Exclusive:‘Honestly, it’s incredible.’ Why Tony Bloom chose Hearts after talks with other clubs.
The Scottish football challenge thrills the EPL chairman.
Since the Edinburgh News initially revealed Tony Bloom’s investment proposal last September, the subject of why he chose Hearts has come up several times.
The Englishman is a multimillionaire, and he did not get there by making rash or dumb judgements. Securing a stake in the Edinburgh club is only the latest move by a savvy gambler who wins considerably more than he loses. Bloom built his money in gambling, and his Starlizard company created the initial program that Hearts’ recruitment partner Jamestown Analytics developed for sports data. He is chairman of Brighton and Hove Albion, an established English Premier League club, and is a minority shareholder in the recently-crowned Belgian champions Union Saint-Gilloise. He also holds shares at Melbourne Victory in Australia. Bloom will add Hearts to his portfolio next week following an EGM at Tynecastle Park to approve his £9.86m investment.
There were discussions with other clubs, but none had the same allure as the one located among the wretched tenements of Gorgie. Bloom admires an underdog who can outperform themselves, and Hearts fits that description. At 55, he has enough experience to appreciate Scottish football and the value it once had in England. In the second of our exclusive three-part interview, Hearts chief executive Andrew McKinlay explained why Bloom chose Tynecastle. “I know from having conversations with him that he has a massive passion about football generally, with Brighton being his hometown club and his number one club,” McKinlay told me. “As with many English people of his generation, he’s very fond of Scottish football. He’s not like some of the younger generation who just dismiss Scottish football. He’s of a generation where great Scots were very important to all the English teams and he’s also a generation that remembers teams other than Rangers and Celtic winning the league. It’s not just him, but his people, who we’ve spoken to a lot, a lot of his advisors, they have massively brought into this.”
Bloom stands to obtain a 29% share in Hearts and will be eligible for a seat on the club’s board as part of the agreement. He will appoint one of his associates to that position. “I can’t say who it is at the moment, but the person who’s likely to come onto our board was up here a few weeks ago,” McKinlay said. “Although they met with people like me and Graeme Jones [sporting director], the finance director, the head of legal, and so on, the number one thing he wanted to do was spend two hours with our museum curator in our museum.” “He wanted to fully understand the club and its history.
So they have hugely bought into the whole concept of doing something in Scottish football and they see Hearts as their best opportunity to do that. Honestly, it’s incredible. I think they’ve also learned very quickly just how bought into it that we are. Now, you will say, ‘of course we are,’ but there have been a few clubs that they’ve spoken to and flirted with in the past, too. They haven’t shown the same all-in enthusiasm as we have to work with them and to make this a huge success.
“I had a good talk with Tony a few weeks back. We were at the SFA to discuss approvals for Bloom’s investment at Tynecastle. He’s an interesting person to chat to about his life story and how he made his money, as well as how they do it now. I could spend a very long time with him. I’m not sure whether I’ll have the opportunity, but I’d love to. So, that is the explanation. “I’m not sure how well we got along when we were discussing Scottish players in England at the SFA.” I said, “Do you know that one of the previous chief executives here said, ‘Smith must score?'” And he says, ‘Yeah, don’t mind me.’ I think that was the closest Brighton have come to winning a trophy in their history. I probably hit a bit of a sore point there!”
Celtic and Rangers challenge in Scotland appeals to Brighton chairman Bloom
Talk of upsetting the traditional Celtic and Rangers duopoly is frequently regarded with derision in Scotland. Growing Hearts to the point where they can compete with the two Glasgow clubs is a daunting job that, if accomplished, will take years. Bloom sees possibilities for the west side of Edinburgh. The extent to which it can be utilised remains to be seen, but the sports entrepreneur aims to make full use of it. Being told he can’t compete with the big two serves as motivation. “It is an encouragement for all of us, but it is especially inspiring for Tony Bloom. That’s why he wants to invest in Hearts,” stated McKinlay. “Although Jamestown Analytics has been used by many clubs, Tony Bloom has only invested in three clubs. This will be the fourth club that he invests in. The reason he’s doing that is because of his excitement, his personal excitement of what he thinks we can do at this club.
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