The 118th Annual General Meeting of Heart of Midlothian FC was held in Tynecastle, where shareholders asked questions to the board of directors.
There was evident relief for the Hearts’ CEO when Andrew McKinlay arrived at Tynecastle’s media suite following Wednesday’s annual general meeting.
Speaking to the assembled media, he said that he had hoped he would never have to go before an AGM while the Jambos were at the bottom of the league. For the supporters, who are also shareholders, this is frequently the only opportunity of the year to ask questions of the people who look after their club. As journalists, we have the privilege of trying to represent the interests of the fans every week when we have the chance to interview coaches, players, and sometimes boardroom level officials.
Therefore, it makes sense that temperatures would be a touch high, particularly considering the men’s first team’s present league standing. However, as McKinlay himself stated, the floor questions were “sensible and understandable” and, in this reporter’s view, generally fair.
“It goes without saying that the shareholders have the right to hold the meeting and to ask those questions,” McKinlay stated. When we were at the bottom of the league, I prayed I would never have to stand in front of an AGM. You don’t want to bring it to an AGM. I believe that we provided a clear explanation of the club’s on-field and off-field activities, especially from a financial standpoint, which should have reassured some people about our current situation and our outlook for the future.
Three aspects of the atmosphere of the 2024 Hearts AGM caught my attention:
Supporters appear optimistic that the first team will improve this season.
As I mentioned earlier, the meeting’s mood could have been drastically different given that the men’s first team is now at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership. Although the fans who questioned the board did not give them an easy ride, we were far from verbal abuse, yelling, or even throwing chairs and storming out.
This, in my opinion, may be evidence of the team’s progress since Neil Critchley took over as head coach. Even if they are now at the bottom of the standings, supporters have witnessed enough to know that they won’t be at the end of the season. The men’s first team now has a distinct identity, and now that a challenging schedule of games is over, things appear to be going well for the time being.
The AGM floor was in the same general atmosphere. Supporters demanded answers on a number of topics, such as the January transfer window, the club’s inability to acquire a striker last summer, and the contract status of captain Lawrence Shankland. However, the crowd generally felt that the answers provided were adequate.
Although I had previously sat in on a football club’s AGM, this was my first time attending the Hearts AGM, so I’m not sure precisely what I was expecting. At the end of the day, the word that sprang to mind was “uneventful,” and that is perhaps the best result the board of directors could have asked for.
Love for the unsung backroom character in the room
Financial Director Jacqui Duncan is one individual who might leave the meeting feeling more than simply content with the way things went. She will resign from her position at the end of the current season, making this her final Hearts AGM after ten years of arduous effort behind the scenes.
Naturally, Duncan was given the responsibility of presenting the annual financial data for the 2023–2024 campaign. Despite the club’s eventual loss, the improvement in the company’s financial standing since it emerged from administration is evident and a credit to her efforts.
And because she received numerous applause during the conference, the organisers made sure to let her know that. We don’t need to go into every detail, but let’s just say that the shareholders recognised and valued her contribution to the club during her tenure as FD, and with good reason.
She will be a “hard act to replace” at Tynecastle, as McKinlay stated following the meeting. Despite the men’s first team’s current league position, the shareholders were generally more satisfied with Hearts’ facilities after seeing what the club has accomplished over the last ten years, including the completion of the main stand and all the other improvements that have made them the envy of most other top flight teams.
Positivity about the future
The optimism clearly extended beyond the men’s first squad’s aspirations to begin moving up the league standings and, ideally, competing in Europe, as the team continues to collaborate with Jamestown Analytics. Although they were unable to comment extensively on Tony Bloom’s potential future engagement, McKinlay is the strongest supporter of what Hearts can accomplish with his company’s services.
The followers of the Hearts have undoubtedly bought into this. Future title challenges were discussed, but those are still a ways off, assuming they ever come up. The focus now shifts to the next 18 months, ensuring safety and a strong season finale. After that, it will be interesting to see what can be accomplished with a head coach who has access to these metrics to hire players for the upcoming month and summer and how the team can move forward.
This may have been the main factor in the Gorgie Suite’s generally upbeat vibe that day. Even though they don’t always agree with everything the current board of directors says and does, it’s evident that there is confidence that the club has and will continue to move in the right direction because the supporter shareholders wouldn’t be there if the club hadn’t previously been mismanaged.
