Flotation of shares not Hearts of Oak's bane - Ernest Thompson

Former Hearts of Oak board secretary Ernest Thompson has played down claims that the club is going through drought period because of the flotation of shares.

In 2011, the club floated shares to help raise funds for infrastructural development and to help in the running of the oldest surviving club in the country.

And Togbe Afede XIV, acquired a majority stake in Hearts after the club realized GH¢2.5 million out of the projected GH¢ 10 million from the share flotation exercise.

Several supporters of the Phobians have questioned the traditional ruler’s directions for the club after going nine years without winning any silverware.

One of the club's former board members, Alhaji Suleiman Ibrahim, who is known in football circles as Alhaji Hearts lashed out at Thompson for aiding the flotation idea.

But Thompson believes the club's woes is not due to the share flotation but rather some of the decisions taken by the management board.

"I don't think the flotation of shares is the cause of the club woes," Thompson confidently declared on Happy FM.

"People are pointing to the fact that the club has failed to win any major trophy for some time now, so it's because of the shares we floated, but I think that's not the problem at all. I know our supporters are not happy because the club finished third in the league but to me it's an appreciable position because I knew the kind of problems the club was going through," he added.

"So, I will doff my hat for the players who played. They lost the FA Cup but was preparation okay? What went wrong and look at the way we were severely massacred on the pitch. We need to sit down and find out what really went wrong, that is how you solve problems. Did we lose to Kotoko in that way because of flotation of shares?

Thompson concluded, "Have we not beaten Kotoko so many times after the flotation of shares and I think there's an attempt to distract the club from the main issues confronting us and majoring on minor issues and it wouldn't help. The infrastructure base of the club has not been the best and we need to sit and find out what we can do to improve it, so I don't buy into this flotation blame."