Latest news with #VladimirRomanov
Scotsman
6 days ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Hearts transfer targets and Jamestown Analytics' role explained in detail
Transfer window has been busy at Tynecastle Park Sign up to our Hearts newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Nine new signings with potentially more to follow amounts to one of the busiest summers in Hearts' history. Even the once transfer-obsessed Vladimir Romanov would be proud of his old club's dealings. Research on new players is considerably more robust nowadays thanks to Jamestown Analytics. Their secretive workings and relationship with the Edinburgh club remain a source of much fascination. For Derek McInnes, the Hearts head coach, Jamestown's data is an advantageous tool. He was inquisitive at his job interview in May about what the London-based sports recruitment firm do and how they help the Tynecastle club. The partnership was explained in detail, and McInnes then held further talks with Tynecastle's new investor Tony Bloom this week. Jamestown is an offshoot of Bloom's gambling software company Starlizard. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad McInnes has overseen the arrival of nine new recruits since his appointment: Norwegian right-back Christian Borchgrevink, Greek winger Alexandros Kyziridis, Portuguese forward Claudio Braga, Irish midfielder Oisin McEntee, Belgian striker Elton Kabangu, Scottish centre-back Stuart Findlay, Albanian winger Sabah Kerjota, Icelandic midfielder Tomas Bent Magnusson and Burkinabe forward Pierre Landry Kabore. He provided a detailed insight into the inner workings of the Hearts-Jamestown agreement. 'When I was interviewed, it was kind of relayed to me what that looked like,' he said. 'I was quite inquisitive about the parameters and how it all works. Graeme Jones [Hearts sporting director] had given me fine detail about how they see it working. I was obviously encouraged and excited by that. 'In days gone by, for any manager in normal circumstances, you'd get offered a player and you and your staff with your recruitment team would look through maybe eight to 10 hours of footage, watching different types of games, different clips. We're no longer doing that now as a staff, so we're getting the benefit of having these players getting watched to death. 'I don't know how many minutes they look at for every player, but every game that they've played has been watched and analysed and marked and judged and all the rest of it. So, when we then say we're looking for this type of profile, they'll spit out maybe four or five options for us to look at. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Now I must say, we've not signed everybody that's been proposed to us, there's been a few that we've moved away from quite quickly. That's not to say they weren't good players, because they're clearly all good players that Jamestown are offering. A lot of these players come from leagues that you probably wouldn't have been looking in, like Kerjota for instance, and even Magnussen. Hearts transfers and positions in mind 'These are guys that Jamestown have the benefit and the confidence that they're sourcing them before they get their [big] move - if you know what I mean - and they're identifying good players. I think it's clear that every player that they've proposed is a good footballer. It's up to us to try and make those footballers better. Every signing as a manager, it's up to us to try and validate that confidence. when you bring a player in. That's always the way for a manager, when you sign a player you always want to make them work. 'Not every signing is going to work for different reasons. But I do think we all take confidence from the fact that a lot of the work that normally us managers and staff have to go through has all been done, and you're just getting at that end point. Sometimes you see it right away. You watch a player and you watch the clip and you go: 'What a good player he is.' 'We all think the same thing. We could all be sitting in a room as a staff, we just watch the game, we watch the clips, we don't speak while we're watching it. Then it's: 'What a good player he is.' You just get a good feeling about it, and the fact that other people have done their work before they propose them to you, it gives you an added security. An endorsement, I suppose. Normally, it's just my decision or the staff's decision. We feel as though we've got the right people getting us to that point.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Despite the extensive business done so far, Hearts may yet target more new recruits. Adam Forrester's proposed loan move to St Johnstone would leave the right-back department short on cover. Craig Gordon's persistent shoulder injury may also necessitate a move for another goalkeeper, so Jamestown will likely be called upon again before the summer transfer window closes on 1 September. The ability to free up time would appeal to any top-flight football manager in what is a 24/7 job. McInnes is no different. Jamestown remove a fair portion of the laborious process when researching a potential signing target. Consequently, the Hearts head coach should have plenty extra time for other duties at Riccarton. 'I should have, but it doesn't feel like it,' he laughed. 'We're still looking at players all the time, we're still getting stuff proposed to us. There are a few that we've moved on from pretty quickly. There is still loads to do for any manager, particularly during pre-season and particularly in the [transfer] window. Maybe once the window closes we'll get a wee bit more time to do what we want to do, rather than poring over players.' READ MORE: Transfer progress at Tynecastle as defender nears a move
The Herald Scotland
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Despite stick, Ann Budge's legacy is as saviour of Hearts
Perhaps the most telling clue as to what the answer to that question may be has come in the overwhelming outpouring of thanks that has been expressed since the news of her retirement broke on Monday. For whatever opinions and dissenting voices there may be around the way that Budge ran the club, particularly over these past few years, the fact remains that without the intervention of the lifelong Hearts supporter, there was a very real possibility that there wouldn't be a club in Gorgie at all. It is sometimes easy to forget just how stark the situation was at Hearts before Budge (and of course, the wider fanbase and the Foundation of Hearts) rode to the rescue. The disastrous end to the chaotic Vladimir Romanov regime had left one of the game's great institutions on the brink. A creditor's meeting of his doomed Lithuanian bank Ukio Bankas had the potential to push them over the edge, despite the heroic efforts of The Foundation of Hearts and Budge's offer of £2.5m for the shareholding to parent company UBIG. Scottish football's very own celebrity administrator Bryan Jackson spelled out the peril Hearts were in in no uncertain terms, calling it the worst situation he had ever encountered. (Image: Ross Parker - SNS Group) 'We have to accept now that there is a threat of liquidation, and we are doing absolutely everything we can to avoid it,' Jackson said at the time. 'We need to look at 'can we fulfil fixtures until the end of the season?' Read more: 'To do that I would obviously be looking for help from the footballing authorities for any outstanding monies which may be due to the club. Unfortunately, I would also have to go back to the fans and the Foundation of Hearts and make the usual appeal. I know supporters have been stung time and again, but I don't think there will be anywhere else for me to go. 'We can just about make it to the end of the month. And if it is negative news next week we would have to operate very, very quickly – because money would be running out at some pace. 'I can't employ people beyond the end of the month if I can't pay them.' The only other people circling the club at that moment seemed to be doing so with vulturous intent. Former Livingston owner Angelo Massone, who took the Lions into administration previously, was among them. As too was retired shoe salesman Bob Jamieson, who was branded by a Foundation of Hearts spokesperson as 'a Walter Mitty character' who was indulging in an 'unfunded and fanciful rival bid' for the club. His plan included a proposal to move Hearts to a new stadium next to Murrayfield. Mercifully, the Foundation and Budge were named as the preferred bidders after administrators BDO decided that the alternatives could not provide proof of funding, and the rest is history. Has Budge got everything right? Absolutely not. While there are undoubtedly grumbles from certain, less enlightened sections of the Hearts support over a 'wummin' running their club, a lot of the criticism that she has attracted is not without merit. On the football side, there have been highs and lows, but it is hard to shake the notion that Hearts have underachieved over the past decade or so. (Image: SNS Group) A tendency to appoint people she is familiar with over the people who may be best suited for a particular role has drawn particular ire. Her close relationship with Craig Levein seemed to blind Budge to his own missteps, such as the appointment of Ian Cathro when he was serving as director of football, then inspired misplaced loyalty and far too much patience when he was also appointed as manager. See also the decision to later appoint Steven Naismith. Off the park, the building of the new Main Stand at Tynecastle can on the one hand be seen as one of the crowning achievements of her reign. But on the other, the involvement of JB Contractors in its construction, a firm with familial links to Budge and who Hearts have handed over £9.1m to since 2016, raised eyebrows. Indeed, the bungled delivery of the project, including Budge (initially) throwing herself on a grenade for chief operating officer Scot Gardiner after he seemingly 'forgot' to order the seats, became the stuff of infamy, and sparked pithy jokes this week over the issues Hearts may have now they are looking for a new chair. In time, though, these issues will likely fade from memory. What will never be forgotten is that in Hearts' direst moment, Budge stepped up and saved the club. Without her, there seems little prospect that Hearts would have come from such that perilous position, a veritable financial basket case, to where they find themselves now – the biggest fan-owned club in the UK, stable, and with much to look forward to. With the involvement of Tony Bloom, it feels like a natural time to have that break with the past and place the focus firmly on the future. But it is only because of Budge that Hearts have a future at all, and that will always be appreciated by every Jambo. She may never be revered in the same way as playing legends like John Robertson, Dave Mackay, Gary Mackay or Alex Young, for example, but it could be argued that Budge was an even more important figure in the history of the club than any of those greats. The naming of a stand after Budge may be a fitting way to mark her contribution. Even if, perhaps, someone else should order the new signage.
Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
As the Queen of Hearts announces she is to step down, how should Ann Budge's Tynecastle reign be remembered?
With over a decade of service as the maroon-clad matriarch at Tynecastle, Ann Budge is to leave her position as the chairperson of Hearts later this year. It has been announced that Budge, who saved the club from financial ruin back in 2014, will step down in December. As the Queen of Hearts prepares to vacate the throne, the club have already embarked on the search for a successor. But the departure of Budge, 77, will bring an end to one of the most eventful — and, at times, divisive — stewardships of any club in Scottish football. What should her legacy be? How should she be remembered? Did she perhaps stay a bit too long? Having made her fortune in computers, should she not have logged off from Hearts before now? All valid questions. To assess the impact made by Budge, it is important to recognise what the state of play was when she first became involved with the club in 2013. After years of chaos and financial mismanagement under Vladimir Romanov, Hearts were staring into the abyss. Working alongside the Foundation of Hearts, Budge invested £2.5million of her own money to buy the club in 2014 and take it out of administration. Had it not been for that intervention, Hearts could well have gone bust. In the club's darkest hour, Budge became a guiding light. She promised that she would eventually hand the club back to the supporters, with the model of fan-ownership forming a key part of her long-term vision. She duly delivered on that promise in 2021, with Hearts becoming the largest fan-owned club in Britain. The club was debt-free and had just built a terrific new main stand at Tynecastle a few years earlier. Hearts also became a force for good off the field, becoming the first club in Scotland to introduce a living wage for all staff. They also became the first club in the country to have charity sponsors, with Save the Children and MND Scotland both featuring on the front of their jersey. All of these things happened on Budge's watch. But, on the football side of the business, there were also a lot of mistakes and missteps. Throughout Budge's 11 years at the helm, Hearts appointed eight full-time managers. Plainly, there were more misses than hits. The likes of Ian Cathro, Daniel Stendel and Neil Critchley, whilst ambitious in their thinking, proved disastrous appointments. Budge's loyalty to Craig Levein also extended too far, with Levein's over-arching influence angering supporters towards the end of his time in charge. Robbie Neilson made a decent fist of things across his two spells, while Steven Naismith also took the club into Europe after a third-place finish. But the high turnover of managers throughout Budge's time at the club speaks of an owner and chairperson whose expertise was not on the football side of things. There were also times when she sounded aloof and out of touch. Instance the sacking of Critchley towards the end of last season. When Budge was doorstepped by a reporter as she headed in to a club awards function, she laughed and brushed it off as 'yesterday's news'. Whilst she was under no obligation to answer questions, it wasn't a great look, especially given the club had endured a torrid season. Budge also railed against the establishment and fought a legal case against the SPFL following Hearts' relegation in 2020. Whilst the case was dismissed, many were sympathetic to her cause given the circumstances around the pandemic and how Hearts had been demoted. Many felt that the successful transfer of ownership to the fans back in 2021 would have been the ideal moment for her to walk away. But she chose to stay for another four years, with Hearts now looking forward to a bold new chapter with Tony Bloom's investment in the club. Reflecting on her decision to step aside, Budge said in a statement today: 'This is something I have thought long and hard about. 'Having discussed this with the board, I feel now is the right time to confirm that I intend to step down later this year. 'When I first got involved with the Foundation of Hearts in 2013, I could not have envisaged the journey it would take me on. 'Initially, the aim was to stabilise the club before even thinking of growth. Now, 12 years later, as I look at where the club stands, I can allow myself to feel a sense of pride at what we have achieved. 'With Tony Bloom's investment now complete, and the supporters ensconced as custodians of the club, I believe I have done what I set out to achieve. 'The appropriate time for reminiscing and saying goodbye will come after the AGM in December but until then, my full focus will remain on what it has always been, and that is doing my very best for Hearts and our fans.' Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay added: 'It cannot be overstated just how much Ann has done for Heart of Midlothian and on behalf of everyone at the club, I extend both my thanks and my gratitude. 'As we get closer to December's AGM we will update our supporters on our succession plans, but for now we will continue to enjoy and benefit from working with Ann until the end of her tenure as the club's chair.' Given how Budge led Hearts from the darkness and gave them a pathway to a brighter future, it is no stretch to say she is one of the most important figures in the club's history. She forked out £2.5m of her own money and helped save the club from oblivion. That's quite a legacy to leave behind. Did she stay too long? Yeah, probably. Her popularity among fans has definitely waned in recent years, but maybe that's just part and parcel of being an owner or chairperson. You are never going to please everyone. For all that she appointed a few dud managers, Hearts fans shouldn't forget all the good that Ann Budge did. Quite simply, she saved their club. She leaves the club in a considerably stronger position than she found it. Ultimately, that's all that can be asked of any owner.
BBC News
30-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
'Budge brought financial stability to Hearts'
Eleven years since taking over the reigns at Tynecastle, it has been announced that Ann Budge will step down as Hearts chair in 77-year-old Edinburgh-born entrepreneur was successful in buying the majority shareholding from administrators in 2014 after Hearts suffered huge debts left behind by former owner Vladimir with The Foundation of Hearts, Budge brought financial stability to the although relegation came in season 2019-20, when the campaign was cut short due to the Covid pandemic, fans continued to back Hearts at the pitch, Hearts now boast a hotel within the grounds of the stadium, with Budge being a major influence in attracting wealthy philanthropists to invest in the recently, she played a pivotal role in securing the near £10m investment in Hearts from Brighton owner Tony Bloom, who in return received a 29% shareholding in the Tynecastle of Hearts chairman Gerry Mallon says Budge will forever be remembered for her role, along with the fans group, in "saving the club from the abyss".Hearts fans, how do you feel about this news? And how will you remember Budge's time at the club? Send us your thoughts.
The Herald Scotland
30-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Ann Budge to step down as Hearts statement released
She has continued to act as chair and played a vital role in building the club back up. This has included the building of a new main stand as well as the Tynecastle Park Hotel. The Tynecastle side has also been back on the European scene after being on the brink of going out of business following the Vladimir Romanov days. After 11 years of involvement, Budge has now announced she will be stepping aside in December. Hearts have already started the search for a new chair. She told the club's website: 'This is something I have thought long and hard about. Having discussed this with the Board, I feel now is the right time to confirm that I intend to step down later this year. Read more: Lee Erwin completes surprise move to Jordan after stint in North Macedonia Celtic 'reach agreement' for J-League defender as announcement timeline revealed 'When I first got involved with the Foundation of Hearts in 2013, I could not have envisaged the journey it would take me on. Initially, the aim was to stabilize the Club before even thinking of growth. Now, 12-years later, as I look at where the club stands, I can allow myself to feel a sense of pride at what we have achieved. 'With Tony Bloom's investment now complete, and the supporters ensconced as custodians of the club, I believe I have done what I set out to achieve. 'The appropriate time for reminiscing and saying goodbye will come after the AGM in December but until then, my full focus will remain on what it has always been, and that is doing my very best for Hearts and our fans.' Chief Executive Andrew McKinlay said: 'It cannot be overstated just how much Ann has done for Heart of Midlothian and on behalf of everyone at the club, I extend both my thanks and my gratitude. 'As we get closer to December's AGM we will update our supporters on our succession plans, but for now we will continue to enjoy and benefit from working with Ann until the end of her tenure as the club's Chair.' Foundation of Hearts Chairman Gerry Mallon added: 'Ann will leave a remarkable legacy when she departs the club and we are extremely fortunate to have had 12 years of her knowledge and experience at the helm of Hearts. 'In particular, her participation during the birth of the Foundation of Hearts can never be downplayed, neither can the instrumental role she played in saving the club from the abyss and taking it back up to the top end of Scottish football. 'For that, I will be forever grateful to Ann, as I'm sure Hearts fans everywhere will be too.'
