And so it begins

[DOC]

Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov has revealed that he is considering selling the club.

According to a statement on the Scottish Premier League team's official website, the Lithuanian businessman said that he had lost interest in football and that he is now considering finding a partner or selling the club.

Hearts officials said that Romanov had confirmed he would stand by the club and continue to support the Edinburgh side, despite battling against what he calls "an orchestrated campaign against him personally and, by association, the club".

The club are more than £30million in debt and believed to be prepared to listen to offers for their players, with Romanov expressing his reluctance to continue to plough money into the club.

Romanov told Hearts News: "For seven years I keep hoping that in the country that is the cradle of football they will start respecting the game and stop taking the mickey out of the game itself and the people who are trying to fight for it, but it's like asking the mafia for remorse.

"There is only one solution left - to turn our attention to the products of our football academy in the hope that this situation will at some point and somehow improve by itself.

"Finally, the powers that be have begun discussing a new stadium - it seems like the politicians have developed some sort of responsibility to their own citizens, or maybe their human side has been awoken.
Shakespeare's question

"And still Shakespeare's question lingers on - to be or not to be - for football to change, or will it keep on developing as a show under the media blanket and we are finally overtaken by Lithuania and Gabon.

"I haven't lost my interest in the club but I have for football. By the law of the 'free world' it is not enough to do good deeds - you have to also pay to advertise them in the press and then it's possible to carry out crimes without any consequences.

"The problem is that I refuse to pay the monkeys for the advertisement as someone has to resist their domination in sport and in culture, the economy and history. That's why I now have to consider finding a partner or selling the club."
Support

"Mr Romanov has confirmed that he will stand by the club and continue to support it to the extent it remains reasonable as he continues to fight against what he and an increasing number of supporters and associates are seeing as an orchestrated campaign against him personally and, by association, the club," reads a statement on Hearts' official website.

"The position of the shareholder in relation to football in Scotland, in which he has invested more than any other individual in the last six years, is unsatisfactory.

"Hearts must, therefore, prepare to reduce investment in the playing squad to match the income in the coming season and turn to the Academy for its new additions while also improving revenue streams, including working on a new stadium in order to achieve this as soon as possible.

"It is important to stress that Hearts at the moment is strongly dependent on the funding from the major shareholder and the attempts of the media to undermine the position of the club and Mr Romanov pose a direct threat to the immediate future of the club."

Hearts have also strongly denied reports of a possible "fire sale of" players.

A club spokesman said: "The club has some of the best players in the country and no player will be transferred for a penny less than their true value.

"Hearts will address squad efficiency over the coming months as a normal course of business. We will continue to pursue our policy of focusing on youth development."

[DOC]

people may say its only hearts etc but the club is in dire trouble, $30 mil in debt, fucked stadium and an owner who has lost interest, had a feud with the sfa for most of his 7 years in charge and is ready to sell his best players

this could form the start of a number of high profile owners walking out

[sephiroth]

you don't have anything to back up that last statement.

[God is an Englishman]

I hate backing up the seltic scum but he does say

"could be"

[Outlaw 2.0]

people may say its only hearts etc but the club is in dire trouble, $30 mil in debt, shiraz stadium and an owner who has lost interest, had a feud with the sfa for most of his 7 years in charge and is ready to sell his best players

this could form the start of a number of high profile owners walking out

Newcastle United were in the same position about 4 years ago, they got relegated found a new manager, sorted themselves out and are now one of the only teams undefeated in the top flight across Europe.

Football is not an exact Science.

[sephiroth]

I hate backing up the seltic scum but he does say

"could be"

you're not backing him up, you're making my point. absolutely no justification for the statement.

[Talk O' The Toun]

It will certainly make for interesting viewing over the January transfer window and in the summer to see what players are sold however I can think of a good eight or nine first team squad players that if sold would have very little affect on the quality of our playing staff but a considerable affect on our wage structure.

No one in their right mind would be willing to take us over at the present time with the amount of debt we have and Romanov full well knows this. This in some ways is reassuring because if he wants to sell and get a return for doing so he needs to get us making an annual profit (reducing wage bill) while remaining reasonably competitive and moving to new stadium or rebuilding the main stand (unlikely) would make us much more appealing to a potential buyer. It can be easy to forget though that Romanov saved us from selling Tynecastle and moving to Murrayfield which would have been a travesty for the club, so he must be commended for that while also getting us 2nd place and a Scottish Cup in 2006.

On a sidenote Ryan McGowan played well against St.Mirren on the weekend slotting in at left back. Looks a really good prospect.

[God is an Englishman]

I hate backing up the seltic scum but he does say

"could be"

you're not backing him up, you're making my point. absolutely no justification for the statement.

He's giving his opinion, you don't need justification for a personal opinion. They're like arseholes.

[yogi]

It will certainly make for interesting viewing over the January transfer window and in the summer to see what players are sold however I can think of a good eight or nine first team squad players that if sold would have very little affect on the quality of our playing staff but a considerable affect on our wage structure.

No one in their right mind would be willing to take us over at the present time with the amount of debt we have and Romanov full well knows this. This in some ways is reassuring because if he wants to sell and get a return for doing so he needs to get us making an annual profit (reducing wage bill) while remaining reasonably competitive and moving to new stadium or rebuilding the main stand (unlikely) would make us much more appealing to a potential buyer. It can be easy to forget though that Romanov saved us from selling Tynecastle and moving to Murrayfield which would have been a travesty for the club, so he must be commended for that while also getting us 2nd place and a Scottish Cup in 2006.

On a sidenote Ryan McGowan played well against St.Mirren on the weekend slotting in at left back. Looks a really good prospect.

Yeah, he needs to play games on a regular basis, or he must move on.
I hope he gets a start as he has proven before that he is capable of playing 1st team for them.
Onya Ryno,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[yogi]

I hate backing up the seltic scum but he does say

"could be"