Wallace Mercer Takeover Bid

[Sherlock]

Came across this on Youtube.

 

It looks like it was taken from an actual programme but i can't remember it.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py_KIzu_PUc

 

I'm still disappointed he never saw his vision through and rid our city of them.

[jamboinglasgow]

that was fun watching that.

[John]

Came across this on Youtube.

 

It looks like it was taken from an actual programme but i can't remember it.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py_KIzu_PUc

 

I'm still disappointed he never saw his vision through and rid our city of them.

 

its from one of the programmes in the "that was the team that was" series.

[H.A.N.S]

September 13th 1990. Wish I was older than 5. Looked amazing.

[Fine Scottish Wine]

You can't help but laugh at Weir's misery.

[Guest born on 1874]

fantastic.rest in peace mr mercer.

[shaun.lawson]

The bit that everyone forgets is that Wallace's vision wasn't a simple takeover though. He was motivated by simple financial calculation, and reasoned that only a united Edinburgh club could hope to compete with Rangers' rapidly growing commercial might.

 

That Edinburgh club wouldn't have been called Heart of Midlothian, or in all probability, even played in maroon. Is anyone going to pretend any Hearts supporter would've tolerated that? Of course, no Hibs fan would've watched the new club either, so it was all pointless. What prompted Mercer to go through all that hassle for nothing, no-one will ever know.

 

PS. It was bloody funny though!

[The Don]

The bit that everyone forgets is that Wallace's vision wasn't a simple takeover though. He was motivated by simple financial calculation, and reasoned that only a united Edinburgh club could hope to compete with Rangers' rapidly growing commercial might.

 

That Edinburgh club wouldn't have been called Heart of Midlothian, or in all probability, even played in maroon. Is anyone going to pretend any Hearts supporter would've tolerated that? Of course, no Hibs fan would've watched the new club either, so it was all pointless. What prompted Mercer to go through all that hassle for nothing, no-one will ever know.

 

PS. It was bloody funny though!

 

WM had the accumen to know way back then what was happening to Scottish football, and although what he was trying to do was maybe for the right reasons, i think he just mis-calculated the scale or gravity of it. The man made a simple mistake, he was right though in many ways, although they will never ever admit to it, in a round about way he actually saved that sister fisting, syringe loving, vermin.

 

R.I.P. Wallace.

[Mr Sifter]

Waldo had the deal done, it was all there for him. An agreement had been made between him, Hibs and the curious observer that was STF.

 

Mercer keeked it tho when he started getting death threats, so the plug was pulled.

 

But in a business sense, he had them by the baws, 100%.

 

They should be grateful he awoke them as to what was going on at their club. Up until then, the crooks at the top at Hibs had ripped the pish out of that club, at will, for a long time by then.

[jambo mark]

for all the hibs fans reading this from ipumpedmysisterlastnight.net, this is the primary reason we call ourselves the big team

 

forget whos won more matches (us) and whos won more silverware (still us) the fact we had you over a barrel all but bought, does it more me!!

 

HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN FOREVER!!

[fug]

mercer wanted to DESTROY heart of midlothian. if he got his way we WOULDN'T exist now. can't people understand that? we should hate him as much as they do.

 

i always thought he was a total 'james blunt' when he was alive and his death changed nothing. an arrogant and egotistical indiidual who thought he could destroy edinburgh's history to line his own pockets. this 'saint wallace' nonsense is the greatest piece of revisionism since hibs decided they had a 'tradition' of playing football like brazil '70.

 

edinburgh is about hearts AND hibs. the banter and rivalry is what makes football the best game in the world.

 

mercer mercer GTF

[Therapist]

I'm still disappointed he never saw his vision through and rid our city of them.

 

Correct. Ridding Scottish football of the cancer that is Kiddy-on Flair FC would have been the ultimate victory.

 

Those were great days. In a way I'm almost glad Mr Mercer's execution didn't go through as the derby at Fester Road immediately after it was called off was magnificent and burst the hate-o-meter.

[Therapist]

edinburgh is about hearts AND hibs. the banter and rivalry is what makes football the best game in the world.

 

mercer mercer GTF

 

[Tommy Brown]

The bit that everyone forgets is that Wallace's vision wasn't a simple takeover though. He was motivated by simple financial calculation, and reasoned that only a united Edinburgh club could hope to compete with Rangers' rapidly growing commercial might.

 

That Edinburgh club wouldn't have been called Heart of Midlothian, or in all probability, even played in maroon. Is anyone going to pretend any Hearts supporter would've tolerated that? Of course, no Hibs fan would've watched the new club either, so it was all pointless. What prompted Mercer to go through all that hassle for nothing, no-one will ever know.

 

PS. It was bloody funny though!

 

Let's not forget he achieved the rights to about 66% of their shares but needed 75%

My gripe about the whole charade, was it cost Heart of Midlothian FC (not WM) about ?500K in legal fees.

As previous threads have stated before, WM had his hand deep in our till and was not some sugar daddy that I fondly remember.

Hearts had a great team to watch mid to late eighties, due in full to Alex MacDonald, Mercer was good in these days in feeding the press.

A great showman? YES, to be trusted? NO.

 

PS All you great "Shed Boys" should be ashamed with your Doddy must go chants at the start of a bad season '89-90 (due to a team suffering from bouts of food poisoning from a Romania tour)

[SMcD]

Waldo had the deal done, it was all there for him. An agreement had been made between him, Hibs and the curious observer that was STF.

 

Wrong.

 

Mercer keeked it tho when he started getting death threats, so the plug was pulled.

 

But in a business sense, he had them by the baws, 100%.

 

They should be grateful he awoke them as to what was going on at their club. Up until then, the crooks at the top at Hibs had ripped the pish out of that club, at will, for a long time by then.

 

 

Never, though he did come close.

[Guest casper]

mercer wanted to DESTROY heart of midlothian. if he got his way we WOULDN'T exist now. can't people understand that? we should hate him as much as they do.

 

You're just so wrong.

Or a hibby.

[fug]

You're just so wrong.

Or a hibby.

 

so explain to me what would have happened if this 'visionary' had got his way?

[SMcD]

so explain to me what would have happened if this 'visionary' had got his way?

 

Why? Let's just be thankful it didn't happen.

 

I'm surprised by the affection shown for Mercer these days, given that he was loathed by the majority of Hearts supporters just before he eventually sold to CR & LD.

[Jake LaMotta]

I wish Mr Mercer, god rest his soul, had seen it through and finished the filth off once and for all.

 

The world would be a nicer, fluffier place without them.

 

Utter pondlife, to a man.

[Le Chat]

God bless you Mr Mercer.

[fug]

I wish Mr Mercer, god rest his soul, had seen it through and finished the filth off once and for all.

 

The world would be a nicer, fluffier place without them.

 

Utter pondlife, to a man.

 

good point...

 

4 games a season against st johnstone or dunfermline would provide so much more enjoyment than the derby.

 

beating hamilton 4-0 in a semi would be just as satisfying.

 

if de vries had scored 4 against raith rovers i would have celebrated just as much.

 

hibs never provide priceless memories for hearts fans; wish they didn't exist.

[Jake LaMotta]

good point...

 

4 games a season against st johnstone or dunfermline would provide so much more enjoyment than the derby.

 

beating hamilton 4-0 in a semi would be just as satisfying.

 

if de vries had scored 4 against raith rovers i would have celebrated just as much.

 

hibs never provide priceless memories for hearts fans; wish they didn't exist.

 

The ultimate victory for any real Hearts fan will be when that horrible club exists no more.

 

[scots civil war]

great viewing chief,that neanderthal weir sums em illiterate *******s up for me......pondlife they are ,lochend park pondlife

 

 

 

 

 

[interista]

The bit that everyone forgets is that Wallace's vision wasn't a simple takeover though. He was motivated by simple financial calculation, and reasoned that only a united Edinburgh club could hope to compete with Rangers' rapidly growing commercial might.

 

That Edinburgh club wouldn't have been called Heart of Midlothian, or in all probability, even played in maroon. Is anyone going to pretend any Hearts supporter would've tolerated that? Of course, no Hibs fan would've watched the new club either, so it was all pointless. What prompted Mercer to go through all that hassle for nothing, no-one will ever know.

 

PS. It was bloody funny though!

 

This is overly simplistic. At the time I was working for the firm of accountants that was advising Wallace.

 

The partners with whom I spoke said he had no intention of changing the name of the club.

 

The plan was merely to write off the then current generation of Hibernian supporters and look to win over enough people from future generations to make a difference.

[Guest GhostHunter]

Fug spelled backwards, reads Guf.

 

Which is exactly what you post.

 

RIP Wallace....you were so close.....

[fug]

Fug spelled backwards, reads Guf.

 

Which is exactly what you post.

 

RIP Wallace....you were so close.....

 

a convoluted attempt at a pish poor play on words is often a solid replacement for an argument.

 

yes wallace was so close to making following hearts less enjoyable.

 

a total ****** of a man.

[The Gasman]

This is overly simplistic. At the time I was working for the firm of accountants that was advising Wallace.

 

The partners with whom I spoke said he had no intention of changing the name of the club.

 

The plan was merely to write off the then current generation of Hibernian supporters and look to win over enough people from future generations to make a difference.

 

 

Correct, it was never a merger, it was an atempt to take over and close down a rival to increase market share.

 

He even famously said that he would "merge" the names of the two clubs; Heart of Midlothian from our name, and "Football Club" from theirs. For some reason they didn't accept that !

[speedbump]

The bit that everyone forgets is that Wallace's vision wasn't a simple takeover though. He was motivated by simple financial calculation, and reasoned that only a united Edinburgh club could hope to compete with Rangers' rapidly growing commercial might.

 

That Edinburgh club wouldn't have been called Heart of Midlothian, or in all probability, even played in maroon. Is anyone going to pretend any Hearts supporter would've tolerated that? Of course, no Hibs fan would've watched the new club either, so it was all pointless. What prompted Mercer to go through all that hassle for nothing, no-one will ever know.

 

PS. It was bloody funny though!

 

S, you hardly have your finger on the pulse on this one. I'll fill you in on how it was going down at the time.

 

Hibs were skint, Duff & Grey had spent Hibs overdraft buying pubs and clubs in Reading and the surrounding areas, The Bold Waldo ahs sussed out they were screwed and he wanted 2 players and the land. The 2 players in question were Goram and Collins but he could raise the finances himself. So he asked another rich Edinburgh man to come on board as a silent partner. The silent partner was very interested in the land. When the brown stuff started to hit the fan i.e. when the press got win of this story it was quickly changed into a merger deal. Mercers business partner (Farmer) in the deal got cold feet and luanched a counter bid to buy up shares, he managed this rather quickly because Farmer had already been buying up shares in support of Mercers bid. Farmer had no interest in the football side of the deal until he seen the fire storm of hatred aimed at Wallace.

That is the real reason Farmer was able to buy up enough shares to save Hibs.

Thsi so called Merged team would have been called Heart of Midlothian, would still have played in Maroon but would probably be playing at Millerhill, which was Wallace's preferred venue for a new ground.

[I.J]

mercer wanted to DESTROY heart of midlothian. if he got his way we WOULDN'T exist now. can't people understand that? we should hate him as much as they do.

 

i always thought he was a total 'james blunt' when he was alive and his death changed nothing. an arrogant and egotistical indiidual who thought he could destroy edinburgh's history to line his own pockets. this 'saint wallace' nonsense is the greatest piece of revisionism since hibs decided they had a 'tradition' of playing football like brazil '70.

 

edinburgh is about hearts AND hibs. the banter and rivalry is what makes football the best game in the world.

 

mercer mercer GTF

 

Is "fug" short for "fugging pish"?

[Guest GhostHunter]

a convoluted attempt at a pish poor play on words is often a solid replacement for an argument.

 

yes wallace was so close to making following hearts less enjoyable.

 

a total ****** of a man.

 

I trust you will enjoy your brief stay on our forum.

 

PS - it wasnt a "pish poor" play on words - more an onomatopoeic play on words.

 

Still - you go my son.

[Tiberius Stinkfinger]

I trust you will enjoy your brief stay on our forum.

 

PS - it wasnt a "pish poor" play on words - more an onomatopoeic play on words.

 

Still - you go my son.

 

Its about time you cleared away the fug from this place guv.

 

[Sherlock]

S, you hardly have your finger on the pulse on this one. I'll fill you in on how it was going down at the time.

 

Hibs were skint, Duff & Grey had spent Hibs overdraft buying pubs and clubs in Reading and the surrounding areas, The Bold Waldo ahs sussed out they were screwed and he wanted 2 players and the land. The 2 players in question were Goram and Collins but he could raise the finances himself. So he asked another rich Edinburgh man to come on board as a silent partner. The silent partner was very interested in the land. When the brown stuff started to hit the fan i.e. when the press got win of this story it was quickly changed into a merger deal. Mercers business partner (Farmer) in the deal got cold feet and luanched a counter bid to buy up shares, he managed this rather quickly because Farmer had already been buying up shares in support of Mercers bid. Farmer had no interest in the football side of the deal until he seen the fire storm of hatred aimed at Wallace.

That is the real reason Farmer was able to buy up enough shares to save Hibs.

Thsi so called Merged team would have been called Heart of Midlothian, would still have played in Maroon but would probably be playing at Millerhill, which was Wallace's preferred venue for a new ground.

 

That was my understanding of the situation also.

 

It always makes me laugh how the vermin from across the city can have so much hatred for Mr Mercer and yet venerate Saint Tom.

 

Still, that small clip does serve to highlight that the hibs are a small, insignificant club. We always knew that fact but thanks to Moira Stuart on the 9 O'clock news, so did the rest of the country.

[Gambo]

Correct, it was never a merger, it was an atempt to take over and close down a rival to increase market share.

 

He even famously said that he would "merge" the names of the two clubs; Heart of Midlothian from our name, and "Football Club" from theirs. For some reason they didn't accept that !

 

 

And i believe he was going to take colours from each team, maroon from us and the white from them.

 

As others have said, cleaning our city of the reptiles would have been the ultimate victory for any Hearts fan imo.

[adam1998]

Quality footage-icing on the cake was beating them 3-0 in the first derby after the attempted takeover.

 

FTH

[speedbump]

Quality footage-icing on the cake was beating them 3-0 in the first derby after the attempted takeover.

 

FTH

 

Would have and should have been more but the police and the ref told Hearts to go easy on them for safety reasons.

[fug]

can anyone explain to me:

 

a) exactly when did mercer become popular cos he was hate when he left the club?

 

why following hearts is MORE enjoyable without hibs? we would never be as big as the OF and without hibs would have no major rival. how many of your best memories about hearts involve beating hibs?

 

c ) why hibs not being in existence would have been a good thing? i hate hibs with a passion and that is why i want them to be there. how could anybody want to see no more derbies?

[Boab]

S, you hardly have your finger on the pulse on this one. I'll fill you in on how it was going down at the time.

 

Hibs were skint, Duff & Grey had spent Hibs overdraft buying pubs and clubs in Reading and the surrounding areas, The Bold Waldo ahs sussed out they were screwed and he wanted 2 players and the land. The 2 players in question were Goram and Collins but he could raise the finances himself. So he asked another rich Edinburgh man to come on board as a silent partner. The silent partner was very interested in the land. When the brown stuff started to hit the fan i.e. when the press got win of this story it was quickly changed into a merger deal. Mercers business partner (Farmer) in the deal got cold feet and luanched a counter bid to buy up shares, he managed this rather quickly because Farmer had already been buying up shares in support of Mercers bid. Farmer had no interest in the football side of the deal until he seen the fire storm of hatred aimed at Wallace.

That is the real reason Farmer was able to buy up enough shares to save Hibs.

Thsi so called Merged team would have been called Heart of Midlothian, would still have played in Maroon but would probably be playing at Millerhill, which was Wallace's preferred venue for a new ground.

 

Spot on,mate.

The 3-0 game helped Farmer in a roundabout way.Incidentely,the clip does not do "justice" to the trouble;it was nuts and got worse as the goals went in.

[speedbump]

can anyone explain to me:

 

a) exactly when did mercer become popular cos he was hate when he left the club?

 

why following hearts is MORE enjoyable without hibs? we would never be as big as the OF and without hibs would have no major rival. how many of your best memories about hearts involve beating hibs?

 

c ) why hibs not being in existence would have been a good thing? i hate hibs with a passion and that is why i want them to be there. how could anybody want to see no more derbies?

 

Wallace always was and always will be popular in the eyes of those "who know their history" and appreciate what lengths he went to save our club, to raise it's profile, get us back in the top league after the dismal yo-yo aka ****e years and to give us back a bit of pride & passion throughout the club from the chairman, the players and the fans.

 

Wallace will always be loved by those who know the facts and hated by those who are blinded to them because of his political allegiances.

[Boab]

can anyone explain to me:

 

a) exactly when did mercer become popular cos he was hate when he left the club?

 

why following hearts is MORE enjoyable without hibs? we would never be as big as the OF and without hibs would have no major rival. how many of your best memories about hearts involve beating hibs?

 

c ) why hibs not being in existence would have been a good thing? i hate hibs with a passion and that is why i want them to be there. how could anybody want to see no more derbies?

 

I'll bite.

If you debate the situation at the time and don't resort to personal attacks on someone who can't defend themselves then you'll not get the response you've got so far.

Many Hearts fans,myself included,didn't fancy Wallace's ideas at the time but don't come on here with things like Mercer GTF or you'll get it tenfold.

Understand?

[PresidentRomanov]

The bit that everyone forgets is that Wallace's vision wasn't a simple takeover though. He was motivated by simple financial calculation, and reasoned that only a united Edinburgh club could hope to compete with Rangers' rapidly growing commercial might.

 

That Edinburgh club wouldn't have been called Heart of Midlothian, or in all probability, even played in maroon. Is anyone going to pretend any Hearts supporter would've tolerated that? Of course, no Hibs fan would've watched the new club either, so it was all pointless. What prompted Mercer to go through all that hassle for nothing, no-one will ever know.

 

PS. It was bloody funny though!

 

Shaun, I can normally read your "internet expertise" with a smile on my face, but I suggest you try and stick to subjects that won't offend people so deeply.

 

Wallace Mercer had no intention of changing the name, or colours, of Heart of Midlothian FC.

 

I supported his plan 100% at the time, do you think I'd have done so if what you say was correct?

[bighusref]

The bit that everyone forgets is that Wallace's vision wasn't a simple takeover though. He was motivated by simple financial calculation, and reasoned that only a united Edinburgh club could hope to compete with Rangers' rapidly growing commercial might.

 

That Edinburgh club wouldn't have been called Heart of Midlothian, or in all probability, even played in maroon. Is anyone going to pretend any Hearts supporter would've tolerated that? Of course, no Hibs fan would've watched the new club either, so it was all pointless. What prompted Mercer to go through all that hassle for nothing, no-one will ever know.

 

PS. It was bloody funny though!

 

Absolutely untrue.

[Gambo]

can anyone explain to me:

 

a) exactly when did mercer become popular cos he was hate when he left the club?

 

why following hearts is MORE enjoyable without hibs? we would never be as big as the OF and without hibs would have no major rival. how many of your best memories about hearts involve beating hibs?

 

c ) why hibs not being in existence would have been a good thing? i hate hibs with a passion and that is why i want them to be there. how could anybody want to see no more derbies?

 

Ridding our beautiful city of those reptile would be the greatest victory.

 

In time we would have a bigger base to recruit fans from and therefore be bigger to challenge the OF.

 

Have a look at some polls on here, Hibs are nothing to most Hearts fans, just a source of wind up banter on Monday mornings after a derby, a lot of fans hate the OF more so plenty of rivalry there and Glasgow is only 40mile along the road. The Edinburgh/Glasgow is a great rivalry why not use it to our advantage.

 

I hope VR has a vision in the future(he may have already had these thoughts) to rid our city of Hibernian FC.

 

We should not be sharing the capital city with anyone, it is ours and we should be doing everything in our power to close those reptiles down.

 

It makes so much sense, major Edinburgh businesses (going back a few years how good would it have been to get Standard Life, Banks, Breweries on board?) just now might be scared of losing business by associating themselves with either club, the EEN has to split into two, fans growing up have a choice of club etc etc, imagine if there were only one club...Heart of Midlothian FC in the city to take advantage of that.

 

 

I think there should be a campaign set up to rid our city of it's ugly stain.

[Sherlock]

...I think there should be a campaign set up to rid our city of it's ugly stain.

 

Count me in.

[Gambo]

Count me in.

 

 

2

[Paolo]

WM had the accumen to know way back then what was happening to Scottish football, and although what he was trying to do was maybe for the right reasons, i think he just mis-calculated the scale or gravity of it. The man made a simple mistake, he was right though in many ways, although they will never ever admit to it, in a round about way he actually saved that sister fisting, syringe loving, vermin.

 

R.I.P. Wallace.

 

You are right - I opposed the merger for emotional reasons, but from a business point of view - and both clubs are and were still businesses - it did make sense. It failed because of the power of emotion.

 

It did save Hibs though, as it brought to light Hibs dire situation and the crookedness of their directors at the time - Hibs fans should thank Mercer, not abuse him!!

 

It must also be the only time both clubs have been one of the main stories on the 6 O'clock news though.

[SMcD]

S, you hardly have your finger on the pulse on this one. I'll fill you in on how it was going down at the time.

 

Hibs were skint, Duff & Grey had spent Hibs overdraft buying pubs and clubs in Reading and the surrounding areas, The Bold Waldo ahs sussed out they were screwed and he wanted 2 players and the land. The 2 players in question were Goram and Collins but he could raise the finances himself. So he asked another rich Edinburgh man to come on board as a silent partner. The silent partner was very interested in the land. When the brown stuff started to hit the fan i.e. when the press got win of this story it was quickly changed into a merger deal. Mercers business partner (Farmer) in the deal got cold feet and luanched a counter bid to buy up shares, he managed this rather quickly because Farmer had already been buying up shares in support of Mercers bid. Farmer had no interest in the football side of the deal until he seen the fire storm of hatred aimed at Wallace.

That is the real reason Farmer was able to buy up enough shares to save Hibs.

Thsi so called Merged team would have been called Heart of Midlothian, would still have played in Maroon but would probably be playing at Millerhill, which was Wallace's preferred venue for a new ground.

 

 

Utter tripe.

 

It wasn't even Mercr who instigated the move.

 

But why let the facts etc....

[speedbump]

Utter tripe.

 

It wasn't even Mercr who instigated the move.

 

But why let the facts etc....

 

Really, you seem to be the only poster so far who thinks that.

[awadooningorgie2]

I was completely against this idea - be it takeover or merger (and let's face it nobody can say for 100% sure how it would have unfolded once Mercer actually had sufficient shares).

 

The ultimate victory?

 

I prefer beating them on the pitch than at the bank thank you very much.

[Tommy Brown]

Wallace always was and always will be popular in the eyes of those "who know their history" and appreciate what lengths he went to save our club, to raise it's profile, get us back in the top league after the dismal yo-yo aka ****e years and to give us back a bit of pride & passion throughout the club from the chairman, the players and the fans.

 

Wallace will always be loved by those who know the facts and hated by those who are blinded to them because of his political allegiances.

 

Gash

As I said in my post earlier, Alex MacDonald's management skills got hearts back to where we belong. WM was a showman & nothing more. Yes, he put his name as a Guarantor of debt, for that, we defo should be grateful. But, sorry, he cost HMFC a lot of money in this takeover, buying & selling the ticket office back & forward and countless more....

I will give credit when due, but he took over with a debt of around ?350K and sold out to Robinson with a debt of over ?5m. And give me "He built tyney sh*te", cause he only started the ball rolling with the Wheatfield Stand.

He made a lot of money out of us...FACT

[speedbump]

Gash

As I said in my post earlier, Alex MacDonald's management skills got hearts back to where we belong. WM was a showman & nothing more. Yes, he put his name as a Guarantor of debt, for that, we defo should be grateful. But, sorry, he cost HMFC a lot of money in this takeover, buying & selling the ticket office back & forward and countless more....

I will give credit when due, but he took over with a debt of around ?350K and sold out to Robinson with a debt of over ?5m. And give me "He built tyney sh*te", cause he only started the ball rolling with the Wheatfield Stand.

He made a lot of money out of us...FACT

 

Of course forget about the fact he mortgaged his house TWICE for HMFC, we were close to going to the wall, he saved us from Kenny Waugh, he raised our profile, he did lay the plans for the current ground at Tynecastle, we bought and sold international footballers under Wallace like it was a regular thing.

 

Infact you're right Wallace was killing the club, absolute twaddle.