The life and Tynecastle times of Vladamir Romanov

Published on Friday 12 November 2010 19:33

September, 2004: Chief executive Chris Robinson agrees to sell his 19.6 per cent stake in the club to Romanov.

January, 2005: Romanov calls an extraordinary general meeting at which Hearts agree to exercise the escape clause from the proposed Cala Homes redevelopment of Tynecastle.

February, 2005: The sale of Robinson's shares is completed, giving Romanov a 29.9 per cent stake and effective control of the club. The club's debt is transferred to Romanov's Ukio Banko Investicine Grupe (UBIG). Within months his stake in Hearts has increased to 82 per cent.

June, 2005: George Burley is appointed head coach after a meeting with Romanov in Lithuania.

October, 2005: Players and fans are stunned as Burley leaves the club due to "irreconcilable differences".

November, 2005: Chief executive Phil Anderton is sacked and chairman George Foulkes resigns in protest. Graham Rix is appointed Anderson's successor and Campbell Ogilvie is appointed general secretary and operations director.

December, 2006: Romanov announces his plans to open a branch of his bank, Ukio Bankas, in Edinburgh.

March, 2007: The city council agrees to sell the Tynecastle High School site, Nursery and Adult Education Centre to the club for future development.

July, 2007: Hearts are revealed to be more than 36 million in debt.

August, 2007: Romanov pledges to construct a 51m new stand at Tynecastle, increasing its capacity to 23,000, with redevelopment including offices and a hotel.

July, 2008: The club announce they are to issue debt for equity, reducing their debts by 12m.

March, 2010: Hearts admit that the plans for a 51m revamp are too ambitious and issue revised plans for a stand only, worth 10-15m.

May, 2010: The club admit they cannot afford the scaled-down plans, although they are committed to finding the funding.

October, 2010: A new debt for equity plan is announced to wipe a further 10m off Hearts debts. Delays drag on over the sale of Tynecastle High school, with a club spokesman describing the issues as "both health and safety and political". Hearts say that they will "exhaust every option for the redevelopment of Tynecastle" but admit they could look elsewhere if no solution can be found.