Sunday Times - Is Romanov preparing to walk out on broken Hearts?

[jambovambo]

Good article by Douglas Alexander - page 11 of Sport section - can't find a link just now ... basically posing question whether Vlad has lost interest.

 

Yeah, nothing new, rehash, etc etc ...

 

Also "Abramovich denies meddling with Chelsea team affairs" ... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/chelsea/article4272559.ece

[Seymour M Hersh]

Is it online?

[jambovambo]

I will go to the length of typing in the start and finish of the last para ...

 

"The rationale behind Romanov coming to power was that he couldn't be worse than the previous regime, headed by the largely reviled Chris Robinson ...

 

... doomsday scenario again - that Romanov has lost interest and will seek to cut his losses by selling Tynecastle to a property developer and leaving them the club's name but not much else. Only the arrival of a new manager of genuine standing before the season starts and work finally starting on that new main stand will dispel such doubts."

 

Amen to that.

[Independence]

I will go to the length of typing in the start and finish of the last para ...

 

"The rationale behind Romanov coming to power was that he couldn't be worse than the previous regime, headed by the largely reviled Chris Robinson ...

 

... doomsday scenario again - that Romanov has lost interest and will seek to cut his losses by selling Tynecastle to a property developer and leaving them the club's name but not much else. Only the arrival of a new manager of genuine standing before the season starts and work finally starting on that new main stand will dispel such doubts."

 

Amen to that.

 

What a 'non story'.

 

Anyone could have written that!!!!

[Seymour M Hersh]

I will go to the length of typing in the start and finish of the last para ...

 

"The rationale behind Romanov coming to power was that he couldn't be worse than the previous regime, headed by the largely reviled Chris Robinson ...

 

... doomsday scenario again - that Romanov has lost interest and will seek to cut his losses by selling Tynecastle to a property developer and leaving them the club's name but not much else. Only the arrival of a new manager of genuine standing before the season starts and work finally starting on that new main stand will dispel such doubts."

 

Amen to that.

 

That doesn't help one bit. Who is D Alexander (apart from the noo labur git)?

[Boof]

What a 'non story'.

 

Anyone could have written that!!!!

 

...and many have...several times a day, on JKB for the last Lord-knows-how-many months

[bigwull22]

What a pile of S***e. This is the kind of crap that appears when no info is forthcoming from Hearts. Could have been taken from Hobo****.net

[livi]

...and many have...several times a day, on JKB for the last Lord-knows-how-many months

 

 

Yes but hopefully it will trigger a response from "our leader" or somebody representing "our leader" to confirm or deny the reports which are appearing.

 

News at this level is much more high profile than somebody posting on JKB.

 

We can only hope.

[jambovambo]

What a 'non story'.

 

Anyone could have written that!!!!

 

I know that, but I didn't suggest it was breaking news. What matters to me is that the ST is devoting a quarter-page to our plight.

[Dirk Diggler]

Personally I don't think Romanov will be at Hearts for much longer (12-24 months).

[jambovambo]

What a pile of S***e. This is the kind of crap that appears when no info is forthcoming from Hearts. Could have been taken from Hobo****.net

 

Remember those heady days when there were positive stories about Hearts in the press?

 

Ah ... the memories.

 

You hit the nail on the head there though.

 

It's not the press' fault they have nothing positive to say.

[maroonlegions]

Personally I don't think Romanov will be at Hearts for much longer (12-24 months).

 

 

 

SOURCE.

[Dirk Diggler]

SOURCE.

 

 

Just a hunch.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Yep, property developers will be queuing up to buy the Tynecastle site. Have you seen the headlines with Barratt, Taylor Wimpey et al this week?

 

Even our old friends CALA have laid off staff and stopped work on developing sites.

 

Utter urine!

[bilstonjambo]

Personally I don't think Romanov will be at Hearts for much longer (12-24 months).

 

personally i dont think there will be a Hearts in 2-3 years, as much as i hate to say it, thats the way i see things going.

[jambovambo]

Yep, property developers will be queuing up to buy the Tynecastle site. Have you seen the headlines with Barratt, Taylor Wimpey et al this week.

 

Even our old friends CALA have laid off staff and stopped work on developing sites.

 

Utter urine!

 

In other words ... "thank goodness for the credit crunch ... that means it's less likely that Romanov will walk away from Hearts" ?

 

Hardly the most glowing of tributes to the man.

[Dirk Diggler]

personally i dont think there will be a Hearts in 2-3 years, as much as i hate to say it, thats the way i see things going.

 

By reading some of the comments on here I think some people would prefer that to having him in control.

[soulboy]

Despite the downturn in the property market paradoxically this is the best time to buy land or property if you have the cash or financing as prices will be lower than previously and provided you are prepared to sit on your investment for the medium term.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

In other words ... "thank goodness for the credit crunch ... that means it's less likely that Romanov will walk away from Hearts" ?

 

Hardly the most glowing of tributes to the man.

 

It's hardly praise of Romanov. It's a precis of the current situation in the property market.

 

What it does show is that Vlad is in even deeper because the asset value of Tynecastle has dropped.

[portobellojambo1]

Personally I don't think Romanov will be at Hearts for much longer (12-24 months).

 

The problem I have with that JF is what happens to HMFC, if he does go does he leave Hearts to someone else to continue/begin (delete as you feel appropriate) the rebuilding process (post Robinson), or does he sink the club to try and recoup any financial loss/input.

 

In all of this I simply cannot understand what gain he has found from running Hearts in the way he has. I could understand in a way if, for example, it had been local small/medium sized (financially) businessmen, Hearts fans, who had possibly got a little twinkling in their eye, bought the club and tried to run it how they envisaged it, and it hadn't gone according to plan.

 

But this is supposed to be a successful Eastern European businessman with big bucks behind him (???), looking to establish both himself and his companies in Western Europe. Logic would suggest that from a purely marketing point of view running Hearts well would be in his best interests, would have given him a platform on which to build his other businesses, especially on the banking side.

 

If he goes in the near future (as you feel he might) has he achieved what his actual aims appear to have been, has he successfully established Lithuania as a hotbed for football players, afraid not, has he built up a positive picture of himself within finance circles, again I think not. It just seems plain daft the way he has gone about things.

 

All of the above is by the by in relation to the actual thread's OP, in relation to the article which appears in the Sunday Times it is difficult to comment on that without actually reading it in full.

[Tommy Walker]

Yep, property developers will be queuing up to buy the Tynecastle site. Have you seen the headlines with Barratt, Taylor Wimpey et al this week.

 

Even our old friends CALA have laid off staff and stopped work on developing sites.

 

Utter urine!

 

Geoff,

 

VR is between a rock and a hard place that has been becoming more obvious over the last year or so...

 

UK real estate is in a downtrend that isn't looking like going away soon...

 

VR has not capitalised on Hearts' potential because of his management 'style'

 

so where does he go ?

 

...sell at a loss ?

 

...or hang on with same strategy that has taken us to this point of time ?

 

Best

 

TW

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Despite the downturn in the property market paradoxically this is the best time to buy land or property if you have the cash or financing as prices will be lower than previously and provided you are prepared to sit on your investment for the medium term.

 

That's true.

 

However, the problem for property developers is that they leveraged themselves to the max to buy the land on the first place. Now they can't afford to service their debts! Shame, really.

[jambovambo]

The problem I have with that JF is what happens to HMFC, if he does go does he leave Hearts to someone else to continue/begin (delete as you feel appropriate) the rebuilding process (post Robinson), or does he sink the club to try and recoup any financial loss/input.

 

In all of this I simply cannot understand what gain he has found from running Hearts in the way he has. I could understand in a way if, for example, it had been local small/medium sized (financially) businessmen, Hearts fans, who had possibly got a little twinkling in their eye, bought the club and tried to run it how they envisaged it, and it hadn't gone according to plan.

 

But this is supposed to be a successful Eastern European businessman with big bucks behind him (???), looking to establish both himself and his companies in Western Europe. Logic would suggest that from a purely marketing point of view running Hearts well would be in his best interests, would have given him a platform on which to build his other businesses, especially on the banking side.

 

If he goes in the near future (as you feel he might) has he achieved what his actual aims appear to have been, has he successfully established Lithuania as a hotbed for football players, afraid not, has he built up a positive picture of himself within finance circles, again I think not. It just seems plain daft the way he has gone about things.

 

All of the above is by the by in relation to the actual thread's OP, in relation to the article which appears in the Sunday Times it is difficult to comment on that without actually reading it in full.

 

PJ - it's a step too far for me to type it all in. Maybe it will appear on the website later in the day - I dunno how these things happen.

 

Suffice to say it's not actually saying anything new, covers "fire sale" of best players, failed attempts to find / sign up a manager, Phil Anderton's quotes in the EEN the other day etc.

 

Ok - here's another bit.

 

"Rather than strengthening Hearts to challenge the Old Firm and make an impact on the CL, ROmanov has presided over a fire sale of their best players while still increasing their debts, an incredible feat of mismanagement"

 

and

 

"If anything, though, the media stand accused of buying too readily into the initial rush of Romanov's revolution"

[portobellojambo1]

Despite the downturn in the property market paradoxically this is the best time to buy land or property if you have the cash or financing as prices will be lower than previously and provided you are prepared to sit on your investment for the medium term.

 

Not sure if it is the best time for people to actually buy land/property itself soulboy, but I see it as a good time for people to look at their investment portfolios. If you have, for example, pensions related unit linked investments and are relatively young and firmly believe that the property market will get back on track in future years now might be the sort of time to look around and switch part of your investment into a property fund, as purchasing units is relatively cheap at the moment, given current circumstances. If growth is slow you have the option to switch funds yet again and protect your investment.

 

(Of course any switch of investment should only be contemplated after seeking advice from professionals in that field).

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

PJ - it's a step too far for me to type it all in. Maybe it will appear on the website later in the day - I dunno how these things happen.

 

Suffice to say it's not actually saying anything new, covers "fire sale" of best players, failed attempts to find / sign up a manager, Phil Anderton's quotes in the EEN the other day etc.

 

Ok - here's another bit.

 

"Rather than strengthening Hearts to challenge the Old Firm and make an impact on the CL, ROmanov has presided over a fire sale of their best players while still increasing their debts, an incredible feat of mismanagement"

 

and

 

"If anything, though, the media stand accused of buying too readily into the initial rush of Romanov's revolution"

 

I don't buy the "fire sale" bit. To be honest, the one thing Romanov has done well, in general, has been maximising value when to comes to selling players. ?1.6M for Skacel, ?2.3M for Bednar, ?1.1M for Hartley and ?9M for Gordon were all excellent pieces of business.

 

The treatment of the players when they were here is another matter entirely.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Geoff,

 

VR is between a rock and a hard place that has been becoming more obvious over the last year or so...

 

UK real estate is in a downtrend that isn't looking like going away soon...

 

VR has not capitalised on Hearts' potential because of his management 'style'

 

so where does he go ?

 

...sell at a loss ?

 

...or hang on with same strategy that has taken us to this point of time ?

 

Best

 

TW

 

Good question TW and I think the answer is that HMFC are irrelevant to this. It's how UBIG are that is a more important question. If UBIG are burning capital in the same fashion that they have done at HMFC then they are in trouble. My guess is that if Vlad is cutting costs across the UBIG "empire" then he would take a haircut on the debt to sell, assuming of course there was a prospective buyer. It would be a lot cleaner than winding up HMFC and trying to liquidate the assets.

[grumpyjambo]

The problem I have with that JF is what happens to HMFC, if he does go does he leave Hearts to someone else to continue/begin (delete as you feel appropriate) the rebuilding process (post Robinson), or does he sink the club to try and recoup any financial loss/input.

 

In all of this I simply cannot understand what gain he has found from running Hearts in the way he has. I could understand in a way if, for example, it had been local small/medium sized (financially) businessmen, Hearts fans, who had possibly got a little twinkling in their eye, bought the club and tried to run it how they envisaged it, and it hadn't gone according to plan.

 

But this is supposed to be a successful Eastern European businessman with big bucks behind him (???), looking to establish both himself and his companies in Western Europe. Logic would suggest that from a purely marketing point of view running Hearts well would be in his best interests, would have given him a platform on which to build his other businesses, especially on the banking side.

 

If he goes in the near future (as you feel he might) has he achieved what his actual aims appear to have been, has he successfully established Lithuania as a hotbed for football players, afraid not, has he built up a positive picture of himself within finance circles, again I think not. It just seems plain daft the way he has gone about things.

All of the above is by the by in relation to the actual thread's OP, in relation to the article which appears in the Sunday Times it is difficult to comment on that without actually reading it in full.

 

 

The part in bold is what puzzles me and has done for some time, Vlad has a plan but what it is and how it is implemented is anyones guess.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

The part in bold is what puzzles me and has done for some time, Vlad has a plan but what it is and how it is implemented is anyones guess.

 

It has puzzled everyone but we should take a step back. His "vision" remains this showcase idea, even though everyone knows it won't work.

[steven100]

Romanov will be at Hearts for another 5 years at least. Barratt homes etc aren't going to buy the land with the current encomony crisis. Who's going to buy with less mortgages getting improved.

Stadium will be built but not until the new Tynecastle High school is built.

[Ben Dover]

As PJ1 and others have pointed out, he's not achieved his aims ( ) in the business sector nor in a footballing sense at Tynecastle. Now the business end may be dead in the water already but that failure could be simply 'shrugged off' ( in terms of his reputation anyway ) given the timing and unfortunate market conditions we now find ourselves in

The slide in the clubs fortunes though ?........now that is solely and without question down to him and his crass mismanagement

However I feel the spectre of that, being 'The man who broke Hearts' is one he may not wish to have hanging over him and for that reason,if no other, I still believe he will try and pull this round

[soulboy]

I think a lot of the recent fuss will die down once we get a manager, I don't expect we'll get the best manager in the world but we won't get the worst either.

 

Regards the team I think we will see more chances for our own young players and anymore Kaunas players we get will be more selective than mass arrivals we had before, I also don't think there will be much money for transfers with debt reduction being priority so i think we'll be looking at low cost value for money signings like the ex-Man Utd kid.

 

The annual accounts said UBIG & UKIO would continue to provide financing conditional on Hearts reducing the wage bill and we've seen some evidence of this with several higher earners having left already and I think the financial goal over the next 18-24 months will be to return the debt to approx level Romanov inherited.

 

I think given the economic situation then the stadium could be delayed even if we get planning permission and we might have live within our means until economic & financing outlook improves. If the stadium does get built then there will probably have to be some restructure of HMFC and possibly the stadium & football club being separated as happened at easter road.

[flecktimus]

As PJ1 and others have pointed out, he's not achieved his aims ( ) in the business sector nor in a footballing sense at Tynecastle. Now the business end may be dead in the water already but that failure could be simply 'shrugged off' ( in terms of his reputation anyway ) given the timing and unfortunate market conditions we now find ourselves in

The slide in the clubs fortunes though ?........now that is solely and without question down to him and his crass mismanagement

However I feel the spectre of that, being 'The man who broke Hearts' is one he may not wish to have hanging over him and for that reason,if no other, I still believe he will try and pull this round

 

I hope so and its not rocket science,

 

1) Get a decent manager in with full control (within reason)

 

2) A little communication

 

Its not that hard, unless there are other forces at work

[flecktimus]

I think a lot of the recent fuss will die down once we get a manager, I don't expect we'll get the best manager in the world but we won't get the worst either.

 

Regards the team I think we will see more chances for our own young players and anymore Kaunas players we get will be more selective than mass arrivals we had before, I also don't think there will be much money for transfers with debt reduction being priority so i think we'll be looking at low cost value for money signings like the ex-Man Utd kid.

 

The annual accounts said UBIG & UKIO would continue to provide financing conditional on Hearts reducing the wage bill and we've seen some evidence of this with several higher earners having left already and I think the financial goal over the next 18-24 months will be to return the debt to approx level Romanov inherited.

 

I think given the economic situation then the stadium could be delayed even if we get planning permission and we might have live within our means until economic & financing outlook improves. If the stadium does get built then there will probably have to be some restructure of HMFC and possibly the stadium & football club being separated as happened at easter road.

 

He has gone to Hartlepool and i don't think HMFC will be the first choice of many potential signings.

[soulboy]

He has gone to Hartlepool and i don't think HMFC will be the first choice of many potential signings.

 

I know he didn't sign I just meant that he is the kind of player we would be targetting like we did last year with Mikey Stewart & Steven Hughes ie bosmans or low transfer fee's, maybe we might also take some guys on loan with an option to buy. I don't expect us to be paying out any big transfer fee's for players.

[Munch]

The sunday times article mentions if Vad has lost interest then he can do what the Pieman proposed and sell off the stadium too a Developer.

 

As stupid as the Pieman was, he did get lucky in securing a price for the Stadium when the property market was on a high, 24 million is the figure i remember ( correct me if im wrong with the figure).

 

However that option in todays property market would be a dead duck, land values are way down, and most of the big builders/Developers are laying people off.

 

In todays market Vlad would be very lucky to get anybody too buy the land, This some what puts him in a position where his hands are tied.

 

So even if he has lost interest ( which i dought very much) what are his options.

 

1. He gets full planning permission, and builds the new Stand/Hotel/Bar/etc, increasing the lands net value, increasing revenues,and rides out the credit crunch.

 

2. Decides too sell up ? too who ? and for what price? in the current market ?

 

3. Gets planning permission, but does not build. ?

 

Time will tell, IMO Vlad will build the new stand, he is a multi millionare and he wont sell up/walk away/ at least not in the current market.

 

He might even surprise us all and appoint a credible manager, and make Robbo his assistant. ( now that would be a plan)

[Westendorfer]

Yep, property developers will be queuing up to buy the Tynecastle site. Have you seen the headlines with Barratt, Taylor Wimpey et al this week?

 

Even our old friends CALA have laid off staff and stopped work on developing sites.

 

Utter urine!

 

I wonder if Stewart Milne Group might be interested.

 

As a private firm, they seem to have avoided the turbulence affecting Barratt and the rest.

[flecktimus]

I know he didn't sign I just meant that he is the kind of player we would be targetting like we did last year with Mikey Stewart & Steven Hughes ie bosmans or low transfer fee's, maybe we might also take some guys on loan with an option to buy. I don't expect us to be paying out any big transfer fee's for players.

 

I know where you are coming from and yes it makes perfect sense, but Steven Hughes is a perfect example of players choosing other clubs over HMFC.As far as Mikey Stewart is concerned i believe he has business interests in Edinburgh so it may suit his personnel needs.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

I wonder if Stewart Milne Group might be interested.

 

As a private firm, they seem to have avoided the turbulence affecting Barratt and the rest.

 

Nah, heard their interest in football grounds doesn't extend outside the North East. They have a major development planned in the next few years!

[paulah]

Dont think he will sell but its hard to stomach that a kid chose Hartleypool over us

[soulboy]

Dont think he will sell but its hard to stomach that a kid chose Hartleypool over us

 

Tranmere & Swindon tried to sign him as well, he was also linked with Burnley but i don't know if they made him an offer?

[Westendorfer]

In the same way that someone said that satire was dead after Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I think any comedian would have a hard time following a Milne purchase of Tynie!

 

Perhaps in a couple of years I'll drive out to Trump's new course on a Saturday morning via our long-awaited bypass, and then pop down to our lush new 25,000 seater stadium...

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

In the same way that someone said that satire was dead after Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I think any comedian would have a hard time following a Milne purchase of Tynie!

 

Perhaps in a couple of years I'll drive out to Trump's new course on a Saturday morning via our long-awaited bypass, and then pop down to our lush new 25,000 seater stadium...

 

Aye, and I'll be flying back to watch a match at it courtesy of the flying pigs that will be solving the oil crisis!!

[portobellojambo1]

Dont think he will sell but its hard to stomach that a kid chose Hartleypool over us

 

Some people seem to be reading an awful lot into the club Ritchie Jones chose paulah. From reading things on the internet it appears what he was really looking for was a club where he could be playing football regularly, he obviously thought there was more chance of that at Hartlepool than at Hearts (and let's face it team selections at Hearts would suggest there was no contest based on that criteria). However I don't think we should be assuming that by making the decision he did he actually classes Hartlepool as a better/bigger club than us, they simply appear to give him more realistic scope to do what he wants to do, play senior team football regularly.

[flecktimus]

This is a question i sometimes ask myself and its all connected to the way HMFC are being run at the moment.

 

If i had a son who had the chance to sign for HMFC or the Hobos which one would i recommend and as a father i would obliged to give the best advice i could.

 

I always refuse to answer my own question

[coach]

it is going to end in tears......

[soulboy]

This is a question i sometimes ask myself and its all connected to the way HMFC are being run at the moment.

 

If i had a son who had the chance to sign for HMFC or the Hobos which one would i recommend and as a father i would obliged to give the best advice i could.

 

I always refuse to answer my own question

 

To be fair i think the reputation of both Hearts & Hibs youth systems is quite good as is Rangers, Celtic & Hamilton's.

[Guest S.U.S.S.]

I don't buy the "fire sale" bit. To be honest, the one thing Romanov has done well, in general, has been maximising value when to comes to selling players. ?1.6M for Skacel, ?2.3M for Bednar, ?1.1M for Hartley and ?9M for Gordon were all excellent pieces of business.

 

The treatment of the players when they were here is another matter entirely.

 

So what about ?0 for Pinilla after picking up ?12k a week, max tastic!

 

Or the fact we have 7248 players 99% of which will not get near the top team?

[Toxteth O'Grady]

So what about ?0 for Pinilla after picking up ?12k a week, max tastic!

 

Or the fact we have 7248 players 99% of which will not get near the top team?

 

 

That's the bit that defies logic and leads me to the conclusion he is a radge

[Drylaw Hearts]

it is going to end in tears......

 

Yep.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

So what about ?0 for Pinilla after picking up ?12k a week, max tastic!

 

Or the fact we have 7248 players 99% of which will not get near the top team?

 

Aye, that's why I said "in general"!

 

I think we have actually pared the squad down though.