Extraordinary Statement by Mike Ashley (NHC)

[The Real Maroonblood]

What I dont understand is how the Geordies have managed to be largely united and apparently effective (to some extent in protesting at least) in less extreme circumstances than we have had to put up with.

 

That is because there are so many on JKB whose heads are up Romanov's back boiler all they see is sh yte and accept it.

[IMA MAROON]

Newcastle's hero worship of Keegan has been laughable.

 

I don't know all the ins and outs of the situation, but their fans are deluded.

 

Exactly.

 

Ashley should take every penny he has put into the club back out the club and leave even if this means selling the playing staff and the ground.

 

Let hero Keegan save them. It is what they deserve.

[jamboron]

What a slavering erse you are.

At least they have the balls to protest.

 

Thats all good and well, but are they prepared to dig very,very, deeply into their own pockets to buy the guy out ??, the guy is paying the price for other clowns spending on no hopers & lost causes, who were in charge before King Kevin arrived.

[crazy_jambo_2006]

I said I had no sympathy for Ashley. Credit to the bloke though for listening to the fans though. I admire him for listening to the fans. I wish our owner would do this.

Anyway back on topic - I don't see how Ashley selling Newcastle will be of any immediate benefit to them if the new owners simply want to come in and throw a shed load of money at them - they would already be competing with Abu Dhabi and Abramovich and Man Utd, Liverpool, Spurs & Arsenal are hardly paupers either.

[Gorgieboy]

I said I had no sympathy for Ashley. Credit to the bloke though for listening to the fans though. I admire him for listening to the fans. I wish our owner would do this.

 

 

http://www.newcastleunited-mad.co.uk Mate of mine runs this site. As you can see , unnofficial.

[Gorgieboy]

As you can also see I,ve quoted the wrong post, twis for the Clums choreographer

[Gorgieboy]

Meadows , if your reading this , the site tells you about my text to you on Sat. morn regarding the protest after the match, which did not go ahead.

[Pants Shaton]

Took on a legend - and lost.

 

I mean, imagine if that were to happen at Hearts. A new owner comes in, signs players behind the back of our much-loved manager and club legend, then humiliates him by offering a lesser post before callously dispening with his services altogether.

 

We as a support would be incandescent with rage, surely. Hmm. Or maybe not.

 

But if said legend was a clueless boozer with questionable managerial credentials maybe the support wouldn't be too bothered about it.

[magicTs]

Arsenal & Villa actually pay attention to the clubs youth policy as well as seeking value for money in the transfer market that they seek out and improve emerging talent without spending (completely) insane amounts of money players (in the context of EPL transfer fees) and they don't simply pay vastly inflated sums for ready-made star players like Man Utd & Chelsea & others do.....of course Wenger & O'Neill are top quality managers who improve their teams & players however it is the club strategy & policy in the transfer market that is admirable compared to the other clubs.

 

Most people bemoan Romanov's perceived lack of investment in the transfer market or the lack of 'quality' signings but I think Hearts strategy in the transfer market has also been the correct one since we stopped trying to sign players we can't and couldn't afford - Skacel etc. gave us great memories but they set us down the wrong path financially and although we made profits on the sale of Skacel, Bednar and (hopefully) Goncalves etc. the wages we had to pay these people was just madness for a club of our size.

 

Developing our own players, getting some of Kaunas better players and others on the cheap like Michael Stewart and hopefully the players we signed in the most recent transfer window that were bosmans or loans make much more sense than many of the 2005-2006 signings on wages & transfer fees that we could never afford - Romanov let Burley overspend and then continued it himself for far too long before making necessary corrections and selling off players & shedding others to balance the books.

 

Again you avoided the point

 

Wenger at Arsenal and O'Neill at Villa have autonomy to pick and then purchase those players whether young or otherwise. That simply is not the case at Hearts of Midlothian where the owner decides who comes in into and who leaves the club. Your arguments are baffling some times.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Again you avoided the point

 

Wenger at Arsenal and O'Neill at Villa have autonomy to pick and then purchase those players whether young or otherwise. That simply is not the case at Hearts of Midlothian where the owner decides who comes in into and who leaves the club. Your arguments are baffling some times.

 

To be fair, the last manager who had that full autonomy was Jim Jefferies. That autonomy was the source of running battles between him and Chris Robinson.

[magicTs]

To be fair, the last manager who had that full autonomy was Jim Jefferies. That autonomy was the source of running battles between him and Chris Robinson.

 

Maybe, but it shows that it has not happened throughout the duration of this regime. NMH has openly praised the transfer policies of the likes of Arsenal and Aston Villa (which I agree with by the way) and I am pointing out that the excellent managers of those clubs have the autonomy to find players and purchase them, they are the football experts and are paid very well to fulfill their job titles. On the otherhand NMH defends the policy at Tynecastle which is more or less the complete polar opposite where umpteen managers / head coaches have been undermined and handicapped by our owner who has a hugely inflated opinion of his football knowledge. So which is it NMH because it certainly can't be both ?

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Maybe, but it shows that it has not happened throughout the duration of this regime. NMH has openly praised the transfer policies of the likes of Arsenal and Aston Villa (which I agree with by the way) and I am pointing out that the excellent managers of those clubs have the autonomy to find players and purchase them, they are the football experts and are paid very well to fulfill their job titles. On the otherhand NMH defends the policy at Tynecastle which is more or less the complete polar opposite where umpteen managers / head coaches have been undermined and handicapped by our owner who has a hugely inflated opinion of his football knowledge. So which is it NMH because it certainly can't be both ?

 

I would argue that it can be both (although I accept the question isn't aimed at me).

 

The key is communication and seeing the differing points of view - the financial gain and the impact on the playing side.

 

I would agree though that those with the best records tend to have autonomy. However, there are other clubs where it doesn't exactly work (Harry Redknapp at West Ham is a classic example, as is David O'Leary at Leeds).

[magicTs]

The key is communication and seeing the differing points of view - the financial gain and the impact on the playing side.

 

 

Totally agree with that sentiment but in football it's going to be a very rare situation whereby a top class manager and an egotistical owner are going to be able to marry these issues over a period of time. Wenger is really a one off in terms of what he has done for his football club.

[Jammy T]

Anyway back on topic - I don't see how Ashley selling Newcastle will be of any immediate benefit to them if the new owners simply want to come in and throw a shed load of money at them - they would already be competing with Abu Dhabi and Abramovich and Man Utd, Liverpool, Spurs & Arsenal are hardly paupers either.

 

I would love it, love it if a wee group of us went onto a Magpies kickback and you posted like minded views to those you post on here....

 

Would be fun to see the reaction

[magicTs]

I would love it, love it if a wee group of us went onto a Magpies kickback and you posted like minded views to those you post on here....

 

Would be fun to see the reaction

 

 

That would indeed be interesting.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Totally agree with that sentiment but in football it's going to be a very rare situation whereby a top class manager and an egotistical owner are going to be able to marry these issues over a period of time. Wenger is really a one off in terms of what he has done for his football club.

 

I would argue Sir Alex is the benchmark rather than Wenger. The key is that both of them built the clubs from the bottom up while continuing to sign first team players.

 

Sadly, I can't see any Hearts manager, no matter who the owners were, ever having the length of time these two have had.

[magicTs]

I would argue Sir Alex is the benchmark rather than Wenger. The key is that both of them built the clubs from the bottom up while continuing to sign first team players.

 

Sadly, I can't see any Hearts manager, no matter who the owners were, ever having the length of time these two have had.

 

I think they are in different places now though as Fergie in my opinion is hell bent on the present and particularly the Champions League and adding to his dynasty if you like. It is nigh on impossible for youngsters to break into the Utd first team now and I can't see that change in the last couple of years he is at the helm. Utd are also still capable, as proven last week of making one of the most expensive deals of the summer throughout Europe. Wenger on the otherhand is still building for the longer term and is not in a position, it would seem to splash 20 or 30 million on a player. He is also introducing young players week on week and I reckon will be at Arsenal for a good few years yet.

[Jammy T]

 

That would indeed be interesting.

 

He'd probably get banned for being a Mackem ripping the pesh

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

I think they are in different places now though as Fergie in my opinion is hell bent on the present and particularly the Champions League and adding to his dynasty if you like. It is nigh on impossible for youngsters to break into the Utd first team now and I can't see that change in the last couple of years he is at the helm. Utd are also still capable, as proven last week of making one of the most expensive deals of the summer throughout Europe. Wenger on the otherhand is still building for the longer term and is not in a position, it would seem to splash 20 or 30 million on a player. He is also introducing young players week on week and I reckon will be at Arsenal for a good few years yet.

 

I disagree slightly - United's youth policy is always compared to the class of 1992 (Giggs, Beckham, Scholes, Neville et al). That was an exceptional glut of talent. In United's squad on Saturday were the following home grown players - Brown, Scholes, Giggs, O'Shea and Evans. Evans will break into the United first team at some point (he is very good and has been excellent for Northern Ireland).

[magicTs]

I disagree slightly - United's youth policy is always compared to the class of 1992 (Giggs, Beckham, Scholes, Neville et al). That was an exceptional glut of talent. In United's squad on Saturday were the following home grown players - Brown, Scholes, Giggs, O'Shea and Evans. Evans will break into the United first team at some point (he is very good and has been excellent for Northern Ireland).

 

Is Evans a centre half ?

[Fraggle]

Some points may well be true BUT if statement is to be believed he paid off debts of over ?80 million plus put some cash in towards players fund/expenses however you name it --

 

What is wrong sometimes is fans expectations -- they do not want to have the club run as a business -- they want someone to come along and put their own money in and run club at a loss.

Only a few clubs could sustain big money buys and wages and those are playing in the Champions league every year plus have a huge supporter base worldwide.

 

In the real world most clubs are subsidised whether it be by a millionaire or a billionaire -- it is just a matter of by how much.

Clubs should be run more on business lines and we would not have the problems not only at our but at many other clubs from Stranraer to Bournemouth.

 

No doubt though we will have those on who somehow believe that it is someone else's responsibility to subsidise their club

 

To be honest there is a fine line where it can be run as a both a successful business and club. The problem is trying to find that balance point between business and sport, something the Americans do very well when it comes to their sporting institutions (maybe not so well when they come over here).

[Charlie-Brown]

He'd probably get banned for being a Mackem ripping the pesh

 

Possibly However I think if given time Ashley, Wise, Jiminez and a new head coach who was on the same page as them regards transfer & spending policy would do a whole lot more good for Newcastle United FC than Kevin Keegan and an owner who would give him free reign to spend a shed load of money......Newcastle have been big spending for 10-15 years and each new manager has wanted to spend even more money yet apart from brief spells under Keegan & Bobby Robson they've seldom had much value for money and the clubs finances became increasingly worse as well as the teams fortunes steadily declined.

[IMA MAROON]

The Geordies would not be so keen on spending if he money was coming from their own pockets.

 

And Keegan has took the huff again.

 

http://petermusgrove.com/2008/09/07/keegan-storms-out-of-asda-after-only-15-minutes/

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Is Evans a centre half ?

 

He's played across the back four for Northern Ireland but centre half is his best position.

 

It will be difficult for him to get a regular start but he's good enough to pressurise Evra, for example, and Evra is a cracking player.

[JamboAl]

The Geordies are a wee bit deluded and misguided so should not be taken as a benchmark for other supporters.

Firstly KK lacks bottle and simply wants to spend, spend, spend. Ashley, who is English and not a foreign investor, came in and saved the club when it was on its knees. For that they should be eternally grateful but they are frustrated because they think they are a bigger club than they actually are, certainly id trophies are a yardstick. Ashley is a businessman so he will want a fair price for his investment and rightly so but they should be careful what they wish for. A foreign owner who may wish to showcase his own country's talent?

If the supporters are genuinely interested in the future of their club they should be protesting about the disgraceful return they get from their football academy which has yielded just ONE first team regular, Steven Taylor. The promotion of youth is something that KK, even with his soccer circus, does not appear to hold dear in his heart. After all the last time he was manager he even scrapped the reserve team.

[Tazio]

The Geordies are a wee bit deluded and misguided so should not be taken as a benchmark for other supporters.

 

 

Understatement doesn't even begin to cover that sentence.

[bighusref]

Totally disagree.

 

I've been fortunate enough to have attended St James's Park quite a number of times and the Newcastle support are amongst the most loyal and fervent you will find anywhere. Up until 16th May 1998 (when ironically Newcastle were losing at Wembley) when we eventually ended years of heartbreak and disappointment the parallels between the clubs were unquestionable after years of mismanagment and underachievement. Fortunately for us we have had two 'days in the sun' whilst Newcastle have suffered more misery yet still 50,000 have turned up most weeks. Keegan, like Shearer is worshipped on Tyneside because he gives the fans hope when there is little to cling onto. He is a passionate football man like them. They have been left behind by the 'big 4' and other much smaller clubs have received greater investment and made better progress. It is for those reasons that the Newcastle fans like us for so many years deserve so much better and I hope they get it.

 

DDLN's point holds water though, he stated that they were deluded. Doesn't your post kinda prove that?

 

I have seen quite a few of them on tv over the past few days. Very few of them are complaining about the interference, they are largely pee'd off about "wor Kev" and the lack of cash. I don't know if Ashley can prove his investment, but if the numbers he talks about in the statement are true then that is a huge investment, so the Newcastle fans are being more than a little naive looking for more. They are NOT a big club, they were on the cusp of being a big club twelve, thirteen years ago, that never happened. IF Newcastle fans expect big club signings and big club salaries they ARE deluded.

 

The issue SHOULD be the interference. If that is the case, then why is it that every Newcastle fan seems to be demanding the return of Keegan as opposed to the end of interference?

 

Small town club with big town ideas. Unless someone with pots and pots of cash comes in, it will never happen.

[jamboron]

Arsenal, Aston Villa and latterly Newcastle (as per Ashley's intentions) have the most sensible recruitment policies of the bigger clubs in the English Premier League - there is very little that is admirable about what Man Utd, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City or Spurs have done as all they have done in my opinion is flash their cash and plunder the continent and less wealthy teams.

I'm not saying other EPL teams outwith the big clubs don't have sensible recruitment strategies however I don't know enough about the detail of what & who they've spent on but the biggest clubs that just try to buy or maintain success by spending more than anyone else simply because they have more money than anyone else aren't really doing anything positive in my opinion.

 

Hey, we should be used to that kind of thing in Scotland, as Rangers & Celtic have both been doing that since the year dot, and only recently Vlad managed to get a decent price for players[Hartley] and other teams are now trying to copy him by asking for market value for their players.

[WASTREL]

It does make you wonder though what else you want the guy to do. ?250 million of your own cash - most of which is going to pay off other peoples debts - and the guy is hounded out.

 

Underestimated and totally mis-judged his paying punters ..... all he needed to do was get personally hands on to a degree in the Club and ensure that his appointed Directors were indeed working to his instructions and kept Keegan in the loop regarding players coming and going.

 

Instead he ran the Club at "arms length" and in the run up to deadline day (because of the non working relationship with Keegan) Wise and his co-director was touting every member of the 1st Team Squad around UK and European clubs (Michael Owen was still being touted right up to Midnight).

 

Ashley had to know all of this as he is noted for his astute commercial acumen in the City of London ...... so I have to think Keegan as Manager was a short term fix until he could buy enough time to instal Wise and Poyet.

 

As a Club I thought we were viewed as a poison chalise ....... cant wait to see who takes up the job at the "Takems".

[The Real Maroonblood]

As a Club I thought we were viewed as a poison chalise ....... cant wait to see who takes up the job at the "Takems".

 

Hopefully Romanov. There again probably not because he would face supporters with bottle.

[stirlo]

Ashley is clearly not stupid as he is a very successful businessman but there's no doubt that he's been naive. Going in among the crowd wearing his Newcastle shirt was bound to blow up in his face eventually and appointing Dennis Wise as Director of Football, above Keegan did not make any sense.

 

I still think the Newcastle fans are letting their hearts rule their heads though. There's only 2 guys they're interested in having as manager - one (Keegan) has a distinctly average record as manager and has never won anything. The other (Shearer) has never managed a pub team let alone a Premiership team - and he doesn't come across on the telly as a genius

[lost in leith]

Maybe I'm being a bit thick here, but what have Newcastle fans achieved?

 

Ashley has said that he is prepared to sell the club, but it seems that he was already planning to do so.

 

Unless I've missed something Keegan hasn't been re-appointed. TBH I'm not convinced he has it in him to manage at the top level any more anyway.

 

If Ashley sells what comfort do they have that the new owner is prepared to burn money and/or give a manager complete control over who comes or goes?

[Guest Freewheelin' Jambo]

Vladimir Romanov could have easily written that statement.

 

He would say he had "saved" Hearts. (He did not. He "saved" Tynecastle. That is NOT HMFC.)

 

He could say he has "ploughed" money into Hearts (Has he? No one is sure. He sure has taken plenty out in transfer cash for all our prize playing assets)

 

He could say he has plan to rebuild the stadium. (When? And where is the cash coming from?)

 

A lot of neutrals will have read Ashley's statement and felt sympathy for him, but of course unless you are a supporter of the club, then it looks so different.

 

If Rod Petrie and Tom Farmer wrote such a statement about "saving " Hibs and reducing their debt it would be applauded by outsiders. Though many more Hobos would moan about lack of "ambition."

 

I applaud the Newcastle fans for their actions.The first hint of their feelings about their club being abused and they were out like a shot to protest. And in todays climate THEY DON'T know for sure if someone else will come in.

 

Hearts fans are too busy searching for excuses NOT to do anything. That is the difference between Newcastle fans and Hearts fans.

[The Real Maroonblood]

Vladimir Romanov could have easily written that statement.

 

He would say he had "saved" Hearts. (He did not. He "saved" Tynecastle. That is NOT HMFC.)

 

He could say he has "ploughed" money into Hearts (Has he? No one is sure. He sure has taken plenty out in transfer cash for all our prize playing assets)

 

He could say he has plan to rebuild the stadium. (When? And where is the cash coming from?)

 

A lot of neutrals will have read Ashley's statement and felt sympathy for him, but of course unless you are a supporter of the club, then it looks so different.

 

If Rod Petrie and Tom Farmer wrote such a statement about "saving " Hibs and reducing their debt it would be applauded by outsiders. Though many more Hobos would moan about lack of "ambition."

 

I applaud the Newcastle fans for their actions.The first hint of their feelings about their club being abused and they were out like a shot to protest. And in todays climate THEY DON'T know for sure if someone else will come in.

 

Hearts fans are too busy searching for excuses NOT to do anything. That is the difference between Newcastle fans and Hearts fans.

 

Well said.

[JamboAl]

Vladimir Romanov could have easily written that statement.

 

He would say he had "saved" Hearts. (He did not. He "saved" Tynecastle. That is NOT HMFC.)

 

He could say he has "ploughed" money into Hearts (Has he? No one is sure. He sure has taken plenty out in transfer cash for all our prize playing assets)

 

He could say he has plan to rebuild the stadium. (When? And where is the cash coming from?)

 

A lot of neutrals will have read Ashley's statement and felt sympathy for him, but of course unless you are a supporter of the club, then it looks so different.

 

If Rod Petrie and Tom Farmer wrote such a statement about "saving " Hibs and reducing their debt it would be applauded by outsiders. Though many more Hobos would moan about lack of "ambition."

 

I applaud the Newcastle fans for their actions.The first hint of their feelings about their club being abused and they were out like a shot to protest. And in todays climate THEY DON'T know for sure if someone else will come in.

 

Hearts fans are too busy searching for excuses NOT to do anything. That is the difference between Newcastle fans and Hearts fans.

 

What is it you think we should do and what is it you think can be achieved for the betterment of the club? In answering these questions can you confirm that there is a buyer waiting in the wings or will you be leaving that to chance?

Once you answer this clearly, without fudging, then perhaps the support will take notice because the absence of a real alternative will be a problem.

BTW you say Romanov did not save HMFC, he saved Tynecastle but hardliners on here at the time, pre Romanov, said the club would die if we lost Tynie - so is that not as good as saving the club?

[Jammy T]

What is it you think we should do and what is it you think can be achieved for the betterment of the club? In answering these questions can you confirm that there is a buyer waiting in the wings or will you be leaving that to chance?

Once you answer this clearly, without fudging, then perhaps the support will take notice because the absence of a real alternative will be a problem.

BTW you say Romanov did not save HMFC, he saved Tynecastle but hardliners on here at the time, pre Romanov, said the club would die if we lost Tynie - so is that not as good as saving the club?

 

There was no buyer in the wings when the protests against Robinson started.

 

Those protests were no doubt part of a catalyst that alerted Romanov to the possibility of getting his hands on a bigger club than he could have wished for

 

The reality is there is no buyer in the wings for Newcastle. Yes, there may be more chance of more money being interested there than at Hearts, but the risks are broadly the same.

 

Ashley could pull the plug if he really wanted to, just as Vlad could.

[JamboAl]

There was no buyer in the wings when the protests against Robinson started.

Those protests were no doubt part of a catalyst that alerted Romanov to the possibility of getting his hands on a bigger club than he could have wished for

 

The reality is there is no buyer in the wings for Newcastle. Yes, there may be more chance of more money being interested there than at Hearts, but the risks are broadly the same.

 

Ashley could pull the plug if he really wanted to, just as Vlad could.

 

So you're leaving it to chance/hope - and you haven't said

a) what is the reason for any protest? If it's because of Vlad, interference, etc, how do you know what his successor will do. The words frying, pan and fire, loom large. And what should we do to make it happen?

while there are some similarities with Newcastle they are hardly our parallel. The Toon don't have to build a new stand, have bigger crowds, better hospitality packages and have exposure to wider TV audiences for sponsorship, sales and TV money itself which is being thrown at Premiership clubs. It's not simply a matter of scale.

I don't believe either Ashley or Vlad will pull the plug as they will want a return on their investment and the question is how much would a prospective buyer pay and do you think, having agreed to pay big bucks, he will agree to making a manager autonomous?

[Jammy T]

So you're leaving it to chance/hope - and you haven't said

a) what is the reason for any protest? If it's because of Vlad, interference, etc, how do you know what his successor will do. The words frying, pan and fire, loom large. And what should we do to make it happen?

while there are some similarities with Newcastle they are hardly our parallel. The Toon don't have to build a new stand, have bigger crowds, better hospitality packages and have exposure to wider TV audiences for sponsorship, sales and TV money itself which is being thrown at Premiership clubs. It's not simply a matter of scale.

I don't believe either Ashley or Vlad will pull the plug as they will want a return on their investment and the question is how much would a prospective buyer pay and do you think, having agreed to pay big bucks, he will agree to making a manager autonomous?

 

 

I'm not talking about there being a protest or suggesting there should be one

 

What I am saying is that people using the "no other show in town" line for not protesting is lame.

 

There is rarely another show in town when fans protest against a board

 

Newcastle fans almost as one protested this weekend. There was no other show in town. They wanted Ashley out and there was nobody waiting in the wings.

 

Rightly or wrongly they largely agreed it was the best thing to do and they all just got on with it.

 

No smokescreens or spin or whatever.

[JamboAl]

I'm not talking about there being a protest or suggesting there should be one

 

What I am saying is that people using the "no other show in town" line for not protesting is lame.

There is rarely another show in town when fans protest against a board

 

Newcastle fans almost as one protested this weekend. There was no other show in town. They wanted Ashley out and there was nobody waiting in the wings.

 

Rightly or wrongly they largely agreed it was the best thing to do and they all just got on with it.

 

No smokescreens or spin or whatever.

 

Therein lies another big difference. Reports in the media etc suggest there was an Indian businessman wanting to buy the Toon but he now seems to have turned to Everton, a Chinese businessman is said to be ready to buy and there is also the possibility of a local consortium. Do you think any of these will give the manager full control which appears to be tha main issue with Toon supporters and Keegan.

What have we got - a plumber from down the road!

VR has made many mistakes but hounding him out without a prospective buyer is like going to marry a blind date and hoping she turns up.

[IMA MAROON]

"He didn't come here to fail and he has put a lot of money into the club, so credit to him," said Newcastle legend Peter Beardsley.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/7625665.stm

 

He puts the thickwits in their place.

[The Real Maroonblood]

"He didn't come here to fail and he has put a lot of money into the club, so credit to him," said Newcastle legend Peter Beardsley.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/n/newcastle_united/7625665.stm

 

He puts the thickwits in their place.

 

At least the thickwit Hearts supporters appreciate Romanov.

[The Vulture]

I thought Mike Ashley was Geordie born and bred, however he has always been a Spurs fan. Why invest so heavily in a team you have no connection too , especially since the team you do support play in that same league ?

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7621912.stm

[IMA MAROON]

At least the thickwit Hearts supporters appreciate Romanov.

 

No. They are still bubbling because we are not champions of Europe.