Romanov loses credibility as questions go unanswered

Yesterday, as he addressed Hearts' 102nd annual general meeting at Tynecastle, he showed no such ability.

Instead, the club's chairman appeared confrontational from the start, and offered a paranoid vision of Scottish football in which the SPL is "fixed" in favour of the Old Firm and matches "screwed" by referees.

Romanov, the son of Hearts' majority shareholder Vladimir Romanov, also contradicted a club policy which has been in place since New Year's Day, when he said the next manager would not have control of first-team selection.

He also contradicted himself over the hour-long course of the meeting, attended by around 400 people in the Gorgie Suite. At first he suggested that Stephen Frail, the caretaker manager, be given a chance to do the job on a permanent basis. Then later, perhaps recalling that the January statement from the club said Frail would only be an assistant to the next manager, he said that "hopefully" Hearts would find someone with more experience and maturity.

What made the performance worse was the fact that Romanov can no longer boast a mastery of his brief. He did not know, for example, whether Roman Bednar, the striker who is currently on loan to West Brom, is registered as a Hearts player or a Kaunas player.

A section of the audience remained supportive, but compared to last year there were far more who were unwilling to be fobbed off by his patronising and populist comments.

Flanked at the top table by his fellow-director Sergejus Fedotovas and Hearts' managing director Campbell Ogilvie, Romanov set the tone for the meeting with his answer to the first question, about the club's search for a new manager.

"First of all the reality is that it's very difficult to find a manager. Most managers are already out of a job or are opportunists, ready to jump from the clubs they are working with and seeking profit.

"If you find me a manager who won't do that then fine, but give a chance to our guy, Stephen Frail, who is already at the club. I know that votes are split, but let's be fair to him.

"We will not have a manager who says to players not to sign a new contract at our club because he tells the player he is moving and will take him with him.

"You can bring Milan with all their squad and Carlo Ancelotti here and the players won't play for him in the country. You can make an idiot out of the coach." Those remarks about Milan appeared to be suggesting that even the best players and coaches could be undermined by the supposedly corrupt system in Scottish football, and Romanov went on to expand on that theme.

"For a very long time in this country it is a fixed league where Rangers and Celtic win by 30 points. Ask yourself how many games this year have got screwed by referees? Five games is 15 points."

The latter remark was one of many he made which were not readily understood, but may have been a suggestion that officials only had to influence a few matches to determine the outcome of the league. When one shareholder suggested Romanov was indulging in paranoia, the chairman implied that he too was part of the problem: "We are here to ask you to go give speeches to Glasgow," he said.

Someone in the crowd then shouted at Romanov: "You've made a **** of yourself", and for a time the meeting looked like descending into chaos. None of the Hearts employees present appeared at ease with what they were hearing from the chairman, while others were clearly cringing.

Romanov did not regain any credibility when he discussed the planned new stand at Tynecastle. He suggested that if supporters were so concerned about the club's debt a decision might be taken to build a cheaper, less ambitious stand – apparently failing to realise that would mean starting the process of applying for planning permission all over again.

"Finally we're having real progress," he said. "Now we're just deciding which stand we want.

"If the fans don't want a big complex we'll put three or four options to them. Of course the final decision will be ours. If the public are concerned about debt we might go for a cheaper option."

Ogilivie then confirmed that the plan as it stands is to start building at the end of next season. January 2011 has been pencilled in as the completion date, though he accepted that work might go on for a few months longer.

Turning to on-field matters, Romanov suggested Hearts could be better off with a team of young, relatively unknown players. "I think with the current situation it's easier to play and get results with younger players than to bring in costly players who get demotivated. When they get treatment from referees they think 'Why should I play?'

"Of course we're planning to reduce the debt. We're planning to cut the squad. There are five or six players with big salaries that don't contribute enough.

"We're going to have to consider which players to sell and which to buy. That's the only way to reduce debt.

"We are foreigners here and without local support we cannot do it. I ask you to fight this system in this country that doesn't allow smaller clubs to grow. If a club starts to grow they use all the mechanisms to get it down. Vladimir wouldn't waste money in this club if he doesn't believe things can be changed here."

Asked if his father would allow the manager to select the team himself, Romanov indulged himself in a spot of black humour. "You think Vladimir wants to pick the team? He doesn't. He has to sometimes.

"There's a question here: what happens if Vladimir dies? I'll give the answer: he won't pick the team. I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

"Hopefully we will find a manager who is more experienced and mature. We're looking for him, but it's not an easy decision.

"We've got to make sure the manager doesn't suddenly take players away from the club. Suddenly they go behind the scenes and of course he's willing to go to Glasgow, big team, 60,000 people.

"We have identified a list of targets. We are not sure if we are going to go for the
m. We'll make the decision as soon as possible."

The formal business of the meeting, held before questions began, took only six minutes. With Romanov mumbling his way quickly through resolutions, many members of the audience appeared unsure what they were being asked to vote for.

That uncertainty was reflected in the voting figures. The resolution to adopt the accounts received a mere eight votes for and none against, Fedotovas was reappointed by 70 votes to one, and the auditors were reappointed unopposed, with around 80 people – only 20 per cent of the attendance – raising their hands in favour.

The two special resolutions were also voted on without discussion. The directors had their authority to renew securities approved 20-0, and to renew equities voted through 10-0.

Given Vladimir Romanov's overwhelming shareholding, these votes were only a technicality in any case.


Taken from the Scotsman