Hearts fans are understandably angry at the situation surrounding their club. On Saturday, they staged a protest aimed at daft-as-a-brush owner, Vladimir Romanov after the 1-0 defeat to Rangers. The Jambos chairman remained at his Lithuanian base instead of making the trip to Edinburgh for their loss, probably cowering under a (very pricey) desk or something. A crowd of around 200 people gathered outside Tynecastle afterwards to protest against the running of the club, chanting, "Sack the board" and "Romanov must go".
The Gorgie boys are (understandably) furious that talisman Steven Pressley was left on the bench for a game which could prove vital in the race for second spot in the table. The Hearts fans spent most of the 90 minutes singing his name. So, when does a chairman stop acting proudly, and start listening to the people who pay the players wages?
Pressley missed their last game amid reports of a plot to oust him
as captain and a question mark still hangs over his future at Tynecastle today. This latest crisis comes just weeks after
Pressley – flanked by Paul Hartley and Craig Gordon – revealed
"significant unrest" at the Edinburgh outfit.
Romanov, desperate to appear in control of the situation dropped Pressley, which has seen results on the park beginning to suffer, and the loss against Rangers sees them drop to a disappointing fifth in the table.
"The fans were unhappy even before this game," said the Jambos sports
director Alex Kozlovski.
"You always respect the opinion of the fans because the fans are the
basis of any club. I think when Mr Romanov comes to Britain, he will answer any
questions."
It’s nothing short of staggering to see one man virtually ruin a club overnight. Of course, he has backed them financially, but the swinging doors that have seen five managers come and go in quick succession surely must make the alarm bells ring? When your arguably best players call for an end to the ‘unrest’, then you should stop and listen. Without your players, you can’t win matches, and with the fans well and truly offside, the players will not getting the backing they need to succeed. All chairmen go through spells of being hugely unpopular, but if Romanov continues, he’ll surely run the club into the ground with a mixture of unsettled players and angry fans. Look at Aston Villa’s fortunes. From being a nothing side with average managers, to a flourishing side with happy fans. Romanov will be turning his asset into something quite the opposite.
Meanwhile, whilst all this goes on, Pressley, Heart mercurial captain, will be edged closer to the door, and inevitably end up at one of Heart’s rival clubs in Glasgow. It seems that there is commercial suicide going on in Edinburgh, and for now, the poor fans have no choice but to protest, and ultimately, vote with their feet. [Mof Gimmers]