The 2006–07 season was the 126th season of competitive football by Heart of Midlothian, and their 24th consecutive season in the top level of Scottish football, competing in the Scottish Premier League. Hearts also competed in the Champions League, UEFA Cup, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup.
Season Overview
Following an indifferent start to their League campaign, head coach Valdas Ivanauskas took a sabbatical from his role on 23 October. Club owner Vladimir Romanov, who stated "I have full confidence in Valdas and look forward to his return", appointed the club's sporting director, Eduard Malofeev, as interim head coach. Further off-field disruption ensued four days later when Romanov warned his players that they would all be put up for sale if Hearts did not win their match against Dunfermline Athletic the next day. Captain Steven Pressley, flanked by senior players Paul Hartley and Craig Gordon, responded with a statement voicing the players' unhappiness at affairs at the club, stating in a pre-match media conference ahead of Dunfermline's visit that there was "significant unrest" in the dressing room. The game was drawn 1–1.
The repercussions from the press conference stretched over several months and eventually led to the departure from the club of two of the so-called Riccarton Three.Riccarton being the location of Hearts training ground, where the contentious press-conference took place. Pressley was dropped for a match against Falkirk on 13 November and named as an unused substitute for a 1–0 defeat by Rangers on 19 November. Hartley was only used as a substitute in the former game. Pressley eventually left Hearts on 9 December, with accompanying press releases stating that this was an amicable agreement. He joined rivals Celtic on 1 January 2007 and captained his new squad to a 2–1 victory at Tynecastle on his first return to Edinburgh. Hartley also moved to Celtic during January 2007, in a £1.1 million transfer on 31 January. This only left Gordon, who was dropped for matches away to Dundee United and Rangers in December and January respectively, as the only member of the trio to remain at Hearts beyond the January transfer window.
Hearts failed to win a game under the management of Eduard Malofeev, who took control during Ivanauskas' sabbatical. Hearts lost at Celtic and Hibernian – a result which eliminated Hearts from the Scottish League Cup – and at home to Rangers. He remained as caretaker manager until late November 2006 when, despite media reports anticipating the appointment of Eugenijus Riabovas, Ivanauskas returned to resume his duties as club manager.
A 1–0 loss in the Scottish Cup at Dunfermline on 3 February 2007, with Gordon on the bench, ended Hearts' chance to retain the trophy. Later that month, Ivanauskas was moved to a director of football role, with director of football Anatoly Korobochka assuming the role of interim head coach on 2 March. An improved run of form towards the end of the season witnessed Hearts challenge Aberdeen for third spot in the League and UEFA Cup qualification. The Dons scored a last minute equaliser in a head-to-head confrontation between the two teams at Tynecastle in May, and eventually finished four points clear in third place.
Results and fixtures
Pre-season / Friendlies Hearts travelled to Austria for a pre-season tour.
Scottish Premier League
Scottish League Cup
Scottish Cup
UEFA Champions League
Hearts played their home 2006/2007 European Champions League games at Murrayfield Stadium, rather than in their home ground Tynecastle. A combination of Tynecastle falling short of UEFA requirements in terms of pitch size and hospitality facilities, and Murrayfield's greater capacity, meant that Murrayfield was the preferred choice for the Tynecastle board. Hearts won their second round qualifying tie against Bosnian champions Široki Brijeg 3–0 on aggregate, but were defeated 5–1 on aggregate by AEK Athens in the final qualifying round. The Greek side won 2–1 at Murrayfield due to two late goals and then won 3–0 in the Athens Olympic Stadium. Hearts had one player (Bruno Aguiar) sent off in the first leg and two players (Julien Brellier and Neil McCann) sent off in the second leg.
Second qualifying round
Third qualifying round
UEFA Cup
The loss in the final qualifying round meant that Hearts dropped into the UEFA Cup first round against Sparta Prague. In this competition they lost 2–0 at a muddy Murrayfield in the first leg and they were eliminated after a 0–0 draw in Prague in the return leg on 28 September 2006.
First round
First team player statistics Squad information Last updated 20 May 2007 During the 2006–07 campaign, Hearts used thirty-seven 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, Scottish Cup and the UEFA Champions League.
Goal scorers Last updated 20 May 2007 PlacePositionNationNameSPLLeague CupScottish CupEuropeTotal1FWAndrius Velička9030122FWRoman Bednář40116FWMichal Pospíšil600063MFSaulius Mikoliūnas400154FWJuho Mäkelä130145FWBruno Aguiar21003MFAndrew Driver30003MFPaul Hartley30003FWJamie Mole300036FWMauricio Pinilla20002DFIbrahim Tall10012DFMarius Žaliūkas200027DFChristophe Berra10001DFTakis Fyssas10001MFKęstutis Ivaškevičius10001MFLaryea Kingston10001 Total4444456
Team statistics League table
Management statistics Last updated 20 May 2007 NameFromToPWDLWin%
Transfers On the eve of the SPL season, Hearts announced the capture of Chile striker Mauricio Pinilla on a season-long loan. PAOK's Christos Karipidis and Tiago Costa, a full back from Benfica B were also signed, while in the final week of the transfer window three further Lithuanian players – Marius Žaliūkas, Kęstutis Ivaškevičius and Andrius Velička – joined on loan from FBK Kaunas. Hearts fans still anticipated the arrival of "two World Cup stars" but were left disappointed when the club announced that the final piece of business of the transfer window would be to sign the previously-loaned striker Roman Bednář on a permanent deal.
Players in
Player From Fee Christos Karipidis PAOK£200,000 Roman Bednář FBK KaunasFree Tiago Costa BenficaFree David Templeton Stenhousemuir£30,000
Players out Player To Fee Raïs M'Bolhi Ethnikos PiraeusFree Lee Johnson Bristol CityFree Jamie McAllisterFree Martin Petráš LecceFree Chris Hackett MillwallUndisclosed Andy Webster Wigan AthleticFree Tiago Costa VitóriaFree Steven Pressley CelticFree Paul Hartley£1,100,000
Loans in Player From Fee Mauricio Pinilla Sporting CPLoan Kęstutis Ivaškevičius FBK KaunasLoan Andrius VeličkaLoan Marius ŽaliūkasLoan Arkadiusz KlimekLoan Eduardas KurskisLoan Tomas KančelskisLoan Linas PilibaitisLoan Laryea Kingston Akhmat GroznyLoan
Loans out Player To Fee Jason Thomson LivingstonLoan Craig Sives Partick ThistleLoan Calum Elliot MotherwellLoan Denis McLaughlin Berwick RangersLoan Hjálmar Þórarinsson Raith RoversLoan Marco PelosiLoan Mathew Docherty CowdenbeathLoan Jamie MacDonald Queen of the SouthLoan Jamie Mole LivingstonLoan Juho Mäkelä FC ThunLoan
See also List of Heart of Midlothian F.C. seasons
References
External links 2006–07 Heart of Midlothian F.C. season at ESPN