What could have been achieved between 2006 and 2008...

[Martin_T]

...If Romanov had appointed an autonomous Head Coach and let him make best use of the ?10 million wage bill and the money made available for transfer fees? It is incredible to think just how negligently the footballing side of the club was run in those seasons, in particular the failure to make best uses of the playing resources we had available.

 

If you look at some of the players we had available in 2007/8, a season we finished in the bottom six no less, it is arguable that that squad would mount a title challenge in this seasons SPL under a good manager. That squad contained, Aguiar, Karipidis, Tall, Velicka, Kingston, Goncalves, Berra, Driver, Wallace. It could and should have done a hell of a lot better. If that nucleus had been augmented with some sensible signings from within the SPL, say Scott McDonald for example, who at one point openly touted himself for a move to Hearts, then the club could geniunely have challenged for honours. However what we got was a horrible mess of a dis-spirited and de-motivated set of players, with shambolic organisation and tactics. A real missed opportunity.

[Mr Romanov Saviour of HMFC]

It hurts to talk about it so I'll get back to you in a few years.

[leginten]

The wasted opportunity is indeed an interesting topic. In addition to the quality of the people "running" the footballing side of things in those seasons, we were also trying to cope with the largest squad in footballing history, the legacy of the January 2006 window and the Kaunas pipeline. "Showcasing" and "squad rotation" were still the buzzwords back then, but they couldn't really mask the chaos.

[I.J]

There'd have been a lot less greeting faced fans on Kickback seemingly taking pleasure in our "failure", that's for sure.

[Jamboy81]

This is the most original post ever seen on Kickback. For sure.

 

 

[Martin_T]

The wasted opportunity is indeed an interesting topic. In addition to the quality of the people "running" the footballing side of things in those seasons, we were also trying to cope with the largest squad in footballing history, the legacy of the January 2006 window and the Kaunas pipeline. "Showcasing" and "squad rotation" were still the buzzwords back then, but they couldn't really mask the chaos.

 

I'll still never understand the selection policy which involved paying big wages and in some cases big transfer fees for players, only to sit them in the stand whilst Lithuanian players were shoe-horned into the team. Don't get me wrong, we have un-earthed some good players from Kaunus, Zaliukas, Velicka and Kello (I know he is Slovakian)in particular have been good players for HMFC, but there was also Kurskis, Pilabitis, Ivaskevicius, Ksanavicius, Barasa and Beniusis who were all given game time over other experienced professionals and the clubs young players, irrespective of their form or ability.

 

It is a massive 'if only' but if we VR had allowed us to be run like a normal football club during that period, he may even have recouped some of the huge outlay through extended runs in European competition and additional income generated by challenging for domestic prizes.

[Charlie-Brown]

Probably consecutive 3rd places in the SPL at most instead of 4th & 8th place finishes, Cups impossible to say given it takes good luck & good performances to reach finals nevermind win the trophies.

[Martin_T]

Probably consecutive 3rd places in the SPL at most instead of 4th & 8th place finishes, Cups impossible to say given it takes good luck & good performances to reach finals nevermind win the trophies.

 

Most likely, however I am sure you agree that appointing competent people in charge of the football club during that period would have provided a much better return for the money spent?

 

I'm perhaps guilty of raking over old graves here, but the end of a season is always a good opportunity to look back at things retrospectively.

[Johanes de Silentio]

This is the most original post ever seen on Kickback. For sure.

 

Yet true.

[The People's Chimp]

The wasted opportunity is indeed an interesting topic. In addition to the quality of the people "running" the footballing side of things in those seasons, we were also trying to cope with the largest squad in footballing history, the legacy of the January 2006 window and the Kaunas pipeline. "Showcasing" and "squad rotation" were still the buzzwords back then, but they couldn't really mask the chaos.

Ah squad rotation. Justified by many on here, despite the surrounding madness, with bizarre comparisons to continental clubs 'employing rotation with success.'

 

Probably consecutive 3rd places in the SPL at most instead of 4th & 8th place finishes, Cups impossible to say given it takes good luck & good performances to reach finals nevermind win the trophies.

 

Consecutive 3rd places? Maybe, but looking at the players we had back then, 2nd place or even better might not have been impossible - the old firm have not been all that good for the last 5/6 years.

 

Back then I seem to recall you saying that the likes of Ivaskevicius was good enough. Do you now acknowledge that he wasn't?

 

 

 

[Charlie-Brown]

Most likely, however I am sure you agree that appointing competent people in charge of the football club during that period would have provided a much better return for the money spent?

 

I'm perhaps guilty of raking over old graves here, but the end of a season is always a good opportunity to look back at things retrospectively.

 

Csaba Laszlo achieved the improvement you were looking for Martin but it doesn't suggest those players cllectively had enough capability or desire to finish any higher than 3rd or enough luck/guts to do better in the cups or europe also despite your usual eagerness to find fault & blame with Kaunas players those guys showed more professionalism & application than many of the higher paid wage thieves who seem to be excused your ire - I'm not sure any manager would have gotten better from Pinilla or Beslija or Pospisil or Makela or even Roman Bednar who's later newspaper revelations make his weight gain & slump in a maroon jersey deserving closer examination.

[Martin_T]

Csaba Laszlo achieved the improvement you were looking for Martin but it doesn't suggest those players cllectively had enough capability or desire to finish any higher than 3rd or enough luck/guts to do better in the cups or europe also despite your usual eagerness to find fault & blame with Kaunas players those guys showed more professionalism & application than many of the higher paid wage thieves who seem to be excused your ire - I'm not sure any manager would have gotten better from Pinilla or Beslija or Pospisil or Makela or even Roman Bednar who's later newspaper revelations make his weight gain & slump in a maroon jersey deserving closer examination.

 

I don't doubt they were professional Charlie, unfortunately they were for the most part, utter pish. Also these wage thieves you mention, who recruited them? Perhaps an if an automous manager was allowed a greater say in player recruitment, there would be more chance that we would have avoided such wasters? That is of course ignoring the fact, that the shambolic management at the club would not have helped such attitudes. Surely you can't argue with that?

[Charlie-Brown]

I don't doubt they were professional Charlie, unfortunately they were for the most part, utter pish. Also these wage thieves you mention, who recruited them? Perhaps an if an automous manager was allowed a greater say in player recruitment, there would be more chance that we would have avoided such wasters? That is of course ignoring the fact, that the shambolic management at the club would not have helped such attitudes. Surely you can't argue with that?

 

Kingston's attitude appeared to worsen under the last manager whilst Nade did not much more under Warnock than Jefferies or Csaba so maybe they just sold us a lemon? Pinilla bounced through another couple of clubs before appearing to reform his shambolic ways this season in italy but other clubs didn't have anymore luck than we did, Bednar's erratic ways seem to have followed him despite being at a reasonably good club with some good success for the club & player, Mirsad Beslija simply disappeared as did Pospisil. I think Romanov got his fingers burned with high price imports including some of those Burley signed and is correct to have subsequently learned that lessons and won't be recruiting that type of 'mercenary' players in future. Even those that provided some value usually reserved this for their end of contract seasons.

[Johanes de Silentio]

The main thing around 2006 is that we were spending the playing budget on quality players - guys like Fyssas and Jankauskas, while players like Weir, Hamill, McCallister, McFarlane, etc, were quickly moved on as they clearly lacked the kind of ability that Burley was looking for.

 

The playing budget since that time has largely been wasted on relatively substandard players, with the result that we are making cut-price signings like Ryan Stevenson* from clubs like Ayr United rather than Benfica.

 

We are now not much further forward, having thrown huge fortunes at players.

 

We are still at Tynecastle, though, and we did win the Scottish Cup in 2006 - I do think that we would have won the SPL that season, though, had Burley been left alone.

 

Massive opportunity missed, imo.

 

*No disrespect to Stevenson, who looks decent, but would not have got a game for us in 2005/6.

[The People's Chimp]

Kingston's attitude appeared to worsen under the last manager whilst Nade did not much more under Warnock than Jefferies or Csaba so maybe they just sold us a lemon? Pinilla bounced through another couple of clubs before appearing to reform his shambolic ways this season in italy but other clubs didn't have anymore luck than we did, Bednar's erratic ways seem to have followed him despite being at a reasonably good club with some good success for the club & player, Mirsad Beslija simply disappeared as did Pospisil. I think Romanov got his fingers burned with high price imports including some of those Burley signed and is correct to have subsequently learned that lessons and won't be recruiting that type of 'mercenary' players in future. Even those that provided some value usually reserved this for their end of contract seasons.

 

Yes, that cup winning side were just terrible. More Barasas and less Pospisils please.

[Arthur Morgan]

The main thing around 2006 is that we were spending the playing budget on quality players - guys like Fyssas and Jankauskas, while players like Weir, Hamill, McCallister, McFarlane, etc, were quickly moved on as they clearly lacked the kind of ability that Burley was looking for.

 

The playing budget since that time has largely been wasted on relatively substandard players, with the result that we are making cut-price signings like Ryan Stevenson* from clubs like Ayr United rather than Benfica.

 

We are now not much further forward, having thrown huge fortunes at players.

 

We are still at Tynecastle, though, and we did win the Scottish Cup in 2006 - I do think that we would have won the SPL that season, though, had Burley been left alone.

 

Massive opportunity missed, imo.

 

*No disrespect to Stevenson, who looks decent, but would not have got a game for us in 2005/6.

 

 

Yep, definitely imo.

[scott_jambo]

Yes, that cup winning side were just terrible. More Barasas and less Pospisils please.

 

I like

 

Miko

chesney

Zaliukas

Velicka

Kello

Novikovas

 

 

I also thought Kyses and Ksanevicius did us a turn on minimal wages.

 

Only Barasa and that Iva choo choo boy and that I didnt rate, however many more people than CB thought there was a player in there. Same goes for Piliabitis who arrived in the middle of anti-lith fever.

 

Id be suprised if these 3 players played more than 20 games combined for Hearts though.

[Martin_T]

I like

 

Miko

chesney

Zaliukas

Velicka

Kello

Novikovas

 

 

I also thought Kyses and Ksanevicius did us a turn on minimal wages.

 

Only Barasa and that Iva choo choo boy and that I didnt rate, however many more people than CB thought there was a player in there. Same goes for Piliabitis who arrived in the middle of anti-lith fever.

 

Id be suprised if these 3 players played more than 20 games combined for Hearts though.

 

You've forgotten Kurskis, Beniusis and Kancelskis (who was actually competent, if unspectacular). Ksanavicius was God awful, 30 odd games as an experienced professional up front for Hearts and he burst the net twice. Many of these guys should never have been at Hearts in the first place, but that is not really the point here. The point is that a competent and autonomous head coach between 2006 and 2008 would most likely have seen us make far better use of the resources available, particularly in relation to team selection and player recruitment. How do you think a Levein or a Jefferies would have fared with a ?10 million wage budget?

[IMA MAROON]

We could have signed players like Petric and Simpson and Goss and other huddies and won nothing if we gave JJ the money.

[Craig Herbertson]

I think it was a change in conception about how things were going to be done - an attempt to move Hearts into the 21st century - sort of modeled on Man United with lots less money, skill and nohow. I think it was a brave but naive attempt. Of course, if it had come off and we'd won the league we would have all been happy as Larry. We've learned from it and I'm hopeful that we can go from strength to strength with a bit more caution and wisdom.

[Heaven98]

...If Romanov had appointed an autonomous Head Coach and let him make best use of the ?10 million wage bill and the money made available for transfer fees? It is incredible to think just how negligently the footballing side of the club was run in those seasons, in particular the failure to make best uses of the playing resources we had available.

 

If you look at some of the players we had available in 2007/8, a season we finished in the bottom six no less, it is arguable that that squad would mount a title challenge in this seasons SPL under a good manager. That squad contained, Aguiar, Karipidis, Tall, Velicka, Kingston, Goncalves, Berra, Driver, Wallace. It could and should have done a hell of a lot better. If that nucleus had been augmented with some sensible signings from within the SPL, say Scott McDonald for example, who at one point openly touted himself for a move to Hearts, then the club could geniunely have challenged for honours. However what we got was a horrible mess of a dis-spirited and de-motivated set of players, with shambolic organisation and tactics. A real missed opportunity.

 

To be fair, it's a bit of a silly question. We all know what could have been but it's not really the point. The fact that the man even considered Dundee as a possibilty for fulfilling his ego probably shows his extremely poor knowledge and judgement of the state of Scottish football as a potential profile booster and money maker.

 

He wanted to be just like his "pal" Roman and bask in the glory of his munificence. He's ended up looking down the barrel of a major financial problem which unless he finds a buyer is going to haunt him for eons.

 

What has surprised me is he's proved he's not a quitter and I think he should be lauded for that. He's taken an immense amount of flack and he's still here and because of that, so are we. I almost think he's got quite attached to us but he's still an absolute Arthur Daley.

 

I'd keep an eye on the tax thing. We need them to go away.

[The Old Tolbooth]

Yes, that cup winning side were just terrible. More Barasas and less Pospisils please.

Barasa? Dear god, probably one of the worst full backs I've ever seen, the guy looked more like a brickie than a ball player

 

On the wasted opportunity side of things, the one that still grates me the most is a pure failure to build on our squad that finished second in 2006, because had we beaten AEK Athens then we would have bankrolled any major squad changes by getting through two games!! Missing the chance to strengthen at that point was just criminal and handed Celtic a massive pay day by banking the entire CL money pot.

[Johanes de Silentio]

Barasa? Dear god, probably one of the worst full backs I've ever seen, the guy looked more like a brickie than a ball player

 

On the wasted opportunity side of things, the one that still grates me the most is a pure failure to build on our squad that finished second in 2006, because had we beaten AEK Athens then we would have bankrolled any major squad changes by getting through two games!! Missing the chance to strengthen at that point was just criminal and handed Celtic a massive pay day by banking the entire CL money pot.

 

Surely Liquidator wasn't being entirely serious?

[Heaven98]

Barasa? Dear god, probably one of the worst full backs I've ever seen, the guy looked more like a brickie than a ball player

 

On the wasted opportunity side of things, the one that still grates me the most is a pure failure to build on our squad that finished second in 2006, because had we beaten AEK Athens then we would have bankrolled any major squad changes by getting through two games!! Missing the chance to strengthen at that point was just criminal and handed Celtic a massive pay day by banking the entire CL money pot.

 

Be honest, John, despite stupid stupid earing-gate the gap in class over two legs was fairly large. It would have taken quite a spend and a fair bit of bedding in to even get close to a fairly poor European side.

[The Treasurer]

On the wasted opportunity side of things, the one that still grates me the most is a pure failure to build on our squad that finished second in 2006, because had we beaten AEK Athens then we would have bankrolled any major squad changes by getting through two games!! Missing the chance to strengthen at that point was just criminal and handed Celtic a massive pay day by banking the entire CL money pot.

 

Agree 100% with this.

If we'd strengthened in time for the CL qualifiers then we just might have made the group stage but instead the club took the cautious approach of waiting to see if we qualified before making any moves into the transfer market.

Although it's worth noting that we never conceded a goal in the CL while we had 11 players on the park

[The People's Chimp]

Be honest, John, despite stupid stupid earing-gate the gap in class over two legs was fairly large. It would have taken quite a spend and a fair bit of bedding in to even get close to a fairly poor European side.

 

Look at it another way though, we were a very harsh red card on bruno away from taking at least a draw from the Murrayfield game, then we were roundly cheated by the most obviously paid off (by someone, not AEK I think, but a betting syndicate?) ref we will ever witness in the return leg.

 

Now there may have been a gulf in class but a little bit more nous and experience and we could quite possibly have gone through to the CL group stages. I also think that had we played the 1st leg at Tynie we might have fared better as well.

 

I've said it before, but for me the pivotal moment in the Romanov project was Bruno's red card in the 1st leg. Had we held on to the win in that game, then we would have had a very real chance of making the group stages. I think that very the signing(s) we needed to get there, would have been forthcoming if we'd gone up into the groups, as there would have been money in the bank. Things went downhill after that, and we started leaving our better players in the stands and discipline and motivation went out the window.

 

Now, having said that, you could say that Burley's sacking was the pivotal moment, and I think that we would have gone on to win the league had he still been in the job, that would have brought qualification right into the groups with it too, but even after Burley was binned we still had the chance to make a real go of it all - the players were still there, the fans were out in droves and with the SC victory we still had momentum behind us.

[Heaven98]

Look at it another way though, we were a very harsh red card on bruno away from taking at least a draw from the Murrayfield game, then we were roundly cheated by the most obviously paid off (by someone, not AEK I think, but a betting syndicate?) ref we will ever witness in the return leg.

 

Now there may have been a gulf in class but a little bit more nous and experience and we could quite possibly have gone through to the CL group stages. I also think that had we played the 1st leg at Tynie we might have fared better as well.

 

I've said it before, but for me the pivotal moment in the Romanov project was Bruno's red card in the 1st leg. Had we held on to the win in that game, then we would have had a very real chance of making the group stages. I think that very the signing(s) we needed to get there, would have been forthcoming if we'd gone up into the groups, as there would have been money in the bank. Things went downhill after that, and we started leaving our better players in the stands and discipline and motivation went out the window.

 

Now, having said that, you could say that Burley's sacking was the pivotal moment, and I think that we would have gone on to win the league had he still been in the job, that would have brought qualification right into the groups with it too, but even after Burley was binned we still had the chance to make a real go of it all - the players were still there, the fans were out in droves and with the SC victory we still had momentum behind us.

 

There is no way that it is remotely OK that Motherfeckingwell should ever ever finish above our club. Ever.

[Frankenstein Jambo.]

Of course we could dwell on the past and get ourselfs worked up. However, why don't we focus on what looks like a brighter future for Hearts?

[Heaven98]

Of course we could dwell on the past and get ourselfs worked up. However, why don't we focus on what looks like a brighter future for Hearts?

 

Fair enough if he doesn't go postal and sign another Petric. And let's be honest, he'll be like the rest of his cronies. A totally limited coach who moans incessantly about the funds available.

You're a top man Jim, but you're just an old fecker who synbolises the utter sad stasis of the SPL.

[The Old Tolbooth]

Be honest, John, despite stupid stupid earing-gate the gap in class over two legs was fairly large. It would have taken quite a spend and a fair bit of bedding in to even get close to a fairly poor European side.

I was undecided whether AEK were 3 or 4 classes in front of us, or whether we made them look that way mate, I thought Zagreb were an excellent football side...............until we played them at home, it turns out they were no better than average and we were utter mince.

 

AEK played us off the park at Murrayfield, however had the game been at Tynie, and had we strengthened in the close season, then it could have been a very different result at home. We actually did ok in the away leg until Brellier was sent off and we lost 3 late goals, I honestly don't think AEK were all that special.

[The Old Tolbooth]

Of course we could dwell on the past and get ourselfs worked up. However, why don't we focus on what looks like a brighter future for Hearts?

A very fair and valid point mate, does that mean we'll hear no more about Michael Stewart seeing as we can only look forward now

 

 

(just kidding)