Did we ever worry about losing Robbo?

[GlasgoJambo]

I was only party to Robbo’s second spell at the club (post Newcastle) and despite his consistency I don’t recall us fearing losing him in the same way we are resigned to with Shankland.

Reasons for this may be;

I was too young to notice speculation - we weren’t as informed (obsessed) back then without the internet

The monetary divide wasn’t as great and a Hearts wage was relatively decent.

Interested to know what others remember about that time. 

 

[Phage]

Contract situation back then was very different. The club 'owned' the player and there was no freedom of movement. Shocking situation for the players but not bad for the clubs. It was a totally different world and beyond compare.

[GlasgoJambo]

Aye right enough. Good point.

[Morgan]

I never even considered that the wee man would leave us.

 

I cried when he did, though.

[Fort Vallance]

It was a long time ago and memory might be flawed. But as the previous poster said the club held all the cards in these days and I think it was the club that decided to take the money on offer. 

[Clear few]

I remember being sad when he went to Newcastle (and delighted when he can back) but I agree the 24 pressure of all dorms of media nowadays makes Shanks situation pretty horrible for lovers of the Hearts ❤️ 

[Percival King]

2 minutes ago, Phage said:

Contract situation back then was very different. The club 'owned' the player and there was no freedom of movement. Shocking situation for the players but not bad for the clubs. It was a totally different world and beyond compare.

It was very different pre-Bosman. iirc, Mercer was filmed holding up a newspaper with the headline "pay up or I go", Mercer then said "he goes", and he did. Clubs certainly had way more power than now. Robbo had probably the most well known agent at the time, Bill McMurdo, who seemed to enjoy the limelight. Think he may also have been Mo Johnston. Maybe his Newcastle experience helped him stay with us after he returned.

[queensferryjambo]

It never even occurred to us that players would leave the club unless the club never wanted them. Big money wasn't flying about back then and players tended to stay at clubs long term.

 

One thing you could gauge from that era was the amount of players in the 80s and 90s who got testimonial matches, quite incredible how long so many players were with the club - Kidd, Smith, Mackay, Robbo, Berry, Levein, Dave McPherson and also players like Colquhoun who spent 9 / 10 seasons at the club as well.

 

The Bosman transfer situation changed everything but the Bosman Ruling never really came into place until 1996.

 

One thing for sure when Robbo left for Newcastle the fans were fuming.

 

I remember Hearts fans being so livid Wallace Mercer done an interview on TV trying to appease the fans after Robbo had gone and trying (and failing) to justify the transfer by telling us Iain Ferguson had already scored 7 goals (or something like that).  You might still find it on youtube.

 

 

[Hansel]

When the Bosman ruling came in Robbo was past his prime and probably quite happy to stay at hearts where he was a living legend and still be an important player for us. 

 

I remember when Allan Johnston left us to go to France and being gutted about it. Think he was the 1st player we lost on a Bos

Edited February 15 by Hansel

[Lone Striker]

11 minutes ago, Phage said:

Contract situation back then was very different. The club 'owned' the player and there was no freedom of movement. Shocking situation for the players but not bad for the clubs. It was a totally different world and beyond compare.

Yep, the Bosman ruling changed everything.  Players benefitted hugely, while ambitious club (and their fans) saw their costs rocket.

 

Could be wrong, but I think a player usually submitted a transfer request (in writing) to the club Board if he wanted to leave. Other than that, the club was in charge of deciding when/if  a player got transferred.  No such thing as a transfer windows back then either - it could happen at any time during the actual football season or closed season.  

[superjack]

If I remember rightly, the victims put a couple of half million pound offers for him.

[GlasgoJambo]

7 minutes ago, Hansel said:

When the Bosman ruling came in Robbo was past his prime and probably quite happy to stay at hearts where he was a living legend and still be an important player for us. 

 

I remember when Allan Johnston left us to go to France and being gutted about it. Think he was the 1st player we lost on a Bos

Yep remember that too. But importantly we did alright out of Bosman back then with Adam, Rousset, Bruno, Flogel, Salvatori and (ahem) Eskillson.

That early influx of foreign players was exciting.

[GlasgoJambo]

9 minutes ago, Lone Striker said:

Yep, the Bosman ruling changed everything.  Players benefitted hugely, while ambitious club (and their fans) saw their costs rocket.

 

Could be wrong, but I think a player usually submitted a transfer request (in writing) to the club Board if he wanted to leave. Other than that, the club was in charge of deciding when/if  a player got transferred.  No such thing as a transfer windows back then either - it could happen at any time during the actual football season or closed season.  

seems a world away now. Like @Phage said above - beyond compare

[kingantti1874]

There was a point towards the e d where he was linked with hibs.  I worried about that have it admit .  And I did not like it when he went to Dundee.

 

he was ours

i Also didn’t like it when Rudi signed for dufc

[Hansel]

Just now, GlasgoJambo said:

Yep remember that too. But importantly we did alright out of Bosman back then with Adam, Rousset, Bruno, Flogel, Salvatori and (ahem) Eskillson.

That early influx of foreign players was exciting.

That's true. I remember buzzing when we signed Bruno, Rousset and Eskilson in that 1st season under JJ.

Eskilson scored vs Partick Thistle on his debut and we all thought he was gonna be a great player 😆 

[RobNox]

Just now, kingantti1874 said:

There was a point towards the e d where he was linked with hibs.  I worried about that have it admit .  And I did not like it when he went to Dundee.

 

he was ours

i Also didn’t like it when Rudi signed for dufc

At least he chose the number 51 for his shirt, which showed where his heart still lay.

[Stendelnator]

Having spoken to him a few times, I know Robbo would definitely have considered going to Rangers but we would, rightly, never have allowed it 

[Lone Striker]

3 minutes ago, kingantti1874 said:

There was a point towards the e d where he was linked with hibs.  I worried about that have it admit .  And I did not like it when he went to Dundee.

 

he was ours

i Also didn’t like it when Rudi signed for dufc

Aye but he only signed for them once he learned that Hearts weren't in a financial position to  guarantee they'd pay his wages on time  (thanks to Vlad's empire imploding).    If we'd had financial stability, I'm fairly sure he'd have re-joined us. 

[1971fozzy]

When Robbo left it was like the end of the world. He would easily of upped his wage and likely a bumper signing on fee as well as he fancied a crack in England . 
The fact they played him out of position worked in our favour and we got him back which was the best news ever. Debut back and he scored the winner v hibs (skinhead and all).

partly funded by a local businessman I’m sure.

nothing like the money nowadays available which makes Shanks very difficult to call.  We can only pray that he loves it that much here and what we offer him is enough. Worse case is he goes and you know what ? We have had 2 (hopefully 3) seasons of an unbelievable player we bought for only £400,000 or thereabouts.  Short career and these players usually need/want to maximise their earnings. 
re’ Hibs , it was 98 that they were sniffing about I’m sure after the cup final and they wanted him as they’d been relegated (another belter - we win the cup and they went down), but Robbo has said he was never going to be signing for them as it was too much hassle and he was hearts through and through

Edited February 15 by 1971fozzy

[RobNox]

Just now, Hansel said:

That's true. I remember buzzing when we signed Bruno, Rousset and Eskilson in that 1st season under JJ.

Eskilson scored vs Partick Thistle on his debut and we all thought he was gonna be a great player 😆 

2 out of 3 ain't bad though.  Bruno and Rousset were key players for us, Bruno in particular sort of acted as chaperone to Ritchie and McManus when JJ blooded those two.  Add to that JJ signed David Weir, Colin Cameron, Steve Fulton, Neil McCann and Jim Hamilton from Championship sides, his record in the transfer market was more than decent.  OK Gordan Petric wasn't the best of signings, but at the same as we signed him we also got Niemi.

[Hansel]

1 minute ago, 1971fozzy said:

When Robbo left it was like the end of the world. He would easily of upped his wage and likely a bumper signing on fee as well as he fancied a crack in England . 
The fact they played him out of position worked in our favour and we got him back which was the best news ever. Debut back and he scored the winner v hibs (skinhead and all).

partly funded by a local businessman I’m sure.

nothing like the money nowadays available which makes Shanks very difficult to call.  We can only pray that he loves it that much here and what we offer him is enough. Worse case is he goes and you know what ? We have had 2 (hopefully 3) seasons of an unbelievable player we bought for only £400,000 or thereabouts.  Short career and these players usually need/want to maximise their earnings. 

As you say, it's a short career. If he gets a move that could see him set for life with his young family to think about, you couldn't blame him  really.

 

Still want him to stay at hearts though and would be delighted if he stayed for many years and helped us win something.

[Carter]

Robbo was totally irreplaceable.

[1971fozzy]

5 minutes ago, Hansel said:

As you say, it's a short career. If he gets a move that could see him set for life with his young family to think about, you couldn't blame him  really.

 

Still want him to stay at hearts though and would be delighted if he stayed for many years and helped us win something.

I would combust if Shanks stays on. Waited nigh on 30 years for his likes.  To think we had Sammon and Watt not that long ago 😳 

[Shaggy2]

Rangers did try to attract Robbo on his return from Newcastle but I think the difference between him and Shankland is the probable destination. Fair enough having a bash at England and most Hearts fans were supportive but I don’t think even Robbo would have gone with universal good wishes had Glasgow been his new home. 
If Shankland ends up through there I hope it’s in summer 2025 and he’s 29 and a half years old. 

[Mikey1874]

The rumour came out shortly before he left. Rangers was being mentioned.

 

We played Rangers at Ibrox last game of season with 2nd to play for. We got a penalty and people were saying he shouldn't take it in case he deliberately missed it. 

 

(Scored penalty and we got 2nd). 

[1971fozzy]

7 minutes ago, Carter said:

Robbo was totally irreplaceable.

my hero. The games he scored  v hibs was off the scale.  The joy that man gave us was incredible.  There should be a statue of him 100%

[Hansel]

16 minutes ago, RobNox said:

2 out of 3 ain't bad though.  Bruno and Rousset were key players for us, Bruno in particular sort of acted as chaperone to Ritchie and McManus when JJ blooded those two.  Add to that JJ signed David Weir, Colin Cameron, Steve Fulton, Neil McCann and Jim Hamilton from Championship sides, his record in the transfer market was more than decent.  OK Gordan Petric wasn't the best of signings, but at the same as we signed him we also got Niemi.

That was the season I really started to follow hearts properly. The season before had got my attention due to my dad taking me to a few of the cup ties vs Clydebank (Davie coopers last ever match) Dundee united, Rangers and then the Airdrie semi. Then avoiding relegation on the last day of the season against motherwell. Prior to that season I couldn't care less about football let alone hearts.

 

I had discovered how much of a roller coaster ride it could be following hearts, and after that I started to pay attention to transfers and was addicted to teletext to try and get the latest news. Fantastic times.

 

I miss those days

Edited February 15 by Hansel

[RobNox]

9 minutes ago, 1971fozzy said:

When Robbo left it was like the end of the world. He would easily of upped his wage and likely a bumper signing on fee as well as he fancied a crack in England . 
The fact they played him out of position worked in our favour and we got him back which was the best news ever. Debut back and he scored the winner v hibs (skinhead and all).

partly funded by a local businessman I’m sure.

nothing like the money nowadays available which makes Shanks very difficult to call.  We can only pray that he loves it that much here and what we offer him is enough. Worse case is he goes and you know what ? We have had 2 (hopefully 3) seasons of an unbelievable player we bought for only £400,000 or thereabouts.  Short career and these players usually need/want to maximise their earnings. 
re’ Hibs , it was 98 that they were sniffing about I’m sure after the cup final and they wanted him as they’d been relegated (another belter - we win the cup and they went down), but Robbo has said he was never going to be signing for them as it was too much hassle and he was hearts through and through

By all accounts he is enjoying his time at Hearts, which is a positive for us in trying to extend his stay.  However, money talks and it's a short career.  We can't really match the sort of wages that a bigger club could offer him without blowing our wage structure out of the water.  I'd like to think we could structure a deal where we could increase his wage without blowing a hole in our wage structure, but also maybe offer a big signing-on fee and/or give him a chunk of money under the guise of image rights, and a decent percentage of any subsequent transfer fee.  Either that or James Anderson trousers him a few million.  Whatever it takes, we have to try and keep Shanks.

[Go for it 1308]

13 minutes ago, 1971fozzy said:

my hero. The games he scored  v hibs was off the scale.  The joy that man gave us was incredible.  There should be a statue of him 100%

This

[RobNox]

15 minutes ago, 1971fozzy said:

my hero. The games he scored  v hibs was off the scale.  The joy that man gave us was incredible.  There should be a statue of him 100%

Absolutely agree.  Not only is he our top scorer of all time, but he's also by far the top scorer from either side in derby matches with 27 goals, the next highest I believe is Willie Bauld with 14.  He's also our top scorer against Rangers and Celtic.  Robbo wasn't a guy who banged in loads of goals against lesser teams but couldn't reproduce it in the big games.  I think I'm right in saying he never scored a hat-trick for Hearts in the Premier League.  I think JC got a couple of hat tricks and even Kenny Black managed one, possibly against Dumbarton if my memory is correct, but that's debatable.

[The White Cockade]

my memory is not what it was but seem to remember Hibs were keen on buying him back from Newcastle which is why Mercer was forced into buying him back as the fans rightly would have gone tonto 

[Carter]

42 minutes ago, 1971fozzy said:

my hero. The games he scored  v hibs was off the scale.  The joy that man gave us was incredible.  There should be a statue of him 100%

Played in an era where there were some exceptional Scottish players in his position. Wouldn't have traded the wee man for any of them. 

Edited February 16 by Carter

[PaddysBar]

There was a major rumour one Friday night that he was signing for Aberdeen in the days before a transfer window existed. 
 

I was in the abbotsford and was so worried I called Hearts Clubcall (089818741874) or something. 50p a minute and it used to update a recorded message every now and again 😂

[whodanny]

3 hours ago, Morgan said:

I never even considered that the wee man would leave us.

 

I cried when he did, though.

First time, and second time for me Morg,  I adored the wee man, and I naively thought he could still be our star man, even after his non appearance in the 98 final. Hell I even think he could do a job for us now  Love him.

[Sydney]

Some newspaper clippings about Robbo leaving - and one when he came back.

[Sydney]

A few more transfer snippets.  Including some chatter at the end of 85/86 season (when we were interested in buying Liam Brady from Inter Milan and David Narey) and some earlier rumours about Aberdeeen looking to buy him (when Fergie was in charge back in 84).  There is also a story about Hibs sniffing about Robbo early in 1988 before he went to Newcastle.

 

Also a story about how we could afford him when he came back to hearts with Mr Ramez Daher putting up a fair chunk of the money.

[martoon]

No freedom of contract, as mentioned, but I think 1992 was the closest we came to losing him.

 

Aberdeen bid a few times and, iirc, went as far as £900k. Wallace would not accept less than £1. 1 million, however. It dragged on for quite a while during that Summer and it was a huge relief that he stayed.

 

Hibs were always sniffing about but their offers were derisory. A cheeky bid before John went to Newcastle and, along with Rangers, a £500k offer to lure him back from there.

 

Settled down to watch Sportscene highlights of the 1-2 loss in Mostar in December, 88 and Dougie Donnelly opened with the words "Hearts are bringing back John Robertson". I could barely concentrate on the game after that news.

 

Total joy. 

 

Newcastle 0, was always cheered on the supporters bus after an away game. We knew John hadn't scored and the possibility of his return remained.

 

A bit shan, I suppose but, well, Hearts first.

[GlasgoJambo]

Great clippings @Sydney thanks.

Fascinating.

 

[Marvin]

9 hours ago, RobNox said:

At least he chose the number 51 for his shirt, which showed where his heart still lay.

 

He also had said he'd never take a pen against us. 

[Jack Torrance]

Yeah great clippings, thanks for sharing. Wally never minced his words and was probably too open sometimes. Bet he had a couple of regrets.

 

Was gutted when John left and gobsmacked when he returned. It was great to have him back.

 

Different world back then with contracts. On a side note, I've always thought it was a shame what happened to Bosman after his case. There's a lot of very rich players out there, thanks to him.

[red]

From memory I always remember you were guaranteed 20+ goals from JR when his contract negotiations were due……

 

Robbo and Bill (thankfully) were very clever around that table……🤣

Edited February 16 by red

[TexasAndy]

Great OP question and an insight into the different times we live in.  Keeping good players young or experienced is harder nowadays maybe with the freedom of contracts and the inflated salaries that even mediocre clubs can pay in England.  If Robbo broke through in 2024 we would be lucky to keep him for any more than 2 years.  I'm just grateful as a fan that I was able to see the complete Hearts career (even with that short spell at Newcastle) of our all time top goal scorer.  

[briever]

10 hours ago, GlasgoJambo said:

I was only party to Robbo’s second spell at the club (post Newcastle) and despite his consistency I don’t recall us fearing losing him in the same way we are resigned to with Shankland.

Reasons for this may be;

I was too young to notice speculation - we weren’t as informed (obsessed) back then without the internet

The monetary divide wasn’t as great and a Hearts wage was relatively decent.

Interested to know what others remember about that time. 

 

 

It was pre-Bosman, the power rested with the clubs.

[Thought Police]

Excuse my ignorance, but people keep mentioning pre-bosman and freedom of contract etc.

What exactly was the contract situation then? Surely he still would have had a contract that he could then decide whether to stay on or leave? Or were contracts open ended and renewed at the club’s choice?

[Sir PH]

We were lucky Rangers had McCoist, or Robbo would've ended up at Ibrox. He supported them as a kid, and his brother, Chris, also played for them. Thankfully, he stayed at Tynecastle, and cemented his place as a proper Hearts legend. There will never be another Robbo.

[martoon]

7 minutes ago, Thought Police said:

Excuse my ignorance, but people keep mentioning pre-bosman and freedom of contract etc.

What exactly was the contract situation then? Surely he still would have had a contract that he could then decide whether to stay on or leave? Or were contracts open ended and renewed at the club’s choice?

 

Although a players contract was up a club still held his registration and could demand a fee.

 

Crazy when you think about it now.

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

Beyond compare, greatest Hearts man of my time

[Tommy Brown]

10 hours ago, kingantti1874 said:

There was a point towards the e d where he was linked with hibs.  I worried about that have it admit .  And I did not like it when he went to Dundee.

 

he was ours

i Also didn’t like it when Rudi signed for dufc

'kin hell, I don't remember that, Livi I do

[pettigrewsstylist]

11 hours ago, GlasgoJambo said:

I was only party to Robbo’s second spell at the club (post Newcastle) and despite his consistency I don’t recall us fearing losing him in the same way we are resigned to with Shankland.

Reasons for this may be;

I was too young to notice speculation - we weren’t as informed (obsessed) back then without the internet

The monetary divide wasn’t as great and a Hearts wage was relatively decent.

Interested to know what others remember about that time. 

 

From memory without checking stats, were we so solely reliant on his goals as we are on Shanklands?

[Sir PH]

1 minute ago, pettigrewsstylist said:

From memory without checking stats, were we so solely reliant on his goals as we are on Shanklands?

In my opinion, yes. Sandy Clark was nearing the end of his time at Hearts, and Wayne Foster was never going to be a replacement for Robbo. Scott Crabbe was only a young boy, and although Iain Ferguson was decent, he wasn't a natural poacher like Robbo. That's my memory of it.

 

Edit to add, Mike Galloway chipped in with a few important goals.