Andrew McKinlay Hearts CEO (merged threads)

[Under the floodlight]

4 minutes ago, tolcross lad said:

Levein is no longer part of the club so I dont know why you included him.

Our "new fella"has no responsibility for what happens on the pitch.

Fans have been confused because they expected a CEO to have overall responsibility for all the activities of the club including FOOTBALL.

It seems that our Director of Football has overall responsibility for recruitment and the Academy and other football matters? and he reports to Budge.

It also appears that Neilson reports directly to Budge.

I would be happy to be corrected on this matter.

If correct it seems somewhat mad that a person self confessed  to be somewhat ignorant on football matters has placed herself in complete control of it.

The only person who can make a really authoritative statement on the clubs state of football is Budge which is why McKinlay and Savage can say little.Neilson of course can be left to blunder along.Budge or Neilson it's no wonder that many supporters come to the Sh*** conclusion

The Levein reference was a historic demonstrable one for the poster I was engaged with, I have not suggested that McKinley is involved in onfield matters, just that he would likely be labelled in the same category as the three people mentioned, I just don't care about whether he makes statements or not. I am old school when the only info you got was either in the match day programme or the news. If the team is doing well on the park, there's no financial irregularities I'm happy at the moment not so much. I have no agenda just want to watch good football and see Hearts progress.

[Yoda]

1 hour ago, davemclaren said:

He made a statement yesterday which is we why we are discussing him again. If you asked this on Wednesday it would have been fair comment  😄

D'oh!

[maroongoals]

Raising this point again, everyone talks about Budge but where is this bloke he is apparently our CEO

Edited February 19, 2022 by maroongoals

[Gordon Ramsay]

Still under the desk. 

[Italian Lambretta]

Budge is trolling the fans with her affection of Neilson. I pity the support today who had to endure that utter pish knowing full well Neilson will not be replaced.

[Boris5115]

11 minutes ago, maroongoals said:

Raising this point again, everyone talks about Budge but where is this bloke he is apparently our CEO

Anne's puppet sadly. 

[gregzy2k7]

Needs to be discussing the possibility of Neilson not working out at the very least with savage, shouldn't be jumping the gun of course but the conversations should be happening now.

Millions of pounds at stake for 3rd place and making semi/or final of the cup this year.

[Randy Marsh]

4 minutes ago, Italian Lambretta said:

Budge is trolling the fans with her affection of Neilson. I pity the support today who had to endure that utter pish knowing full well Neilson will not be replaced.

It's like Levein part 2.  Skidmarks that just wont flush.

[Philfigo]

16 minutes ago, gregzy2k7 said:

Needs to be discussing the possibility of Neilson not working out at the very least with savage, shouldn't be jumping the gun of course but the conversations should be happening now.

Millions of pounds at stake for 3rd place and making semi/or final of the cup this year.

Well said, there is a lot of money at stake here that would make a massive difference to us. You would like to think that people are taking about different solutions in the event results don't turn in next 2 or 3 games because if we dont turn this around in next 2 3 games we will be under real pressure.

[Lone Striker]

17 minutes ago, gregzy2k7 said:

Needs to be discussing the possibility of Neilson not working out at the very least with savage, shouldn't be jumping the gun of course but the conversations should be happening now.

Millions of pounds at stake for 3rd place and making semi/or final of the cup this year.

I agree the board should be discreetly discussing options now for the summer, but there's no way they're going to discard Robbie so long as its still possible to finish 3rd and we're still in the Cup.       

 

That scenario could change of course by the middle of March.   

 

With Naisy apparently being favoured candidate by St. Mirren, losing him would reduce our options if Robbie was to be released/sacked.    We'd then be looking at the pool of out-of-work managers, or face paying a big fee to some club to get their manager.

 

So options for the summer are vital to consider right now, imo, with  Robbie & coaches out of contract at that point.   It looks like we're placing all our future football eggs in the Savage basket.   

 

This is probably the wrong thread if we're just angry at the team losing and under-performing though. Its not directly the fault of McKinlay.

 

 

[Yoda]

Lord Lucan has a higher profile than McKinlay.

[SomethingAboutObua]

Where the **** is anyone hearing Naismith is going to St Mirren? 

[GinRummy]

1 minute ago, SomethingAboutObua said:

Where the **** is anyone hearing Naismith is going to St Mirren? 

Newspapers and A Robbie Neilson interview saying he was considering an interview. 

[logopolis]

I thought Scott Brown was the number one target for the saints job?

 

Heard on BBC that Goodwin was going to discuss his Aberdeen future - he's on a two year deal.

 

Not sure how he feels with Glass getting the tin tac so getting out now might suit both parties.

[JDK2020]

50 minutes ago, Yoda said:

Lord Lucan has a higher profile than McKinlay.

 

The club are either happy having a woman calling the shots, complete with all the touchy-feely, behind-the scenes, inter-departmental fluff, or they're not.

 

Don't bring in a guy (just because he's a guy?) and leave him as some anonymous silhouette without a voice. 

Cluster**** of a show.

[Dr Lager]

The invisible man 

[Watt-Zeefuik]

2 hours ago, logopolis said:

I thought Scott Brown was the number one target for the saints job?

 

Heard on BBC that Goodwin was going to discuss his Aberdeen future - he's on a two year deal.

 

Not sure how he feels with Glass getting the tin tac so getting out now might suit both parties.

 

Both have been mentioned in multiple outlets. Brown mentioned first and a bit more as a major target, but Naismith getting an interview is also pretty well sourced.

 

No harm in an interview for Naisy just to stretch the legs and get a feel for the process but I sincerely hope he doesn't stoop to going to Paisley.

[Rocky jamboa]

You'd have to think that McKinlay, Budge and Savage must be watching the same crap we've watched the last few weeks and thinking "this guy hasn't a clue". Maybe they're not totally football people though and just look at the profit and loss accounts. As long as the cash is coming in, they couldn't care less? Was the same with levein. 

[Mysterion]

5 hours ago, maroongoals said:

Raising this point again, everyone talks about Budge but where is this bloke he is apparently our CEO

 

Taking a different approach to this than other posters. 

 

If you think that "not seeing" the CEO in the press or making statements on the club website is a bad thing then you are being a bit deluded.

 

Regardless of discontent around the manager, it's preferable that those who do the football side of the club are in the press and the CEO isn't. If you want McKinlay in the press then you are generating a side show/circus/speculation* that in turn feeds into player/manager/coach interviews and creates further disruption to the team/squad.

 

Honestly - be unhappy about the manager but lets not roll out the CEO to give the media ammunition to have a dig at Hearts - that's our job.

 

*pick you own preferred cliche to describe it.

 

 

[Leveins Battalion]

We are an absolute shambles,same as we were when Hibs beat us on route to their Scottish cup win.

 

 

No jambos in our club. 

[Leveins Battalion]

1 minute ago, Barack said:

Ahem...Craig Gordon. C'mon now, dear chap.🤨

Zzzzzz clutching at straws,club is a joke.

[Armageddon]

McKinlay - didn’t he **** up the shambles that is Scottish Golf then ‘left’ under a cloud after a short period when they realised he was a huddie 🤣🤣🤣

 

Total hologram of a CEO.

[logopolis]

It's a bit extreme to say " doesn't have a clue " - our league position says otherwise. 

 

In the decades I've watched us,  it's not uncommon to have a dip in form or drop points to the 'lesser' teams that we are expecting to beat.

 

We've lost some crap goals to the bottom clubs who are fighting to survive - it's up to the manager and coaching staff to address this alongside players putting in more effort.

[Naisys Tackle]

Jobs for the boys is a term made for the guy. 

[Naisys Tackle]

1 minute ago, logopolis said:

It's a bit extreme to say " doesn't have a clue " - our league position says otherwise. 

 

In the decades I've watched us,  it's not uncommon to have a dip in form or drop points to the 'lesser' teams that we are expecting to beat.

 

We've lost some crap goals to the bottom clubs who are fighting to survive - it's up to the manager and coaching staff to address this alongside players putting in more effort.

 

You're forgetting the humilliation of Alloa and Broara last year.  That's not a dip it's unacceptable. 

[logopolis]

8 minutes ago, Robbies Tackle said:

 

You're forgetting the humilliation of Alloa and Broara last year.  That's not a dip it's unacceptable. 

 

I agree especially the Brora result however that's a one off banana skin type result that could happen - especially if the team doesn't try a leg.

 

Alloa - we played them 4 times, winning 3-0,  3-1 , 6-0 but we lose 0-1 in another dire game - unfortunately that was the cup game.

 

Personally I'll support any Hearts manager,  Levein had my support in the early days. I thought he did a decent job or turning around the mess Cathro left and the following season had us doing well up until his heart scare.

 

Stendal never got a fair chance but no one can honestly say how he would have done in the championship.

 

Reappointing Robbie was a good move as his replacement - proven getting promotion, knew the opposition and knew Hearts.  IMO he atoned Hibs knocking us out the cup first time around by beating them in the semi despite us being unable to train properly and has as further in the cup this season.

 

Until someone can suggest a manager that will get us to this 'next level' that's often mentioned on here RN is doing as much as the plan for this season as set by his employers ( so far ).

 

 

[Jambo92]

Not here to take a shot at the guy but does anyone have any information on what he has done for the club since coming in? 

For the figurehead of a business he is very very quiet.

[Naisys Tackle]

5 minutes ago, Jambo92 said:

Not here to take a shot at the guy but does anyone have any information on what he has done for the club since coming in? 

For the figurehead of a business he is very very quiet.

Makes decent cups of tea. 

[Rocky jamboa]

1 hour ago, logopolis said:

It's a bit extreme to say " doesn't have a clue " - our league position says otherwise. 

 

In the decades I've watched us,  it's not uncommon to have a dip in form or drop points to the 'lesser' teams that we are expecting to beat.

 

We've lost some crap goals to the bottom clubs who are fighting to survive - it's up to the manager and coaching staff to address this alongside players putting in more effort.

I take it that's aimed at my post earlier, re the doesnt have a clue bit. We have the third biggest budget in Scotland and have a decent scouting network now. I reckon me and you could finish 3rd with Hearts this season. If we had a decent manager, like we had with Burley, we'd be about 20 points better off than we are. 

 

I'm not sure at all what neilson brings to the table. He's not a motivator or a tactician. Very often gets the line up wrong and makes bizarre subs at times. He's holding us back

[suds66]

1 hour ago, Rocky jamboa said:

You'd have to think that McKinlay, Budge and Savage must be watching the same crap we've watched the last few weeks and thinking "this guy hasn't a clue". Maybe they're not totally football people though and just look at the profit and loss accounts. As long as the cash is coming in, they couldn't care less? Was the same with levein. 

It's all about the possession stats.

Neilson is an absolute winner on that front.

[Rocky jamboa]

16 minutes ago, suds66 said:

It's all about the possession stats.

Neilson is an absolute winner on that front.

Yeah. 80% possession and 0 shots on target! 🤣

[GavK1012]

5 hours ago, SomethingAboutObua said:

Where the **** is anyone hearing Naismith is going to St Mirren? 

😪🤤😴 wakey wakey 🤤😪😴

[Coco]

The dates on LinkedIn aren't so easy to match up but Hearts might be the second time that McKinlay was playing footsie under the Board Room table with his now wife the current Central Services Director at Hearts when they were both previously at National Australia Bank/Clydesdale.

 

A ridiculous situation with obvious potential conflicts of interest to have a married couple in the CEO and club lawyer roles anyway.

[davemclaren]

4 minutes ago, Coco said:

The dates on LinkedIn aren't so easy to match up but Hearts might be the second time that McKinlay was playing footsie under the Board Room table with his now wife the current Central Services Director at Hearts when they were both previously at National Australia Bank/Clydesdale.

 

A ridiculous situation with obvious potential conflicts of interest to have a married couple in the CEO and club lawyer roles anyway.

Is his wife on the board? What’s her name?

[iainmac]

1 minute ago, davemclaren said:

Is his wife on the board? What’s her name?

His wife is "Central Services Director", which appears to be an HR function, and was here before he was. Her name is Lesley Blair. 

[davemclaren]

Just now, iainmac said:

His wife is "Central Services Director", which appears to be an HR function, and was here before he was. Her name is Lesley Blair. 

She’s not on the board then. 

[iainmac]

Just now, davemclaren said:

She’s not on the board then. 

 

I never said she was? 

[davemclaren]

Just now, iainmac said:

 

I never said she was? 

I never said you did. It was alluded to above. 😄

[iainmac]

Just now, davemclaren said:

I never said you did. It was alluded to above. 😄

 

I do hope she doesn't report directly to the CEO though. Corporate Governance and all that! 

[davemclaren]

2 minutes ago, iainmac said:

 

I do hope she doesn't report directly to the CEO though. Corporate Governance and all that! 

I’ve no idea but she does have a fancy title. 😄

 

iIt would certainly be poor governance to have someone manage and assess the performance of a family member. 

[iainmac]

1 minute ago, davemclaren said:

I’ve no idea but she does have a fancy title. 😄

 

iIt would certainly be poor governance to have someone manage and assess the performance of a family member. 

 

Exactly. Imagine there was a complaint put in by her colleagues & hubby was her boss? 😂

[soonbe110]

1 hour ago, iainmac said:

 

Exactly. Imagine there was a complaint put in by her colleagues & hubby was her boss? 😂

I believe she reports to the Finance Director. Or at least she did. 

[davemclaren]

22 minutes ago, soonbe110 said:

I believe she reports to the Finance Director. Or at least she did. 

That would make sense. 

[Watt-Zeefuik]

18 hours ago, Rocky jamboa said:

I take it that's aimed at my post earlier, re the doesnt have a clue bit. We have the third biggest budget in Scotland and have a decent scouting network now. I reckon me and you could finish 3rd with Hearts this season. If we had a decent manager, like we had with Burley, we'd be about 20 points better off than we are. 

 

I'm not sure at all what neilson brings to the table. He's not a motivator or a tactician. Very often gets the line up wrong and makes bizarre subs at times. He's holding us back

 

Reports on budgets are always difficult until 18-24 months out when the big salary survey comes out for this season, but many folks who should have a good idea of this kind of thing have said they're pretty sure this isn't true. We have the third biggest attendances but Hibs and Aberdeen got Premiership payouts last season while we got Championship ones. Additionally it's widely reported that Hibs' new owner is spending serious money on the side.

 

It seems likely from what has been reported that we have about the 5th largest budget. Even if we somehow have the 3rd largest, it's only by a whisker over our nearest rivals.

 

Folk need to stop repeating this. During the peak of Vlad's reign, we had the third largest budget by quite a distance, sometimes double that of our nearest rivals, and yet rarely finished third.