A winding-up order against Hearts is hardly newsworthy, it happened in 2009 and 2010, but Vladimir Romanov’s comments this week suggest his days of funding the club have ended. Much of the debts are owned to the Ukio Bankas, which Romanov is a large shareholder in, while players, small creditors and HM Revenue and Customs are also exposed.
Romanov previously converted a large chunk of Hearts’ debt to shares held by the bank, an investment it is unlikely to see a return on, so the possibility remains that Ukio could write-off the Hearts debt and use their majority creditor status to out-vote HMRC and allow the club to pay as little as a penny in the pound.
This is, however, a seriously worrying time for Hearts fans as well as the club’s creditors. In Scotland we tend to refer to Ukio Bankas as Romanov’s bank, as though it was a wholly owned business. It’s not. Ukio have fiduciary responsibilities to their shareholders, all shareholders. As such, the prime residential development opportunity off Gorgie Road presents a huge problem. Hearts previously received a bid of over £20m for their stadium from a housing developer and Ukio will have title to the land.
When Ukio Bankas previously converted Hearts debt to shares they would have slipped straight into the bank’s assets column, irrespective of their resale value. On paper, there would have been no negative impact for the bank. Writing-off debt when you hold an asset is a different scenario. Anyone who believes that a bank can easily walk away from a £20m asset sale has not fully appraised the situation. Without players, who have not been paid and have been told to find new clubs, or a stadium, there is no football club.
There is a Kodak Moment coming soon at Tynecastle; I predict Livingston FC might be in for another name change in an attempt to harvest some new support.
274 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- »
This year keeps getting better….
An odious bunch of mongrels who won’t be missed….
Sons of Erin
It’s possible Hearts may simply disappear, as Gretna have, but if people cared enough to reinflict Airdrie on us, it seems much more likely that Hearts fans would attempt to launch a new club.
Even if they don’t, anyone making a case for Newco Rangers would still be missing the main point: these people cheated and lied for more than a decade, walking off with trophies and the best players from lots of smaller Scottish clubs using money they could not afford, racking up debts they could not and cannot pay back. They must suffer all punishment due to them or we are saying it’s all right to do what they have done and other clubs should give that model a go, in which case the game would be even more of a bogey than it is at the moment.
Clear the decks. Build again with solid clubs who care and pay their way. If there are only ten, 12, 16 or 20 such clubs in the whole of the land, so be it. We can no longer accommodate liars, cheats and fraudsters. Those days have gone.
wycombebhoy says:
4 November, 2011 at 12:43
Gerry – make that right back!
Hearts going bust? That would be the second best thing that could happen to Scottish football
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.
Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message Hearts Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
(thumbsup)
—————–forrester——————-
matthews—-rogne—-dan——cha
————-kayal—-wanyama————–
forrest———–mccourt———–samaras
—————–stokes———————-
switch mccourt for commons at half time
then switch hooper for forrest/samaras/kayal about 60-70 mins into the game
P67
Does this I mean I am going to be forced to buy yet another bottle of the good stuff to celebrate the demise of the micro-huns? This really will not do.
philvisreturns says:
4 November, 2011 at 12:44
Craig Whyte in the near future
Your graphic is inaccurate as there are clearly more than 1 ‘poonds’ escaping from the Whytesters case.
RobertTressel @12:35
I agree with your post completely. We seem to give the hero worship away so easily. Maybe its a culmination to bring back what’s missing. When you have a “Ghod” like Henrik it leaves a big gap.
I’ve seen us throw adulation to Zurawski, who sadly was no magician and many others. I would include Kris Commons in this! Decent player with a knack of scoring some goals, but that is it so far….
Unfortunately Bangura fails to ignite my excitement but young James Forrest has really impressed me. We give it away so easily yet our own home grown youngsters have to work extra hard. Very odd??
Joe Ledley, Stokes are two that I have high praise for. They seem to really care.
Anyway, Great post
Nuclear Bovril and a Half Munched Pie – It is a bit ambiguous.
The notes falling out of Whyte snake’s case could be Rangers’ remaining petty cash.
Or they could represent unpaid invoices and letters from lawyers. (thumbsup)
Gordon
I put up a link to a song some weeks ago. It was The Cowboy Junkies cover of Thunder Rd, you said you liked it. In case you might be interested, I heard it on Ralph McLean’s radio Ulster show. He’s on Tuesday-Friday at 8pm. Different theme each night. Tonight it’s country, this is when he played Thunder Rd. Well worth giving a listen if you are into some different style music.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radioulster/programmes/schedules
thomthethim
Onwards to the Mothers of well.
* we used to get a tea break in here *
Wim’s Tims OUT NOW includes a great piece from the wonderful Paul Brennan, all proceeds to The Phil O’Donnell Trust which is a feeder for the British Heart Foundation.
Print copy http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/wims-tims-the-best-thing-to-hit-scottish-football-in-10-years/18460333
Ebook http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/wims-tims-the-best-thing-to-hit-scottish-football-in-10-years/18497294
—————-forrester—————
matthews—-dan—rogne——cha
forrest———mccourt——–commons
———stokes–hooper–samaras———
i miss the 4-3-3 :(
HH
DB67
donegalbhoy67 says:
4 November, 2011 at 14:05
Ledley and Mulgrew will start if fit. McCourt should not start and Ledley should be the extra midfielder required to win the battle. Commons, Hooper and Paddy in reserve for once the battle has been won.
Donegalbhoy67
That looks more like a 4-0-6 to me.
Could be interesting.
Estadio says:
4 November, 2011 at 12:45
Right that’s better. Got all that Celtic nonsense out of the way, let’s get back to Hearts, huns and the horrors of hell.
Hail hail
Estadio
share
The Unholy Trinity!
donegalbhoy67 – when did this guy Forrester sign ? :-)
Is it possible that the smallish crowd last night was a factor in improved performance? Most of those there last night were of the type who really get behind their/our team. Naturaly, the players respond to this and recover more quickly from mistakes which are not met by howling jeers from the crowd? Fare refereeing , of course, just might be another factor o:-)
JJ
Tynecastle as flats what a lovely thought. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of knuckle dragging bigots.
Game was great last night and the crowd (small amount though we were) was brilliant. To those who chose not to come you missed a corker!! Sammi with 2 assists and playing like we know he can, Big Dan dominating and blistering the ball every time it came near him, Fraser pulling off a vital save and a 17 year old c/h who didnt look out of place whats not to like. ;-) Great to see I almost got team correct with one vital difference Anthony Stokes played. Phew just as well I’m not the manager
Same again on sunday Celtic lets tear murderwell a new one.
On another bright note just got the wifes ticket for the huns game. How much longer can I keep it to myself the location of her surprise night out on 28th dec hee hee ;-0
PS Has kevin the miserable been on today?
Kayal33 says:
4 November, 2011 at 14:19
yeah but i dont want to risk them on sunday
Naismith Hopes He Can Make Money Kicking Things In Retirement
Shortly after announcing his retirement, footballer Stephen Naismith said on Friday that he hopes to continue to make money kicking things. “I have a few other skills, but I’m probably best at kicking,” Naismith said. “Cows, computers, sheets of glass—if the price is right, I’ll kick it good. I may be crocked but I’m still a powerful good kicker.” Naismith added that he would also be willing to hire himself out by the hour for displays of fancy unconvincing diving.
So potentially two of the most bigoted in SPL clubs could go to the wall!
If only the establishment would let that happen. Once the dust settled, maybe take a generation, Scotland would be a better country for it.
Celtic_First – I agree, but I’d suggest those who will propose these measures are probably intent on missing the main point regardless.
If the SPL implosion ever does threaten, I’d personally think it’s time to reassess whether Scottish football can sustain itself as an independent league. Time to look at an EPL merger again.
The nights are ferr drawin’ in.
Great result last night.
Looks like the return of the ole mojo.
Árd Macha
Report: Rangers Football Club Proficient At Owing Large Sums Of Money
A new report has revealed that when it comes to the important matter of owing large sums of money, RFC display a level of expertise and proficiency unrivaled throughout the world.
“Rangers not only excel at accruing massive amounts of debt, but they also show an extraordinary talent for failing time and again to pay off these debts,” the not unexpected report read in part. “Their ability to consume well beyond their means, disregard all signs of approaching financial ruin, and then sit there like a fat duck waiting for solutions to appear is truly remarkable. Few clubs achieve such excellence in one singular aspect of life. Bravo, Rangers.”
The report concluded that Rangers are also second to none when it comes to defaulting on long-overdue loans, be they from individuals, banks, or great and powerful institutions that have absolutely no qualms about making others regret their foolish mistakes for generations to come.
Jungle Jim – You might be right as the fans not just the GB sang for Sammi last night. The idiot who sits behind me and on Sat wanted Ki to get injured so he could be taken off also blames Sammi for everything AND YES he wasnt there last night.
Had to leave dead on final whistle as gettin a lift home so was hoping the GB were not subjected to the ugly scenes i witnessed on Sat but noticed during last night the SPF were doing their best to get a response from the GB hope they were ok after game.
Wont be back on for a wee while as picking up wee Pangur Ban fae school
A wee, well not so wee fantasy.
HMRC wins its case against THEM.
The following morning DD announces that under no circumstances will Celtic vote to parachute THEMNEWCO into the SPL.
Furthermore, ethical considerations render it impossible for a morally superior Celtic to remain in joint commercial ventures with convicted fraudsters.
As I said it was not such a wee fantasy.
My real, equally unrealistic fantasy is to win a multi rolled over Euro Lottery, buy Celtic and insist that never again, does the team take the field kitted out in aberrations that in no way resemble Celtic jerseys.
TheOriginalSadiesBhoy : thanks..and yes right back in those days. And yep we are cousins, good memory still. I met a few of that St. Bridgets team at Thomas’s mum’s funeral last year , I maybe be wrong but I think someone, Jim McDonald ? said you where there. Im sure Thomas said he still see’s you now and then or at least used to sometimes at games ?
Hi Ghuys, Salve salve;- Well that was much better, athoroughly entertaining game of football. I hope all disenchantment within the club is now a thing of the past (if indeed it ever was there in the first place). As soon as I set eyes on Kayal last night, I thought he really looked up for it and I was not to be dissapointed. I was especially delighted for Sammy, there really is a cracking player there but he needs to be harnessed properly. Key to last night was that it was truly a team performance :- let’s have more of that.
For the Motherwell game, here’s a novel idea, why not let Neil pick the team? I really would like to think that team spirit has returned.
As for hertz? my own hunch is that mad Vlad is fed up of football and will now bring his prodigious talents to bear in the field of basket ball, consequently he will pull the plug and realise what assetts he is left with.
Lastly ole whitey gets more bizarre by the day, it is incredible that any responsible person would give any time at all to the anal fistulas that are vangaurd bears. By the company they keep so shall ye know them
Greenwells
Multi famam, conscientiam pauci verentur.
new article posted.
BontyBhoy: 4 November, 2011 at 13:26
Joe Filippis Haircut: 4 November, 2011 at 13:31
Scottish football has lost clubs before or endured major changes and survived – particularly at the turn of the last century when many teams folded or the biggest of them all Queens Park chose to remain amateur and were left behind.
Rangers and Hearts will be no loss to Scottish football – both clubs are a cancer and bring nothing positive to the game on or off the field. All this claptrap about ‘the good of Scottish football’ from the usual suspects in the media really is nauseating. Did Rangers care about the good of Scottish football when they ruined the competitiveness of the game by spending recklessly?
David Murray single-handedly destroyed the game in Scotland by buying players from the likes of Aberdeen, Hearts and the Dundee clubs simply to weaken the opposition and allow the most overrated manager in the history of Scottish football to stick them in the reserves along with several underachieving Eastern Europeans. Anything to beat Jock Stein’s nine-in-a-row – something else they failed to do.
The last time Rangers and Hearts were particularly weak Aberdeen and Dundee United stepped up and genuinely did much good for Scottish football. Both reached European finals and United were robbed in the semi-final of the Champions Cup. And while the fans of both teams enjoyed rubbing our noses in it they didn’t resort to the vile depths that the full-fat or semi-skimmed Huns do.
If both of them disappear it would be the best thing that ever happened to Scottish football.
If the demise of Hearts takes half as long as the demise of their Glaswegian cousins I reckon we’ll be able to enjoy their witty bonhomie for a few seasons yet.
A generation of administration.
Bournesoup excellent
“I hope someday you’ll join us
In the world where there’ll be no Rangers”
But surely
“I hope someday you’ll join us
In the world where there’ll be no Hun”
p
Treme a series on sky atlantic on a friday night
good job ole christine or rossanna of the justice committee never seen it;)
http://youtu.be/clvni7i9sIw
Just got a couple of extra tickets for the game on the 28th Dec. Guy tells me they’re going like hot cakes…
wycombebhoy @ 12:43
”Are you guys enjoying a pint while watching the games anywhere, Id try pop in ?”
It would be great to see you and catch up, watching the games is very sporadic since they stopped showing them down the Irish Club – the old bhoys (i.e. Big P’s Dad, Uncle etc) go down the Liberal club, but as they don’t have ESPN it’s hit and miss – and the big ghuys don’t go out so much.
Having said all that there’s a good chance there will be a few of us down Yates in Frogmore (the Litten Tree) for the Motherwell game (the blue nose Motherwell postie is back in town, so you might get the chance to see him upset (again)).
I’ll check and get back to you – I haven’t got your contact details but we can sort something out.
Has Mr Whyte got your number?;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7feTT_vvaw&feature=related