Hearts' Hartley snub reopens old wounds

AT a time when quality players are migrating away from the SPL in their droves, it is hard to make sense of any club in Scotland outwith the Old Firm squandering the chance to sign a proven midfielder like Paul Hartley, a man who still seems to have plenty gas left in the tank.

But that's exactly what Hearts appear to have done after reports emerged yesterday that a disgusted Hartley had pulled the plug on his proposed return to Tynecastle following a needless demand from club owner Vladimir Romanov that he sign a declaration distancing himself from involvement in the Riccarton Three episode back in October 2006. The fact there has been no denial from club or player speaks volumes.

Jim Jefferies has been keen to land the 33-year-old midfielder since it became apparent he was desperate to return north from Bristol City to be closer to his family in Scotland. The manner in which the transfer is said to have hit the buffers will have come as a body blow to the Hearts manager, coming at a time when it looked as if he might just be succeeding where so many of his predecessors had failed in keeping Romanov's notorious interfering to a minimum.

The player's wage demands were modest in comparison to what he'd been earning in recent years at Hearts, Celtic and Bristol City, and, with Tynecastle always having been Hartley's first-choice destination, an agreement suitable for both parties had been all but reached - pending Romanov's ratification - since a week past Friday. It looked like a done deal, but Aberdeen manager Mark McGhee, who has now emerged as the favourite to secure Hartley's signature, perhaps had something of a premonition when he told press after his side's friendly with Tamworth on Saturday: "We all know Hearts are unpredictable. It's never a done deal until it's finalised."

And finalised it wasn't, as Romanov's alleged request appears to have scared off the Hearts Hall of Fame member at a time when the club were just beginning to re-establish some grounds for optimism under Jefferies. What effect the collapse of the transfer will have on the manager's hitherto-steady relationship with the majority shareholder, we will only find out in the coming weeks.

Granted, the move would not have fitted with Romanov's blueprint for signing young players with sell-on potential, but this is Hartley we're talking about. He's a player revered by the club's supporters since his hat-trick against Hibs in the 2006 Scottish Cup semi-final, an SPL title winner and Scotland internationalist within the past couple of years, and he remains very capable of performing regularly at a good level - as proven by the fact he shone in the English Championship last season with Bristol City. Perhaps most significantly, he has developed into a natural leader of men.

As Hearts journey to Dunfermline for tonight's pre-season friendly, it will be evident to all and sundry there is a gaping vacancy in Jefferies' team for a domineering midfielder who can offer inspiration to a squad which has an average age of about 22. The manager may well have turned his attention to the highly-rated Kilmarnock captain Craig Bryson instead, but it's hard to escape the notion that the return of Hartley would have been a match made in heaven for club and player.

"If that is the deal dead, it's a massive opportunity missed for Hearts," said a bemused Jim Duffy, who watched Hartley flourish at first hand during a brief spell as director of football at Tynecastle in 2006. "Outside of the Old Firm, there is no doubt Paul Hartley could still do a job for any club in the SPL. It's not just about his quality on the pitch, but the positive influence he would exert on the dressing room would be invaluable for just about any team.

"You always hear managers talking about how they want leaders in their dressing room, guys who can cajole and command respect from the other players, and Paul is one of those, no question about that. I think, for almost any club in I know a lot of teams are struggling financially in Scotland at the moment, but if there are clubs thinking about pushing the boat out for a particular player, then, for me, Paul Hartley would definitely be that man.

"He would have placed demands on the other players in the Hearts team in a good way. He would have known how he wanted Hearts to progress and would have had an obvious influence on and off the pitch."

There's a popular school of thought that says it's a risk for a player to return to a club where they made their name, but Duffy is in no doubt that Hartley, who emerged as one of the best players in Scotland when he led Hearts' charge to second place in the SPL in 2006, would be a major asset to the current Jambos squad.

"When Paul was at Hearts he was, without a shadow of a doubt, at the peak of his career," continued Duffy. "He was a huge player for Hearts for a good couple of seasons. His drive and his goalscoring made him probably the best attacking midfielder in the country. When he left Hearts he became more of a sitting midfielder - he did that for Celtic and Scotland and also at Bristol City.

"That shows you how adaptable he is because he started off as a winger, then became a goalscoring midfielder and then became a very intelligent, astute defensive midfield player."He would have wanted to go back and try and achieve the same sort of success he had at Hearts first time round. He'll have remembered his time there and how he played with top players and helped Hearts split the Old Firm for the first time in 20 years and won the Scottish Cup and would have thought to himself 'I want to try and get close to that again'."

Harltey only began to realise his full potential in 2003 when Craig Levein brought him to Tynecastle from St Johnstone.

Duffy added: "There was a bit of negativity surrounding him until he reached his late 20s when he found his best position on the pitch. The last five years or so have been really successful for him and he's probably still got a good couple of years left in the SPL."

Unfortunately for Hearts, those years now look unlikely to be spent in the west of Edinburgh. Regardless of whether or not Hartley would have been a success back at Tynecastle, the way the transfer of such an iconic figure appears to have been trashed so needlessly has significantly dampened spirits of previously optimistic supporters.

Time will tell if this sorry saga proves to be the undoing of the relative harmony which has revisited Hearts since Jefferies returned to steady the ship back in January.