Tony Bloom speaks to Hearts fans about plans for the club - and challenge to Celtic and Rangers

Tony Bloom met Hearts fans tonight to outline his plans after agreeing to invest £9.86m in the Edinburgh club. A Foundation of Hearts event titled ‘90 Minutes with Tony Bloom’ began at 7pm at Tynecastle Park as supporters gathered to hear from the British entrepreneur.

Bloom is chairman and majority shareholder at English Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion. He also holds minority stakes in the Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise and Australian outfit Melbourne Victory. In June this year, he completed a deal to buy a 29 per cent stake in Hearts, although his shares do not entitle him to vote on club matters.

In his first in-person address to supporters, Bloom was welcomed by around 500 people inside Tynecastle’s Gorgie Suite. After thanking the Foundation and Hearts chairwoman Ann Budge, he answered questions from club media and then responded to pre-submitted public questions. First, he explained how his investment came about and what he wants to achieve with Hearts. Bloom made it clear that he intends to topple Scottish football’s Glasgow duopoly of Celtic and Rangers.

“I’ve been owner and chairman of Brighton for 16 years,” he said. “A few years ago, I was looking to get involved with another football club. We looked all over Europe and landed on Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium. That has gone very well, perhaps better than I thought. A couple of years ago I was thinking of Scotland. Growing up in the 1970s and 80s, it was very different to today. Scottish football was talked about in the newspapers much more than other leagues - Italy, Spain - so I’ve always followed Scottish football. I like to see the Scottish national team doing well. Growing up it was always about England, I know that’s not quite reciprocated across the Border.

“A lot of you will remember 1986. I’m sorry to have mentioned it but somebody scored two late goals. I backed Hearts at 8-1 to win the league and going into the last game it was looking very pretty. Needed against Dundee and it didn’t quite happen. I believe I can make a difference here. I don’t want to see a league dominated by two teams. I did look at clubs in Scotland. As soon as I met Ann and looked at Hearts, I knew this was the club I liked to invest in and here I am today. I think it’s really important for Scottish football that it’s not just a one or two-club show - and it’s not going to be from now on.

“I welcome the investment from other clubs outside the Old Firm, I think that’s really good for Scottish football. It’s not good at all that Scottish clubs, historically, have not been doing well in Europe. That lowers the co-efficient, so even if you win the league, like Celtic this year, they have to win knockout games to get into the group stage of the Champions League. I’m very confident that the co-efficient will change over the next few years, it will be really good for Scottish football. I really hope it will be good news for Hearts. If the level of the league goes up, that will be good for Scottish players and will help the national team. I’m very excited about that challenge. I think the days of it being a two-runner race have gone.”

Bloom was then asked how involved he will be on a day-to-day basis at Hearts. “The executive team and the board are responsible for the day-to-day running and the governance of the football club,” he replied. “I think I can certainly help out by giving strategic advice and insights. I’ve been in football for 16 years so I think there will be opportunities to make introductions to the right people at Hearts. I think that will be really useful.

“On the media and fan side, Gerry [Mallon, FoH chairman] mentioned at one of these events a few weeks ago that I don’t do too many of these events. Just to put it into some perspective, at Brighton I do many two or three such events a year. When I took control at Union Saint-Gilloise, I did a one-off press conference. I will be much more in the background, but following extremely keenly.”

Scotland duopoly of Celtic and Rangers to be challenged by EPL chairman

Bloom was asked to reveal his reaction when he learned his Hearts investment proposal had been backed by 98.5 per cent of Foundation of Hearts members. “I was exceptionally pleased. It’s an amazingly high percentage,” he remarked. “I certainly wasn’t expecting that. It shows your belief in what I have to offer. I want to thank you all very much for that.”

The next question put to Bloom referred to him disrupting the status quo in Scotland. He was asked: What does disrupting Scottish football look like to you? “It means that, at the start of each season, the fans and media are not talking about it being a two-runner race. That will not be the case from now on. Every game Heart of Midlothian play in, we will play to win. Every tournament Hearts are in, we are aiming to win it. I accept the fact that, when we get into the Champions League, that may be a little bit difficult,” he said, to much laughter. “But we have to have belief - big belief in who we are, what we are, our players, our head coach, and everyone at the football club. I think with the squad of players Graeme [Jones, sporting director] has helped put together under Derek McInnes, I think we will continue to get stronger year on year.”

Bloom added that Hearts’ status as the biggest fan-owned football club in Britain appealed to him enormously. “Yeah, it really did,” he stated. “Until I started looking into Scottish football, I wasn’t aware of that. There are not many fan-owned clubs in the UK so kudos to all of you for making that work. It’s a lot more common on the Continent. I’m really encouraged by it and I love the spirit of the Foundation. I’d like to understand more of how it’s run and how it works.”

A question was posed asking Bloom how he got involved in football. “I started going to Brighton games when I was six or seven,” he explained. “My grandfather, Harry, was vice-chairman from 1973 until 1980 when he sadly passed away on the team coach at Stoke City. My uncle, Ray, carried the baton onwards and he has been on the board for over 40 years, so it’s in my blood. I love football, playing, watching, all sorts.

“Our old owners at Brighton sold the ground in the mid-1990s without having a new ground to go to. It’s ridiculous that it was allowed. The good thing was we had a signficiant fanbase. They came together and saved the football club. A consortium took over the club in 1997. We had two years playing our home games at Gillingham, which is a four-hour round trip. When we got back to Brighton, we had 12 years at Withdean Stadium, which has a tiny athletics track and it’s fit for professional football. Around that time, early 2000s, myself and a few other people we helping to keep the club afloat financially and trying to get permission for the new stadium. That cost a lot of money as well.

“By 2005, I realised we would have to borrow a lot of money, and I was probably the last man standing who was willing and able to invest substantially to get the stadium once we got planning permission. That’s how I got involved at Brighton and I’ve got absolutely no regrets. I love every single minute and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Bloom will attend his first Hearts match on Monday night when Aberdeen visit for the first Scottish Premiership match. “It’s my first Hearts game and I’m really looking forward to it - and, yes, I will be passionate watching Hearts. Absolutely. I’ve head the atmosphere is pretty special, the fans are unbelievable, that’s what I love about football. Bring it on.”

Bloom nominated his close associate James Franks to sit on the Hearts board after completion of his investment deal. He explained a little about the new Tynecastle director. “I’ve known James a long time,” he said. “He has been my legal representative for over 17 years now, he knows me very well, he’s been involved in all of my investments, he’s a strategic advisor for a lot that I do and I think he’ll be a superb representative on the board. I’m really excited about the role, he will come to as many games as he can and I think it will be a big success.”

Bloom outlined his view on multi-club ownership and how it relates to Hearts. “Multi-club ownership is quite a hot topic. We saw what happened with Crystal Palace, who lost their spot in the Europa League to Nottingham Forest. The way I see it with the clubs I have invested in, I don’t see it as multi-club ownership. Each club is individual, there is no sister club, I can help bring connections but each club is its own club. It is run individually. There will occasionally be transfers between Brighton and Union, and in future maybe between Brighton and Hearts, that is only done if it’s in the best interests of Brighton, Hearts and the player. It’s quite different to a lot of other organisations.”

The clubs where Bloom is involved will be in contact to use one another’s wisdom and experience. “I think that’s right, it’s about the sharing of ideas,” said the Englishman. “Getting key people to meet and share good practice both ways makes a lot of sense. I want to congratulate Graeme for the work he has done at Hearts in the short time he’s been here. The work he’s doing in the transfer market is superb - big credit to him and Derek.”

Scotland and Belgium similarities from Europe

Bloom admitted he compared Belgian and Scottish football when proposing his Hearts investment deal. “There are certainly similarities,” he explained. “In Belgium, we were a long way behind and there were a lot of clubs between Club Brugge and Anderlecht, and Union. In Scotland, there’s the Old Firm and then there’s Hearts. So there is a big difference there. The budgets are similar as well. The bigger clubs in Belgium may have four, five or six times the budget of Union, and Hearts will be similar compared to Celtic and Rangers. Maybe slightly more. It’s not so dissimilar.

“I think there are less obstacles [for Hearts to overcome]. The target every season is to finish third. I’m hoping that will now change - so the absolute minimum each season that we should finish is third, and we should be trying to win the league and compete with Celtic and Rangers.”

Jamestown Analytics’ relationship with Hearts was also addressed by Bloom. “Jamestown Analytics has the best football data analytics in the world. It gives clubs the best possible advice, mainly on recruitment of players but also on opposition,” he said. “It’s really good news that Hearts have an exclusive relationship with Jamestown - they cannot advise any other Scottish team. That is a significant advantage for Hearts.

“Jamestown has access to so many football leagues, teams, players across the world, which means that a lot of Hearts’ signings will be all types of players of all nationalities. The data is unique, it is excellent data and they have the tools to use that for the benefit and purpose of Hearts.”

Bloom spoke on whether Celtic and Rangers might look to buy Hearts players identified by Jamestown in future years. “That sounds like success to me, if Rangers and Celtic are regularly knocking on Graeme’s door wanting to buy our players,” he commented. “However, it may well be that Rangers and Celtic won’t be able to buy the Hearts players because they may have bigger clubs to go to. JTA give information to the clubs and the clubs themselves decide what to do. They look at players in all leagues, and leagues at a much lower level than Scotland.”

Bloom was then asked to give his view on what lies ahead for Hearts this season. “I don’t like to make predictions on any one season, but all I will say is Hearts have an exceptionally good squad this season,” he remarked. “There is every chance we will have success this season. Not being in Europe gives Hearts an excellent chance in the league and a chance, perhaps, in the cups as well.

“Hearts fans have every right to have big expectations. I don’t think, historically, the expectations have been big enough - or maybe the club haven’t been good enough on the pitch. I know it’s difficult. The Old Firm have a huge advantage in terms of their turnover, their commercial deals, their fanbase, etc. But that’s all changing. We are going to have a squad to compete with the very best teams in Scotland.

“I think, in the two friendly games and the four cup games, the performances and results have been outstanding. The caveat is that the cup games are against teams in lower divisions. The [friendly] win against Sunderland was superb, but their season is starting two weeks later so they are in a state of flux with a lot of good players. It’s really good to have a good pre-season but we all know the real start is tomorrow night against Aberdeen.”

SPFL Premiership opening game against Aberdeen at Tynecastle

Tynecastle is sold out for the Premiership opener. “I’m massively looking forward to the game. I know the Hearts fans won’t let me down. I’m very hopeful Derek and the players won’t let me down. The thing that impresses me the most is the passion of the Hearts fans. I’ve heard about it but I’m going to really see it tomorrow night. I really see a bright future for this football club. Whether you are a young fan or old, don’t worry about the fact we haven’t had that much success in the last few years. I can confidently predict this club is going places. Support the club in any way you can. The Foudnation does a brilliant job and it would be good to get even more Foundation members. I really look forward to the journey ahead.”

When pre-submitted questions from fans were put to Bloom, he gave open answers. One asked how data is balanced against football intuition. “When Jamestown Analytics give advice to Hearts, it’s up to Graeme and his team to do individual work on the players - will they suit the system, what are they like as a person, how are they in the dressing room? From a Brighton point of view, we wouldn’t sign somebody if the data flagged them up as unlikely to do well at Brighton - regardless how well some of our scouts might see them or how brilliant a person they are.

“Each club will only bring a certain number of players into the first-team squad so they have to fit the bill. You get younger players, investment players, first-team players, but data is really important. Jamestown will give information to the club, to Graeme, on each of the players currently at Hearts. It’s up to Graeme and his team and the board to decide what to do with that information.”

The next question asked if Bloom has a say in Brighton selling players to one of Hearts’ rivals after Bournemouth - who are closely linked to Hibs - recently loaned defender Max Aarons to Rangers. “Brighton, in the last few years, have sold players to Belgium - to rivals of Union Saint-Gilloise,” answered Bloom. “Brighton is a separate entity, it runs its own business, separate to Hearts. Brighton will do what is best for Brighton and for the player. If that is to sell a player to another team in the Scottish Premiership, then that can definitely happen.”

Then came a question asking for Bloom’s view on whether Hearts can win the Scottish league title in the next five to 10 years. “It’s very difficult to be confident of winning a title or cup in any one season. I’m supremely confident that, over the next five years, Hearts will have an extremely good squad competing near the top of the league. Whether we are actually good enough to win the title, there are obviously no guarantees on that. But I will be very disappointed if, in the next 10 years, we don’t win at least one league title. What excites me is brining in really good players, watching Hearts win games, I’m addicted to winning, success, and winning titles and that’s what I want to see happen here at Tynecastle.”

Bloom was then asked about Hearts’ outward transfer business in terms of selling players and negotiating fees. Fans wanted to know if higher fees would be more likely in future for anyone leaving Tynecastle. “I can’t talk so much about the players who have been here a while,” he acknowledged. “What I can predict is that the players Hearts brought in this summer and in future - they won’t all work out - but overall the players we bring in will hopefully improve and be sold for profit. That’s the idea. Then you use that money to bring in even better players. That’s the model Brighton and Union have used and that’s what I’m hoping to see here at Tynecastle.”

Celtic and Rangers money - Hearts must be smart

Finances at Celtic and Rangers are insurmountable for other Scottish clubs, so Bloom explained that Hearts need to be smart on the pitch. “Celtic and Rangers’ budgets will always be far superior to Hearts, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will have better teams or squads of players. We have to recruit well, work as a team, be together as a club, have a really good head coach, a good mentality, work hard, and I think we can challenge the Old Firm.”

Perhaps a slightly tongue-in-cheek question asked if Hearts can challenge for European trophies in the next 10 to 20 years. After some laughter in the audience, Bloom replied: “Hearts will continually improve. The Conference League is a winnable tournament if Hearts get in it. The Europa League is obviously tough, but as Hearts continue to improve and if things go right in one-off games, there’s no reason a Scottish team can’t win the Europa League. That means there’s no reason Hearts can’t win the Europa League.”

The prospect of players moving between Brighton and Hearts was discussed. “If it’s right for Brighton, right for the player and good for Hearts, then deals can happen, but I don’t think there will be that many deals between the two clubs,” stated Bloom.

The Brighton chairman then gave his thoughts on the Foundation, which owns Hearts on behalf of more than 8,000 members. “I think it’s really important, the Foundation is really special,” he stated. “The contributions have been vital over the last 10 or 12 years, and that continues to be the case. It’s really key to what we have here at Hearts and I hope that will continue for a very long time.”

The next question asked if Bloom would be willing to break Hearts’ transfer record - which currently sits at £800,000 for the Bosnian winger Mirsad Beslija in 2006. “That would be a decision for the board but I think records are there to be broken,” replied Bloom. “It’s really important that the board runs the club in an astute manner and a sensible manner. So, I think that will happen, but it will happen once there is success - that we are getting into Europe regularly, into the group stages, selling players for good amounts of money. When there is success on the pitch, I’m sure there will be more sponsors and big companies who will want to get involved in Hearts.”

Selling players and being successful is something Bloom believes can happen concurrently. “I certainly think you can achieve both,” he said. “I had a lot of experience at Brighton and we have continually sold our best players and continually improved. That has happened at Union Saint-Gilloise as well over the last few years. We have challenged at the top of the league and sold our best two, three, four players every summer.”

Asked what has surprised him about Hearts, Bloom stated: “I’m looking forward to visiting the museum. I know a bit about the history but I think there’s a lot to learn. I’m really looking forward to that experience.”