BCD. 

It's pointless structuring a league with fixtures then finding teams are unable to play imo. 

 

I think they have no idea how things will look come August. 

[David McCaig]

1 minute ago, Jambo-Fox said:

So Sky Sports are going to be selling virtual season tickets for the Scottish Premier League!

What will their preference be, sell them to 12 or 14 clubs????

Premier League of 14 clubs it is - done!!

12 clubs or 14 clubs... with club 13 selling more virtual STs than Hamilton, St Mirren, Ross County, Livingston, Killie and Motherwell combined!!

[Glamorgan Jambo]

6 minutes ago, JimmyCant said:

Could be that he actually doesn’t have that much interest in football and that the link has come about because he knows and likes Ann Budge. He seems to be at a level where a few million quid doesn’t matter a whole lot. Seems to me that we’ve just lucked out in having a relationship with him, irrespective of his feelings for the club.

If you look at pictures (press or TV cutaways) from the directors box these last few seasons he’s pretty much always there.