Football finance expert Kieran Maguire rates Tony Bloom's chances of breaking Celtic and Rangers duopoly at Hearts
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FOOTBALL finance expert Kieran Maguire reckons Tony Bloom is motivated by shaking up Scottish football — rather than making money at Hearts.
The Brighton owner is planning a £10million investment in the Jambos for a 29 per cent stake of non-voting shares.
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Football finance expert Kieran Maguire
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Brighton owner Tony Bloom
Credit: PA
Seagulls fan Maguire, who presents the Price of Football podcast, said: 'Tony Bloom doesn't need to make money out of football now. He's independently successful, and he likes the idea of taking on the establishment.
'You can't get more establishment than Celtic and Rangers. He likes the idea of maybe replicating what he achieved at Brighton, so Hearts can punch above their weight.
'It doesn't mean that they are going to win the Premiership. But maybe finishing second, perhaps getting some cup success, getting into Europe on a more regular basis and so on. I feel that would be his vision.
'Bloom's not necessarily interested in flipping the club and selling off at a bigger price at a later point in time.
'He gets the chance to become involved with a club in a big city, and one which potentially can also get into Europe on a regular basis.
'What we've learned at Brighton is to trust in Tony. Because without him we'd still be in League One.'
Hearts believe their link-up with Bloom's analytics company, and his proposed investment is game-changing.
Maguire (below) reckons the Seagulls chief is a genius, and added: 'I've only ever met him once and I teach at university, so I'm used to dealing with super smart professors in their own field.
'Tony Bloom's the smartest guy I've ever met in my life.
'I was at a match and ended up in the boardroom with him. He started talking about things which he's observed at the match, which hadn't even entered my head.
Hearts look toothless and manager Neil Critchley is under serious pressure, says Kris Boyd
'Then he was saying, this is what we plan to do in terms of short term — a very smart guy.
'Hearts get the benefit of all his knowledge, effectively Jamestown's knowledge, or whatever vehicle he uses to provide data, and he gets the benefit of seeing whether the Brighton model can be replicated.
'He's testing himself as much as anything else.'
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