Barry Hearn has never been short of ambition and his latest venture in football is no different.
Whether it was during his two-decade stint as chairman of Leyton Orient or during his work in snooker, boxing, darts or fishing, Hearn has enjoyed his fair share of spectacular success and expensive failures.
Hearn is now back in football with Brentwood Town and knows that success is a product of secure foundations. He also knows that sustainability is sacrificed for ambition; trouble can lie ahead, citing the case of one high-profile former Premier League chairman to back up his case.
Hearn on wanting Brentwood to grow the right way
“The most important thing is to make us sustainable,” he tells FourFourTwo. “Right now, we don’t lose money, but we’re ambitious on top of that.
“Most fans will now say ‘Well, come on then, sunshine, put your money in.’ You tell them to f**k off because it’s not their money. Only an idiot throws excessive amounts of money too early.”
This brings him to the case of the former Crystal Palace chairman and current talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan, who he believes acts as a warning of what can happen when ambition and finances do not marry up.
“History is lined with Simon Jordans, who I’m sure loved Crystal Palace but basically built up a business that then went skint,” Hearn continues. “He’s an idiot. Others, like him, want instant success, but I don’t really do that.”
Hearn points to another of his investments that took a while to bloom.
“I bought the darts 25 years ago,” he remembers. “Everyone always says to me ‘Oh, you’re a genius seeing that coming’. I remind them that I bought it when nobody gave a toss.
“It wasn’t an overnight success – it was painstaking. It was on its knees when we came in, nobody watching. Now look.”
For Hearn, this philosophy extends to his latest project.
“That all shows that I’m a long-term player in general, and I’m a long-term player at Brentwood,” he affirms. “I own 20 per cent of it. I don’t give a s**t if I own one per cent or 100 per cent – it just made sense to have a voice.
“They know what I can bring to the table. As the best operator in sport in the world, I know more about this business than anyone alive – mainly because I’m so f**king old.”
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