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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Mort on 4 March, 2012 at 13:50 said:
oglach on 4 March, 2012 at 13:47 said:
Actually MON and Pardew reinact FPLG and Lenny !
Oh great, for the next few weeks all we’ll hear about is this “Tyne-Wear” shame game and associated summits involving all manner of politicians with the end result, new legislation being brought in to sort out this terrible problem
————————
Cameron has been on the phone to Wee Alex already! English football in crisis, 2 managers shout at each shock?
Mon the Sunderland and our Martin. Thy call him Harry Potter because of his specs and he does magic. ; ) I cannot stand Pardew, horrible wee man
KLV
Thanks for the link. Commentator comedy gold!!!
Alright Lhads, not posted in a while, mostly on that twitter-ma-bob these days! :) How great is it for Glasgow’s Green & White these days eh?!
Anyway’s been thinking about the league setup again and cobbled this together, any comments welcome…
Due to the possibility that They* could be docked 50 points for contract issues and be relegated this season, BEFORE liquidation there will no doubt be a clamour to re-organise the SPL/SFL setup to insure that the ‘Establishment Club’ (whichever form it takes) rises to the top of Scottish fitba as quickly as possible. Therefore I have put together a proposal for a new league setup that I believe will introduce more competitiveness, novelty and ensure clubs flying the flag for Scotland in Europe are as prepared as possible.
Firstly let’s look at the current setup:
1x SPL – 12 teams – play each other 3x then splits in half and play each other another once, 38 games in total. There are problems with the split apart from being a total waste of time in that it can cause uneven distribution of number of home games and subsequent match day income. Teams in the bottom half can end up with more points than teams in the top half, which would be unfair in a pyramidal distribution model for dividing monies at the end of the season. Quite frankly the split has failed to introduce any tangible increase in competition IMO, so scrap it.
There is currently only one team relegated per season which means if there is a whipping boy in the league then 2nd bottom becomes relatively safe so teams are merely going through the motions, which doesn’t make for entertaining football. Also by only introducing one team per season into the top league distribution of monies to teams performing well in the lower league is also reduced.
3x SFL – 10 teams – I’m not going to lie to anyone and say I’m absolutely familiar with the SFL set-up but 10 teams each playing each other 4 times needs to change, familiarity breeds contempt as they say.
So in total there are 42 teams currently plying their trade in Scottish fitba, my plan would be to increase this number to 48. There would be 2 teams introduced from the lower leagues each season (or regional setups in future) and the top 4 SPL sides would introduce B teams to play in the lowest division. These teams cannot be promoted or relegated and simply serve to give youth players a competitive platform. This would allow clubs to make nominal sums of money as games would be played at the home grounds when senior teams are away. It would also generate more match day incomes for teams in the lower division due to increase in away fans attending, as all games would be 3pm on a Saturday and less likely to clash with the televised SPL games. Also by having a B team in the lowest division will ensure that there are still at least 2 Celtic Vs Rangers games per season (Which could help satisfy the current TV agreement).
So the setup, which is not novel in its own right and has been bandied about for some time, would consist of 3x 16 team an SPL and two normal divisions. Don’t like calling it SPL1 2 etc. How can you have a 2nd premier? Each team would play each other twice resulting in 30 games per season minimum. This would be a reduction of 8 games to the current setup for the 1st and 2nd from each league and 1st and 2nd bottom. However it would give flexibility to postpone games preceding or following European football to allow team to be better prepared/rested. It would also allow the possibility of a shutdown in January when everybody is skint and the weather is depressing.
The top 2 from the SPL would gain automatic European spots while teams in position 3-6 would go into a play-off of 3 v 6 and 4 v 5 each playing home and away. This would also give teams a platform for preparing strategically similar to European competitions. The winners from each tie would play in a final at hampden with the prize being a lucrative 3rd euro spot. Any 4th allocation to the SPL would go to the winner/runner up from the Scottish Cup, which is what is/used to happen. At the bottom end of the table the bottom two teams would be automatically relegated and teams in position 13-14 would go into a play-off to see who remain in the SPL. The loser would then go onto play the winners of the lower division play-offs at a neutral venue for a do or die promotion/relegation match. This may seem counter intuitive that the loser from the relegation play-off goes on to play at Hampden (or another neutral venue dependent on demand) however it would give fans the impetus to get out and support their teams and any tv money etc. From the match would serve as a parachute payment of sorts. The added value and excitement of important play-off games at the end of the season would only serve to enhance the Scottish game. It also gives teams from the lower league vying for the 3rd promotion spot a day out in the Hampden sun (weather permitting!).
To further satisfy any SKY terms and conditions we could have a Communities Cup (sic) at the start of the season where we give any new signings a taste of a Celtic v Them* atmosphere (if they* still exist) and also a Festive Cup to give us our usual New Year game that would alternate between home and away each season.
I know none of this is ground breaking stuff but just watch as the journalist switch to trying to re-organise the whole football setup once they give up flogging the dead horse that is automatic New Co. Re-entry into the SPL. So as always the Celtic fans should be ahead of the pack when it comes to promoting the game and introducing excitement and novelty, as opposed to parasitic financial doping from the dark-side.
We are Celtic! Always have been, always will be…
Hail Hail!
Newcastle score last minute 1-1.
pardew has the class and dignity of a hun.
ibleedgreenandwhite1 on 4 March, 2012 at 13:45 said:
James doesn’t even have the guts to stand up for himself,,,sign of guilt if you ask me!!!
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Celtic fans calling for others to be on CQN should have a ling look in the mirror.
James has already stood up for himself and asked for the post to be removed.
TinyTim on 4 March, 2012 at 13:50
Enough of the A**e licking for gods sake!!!
Hail hail
James Forrest is The Emperor of Ice Cream on 4 March, 2012 at 13:20 said:
the only solution being offered is one which sees rangers walk back into the spl and that is a disgrace of a situation.
rangers created scottish footballs problems with years of over spending which forced others to try to match them, effectively killing of competition for a decade.
then when celtic gets her act together and make a challenge they spend more and more and more entering into dodgy deals and cheating their way to titles.
in my mind rangers created much of the problems we now witness in scottish football and it is only right they pay the piper, meanwhile scottish football can get its act in order and ensure that no club can ever act in such a self serving way ever again.
Boo. 1-1 still a point for MON
KLV
Is AVB, Chelsea’s PLG?
Both arrived with big reputations but neither could handle the players personalities. For Lampard and Terry, see Ferguson and Ricksen.
Mort
ibleedgreenandwhite:
I might never get over this … I might have to voluntarily delete my account here …
I’ll close my Facebook page as well I think and ask for my fingers to be surgically removed so I can’t be tempted to type any more ….
Paul 67
glad you are partially in agreement with my post late last night although my preference would be for Hearts to remain in Edinburgh. I hate bigotry and sectarianism but if it moves to an inter city rivalry rather than a glasgow rivalry then its a step in a safer direction for one and all. Squeezing Ragers out of the equation is the big positive in my mind.
Freddiebhoy on 4 March, 2012 at 01:09 said:
Paul67
Hate to spoil the party, but me , you and the rest of the Celtic support (in general ) Have to move on and decide who will be our NEW biggest rivals ? After great consideration there are only 2 teams – Aberdeen or Hearts (end of).. Aberdeen I quite like their fans so not enough rivalry there, although a Highlands / Lowlands derby sounds like an option, whereas the Tynecastle mob are more obvious and fit the bill perfectly. A good old Edinburgh / Glasgow rivalry is ripe for exploitation for the changing times in Scottish football, its the only other option in both cities to put bums on seats and raise revenue. We have to move on to the next stage of the sequence unfolding before our eyes and have an alternative option to the Glasgow OLD FIRM failed option.
post
Tiny Tim
I think you’ll find Ibleed….. was being a tad sarcastic………..
HH
googybhoy ♥ Celtic and Integrity on 4 March, 2012 at 13:55 said:
Here we go ,,,another one from the James Forrest fan club,,,gees piece!!!!
Hail hail
I recall when I first started going to see Celtic in 1980/1981 season that we were always up against decent Aberdeen, Dundee united teams up until about 1986
I recall how difficult it was to get a result at tannadice for years
I even recall wishing that Aberdeen and Dundee united would do ok in europe at the time and they did exceptionally well
After 1986
Thereafter the competition as we knew it was ruined
so in summary, could not really give a hoot if bigot fc did not ever come back
Hail hail
Lardo66
Crrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaawwwwwwford Allen how can you sleep at night :))))))).
priceless.
HAIL HAIL
stephbhoy:
The fact people in the media are even discussing the SPL cutting a deal which allows NewCo Rangers back into the league is outrageous. What makes it worse is that guys like Jackson, Guidi, Traynor and King have actually gone on to English radio stations and repeated this … it does a dis-service to everyone in Scottish football, and makes us look like a two-team banana republic.
FT 1-1 -MON and Pardew shake hands football summit cancelled.
James Forrest is The Emperor of Ice Cream on 4 March, 2012 at 13:56 said:
ibleedgreenandwhite:
I might never get over this … I might have to voluntarily delete my account here …
I’ll close my Facebook page as well I think and ask for my fingers to be surgically removed so I can’t be tempted to type any more ….
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
James your post from last night was a belter m8!!!!
Hail hail
I think the chubby cheeky chappy will without doubt, go down in history as the worst ever hun manager.His record is very very poor even pre- cull.
Although Greig had a terrible record as manager i almost forgot he did win 4 cups in his 5 years (2 in his first season) and a good run in the champions cup beating Juve and PSV along the way.
So Alistair your record stands alone, no doubt about it, its official now, your simply the worst.
Hail Hail
Although he was not in the best of form yesterday at Pittodrie, James Forrest seems to be getting a great deal of attention on here today.
Cant believe the abuse that JF is getting at the moment, one of our best posters . I read his article this morning and yes it was a wee bit different to his usual posts. I agreed with most of it. If you did nt read it some people on here would let you believe it was up there with the poison spouted on FF. It was nothing of the sort. Calm down for gawd sake
Roddybhoy
iki on 4 March, 2012 at 14:04 said:
Although he was not in the best of form yesterday at Pittodrie, James Forrest seems to be getting a great deal of attention on here today.
:D
Hail hail
ibleedgreenandwhite:
You’re just an agitator! You have a big future in the Smarty Tanned Git’s Party if you want one! The rolls only shows one member as yet, but with Ally looking for a new place to land soon that’ll change soon enough!
Hehe
Keep yer energies for der hun and stop turning on each other , IE James with his Stephen King Moniker ; ). He voiced an opinion and that’s what this site is for, so get on with it and Man up!.
KLV
Roddybhoy on 4 March, 2012 at 14:04 said:
Cant believe the abuse that JF is getting at the moment, one of our best posters . I read his article this morning and yes it was a wee bit different to his usual posts. I agreed with most of it. If you did nt read it some people on here would let you believe it was up there with the poison spouted on FF. It was nothing of the sort. Calm down for gawd sake
Roddybhoy
Ha ha ha ha ha
Hail hail
ibleedgreenandwhite1
I wondered if your were at it.
YOU GOT ME.
Walter Smith Knew
TT
Sundays are awesome, Relax, Good family time and lots of opinions. Bring it!
KLV
James Forrest is The Emperor of Ice Cream on 4 March, 2012 at 14:06 said:
ibleedgreenandwhite:
You’re just an agitator! You have a big future in the Smarty Tanned Git’s Party if you want one! The rolls only shows one member as yet, but with Ally looking for a new place to land soon that’ll change soon enough!
Hehe
Ha ha ha,,,Swally McMoist is my hero,my aim is to be as smarmy and fake as him some day!!!
:D
Hail hail
the idea confuses me Paul, but heck, who am i to comment ? – you’ve probably been considering this one for a wee while, whereas it’s news – quick news – to me
Roma v Lazio just started on VIPbox, link no4
Paul……You are a baaaaaad rascal. Love it though and I thought I was twisted!
Havingapartycsc aka mouldy67 on 4 March, 2012 at 13:57
I started going to see Celtic around the same time, I remember also being delighted for Aberdeen and Dundee Utd when they played well in Europe, remember Kevin Gallagher’s goal against Barca? Can you imagine what the score would be now if Barca played United?
Have link to that goal but not sure how to post on new blog and don’t want to break it
Tá ár la linn
Totally gutted that the skunk geordie scum managed to scrape a draw, if young McClean had buried his chance the Lads would have won. Made it all the sweeter when Mignolet saved it.
Gutted Sunderland will be without the services of Sessegnon and Gardner (not so bothered about Cattermole as he is a half wit) for next weeks game against Liverpool as the wife and my son and I are going to the game.
6.40mins into yesterdays game, after a foul by Andre Blackman.
Burley says ” well late there, Blackman”
Is this being mistaken for something else?
Afternoon Bhoys.
Not been on since early last evening and just reading over the posts from today’s article.
Can anyone direct me to McCoist’s comments after their game yesterday please?
Hmmm post missing “what a moron Pardew is celebrating a penalty award in that manner”
roma down to 10
penalty lazio
1-0 lazio
stiker hit the deck super fast
referee conned
shame for the goalie
arsene wenger -esque
10mins gone
spoiled the match