Pants Shaton Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 The arrival of Csaba and the fact that he presents himself as a competent, independent authority has managed to restore a little hope among many of us. That said, it should be glaringly obvious that, regardless of how good our manager may be, we will struggle with essentially the same squad as last season. For each of the last 3 pre-seasons, kickback has responded to (or, in some cases, invented) rumours of 'world cup stars', James McFadden, Gary O'Connor and now, Derek Riordan. So far none of these rumours have come to pass (and, for the most part, were never likely to have). We can't blame Romanov for not delivering on things he never actually promised; if we want to dwell on the past, there are plenty of actual unfulfilled promises we can hold him to account for. I would argue though that he is, at this moment, capable of capturing the imagination of the support again and giving some substance to the hollow sloganeering 'Your team needs you', 'Heart and soul', 'Help us write the next chapter'... Deliver us a couple of players which will surprise the rest of Scottish football: Dererk Riordan and Anti Niemi? Maybe the rumours of Niemi being available (and affordable) are bulls**t, in which case I retract that suggestion. I don't like ratboy but it would send a clear message of intent. Over the past 3 seasons Romanov has been bizarrely profligate in signing Beslija, Pinilla, Makela, Goncalves and others, whilst neglecting proven SPL based players who could have been signed at similar cost (or less) and sold on at a profit: Scott McDonald, Steven Naismith, Barry Robson, Alan Gow, Kris Boyd, Russell Anderson... Signing a few quality players need not financially disadvantage Hearts. With Romanov's wealth behind the club, we are in a position to sell our best players at their market value rather than accepting the first bid, as in the Robinson era. It worked with Skacel, Gordon and Bednar. It will hopefully work in the case of Kingston (that is surely Romanov's intention). So why not acquire a few quality players - reinvigorate the support and recoup the cost in 18 months? It won't take much to guarantee UEFA cup football, where group stage participation can bring in more revenue than an SPL season and Scottish cup win. Please spare us another bottom six nightmare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Bapswent Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 The arrival of Csaba and the fact that he presents himself as a competent, independent authority has managed to restore a little hope among many of us. That said, it should be glaringly obvious that, regardless of how good our manager may be, we will struggle with essentially the same squad as last season. For each of the last 3 pre-seasons, kickback has responded to (or, in some cases, invented) rumours of 'world cup stars', James McFadden, Gary O'Connor and now, Derek Riordan. So far none of these rumours have come to pass (and, for the most part, were never likely to have). We can't blame Romanov for not delivering on things he never actually promised; if we want to dwell on the past, there are plenty of actual unfulfilled promises we can hold him to account for. I would argue though that he is, at this moment, capable of capturing the imagination of the support again and giving some substance to the hollow sloganeering 'Your team needs you', 'Heart and soul', 'Help us write the next chapter'... Deliver us a couple of players which will surprise the rest of Scottish football: Dererk Riordan and Anti Niemi? Maybe the rumours of Niemi being available (and affordable) are bulls**t, in which case I retract that suggestion. I don't like ratboy but it would send a clear message of intent. Over the past 3 seasons Romanov has been bizarrely profligate in signing Beslija, Pinilla, Makela, Goncalves and others, whilst neglecting proven SPL based players who could have been signed at similar cost (or less) and sold on at a profit: Scott McDonald, Steven Naismith, Barry Robson, Alan Gow, Kris Boyd, Russell Anderson... Signing a few quality players need not financially disadvantage Hearts. With Romanov's wealth behind the club, we are in a position to sell our best players at their market value rather than accepting the first bid, as in the Robinson era. It worked with Skacel, Gordon and Bednar. It will hopefully work in the case of Kingston (that is surely Romanov's intention). So why not acquire a few quality players - reinvigorate the support and recoup the cost in 18 months? It won't take much to guarantee UEFA cup football, where group stage participation can bring in more revenue than an SPL season and Scottish cup win. Please spare us another bottom six nightmare. The Scottish players wont come to Hearts, not while the OF are sniffing about. Shame, but its true, really ruins the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants Shaton Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 The Scottish players wont come to Hearts, not while the OF are sniffing about. Shame, but its true, really ruins the league. That's true to a certain extent but I'm sure we could have secured the services of one or two of those players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Diggler Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 It's not all down to Vlad. Yes he can play a significant part but the current players and those in the stands must also up their game if the feelgood factor is to return. IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 I don't think that they can afford to bring in feelgood level players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants Shaton Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 It's not all down to Vlad. Yes he can play a significant part but the current players and those in the stands must also up their game if the feelgood factor is to return. IMO. If he signed Niemi and Riordan it would add 3000 to the Sunday's attendance and probably another 1000 season tickets. The fans will respond if we're given some hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jambojim52 Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Vlad reveled in the praise he received when he first arrived, and wallowed in the glory of us singing his name. Those days could return if ( yes it's a big if) he leave Csaba to do his job and signs a couple of decent players. Football fans are fickle and very little is needed to get them going. A couple of good results at the start of the season, will go along way to restoring the feelgood factor. Lets hope he listens and gets in those players we desperatly need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants Shaton Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 I don't think that they can afford to bring in feelgood level players. Riordan: ?500k transfer fee + ?10k/week wages - 3 year contract Sell him in 18 months for ?2m - ?750k profit. It needn't cost Romanov anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Bapswent Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 That's true to a certain extent but I'm sure we could have secured the services of one or two of those players. Maybe... Its clear the OF are prepared to buy the league by keeping decent SPL players on the bench if they have too. So if Hearts showed interest in a player...It wouldn't surprise me if the OF also came in for them, just to spite us. They could match or exceed our wages, and if all else was similar, who would the player want to play for? Hearts..or OF getting CL games? We will almost certainly lose out on most of that, and therefore Vlad has chosen not to try. But now, even Velicka has gone to the dark side, and talked up a 'BIG' move. The OF are like a big brother, snatching anything decent away from a child when it looks interesting. Very rarely does the younger brother get anythign to himself that is decent. We are that younger brother, and if we follow the OF, we have to live on the scraps they don't want. If thats the only option, ill take a totally different route every time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 If he signed Niemi and Riordan it would add 3000 to the Sunday's attendance and probably another 1000 season tickets. The fans will respond if we're given some hope. Extra 1000 season tickets - equivalent to an extra ?7,700 per week - assuming no extra spinoff shirt sales etc. Wouldn't get too many Riordan/Niemi's for that. In addition, the club is already making big losses every year! Increasing the wage bill doesn't look likely. With regard to your further point on transfer fees - the Dundee strategy we have tried to follow so far under Romanov has been disastrous, with the exception really of Craig Gordon - a gem we will never likely see again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants Shaton Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 Extra 1000 season tickets - equivalent to an extra ?7,700 per week - assuming no extra spinoff shirt sales etc. Wouldn't get too many Riordan/Niemi's for that. In addition, the club is already making big losses every year! Increasing the wage bill doesn't look likely. I'm referring to the feelgood factor not the affordability. As I've suggested, conducted correctly, such transfers could pay for themself when selling these players on. (Not Niemi as he is reaching the end of his career) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicTs Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 That's true to a certain extent but I'm sure we could have secured the services of one or two of those players. The ONLY reason we never signed any of those players is we had nobody at the club as capable of spotting a player as the large majority of the support !! Anyone remotely clued up on Scottish football could see who was improving at a Kilmarnock, Falkirk or a Motherwell but we messed about for far too long allowing the Old Firm a head start and from there we are always going to struggle to win the race. Hopefully lessons will be learned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Diggler Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 If he signed Niemi and Riordan it would add 3000 to the Sunday's attendance and probably another 1000 season tickets. The fans will respond if we're given some hope. Yes. But that has always been the case. We're in the position just now of attempting to reduce the size of the playing squad thus reducing the wage bill, all of which is needing done. We are where we are. I stand by what I originally said, for any feelgood factor to return (and for anybody that thinks, not you GMAN, we will return to the dizzy heights of 05, you are kidding yourselfs) we need to try a different approach other than signing big name players on big wages. That would only cause us more problems further down the line. IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamcow1 Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 i would like to see the two of them at tynecastle but not resting my hopes on it. just dont think that is how the team will operate now. its going to be the case of finding reletively unknown players and developing them then starting again with another batch, in the mean time hoping that they win a cup or two during their learning curve. riordon is definatly a great option and would love to have him at tynecastle but dont think we should get up in arms over it if we miss out on him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants Shaton Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 Extra 1000 season tickets - equivalent to an extra ?7,700 per week - assuming no extra spinoff shirt sales etc. Wouldn't get too many Riordan/Niemi's for that. In addition, the club is already making big losses every year! Increasing the wage bill doesn't look likely. With regard to your further point on transfer fees - the Dundee strategy we have tried to follow so far under Romanov has been disastrous, with the exception really of Craig Gordon - a gem we will never likely see again. It hasn't been disastrous - We have made clear profit on Bednar, Skacel and Gordon and recouped most of what we'd spent on Hartley. Chosen carefully, and with Romanov's financial clout backing it up, we could sell on players at little overall cost. No football club has ever turned a long term profit in selling players but a FEW judicious moves in the transfer market - would secure 3rd place in a very poor league and guarantee the UEFA cup money we desperately need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leginten Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 I agree with Coco. Unless the decision to sell our only goalscorer for peanuts at a stage when last season was - in theory, at least - still very much alive was a completely random act, I don't think we're in the market for spending large sums on bringing people in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAIRDY14 Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 If he signed Niemi and Riordan it would add 3000 to the Sunday's attendance and probably another 1000 season tickets. The fans will respond if we're given some hope. Can't disagree with you on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 It hasn't been disastrous - We have made clear profit on Bednar, Skacel and Gordon and recouped most of what we'd spent on Hartley. Chosen carefully, and with Romanov's financial clout backing it up, we could sell on players at little overall cost. No football club has ever turned a long term profit in selling players but a FEW judicious moves in the transfer market - would secure 3rd place in a very poor league and guarantee the UEFA cup money we desperately need. On the players in bold - don't think there will be any profit. High signing on fees, wages, registration fees (the unexplained 4m etc) - dwarf the transfer fees inward. Add that to the failures - Besijla, Tall, possibly Goncalves etc. Hartley, Bednar and Skacel were good on the field though and part repaid their wages etc that way. But it has not been a successful money making exercise - that is one of the reasons why the losses had to be capitalised yesterday! Who is going to chose the players carefully? The manager who has never had a transfer budget in his career? Korobotcha? Romanov? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants Shaton Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 Yes. But that has always been the case. We're in the position just now of attempting to reduce the size of the playing squad thus reducing the wage bill, all of which is needing done. We are where we are. I stand by what I originally said, for any feelgood factor to return (and for anybody that thinks, not you GMAN, we will return to the dizzy heights of 05, you are kidding yourselfs) we need to try a different approach other than signing big name players on big wages. That would only cause us more problems further down the line. IMO. This isn't about winning the SPL or (don't laugh) the Champion's League. It's about finishing third - which should be guaranteed with the gulf in spending between us and the 4th highest spending club. The UEFA group stages can be highly lucrative. With Romanov's financial backing there is no reason why we can't bolster a squad of predominantly home-grown players with some real quality. We don't have to sell on the cheap and when the contracts are dealt with properly (Gordon, Bednar, Skacel) money can be made (or at least recouped). Romanov will have learned a harsh lesson from Webster and Beslija. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 My feelgood factor would return if I felt that the club was putting out a team with the aim of winning matches, that they were working on the short and long term future of the club (and not some wider real estate/pyramid project) and that the players were putting their full effort in when they were on the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk Diggler Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 This isn't about winning the SPL or (don't laugh) the Champion's League. It's about finishing third - which should be guaranteed with the gulf in spending between us and the 4th highest spending club. The UEFA group stages can be highly lucrative. With Romanov's financial backing there is no reason why we can't bolster a squad of predominantly home-grown players with some real quality. We don't have to sell on the cheap and when the contracts are dealt with properly (Gordon, Bednar, Skacel) money can be made (or at least recouped). Romanov will have learned a harsh lesson from Webster and Beslija. I agree, even with our cost cutting, we should still be finishing 3rd given the wages we pay. The problem is we have players at the club on ridiculous wages who we can't get rid of. Until someone either buys them or their contracts run out, purchasing any more players on similar wages won't happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pants Shaton Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 I agree, even with our cost cutting, we should still be finishing 3rd given the wages we pay. The problem is we have players at the club on ridiculous wages who we can't get rid of. Until someone either buys them or their contracts run out, purchasing any more players on similar wages won't happen. Kingston, Nade, Beslija. The first two may have a role to play. The third is an oily little turd who should be dragged squealing around Edinburgh by his ridiculous little 'beard'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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