IT is not at all uncommon for those who ascend to positions of power at Tynecastle to dream of Hearts finishing in front of Celtic or Rangers in the Premiership and challenging the Glasgow behemoths for the League Cup and Scottish Cup on a regular basis despite their smaller support and lesser resources.
Chairperson Ann Budge expressed hope the gap between her home town heroes and the two biggest clubs in the country could be reduced if a smart strategy was put in place and some shrewd signings made after Bidco 1874 had assumed control in 2014 and the calamitous reign of Vladimir Romanov finally brought to end.
A few years later, Stuart Wallace, the then chairman of the Foundation of Hearts fan ownership group, echoed her sentiments. “We split the Old Firm in 1998 and that’s the next step,” he said. “Can we split them again? There is a next level and the job of the foundation is to help us find it.”
Alas, since Wallace’s bold pronouncement the Gorgie outfit have finished fifth, sixth, sixth, twelfth, third, fourth, third and seventh in the top flight. Several semi-finals and finals have been reached, but no major silverware has been lifted. Realising their vast potential, never mind punching above their weight, has often proved problematic for a variety of reasons.
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Poor recruitment, bad managerial appointments, the Covid-19 pandemic and draining European campaigns have all impacted on their domestic efforts. An extraordinarily hard-to-please fanbase has not exactly been slow to voice its displeasure when standards on the park have fallen short of what has been expected either.
So it was maybe no great surprise when seasoned observers of the game in this country were unperturbed when Tony Bloom pledged to try and “disrupt the pattern of domination of Scottish football which has been in place for far too long” when his £9.86m investment in Hearts was completed earlier this week. They have heard it all before and such fighting talk has never amounted to very much.
But there are reasons why things may be different this time around with Bloom, the professional gambler, poker player and entrepreneur who has received a 29 per cent stake in non-voting shares in the Tynecastle club in return for his welcome cash injection, involved.
He has, to borrow a phrase made infamous by former manager Craig Levein following an Edinburgh derby win over Hibernian at Tynecastle in 2018, upset the “natural order” before elsewhere on more than one occasion.
It is 65 years now since Hearts lifted the Scottish title for the fourth time in their history. It is four decades since a club other than Celtic or Rangers were crowned champions. But back in May the Royal Union Saint-Gilloise side which the Englishman had revitalised after becoming their majority shareholder in 2018 won the Pro League in Belgium for the first time in no fewer than 90 years.
But the data-led approach to player recruitment that Bloom instigated when he first got involved has transformed the unfashionable Brussels club into the dominant force in their homeland as well as formidable rivals in European competition.
The London-based betting consultancy Starlizard has provided the gen which has underpinned their success. An army of analysts, statisticians and researchers supply information on every facet of the game in an attempt to gain a competitive edge. The decibel levels of the crowd when a particular player is on the ball is even considered when a potential transfer is being weighed up.
Bloom reduced his stake when both they and Brighton, where he is majority shareholder and chairman, both qualified for the Europa League two years ago in order to avoid breaching strict UEFA multi-club ownership rules. He has, however, very much been involved in their inexplicable and unexpected rise.
The billionaire has, too, worked wonders at his home town team by investing heavily in their infrastructure, fostering a positive environment for staff to work in and prioritising the development of young players. Kieran Maguire, host of the Price of Football podcast and a Seagulls season ticket holder, this week described him as the smartest man he has ever met.
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Jamestown Analytics, a company that is closely linked to Starlizard, have been working with Hearts for some time now and it has by no means revived their ailing fortunes. Quite the opposite, in fact, has been the case. They were instrumental in the ill-advised appointment of Neil Critchley as manager.
However, it took three years for RUSG to win promotion back to the top flight on his watch, four years to qualify for Europe and seven years to win the title. Progress is never made overnight, a long-term strategic approach which will yield results in due course is always taken. Strong foundations are laid, quick fixes are avoided.
Scepticism has been expressed about how Critchley’s replacement Derek McInnes will cope with Bloom’s way of working since the former St Johnstone, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock man was brought in back in May. Such cynicism does one of the sharpest, most progressive and experienced coaches in the Scottish game a gross disservice.
Can Hearts challenge defending champions Celtic and Rangers for the Premiership in the 2025/26 campaign? Probably not. Can they do so in the future? It would be a major surprise if they were able to end the Old Firm duopoly. But the Ibrox and Parkhead hierarchies should look out for The Lizard, as he is known on the professional poker circuit. Only a fool would bet against him achieving his ambitious objective.
