knives

Here in Scotland there is a football pundit called Chick Young. Usually he is seen as an apologist for the blue half of the old firm, however he sometimes comes out with a little gem of a quote now and again, a quote such as this one; "Heart of Midlothian aren't a football club. They are a news agency.". Judging by current events, I couldn't agree more.

Those of you who follow the trials and tribulations of the Scottish Premier League will no doubt have seen there has been a bit of a furore of late regarding Hearts FC. In a bizarre twist of fate, the team that was top of the table (until last saturday that is) suddenly found itself with out a manager. By mutual agreement apparently, although it now looks like he was pushed by Vladimir Romanov, the new owner of the club.

Now, less than two weeks later the chief executive and chairman have left in acrimonious circumstances leaving the stability, and credibility of the club on a sticky wicket. Again these are moves that were instigated or at least influenced by Mr Romanov. It's a messy situation. Romanov has done a lot for the club since he took over, make no mistake about it. He's saved the club moving from its stadium, he's putting up the money to modernise said stadium. He's also given funding to sign new players, something unheard of before in the streets of Gorgie. As is the ambition for the club that he has. Hearts will win the league, play in the Champions League, and no doubt win the World Cup as well if Vlad has his way.

As good as these ambitions are, the current instability within the club could do serious damage in the long term. Which manager would want to work under such ruthless conditions? How will it affect team morale? Is Romanov in this for something else? Only time will tell. I have the feeling, however, that this is only the beginning.