Our monthly dinner meetings provide the opportunity for our members to meet a glittering array of names and faces from the world of football, from old friends with a very direct association with Hearts to those who are simply 'football people' and understand the appeal of the Beautiful Game.

Detailed below is a list of the many successful dinner meetings we have had in recent years, embellished where possible with some ..er, eye-catching photography.

If you have any images from meetings you have attended, or indeed even if you have photographs of Association Members 'out and about' with the Hearts, please don't hesitate to forward them to us and we will endeavour to place them in this gallery for posterity. You can e-mail electronic images to us here.

Around 170 members and guests attended one of the highlights of the year, our annual Sponsored Players’ Dinner.  We were delighted to welcome along regular guest Andrew Driver and newcomer and recently appointed club captain Michael Stewart.  Alan White was also on hand to make a presentation on the latest activities of the Heart of Midlothian Education and Community Trust.  In addition former secretary Frank Gray and his wife Janet were special guests of the committee.  

In a jam(bo) packed evening members and guests were offered the opportunity to visit the new Music Suite ahead of its official opening the following Monday.  The Association had helped to bring the project to fruition by donating £2,500 earlier in the year towards the costs of fitting out the Tynecastle Suite.  Everyone who took the opportunity to see round the room was mightily impressed by the facilities now on offer.  Coming the day after the subdued atmosphere at the Dunfermline cup tie it was suggested by more than one member that perhaps the musical instruments could be put to good use in getting the crowd warmed up on match day!  Visions of the Livi Drummer immediately come mind – it’s maybe not quite such a good idea after all.

Chairman Alex Gowans started the formal part of the evening by paying a glowing tribute to Frank Gray’s contribution to the Association during his five years as Secretary.  Throughout his time in office Frank had worked tirelessly to improve communications with members through the development of the monthly newsletter and the content of the web site which was now available to members around the world.  Over the past five years Frank had produced over thirty monthly newsletters.  In his quiet unassuming way Frank was also on top of all aspects of the day to day running of the Association and ensured that everything always went smoothly.  Frank’s efforts were warmly applauded by members and guests when he was presented with a gift voucher as a small token of thanks from the Association.  Janet was also presented with a beautiful bouquet of flowers.

Alan White presented a very entertaining account of the activities of the Charitable Trust.  Over the past few years it has progressed in leaps and bounds, Christian Nade take note, and was recognised on a national scale when Alan was invited to make a presentation to in the Scottish Parliament during the summer.  Alan discussed in greater detail his plans for the Music Suite including the “Jam at Hearts” initiative.  He also talked about the activities of the “Hearts Legends” team that has raised over £18,500 for charity since its formation.  The team, featuring a number of Hearts Old Boys, takes on all comers and recently had its first awards ceremony. Winners in the various categories were Paul Ritchie who won the “Walter Kidd Award for the best injury”; Henry Smith for the” least touches during the season” and Jose Quitongo who received the “ball is round to go around” award.  Walter also helped to lay the new carpet in the Music Suite and they expect it to stay down for a long time!

Finally the two sponsored players made it up to the stage.  Andrew talked about his surprise inclusion in the England Under 21 squad.  It was a very special moment when he made his debut against Germany.  Looking to the future, he has a long term contract with Hearts and believes that he can continue to improve over the next few years.  He would like to play at the very top one day and move to England but at the moment the right thing is to stay at Hearts and work on improving his game.

Michael was questioned on the increased pressure being put on the midfield players to get forward into goal scoring positions because of the lack of fire power up front.  The lack of goals from the forwards has clearly been frustrating and Csaba had worked hard, but ultimately unsuccessfully, to bring in new faces.  The injury to Callum Elliott came at a bad time but more positively Gary Glen will have built more confidence following his goal against Dunfermline. Suso also offers another attacking option.  The midfield is creating as many chances as other teams but the challenge is, as always, to put more of them away.

Concern was also expressed about the number of late goals Hearts have conceded this season.  Michael agreed and pointed out that all of the goals had been self inflicted.  We were left with the impression that the manager had spoken at length to the players, reminding them to keep up their level of concentration until the final whistle.  In contrast to the high octane levels during the match Csaba is a much calmer and collected individual off the pitch and can get his message over quickly to the players.

Prior to being ushered away to an early bed after the previous night’s exertions in the cup, Andrew presented his shirt to raffle winner Corrine Dunthorne and Michael presented the shirt worn by Deividas Cesnauskis to Ian Liddle.

We would like to thank Alan, Andrew and Michael for contributing to a very enjoyable evening’s entertainment.  

 

Almost three-hundred members and guests were present in the Gorgie Suite on Thursday 26 March to welcome Tam Cowan, one of Scotland’s favourite television and radio presenters, football pundit, top newspaper columnist and restaurant reviewer. Once Tam took hold of the microphone he also took charge of the question and answer session giving Chairman Alex Gowans the opportunity to sit back and relax.

Tam described his career to date which started when he was still at school writing for BBC Radio, he joined the Glasgow Evening Times and then The Daily Record before BBC Radio Scotland invited him on to ‘Off the Ball’ working with Stuart Cosgrove. He then branched out into television hosting ‘Offside’ but still writes his football column for The Daily Record as well as his weekly restaurant reviews. Humour is a big part in his life and he revealed he was a big fan of comedian Frank Carson who had been a guest on his show.

Chairman Alex Gowans with Tam Cowan.

Tam said he loved working on ‘Off the Ball’ which was non-scripted. One of the funniest incidents on the show was when he asked listeners to telephone in with what he called their “JFK moment” and describe where they were when Archie Gemmill scored his wonderful solo goal against Holland in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. One caller said “Tam, I can recall it clearly, I was ten yards away from Archie and I was screaming “pass it to me, pass it to me””. The caller was Asa Hartford, Archie’s Scotland team mate that day.

A well-known Motherwell fan and a season ticket holder who pays at the gate at away matches, he says what he wants. Tam recalled the day the ‘Well won the Scottish Cup beating Dundee United in 1991 and he was photographed drinking (briefly) from a bottle of Buckfast Tonic Wine (“horrible stuff”) as there was no Champagne to hand. As memorable as that day was, he said he enjoyed winning the semi-final more when Motherwell defeated Celtic 4-2 after extra time. Victories over either of the Old Firm are sweet (hear hear). Motherwell going into administration was a worrying time and Tam feared for the future of the club but they brought in young players and went from strength to strength.

Asked his opinion of Scottish football Tam said it was dire with admission prices too expensive. The Kilmarnock – Motherwell match was recently shown live on television yet fans were charged £20 entry, little wonder only five-thousand attended. Real supporters want to watch their team but there was a danger if prices continued to rise they would stop going and watch games in the pub or the bookies instead.

At the start of each story, Tam said the year it happened and his age at the time which caused a ripple of mirth among the audience. A surprised Tam reacted with “I am only thirty-nine!” which drew more chuckles from the floor and Tam emphasised “I am only thirty-nine!” (This is true as I checked.)

Tam said L’Alba D’Oro in Henderson Row Edinburgh in his opinion served the best fish supper in Scotland and he usually paid them a visit when he was in the capital.

In between answering questions and reminiscing, Tam cracked numerous jokes in quick succession which had the audience in stitches. The majority of them cannot be repeated in print but of the less risqué, one involved Viagra, another a fat pig and one about a tree-shaped air freshener in Barry Ferguson’s car.

The Association is very grateful to Tam (still only thirty-nine) for a hilarious evening. Special thanks are also due to Paul Kiddie, Hearts New Media and Publications Manager who arranged for Tam to come along.

Chairman Alex Gowans with SFA Chief Executive Gordon Smith

Csaba and Werner Kick Off the New Season

An excellent attendance of two-hundred and seventy-five members and guests welcomed new manager Csaba Laszlo and assistant Werner Berger to their first Shareholders’ Association meeting which was also the first meeting of the new season.

Csaba got the awkward questions out of the way immediately. He confirmed that he had a good relationship with Mr Romanov, the owner. He had full control over team selection and tactics but did talk these over with his technical team, the sports director and Mr Romanov. This was a similar arrangement with club owners in other countries for example Germany, Italy and the United States. Mr Romanov had invested a lot of money and Csaba accepted he had the right to ask about any matters concerning the team. Regarding Steve Banks’ position, when he arrived at Hearts Csaba was surprised to find that there was not a goalkeeping coach. Steve was asked to think about his longer-term future as he intended to bring in Marian Kello to the first team after his fine performances for FBK Kaunas against Rangers in the Champions’ League and later recruited Arturas Ramoska as first-team goalkeeping coach. Steve was subsequently given the role of coach with the youth team. These appointments said Csaba created a better coaching structure within the club, something that Mr Romanov had asked him to look at.

L-R Assistant Manager Werner Berger, Association Chairman
Alex Gowans and Manager Csaba Laszlo

In response to a question about tactics, to demonstrate his point Csaba proceeded to rearrange the empty glasses on the table in front of him but when he then went on to describe different attacking and defensive formations and take up more space on the top table Committee members were placed on stand by to get more glasses from the bar, just in case they were needed!

Quizzed about who decided the penalty takers in the shoot-out against Airdrie United the previous evening, Csaba confirmed that it was the players themselves who had the confidence to volunteer after others had declined. The defeat was a disappointment however Csaba stressed that he would not criticise those players who had missed a penalty.

Csaba acknowledged that there was a huge gap at present between Hearts and the Old Firm, it was a gap he wanted to close, but he was not a dreamer and realised it would not happen overnight and asked supporters to be patient. He was looking to improve on last season’s position by making the top six at least and even qualify for Europe.

Asked about the likelihood of first team opportunities for youngsters like Branimir Kostadinov and Dimitru Copil, Csaba agreed that they were talented players but not yet ready for first team action as he did not like to throw young players in too early. In the youth and reserve teams it was the performance that was important, not the result and he would find the right time to play them. Werner agreed and said that with an average age of under twenty-five years, Hearts can be a good team in two or three years. The team would play a different style of football to what the supporters had watched over the last twenty years. The game in Britain has changed, particularly in England with the introduction of foreign coaches and there would be no more “kick and run” after the ball, he preferred to play a patient, passing game rather than have long, hopeful clearances out of defence which often gifted the ball back to the opposition. In the short time since he arrived in Scotland, Werner recognised that players were very physical compared to those he had seen in ten years coaching in Germany. Csaba had spent time in Germany too both as a player and a coach. He had travelled the world in twenty years and built up a knowledge of the game and different cultures which convinced him that Ugandan international David Obua had the talent to be a success at Hearts.

(L-R) Werner Berger and Chairman Alex Gowans
look on as Csaba Laszlo explains tactics.

Csaba and Werner went on to answer a variety of questions including: the very noticeable improvement in Christian Nade’s fitness and physique, how he preferred to bring in players he knows rather than looking at tapes or DVDs received from agents, the tactic for defending corners, how they have got the players’ spending more time with each other and their calendars were now organised so that they knew what they would be doing a week in advance to make more effective use of their time.

As always, The Committee were very grateful to our two guests for giving up their personal time to attend the meeting. Their enthusiasm and energy for football and their desire to give their best to make the club successful and encourage all around them to do the same was plain for all to see and ensure that their first Shareholders Association meeting was a memorable one.”

John Rowbotham Blows the Whistle.

Our original guest speaker, SFA referee John Underhill had to call off from the 27 March 2008 meeting due to work commitments but arranged for a substitute, former FIFA and SFA whistler John Rowbotham who very kindly stepped in at short notice. (It must be one of the few occasions Hearts supporters can claim that a referee has done them a favour!). One-hundred and fifty members and guests were present in the Gorgie Suite to hear John as he opened by pointing to the area of the stadium where there is a rear door through which he often used to leave discreetly after a match if he had displeased the crowd although he always enjoyed the great match atmosphere at Tynecastle and was at pains to emphasise that when Austin McCann scored a last minute winner against Celtic at the Gorgie end to deprive them of the championship, it was he who was the referee that day, and when Hearts came back from 2-0 down at Parkhead to win 3-2 it was he who awarded the penalty that won them the game, adding with a smile “giving a penalty against Celtic at Parkhead? What was I thinking of?”

John said his biggest fan was Jim Jefferies. When Hearts won Jim would say, “John, you are a superstar” but when Hearts lost he was his fiercest critic “John, you were a disaster.” Jim also earned a ticking off for having a blast at John from the touchline that was picked up by the two-way communication between John and his assistant.
John recalled an Edinburgh derby at Tynecastle when Gary O’Connor scored for Hibs and celebrated in front of the none-too-pleased Hearts support. John placed himself in-between the Hearts fans and O’Connor, telling him to move away only for John to be struck on the back of the head by a two-pence coin. He handed the coin to the nearest Policeman, explaining as he did what had happened to which the PC replied “did you see who threw it?”

John Rowbotham (left) and, Chairman Alex Gowans

John spoke of his friendship with another well-known referee, the now-retired Italian Pierre-Luigi Collina whom he met in 1995 when they both joined the FIFA list. Although Collina failed the fitness test first time around he went on to earn a reputation throughout the world as a first-class referee, he could speak seven different languages, and the Fife dialect. Collina was grateful to John for everything he taught him about refereeing (?).

John stressed that he had thoroughly enjoyed his career and that however much the crowds would shout at him, he “didn’t give a monkey’s.” He had been all over the world staying at the best hotels and been paid for it. He had refereed some great matches and attended a World Cup draw in Switzerland where Pele was a guest. (“What an honour it was for the boy from Brazil to meet the boy from Kirkcaldy.”)
Other not so fond memories were escaping a bombing in Haifa, Israel and visiting a Police station in Budapest, Hungary to see the array of weapons confiscated from football hooligans including hammers, hand-cuffs, a scimitar (not the car) and amazingly, a ships anchor, smuggled in inside a rucksack – and it’s only a game.
John was asked his views on a number of issues including; the allocation of officials to certain SPL matches, which law he would change if he could (“offside – referees understand it but the media don’t”), yellow-carding goal celebrations, the professionalism of referees, the introduction of a “sin bin,” and his worst ever game (Rangers – Aberdeen at Ibrox in 1995. He thought he had done well until he watched the highlights, was horrified at the mistakes he made and was later called before the SFA to explain his performance before he was confronted by the press waiting outside who tore into him.).

All referees were football fans who had their own teams but they were honest when they go out on the park and do their best. John said he was always reluctant to issue cards but there was one occasion when Hearts played Aberdeen at Tynecastle. An Aberdeen player committed a bad foul worthy of a yellow card and then kicked the ball away at the whistle. When John reached him he produced a yellow card to which the player responded “you must be joking?” John showed him another yellow and then a red card and said “laugh at this.” Everyone present in the Gorgie suite thought it was funny.

John ended by thanking the audience for giving him the best reception he had ever had at Tynecastle and the round of applause he received showed how much he was very much appreciated.

One-hundred and fifty members and guests were present at our 28th February meeting, hoping for a more entertaining evening than the previous night’s match at Tynecastle against Rangers!

Our guest speaker was Roddy Forsyth, Secretary of the Scottish Football Writers Association and BBC Radio Sport and The Telegraph newspaper Scottish football correspondent. Roddy looked back over his career and the changes in journalism during that time In the days before the internet and satellite communication if you wanted to find out your team’s score you either had to buy a newspaper or tune in to the radio or wait for BBC Sportscene hosted by Archie MacPherson or STV Scotsport with Arthur Montford. There were only two divisions then and no premier league.

Roddy Forsyth (left) and, Chairman Alex Gowans

Roddy told of how his big break into radio nearly ended before it had even begun after nervously asking a blind interviewee a question about cycling and bird-watching! As a young reporter covering a Dundee United European match in Belgium, he fumed as he overheard veteran Jimmy Sanderson telephone Radio Clyde and claim an exclusive while lying in bed in the next room nursing a hangover after Roddy had been up early and got the story before innocently relaying it to Jimmy when he got back to the hotel.

As improvements in communication make the world a smaller place, Roddy said he felt there would always be a demand for newspapers as reporters have a news sense that other mediums lack. He spoke of how he broke the news of Alex Ferguson leaving Aberdeen to manage Manchester United after arriving in Aberdeen, making a call and discovering that Fergie was in a restaurant nearby having a meal with United’s chairman Martin Edwards. He respected Fergie’s request to leave them in peace while they discussed matters and afterwards Fergie gave Roddy a lift in his car to Union Street and told him the whole story.

Roddy said Vladimir Romanov was a popular figure with the press because he made headlines and sold newspapers although he felt that it was severe culture shock for Mr Romanov to discover that the methods of the Scottish media were so different to their more strictly controlled counterparts in Lithuania.

A question from a member regarding the truth behind a BBC tape of ‘Radio Bloopers’ reminded Roddy of the time he was doing a round-up of football news from Tynecastle in the open air and the pigeons inhabiting the Main Stand decided to use him for target practice. Despite this, Tynecastle was one of his favourite grounds because of the great atmosphere and the tightness of the stands surrounding the pitch.

Roddy touched briefly on the 1985-86 season and how there was a popular misconception that Hearts lost the championship in the last seven minutes of their final game at Dens Park. He suggested that the title was instead lost forty seconds from time in the first home match of the season when Paul McStay scored to salvage a point for Celtic. If Hearts had held out that day they would in all probability have gone into their last match already crowned champions!

Paul Gascoigne had been in the news recently and Roddy recalled one of his favourite stories when Gazza was in the shower at Ibrox singing Christmas carols which could be heard upstairs in the trophy room where an important meeting was taking place. Donald Findlay asked Gazza to keep the noise down but instead he went away and gathered everyone he could find including office staff, reserves, cleaners, and ground staff and lead them all through a catalogue of carol-singing outside the trophy room. Donald Findlay eventually gave up and took the meeting elsewhere.

Roddy recalled he did Jock Stein’s last interview on the afternoon he died and told some interesting anecdotes of his larger than life character

Finally Roddy confirmed that Kilmarnock’s Rugby Park has the best pie and Bovril in Scotland, and he should know given all the grounds he has visited in his career.

The Association is very grateful to Roddy for providing such an interesting and entertaining evening. Having heard him mimic the voices of many football personalities if he ever decides to gives up journalism Jonathan Watson is sure to find a place for him on ‘Only an Excuse’. It should also be said that Roddy declined a fee for giving up his personal time and instead very generously asked for an equivalent sum to be donated to one of Hearts good causes chosen by the Committee. Thank you very much Roddy.

David Southern (left), Alex Gowans and Pedro Lopez (right)

The 28th Annual General Meeting of The Heart of Midlothian Shareholders Association was held on Thursday 31 January with 125 members in attendance. Chairman Alex Gowans opened the meeting and in his annual review welcomed the statement issued by the club on 1 January that they were looking for a new manager with full responsibility for team selection. It was hoped that this would lead to an upturn in performances on the park and restore the club to its rightful position of regularly challenging for honours. Away from the disappointment on the park, The Association had another successful twelve months with some memorable guests and evenings. Treasurer Bill Alves presented his report on the Annual Statement of Accounts to those Members present showing that even with substantial donations already made to Hearts good causes The Association had a surplus of £6,000 during the financial year to 30 November 2007. It was put to the meeting and subsequently agreed by the Members to donate this sum to Hearts’ Youth Academy to part-fund the purchase of four, portable exterior lighting units for use by the youth teams at the Academy and other locations. A cheque would be handed over to John Murray, Director of the Academy in the near future.

It was agreed that there should be a flat-rate increase of £2.00 in the annual subscription to £12.00 and for senior citizens £8.00. This was the first rise since 1990.

With no nominations received, those standing for the Executive Committee were re-elected. For the complete list of Office Bearers and Committee Members, click on the "Committee & Contacts" button on the left side of this page.

Our guest speakers were David Southern, Marketing and Communications Director and Pedro Lopez, Deputy Chief Executive Officer who both spoke about major issues concerning the club.

Pedro stated that Vladimir Romanov had recognised that the club’s position in the lower reaches of the league was not acceptable and supported the board’s decision to search for a new manager. He reiterated that Mr Romanov’s vision was for Hearts to be regularly challenging for honours at home and in Europe. The decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland in the Andy Webster case was very disappointing and could have an impact on football similar to that of the Bosman ruling.

David confirmed that the planning application for the redevelopment of the main stand at Tynecastle was proceeding. No decision had been taken on an alternative playing location yet and the club was assessing the financial implications of a number of options as well as undertaking a consultation exercise with supporters - The Shareholders’ Association members had voted seventy-five per cent in favour of playing in front of three stands. The name Tynecastle would be retained however the club would consider the possibility of coupling it with a sponsor’s name if the right offer was received.

David and Pedro went on to answer questions on a variety of topics including: player discipline, the lack of activity in the transfer window, the size of the playing squad, the process for appointing the manager, season ticket prices, the closure of club shops in out-of-town locations and inconsistency in refereeing decisions.

The Association are grateful to David and Pedro for coming along to the AGM and addressing the Members.

The emphasis was very much on Hearts’ youth policy at the 29 November meeting attended by one-hundred and twenty members and guests. Our four guests were: Darren Murray, Under-19 coach accompanied by two Under-19 players Haraldur (Harry) Bjornsson and Jonathan Stewart with former Under-19 team captain until his recent elevation to the first team squad, Ryan McGowan. Our other invited guest John Murray, Director of the Youth Academy was unfortunately caught up in a traffic situation on the M8 and was unable to attend.

Darren spoke with enthusiasm about the youth set up at the club, the quality of young players he was working with at Hearts, the number of different nationalities and his personal delight at the international recognition at different levels some had received. The three guest players had all been capped: goalkeeper Harry had been called up to Iceland Under-21 while still playing at Under-19, holding mid-fielder Jonathan from Loanhead who has been at the club since age thirteen and is the Under-19 team captain represents Scotland at Under-17 and centre-back Ryan recently returned from Vietnam after helping Australia Under-19s qualify for the 2008 Asian Football Confederation Cup.

Darren praised John Murray’s skills and knowledge and his wealth of contacts around the world who regularly tip him off about talented young players. The boys were asked a variety of questions: their most memorable match to date, how they coped with being so far from their home and families, the superb facilities at Riccarton and the relationship and communication difficulties with so many team mates of different nationalities. Ryan said it was easier for him to settle coming from an English-speaking country but confirmed that everyone got on very well, playing for each other and the foreign lads were receiving lessons in English. There was a raised eyebrow or two in the audience when they heard that John Murray was among those giving the lessons as John has such a strong Irish accent that even native English speakers have difficulty understanding him. Darren emphasised that the boys were also made aware of the great history of Heart of Midlothian Football Club and he had personally taken the Under-19 squad to the recent annual Remembrance Service at The Haymarket Memorial to let them see what the club means to people and how privileged they were to be a part of it now as well as the future of the club.

Harry was asked if he would be passing on any tips to the Iceland international coach ahead of the World Cup qualifiers against Scotland to which he replied that Scotland may be in for a surprise! Being a goalkeeper, following in the footsteps of Craig Gordon, it was felt appropriate Harry should make the draw for the signed Sunderland goalkeeper jersey, provided by Craig himself and picked out the winning ticket belonging to member Ronald Hughes of Cellardyke in Fife. (Ronald unfortunately was not present at the meeting however Secretary Frank Gray met up with him after the match against Celtic at Tynecastle on 1 December and handed over his prize.) The Association has sent a letter of appreciation to Craig Gordon for his magnanimous gesture which raised £520 for the Hearts Education & Community Trust.

A delighted Ronald Hughes (left) receives the signed Craig
Gordon jersey from Secretary Frank Gray at Tynecastle.

At the end of the evening the boys chatted with members and guests and posed for photographs. Faced with a large roomful of strangers they had shown a maturity beyond their tender years and were a credit to the club. The Association is very grateful to Darren and John Murray for allowing the boys out late and hopefully they will all be back again in the not too distant future as regular members of the first team.

Deividas Česnauskis, Laryea Kingston, Chairman Alex Gowans, Michael Stewart and Andy Driver

At our first dinner of the new season almost two-hundred members and guests were present to welcome our special guests Assistant Head Coach Steve Frail and Director of the Youth Academy, John Murray.

Straight away Steve was asked by a member of the audience to explain the coaching structure at the club. Steve replied that he took the coaching during the week; overseen by Sporting Director Anatoly Korobochka who decides the formation in consultation with Coach Angel Cerenkov. Anatoly and Angel select the team and forward it to Vladimir Romanov who may ask them to justify the inclusion of some players as well as having an input himself. Steve confirmed that it was not unusual for the chairman of a football club to express a preference for the selection of certain players.

On match days, the amount and frequency of communication between the three of them from the dug out to the stand is such, others joke that Manchester City have got Sven Goran Eriksson while Hearts have got Sony Ericsson!

John Murray, Chairman Alex Gowans, and Steve Frail.

He acknowledged that the team spirit had gone downhill since last season and the staff and the players were working hard to rebuild it. The following day they were all going out to an Italian restaurant for a meal, the first time they had done so. Ironically, Italian was one nationality not represented in the dressing room.

Steve also answered questions on the size of the squad, spying on forthcoming opponents, potential transfer window moves (no names were mentioned), negative press reporting of Hearts, player indiscipline on the field, certain players being constantly injured and the performance of referees. With refreshing honesty, Steve stated that he believed Hearts needed a Head Coach, there were too many people with opinions but not making decisions.

John Murray had handed out copies of the ‘Player Planner’, a comprehensive information booklet and diary issued to all players who join the Academy. John expressed his appreciation to the members of The Shareholders Association for funding the production costs of the planner and the accompanying DVD. Hearts are believed to be the only club in Scotland to have undertaken such an initiative.

John said he was disappointed that not more young Scots players were up to the standard required by the Academy. It was his experience that young foreign players were fitter, they ate better, lived better and looked after themselves better.

The Academy had benefited from the considerable additional resources provided by Vladimir Romanov since he came to the club including better facilities and an increase in the number of specialist staff.

Asked which young players were considered to be bright prospects for the future, John spoke of Gary Glen who has already played in the first team, Ryan McGowan and Rocky Visconte as among those whom he had high hopes for if they kept working hard and their feet on the ground.

A big “thank you” to Steve and John for kicking off our season of meetings with such an interesting and informative evening.

Anna and Magne Winther all the way from Norway with Chairman Alex Gowans

The syndicate owners of the winning horse in the last race celebrate their win.

John McLeod with the signed Hearts shirt, the top prize in the raffles held during the Race Night

Donald Ford and Chairman Alex Gowans

Chairman Alex Gowans and Aidan Smith

30th November 2006.

Chairman Alex Gowans presents Robbie Neilsen with his award

Edgaras Jankauskis with the winner of his shirt

Chairman Alex Gowans  (centre) flanked by Edgaras Jankauskas and Robbie Neilsen

Ian Crawford and Freddie Glidden

To celebrate Hearts success in winning the Scottish Cup, an additional meeting was arranged for 25th May. Our guest speaker Gary Mackay coupled with the presence of the Scottish Cup, decorated with maroon and white ribbons, drew a huge attendance of approximately 400 members and guests to The Gorgie Suite.

Throughout the evening there was a constant stream of people having their photograph taken with the Cup which was displayed on a table directly beneath one of the large club crests on the wall at the front of the Suite.

Gary Mackay spoke of his delight at seeing the Cup back at Tynecastle and his hopes for even greater success in the future. Gary was forthright in his response to the various questions asked including: his grave concerns about the financial position of the club before the intervention of Mr Romanov and his involvement with Save Our Hearts. He felt that the sale of Tynecastle and the proposed move to Murrayfield would have been disastrous for Hearts. He also gave his views on the personnel changes during the season just ended and the attitude of one or two players whose priorities appear to lie away from Hearts. On the lighter side, he described the magnificent spirit in the dressing room during the 1986 season engendered by manager Alex MacDonald using some unorthodox but effective methods, and his screamer against Clydebank at Tynecastle in the same season.

Gary was asked about the goal he scored for Scotland against Bulgaria that ensured the Republic of Ireland qualified for their first ever European Championship Finals in 1988. He recalled how the ROI Football Association showed their gratitude to him by sending over a case of champagne care of the SFA which they promptly returned! However Gary is still assured of a warm welcome whenever he visits Ireland.

Gary also announced that he will be a trustee of a new charity shortly to be launched by Hearts. It will be known as the Heart of Midlothian Education and Community Trust and will aim to provide funding for youth development in and around the Lothians. Gary is delighted to have been asked to be involved in the project and if anyone would like more information or would like to make a donation he can be contacted via secretary@hmsa.org.uk.

A memorable evening and season of meetings was brought to a close with Gary leading the way with a passionate rendition of ‘The Hearts Song’ which everyone joined in.

The Committee are very grateful to Gary for agreeing to be our guest and to Heart of Midlothian for loaning the Scottish Cup for what must have been one of the first public viewings of the trophy since the Final.

Finally, the Committee would like to express our grateful thanks to the membership for their marvellous support of the Association throughout the year. By attending the dinners in large numbers, bringing along guests and buying raffle tickets all helped to increase the finances of the Association which in turn results in a larger annual donation to Hearts Youth Development.

 

30th March 2006  - Hearts' Question Time - Richard Baker MSP (Lab), David McLetchie MSP (Con), Mike Pringle MSP (Lib Dem) and John Swinney MSP (Scot Nat) :

23rd February 2006  - Sandy Jardine :

Sandy Jardine, former co-manager and captain of Hearts, and captain of Rangers and Scotland was our guest speaker this month.

It was simply a coincidence that Sandy agreed to attend our meeting in the same month as the media were recalling that this year was the twentieth anniversary of Hearts’ memorable 1985-86 season when they came so close to achieving the double.
Sandy answered questions from the floor; talking about his memories of THAT season, the perilous financial state of the club when he arrived from Rangers, for example there was no physiotherapist on the books at Tynecastle and anyone requiring treatment had to go to the Royal Infirmary. There was one hi-tech item of medical equipment, an ultra-sound machine, however this was unavailable as one of the players was using it at home to treat his injured greyhound.

Sandy also recalled his relationship with the then chairman, the late Wallace Mercer. Knowing Wallace’s fondness for calling a press conference for Hearts’ benefit as well as his own, Sandy and co-manager Alex MacDonald would tell him they were interested in a certain player which Wallace would duly announce to the press a few days later when in fact the co-managers were looking to sign someone else. This threw the press off the scent and allowed negotiations with their real target to proceed without interruption.

Sandy also spoke of his career in a Scotland jersey covering the memorable participation in Germany 1974 and not-so memorable campaign in Argentina 1978. He also told the meeting, he assured us “the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth” of Jimmy Johnstone’s infamous rowing boat trip (minus the oars) at Largs in 1974 before Scotland met England at Hampden Park.

It was a very entertaining evening and we are grateful to Sandy for agreeing to be our guest.