The latest statement from Tynecastle pulls one of Vladimir Romanov’s favourite tricks. He is the wronged party, attacked at every turn by a Scottish establishment that seems to mistrust any new kids on the block.
Interestingly enough Tam Cowan and Stuart Cosgrove made a point about the media’s treatment of Romanov being in some way racist on Off the Ball a few weeks ago. I disagree with that analysis and, it must be noted, Vladimir doesn’t seem to have too high an opinion of Scots.
But the statement, in my opinion, doesn’t fully convince as a disavowal of the earlier interview. Romanov concedes that there is no corruption in the Scottish game. That seems to take care of the allegations of “buy-offs” in the Daily Record transcript.
But – and inevitably there is a but where Vlad is concerned – the talk of player “betrayal,” “hooped shirts,” “kids being pushed” and “seduction of the soul” seem to chime with comments in the earlier interview.
Does that mean the much maligned translator has made only one or two mistakes? Or that the Daily Record deliberately and knowingly included “distortion” in their story? Or that the Russian journalist – who must be bemused by the storm this has created - lied in the original interview?
The Andy Webster comment and the national team remarks leave me quite bamboozled. Given his extensive knowledge of UEFA’s rule on club ownership and loan deals, I would have felt that Romanov would have few quibbles with a player exercising his legal right. I’m not sure which Hearts players have badly let down the national team while on Romanov’s payroll.
George Burley, Phil Anderton, Graham Rix and George Foulkes probably all agree with Romanov that there is very little “heroic” about betrayal. But will Romanov now only sign players that are out of contract. Or will the lure of his wages and a maroon shirt not “seduce” players from other clubs. Will that be a betrayal of their clubs?
As for the Edinburgh section at the end. Well, you tell me? Who are these monkeys? Is it a dig at Tom Ponton for questioning the valuation of the land around Tynecastle?
The bizarre Photoshop monkey would seem to point at the media but Edinburgh’s paper, the Evening News, tends to display only sickening acquiescence to the city’s clubs and – thank God – does not rule the city.
So it was Vlad’s day. Again. But we’re not really any closer to finding out the truth about the interview or what his motives were with the statement of denial. If the statement was intended to calm things down it has failed. The monkey picture is a PR disaster that the media will pounce on.
Does he love publicity? Once again he has put himself and Hearts at the centre of a media storm that has now gone global. A Google News search reveals the story is being run in Australia, America and the United Arab Emirates. But surely nobody craves this kind of publicity?
Is he creating an exit strategy by showing that despite his efforts he can’t succeed against the obstacles that Scotland has put in his way? Only he can tell us that and I doubt he’ll do that anytime soon. So we wait and we wait. We hypothesise and we gossip but we don’t really know.
It will be up to history to judge if Pressley and company betrayed Hearts or if the Romanov rollercoaster will derail. All we can say is that, with this interview and this statement, Romanov has done very little that could be called “heroic” for Hearts. But as if to prove that his unpredictability is his only consistent trait Romanov has ordered Craig Gordon back into the squad for this weekend's game.
Truly Vlad moves in mysterious ways.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Vlad's Back Part Three
We'd be waiting for a Romanov reaction...and then it came.He undoubtedly brings something new to the Scottish game.
Today Vlad gave us a lesson in how to dig yourself out of a hole with all guns blazing. Excuse the mangled metaphors but the Romanov statement on Hearts’ official website was spectacular. Here it is in full as it appeared on the site (along with the illustration above).
Read Vlad’s Back Part Four for my attempt to make sense of it:
It's a pity that papers are not able to get an interview from me direct.
Thank God I haven't come across any corruption in Scotland.
I don't expect anything except lies and distortion of my quotes. I want to say that I'm surprised with many things, like, for example, the situation when betrayal is portrayed as an act of heroism.
To my mind, there are no values in this life that are worth betrayal, even if we're talking about hooped shirts. If kids are being pushed towards betrayal, I call it seduction - but seduction of their souls.
Let's see where it led in Webster's case: he hung around in different clubs and didn't play for the Scottish national team for a whole year.
Other players who fell under this pressure showed miserable results while playing for the national team despite all the chances it had to win.
Edinburgh is an amazing city. I'm so impressed with the genius of those who created it. It fascinates and captivates you immediately.
Its beauty was created during the times of the kings of old, and now I see how everything that people were gathering for centuries - a culture, all Walter Scott's heritage, is being ruled and destroyed by monkeys from the safari park.
Vlad's Back Part Two
The key phrase from the interview with Vladimir Romanov (carried in Russian football magazine Futbol) was:
"Celtic and Rangers? Even Kaunas are a match for them on the pitch. The thing is they've turned football into a type of show business with their underhand games. They buy off players and referees."
At this point what might have been another Vlad rant turned into something much bigger.
Speaking to every football fans favourite morning show, Radio Four’s Today Programme, Celtic chairman Brian Quinn said:
"I think it is absurd. Absolutely ridiculous. If he is saying this, I will take legal advice."
Rangers chief executive Martin Bain added:
"If the comments are confirmed, it is a matter we would refer to the club's lawyers and the SFA."
Despite this, many supporters – even from other teams – were siding with Romanov: claims of Old Firm favouritism are always music to the ears of the faithful at the "wee" clubs.
And of course, as Quinn conceded later in the day, the Daily Record carried only a translation of an interview that had been conducted in Russian: Romanov may have been caught out by a translator that saw a larger fee for a more sensational story.
On Real Radio a Russian language expert confirmed much of the Record’s translation of the offending paragraph, continuing: "he then says that there literally is bribery going on in the Scottish game."
Then Romanov’s spokesman, Charlie Mann, seemed to almost inadvertently confirm that Romanov had made the claims:
"We know that does not happen - he doesn't. He is saying it because he is not from these shores and thinks that's the way it happens. It's a cultural thing and we have to get that across to him."
Mann then want on to specifically deny that his boss had made the "buy-off" statement. Which seemed contradictory but, good spin doctor that he is, was probably a frustrated Mann just muddying the waters.
Because, after all, walk into any pub in Edinburgh, Aberdeen or Dundee and you’ll hear tales of insidious favouritism for the Old Firm but far fewer specific claims of backhanders.
At this stage Jim Jefferies got in on the act and raised a good point: it is not only the integrity of Rangers, Celtic and Scottish referees that Romanov appeared to criticise – Steven Pressley and others were also mentioned.
Which, at the very least, would suggest that the confidentiality agreements that Pressley and Paul Hartley reportedly signed in no way stop Romanov from speaking about them.
Still, however, we had little more than hot air to add to the original interview: "he meant this," "he meant that," "translators get things wrong."
Yes, it was a bad day for paid up members of the Russian to English Translator’s Union, but we’d still not heard from the man himself...
"Celtic and Rangers? Even Kaunas are a match for them on the pitch. The thing is they've turned football into a type of show business with their underhand games. They buy off players and referees."
At this point what might have been another Vlad rant turned into something much bigger.
Speaking to every football fans favourite morning show, Radio Four’s Today Programme, Celtic chairman Brian Quinn said:
"I think it is absurd. Absolutely ridiculous. If he is saying this, I will take legal advice."
Rangers chief executive Martin Bain added:
"If the comments are confirmed, it is a matter we would refer to the club's lawyers and the SFA."
Despite this, many supporters – even from other teams – were siding with Romanov: claims of Old Firm favouritism are always music to the ears of the faithful at the "wee" clubs.
And of course, as Quinn conceded later in the day, the Daily Record carried only a translation of an interview that had been conducted in Russian: Romanov may have been caught out by a translator that saw a larger fee for a more sensational story.
On Real Radio a Russian language expert confirmed much of the Record’s translation of the offending paragraph, continuing: "he then says that there literally is bribery going on in the Scottish game."
Then Romanov’s spokesman, Charlie Mann, seemed to almost inadvertently confirm that Romanov had made the claims:
"We know that does not happen - he doesn't. He is saying it because he is not from these shores and thinks that's the way it happens. It's a cultural thing and we have to get that across to him."
Mann then want on to specifically deny that his boss had made the "buy-off" statement. Which seemed contradictory but, good spin doctor that he is, was probably a frustrated Mann just muddying the waters.
Because, after all, walk into any pub in Edinburgh, Aberdeen or Dundee and you’ll hear tales of insidious favouritism for the Old Firm but far fewer specific claims of backhanders.
At this stage Jim Jefferies got in on the act and raised a good point: it is not only the integrity of Rangers, Celtic and Scottish referees that Romanov appeared to criticise – Steven Pressley and others were also mentioned.
Which, at the very least, would suggest that the confidentiality agreements that Pressley and Paul Hartley reportedly signed in no way stop Romanov from speaking about them.
Still, however, we had little more than hot air to add to the original interview: "he meant this," "he meant that," "translators get things wrong."
Yes, it was a bad day for paid up members of the Russian to English Translator’s Union, but we’d still not heard from the man himself...
Vlad's Back Part One
It seems like I’ve been away for almost as long as Vladimir Romanov. But, now that he’s back with a bang, it’s time to shake off the blogging lethargy.
Below are some excerpts from Vlad’s interview in Russia that began the storm that’s currently engulfing the Scottish game:
When you took over you declared that Hearts would in a few months be mounting a real challenge to Rangers and Celtic and would be battling for the title. Nobody took you seriously then but you soon returned the club to long forgotten heights. What was the secret of your success?
Celtic and Rangers? Even Kaunas are a match for them on the pitch. The thing is they've turned football into a type of show business with their underhand games. They buy off players and referees.When it comes to weaker teams then nobody can help but if two opponents are equally matched, then the referees can have a real influence on the outcome.
You've got the same thing happening in England where Abramovich's Chelsea are being undermined. Opponents operate using a standard strategy: press-manager- players. Once players have achieved their aims, you need to sell them. Once the manager has got what he wants, and become a star - let him move on and prove it somewhere else. If he's allowed to stay, then he can easily destroy the team and then he will take players with him when he goes.
Things have got that bad in Britain?
That's not the word for it. I went there with the hope that I'd be able to avoid all the dirty stuff that we've all grown used to here. I thought that there everything was clean, ideal, (that I would be dealing) with gentlemen. But it turned out that there everything is even worse.
Worse than here?
Yes, by some way.
In what way is that visible?
They have a different mentality. A different culture, or to be more precise, lack of culture. What do I mean by that? Here, for example, I can say to German (Tkachenko, the Russian football magnate who runs the agency that represents players such as Laryea Kingston and who was sitting next to him during the interview): 'Why are you trying to deceive me?' (German Tkachenko interjects: 'And I would feel ashamed'.) And he would feel ashamed. But if I say that to a British person, they give you an innocent look and say, 'Me? Deceive you? I'll see you in court!' That's the difference.
What we would call base behaviour is the norm for them. It's normal for them to betray one's own club and conduct talks with another club behind their back or not to give their team everything on the pitch because someone has seduced them by waving the shirt of another club at them.
But fans there deserve something much more. They are not like the tiffosi in Italy. British supporters are well-versed, they understand everything, they live for football. But they are being served up a rotten product, even if it is well packaged.
What was the reasoning behind appointing Eduard Malofeev, who failed to win a single game and became the worst manager in Hearts' 132-year history?
Well, if you've got five people in the team working for Celtic and Rangers, then what more is there to say? What could Malofeev have achieved.
Steven Pressley, who recently moved to Celtic, was presumably one of those? Who are the others?
One might say that the captain of the team is already the whole team.
Below are some excerpts from Vlad’s interview in Russia that began the storm that’s currently engulfing the Scottish game:
When you took over you declared that Hearts would in a few months be mounting a real challenge to Rangers and Celtic and would be battling for the title. Nobody took you seriously then but you soon returned the club to long forgotten heights. What was the secret of your success?
Celtic and Rangers? Even Kaunas are a match for them on the pitch. The thing is they've turned football into a type of show business with their underhand games. They buy off players and referees.When it comes to weaker teams then nobody can help but if two opponents are equally matched, then the referees can have a real influence on the outcome.
You've got the same thing happening in England where Abramovich's Chelsea are being undermined. Opponents operate using a standard strategy: press-manager- players. Once players have achieved their aims, you need to sell them. Once the manager has got what he wants, and become a star - let him move on and prove it somewhere else. If he's allowed to stay, then he can easily destroy the team and then he will take players with him when he goes.
Things have got that bad in Britain?
That's not the word for it. I went there with the hope that I'd be able to avoid all the dirty stuff that we've all grown used to here. I thought that there everything was clean, ideal, (that I would be dealing) with gentlemen. But it turned out that there everything is even worse.
Worse than here?
Yes, by some way.
In what way is that visible?
They have a different mentality. A different culture, or to be more precise, lack of culture. What do I mean by that? Here, for example, I can say to German (Tkachenko, the Russian football magnate who runs the agency that represents players such as Laryea Kingston and who was sitting next to him during the interview): 'Why are you trying to deceive me?' (German Tkachenko interjects: 'And I would feel ashamed'.) And he would feel ashamed. But if I say that to a British person, they give you an innocent look and say, 'Me? Deceive you? I'll see you in court!' That's the difference.
What we would call base behaviour is the norm for them. It's normal for them to betray one's own club and conduct talks with another club behind their back or not to give their team everything on the pitch because someone has seduced them by waving the shirt of another club at them.
But fans there deserve something much more. They are not like the tiffosi in Italy. British supporters are well-versed, they understand everything, they live for football. But they are being served up a rotten product, even if it is well packaged.
What was the reasoning behind appointing Eduard Malofeev, who failed to win a single game and became the worst manager in Hearts' 132-year history?
Well, if you've got five people in the team working for Celtic and Rangers, then what more is there to say? What could Malofeev have achieved.
Steven Pressley, who recently moved to Celtic, was presumably one of those? Who are the others?
One might say that the captain of the team is already the whole team.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Dear John
Anyone reading the Scottish media over the past few weeks would be forgiven for thinking the nation’s scribes are trying to woo John Collins.
Hardly a day goes by without a paean to Collins and his matinee idol looks appearing. Even defeat at Rangers could not dent the ardour of his admirers. Like a John Wayne character Collins’ fallibility seems to have made him all the more attractive: it’s easier to court a mortal after all.
Amid all this blether there is a serious point. Collins – with apparent ease – is changing things at Easter Road. A Scot who has travelled, he seems to be having much more success bringing continental methods to Edinburgh than Frenchman Paul Le Guen is having in Glasgow.
Training every day? No problem. Collins did it in France so they can do it at Easter Road.
Youth players struggling with a target of 25 dips? No problem Collins can do that himself. The young players should be aiming for 64.
This should not be revolutionary thinking. Look at France where players often train seven days a week. Look at Scotland where players shy away from a five day week. Is there a correlation between success and attitude?
And this week Collins was more refreshing than ever. A calm post-match interview. No shouting, no naming names, no talk of refereeing bias for the Old Firm. But also no hiding the fact that he wanted the players to know they had let the club down.
And Ivan Sproule, sent off at Ibrox for throwing the ball away, will have extra training during his suspension and a “heavy” fine.
No moaning from Collins that a Rangers player and a Celtic player were not punished from similar offences. Sproule was stupid, Collins punished him. Simple. No nonsense about the desire to win that Strachan wheeled out for yet another defence of Neil Lennon on Sunday.
It is discipline of this sort that Sproule needs. Go to Easter Road when he’s playing. Amid all the teenyboppers screaming his name you’ll find more than a few of the old sages shaking their heads and wondering what Ivan the terrible could achieve if he’d been blessed with a brain to go with his speed.
Collins might just have what it takes to turn Sproule and his teammates into the players their talent suggests they should be.
Hardly a day goes by without a paean to Collins and his matinee idol looks appearing. Even defeat at Rangers could not dent the ardour of his admirers. Like a John Wayne character Collins’ fallibility seems to have made him all the more attractive: it’s easier to court a mortal after all.
Amid all this blether there is a serious point. Collins – with apparent ease – is changing things at Easter Road. A Scot who has travelled, he seems to be having much more success bringing continental methods to Edinburgh than Frenchman Paul Le Guen is having in Glasgow.
Training every day? No problem. Collins did it in France so they can do it at Easter Road.
Youth players struggling with a target of 25 dips? No problem Collins can do that himself. The young players should be aiming for 64.
This should not be revolutionary thinking. Look at France where players often train seven days a week. Look at Scotland where players shy away from a five day week. Is there a correlation between success and attitude?
And this week Collins was more refreshing than ever. A calm post-match interview. No shouting, no naming names, no talk of refereeing bias for the Old Firm. But also no hiding the fact that he wanted the players to know they had let the club down.
And Ivan Sproule, sent off at Ibrox for throwing the ball away, will have extra training during his suspension and a “heavy” fine.
No moaning from Collins that a Rangers player and a Celtic player were not punished from similar offences. Sproule was stupid, Collins punished him. Simple. No nonsense about the desire to win that Strachan wheeled out for yet another defence of Neil Lennon on Sunday.
It is discipline of this sort that Sproule needs. Go to Easter Road when he’s playing. Amid all the teenyboppers screaming his name you’ll find more than a few of the old sages shaking their heads and wondering what Ivan the terrible could achieve if he’d been blessed with a brain to go with his speed.
Collins might just have what it takes to turn Sproule and his teammates into the players their talent suggests they should be.
Mixed Fortunes for Old Firm in Europe
A novel feeling, watching a European draw in December and seeing two Scottish clubs come out. Israel’s Hapoel Tel Aviv should hold no fears for Rangers. True, another trip to Israel might not be everyone’s choice but the Ibrox side should be looking to progress from what is a pretty favourable draw.
And no that’s not an endorsement of the increasingly prevalent view that Rangers will be marching all the way to Hampden for the UEFA Cup final in May. That’s not going to happen, although the thought of it is probably a welcome distraction for their fans. Hampden has shut up shop as far as fairytales are concerned. Just ask Sir Alex Ferguson.
Celtic have a far more daunting task. AC Milan, although not on fire at the moment, are never going to be easy opponents. And Celtic’s away form in Europe would have made them underdogs whoever they met. I’ve heard more than one Celtic fan say that an 8 goal lead after the home tie should be just about enough to see them through the second leg. A draw or a one goal victory at Parkhead will be nowhere near enough at the San Siro.
For my money Celtic’s best bet was Arsenal. Despite Thierry Henry being the world’s greatest player, at least in the eyes of Thierry Henry, I think Celtic could have sneaked a result at home and then held on in the second leg.
But that’s all hypothetical now. It’s AC Milan and, I strongly suspect, the end of Celtic’s Champion’s League campaign.
Shock: Big Games Not at Ibrox!
It’s a shame that our continuing obsession with the Old Firm will overshadow two other games being played this weekend.
With the Ibrox clash holding all the appeal of being hit in the face with a wet fish, Edinburgh and Falkirk might be the places to go for thrills.
At Tynecastle this afternoon Hearts meet Aberdeen and third versus fourth looks more appealing than the battle of the top two.
Aberdeen are on a roll. They’re by no means strolling through games but they are getting results and seem to be carrying a touch of luck. Jimmy Calderwood has taken his time at Pittodrie, tinkering here and there, but now seems to have found a team capable of achieving something.
Hearts need no introduction in this blog. All we need now is for Vladimir Romanov to marry Pedro Lopez for the everyday story of an extraordinary football club to replace The Archers.
That said Hearts enjoyed a great result last week, finally finding their goal scoring touch to bring an end to a nine game run without a victory. If the Paul Hartley story has not unsettled them too much they’ll be hoping to continue that form against Aberdeen today.
Make no mistake – the Hearts players still believe they are a top three side. Having Aberdeen above them will be an insult to their pride.
Expect a cracker. A draw, but a cracker.
Today’s other game of note is Falkirk against Hibs. Both teams suffered defeats last week but in very different ways.
Falkirk stuffed Aberdeen in the second half of the game at Pittodrie and should have had at least a draw. The best that can be said of Hibs’ trip to Ibrox is that at least they didn’t lose the second half.
So the two Johns will be looking for different reactions this afternoon. Hughes will ask for more of the same. Collins will ask Hibs to show that last week was an aberration
What we can be sure of is that both managers will ask their players to pass the ball and entertain. If Aberdeen and Hearts promises explosions, Falkirk and Hibs looks like being a treat for the purists.
And, if you want a prediction, I’ll go for Falkirk to pull off a shock and get a result.
With the Ibrox clash holding all the appeal of being hit in the face with a wet fish, Edinburgh and Falkirk might be the places to go for thrills.
At Tynecastle this afternoon Hearts meet Aberdeen and third versus fourth looks more appealing than the battle of the top two.
Aberdeen are on a roll. They’re by no means strolling through games but they are getting results and seem to be carrying a touch of luck. Jimmy Calderwood has taken his time at Pittodrie, tinkering here and there, but now seems to have found a team capable of achieving something.
Hearts need no introduction in this blog. All we need now is for Vladimir Romanov to marry Pedro Lopez for the everyday story of an extraordinary football club to replace The Archers.
That said Hearts enjoyed a great result last week, finally finding their goal scoring touch to bring an end to a nine game run without a victory. If the Paul Hartley story has not unsettled them too much they’ll be hoping to continue that form against Aberdeen today.
Make no mistake – the Hearts players still believe they are a top three side. Having Aberdeen above them will be an insult to their pride.
Expect a cracker. A draw, but a cracker.
Today’s other game of note is Falkirk against Hibs. Both teams suffered defeats last week but in very different ways.
Falkirk stuffed Aberdeen in the second half of the game at Pittodrie and should have had at least a draw. The best that can be said of Hibs’ trip to Ibrox is that at least they didn’t lose the second half.
So the two Johns will be looking for different reactions this afternoon. Hughes will ask for more of the same. Collins will ask Hibs to show that last week was an aberration
What we can be sure of is that both managers will ask their players to pass the ball and entertain. If Aberdeen and Hearts promises explosions, Falkirk and Hibs looks like being a treat for the purists.
And, if you want a prediction, I’ll go for Falkirk to pull off a shock and get a result.
No X-Factor at Ibrox
If, in our world of sporting cliché, there can ever be a meaningless Old Firm match surely this Sunday’s encounter is a contender.
Whatever the result, Sunday is unlikely to tell us anything we don’t already know.
Celtic will still be unreachable at the top of the league: a Rangers win won’t change that. A victory for Paul Le Guen’s men will merely be further evidence of Celtic’s shortcomings. Gordon Strachan does not need to be beaten at Ibrox to know that his team is far from being the finished article.
If Celtic win it will simply be further proof that Rangers are a work in progress. Evidence, depending on your personal taste, of Le Guen’s inability to manage a decent team or of the continuing toils of a good manager trying to settle in
Celtic go into the game as favourites. Rangers have won two games in the past week but the Ibrox side seem only to turn corners in the hope of finding another dead end to run up.
The chances of the game being a spectacle – of football, of passion, of anything – are slim. This is a battle, despite their European progress, of two very average teams. So far this season Celtic have been slightly less average than Rangers. Don’t expect that to change on Sunday.
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