Don’t bet, tardy payers and immersed in our culture

Quick question for you.  Which Scottish team has won their last four home games, scoring 13 goals in the process?  St Mirren are on a run of form at home.  One of those wins was against Second Division opposition, but remember, this season, Second Division teams are on a par with AC Milan in the early 90s.

Ross County scored four at St Mirren Park but St Mirren scored five, while Hearts were despatched 2-0.  This is a team with good home form who kept their squad in place over the international break.  My best advice to you is to avoid betting on this one.

Many clubs have trouble paying their bills but the problem with Hearts and their regular tardiness when it comes to wages, evident again this month, appears to be different.  Hearts cash balances will have peaked weeks, possibly months, ago.  From now on they will be eating into ‘reserves’, or more likely, accruing additional debt at their owner’s bank.  The club have been here many times before and Vlad has dipped into the equivalent of his commercial pocket to avoid an insolvency event but I’ve always found it curious why he didn’t do so on time.  It’s not as though anyone can be surprised pay day is coming.

As such, there appears to be a degree of control over late payment.  The money is always provided but not before pain is passed down from owner to earners, which is a bit curious.

For all his faults, and they are many, Romanov and other shareholders in Ukio Bankas have ‘invested’ countless millions in Hearts, money they are unlikely to get back with the residential property market so depressed.  They have also not exposed the club to outrageous fortune – the overwhelming majority of debt is owed to the bank itself, balances at HMRC and other creditors are low, and they pay their football debts.  This means that if Hearts go into administration, the route back through a CVA would be clear.  The only serious losers would be staff made redundant, while Ukio would face a write-off, perhaps already acknowledged internally.

I was surprised at the news Danny McGrain was appointed first team coach yesterday but also delighted.  Danny’s was not a name mentioned for the position when Alan Thompson left the club but he is immersed in the fabric and culture of our club.  ‘In the days of changing ways’ a strong thread of continuity is an invaluable asset in ensuring the new generations acquire the important elements of our identity.

We are a club in touch with all that is important.

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