Rix Gets Early Release (Again)

All change at Hearts for the third time this season with Graham Rix joining his predecessor George Burley on the former Hearts managers’ list despite the Edinburgh club sitting sandwiched between the Old Firm in second place in the SPL.

Even though club owner Vladimir Romanov appointed Rix only four months ago to replace Burley who had led the club to the top of the SPL in his brief tenure, there has been little surprise amongst Hearts fans and players alike at the latest development.

The overwhelming feeling one gets about Hearts these days is that whatever Mr. Romanov wants to do is fine with everyone else because he continues to put his money where his mouth is and fuels the club with cash to keep everyone happy, everyone bar himself by the sounds of it though.

The players won’t bite the hand that feeds them even though Romanov is highly critical of the way they’ve been playing recently and the fans won’t speak out against the destabilising effect the constant coaching changes are having on the club as a whole because they’ve been blinded by Eastern European money, much like their Southern neighbours Chelsea.

With Jim Duffy also being relieved of his post as director of football after only a month, the Heart of Midlothian story looks to outsiders like a football fairytale gone wrong with an increasingly megolomaniac owner willing to treat one of Scotland’s oldest and most respected clubs as if it was a Sunday League outfit.

Money doesn’t buy you respect but at Hearts it seems to buy you the right to do whatever you like as long you continue to dig deep into your pockets. I wonder how long the bookies give the new interim head coach Valdas Ivanauskas?