The 2009–10 season was the 129th season of competitive football by Heart of Midlothian, and their 27th consecutive season in the top level of Scottish football, competing in the Scottish Premier League. Hearts also competed in the Scottish Cup, Scottish League Cup and the UEFA Europa League.
Season Overview Hearts first four SPL games of the 2009–10 season were announced as Dundee United away, Rangers at home, newly promoted St Johnstone away and Kilmarnock at home.
On 13 August 2009, Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo announced the appointment of midfielder Michael Stewart to the role of club captain, replacing Robbie Neilson after his move to Leicester City. Central defender Marius Zaliukas was appointed vice-captain. On 17 August 2009, Stewart was sent off against Dundee United in a 2–0 reverse at Tannadice.
Despite a poor start to the season Hearts recorded a 1–0 win over Celtic in the League Cup at Parkhead with a Michael Stewart penalty.
Jim Jefferies first game in charge was against St Mirren in the League Cup. He did not enjoy a successful start as Hearts crashed out of the League Cup, losing 1–0 to St Mirren, with Billy Mehmet the only scorer. Jefferies' first league game in charge saw his team lose 2–0 to Celtic.
Shortly after the Celtic away defeat, Hearts some form under Jefferies. Three wins in a row against Falkirk, Hamilton and Aberdeen saw Hearts move to 6th place in the league. Although, the winning streak ended at Dundee Utd away, losing 1–0, which saw them only 7 points ahead of 7th placed Aberdeen, with Aberdeen having a game in hand.
Hearts' win over Kilmarnock on 10 April 2010 confirmed their place in the top six for the SPL late-season split.
Remember Shirts On 21 October 2009, Umbro released a limited edition Hearts shirt for the weekend game against Falkirk. The shirts had a poppy sewn into the left side of the shirt and a picture of the Hearts memorial statue sewn into the right. The memorial statue commemorates when the whole Hearts team enlisted themselves into the Great War, the first team in Britain to do so.
Bosnian Fundraising On 23 October 2009, Hearts supporter Gary Gray gave over £4,500 to two Bosnian children's charities after raising the money himself.
Results and fixtures
Pre-season / Friendlies
Scottish Premier League
Scottish League Cup
Scottish Cup
UEFA Europa League Play-off round
First team player statistics Squad information Last updated 9 May 2010 During the 2009–10 campaign, Hearts used thirty-three players in competitive games. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player. {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 100%; text-align: center;" |- ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" rowspan="2" width="10%" align="center"|Number ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" rowspan="2" width="10%" align="center"|Position ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" rowspan="2" width="10%" align="center"|Nation ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" rowspan="2" width="20%" align="center"|Name ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" colspan="2" align="center"|Totals ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" colspan="2" align="center"|SPL ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" colspan="2" align="center"|League Cup ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" colspan="2" align="center"|Scottish Cup ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" colspan="2" align="center"|Europe |- ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60 align="center"|Apps ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60 align="center"|Goals ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60 align="center"|Apps ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60 align="center"|Goals ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60 align="center"|Apps ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60 align="center"|Goals ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60 align="center"|Apps ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60 align="center"|Goals ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60 align="center"|Apps ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60 align="center"|Goals
Appearances (starts and substitute appearances) and goals include those in the Scottish Premier League, League Cup, and the Scottish Cup.
Goal scorers Last updated 9 May 2010 PlacePositionNationNameSPLLeague CupScottish CupEuropeTotal1MFMichael Stewart520182MFSuso Santana600063MFAndrew Driver30003DFMarius Žaliūkas20013MFDavid Obua30003DFMarius Žaliūkas200134FWGary Glen11002DFJosé Gonçalves20002FWChristian Nadé20002MFDavid Templeton200025MFIan Black10001DFIsmaël Bouzid10001MFScott Robinson10001FWGordon Smith10001DFLee Wallace10001FWDavid Witteveen10001 Total3530240
Team statistics League table
Management statistics Csaba László was sacked on 29 January after a 3–0 home loss to Aberdeen.Jim Jefferies was appointed shortly afterwards to the job, for a return to Tynecastle. Last updated 9 May 2010 NameFromToPWDLWin%
Transfers Heart of Midlothian made five signings over the summer break: Ian Black, Dawid Kucharski, Ismaël Bouzid, Suso Santana and David Witteveen. Before the January transfer window was closed, Jim Jefferies signed Ryan Stevenson from Ayr United for a five figure undisclosed fee.
Players in
Player From Fee Suso Santana CD TenerifeFree Ian Black Inverness CTFree Dawid Kucharski Lech PoznańUndisclosed Ismaël Bouzid AnkaragücüUndisclosed David Witteveen Red Bull SalzburgFree Ryan Stevenson Ayr UnitedUndisclosed
Players out Player To Fee Christos Karipidis Omonia NicosiaFree Robbie Neilson Leicester CityFree Steve Banks Dundee UnitedFree Bruno Aguiar Omonia NicosiaFree Jonathon Fisher ClydeFree Denis McLaughlin DumbartonFree Stephen Husband BlackpoolNominal
Loans in Player From Fee Marius Činikas FBK KaunasLoan
Loans out Player To Fee Denis McLaughlin DumbartonLoan Jonathan Brown LivingstonLoan Stephen HusbandLoan Ryan McGowan Ayr UnitedLoan Mark Ridgers East FifeLoan Rocky Visconte Ayr UnitedLoan Jamie Mole Raith RoversLoan David Witteveen Greenock MortonLoan
See also List of Heart of Midlothian F.C. seasons
Notes
References Hearts FC Official Website – First Team Fixtures and Results 2009–10 Edinburgh Evening News – Heart of Midlothian FC