£10m is indeed a lot of money Ian. Don’t forget that other £15m from the benefactor as well. That’s a lot of money too.Quote:
Originally Posted by G B Young
Apologies if this has already been flagged up. I must have missed it if so.
'Catastrophic Hearts' would deserve relegation
by Paul Forsyth
Ian Murray, an early driving force behind the Foundation of Hearts, has described as a “total and utter disgrace” the club’s failure to have made more of the £10 million ploughed into it by supporters during the last seven years.
That was the total reached yesterday by the fans group, of which the Labour MP was chairman in 2013. Since then, it has helped the club out of administration and acquired nearly 8,000 members who will eventually assume ownership from Ann Budge, the majority shareholder.
That transition, originally scheduled for next month, was officially put on hold yesterday because of the coronavirus crisis which has plunged Hearts into trouble on and off the pitch. Not only have they asked their staff to take a 50 per cent wage cut, but the team stand on the brink of relegation from the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Amid doubts as to whether the suspended season will ever resume, Murray says that fans who have invested so much in the club deserve an explanation for the “catastrophic” failures that have left them four points adrift at the foot of the table, with serious financial difficulties.
“If Hearts get relegated, they thoroughly deserve it, by a long way,” he says. “To only win four [league] games with the kind of money that has been spent on that squad, with the kind of players we have got, is a total and utter disgrace. It’s an embarrassment.
"Of the four games they have won, two have been against Hibs and one against Rangers. That tells you there is an attitude problem. And that’s the thing that upsets the Hearts fans more than anything else, especially in the context of putting in 10 million quid.”
Budge yesterday issued a statement in which she insisted that Hearts were in no more financial trouble than any other Scottish club. While Murray is not critical of the decision to reduce salaries, he is frustrated that the club are in such an unhealthy position.
Despite the pandemic, fans are still signing up to the Foundation of Hearts and donating by direct debit. Murray believes there should be more to show for those fundraising efforts, which repaid Budge’s initial investment, part-funded the redevelopment of Tynecastle and provided the club with £4.5 million in working capital.
“Ten million quid is a lot of money,” he says. “And the club looks as if it is in financial trouble because this crisis has hit. Yes, of course, we have built a new stand, but it doubled in price. There have to be big questions asked about that. Player recruitment . . . the amount of money that has been paid on a squad for managers that have not delivered . . . and they have not delivered by a catastrophic amount for a club like Hearts with all the money that the fans are putting in. It’s £10 million on top of record revenues for the club. These are difficult questions, but they are questions that fans who are still contributing to the foundation in this crisis have a right to ask. And they deserve answers.”
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