Foundation of Hearts

[CritchSmile]

Surrended all power and influence but we front up the cash.

Scarily bad.

[Zizou]

Folk thought the fans would be picking the team?

[Shteve]

Folk thought the fans would be picking the team?  

What?

[Del-icious]

I actually don't think it's a bad thing. It really depends what happens with Levein but she's been good for hearts so not really that fussed. She's a bit irritating with some of her decisions but from a business point of view we're strong and that's her job.

[Zizou]

What?

What exactly were you expecting? This has been known for a long time. The fans don't have a say in these matters and thank fuck.

[pondlife]

It's not a bad idea actually. Have a weekly poll after the formation and basic match tactics are set. Our Harry gets a place over that Brazza fella if he gets the votes.

[Shteve]

What exactly were you expecting? This has been known for a long time. The fans don't have a say in these matters and thank fuck.

For whoever is appointed on to the board or whatever this shit is to have an influence on deciding who the manager will be etc, obviously the manager will pick the team.

[Shteve]

I actually don't think it's a bad thing.  It really depends what happens with Levein but she's been good for hearts so not really that fussed.  She's a bit irritating with some of her decisions but from a business point of view we're strong and that's her job.

She doesn't care about football, she doesn't care about fans.

[Zizou]

The board will be made up of various business types. You still need a CEO which is what Budge is. I would rather a fresh start but I won't have an issue with Budge when Levein eventually goes.

[Del-icious]

She doesn't care about football, she doesn't care about fans.

As i said it really depends how she deals with this levein situation.

She probably doesn't care about the football side of things tbh, that's why she appointed a director of football and admitted openly at the start she will be leaving football matters to Levein.

Unfortunately we'll probably always need a DoF or something along those lines but i can live with that. There's no reason a DoF/head coach can't work well together we just seem to always fuck it up.

[CritchSmile]

The board will be made up of various business types and Levein. You still need a CEO which is what Budge is. I would rather a fresh start but I won't have an issue with Budge when Levein eventually goes.

[Zizou]

I like what Motherwell have done. They are partly fan owned and when they made the move they promoted a 30 odd year old guy who started in their club 10 years ago as a communications officer or something to CEO.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44131816

It has worked very well for them. The club have a brilliant relationship with the fans.

[Shteve]

The board will be made up of various business types. You still need a CEO which is what Budge is. I would rather a fresh start but I won't have an issue with Budge when Levein eventually goes.

Budge isn't getting any younger, I doubt she'll be fit to be involved at a football club by the time Levein decides to move in to that holiday home in Spain.

[Del-icious]

I like what Motherwell have done. They are partly fan owned and when they made the move they promoted a 30 odd year old guy who started in their club 10 years ago as a communications officer or something to CEO.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44131816

It has worked very well for them. The club have a brilliant relationship with the fans.

There's nothing wrong with our set up it's purely the football side we have to be concerned about. Regardless if you agree with the family oriented version of where we're going, it seems to be paying off. We're filling a higher capacity stadium well and selling a great number of STs. As far as she's concerned she'll be doing a fantastic job and i doubt she'll risk any of that to appeal to people who want to stand/have a bit of a carry on etc. It's shite, but i fully believe if we were doing the job on the park it'd be a bit of an afterthought. Nae one gave a fuck about all that when we were at the top of the league at the start of the season.

We just need a new DoF and head coach. Paulo sergio and Paul hartley

[Zizou]

There's nothing wrong with our set up it's purely the football side we have to be concerned about.  Regardless if you agree with the family oriented version of where we're going, it seems to be paying off.  We're filling a higher capacity stadium well and selling a great number of STs.  As far as she's concerned she'll be doing a fantastic job and i doubt she'll risk any of that to appeal to people who want to stand/have a bit of a carry on etc.  It's shite, but i fully believe if we were doing the job on the park it'd be a bit of an afterthought.  Nae one gave a fuck about all that when we were at the top of the league at the start of the season.

We just need a new DoF and head coach.  Paulo sergio and Paul hartley

I don't think Budge has very much to do with filling the stands. That comes from the significant amount of regulars we gained during the Mr Romanov era. It's remarkable that's kept up despite rising prices and terrible football under Budge. The FoH and that feeling of being in it together will also have an impact. Saying that, I think we are down about 1000 over the past year which is significant. It'll be more next year if things stay the same.

[Del-icious]

The romanov era would've boosted sales, but i'd say the whole administration/back from the brink/championship season is probably a lot more significant to explain todays numbers. There probably would've been a slight dip in sales this season because the new stand has been opened for a season.

Whether she is fleecing the fans for money or whatever she did an amazing job to create the atmosphere she did when it looked like we could've been down the pan and put us in a position to get up first time at asking. I get annoyed at a lot of the shit regarding how she treats the fans too but at the same time she also deserves a lot of credit for the business side of things.

[Shuto Makino]

Can think of exactly one set of people I would trust less to run Hearts than the current administration, and that set of people is Hearts fans.

[Pete Seeger]

It's leveins toy for as long as he wants it. The issue I have is that she openly doesn't have a clue about football which is fine until you realise she's just going to put her trust into Levein for as long as he wants it meaning Levein > Daly > next diddy. It's hardly an inspiring thought for the future.

[pondlife]

Hearts have plateau'd. Value for money is already an issue for many. Die-hards will persist, as usual but you'll slowly see the numbers drop away unless we see a dramatic improvement in the quality of football.

While Hearts may eventually get it right on the park (we all have our views on that altho most will admit that it's stale just now) and we may regularly fill Tynecastle, the League as a whole still needs to grow more equitably to attract bigger money. This is essential in order to keep ticket prices affordable, to keep attracting the grassroot fans. We'll never be England, and thank goodness for that so lets concentrate on getting the football right, the fans onside, and build-up a strong Fans Voice. Start petitioning the other clubs to get behind real change in Scottish Football - change the structure/administration of the game, and move forward towards a product we can all be genuinely proud of, one that is the envy of real football fans everywhere.

[Half Time Guest]

When she first came in she was ruthless and we had the initial "Budgement Day" where folk were just emptied straight away. Everyone sat up and took notice and thought she's not one to take any nonsense and she'll be quite ruthless.

Since then that has disappeared and she's obviously openly admitted she knows nothing about the football side if it. In hindsight it was probably Levein doing and making all the Budgement day decisions.

However I don't think she's as naive as some think. Although questions should rightly be asked of her, she'll be hearing the discontent in the stands. She'll have connections to those out with her inner circle. If she's listened to these folk and remembers her own words (top four is the minimum for Hearts) then I reckon she'll act.

If there is a serious risk to season ticket sales plummeting (which there is, the early sales start and the constant plugging on social media is an indicator of this) and FoH subscriptions are going down then she'll empty Levein. She is a business woman first and foremost. If something is to have a negative effect on profits then she'll do something about it.

She might not have a scooby on the football side of things but it can't be argued that off the pitch she's worked wonders in terms of generating money. Of course some of that has been mugging us off for all we're worth but with all the extra money raises and mystery benefactors, she's done well to get us in a strong position financially. Something we haven't been for about 25 years, which I suppose is one of the main reasons folk are annoyed we haven't capitalised on it and there's no reflection to that success on the park.

In years to come I hope that, despite her flaws in terms of understanding how a football club works, she's looked back on fondly. A bit like Fergus McCann with that mob. He was despised by the tims, accused of having a biscuit tin mentality and got dogs abuse. Yet he took them from the brink of financial disaster, rebuilt the ground and got them to the dominant position they are today. Without him Celtic would be nowhere.