[Football] Possible Bloom investment in Hearts

[dazzer6666]

Hello BHAFC fans,

Heart of Midlothian supporter here.

Not sure many are overly bothered beyond a wee raised eyebrow about something left field, but thought I would correct a couple of things that were incorrect on the thread.

HMFC have won the Scottish top flight. We were a top top side in the 1950s. Sir Alex Ferguson always has a few fond words about our teams of that era when asked. Money had not changed the football world at that point though.

We are not a “Protestant club”. We are a broad church with supporters from a great many different backgrounds as you would expect with any modern football club. The Catholic - Protestant thing is overwhelmingly a weegie thing. Our city neighbours were founded by Irish immigrants, so over the century and a half of our existence, there have been (largely unsuccessful) attempts to paint our rivalry as a reduced fat (pun intended) weegie old firm thing. This has rarely got beyond a small percentage of the fanbase, except for maybe the 70s.

We are the third biggest football club up here by fanbase, and there is a lot of potential for growth.

Aside from our success in the 1950s, we are as remarked “massive underachievers” due primarily to the financial gulf between the old firm and us.

Our history is inextricably linked to the military due to the events around volunteering for service in the McRae’s Battalion during WW1. This seems to annoy Celtic and Hibs fans for some bizarre reason, as they like to paint themselves as warrior poet freedoms fighters, and see this as a way of characterising a rival.

I have a good friend who stays down in Worthing who is a Hearts supporter. He flies up for most home games. I used to head down once a year to take in an English game and stay with him for the weekend, but starting a family puts the kybosh on these sort of things. One of his mates is a Brighton fan and a good lad, to boot.

Anyway, best of luck with the coming season. Always liked a visit to your town. Here is a search where an English lad has come up to Hearts games and made YouTube videos of his experiences:

football adventures hearts - Google Search

HHGH

What are your views on the potential Bloom/Starlizard involvement ?

 

[HHGH]

I would be dead against any kind of “feeder-club” arrangement, but that doesn’t appear to be on the cards. I would welcome the use of the Starlizard algorithm and date resources. I am a Foundation of Hearts subscriber, and I would be okay with selling a minority shareholding as long as it was not a controlling influence.

 

[albionalba]

Have to use this as an excuse to mention the classic Succession episode where Roman tells Logan Roy that they've bought Hearts as a present for him and he retorts with "why? I'm Hibs" (Which actually was a flaw given that Logan grew up in Dundee so more likely to support one of the city's two teams.)....which brings me on to this post - might just be one of many rumours that seem to rattle around Scottish football about links with Brighton and / or other PL sides though.

Scottish football def needs a boost and it's a shame this football nation is not well-served at all by the Old Firm nonsense - sorry if this story has been posted but see https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cwylxzv1q4qo

From a business perspective I can never quite understand why data tools and approaches like Starlizard get commercialised instead of just keeping them for competitive advantage.....unless of course you use them as a trojan horse to work at a level just below optimum so that as the originator you always have the upper hand (and can use the lower tier version to move the market to suit your optimum play).

 

[dazzer6666]

Have to use this as an excuse to mention the classic Succession episode where Roman tells Logan Roy that they've bought Hearts as a present for him and he retorts with "why? I'm Hibs" (Which actually was a flaw given that Logan grew up in Dundee so more likely to support one of the city's two teams.)....which brings me on to this post - might just be one of many rumours that seem to rattle around Scottish football about links with Brighton and / or other PL sides though.

Scottish football def needs a boost and it's a shame this football nation is not well-served at all by the Old Firm nonsense - sorry if this story has been posted but see https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cwylxzv1q4qo

From a business perspective I can never quite understand why data tools and approaches like Starlizard get commercialised instead of just keeping them for competitive advantage.....unless of course you use them as a trojan horse to work at a level just below optimum so that as the originator you always have the upper hand (and can use the lower tier version to move the market to suit your optimum play).

It the second part - Starlizard won’t share the tools/algo (none of the staff even know how it all works)…….Hearts will get data/recommendations on players that we can’t (or don’t want to) sign but will a) improve them and b) represent good investments

 

[Gabbiano]

It the second part - Starlizard won’t share the tools/algo (none of the staff even know how it all works)…….Hearts will get data/recommendations on players that we can’t (or don’t want to) sign but will a) improve them and b) represent good investments

Well, some of the staff must know if they're designing and updating it, but I see your point.

My partner's ex-flatmate used to work for Starlizard several years ago, shortly after the Benham episode. There's some very highly paid and very very clever mathematicians and data analysts involved. One would imagine with a rock solid non-disclosure clause in their contracts.

As far as I was told the model is not and never was to sell the data or algorithm on. It's used to direct high volume sports betting (very successfully) and to direct the activity of the specific clubs with which Bloom is involved.

 

[dazzer6666]

Well, some of the staff must know if they're designing and updating it, but I see your point.

My partner's ex-flatmate used to work for Starlizard several years ago, shortly after the Benham episode. There's some very highly paid and very very clever mathematicians and data analysts involved. One would imagine with a rock solid non-disclosure clause in their contracts.

As far as I was told the model is not and never was to sell the data or algorithm on. It's used to direct high volume sports betting (very successfully) and to direct the activity of the specific clubs with which Bloom is involved.

Not quite what I’ve heard (including from ex-employees)……..there are multiple parts to the ‘process’ and they’re all kept very separate with the rocket scientists working on the respective elements only really aware of the bit they deal with (one or two published articles have said the same), not how it all fits together.

Agree re the rest - essentially what Hearts will get I suspect is a list of potential signings with supporting rationale (in the same way we do).

 

[Gabbiano]

Not quite what I’ve heard (including from ex-employees)……..there are multiple parts to the ‘process’ and they’re all kept very separate with the rocket scientists working on the respective elements only really aware of the bit they deal with (one or two published articles have said the same), not how it all fits together.

Agree re the rest - essentially what Hearts will get I suspect is a list of potential signings with supporting rationale (in the same way we do).

Well fair enough that makes sense - very highly paid and very clever data analysts, but working in separated and distinct teams.

 

[dazzer6666]

Well fair enough that makes sense - very highly paid and very clever data analysts, but working in separated and distinct teams.

It’s exactly as we had in investment banking - so-called ‘chinese walls’ (usually on meaning different floors with physical access controls) between, say, research and investment management, M&A and traders etc etc.

Old article, but mentioned in here https://www.thejournal.ie/tony-bloom-starlizard-2597458-Feb2016/

 

[dazzer6666]

Hearts fans jumping aboard the TB train now……..they‘re having their understanding improved by some random Swede

Brighton / Tony Bloom

www.hmfckickback.co.uk

 

[Mackenzie]

Hello BHAFC fans,

Heart of Midlothian supporter here.

Not sure many are overly bothered beyond a wee raised eyebrow about something left field, but thought I would correct a couple of things that were incorrect on the thread.

HMFC have won the Scottish top flight. We were a top top side in the 1950s. Sir Alex Ferguson always has a few fond words about our teams of that era when asked. Money had not changed the football world at that point though.

We are not a “Protestant club”. We are a broad church with supporters from a great many different backgrounds as you would expect with any modern football club. The Catholic - Protestant thing is overwhelmingly a weegie thing. Our city neighbours were founded by Irish immigrants, so over the century and a half of our existence, there have been (largely unsuccessful) attempts to paint our rivalry as a reduced fat (pun intended) weegie old firm thing. This has rarely got beyond a small percentage of the fanbase, except for maybe the 70s.

We are the third biggest football club up here by fanbase, and there is a lot of potential for growth.

Aside from our success in the 1950s, we are as remarked “massive underachievers” due primarily to the financial gulf between the old firm and us.

Our history is inextricably linked to the military due to the events around volunteering for service in the McRae’s Battalion during WW1. This seems to annoy Celtic and Hibs fans for some bizarre reason, as they like to paint themselves as warrior poet freedoms fighters, and see this as a way of characterising a rival.

I have a good friend who stays down in Worthing who is a Hearts supporter. He flies up for most home games. I used to head down once a year to take in an English game and stay with him for the weekend, but starting a family puts the kybosh on these sort of things. One of his mates is a Brighton fan and a good lad, to boot.

Anyway, best of luck with the coming season. Always liked a visit to your town. Here is a search where an English lad has come up to Hearts games and made YouTube videos of his experiences:

football adventures hearts - Google Search

HHGH

This is the golden ticket, grab it with both hands.

Good luck and enjoy winning the league in a couple of seasons time.

TB is going to be the most hated man in Glasgow.

 

[Gabbiano]

Hello BHAFC fans,

Heart of Midlothian supporter here.

Not sure many are overly bothered beyond a wee raised eyebrow about something left field, but thought I would correct a couple of things that were incorrect on the thread.

HMFC have won the Scottish top flight. We were a top top side in the 1950s. Sir Alex Ferguson always has a few fond words about our teams of that era when asked. Money had not changed the football world at that point though.

We are not a “Protestant club”. We are a broad church with supporters from a great many different backgrounds as you would expect with any modern football club. The Catholic - Protestant thing is overwhelmingly a weegie thing. Our city neighbours were founded by Irish immigrants, so over the century and a half of our existence, there have been (largely unsuccessful) attempts to paint our rivalry as a reduced fat (pun intended) weegie old firm thing. This has rarely got beyond a small percentage of the fanbase, except for maybe the 70s.

We are the third biggest football club up here by fanbase, and there is a lot of potential for growth.

Aside from our success in the 1950s, we are as remarked “massive underachievers” due primarily to the financial gulf between the old firm and us.

Our history is inextricably linked to the military due to the events around volunteering for service in the McRae’s Battalion during WW1. This seems to annoy Celtic and Hibs fans for some bizarre reason, as they like to paint themselves as warrior poet freedoms fighters, and see this as a way of characterising a rival.

I have a good friend who stays down in Worthing who is a Hearts supporter. He flies up for most home games. I used to head down once a year to take in an English game and stay with him for the weekend, but starting a family puts the kybosh on these sort of things. One of his mates is a Brighton fan and a good lad, to boot.

Anyway, best of luck with the coming season. Always liked a visit to your town. Here is a search where an English lad has come up to Hearts games and made YouTube videos of his experiences:

football adventures hearts - Google Search

HHGH

If all this comes to fruition, enjoy the ride, it really has been a fun one for us.

I notice the Hearts fans are very pessimistic about the possibility of actually closing the chasm. To that I would say that when he first invested in Brighton we were a League 1 side playing in an athletics stadium. Now we've played in Europe and sold a player for £100m. It takes patience.

The thing that takes some getting used to is that in order for it to be sustainable, you have to sell players, for lots of money, and often. Players join, knowing that this is their platform to a big club, they aren't coming because they always dreamed of playing for Brighton. There's a lot of player turnover so you have to try not to get too attached to your stars.

Other fanbase have criticised us for always selling our best players, but then we are probably the most financially healthy club in the PL, and are able to attract great young players because they see the pathway onwards. It's an interesting balance.

 

[Brovion]

Hello BHAFC fans,

Heart of Midlothian supporter here.

Not sure many are overly bothered beyond a wee raised eyebrow about something left field, but thought I would correct a couple of things that were incorrect on the thread.

HMFC have won the Scottish top flight. We were a top top side in the 1950s. Sir Alex Ferguson always has a few fond words about our teams of that era when asked. Money had not changed the football world at that point though.

We are not a “Protestant club”. We are a broad church with supporters from a great many different backgrounds as you would expect with any modern football club. The Catholic - Protestant thing is overwhelmingly a weegie thing. Our city neighbours were founded by Irish immigrants, so over the century and a half of our existence, there have been (largely unsuccessful) attempts to paint our rivalry as a reduced fat (pun intended) weegie old firm thing. This has rarely got beyond a small percentage of the fanbase, except for maybe the 70s.

We are the third biggest football club up here by fanbase, and there is a lot of potential for growth.

Aside from our success in the 1950s, we are as remarked “massive underachievers” due primarily to the financial gulf between the old firm and us.

Our history is inextricably linked to the military due to the events around volunteering for service in the McRae’s Battalion during WW1. This seems to annoy Celtic and Hibs fans for some bizarre reason, as they like to paint themselves as warrior poet freedoms fighters, and see this as a way of characterising a rival.

I have a good friend who stays down in Worthing who is a Hearts supporter. He flies up for most home games. I used to head down once a year to take in an English game and stay with him for the weekend, but starting a family puts the kybosh on these sort of things. One of his mates is a Brighton fan and a good lad, to boot.

Anyway, best of luck with the coming season. Always liked a visit to your town. Here is a search where an English lad has come up to Hearts games and made YouTube videos of his experiences:

football adventures hearts - Google Search

HHGH

Thank you for the info. It must be annoying when people jump to conclusions about the whole 'proddy' thing - although it has to be said that a Celtic fan of my acquaintance refers to Hearts fans as "Huns without the bus fare!"

 

[HHGH]

Thank you for the info. It must be annoying when people jump to conclusions about the whole 'proddy' thing - although it has to be said that a Celtic fan of my acquaintance refers to Hearts fans as "Huns without the bus fare!"

Celtic fans are utter bawbags. Amongst the stupidest and most repugnant creatures ever to crawl across the face of the earth. I’m an atheist and could not give a f*** what religion someone is. Those bellends are obsessed with it. Every time they come to Tynecastle the embarrass themselves.

 

[BN9 BHA]

Celtic fans are utter bawbags. Amongst the stupidest and most repugnant creatures ever to crawl across the face of the earth. I’m an atheist and could not give a f*** what religion someone is. Those bellends are obsessed with it.

 

[Sussax]

Celtic fans are utter bawbags. Amongst the stupidest and most repugnant creatures ever to crawl across the face of the earth. I’m an atheist and could not give a f*** what religion someone is. Those bellends are obsessed with it. Every time they come to Tynecastle the embarrass themselves.

The Chelsea of the SPFL