Tony Bloom, professional gambler turned football club owner, is a man of his methods.
Bloom is a Brighton & Hove Albion supporter and the driving force behind the Seagulls' modern era, investing financially in the club's stadium move and rise to the Premier League.
Ann Budge on Tony Bloom's investment at Hearts
Bloom's investment in Hearts is beginning to live up to his name. The Jamestown system identified head coach Derek McInnes and the Jambos are top of the Scottish Premiership.
As Hearts start to get serious about the title, chairperson Ann Budge is saying goodbye. She announced in the summer that she would be stepping down in December.
"I got a call in December 2023 that said Tony was looking to invest in a Scottish club," Budge tells FourFourTwo.
"I Googled him and thought he wouldn’t be right for us. This was a man who had made his money in gambling, and I’d been preaching about not having betting firms on our shirts.
"When I went to meet him, I was being polite. Having said that, this was someone looking to invest with an interest in growing the club.
"I would have been very foolish not to go. When I came out of that meeting, I felt the opposite. After more meetings, it was clear there were two deals. We had to commit to Jamestown Analytics – we’d be the only Scottish club to get it."
Like Budge, the rest of the Hearts board had their doubts about Bloom's arrival at Tynecastle.
"At first they were suspicious. It was clear we could never challenge Celtic and Rangers if it was just about money – we had to be smarter.
"Over a number of months, we had a lot of conversations and everyone got on board. The rest is not quite history, but it happened."
Indeed, it's still happening. Hearts have played more games than both of the Glasgow rivals but piled on the pressure by beating Celtic in Wilfried Nancy's first game in charge in December.
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