Hearts may yet fan the flames of fan ownership

SO much time, money and effort has gone into simply ensuring Hearts stay afloat during this period of extreme turbulence that the question of what the long-term future might hold has been almost overlooked.

There are now just three days until the deadline for interested parties to make an offer for the stricken Tynecastle club and the prospect of a supporters-led group getting the nod as preferred bidder from the administrators grows ever likely.

Foundation of Hearts was set up three years ago by local businessmen and women with the long-term vision of delivering fan ownership but took a significant step forward earlier this year when they came together with the club's various supporters groups to form a united front. With the assistance of Supporters Direct Scotland, and backed by a number of shrewd, media-savvy operators behind the scenes, the Foundation has quickly developed as a body, gaining credibility and converts in equal measure.

Taking Hearts out of administration via a Company Voluntary Agreement will not be a straightforward process, given the complexities of their ownership model, but those with an ear to the ground in Lithuania – home of Hearts' parent company UBIG, as well as Ukio Bankas, who hold the floating charge over the club's assets, including Tynecastle – remain confident that the various relevant directors, officials, and administrators in the Baltic country will do nothing that will unduly upset events back in Gorgie. It will likely be a drawn-out affair, but the idea that Hearts could emerge from this rubble as a club owned and run by their fans remains alive.

Fan ownership of football clubs is commonplace in many European countries, the likes of Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid all controlled by their fans to relative degrees. In Britain, however, the concept is yet to infiltrate the highest echelons of the game. The recent takeover at Portsmouth makes them the largest fan-owned club in England, bringing to an end 14 months of uncertainty after numerous other failed takeover bids. As a "big club" historically, their progress as a fan-owned entity will be closely monitored.

Should the Foundation's bid ultimately prove successful, then Hearts could also find themselves in the role of unwitting pioneers. A sprinkling of Scottish clubs are run as provident and industrial societies (or similar) by their supporters but none playing in the top division are of the standing of Hearts when it comes to fanbase, stadium, pedigree or potential. Should a club like Hearts be able to make a success of it, then it could well have the knock-on effect of giving other supporters' groups the confidence to proceed with their own takeover attempts.

Hearts have been in peril for some time now but it has taken their descent into administration for supporters to rally in greater numbers to the cause. Dunfermline Athletic, similarly, have turned to their fans to extricate them from the mess left by owner Gavin Masterton, with The Pars United having being awarded preferred bidder status by administrators. Dundee and Stirling Albion are other examples of clubs who turned to their fans in times of difficulty, although the in-fighting at Dens relating to possible external investment and Stirling's plunge from the first to third divisions also serve as a warning that simply having supporters in charge doesn't guarantee everything will run smoothly.

Attempts to bring about community ownership at clubs not in difficulty have proved difficult. A move to deliver St Mirren into the hands of their supporters last year saw more than 1000 fans sign up to pay upwards of £10 a month – as Hearts fans are offering to do now via a similar model – to bankroll the running of the club only for the bid to fall short. Many St Mirren fans saw a club well run by local, well-intentioned directors, a new stadium and training ground, and no debt in the bank and saw little need to rush into change.

Motherwell have run into a similar problem. The Well Society have raised sufficient money to get two of their directors elected on to the Fir Park board but it will take a further £1m for them to earn complete control. With the team having finished third and then second in the league in the past two seasons, it is perhaps not a surprise that there is little appetite for revolution down Motherwell way.

Hearts, of course, don't have the luxury of simply doing nothing. A rival bid may yet emerge before Friday's deadline but, for the time being, it looks as if the Foundation find themselves in pole position. For years, the key positions behind the scenes have been held primarily by Lithuanians and Russians with no real connection to the club. Soon it may be supporters filling those roles. It may not only be Hearts fans who find that idea attractive.

Taken from the Herald