Hearts: Mad, Vlad world of Hearts

By BARRY ANDERSON
Published on Tuesday 27 December 2011 11:54

2011 Review: A tumultuous year at Tynecastle ends with wages crisis plunging club into more chaos

THE year 2011 came in like a lion for Hearts but is going out like a lamb. From a title challenge in January to unprecedented chaos by December, it has been another tumultuous 12 months at Tynecastle as the madness of Vladimir Romanov touched new heights.

Most clubs would point to a managerial change as the focal point of their year, a move which often revitalises players and supporters alike. Hearts did change their guard in August when Jim Jefferies was sacked and replaced by the Portuguese coach Paulo Sergio. However, that was one of the least notorious episodes of the last 12 months in Gorgie.

Wage delays, player walkouts, transfer requests, financial uncertainty, needless rants from the owner and the Craig Thomson affair all damaged the club’s proud reputation. On top of that, Romanov now wishes to sell his majority shareholding in Hearts with an enforced player clearout expected to cut operating costs.

Most supporters will hope for a brighter 2012, although this year hasn’t been without positive news. European football returned to Tynecastle following a third-place SPL finish in May. And, just like in 2010, Hearts went undefeated against their Edinburgh rivals Hibs during 2011.

A coveted quartet of new players arrived in the summer as John Sutton, Mehdi Taouil, Jamie Hamill and Danny Grainger spurned other clubs in favour of Hearts. And, in recent weeks, youth academy graduates loaned out to prepare for first-team football in the New Year provided much encouragement.

If there is one positive to emerge from the turmoil engulfing Tynecastle, it is that Jason Holt, Jamie Walker and others like them may now get the exposure they deserve at senior level. A team comprising mainly home-grown talent is to be the future, according to the board, and fans are rightly excited by such a prospect having grown tired of inflated salaries being paid to some distinctly ordinary footballers.

So 2011 is ending disappointingly, but it certainly didn’t start that way. Quite the opposite. Hearts welcomed in the new year with a 1-0 defeat of Hibs on January 1, Kevin Kyle scoring four minutes from time to spark bedlam in the Tynecastle stands. The match was the ninth of an impressive 11-game unbeaten league run through the winter which prompted talk of a title charge. Three weeks later, Rangers lost at Tynecastle, leaving Hearts two points behind the Ibrox club and only seven shy of league-leaders Celtic with a game in hand.

The wheels came off with two successive midweek league defeats in Glasgow to both halves of the Old Firm. With top goalscorer Kyle injured, the team began to toil, even though Andy Webster had unexpectedly rejoined Hearts to reinforce the defence. Of the last 12 league matches of the 2010/11 campaign, Hearts won only once – a 3-2 defeat of St Mirren in March. They also endured goalkeeper Marian Kello being dropped due to a “private matter” and captain Marius Zaliukas being ordered off the team coach before a trip to Ibrox because Romanov did not want him to play in case he was red carded. Nonetheless, form earlier in the season was sufficient to secure third place and a coveted spot in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League. Midfielder Ian Black was arrested in connection with a drugs offence on an end-of-season night out and is still to have his case heard. Brighter news arrived in the form of Sutton, Taouil, Hamill and Grainger, who were paraded as new faces.

As Hearts again headed to Italy for pre-season training, Craig Thomson’s prosecution for sex offences on the internet brought a dark cloud over their Il Ciocco hotel complex. The defender was placed on the sex offenders’ register but Romanov refused to sack him. He was eventually shipped off to FBK Kaunas, the Lithuanian club controlled by Romanov. He played there until November and remains a Hearts player but is no longer welcome at Riccarton.

Defender Lee Wallace agreed a £1.5 million transfer to Rangers as the new campaign was about to begin. That put him in the opposition camp when Hearts travelled to Ibrox on the opening day of season 2011/12. David Obua scored in a 1-1 draw and the Ugandan was then embroiled in passport issues attempting to enter Hungary days later as Hearts confronted Paksi SE in the third qualifying round of the Europa League. Obua eventually played as Jamie Hamill’s penalty secured a 1-1 draw for the visitors before a 4-1 home win in the return leg. By then, all had changed on the managerial front.

Jefferies was dismissed along with his assistant Billy Brown as the Tynecastle hierarchy lured Sergio and his assistants from Portugal to implement a more European style of football. Gary Locke remained as first-team coach. The new manager’s debut was that 4-1 defeat of the Hungarians which propelled Hearts to the play-off stage and a glamour tie with Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham Hotspur. The first leg in Edinburgh saw Tottenham’s class shine through in a 5-0 defeat for the hosts, although a 0-0 draw in the second leg at White Hart Lane brought much improvement.

League form remained in different during the initial weeks of Sergio’s reign. Highlights were undoubtedly victories over Hibs and Celtic before the severity of Hearts’ financial problems was bared in October. Players’ wages, due on the 16th of each month, took 19 days to arrive. Romanov declared his wish to sell Hearts, Kaunas and the Belarussian club he finances, Partizan Minsk, and claimed he had become bored with football. He put a price tag of £50 million on Hearts alone despite club debt exceeding £30m.

A statement from the board stated January departures were inevitable to cut squad size and that young players would be promoted to the first-team squad sooner rather than later. With that in mind, Holt, Walker and David Smith were all loaned to Raith Rovers whilst Kevin McHattie joined Alloa.

Goalkeeper Janos Balogh was first to leave after settling his contract, due to expire in January, early. Calum Elliot followed and Jason Thomson has also been told he is surplus to requirements. Another board statement on the club website attempted to blame others for Hearts’ financial predicament, accusing Gary Mackay, George Foulkes, Phil Anderton, George Burley and Graham Rix of using the club to service their own agendas.

November’s wages took a full month to arrive and December’s are still outstanding. In the last seven days, winger Andy Driver has submitted a transfer request, Ryan Stevenson has walked out and the third of three outstanding tax bills has been settled by Hearts after winding up orders were lodged at the Court of Session by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. In contrast, the last two results against Dunfermline and Motherwell provided some on-field encouragement.

Scottish football is at its lowest ever ebb financially and Hearts appear to harbour most money worries. However, the light at the end of the tunnel must surely be the youth academy graduates eager to establish themselves in 2012.

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20

Tightfisted

Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 04:44 PM

Another year.............another ignominious failure !!! 2.5% success in a hundred years........Oh Yeah................that's a"Glorious" history all right !!! tee hee hee !!

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19

tommy-tommy

Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 05:22 PM

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18

"he picks the team"onsttly india,

Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 03:35 PM

#17 John Boy Drivel .#11 states "We are currently playing the best football in the country,,,,LOL.....No son your not, if you were, there would not be four teams above you in the league who I and most honest people would say, have all played better football than Hearts this season. You are playing the 5th best football in the country otherwise you would be top of the league.. So when we won 1 of our last 12 last season we were playing the 3rd best football in the league?

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17

John T Chance

Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 02:17 PM

I never fail to be surpried by the total drivel written by Hearts fans on this thread. Here is just one small example......#11 states "We are currently playing the best football in the country,,,,LOL.....No son your not, if you were, there would not be four teams above you in the league who I and most honest people would say, have all played better football than Hearts this season. You are playing the 5th best football in the country otherwise you would be top of the league.. Also, you are the worst run team in the spl (business wise) and thats saying something given how Rangers have been run over the past few years. To continue to run your club this way puts ur future in doubt,,,just as Rangers is. These, sadly are the true facts and although most Hearts fans will continue to spout the usual drivel, you would be better to start protesting now to protect your club, rather than continue with the "head in the sand" scenario. Its your club though, if you want to delude yourselves, so be it!

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16

tommy-tommy

Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at 08:02 AM

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15

22GamesInARow

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 09:23 PM

tommytit there isn't a bigger c0ck on this planet you're tedious to the exctreme, dreary and boring and you seem to like nothing better than reading your own cack no sane person gives a t0$$ what you or the other flumps hoping for our demise write on here

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14

Hen Broon

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 08:28 PM

When you consider that we have put in (IMO) our best 2 performances of the season v Pars & Well. Winning both with great endevour & flair with a team apparently demoralised & a starting 11 that did not include the following dozen: Balogh: Grainger: Barr; Jonsson: Suso:Driver: Stevenson: Skacel: Novik:Sutton:Kyle:Obua.....IE 7 full internationalists plus an England under 21 & 4 experienced players.....circa £2.5 m per annum in wages it is hard not to conclude that our squad was anything other than top heavy. When you consider that we have introduced another pair (McGowan & Robinson) of our Academy stars to the team.......that a dozen others are currently on loan .......all worthy of getting the opportunity to wear the famous maroon with others (Tapping Mullen Kane Mckay Stewart) ready to graduate it makes the 'cull' a necessity not an optional extra. (goes without saying VR method is not how any of us would have liked the reduction achieved).

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tommy-tommy

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 06:55 PM

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12

"he picks the team"onsttly india,

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 06:54 PM

#6 Been Fisted! Looking at the figures it seems we can reduce our playing staff costs considerably when we get rid of a number of fringe players and a few high earners in this transfer window and next. Replacing them with a number of very talented youth players, who will no doubt turn out to be just as good as the whole team worth of talent that has come through over the last 67 years. It will be easier than the media want you to beleive for Hearts to break even go in too profit. Fibs on the other hand are loosing around £2 mill a season and with no one worth selling and relegation looming the fibbies will be around £89 mill in debt in th 1st Division. Whats the plan at fester road???

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11

Baldrick

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 06:01 PM

The Cup loss to St J was a bitter blow, particularly as we lost Kyle at the same time. The loss to Ayr was another low point. We are currently playing the best football in the country however and the support at White Hart Lane was a huge highlight. A good start to the new year is assured and I for one won't be at all surprised with a creditable 3rd place finish and the lovely, shiny, Scottish Cup back in the cupboard.

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10

I BELIEVE

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 05:34 PM

8&6 a couple of Fannies , nobodys interested in your repeated P**H.

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9

seenitawb4

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 05:12 PM

"Scottish football is at its lowest ever ebb financially and Hearts appear to harbour most money worries" ?? yes Mr Anderson if your a reader or a journo of the Scotsman you would assume this....can i point you in the direction of Govan and Rangers FC, i believe their in the tomtit also...some would say more so than HMFC !! but not the Scotsman or their reporters Mmmmm agenda...what agenda????

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8

tommy-tommy

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 04:48 PM

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7

Dragonlord

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 04:41 PM

6# Thank you and TT for your concern. Now please take the hint and F....go. Yes we know there are problems but don't need the help from a couple of sad Hibs fans to make up our own minds what to do about it. You and TT are trying ,yes very trying ! Give it up as we ( hearts fans) are not interested in ANYTHING you have to say. Thank you and good night!

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6

Tightfisted

Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 04:09 PM

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