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Hearts Chances Of British Manager Now Gone?

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If certain stories are to be believed in relation to the amount of work that Hearts put into trying to entice Mark McGhee to Tynecastle, then there’s every reason to believe that Vladimir Romanov may
well now have been forever put off appointing anyone British into the role of Hearts manager.

One of Romanov’s bug-bears during his time in Scotland has been the perceived ‘lack of loyalty’ that he’s been shown by various people from this country, most notably George Burley, Phil Anderton and Steven Pressley. Most of us would acknowledge that our esteemed owner’s rantings on this subject have been more than a little off the mark, especially when you consider what the men I’ve just mentioned looked on the verge of achieving at Tynecastle back in 2005, but in his eyes they were all out to get him, so much so that they all deliberately conspired to make Hearts fail.

It’s utter nonsense of course, but if Romanov does believe all of that then it’s fair to say that he will find it a difficult task trusting any prospective employee from this part of the world with a senior position at his football club.

Mark McGhee had allegedly been pursued for months, and was all but set to sign on the dotted line a few days ago until a very last minute change of heart knocked the whole thing on the head. It’s entirely McGhee’s prerogative to do that of course, but how do you think that Mr Romanov will view this decision? Fair game, or yet another untrustworthy Scotsman working under cover for the evil forces of the Bigot Brothers?

I think we all know the answer to that question, and it’s one that could quite easily signal the end of any last hopes that we had of a conventional, British-style manager taking charge of our football team under the current regime. I could be wrong of course, but I just get the feeling that this latest act of ‘treason’ could well be the last straw as far as Romanov is concerned.

At the very least, it’s a huge blow to Hearts as they attempt to pick up the pieces of a desperate 2007/8 season. They really should have a ‘plan B’ to fall back on here, but does anyone seriously think that if they even do, it’ll be anything like as potentially rewarding as bringing in someone like McGhee? I’m not saying that Motherwell’s manager represents the ultimate appointment as far as Hearts are concerned, but compared with what we’ve had since Burley left and what we could well be faced with now, well……..it’s night and day isn’t it?

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MrH

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13 comments

  • StockportJambo says:

    Patience, grasshopper. I don’t think this is all over yet. McGhee may well be playing both sides against the middle – and agreeing a contract extension is not the same thing as signing it. He is still scheduled to meet UBIG’s finance director this week. It’s also daft to suggest that this will put him off appointing a British coach (west coast paper ‘opinion’) – he has after all left things running in the hands of a Scottish coach for the past 6 months without looking to change. Time will tell if you are right or not, but I’m still hopeful.

  • StockportJambo says:

    Having read some of the other comments, and the message on the HMFC website, I hereby retract the above statement in full!

  • Dalien says:

    Yes. I honestly think even JJ would turn it down. Who needs the grief when you are able to run a club as you want even if they are in the lower half of the league… I mean Killie here, of course most of the above is true of hearts… Except the grief obviously. I read some posts on the EEN and some fans actually think Levein will now come back. Let’s look at it this way Levein has a job for life at Dundee Utd and is highly unlikely to walk away as his relationship with Thompson is so good. Now the other candidates in Scottish Football, Old Firm managers wont go to Hearts. Who else is left? Please god not Yogi, but of course he hates us therefore that saves us and him. Then where next England is heaving with managers who would rather manager league one teams than us, seriously I don’t know where to next… Again as I said before I am disappointed and rue the day Vlad ambled up. However I am sure many of us think this, and I have to say all seemed peachy in beginning. I’m not going to pretend I didn’t want him in, like many other Hearts fans do, but I do regret being conned by him.

  • Specs Haver says:

    To cap it all, Rix has just got a job coaching in Spain at Glenn Hoddle’s Academy !! Its a blind guess what Romanov will make of McGhee not boarding the flight in London – ironically, of course, you could argue that McGhee WAS actually showing loyalty. If Romanov had actually agreed to meet McGhee in the UK, then perhaps McGhee would still be interested in the job. There surely must be another name on Ogilvie’s list, just below that of McGhee. Let’s hope Hearts move quickly, and that Vlad DOES actually concede a lot of team influence when drawing up a contract.

  • sc0t1e0 says:

    Levein has his heart at Tynecastle. If McGee turns it down, and I’m not sure the chase is up yet, Craigy Boy come home!!! Bring us hope.

  • Dalien says:

    Levein’s Heart may be in Tynie but realistically he is happy, and I believe loyal, at Dundee Utd. I think a miracle would be required for Levein to come back. Not that I wouldn’t welcome it, of course, but my brain says he wont come near the club. Also we now have the stigma of being a club another well known manager turned down. How would this affect the judgement of future managers that get approached? Who knows? I still say the only person who can save Hearts is Romanov.

  • DigitalTwisted says:

    I don’t think Romanov meeting him in the UK would have made a blind bit of difference. He and McGhee had already met once, and he was on his way out to Lithuania for 8 DAYS. Not just a meeting, he was going out to meet the whole Romanov team.

  • MrH says:

    I’d love Levein to come in but like most of you guys, I think this is wishful thinking, probably in the extreme. There’s still talk of Billy Davies though isn’t there?

  • Dalien says:

    I think Davies flatters to deceive. To be fair he had a cracking season with Derby and they treated him terribly but in what did he do at Motherwell again? I suppose he would be better than Frail though, I still reckon we could end up with Whozefeckisthatisic as our manager.

  • MrH says:

    I’d prefer a dream partnership of Specs Haver and Digital Twisted to either of these jokers to be perfectly honest, gentlemen!

  • StockportJambo says:

    To be honest, it’s all getting a bit tiresome. I just want the manager situation to be sorted, once and for all, one way or another. If it’s MrH’s “dream team” then so be it. Don’t agree that Levein or JJ are “jokers” though, but realistically Levein is not going to come so there’s no point in wasting time trying. We’d be as well going for Mourinho or SGE than him.

  • MrH says:

    I was referring to Davies and Frail!

  • Specs Haver says:

    DT – the WHOLE Romanov team ? Dear God, that would be enough to make him change his mind and stay at Motherwell – no need for John Boyle to have phoned him, really. “I am so happy that you are to be my manager at Hearts, Mark. Now, the itinerary for today is to meet my 20 incognito Lithuanian scouts, followed by my favourite Latvian football agents – they will keep you supplied with the best players in Europe. Oh, and hopefully we’ll have time to examine the careers of the last 10 coaches I’ve sacked at Kaunas. In the evening we will have dinner with my son Roman – he is the life and soul of every party, you know.”

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