All Four Fans’ Groups Meet with Roman Romanov

This is a brief summary of the meeting held between the four fans’ groups and the senior management at Hearts.

On Tuesday evening, the four fans’ groups, Heart of Midlothian Supporters Trust, The Federation of Hearts Supporters Clubs, The Heart of Midlothian Shareholders Association and The Fans’ Forum, met with Roman Romanov and the senior management team at Hearts. The meeting, called by the club, was to provide an explanation for the recent departures of George Burley, Phil Anderton and George Foulkes, as well as clarifying the intentions which Vladimir Romanov and his associates have for Hearts.

This is only a summary, and a complete set of minutes will be made available on Jambos Kickback within the next day or so.

George Burley

· The club wished to make categorically clear that George Burley was not sacked, and that he left Hearts with mutual consent
· However, they indicated that it was their opinion that since the game against Falkirk, they had noticed that the performance of the team had been in decline
· They suggested that there were certain circumstances involved which meant that George Burley was no longer able to get the most from the squad

Phil Anderton

· They informed the groups that Phil Anderton was no longer able to serve the club due to shortcomings identified in his abilities pertaining to business; financial and administrative management
· It was felt that Phil had been focussing too much on the short-term nature of the business, and it was disappointing that certain longer-term objectives had not been satisfactorily progressed since he had started
· They clarified that Phil Anderton tendered his resignation, in writing, to George Foulkes on Saturday 29th October 2005.

George Foulkes

· The club stressed that they asked George Foulkes to remain at Hearts, and that it had been his decision to resign
· They expressed their gratitude to George for his leadership and hard work at the club, and wished him all the best for the future

Immediate Priorities for Hearts

1. To appoint a first class manager without delay – it was stressed that none of the candidates who were being considered after George Burley left had changed their sentiments on wanting to work at Hearts
2. To appoint a new Chief Executive Officer – Roman Romanov is fulfilling this role on a temporary basis until a new CEO is in place
3. To bring new players to Hearts in January – they feel that the current squad are looking tired, and they wish to bolster the team with new talent

Longer-term Priorities for Hearts

1. The redevelopment of Tynecastle to accommodate 25-27,000 fans – within the next two months, the board will be submitting two planning applications to the City of Edinburgh Council for consideration:

a. Plan A is looking to redevelop the Main Stand only
b. Plan B is looking to redevelop the whole stadium

At this stage, it is believed that both these plans are viable options for the club, and there is no preferred option currently.

2. To introduce an improved management structure for the operational side of the club, with clear reporting procedures for staff responsibilities

3. To ensure that the club starts to make a financial profit, and to improve the balance sheet

The Fans

The senior management team stated that the past ten days had been a “PR disaster” and indicated that they needed to act quickly to inform the fans of the way forward for the club. As part of this commitment, they proposed to organise an open forum” where fans would get the opportunity to ask questions of the current management team, and it is hoped that this can be organised within the coming weeks.

Roman Romanov told the groups that the main thing which had attracted his father to Hearts in the first place had been the supporters of the club, and he re-emphasised that they are not at Tynecastle for the short-term. He said that they are committed to the long-term ambitions of the club as listed above.

A joint statement (see announcement) on behalf of all four supporters’ groups was issued to the Scotsman and the Edinburgh Evening News on Tuesday evening, and it was further agreed that this summary would be posted on Jambos Kickback at lunctime on Wednesday.

The full minutes from the meeting will be available on Jambos Kickback shortly.

Present at the meeting were:

Roman Romanov - Chairman & Temporary CEO
David Southern - Communications Director
Charlie Mann
Ian Young - Brodies (Ubig’s legal representative in the UK)

Martin Laidlaw HoMST
Derek Watson HoMST
John Borthwick Federation
Stevie Kilgour Federation
Ray French Shareholders Assoc
Bill Alves Shareholders Assoc
Barbara Young Fans Forum
Kevin Wright Fans Forum

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