Hearts fans organise a protest outside Tynecastle
A section of Hearts fans are planning to begin the New Year with a protest against the club hierarchy. With the team sitting second bottom of the William Hill Premiership and threatened by relegation, supporters will gather outside Tynecastle Park to make their feelings known ahead of the match against Motherwell this Thursday, 2 January.
Recent results have seen Hearts lose at 10-man Kilmarnock, suffer a knockout against Petrocub in the UEFA Conference League, lose the Edinburgh derby at home to Hibs, and concede two stoppage-time goals on Sunday to draw 2-2 at Ross County. Head coach Neil Critchley was appointed in mid-October to replace Steven Naismith but league position remains perilous. Many supporters are exasperated by the situation given the level of funding which goes into the club.
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Hide AdThe Hearts podcast ‘This Is My Story’ is urging people to meet at 2pm on the Foundation Plaza in front of the stadium on Thursday. The podcast owners put a post on social media declaring the issues which have angered many fans, and for which they largely blame the board. It cited £43m donated to Hearts in the last 10 years, as well as extra ticket and matchday income, and demanded change given the club’s current predicament.
The post read: “Seven managers in 10 years. Another managerial disaster playing out. Another relegation dog fight. More money to be chucked into the void to save the season in January. £18m of our money handed over via the FoH. £25m in ‘gifts’ to balance the books. Millions in season ticket money. Millions in matchday money. Millions to Budge’s brother. Radio silence from the FoH other than to push messages from the board onto us. Fan owned, not fan run. Shut up and give us your money more like.
“Call for all Jambos to meet on the Plaza at 2pm vs Motherwell. Every 18 months we end up back in crisis, time and time again we get the next move wrong. It is time for a change. It is time for the FoH to step up and represent us, not the board. Enough is enough.”
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