Vladimir Romanov has grown bored of his Hearts experiment as an investment of tens of millions of pounds failed to change the side from mid-table strugglers into a team capable of something Motherwell seem able to do on significantly less.
Romanov wanted to transform Hearts into the biggest club in Scotland but failed to address the structural limitations of the club. While Hearts may be the biggest team in Edinburgh, Edinburgh is a net exporter of football fans, Tynecastle is squeezed into a cramped corner of the city and provides very little opportunity to harvest corporate income, and, in case you haven’t noticed, there were two well-established competitors in a larger, net-import city with ample corporate income opportunities.
Various Hearts boards have looked to relocate the club or extend facilities at Tynecastle without much headway being made. A bid of £22m was received from a house builder for the stadium some years ago but without a viable alternative the deal stalled.
A viable alternative could come onto the market soon.
If Rangers go out of business Romanov is in a unique position to take advantage. Craig Whyte holds a floating charge on Ibrox and Murray Park but any bid in excess of his liability, which would be considerably less than the value of the properties, which have a book value of £139m, would secure both pieces of real estate.
Hearts could sell Tynecastle and Hearts training ground, raising enough funds to considerably offset what they would need to pay to secure Ibrox, if not provide a surplus, and establish foothold in the Glasgow market to complement their historical Edinburgh fan base. One club would have a pull on a huge proportion of Scotland’s two largest cities.
At a stroke Romanov would ensure his club were for all time, at the very least, the second largest team in Scotland, and, eventually, could push Celtic for top spot.
It would be a ballsy move, but if you want to create a super-club you need to think a little creatively.
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Why Hearts should buy Ibrox
Oh dearie me not a nice thought at all. :-( An amalgam of East and West Orcs – down with that sort of thing.
InterdenominationalCSC
Rangers can mess up before we play them, but unless Motherwell mess up too a win at the Brox won’t give us the title.
Paul67
Divide and conquer.
mmmmmm.
TT
James f
Itoo took fat Paul le guens comments as a serious attempt to turn the orcs venom and anger at our manager…
This venom and anger WILL spill over on the 25th were people will be in danger … Including our manager.
No lesson has been learned from when he kicked off the shame game last year…from him anyway!
And he has just lit the fuse of the final firework
Lowlife
James Forrest is The Emperor of Ice Cream on 4 March, 2012 at 13:10 said
I would second that, there’s no way they would let Timmy put the final nail in the coffin
gsu
A few reasons I want s’land to win here.
1. I don’t like Newcastle or pardew.
2. Newcastleunitedmad blog, I think, very often comes out with anti Celtic and anti Scottish football stories.
3. I’ve met a few Geordies and didn’t like them much.
4. They are disillusioned about being a top club.
5. Martin oneill manages s’land therefore…
A win against Rangers, even if it’s 0-3 because they cannot complete their fixtures sets us up to win it at home to St Johnstone on April 1 (which is why tickets for that game are selling like hot rolls on a cold morning), but, again, only if Motherwell fail to take full points from their games in the meantime: home to Aberdeen, away to Kilmarnock and home to Rangers (a 3-0 scoreline by default under the scenario being discussed).
James Forrest
More dignity shown in an hour this morning than rangers in 140 years….
All credit to you for ‘manning up’ and then taking the trouble to explain to us all.
Clash Citybhoy
I am afraid Ibrox might be a bit too ‘catholic’ for the folks of the SRU……
Only 1 black person and 5 catholics ever played for Scotland at Rugby remember !
Any links to yesterday’s goals from the south side?
Thanks in advance.
Burnley, aye and the black person is one of the Catholics.
James Forrest 12.45
More power to your elbow.
TT
Burnley78
How recently did the first of the five Catholics get a game?
I didn’t realise that Sally has his own facebook page
Ally Mccoist – Your Just A Fat Paul Le Guen
More Chins than wins!!
Paul 67
Very naughty ! Remember how Kaunus was the first crack. It’s all part of the ‘mad vlad’ masterplan.
And he wasn’t even Scottish …
Watching the NE derby. If some of those tackles happened in a game against RFC there would be world headlines.
Sunderland just missed two sitters.
Against the run of play.
stephbhoy:
The thing that looms largest, for me, is the way in way in which people are talking about a NewCo Rangers being admitted back into the SPL as the “only solution for Scottish football.”
It’s the worst of all possible worlds. It reduces the whole of our national game to two teams. Now, some people outside this green and pleasant land might see it that way anyway, but to formalise it would be fatal to our global footballing reputation. It’s unrecoverable.
This club has been engaged in two decades of appalling behaviour. Twenty years mate. Not one season, nor one board of directors, but a continuing enterprise, a continuing crime against football in this country. If that is all laid aside for the protection a TV deal this game is in a sewer from which it will never be able to crawl out. TV money will rule the roost in this country, its reach will overwhelm and overcome the game and everything, from then on, will be dictated by it.
If Rangers are not punished for twenty years of criminality, if TV can prevent it, if a gilded old pal’s act can stop it, then I have no reason to believe – none of us does – that sporting integrity itself will be safe in the event NewCo Rangers, especially if managed by the fat former TV presenter, can’t produce the goods on the park. If they drop out of the top six rules will be changed. If they ever face relegation the entire league will be reconstructed. Or worse, the “honest mistakes” will merge to become one enormous continuing “honest mistake” with the sole intent to protect TV money and its role in our football.
If it is allowed to happen, fans who are already turned off by the role of television will never re-enter a football ground in this country again. The long slow death of Rangers will have been turned into the long slow death of Scottish football instead. That would be the greatest crime of all.
First red card to sunderland.
I am surprised that there is no mention in any of the ‘tributes’ to craig burley which are being submitted to his employers about his blatant racist remarks regarding our young left back.
The comment that he is appropriately named as Blackman, which burley mad early in yesterdays match seems very inappropriate.
Sessegnon you’re an idiot. Game on here
for purely selfish reasons i want them to cease to exist on saint Joseph day. what a birthday that’s going to be
Triumphalism it is for me.
Stretch Limo booked for ayebrokes.
A dozen East Fife Tims all set for a day of total partying to the extreme.
Champagne,Jelly and Janettas ice cream, for Breakfast.
The Tall cranes pre and post match.
Champagne, and assortment M&S treats on the way home.
A very memorable day awaits us.
WALTER SMITH KNEW.
TT
well over on FF, you are being invited to take part in a Poll, not on the greatest living Ranger, or best goal, our best European night…nope,
________________________________
Hypothetically…….SPL or 3rd Division ?
SPL 19 6.21%
3rd Division 261 85.29%
Not Sure 26 8.50%
Newco Collateral Damage
RFC2012 does a deal and gets right back into the SPL. Debts cleared, fresh start, stadium in place, fans allowed.
Dominoes fall. Hearts, Kilmarnock, Dunfermline, Aberdeen, Dundeee Utd, St Mirren, St Johnstone. Liquidated and ‘I’ll have that deal too’
Where does that leave Scottish Football and also it’s combined creditors?????? That’s why direct re-entry is not viable for newco huns.
HH
Phil MacGiollaBhain @Pmacgiollabhain Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
Will Rangers play their last ever game on St Patrick’s day?
Lovely sunny day,
had to laugh at
SmashingMilkBottles on 4 March, 2012 at 12:35 said
Like it ! Rangers v Sunderland !
you got me thinking Paul is there any indicatoin who the others are on the llist of potential buyers beides King Mendacious and the blue Knights !
take care…….
HH
The TV deal that was signed is it due to start next season? If so, then the liquidation should put a stop to that then. I also believe that the corruption that exists within Scottish football will also put off any potential deals regardless of what happens to Them.
gsu
row z \o/ (O) whatever part of my club is dependent on rangers I am willing to lose!:
Agreed, but I already know how the SPL will get around it.
They will rewrite their own rulebook – the one they ignored to do it in the first place – to specifically prohibit any team from doing it again. It’s like changing the statute books for a day to legalise a crime, then having someone you know commit the crime, then changing them back to what they were before and writing a brand new clause saying they can never be changed again.
The SPL will admit that Rangers have been treated as a special case, then they will outlaw special cases. Until next time Rangers are in trouble.
Posted earlier fellas, any links to rfc hfc goals yesterday?
Paul67
You are too cruel…
Paul 67 – at least they would then not be able to sing “go back to your Glasgow slums” – I worked in a Pharmacy in Sighthill in Edinburgh and that was what I wid call a slum, I never dispensed so much methadone in my life, more than even than when I worked down Brigdeton Cross!
Phil MacGiollaBhain @Pmacgiollabhain Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
I’m hearing that EIGHT RFC will do walking away tomorrow.
James Forrest is the emperor of ice cream
@2.48
Took your post in the way you meant it.(humour )
How someone managed to think you were wanting to commit
Criminal offences is unbelievable.
Does that mean I need to return the cement mixer( thumbs)
The post you done was far removed from what TFPLG did
In his interview to the media and at the shame game last year.
He is 1 wee sleekit rat…..!!!!
Also think the police will call a halt to the game at iPox …. Not to fans
At game but due to the threat of violence in the city and pubs.
Havingapartywhenthehunsdiex csc
if the huns get striped of tiltes and the hisotry books show they did not win 9in a row i’m going to really celebrate. the pain i went through and the sleepless nights i had then and to think it could all have been for nothing. oh the joy i will feel. it will be the biggest victory in celtic’s history if they go bust and lose titles. i don’t care what happens after that we will forever be the champions.
notthebus:
If Phil has that right I would think they’d need to be top earners. A million a month is a helluva lot of money, and I don’t see how it can be raised paying off eight guys.
James Forrest
I would just like to say that your post from last night sickened me,,,you are a disgrace to CQN!!!!
Hail hail
D’you know what?
As much as I would love to see our Bhoys in the Broomloan and our Bhoys on the green grass at Ibrox park, torment the tortured souls in the other three sides of that stadium, it’s probably best and safest all around if the game on 25th doesn’t happen and that they go pop before that.
I hope they do.
I’m just thankful that we’ve seen this day arrive.
Many excellent Celtic men didn’t. Every single one of them who built and sustained our Club have my respect and will be in my thoughts as the embodiment of corruption that is Rangers Football Club implodes. We should all feel privileged that we are here to bear witness to it.
LOVE CELTIC
ONE NEIL LENNON
SwasnseaBhoy