The 2012–13 season was the 132nd season of competitive football by Heart of Midlothian, and their 30th consecutive season in the top level of Scottish football, competing in the Scottish Premier League. Hearts also competed in the Europa League, League Cup and the Scottish Cup.
Overview Hearts finished tenth in the Scottish Premier League. They reached the Play-off Round of the Europa League, the Fourth round of the Scottish Cup and reached the Final of the League Cup losing 3–2 to St Mirren at Hampden.
Financial problems The club continued to experience financial problems in September 2012, when a small number of senior players were not paid on time. Some players and members of the management team also did not receive their October wages on time, which led to the Scottish Premier League (SPL) hitting the club with a transfer embargo. The embargo meant Hearts were unable to sign any players until at least 23 December 2012. In December, the embargo was extended indefinitely as Hearts were deemed to have broken SPL rules by failing to pay a number of bonuses and appearance payments in a timely manner. On 17 January 2013, the embargo was lifted and replaced with signing restrictions until the end of the season, meaning Hearts could only sign players under the age of 21, on less wages and on a one in one out basis.
In November, Hearts were due to contest a tax tribunal against HMRC over a £1.75 million bill relating to players loaned to the club from FBK Kaunas. HMRC argued that tax on the players' full salaries should have been paid in the United Kingdom rather than Lithuania; Hearts maintained that the arrangements were comparable to conventional loan agreements in which a parent club subsidises a player's wages.
On 7 November, Hearts announced that the club had been served with a winding-up order over an unpaid tax bill of £449,692.04 and appealed to supporters for emergency financial backing. The club warned that without additional funds there was a risk that its match against St Mirren on 17 November could be its last, and urged supporters to buy tickets and participate in the recently launched share issue.
Hearts also launched a share offer to address the shortfall in the club's finances.
On 11 November 2012, Foundation of Hearts approached the club with a supporter-ownership proposal. It offered to meet the £450,000 tax liability behind the winding-up petition in return for a debt- and liability-free club, including the majority shareholding and Tynecastle. Hearts rejected the proposal as an undervaluation and questioned how the club would subsequently be financed. FoH continued developing its membership scheme and had approximately 3,300 pledgers by May 2013.
On 4 May, Hearts released their financial figures for year ending June 2012. Showing that they had made a loss of £1.65 million and debt had been increased slightly to £24.7m. Hearts said that this was due to the HMRC tax liability being reported during this period. They also further reduced operating costs and employment costs. Turnover at the club increased by £1.76m to £8.68m, this was mainly due to player sales and competing in European competition.
Results and fixtures
Pre-season / Friendlies
Scottish Premier League
The fixture list for the first 33 Scottish Premier League matches in the 2012–13 season was announced on 18 June. Hearts were given a home game to start the season against St Johnstone.
Scottish League Cup
Having qualified for the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League, Hearts entered the League Cup at the third round stage. The draw was held on 3 September and the club were drawn against First Division side Livingston, Hearts won the tie 3–1 and progressed to the quarter-final. Hearts went ahead through a deflected goal from Danny Grainger, before Marc McNulty equalised following a defensive mistake. Marius Žaliūkas then scored twice in quick succession to cancel out his earlier error.
Hearts were drawn away to Dundee United for the quarter-final. Callum Paterson opened the scoring before Johnny Russell equalised for the home side, before Hearts had Darren Barr sent off but managed to force the match to extra time. Hearts went on to win the match 5–4 on penalties in a dramatic shoot out, with 14 penalties being taken in total.
The draw for the semi-final took place on 8 November, and Hearts were drawn against fellow Scottish Premier League side Inverness Caledonian Thistle. Andrew Shinnie put the Highlanders ahead shortly after half time, but debutant Michael Ngoo struck the equaliser before Scott Robinson was sent off for a two footed tackle on Inverness player Owain Tudor Jones. The teams could not be separated and the match went to penalties with Hearts going through for the second round in a row, with Philip Roberts missing the last penalty. The result meant Hearts would return to Hampden nine months after lifting the Scottish Cup, and would face either St Mirren or Celtic in the final. The following day St Mirren beat Celtic 3–2 setting up a non Old Firm final. Following completion of the round Inverness asked the Scottish Football Association (SFA) for clarity over whether Hearts player Danny Wilson should have been suspended for the tie, due to speculation over whether he had served a ban from his time at Rangers. The SFA later confirmed that he was eligible and had served the ban when he joined Liverpool in 2010.
Hearts were led into the final by Gary Locke in his first game as the club's official manager, with Andy Webster captaining the side. Hearts went ahead early on through Ryan Stevenson, although their early dominance faltered with Esmaël Gonçalves equalising just before half time. Hearts were struck hard in the second half with Steven Thompson and Conor Newton scoring consecutively to make it 3–1, before Stevenson struck again to make it 3–2. The result meant the cup returned to Paisley for the first time.
Scottish Cup
Hearts entered the Scottish Cup at the fourth round stage. The draw was conducted on 5 November and drew the cup holders against Edinburgh Derby rival Hibernian, a repeat of the 2012 Scottish Cup Final. The team crashed out the cup, courtesy of an 84th-minute goal from David Wotherspoon. The shot was heavily deflected off Hearts captain Marius Žaliūkas into the net.
UEFA Europa League
Hearts entered the Europa League during the Play-off round having won the 2011–12 Scottish Cup. The draw took place on 10 August 2012, Hearts were unseeded and were drawn against English Premier League side Liverpool. The tie is the club's second all British affair in two seasons having been drawn against Tottenham Hotspur in the same round the previous season.
Play-off round
First team player statistics Captains {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align: center;" |- ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60|No ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60|Pos ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60|Country ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=150|Name ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=80|No of games ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=80|Notes |- |1||DF||||Marius Žaliūkas||30||Team Captain |- |2|||DF||||Andy Webster||13||Vice-captain |- |3|||MF||||Stevenson||1||Vice-captain |- |4|||GK||||MacDonald||1||Vice-captain
Squad information This section includes all players who have been part of the first team during the season. They may not have made an appearance. Last updated 18 May 2013 {| 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, Scottish Cup, League Cup and the UEFA Europa League.
Goal scorers Last updated 18 May 2013 PlacePositionNationNameSPLLeague CupScottish CupEuropeTotal1FWJohn Sutton800082MFRyan Stevenson520073FWMichael Ngoo41005 4DFMarius Žaliūkas22004DFCallum Paterson310045MFArvydas Novikovas30003DFDanny Grainger21003MFJason Holt300036MFDavid Templeton10012MFAndrew Driver20002MFJamie Walker200027DFAndy Webster10001MFJamie Hamill10001DFKevin McHattie10102DFDarren Barr10001 Own goals10001 Total4070148
Disciplinary record During the 2012–13 season, Hearts players were issued eighty-four yellow cards and four red cards. The table below shows the number of cards and type shown to each player. Last updated 18 May 2013 NumberPositionNationNameSPLLeague CupScottish CupEuropeTotal2 MF Jamie Hamill 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 03 DF Danny Grainger 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 04 DF Ryan McGowan 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 05 DF Darren Barr 9 0 2 1 0 0 2 0 13 16 DF Andy Webster 6 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 7 17 MF Ryan Stevenson 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 18 MF Scott Robinson 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 19 FW John Sutton 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 010 MF Mehdi Taouil 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 6 011 MF Andrew Driver 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 014 MF Jamie Walker 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 018 MF Arvydas Novikovas 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 019 DF Dylan McGowan 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 021 FW Michael Ngoo 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 6 026 DF Marius Žaliūkas 6 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 9 027 MF Callum Tapping 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 028 DF Brad McKay 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 029 DF Kevin McHattie 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 5 030 DF Fraser Mullen 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 033 DF Callum Paterson 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 Total67 2 12 2 0 2 0 3 84 4
Clean sheets {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align: center;" |- ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60| ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60| ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=60| ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=150|Name ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=80|SPL ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=80|League Cup ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=80|Scottish Cup ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=80|Europe ! style="background:maroon; color:white;" scope="col" width=80|Total |- | 1 |GK | |Jamie MacDonald |13 |0 |0 |0 |13 |- ! colspan=4 | Total !13||0||0||0||13
Team statistics League table
Division summary
Management statistics Last updated on 18 May 2013 NameFromToPWDLWin%
Club Club staff