What a signing burley would be for us, he is a very talented manager, his teams play great football, and the way hearts are going i will not be surprised if we put up a challenge for the league title next year, because quite frankly he is a better coach than strachan and mcleish, so get it right up you old firm fans and hibbie followers
I think George Burley was a good appointment. He has had a vast amount of experience and did very well with Ipswich (3rd in the Premiership if i recall correctly?) and i think he will do well with you. However would you rather have kept Robbo and what do you feel about that entire situation now?
He did well in that one season, but despite having millions to spend at most clubs, Burley has been rather inconsistant. The other worry is his knowledge of the Scottish game. Hearts fans need to learn that his appointment is no guarantee of success. Romanov's intentions and his financial situation are also not clear. The promise of millions to spend and challenging the Old Firm is a complete joke. Hearts will be aiming for third place and perhaps a cup at best, exactly the same as most other SPL sides outside of the OF. The idiotic pursuit of the latter, is what has put clubs in these financial problems. Hearts are a great example.
So lets get this straight, you think that we should all just accept being behind the old firm and accept we can never catch them, that is the typical pessimistic scottish person i have come to despise, we have money now, a good manager and a massive support base, i will tell you this, you are probably a celtic fan or a rangers fan, don't hide behind livi you moron, burley is a great manager, his football knowledge is better than anyone in scotland right now, so as i look forward to my clubs new era, i pity those less fortunate and i especially pity LIVI fans, because that club has no soul, and accept that hearts will be strong from now on
Of course not. What I am saying is that aiming to compete with the Old Firm is just not sustainable. Your ridiculous debt levels were accumulated by your last attempt to do this. It got you a cup, but at what long-term cost? You now have a good manager, but he has a history of inconsistancy and has been plying his trade outside of Scotland for quite a while. Romanov is likewise an uncertain figure at Hearts because you do not know what he will do and there is still question marks surrounding his financial backing. You might have one of the biggest crowds outside of the Old Firm, but it is still not big enough to bridge the gap. Neither is the current quality of player at Hearts. Let's be perfectly honest, you will struggle to attract big name players because of the SPL. Of course you should look forward and be optimistic, but enough of this ridiculous conjecture. The only way that we can catch the Old Firm is to have a level playing field and to focus all of our attention on youth. We must also ensure that the Old Firm do not poach this youth. Unfortunately in your case, it is your city rivals who are currently leading the way in that regard.
How much money has this Romanov geezer got to invest in the Jambos? This is the big thing. As a Derby fan' I've seen first hand over the past couple of years that Burley can get a team playing effective and attacking football but, we all know that in todays climate even the best coaches need to spend money on players to have consistant success. I've heard rumours that he's going to bring in premiership quality players, I quote 'better quality than the ones at Pride Park'. If that's true I'd say third place was likely and even a top two slot may be possible.
As of yet we've seen no money! Plenty of big talk so far but no action. If reports are to be believed plenty of players turning them down! Burton O'Brian and Richard Hughes among those. They'll probably spend some money and make some decent signings, they already have some decent players, Hartley, Gordon, Webster, but I don't think they'll get near the OF.
If Hearts can achieve some success next year, then they will be in good position. Realistically, they will be doing well to be in the top half at the split, maybe in 4th or 5th. If signings come and players stay (like that ever happens after a couple good seasons in Edinburgh), Hearts could sustain a third position for years to come. Then again, that can be said about either Edinburgh team as well as Aberdeen. In all, I think we have a long run of the status quo in the forecast for the non-SPL sides.
As a Rangers fan, I really would welcome some competition in Scotland. One of the Old Firm has won the title for the last 20 years; we'd be as well flipping a coin at the start of each season. The last I saw, this Lithuanian guy's bank was subject to an investigation and he doesn't appear to have as much money as he was claiming. He was never an Abramovic in any case and I can't see him pumping enough cash into the Jambos to make them serious title contenders. Despite the loss of Murray, I think Hibs will finish third this season with Hearts, Aberdeen and Motherwell fighting for fourth place.