Heart Warming

My first season as a football club owner hasn’t been a conspicuous success so far. My ‘investment strategy’ of buying stakes in as many fan-owned clubs as I can culminated in two relegations, with Exeter City suffering last-day demotion from League 1 and Enfield Town heading down from National League South. There is, however, one mighty exception to this disappointing campaign - Heart of Midlothian, who could yet end up as Scottish Premier League Champions, smashing the Old Firm duopoly for the first time since Aberdeen’s triumph in 1985 and bringing the title back to Gorgie after a 66 year absence.

I’ve been paying a £10 monthly subscription to the Foundation of Hearts (FoH) since last October - early enough, surely, to fend off any claims of being a ‘glory hunter’ - and although I’ve yet to make the pilgrimage to Tynecastle, I did see the Jam Tarts last week at another club I co-own, Motherwell FC.

Hearts’ fan ownership came about as the result of a remarkable act of generosity by IT entrepreneur Ann Budge, a season ticket holder who ended up as Chair for 11 years. Budge sold her 75% stake to FoH in 2020, once it was in a position to repay the £2.5 million she had loaned them to take the club out of administration six years earlier. Brighton owner Tony Bloom now has a 29% share, but supporter ownership remains a core part of the Jambos’ identity.

Whatever happens in the final game against Celtic, this will have been a great season - but a stumble in the final furlong would be shattering. Hearts do, sadly, have form for blowing it. The last time they were this close to the title was 1986, when they travelled to Dundee on the back of a 27-game unbeaten run, requiring a single point. They somehow contrived to lose 1-0 at Dens Park, whilst Celtic, who needed a big win at St Mirren to overhaul them, duly obliged with a 5-0 victory, to secure the title on goal difference. Seven days later, Hearts lost the Scottish Cup Final, too - thrashed 3-0 by Aberdeen.

Derek McInnes’ team are all too young to remember that dismal ‘choking’ finale, but perhaps a trace memory still remains to haunt them. They have certainly looked edgy in recent times, labouring to overcome nine-man Hibs in a ferocious Edinburgh derby last month, for example - and they had fallen behind for four games in a row (albeit without losing) before blowing away Falkirk in midweek. That said, they would now be virtually assured of the championship, had Celtic not enjoyed the benefit of a dubious VAR-awarded penalty in the 99th minute of their recent match against Motherwell.

Hearts are an industrious collective, powerful rather than pretty, but in Lawrence Shankland and Claudio Braga they have a skilful forward pairing who've rattled off 29 goals between them. Success has been achieved on a relative shoestring too. Their playing budget of around £5million is less than a quarter of that enjoyed by both Glasgow giants.

(Hearts away at Motherwell)

In any event, they’re ‘my’ club now, and I’ll be rooting for them. It’s a chance to prove that fan-owned football isn’t merely a ‘nice idea’, but one that can lead to playing success. It might even inspire a few others to follow their lead. Not just a victory for Hearts, then - but one for minds, too.

I’m currently researching my next book, ‘Confessions Of A Football Club Owner’. If you want to support me, please take out a subscription.

My current book, ‘Where’s The Money Gone? The Battle For The Soul of English Football’ is available here.