Hearts owners

[Diadora Van Basten]

All our owners initially seem good then go downhill fast overstaying their welcome.

 

Ann just seems to be the latest.

 

The only one who bucked the trend was Leslie Deans

 

Wallace Mercer started well left us in a lot of debt and stagnating.

Chris Robinson started well won the cup disasterous SMG deal left us with no choice but to sell Tynecastle.

Vladimir Romanov won cup brought excitement to the club could have won the league but for some dodgy refereeing left us in administration.

Ann Budge got us promoted built the stand responsible for terrible signing policy and managerial appointments. Refused to sack managers and led to a culture of disillusionment from players who care and fans.

[Lone Striker]

5 minutes ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

All our owners initially seem good then go downhill fast overstaying their welcome.

 

Ann just seems to be the latest.

 

The only one who bucked the trend was Leslie Deans

 

Wallace Mercer started well left us in a lot of debt and stagnating.

Chris Robinson started well won the cup disasterous SMG deal left us with no choice but to sell Tynecastle.

Vladimir Romanov won cup brought excitement to the club could have won the league but for some dodgy refereeing left us in administration.

Ann Budge got us promoted built the stand responsible for terrible signing policy and managerial appointments. Refused to sack managers and led to a culture of disillusionment from players who care and fans.

Doesn't bode well for FoH then ............. 🙄

[frankblack]

5 minutes ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

All our owners initially seem good then go downhill fast overstaying their welcome.

 

Ann just seems to be the latest.

 

The only one who bucked the trend was Leslie Deans

 

Wallace Mercer started well left us in a lot of debt and stagnating.

Chris Robinson started well won the cup disasterous SMG deal left us with no choice but to sell Tynecastle.

Vladimir Romanov won cup brought excitement to the club could have won the league but for some dodgy refereeing left us in administration.

Ann Budge got us promoted built the stand responsible for terrible signing policy and managerial appointments. Refused to sack managers and led to a culture of disillusionment from players who care and fans.

 

You missed out that Romanov left us in Administration and on the verge of liquidation.

[kingantti1874]

Yep. It’s funny Ann Budge and Vladimir Romanov are entirely different but in some ways exactly the same.

 

Both of them think that they know best despite council to the contrary from people know know better, both listen to the wrong voices and neither really cared about the customers. 
 

Ann Budge should have stepped away once the stand was build, her legacy would have been permanent - her weakness is the football side and now that weakness is exposed for all to see.  Not just in the sense of who is the right manager and whucj players we should sign, the very ethos of the club conflicts with the ruthless winning mentality required to succeed.

[Pans Jambo]

10 minutes ago, Diadora Van Basten said:

All our owners initially seem good then go downhill fast overstaying their welcome.

 

Ann just seems to be the latest.

 

The only one who bucked the trend was Leslie Deans

 

Wallace Mercer started well left us in a lot of debt and stagnating.

Chris Robinson started well won the cup disasterous SMG deal left us with no choice but to sell Tynecastle.

Vladimir Romanov won cup brought excitement to the club could have won the league but for some dodgy refereeing left us in administration.

Ann Budge got us promoted built the stand responsible for terrible signing policy and managerial appointments. Refused to sack managers and led to a culture of disillusionment from players who care and fans.

Well thats a tad depressing.

[A_A wehatethehibs]

We need to stop dishing out these 4/5 year deals to owners Ffs 

[john thomas]

5 minutes ago, kingantti1874 said:

Yep. It’s funny Ann Budge and Vladimir Romanov are entirely different but in some ways exactly the same.

 

Both of them think that they know best despite council to the contrary from people know know better, both listen to the wrong voices and neither really cared about the customers. 
 

Ann Budge should have stepped away once the stand was build, her legacy would have been permanent - her weakness is the football side and now that weakness is exposed for all to see.  Not just in the sense of who is the right manager and whucj players we should sign, the very ethos of the club conflicts with the ruthless winning mentality required to succeed.

You aren't being serious surely ?

[David Black]

1 minute ago, john thomas said:

You aren't being serious surely ?

He's right, both are driven by their ego and as a result always know better. I don't think Robinson and certainly not Mercer were egotistical. 

 

[john thomas]

9 minutes ago, David Black said:

He's right, both are driven by their ego and as a result always know better. I don't think Robinson and certainly not Mercer were egotistical. 

 

Ignoring what is happening on the pitch you think Budge is as financially criminally irresponsible as Romanov ?

As for you comment about the Great Waldo ?????

[Fort Vallance]

It's not just Hearts. I can't think of any club where owners have been popular over a longer period except possibly City & Chelsea. No doubt some stato will come on and point out a few.

[Beni]

9 minutes ago, kingantti1874 said:

Yep. It’s funny Ann Budge and Vladimir Romanov are entirely different but in some ways exactly the same.

 

Both of them think that they know best despite council to the contrary from people know know better, both listen to the wrong voices and neither really cared about the customers

 

I'd guess this is a characteristic shared by many successful people.

However the very same unshakable self belief that served them so well on the way up can become their Achilles heel when they move into a different sphere.

 

 

19 minutes ago, kingantti1874 said:

 

Ann Budge should have stepped away once the stand was build, her legacy would have been permanent - her weakness is the football side and now that weakness is exposed for all to see.  Not just in the sense of who is the right manager and whucj players we should sign, the very ethos of the club conflicts with the ruthless winning mentality required to succeed.

 

Correct.

An actor should leave the stage when the ovation is loudest, whatever happens from here on in, it looks like Budge missed her cue.

[Fort Vallance]

1 minute ago, john thomas said:

Ignoring what is happening on the pitch you think Budge is as financially criminally irresponsible as Romanov ?

As for you comment about the Great Waldo ?????

Of course she isn't. But at least Vlad's roller coaster had a few ups before the downs. 

[Bill Sikes]

I see all the cup finals have been erased again.

[kingantti1874]

25 minutes ago, john thomas said:

You aren't being serious surely ?

deadly serious. It is possible for entirely different people to share common traits. They are entirely different people but they do have certain things in common

[Blackshades]

This isn't a support of budge but who does everyone think is waiting in the wings that's going to come in and make everything in the garden Rosey .just wondering? As I can't think of anyone off the top of my head

[Humblerogue]

"You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."

[David Black]

14 minutes ago, john thomas said:

Ignoring what is happening on the pitch you think Budge is as financially criminally irresponsible as Romanov ?

As for you comment about the Great Waldo ?????

The point I am trying to make is that both Budge and Romanov were driven by their ego's. Financially there is no comparison but that is not my point. As for Mercer, I honestly do not recall him being egotistical.

[Pasquale for King]

19 minutes ago, Blackshades said:

This isn't a support of budge but who does everyone think is waiting in the wings that's going to come in and make everything in the garden Rosey .just wondering? As I can't think of anyone off the top of my head

Me either, but there are literally thousands of cold hearted capitalistic *******s kicking about that have proven track records of running businesses. 
No nepotism, no jobs for your pals, here’s the salary and here are the performance related bonuses. 
We have a fan base that give nearly £2m a season when the team is awful, imagine how much we would be pumping in if we were flying?

Its not that difficult a job, leave the football department to football folk. 

[Pasquale for King]

21 minutes ago, David Black said:

The point I am trying to make is that both Budge and Romanov were driven by their ego's. Financially there is no comparison but that is not my point. As for Mercer, I honestly do not recall him being egotistical.

He was, he was never out the media in one way or the other. He certainly knew how to set up a bonus scheme anyway, so much so we were struggling to pay it. I’m sure Henry Smith said he would also give them a bit extra for derbies too. 

[Norm]

Mercer not egotistical? 

 

Now I've heard everything. 

[The Gorgie]

Romanov tried to compete with the Old Firm and it went wrong. Budge tried to compete just for the top 6 and it went wrong.

[1971fozzy]

29 minutes ago, David Black said:

The point I am trying to make is that both Budge and Romanov were driven by their ego's. Financially there is no comparison but that is not my point. As for Mercer, I honestly do not recall him being egotistical.

Wallace was very egotistical, in a wonderful way. So much so he tried to buy Hibs. He was wonderful to listen to

[martoon]

Cheered in.

 

Jeered oot.

 

It's in the order of things.

[kingantti1874]

42 minutes ago, fancy a brew said:

 

I'd guess this is a characteristic shared by many successful people.

However the very same unshakable self belief that served them so well on the way up can become their Achilles heel when they move into a different sphere.

you are right, but in my experience the very best leaders are those who are brave enough surround themselves with strength. People who dovetails / Compliment their own skillset with people who specialise and offset those weaknesses.

 

in this case the e decision on neilson should 100% be on savage  

[graygo]

1 hour ago, David Black said:

He's right, both are driven by their ego and as a result always know better. I don't think Robinson and certainly not Mercer were egotistical. 

 

 

Aye Wallace Mercer wasn't egotistical.

 

Even Wallace Mercer would dispute that.

[martoon]

Met Wallace once and he introduced himself as "I'm A. Wallace Mercer".

 

Thought it a bit odd and pompous but that was just his way. 

[martoon]

40 minutes ago, Blackshades said:

This isn't a support of budge but who does everyone think is waiting in the wings that's going to come in and make everything in the garden Rosey .just wondering? As I can't think of anyone off the top of my head

 

Really?

 

I can.

 

He already contributes.

[OTT]

39 minutes ago, kingantti1874 said:

Yep. It’s funny Ann Budge and Vladimir Romanov are entirely different but in some ways exactly the same.

 

Both of them think that they know best despite council to the contrary from people know know better, both listen to the wrong voices and neither really cared about the customers. 
 

Ann Budge should have stepped away once the stand was build, her legacy would have been permanent - her weakness is the football side and now that weakness is exposed for all to see.  Not just in the sense of who is the right manager and whucj players we should sign, the very ethos of the club conflicts with the ruthless winning mentality required to succeed.

 

Yeah, I think you've made a good point there. 

 

Ann like Vlad doesn't have a clue about running a football club, the commercial side obviously she is able to draw on business principles and we're seeing success there - Restaurant, function rooms, club shop - all doing well and will bring in money for years to come. A legacy to be proud of as a commercial entity. 

 

On the flip side, our football team is a shambles. The entire football function within the football club has had its standards slip season by season, a total lack of accountability. Even simple things like fitness don't seem to matter anymore. Robbie as a coach now is a shadow of his self in 2014/15. He had fitness as an absolute priority. Now? I don't think so. Likewise, Stendel immediately picked up on how unfit the players were after a couple of seasons of Levein. These are highly paid professional athletes. I don't care if counter pressing means more running, they should have a professional level of fitness which ensures they can adapt to whatever style of play the headcoach prefers. I think it represents how low our standards are. We can't even count on our first team to be physically fit which is an absolute insult to the fans. 

 

Vlad was too trigger happy though, BUT I think Ann is being too slow to react and this is ingraining lower standards. IMO you get to fail once. If we budget for 4th and finish 6th, thats failure. If we budget for 4th and you finish 6th again, thats a P45. We cannot allow long term thinking to override short term common sense. Once failure is deemed acceptable, it grows and takes root and culture change is very difficult to achieve from negative to positive. 

 

I would like to get to a point where our behind the scenes football operations are so strong that the manager is interchangeable. I.e our academy is producing usable genuine talent, our scouting is identifying talent we can develop/ maintain or drive standards etc. If everything behind the scenes was working as it should then we could ideally get to a point where the head coach is effectively told, 'just follow the recipe' a set manner of playing which is clear from top down. Efficient use of resources, not signing crocks because we think we know better. 

[David Black]

9 minutes ago, 1971fozzy said:

Wallace was very egotistical, in a wonderful way. So much so he tried to buy Hibs. He was wonderful to listen to

I think there is a difference between egotistical and flamboyant. He was certainly the latter and took every opportunity to appear in the media, but that was putting Hearts up front, not himself.

Edited April 6, 2021 by David Black

[Geddyalexneil]

Kind of sad but true. Every single owner or chairman/woman we have had in my lifetime that I liked buggered things up before they left!

Maybe having a time limit on folks in charge could be a good idea (although perhaps impractical)

However I tend to remember the good stuff about Mercer and Romanov especially. Perhaps due to being excited by football or craziness. I was never bored. Oh for that again!

[1971fozzy]

5 minutes ago, David Black said:

I think there is a difference between egotistical and flamboyant. He was certainly the latter and took every opportunity to appear in the media, but that was putting Hearts up front, not himself.

he was both for me. 

[Hackney Hearts]

50 minutes ago, David Black said:

The point I am trying to make is that both Budge and Romanov were driven by their ego's. As for Mercer, I honestly do not recall him being egotistical.

 

     

 

Mercer gives Vlad a run for his money, which is saying something, given that Romanov was seriously pathological in that respect.

 

The ego order would be:

ROMANOV

Mercer

 

Robinson (podium finish)

 

Budge (miles behind)

 

Budge may have her faults, but being egotistical is not one of them. She didn't seek a public profile, and never enjoyed that aspect of it. I think the word you may be looking for is stubborn (the negative side of determined, single-minded).

Edited April 6, 2021 by Hackney Hearts

[Turkishcap]

Mr Savage as Dof cannot be enjoying what he is seeing?

[Hackney Hearts]

11 minutes ago, David Black said:

took every opportunity to appear in the media, but that was putting Hearts up front, not himself.

 

I think he was very happy to do both!

[mscjambo]

The scarves around the funnel podcast was excellent this week. Mark Donaldson and Laurie Dunsire summed up things pretty well regarding Budge. They said that Budge's fundamental mistake was allowing Levein to have so much say on the footballing front and Budge herself making poor footballing   decisions. They also put forward the notion that john Murray and Rodger Arnott have been afforded lots of slack too, hard to disagree...

 

I think her intentions have been good. But the commercial development of the club has been good and evolved but the footballing department has digressed on her watch. I don't think she's been a bad owner maybe more misguided and nieve. 

 

Does the Joe Savage appointment come to late; probably. If he now turns around and says Robbie isn't the man to her,  will she listen? I'm still not sure. 

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

In terms of enjoyment:

 

1 - Mercer

2 - Vlad/Robinson neck and neck

 

 

 

 

1,000,000,0000 - Budge nowhere to be seen.

 

At least results mattered to the first three.

[Section Q]

1 hour ago, kingantti1874 said:

Yep. It’s funny Ann Budge and Vladimir Romanov are entirely different but in some ways exactly the same.

 

Both of them think that they know best despite council to the contrary from people know know better, both listen to the wrong voices and neither really cared about the customers. 
 

Ann Budge should have stepped away once the stand was build, her legacy would have been permanent - her weakness is the football side and now that weakness is exposed for all to see.  Not just in the sense of who is the right manager and whucj players we should sign, the very ethos of the club conflicts with the ruthless winning mentality required to succeed.

Can't wait till she punches our centre forward in the puss then......!

[4marsbars]

Comparisons with Romanov? Sense of perspective needed.

 

I don't know Ann Budge but I do know that it is highly unlikely that there would still be a recognisable, sustainable HMFC without her contribution / leadership, and for that I am eternally grateful.

 

And that's all there is to be said.

 

 

[Australis]

In every case it's all about hanging onto the club for as long as they can to bleed it dry.

[Dusk_Till_Dawn]

5 minutes ago, 4marsbars said:

Comparisons with Romanov? Sense of perspective needed.

 

I don't know Ann Budge but I do know that it is highly unlikely that there would still be a recognisable, sustainable HMFC without her contribution / leadership, and for that I am eternally grateful.

 

And that's all there is to be said.

 

 

Hmm, no it also has to be said that for five years she’s run us like the Women’s Institute 

[Blackshades]

30 minutes ago, martoon said:

 

Really?

 

I can.

 

He already contributes.

Yup, well who is this mystery person. Please don't let it be james Anderson who you've no more idea if he has anymore knowledge of running a football club than budge

[jambonian]

For me, Wallace Mercer did what he had to do to build Hearts back up from a decade of under-achievement. He knew how to work the media to his, and indeed, Hearts advantage. And it worked for the most part. He always had some scheme or another on the go to get media attention and he was well liked as far as i'm aware. As for taking over Hibs.....if it wasn't for Wallace there'd be no Hibs. Duff & Gray we're riding them rotten. Any money coming in was going into the leisure industry, they had no interest in the football club at all. Mercer's abortive take-over was another publicity stunt and again it worked....for their benefit. New owners, new funds meant Hibs winning the League (Skol) Cup in 1991.  Under Mercer, we were the last club to even get near winning the League., and then Souness arrived at Ibrox. We still did okay and got to the q/f of the UEFA Cup. Then Fergus McCann arrived at Celtic and it's been downhill for the rest of us since. 

 

[Pasquale for King]

15 minutes ago, 4marsbars said:

Comparisons with Romanov? Sense of perspective needed.

 

I don't know Ann Budge but I do know that it is highly unlikely that there would still be a recognisable, sustainable HMFC without her contribution / leadership, and for that I am eternally grateful.

 

And that's all there is to be said.

 

 

So losing millions of our money and continually hiring the wrong manager is fine with you for as long as she wants to stay?

[john thomas]

1 hour ago, David Black said:

The point I am trying to make is that both Budge and Romanov were driven by their ego's. Financially there is no comparison but that is not my point. As for Mercer, I honestly do not recall him being egotistical.

Budge and Romanov are polar opposites . Do they both have egos ? Possibly . Do most owners of football clubs have

egos ? Probably .

Your last sentence , to me , shows an incredible lack of knowledge on the subject

[Pasquale for King]

45 minutes ago, Geddyalexneil said:

Kind of sad but true. Every single owner or chairman/woman we have had in my lifetime that I liked buggered things up before they left!

Maybe having a time limit on folks in charge could be a good idea (although perhaps impractical)

However I tend to remember the good stuff about Mercer and Romanov especially. Perhaps due to being excited by football or craziness. I was never bored. Oh for that again!

4 year terms voted on by the FoH. 

[Shanks said no]

58 minutes ago, Norm said:

Mercer not egotistical? 

 

Now I've heard everything. 

Think I am quoting Gary McKay “Wallace would call a press conference if he bought a new tie”. 
 

or something like that

[john thomas]

1 hour ago, kingantti1874 said:

deadly serious. It is possible for entirely different people to share common traits. They are entirely different people but they do have certain things in common

Didn't realise AB served on submarines . Can't think of anything else they could have in common

[jambonian]

1 minute ago, The Frenchman Returns said:

Think I am quoting Gary McKay “Wallace would call a press conference if he bought a new tie”. 
 

or something like that

Yes, he knew how to wind up the media. I'm pretty sure he told them once that Hearts were about to sign a big name player, the press turned up to see who it was and it was some free transfer from somewhere! He knew how to make the headlines and he did it all to heighten Hearts' profile. 

[The Real Maroonblood]

15 minutes ago, jambonian said:

For me, Wallace Mercer did what he had to do to build Hearts back up from a decade of under-achievement. He knew how to work the media to his, and indeed, Hearts advantage. And it worked for the most part. He always had some scheme or another on the go to get media attention and he was well liked as far as i'm aware. As for taking over Hibs.....if it wasn't for Wallace there'd be no Hibs. Duff & Gray we're riding them rotten. Any money coming in was going into the leisure industry, they had no interest in the football club at all. Mercer's abortive take-over was another publicity stunt and again it worked....for their benefit. New owners, new funds meant Hibs winning the League (Skol) Cup in 1991.  Under Mercer, we were the last club to even get near winning the League., and then Souness arrived at Ibrox. We still did okay and got to the q/f of the UEFA Cup. Then Fergus McCann arrived at Celtic and it's been downhill for the rest of us since. 

 

McCann certainly did a fantastic job for them and he left them in a good position. 

[Penrices left boot]

1 hour ago, Norm said:

Mercer not egotistical? 

 

Now I've heard everything. 

 

 

Was my first thought when I read that. 

Budge is but he wasn't. 

😂😂😂😂😂

Can't believe someone posted that.