We won't walk out on Hearts, say Romanovs

Ewan Murray
Wednesday November 2, 2005
The Guardian

Hearts' new chairman Roman Romanov, the 30-year-old son of the controversial majority shareholder Vladimir, reiterated his father's commitment to the club's long-term future, after the dramatic departures of the chief executive Phil Anderton and chairman George Foulkes on Monday afternoon.

The youngest chairman in the SPL said his family's interest in Hearts has topped £26m - a reassurance for supporters who fear Tynecastle will be sold in an act of asset-stripping. "Our plans are clearly stated," he said. "We want to redevelop Tynecastle Stadium, fill Tynecastle Stadium and therefore bring in the finances which will attract better players to the club. We felt things weren't working and that to push the club further we needed someone with a proven business and financial background.

"Phil Anderton was the best man for the job when we hired him but now we feel we need someone with a strong financial and business background. He had ticks in many boxes but not all of them, although we won't criticise a former club employee in public."

Anderton was sacked and will be replaced by Romanov Jr on a temporary basis, but the Lithuanian's new role as chairman seems destined to be more prolonged after Foulkes resigned in protest during a board meeting. The club is also without a manager, after the sacking of George Burley less than a fortnight ago. Foulkes spent yesterday morning launching stinging attacks on the club's majority shareholder and board members, four of whom are Lithuanian. The Labour peer was furious at being "bounced" into removing Burley, and it has also emerged that Vladimir Romanov visited Foulkes's house in Ayr on Sunday to try to cajole him to sack Anderton.

It is understood Foulkes has deep reservations about Romanov's financial commitment to Hearts, with the revelation yesterday that the club's debts are fast approaching £21m. Though Romanov has spent slightly more than £6m in procuring shares in the company and winding down the debt owed to the Scottish Media Group, none of that money has gone directly to the football club. The vast majority of the club's remaining debt is owed to Ukio Bank, a company in which Romanov is also a significant shareholder.

Roman Romanov was educated to degree standard in the United States and runs a number of businesses on behalf of his father in the former Yugoslavia. He continued: "He [Vladimir] has never earned a buck from football. His goal is to make football a business where you neither make nor lose money."

Anderton, who told friends on Saturday evening that his days at Tynecastle were numbered, had a heated exchange with Romanov in the immediate aftermath of the weekend's SPL defeat to Hibernian. Foulkes, because he refused to accept Anderton's sacking, was offered a demotion to simply a seat on the board but opted to resign altogether. Like Burley, then, it appears Anderton was relieved of his duties for disagreeing with the Lithuanians' way of working.

Meanwhile, Hearts' hunt for Burley's replacement goes on, with Vladimir Romanov in London talking to potential candidates. The club have denied that the Lithuanian banker wants to pick the team each week, but the recent drastic turn of events is unlikely to encourage any British coach to seek employment at Tynecastle.

The new chairman added: "Vladimir wants a man who will explain what he is doing, which in turn will give Vladimir a clear vision of what the manager is doing." The caretaker manager John McGlynn will continue in charge for Saturday's visit of Dundee United.

Taken from the Guardian/Observer