Treading Water

The Ann Budge era deserves credit for growing the club, but the actual men’s football team itself? Change the record.

Striking, is it not, that the two Scottish Premiership managers getting the most grief from their own fans are at different stages of their managerial career & development?

Michael Beale one can understand. He is running out of time and excuses, losing “must-win” games domestically and in Europe and cannot get his side to play with any apparent cohesion or integrate new signings to noticeable effect. Any manager in his position who is given the dreaded board vote of confidence is normally not long for this world.

Steven Naismith appears more of a conundrum from an outsiders point of view, though in fact the whole argument is wearily familiar. Anyone who has been keeping half an eye on Scottish football in the past decade knows what can be said when describing a Hearts side. Their key attacking players look restrained by a lack of assistance, some of their most important players are injured, they have predictable patterns of attacking play and in some areas their squad appears thin with the transfer window now closed.

It has become painfully clear to those of a maroon persuasion that the circular conversations being held about numerous incumbents in the managerial hot seat over the past few years could point to an issue which runs deeper than the surface level issues that rear their head whenever their is a dip in form on the park.

Politeness is important whenever discussing the work of individuals behind the scenes, because the majority of Hearts fans know that the likes of Ann Budge and the elected members of the FOH have been tremendous servants to the club and I am sure they are still working hard to ensure the off field progress of the club continues. I do not wish to hound anyone out or belittle their contribution; I just think it is only fair to share my observation that there may be some level of subconscious complacency or acceptance at play.

Compared with the dark final days of the Romanov era we are going places of course. Compared with almost any other team in the league outside of the Old Firm, our turnover results are still hugely impressive. Unfortunately these off field successes appear to have contributed to creating a culture that accepts mediocrity and gaslights some Hearts fans themselves into acquiring the habit of comparing results against our direct rivals – and in that light they do not show up so badly at the moment. As we all stumbled out of Tynecastle somewhat Punch drunk as a result of witnessing another lifeless disjointed display, I became increasingly frustrated at hearing fans rejoice in the failings of Aberdeen and comment that we are still above them and Hibs. It is this narrow thinking that distracts us from asking some serious questions regarding the efficiency of the current set up within the club from top to bottom.

It remains debatable whether this board ever learns from its mistakes. Joe Savage appears to now be in a worryingly position of power similar to that which Craig Levein enjoyed for some time. My concern is that there is a lack of football knowledge within the board that allows an individual like Savage to easily beguile them. I appreciate that there will be circumstances in which he has been both overly praised and criticised, but the growing evidence suggests that he does not have the Midas touch in overseeing our recruitment. Popular signings such as Baningime, Simms, Mckay & Shankland could be attributed to the likes of Naismith, McCulloch & Neilson having existing relationships with either individuals or clubs. I appreciate Savage has never openly come out and claimed outright credit for these signings but he seemed more than happy to be a very present public figure when the going was good during the 21/22 season.

Although Hearts fans can frequently accuse each other of an unwarranted sense of entitlement it must be frustrating to see the promise of each successive season evaporate in Groundhog Day manner, no matter the turnover in individuals both on and off the pitch. It was only April of this year when Andrew Mckinlay bullishly claimed that the board were very efficient and that they were looking to hire a "proven winner" to replace Robbie Neilson. Is it entitlement to question that hiring the unproven coach of our B team does not chime with the claims of looking for a proven winner to take the reigns? Is it entitlement to question the mentality of a regime that has overseen a less than 50% win ratio against the likes of Ross County, Kilmarnock, Motherwell & Livingston over the past decade? Is it entitlement to question the effectiveness of the FOH who have done little to push the needle in terms of member numbers over the past months with a website that has no blog updates for 7 months and very little attempts being made to engage with non-members.

The charge against Ann Budge, Andrew McKinlay, the FOH & Joe Savage is simple and understandable. To stand still in this business is to go backwards, and in the most important aspects of this business – team performance – Hearts are at best standing still. Having overseen the building of a squad devoid of pace, balance and a winning mentality, the board seem unable to extract the maximum return record making turnovers. You can at least see why some supporters argue that now is the time for certain individuals to step aside and let a someone with fresh ideas have a go. In a business which prides itself in being reactionary & knee-jerk, wouldn't it be refreshing to see the board make pro-active decisions at a point of relevant strength.