The night the laughing ended

THE latest Hearts crisis was ignited at 1pm yesterday afternoon. The bloodletting that saw George Foulkes, chairman, and Phil Anderton, chief executive, leave the club occurred at a board meeting when Vladimir Romanov, the club owner, announced he wanted rid of Anderton.

Foulkes, up until that moment Romanov's biggest supporter, was against the move to such an extent that he resigned on the spot on a point of principle.

Roman Romanov, the son of Vladimir, was then announced as the new chairman and temporary chief executive "pending a further appointment".

Speaking on Sky Sport News last night, Foulkes also claimed he had been "hijacked and cajoled" into sacking George Burley as club manager.

The departures were followed by claims from Romanov that he had run out of patience with the pace of change at Tynecastle and wanted new men in charge.

There was also a suggestion that Romanov was upset with Anderton's handling of a meeting with Claudio Ranieri. One source said the Italian's expectations of a seven-figure salary to replace Burley were swiftly deflated by Romanov.

However, Romanov said last night: "They've had over one year and not been able to do the things I've wanted to do for Hearts. They've had the funds and all my energy but I've not had the response I've wanted."

The changes strengthen his hold on Hearts and follow the peremptory sacking of Burley. Romanov is in the process of becoming sole owner of the club.

His right-hand man, Sergejus Fedotovas, is on the board and his niece, Julija Goncaruk, is a non-executive director.

Another Lithuanian, Liutauras Varanavicius, completes a strong presence in support of Romanov. His appointment of his son in place of Foulkes, who has done so much for Hearts since he took over as chairman on April 6, 2004, will be met with widespread anger by the supporters.

Foulkes never asked for a penny in his role as chairman and did the job for the love of the club.

Roman, Vladimir's only child, received a bachelor's degree from Marietta College in the USA and has also completed a master's degree at the Moscow University.

He has attended matches but has been a rather unknown figure up until now. Aged 29,

he is very much a novice and has never been involved with a football club before at this level.

Until now, Hearts' supporters have been completely behind the Romanov revolution. He took over when the club was £19.8m in debt and about to sell Tynecastle. His Lithuanian-based bank, Ukio Bankas, took over the debt and he released money to bring in top-class players such as Takis Fyssas, the former Greek European Championship-winning full back.

Romanov's appointment of Burley as manager proved to be a master stroke. The mix of seasoned professionals and a talented coach took the club to the top of the league, where they sit level behind Celtic only on goal difference. However, a row with Romanov saw Burley leave after just more than four months in charge.

Suggestions that Sir Bobby Robson was set to take over placated the supporters but events yesterday at Tynecastle have plunged the club back into a fresh crisis. It also lengthens the odds of Robson taking over at a club seen to be in almost perpetual crisis.

There are now serious political issues to be addressed at Tynecastle. Romanov is very much an absentee landlord at Tynecastle and although he has a board in place it is packed with his acolytes. The real power base remains with the multi-millionaire at his bank headquarters in Kaunas, Lithuania. Public accountability has also become a concern.

Anderton's lawyers will today discuss a compensation package while many supporters will be hoping that Foulkes reconsiders his decision, if only to keep Romanov's absolute power in check. It is for that reason that Foulkes' resignation, rather than Anderton's apparent dismissal, will have a bigger effect on the club. The former Ayrshire MP has always been Romanov's main supporter and if Foulkes has lost faith in the Lithuanian, it must have been with good reason.

At a meeting with The Herald in the House of Lords only two weeks ago, Foulkes said he had "absolute faith" in Romanov to deliver what he had promised for Hearts.

The removal of Foulkes and the installation of Roman Romanov sends out the wrong signals to supporters as Foulkes, was a valuable conduit between fans and owner.

Inquiries by The Herald last night among Hearts staff threw up a few theories as to the reasons behind the sacking.

They have been as stunned by the decision as Anderton seemed to be.

One Tynecastle insider said of Romanov last night: "We know he saved the club and without him Tynecastle would be bulldozed. He was, and remains, our only option to safeguard the club but at what price?

"George Foulkes did as much as Romanov for this club and was a real supporter and fans trusted him completely. Without him, who knows what will happen now."

John Borthwick, secretary of the Federation of Hearts Supporters' Clubs, said: "I'm stunned and I think the fans need answers as to Mr Romanov's plans."

No doubt Romanov will now issue a statement renewing his commitment to Hearts. However, the football community is small and players and prospective managers will be looking on aghast at the bloodletting.

When Burley was in charge Hearts were a happy ship and looked set to keep their top players, such as Paul Hartley, Andy Webster, Steven Pressley and Craig Gordon. Their commitment to Hearts must be a major doubt and rival clubs will be circling round Tynecastle in an effort to prise them away.

That may be speculation, but there is one certainty. To have a young, inexperienced Lithuanian business graduate at the helm of the club is not the correct first step towards salvaging the situation at Tynecastle.

Anderton was unavailable for comment last night.

Fedotovas referred all calls to Charlie Mann, the personal public relations executive for Romanov, who declined to discuss the matter further, referring The Herald to the terse statement issued by the club to the stock exchange.

The hearts Board - Who's Who

Roman Romanov
Chairman and temporary chief executive
Vladimir's only child, joined the board in February. Aged 29, studied economics at Moscow University

Sergejus Fedotovas
Director
Also 29, he is a close associate of Vladimir Romanov

Liutauras Varanavicius
Director
Experience of wheeling and dealing in eastern European market where players can be brought in on the cheap

Stewart Fraser
Finance director
Part of the old regime, joining the company in 1998

Julija Goncaruk
A Lithuanian non-executive director with responsibility for marketing. She joined the board in July.

Taken from the Herald