Vladimir Romanov. Lock up your managers. The giant of Lithuanian football once more walks among the gnomes that populate the cradle of the game.I thought we'd lost him. First there was the lure of the televised dance floor and then the threats to his not quite global banking empire caused by the worldwide recession. Click to continue reading...

The Big Four? Try the Only Four. If fans of the English Premier League are increasingly bemoaning the seemingly unshakeable dominance of the former, imagine the absurdity of a division comprised solely of four teams. Yet when the new Lithuanian football season finally kicked off at the beginning of this month, there was a profound sense of relief in many quarters that this bizarre scenario had albeit by a hair's breadth been narrowly avoided.

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Just when you think it's all quiet on the Eastern front, Vladimir chucks another curve ball into the mix. It would appear that when he's not dancing on the telly, outing McMafioso or dressing monkeys as journalists, he's quite into his politics.
After having a chinwag with Ruben Palazuelos a few weeks back, it didn't occur to me to note whether or not there was a knowing twinkle in his eye when he informed me that El Presidente was in the building. Click to continue reading...

Maybe I don't remember details as clearly as I should. I can barely remember who scored in any fixtures which happened longer than 2 weeks ago, I can't remember specifics about most transfers and I don't have any real recollections of specific comments made in television or press articles over the past few years. Click to continue reading...

David Obua seems to be a name which crops up more often than anyone else on this blog at the moment, but again, it was our erstwhile Ugandan who inspired the comments which in turn, inspired this blog entry. According to Colin Duncan of the Daily Record, Obua was celebrating our win against Dundee United by dancing like a 'proper pecker'. Click to continue reading...

See? Just when you think it's safe to express even the tiniest little bit of joy, it all comes crashing right back down again around your ears. We barely had time to celebrate the win over Rangers before we received news that the wages issue had become even more bizarre and twisted, with the press indicating that the highest earners may have agreed to defer their wages until January and the win bonuses would follow on in 'due course'. Click to continue reading...

So UBIG have ballsed it up again and are we really all that surprised? After a week of slightly grimy attempts by the media to upset and irritate those of a maroon persuasion, it was more disappointing than anything else to read on Friday evening that yet again, our players hadn't been paid on time. We all know that the tabloid press love nothing more than a juicy opportunity to stick the boot in, but what makes it even more galling is the fact that while we're griping about it we're also handing them the ammo. Click to continue reading...

Ahead of tonight's clash with England, we give you the lowdown on all things Belarus 1. Alexander Hleb The former Arsenal man was a Gunners favourite (at least until he started shooting his mouth off about the club and making is very clear that he wanted to leave to join Barcelona. The midfielder is almost certainly ruled [. Click to continue reading...

Vladimir Romanov's "other club" gave him his most famous victory over either half of the Old Firm tonight and, contrary to the last, he refused to bask in the glory. Questioned by Dennis the Menace's ginger, less articulate big brother (or Jim Spence as he's called on the radio) Vladimir claimed that FBK Kaunas had achieved more by beating Andorran side Santa Coloma in the previous round. Click to continue reading...

Could things be turning around at Vladimir Romanov's Tynecastle circus? Vlad has promised to get "less and less" involved with the team, says he'll listen to Csaba Laszlo's opinion and has been waxing lyrical about happy, smiling players. Still not much action on the transfer front, and the results in pre season haven't been brilliant, but is there a glimmer of hope for Hearts fans. Click to continue reading...

Goodbye Motherwell! Hello, eh, umm, Motherwell? Silly season saga number one has ended as it began with Mark McGhee still manager of Motherwell, albeit with an enhanced salary, and Hearts still looking for the man to rebuild the Romanov dream. Actually this saga hasn't been confined to the silly season. Click to continue reading...

Kick idiots out of football Part one of our staggered end to the season and Gretna sign off from the SPL, probably from football, with a victory against Hearts. So the Gretna farce ends on a high note. The players have, if nothing else, shown some professional pride. But tonight's crowd of just over 1000 tells its own story. Click to continue reading...