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As requested, a poll to determine which era as a supporter you most enjoyed


Geoff Kilpatrick

Which period of Hearts ownership did you most enjoy as a supporter?  

404 members have voted

  1. 1. Which ownership era did you most enjoy as a supporter of HMFC?

    • The 1950s glory years
    • The 1960s / 70s maximum wage has gone we don't know what we're doing
    • The Wallace Mercer pre vermin takeover years (1981-1990)
    • The Wallace Mercer post vermin takeover years (1990-1994)
    • The Robinson / Deans pre flotation years (1994 - 1997)
    • The Robinson / Deans cup win to selling Tynecastle (1997-2004)
    • The Vladimir Romanov rollercoaster (2004-2014)
    • The Ann Budge years (2014 onwards)


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Great work.

Hopefully will be some fun for a change.

I'll go for the 60s/70s when I didn't know any better and we had Chipmunk crisps & Kia Ora on match days. Rene Moller & Donlad Ford. Jumpers for goalposts. 

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shaun.lawson

Great idea for a poll :thumbsup:

 

Badly written options which will skew the results :down:

 

With bias like this, you've missed your vocation Geoffrey :lol:

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Geoff Kilpatrick
2 minutes ago, shaun.lawson said:

Great idea for a poll :thumbsup:

 

Badly written options which will skew the results :down:

 

With bias like this, you've missed your vocation Geoffrey :lol:

To be honest, I think splitting the Mercer eras and Robinson / Deans eras is appropriate. Wallace threw in the towel to an extent after the takeover and wanted to sell. Likewise, Robinson taking on the CEO role in 1997 fundamentally changed that relationship between him and Deans.

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shaun.lawson
4 minutes ago, Geoff Kilpatrick said:

To be honest, I think splitting the Mercer eras and Robinson / Deans eras is appropriate. Wallace threw in the towel to an extent after the takeover and wanted to sell. Likewise, Robinson taking on the CEO role in 1997 fundamentally changed that relationship between him and Deans.

 

That's not the only problem. Simply by how you've written the options, I already know which one will likely win. That's a bad poll by definition. 

 

BY PUREST COINCIDENCE, that option is the one you've voted for too :lol:

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Geoff Kilpatrick
3 minutes ago, shaun.lawson said:

 

That's not the only problem. Simply by how you've written the options, I already know which one will likely win. That's a bad poll by definition. 

 

BY PUREST COINCIDENCE, that option is the one you've voted for too :lol:

Ach, it is a bit of fun. To also be honest, my second favourite was the initial Robinson / Deans spell when JJ started the turnaround and we took advantage of Bosman. Likewise, that ties in to seeing the team in the flesh for me. It was great.

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JJ and Leveins first spells for me

 

Romanov brought some fun and a real rollercoaster and I loved being a Hearts fan during that time but it is just pipped by JJ/CL

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As a 40 year old I've gone for the 97-2004 period. 

 

We had one fantastic season under Romanov and the rest was, barring the cup win over Hibs, chaos which resulted in our near demise.

 

I know things didn't end well under Robinson but the JJ and Levein teams in that period were often excellent and brought me more of my favourite moments as a hearts fan.

Edited by leith_dude
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MR INCREDIBLE

I also quite enjoyed following the team when Lockie was manager and we had to play the kids every week also facing the points deficit.

Pretty crap team and results but PLENTY EFFORT and fantastic away support at all games.

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allystrachan

Late 90s for me. After having lost cup finals & thinking we will never win one, to finally do it in 98 & the scenes up town the following days was just amazing. Players like Robbo, Flogal, Adam, Salvatore & Cameron will always be amongst my favourites. 

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Interesting poll

Although vlad was a nutter at least he had some balls and wouldnt stand for anything other than success for hearts, most of the time we finished high in the league when he was here and also signed some exxeptional players like Rudi, Fyssas, Aguiar, Janny etc I think we only finished outside the top 6 twice if i remember right? Won 2 trophies, finished top 4 around 50% of the time he was here, things didnt end well and he didnt really care overall about us, but it was one hell of a ride all the same, I just wish we could get something inbetween budge and romanov tbh, i think then we would really thrive, maybe someone like wallace mercer.

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21 minutes ago, allystrachan said:

Late 90s for me. After having lost cup finals & thinking we will never win one, to finally do it in 98 & the scenes up town the following days was just amazing. Players like Robbo, Flogal, Adam, Salvatore & Cameron will always be amongst my favourites. 

Same for me.

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I almost plumped for the Robinson/Deans cup win era. But in the end I had to go with Vlad.

Yes it almost ended very badly but it was never boring. 
 

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Ffs, Geoff!  😁
 

Cleverly cut up the periods to really get you thinking. 
 

I’d hazard a guess most fans over 40 years old (like myself) would love an 1984 to 1992 option, or a 95 until 2000 one. (Roughly on both).


Looking at the selections on offer, I took 81-90.  Simply because it was my most impressionable time. My first game was 1979, then it wasn’t until about 83,84 I starting going regularly to matches.
 

The team(s) from 86 until 90 were great to watch, I travelled away to many matches, European nights, brilliant players etc.....it was Hearts rebirth after the yo-yo years.  

 

 

 

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shaun.lawson
Just now, Debut 4 said:

a 95 until 2000 one.

 

 

That's the option I'd have favoured, by a long long way. 

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Dusk_Till_Dawn
15 minutes ago, iantjambo said:

I almost plumped for the Robinson/Deans cup win era. But in the end I had to go with Vlad.

Yes it almost ended very badly but it was never boring. 
 


Vlad almost deserves it most because of 2012 but Mercer pre Vermin you had that team, the Bayern Munich night. Superb times

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If the Robinson/Deans era split had been up till the SMG input, the root cause of almost everything bad that has since happened, I'd have gone for the first half of that.  Genuinely optimistic Time with some brilliant football.  As it is, the first half of the Mercer era.

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Romanov era for me. I was getting old enough (10/11) to actually understand football towards the end of the Robinson era. When Romanov came in it was crazy. Everyone hated us and Romanov hated them. 2 scottish cups but it also came with a lots of shit. Some of the quality players we had during that time was epic. As for the Budge era, well we have a new stand that was desperately needed, but the football has been a failure.

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shaun.lawson
5 minutes ago, Diego10 said:

If the Robinson/Deans era split had been up till the SMG input, the root cause of almost everything bad that has since happened, I'd have gone for the first half of that.  Genuinely optimistic Time with some brilliant football.  As it is, the first half of the Mercer era.

 

This is exactly right. All of it.

 

It's extraordinary that Hearts are STILL in a situation in which everything can be traced back to that deal. A thread about it is here:

 

 

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Harry Potter
5 minutes ago, Diego10 said:

The Romanov era will win at a landslide, despite most of it being absolutely horrendous, cause people like trophies

And the football was magical.

some superb players in the team back then.

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Geoff Kilpatrick
11 minutes ago, Diego10 said:

If the Robinson/Deans era split had been up till the SMG input, the root cause of almost everything bad that has since happened, I'd have gone for the first half of that.  Genuinely optimistic Time with some brilliant football.  As it is, the first half of the Mercer era.

That is true but the reason I went with the flotation is that that was when Pieman sold off Wheatsheaf Catering and became an employee of the club and new directors Doug Smith and Brian Duffin came on to the board to represent the "institutions". Colin Wilson also left the board as Mercer's last rep so, as the question is about the boardroom dynamics while we support the team, I felt 1997 was more appropriate as that was when Robinson and Deans started to go their separate ways.

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After the lows of the late seventies and early eighties( much like today) club was skint 

fans deserting in droves tyncastle a dark depressing place . then mercer took over club.

macdonald and jardine came in, and the whole attidude changed we were no longer

losers they built a great side full of skill and determination, tynie was bouncing atmosphere

unbelievable.they started the domination of hibs which has continued since.

so my vote goes to mercer -macdonald era for restoring pride and passion at my

club

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Cut The Crap

Early Mercer for me. Stopped the rot of the late 70s yo-yo years and restored us as genuine contenders in the Scottish game, culminating in a UEFA Cup quarter final that we probably should have won. Matchless in my time supporting Hearts.

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19 minutes ago, shaun.lawson said:

 

That's the option I'd have favoured, by a long long way. 

Which would’ve had me still sitting here undecided. 😁

 

 

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Салатные палочки

I voted 98-04 simply because of the cup win but I really should have voted 94-97 (93-97 to be more precise). It was when I got my first season ticket and I was just so buzzing to be going to the football week in week out. On the whole we were pretty crap during that time until JJ's reign but to a young lad we were the best team in the world. It was the time I truly fell in love with the club. 

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Geoff Kilpatrick

BTW, I think the current admin staff who like a Kickback scroll will be baffled that the Budge Years currently have zero votes. That they would be baffled in itself speaks volumes.

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10 minutes ago, Harry Potter said:

And the football was magical.

some superb players in the team back then.

Was it though?  I would say there were two genuinely great spells.  The 2005/06 season (and even that was very much worse after the incredible start) and the first 5 months of the 2010/11 season.

 

In between was a wildly mixed bag, reaching from the effective but boring Laszlo era to the absolutely godawful McGlynn and Korobochka/Frail seasons.  With a fair amount of meh as well.

 

The Sergio season ended really well, but I don't remember much eulogising of the football when we got pummelled 3 nil at Motherwell or lost our 3rd game to St Johnstone

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shaun.lawson

Thinking about it, depending on how old people are of course, so many of those eras Geoff's mentioned had major highlights. What have been the highlights under Budge though? 

 

- 50s: too many to mention. Just constant, wildly un-Hearts-like success! 

 

- 60s/70s: decline and fall - but there's plenty of fans on here who reminisce about the 70s at times

 

81-90: resurrection, 3-0 at Tannadice (in a sense, was that the club's finest moment since 1960?), nearly winning the double, Vienna, Bayern

 

91-94: 22IAR, Wayne Foster

 

94-97: 3-0 at Ibrox, brilliant young side, Coca-Cola Final

 

97-04: A trophy at long long last, and a title challenge. Stuttgart, Bordeaux, Braga, Basel.

 

04-14: Burley, Champions League, two Cup wins, 5-1

 

14-21: Winning the Championship?!?!

 

Objectively, this is the second worst era of any that Geoff's listed. And plenty of fans will feel it's the worst of the lot.

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colinmaroon

In my 74th year and I was brought up from my first game as a kid in 1956, very much the formative years, seeing the majority of league games and all the Finals, and still can see Alex Young clearly in my mind's eye.

 

While the attendances dropped off in the 60's (not mine) those glory days are still treasured and no amount of 70's or present malaise will shake my support of Heart of Midlothian F C. 

 

Even that name still thrills me.

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Never saw much of the 50s, enjoyed the 60s but hated the 70s. If we’d won the double in 86 it would have been a no brainer. Winning the cup in 98 was probably the best feeling ever, but the Romanov years although full of turmoil gets the vote from me.

Budge years can GTF.

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80’s for me. Great blend of older and younger players who fought for everything and had a team spirit that was second to none. Desperately unlucky not to win a trophy but great fun to watch too

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Jambo-Jimbo

I've went for 1981-1990 option, simply because following the yo-yo years and everything that went with that and then the turnaround of the MacDonald/Jardine era to having the pleasure of watching some of the best players to ever play for Hearts.

 

John Robertson, Craig Levein, Sandy Jardine, John Colquhoun, Eammon Bannon, Henry Smith, Dave Bowman, Sandy Clark.

 

Real proper professionals, not like the charlatans who call themselves footballers that we have today.

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Born in 91 so would be Robinson then when Vlad took over. Loved going to tynecastle when I was a kid. I had a season ticket in lower N then when Vlad took over it was X in Gorgie. Thinking back to going as a kid then into my teenage years fills me with warm feeling joy happiness. 
 

English football wasn’t really on only watched maybe a Sunday game it was always Hearts to focus on. I just feel now some of that has been ripped away with the coverage of football on tv and the way we are run. I couldn’t imagine going every week paying for season ticket and my FOH DD to watch that currently. I’d love to go back to the good old days where all week you be counting down the days till Saturday for the match and actually look forward and enjoy the football.

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shaun.lawson
7 minutes ago, Jamhammer said:

80’s for me. Great blend of older and younger players who fought for everything and had a team spirit that was second to none. Desperately unlucky not to win a trophy but great fun to watch too

 

Given who both your clubs are, 85/6 must've been doubly bittersweet in your case?

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I’ve gone 97 to 04. That was the time me and my daughter got our season tickets, she was young and was excited about every game, no matter how unlikely win might be. Lots of Dad/Daughter bonding in those times.

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3 minutes ago, buzz said:

I’ve gone 97 to 04. That was the time me and my daughter got our season tickets, she was young and was excited about every game, no matter how unlikely win might be. Lots of Dad/Daughter bonding in those times.

Same with me and my dad loved it couldn’t wait for a match day to come along being a kid used to always want to leave the house early we would be in Edinburgh that early would have to sit up in the Shandon until the gates opened then we were first in the ground 😂. I have been to games with mates at tynecastle, away games , English football matches but I still think nothing can beat going with my dad.

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I loved the Mercer years. He was a great character for sure RIP.  Under Doddie we had such a good and committed squad (night and day compared to now).

Robbo, Colqhoun, McPherson etc etc - we maybe won nowt but the football in the main was just great and away games we had big supports. Some times we filled the old beach end and Broomloan stands. 
i went for the mercer takeover era. 

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Gordon Ramsay

Depends how old you are really. Voted for Vlad. Born in 1989 so going through my teenage years with him in charge was some ride. 

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1 hour ago, Diego10 said:

The Romanov era will win at a landslide, despite most of it being absolutely horrendous, cause people like trophies

Or the age of the supporters. Anyone under 30 might remember more of that era than the one before and certainly not have the option for anything before 1990.

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Japan Jambo

brings back a shed load of memories thinking about this. Hopefully Mercer vote won't be by the takeover split which feels to me at least a little artificial, went for first part.

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1981-90 I voted.

83-84 with A Macdonald as player/manager does it for me, never missed a game all season, home and away, won the first derby that season 3-2 Jimmy Bone wi the winner, pure scenes, unbeaten against that lot, all be it, the other 3 being draws, how that trend continued, started with 5 straight wins, unbelievable!

Loved that season!

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Geoff Kilpatrick
1 minute ago, Japan Jambo said:

brings back a shed load of memories thinking about this. Hopefully Mercer vote won't be by the takeover split which feels to me at least a little artificial, went for first part.

If anything, I thought the split would help. Wallace was adored up to that point by our support. After that, he became the FTB in a lot of people's eyes.

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glynnlondon

Tough one really I had to go for the Robinson cup win a very special time for me.

The Romanov era was right up there as well tho.

Those were the days 😎

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Probably much fairer to split it by manager era's. 

 

 

1982 to 1990 Alex McDonald

1990 to 1993 Joe Jordan

1995 to 2000 Jim Jefferies

2000 to 2005 Craig Levein

 

If for the 97/98 season alone, I'd probably go for JJ.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Maroon Sailor

80's for me

 

Competitive league full of Scottish players, but after years in the doldrums (the yo-yo years) and on the brink of going out of existence this decade was barely believable.

 

Nobody could have forseen Hearts have a squad like that competing for trophies during the mid to late 80's.

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