Heart of Midlothian Football Club is based in Edinburgh and is one of the two principal clubs in the city, the other being Hibernian. They are currently managed by former hero John Robertson. The club plays at Tynecastle Stadium, though FIFA regulations dictate that European competition matches are played at Murrayfield, the national rugby ground. Lithuanian Vladimir Romanov recently became the major shareholder of Hearts when he took over Chris Robinson's stake.

History

Hearts (the common abbreviation) were founded in 1874 and are named after a dance hall which in turn took its name from the novel The Heart of Midlothian by Sir Walter Scott. They initially played at the Meadows, Powburn and Powderhall before moving to the Gorgie area in 1881. They moved to their current Tynecastle site in 1886.

Hearts had considerable success in the early years of the Scottish Football League winning the league championship in seasons 1894-1895 and 1895-1896. They also won four Scottish Cups in an 11 year period between 1895 and 1906. However the club then went from 1906 to 1954 without winning a major trophy. They then had their most successful years winning the 1958 League title with a record 62 points, with 132 goals scored in 34 matches. They also won the League title 1960 and during this period won the Scottish League Cup four times in 1955, 1959, 1960 and 1963. This successful period for the club contianed many top, now legendary, names such as Alfie Conn , Jimmy Wardhaugh and Alex Young .

From the mid 1960s Hearts went into decline and with the advent of the 10-team Premier Division in 1975 spent several seasons outside the top flight. The arrival of chairman Wallace Mercer led to a revival in the club's fortunes, narrowly failing to win the league in 1986 and being runners up again in 1988. Since then the changing economics of football have made it almost impossible for Hearts, like other Scottish clubs, to compete with the dominant Old Firm clubs (Celtic and Rangers). The only recent trophy win was the Scottish Cup in 1998 won under the management of Jim Jefferies.

In recent seasons Hearts have occupied the third place in the Scottish Premier League. Current manager, and playing legend, John Robertson will be looking to sustain this success achieved by Craig Levein before he departed to manage Leicester City.

On Sunday April 10th, 2005, Hearts made international headlines when some of their fans booed a minute's silence held in honour of Pope John Paul II during a Scottish Cup match against Celtic FC.

Current squad

• 1. Craig Gordon
• 2. Marius Kizys
• 3. Patrick Kisnorbo
• 4. Steven Pressley
• 5. Kevin McKenna
• 6. Andy Webster
• 7. Dennis Wyness
• 8. Phil Stamp
• 9. Lee Miller - on loan from Bristol City F.C.
• 10. Paul Hartley
• 11. Neil MacFarlane
• 12. Robbie Nielson
• 13. Teuvo Moilanen
• 14. Jamie McAllister
• 15. Ramon Pereira
• 16. Stephen Simmons
• 17. Graham Weir
• 18. Neil Janczyk
• 19. Joe Hamill
• 20. Mark Burchill
• 21. Cristophe Berra
• 22. Michael Stewart - on loan from Manchester United F.C.
• 23. Saulius Mikoliunas
• 25. Conall Murtagh - on loan at Raith Rovers F.C.
• 26. Chris Gardiner - on loan at Clyde F.C.
• 28. Craig Sives
• 35. Calum Elliot
• 39. Lee Wallace
• 45. Hjalmar Thorarinsson
• 48. Deividas Cesnauskis

Famous former players

• Bobby Walker
• Tommy Walker
• Alex Massie
• Jimmy Wardhaugh
• Willie Bauld
• Alfie Conn
• Dave Mackay
• Alex Young
• Willie Wallace
• John Robertson

Past managers

• Peter Fairley (1901-03)
• William Waugh (1903-08)
• James McGhee (1908-09)
• John McCartney (1910-19)
• William McCartney (1919-35)
• David Pratt (1935-37)
• Frank Moss (1937-40)
• David McLean (1941-51)
• Tommy Walker (1951-66)
• John Harvey (1966-70)
• Bobby Seith (1970-74)
• John Hagart (1974-77)
• Willie Ormond (1977-80)
• Bobby Moncur (1980-81)
• Tony Ford (1981)
• Alex MacDonald (1982-90)
• Joe Jordan (1990-93)
• Sandy Clark (1993-94)
• Tommy McLean (1994-95)
• Jim Jefferies (1995-2000)
• Craig Levein (2000-2004)
• John Robertson (current)

Honours

Scottish League Champions: (5) Division One (old format): 1894-95, 1896-97, 1957-58, 1959-60; (new format): 1979-80

Scottish Cup: (6) 1891, 1896, 1901, 1906, 1956, 1998

Scottish League Cup: (4) 1955, 1959, 1960, 1963