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| <-Page | <-Team | Sat 23 Dec 2006 Dundee United 0 Hearts 1 | Team-> | Page-> |
| <-Srce | <-Type | Herald ------ fans | Type-> | Srce-> |
| Valdas Ivanauskas | <-auth | ROB ROBERTSON and MARK WILSON | auth-> | Charlie Richmond |
| 13 | of 066 | Paul Hartley pen 54 ----- | L SPL | A |
Romanov ‘freak show’ sickens fansROB ROBERTSON and MARK WILSON December 21 2006 Hearts supporters last night accused Vladimir Romanov of turning the club into a " freak show." In an open letter to the Russian multi-millionaire they claim he acted like a "playground bully" in the way he treated Steven Pressley. The Hearts Supporters Trust say that the way Romanov treated Pressley was the last straw for many. They criticise Romanov for meddling in team affairs and making the club a laughing stock. Romanov's Scottish-based public relations chief, Charlie Mann, has forwarded the letter to Romanov at his home in Kaunas in Lithuania. He has also sent copies to Sergejus Fedotovas, Romanov's business adviser, and Liutauras Varnavicius, the president of the Lithuanian football federation who advises Romanov on footballing matters. "This is a very serious letter which makes very serious points and demands to be seen by Romanov and those close to him," said Mann. The fans admitted they were delighted when Romanov first arrived but that their joy had now turned to real concern. "He delivered when he first arrived," states the letter issued by Martin Laidlaw of the trust and its nine other office-bearers. "There was a real sense of optimism around Hearts and a lot of excitement across Scotland that there could be a real and consistent challenge to the Old Firm. But that's all gone now. "Hearts have gone from being the best thing in Scottish football for decades to a laughing stock. People talk about us, but rarely about the football. What we see now is constant interference, the public humiliation of some of our greatest players and a businessman who seems to see our club as a vanity project. "He may be the owner in the legal and financial sense but we're the people who create that fabulous atmosphere in Tynecastle, who trek all over Scotland and Europe, who spend our hard earned cash. "We are the people who are now being mocked at work because of your antics. We are the people who believe our club has lost its self-respect. Hearts are an important sporting institution and he has turned us into a circus freak show." The supporters trust said they were deeply concerned at Pressley's treatment: "For many of us, [that was] the last straw. We know Steven well enough to know that if he thought it was in the best interests of the club to criticise, then there must have been real problems. "Romanov's response to being challenged seems to have been the response of the playground bully." Meanwhile, the possibility of Pressley delaying a decision on his next club until after Christmas is increasing as the 33-year-old remains in no rush to commit himself. Celtic remain the leading contenders but five English clubs, including Charlton, are keen. It is understood that two of those proposals are of particular interest of Pressley, though the thought of uprooting his family is something that requires careful consideration. He continues to use a training facility in Dunfermline to keep fit and becomes eligible on January 1 to play again.  Taken from the Herald |
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