Praise for McCabe, The Prince and SUFC

[Sean Thornton]

Not by me it hasn't.

To clarify, no, not by you.

 

[pommpey]

Wilder did not appoint himself, pay himself and his management team, fund the wage bill, subsidise cash flow, keep the Prince interested by re-configuring the vision. Come on.

As the 'anarchist' , you deserve to be exactly where you are which is exactly where I was 12 months ago when you were the one having a field day and I was ploughing a lone furrow.

As you will no doubt be so relieved, I am delighted things have turned out as they have.

Wilder has come at the end of a risible thread of eight shoddy appointments, each one getting progressively worse. None of those appointed themselves either, but each one cost the club in both position and cash. You have no answer for that. Just because Wilder has revolutionsied what is happening down there on the pitch doesn't mean that McCabe has suddenly waved his magical hands and all is forgiven.This is our sixth season in the third division, and we are Sheffield United, one of two teams from the sixth biggest conurbation in the UK with what seems to be a consistent 20k+ gate every week.

pommpey

 

[Sean Thornton]

Okay. On a level playing field now Sean. No prejudices now, answer me this:

You say the Desso was paid for by the Cup campaigns. Is there anything within the financial regulations which states such income cannot be reallocated to players wages?

McCabe said, the sale of Murphy was completed, and the proceeds reallocated to pay wages.

I accept both statements, but something still doesn't sit right. Regardless of any time lag you have put into this, doesn't one beget the other? Let's say McCabe has this cash an thinks, "Hmmm. Cup cash. I think we'll buy a Desso". Later he thinks, "Shit. The squad is massive and the wages huge (this was at the start of a season, so that itself is questionable regarding financial competence) I think we may have to sell last season's top scorer to Brighton to pay everyone's wages." Somewhere in there is a basic misconstruing and lack of basic acumen in forecasting, is it not?

Before everyone starts ... I am delighted about this season. Please back off.

pommpey

Pommpey, ,

I'm not going to disagree with any of that because it's a reasonable summing up of the situation and takes into account the facts of the matter as I think most see them. The point - that metal blade made a few minutes ago - was that the cup money should have been spent on the squad, a perfectly reasonable opinion based on what we had. But it seemed to me that your disdain for McCabe led you to criticise the decision to fund the Desso by erroneously lumping the Murphy sale in with it. You stuck with that for some considerable time ignoring the points made by anyone who didn't agree.

I'm not naive enough to pretend that spending the Murphy fee o wages stopped the owners having to put more money in to meet those costs. That would be silly IMO therefore, you deliberately muddied the waters to make a bigger point. However pedantically maybe challenged your assertion, you stuck to it regardless when 1) it wasn't an accurate portrayal of events and 2) when the basic premise of spending money on the team earned a good year or so earlier wasn't something that could be argued against. By anyone.

Any umbrage taken was due to some refusing to accept your version of events, me included and your determination in sticking to it, regardless.

 

[CopenhagenBlade]

And for your list, I respectfully ask you where in the past our footballing programme has ever been affected in such a drastic manner by postponed games that it has actually cost us (please show working out), where the previous surface has been directly attributed to injuries (and how this levels with say, today's cowfield where it seems no injuries have cost us) and finally, the 'other events', how many have taken place so far and even if they do, what that will bring to the 'football club' as a cost-benefit rather than the parent companyor the event promoter/Sky/third party rip-off companies.

I am neither stupid, nor argumentative. I'd happily SFTU if one of you lot could give me a credible, reasonable answer to what is patent evidence against your fallacious suppositions to support spunking cash on a folly.

pommpey

I am not privy to all the figures and, to be honest, I can't be bothered to find them. Let's just take an example, we have Wolves at home Saturday at 3pm, game gets cancelled as pitch is unplayable. The game is rearranged for a Tuesday evening. 3,000 fans who would have come on the Saturday can't make the Tuesday game, loss of ticket income £75,000, loss of catering £15,000. Loss to club £90,000. Plus loss of working hours back office, reissuing tickets etc 2-3 days.
Relaying pitch surface, which we did a couple of seasons ago is very costly, copy from Google of a game against Brentford:

'Officials from Sheffield United will wait until tomorrow (Wednesday) morning to see the impact the overnight weather has had on the Bramall Lane pitch.
Brentford's playing, coaching, and support staff left today for tomorrow's League One fixture, which has already been postponed twice.'

If you are running on a soft uneven pitch then you are putting more stress on your muscles and using more energy.
The way we play now, pressing harder, running more I am sure would lead to more muscle based injuries but I will admit I can't prove this but ask any player, the manager and the physio then I am 100% sure that they would say that the investment in the pitch is peanuts against the cost. Why are other clubs installing these pitches? Just for fun?

 

[CopenhagenBlade]

Wilder has come at the end of a risible thread of eight shoddy appointments, each one getting progressively worse. None of those appointed themselves either, but each one cost the club in both position and cash. You have no answer for that. Just because Wilder has revolutionsied what is happening down there on the pitch doesn't mean that McCabe has suddenly waved his magical hands and all is forgiven.This is our sixth season in the third division, and we are Sheffield United, one of two teams from the sixth biggest conurbation in the UK with what seems to be a consistent 20k+ gate every week.

pommpey

So again Mr Hindsight, did you think Clough was going to end how it did or did you think it was a good appointment? Did I miss your comment thatAdkins was a terrible appointment, when he was announced? Or did these just come afterwards? And you knew of course that Wilder would get us up???

 

[pommpey]

Pommpey ... what Sean said ...

I have never accused or maintained McCabe is bent or a crook or is fucking this club over for his own means. The bottom line is, he is a Sheffield United supporter above being our 50% owner and CEO. My ire comes that he is disingenuous with much of what he says. Aside that people claim he is still stuffing cash into the venture, this is mostly to keep afloat the vested interest in what is a wide, broad and deep family interest in Sheffield United. If the club sinks further, his family's stock collapses badly and there's a danger of it taking the whole framework with it, is there not? It's appreciated that he continues to sustain Sheffield United, but this is in the face of some breathtakingly woeful decisions, stretching as far back as the moment the tackle went in on Hulse almost ten years ago now. Seemingly, that was the paradigm shift downwards for us and McCabe as Chief Exec/Chairman/Owner has to shoulder some of the blame for us spending so long dying and remaining dead since then. The acquisition of an unprovable bauble like the Desso and the serial flogging of key assets hasn't made him much of a hero in my eyes, and you'll agree, we have sold some good players and bought some shit in their place, with much of the transactions hidden from our prying eyes, which hasn't helped our suspicions.

I am overjoyed at our current placing and expect us to be promoted. Fans like you and Bert, who attend every game and distant fans like me who don't deserve this restoration of services, but it has been a bruising, costly journey and one which has been equal parts difficult for players, fans and staff, largely because of the ridiculous incompetence shown by one person.

Up the Blades.

pommpey

 

[pommpey]

I am not privy to all the figures and, to be honest, I can't be bothered to find them. Let's just take an example, we have Wolves at home Saturday at 3pm, game gets cancelled as pitch is unplayable. The game is rearranged for a Tuesday evening. 3,000 fans who would have come on the Saturday can't make the Tuesday game, loss of ticket income £75,000, loss of catering £15,000. Loss to club £90,000. Plus loss of working hours back office, reissuing tickets etc 2-3 days.
Relaying pitch surface, which we did a couple of seasons ago is very costly, copy from Google of a game against Brentford:

'Officials from Sheffield United will wait until tomorrow (Wednesday) morning to see the impact the overnight weather has had on the Bramall Lane pitch.
Brentford's playing, coaching, and support staff left today for tomorrow's League One fixture, which has already been postponed twice.'

If you are running on a soft uneven pitch then you are putting more stress on your muscles and using more energy.
The way we play now, pressing harder, running more I am sure would lead to more muscle based injuries but I will admit I can't prove this but ask any player, the manager and the physio then I am 100% sure that they would say that the investment in the pitch is peanuts against the cost. Why are other clubs installing these pitches? Just for fun?

So, we don't see injuries on the Desso, yeah?

Do we see more injuries and stress on muscles away from home then?

How many of our players come back from away games nursing crocks as a result of shit away pitches?

And where is your proof that our old pitch caused us undue end of season fixture pile ups which cost the club in aspirations to be promoted? Games get cancelled for a number of reasons - Cup Ties, Internationals, team viruses. How do we deal with that Copes?

pommpey

 

[pommpey]

So again Mr Hindsight, did you think Clough was going to end how it did or did you think it was a good appointment? Did I miss your comment thatAdkins was a terrible appointment, when he was announced? Or did these just come afterwards? And you knew of course that Wilder would get us up???

I think Clough and Adkins were good appointments. Proven past capability.

How do you factor in talent sales and lack of financial investment to replace players old in that?

pommpey

 

[Tunstall Fred]

So, we don't see injuries on the Desso, yeah?

Do we see more injuries and stress on muscles away from home then?

How many of our players come back from away games nursing crocks as a result of shit away pitches?

And where is your proof that our old pitch caused us undue end of season fixture pile ups which cost the club in aspirations to be promoted? Games get cancelled for a number of reasons - Cup Ties, Internationals, team viruses. How do we deal with that Copes?

pommpey

Lavery is injured after playing on Oldhams pitch today

 

[CopenhagenBlade]

So, we don't see injuries on the Desso, yeah?

Do we see more injuries and stress on muscles away from home then?

How many of our players come back from away games nursing crocks as a result of shit away pitches?

And where is your proof that our old pitch caused us undue end of season fixture pile ups which cost the club in aspirations to be promoted? Games get cancelled for a number of reasons - Cup Ties, Internationals, team viruses. How do we deal with that Copes?

pommpey

I bet we don't see as many muscle related injuries after home games.
We have had an issue with our pitch, now we don't.
We have a manager who wants to play football on the deck. It doesn't guarantee us a win but it guarantees week in week out that we play the way we want to. Today's a good example of where we have to change our way of playing to suit the pitch. We still got a draw but it negated the advantage that we have because we are a better football team on a proper pitch.
We have a desso pitch, which enables us to play football all year round on a near perfect pitch. We are a football club and the pitch is an important part of any club. We can't control everything but we can do things, invest in a desso pitch, which means we give ourselves the best possible advantage

 

[CopenhagenBlade]

I think Clough and Adkins were good appointments. Proven past capability.

How do you factor in talent sales and lack of financial investment to replace players old in that?

pommpey

So why say the appointments were progressively worse. He backed Clough, in hindsight, way too much. He backed Adkins but the bloke was a disaster. I think that we can all agree his biggest mistake was Robson, everyone saw that disaster coming, but he hired him and backed him, both terrible decisions

 

[Bert]

Lavery is injured after playing on Oldhams pitch today

We've had very few injuries this season, practically none.

 

[pommpey]

Lavery is injured after playing on Oldhams pitch today

Directly contributed to the pitch?

pommpey

 

[pommpey]

So why say the appointments were progressively worse. He backed Clough, in hindsight, way too much. He backed Adkins but the bloke was a disaster. I think that we can all agree his biggest mistake was Robson, everyone saw that disaster coming, but he hired him and backed him, both terrible decisions

You have no proof of the extent that McCabe backed both Clough or Adkins. I'd say with the signings and acquisitions of each, the 'options' given both managers were pretty limited. Unless you see otherwise. Any idea why Clough was sacked/left? Still a bit of a mystery, isn't it?

pommpey

 

[Tunstall Fred]

Directly contributed to the pitch?

pommpey

I have no idea I wasn't there,however you didn't say directly contributed to the pitch,you asked how many of our players returned from playing on rubbish pitches with injuries,I answered Lavery got injured after playing on a rubbish pitch this afternoon

 

[pommpey]

I bet we don't see as many muscle related injuries after home games.
We have had an issue with our pitch, now we don't.
We have a manager who wants to play football on the deck. It doesn't guarantee us a win but it guarantees week in week out that we play the way we want to. Today's a good example of where we have to change our way of playing to suit the pitch. We still got a draw but it negated the advantage that we have because we are a better football team on a proper pitch.
We have a desso pitch, which enables us to play football all year round on a near perfect pitch. We are a football club and the pitch is an important part of any club. We can't control everything but we can do things, invest in a desso pitch, which means we give ourselves the best possible advantage

Save for last season it didn't.

The pitch isn't the issue. Playing talent is. Plenty of teams above us don't have Desso pitches and still manage to knock out decent football, plenty below us do also and plenty have come to the Lane on the Desso and beaten us. Explain that.

pommpey

 

[pommpey]

I have no idea I wasn't there,however you didn't say directly contributed to the pitch,you asked how many of our players returned from playing on rubbish pitches with injuries,I answered Lavery got injured after playing on a rubbish pitch this afternoon

Are you on glue or summat, Fred?

pommpey

 

[Woodwardfan]

Pommpey, there is a spirit of unity and friendship in the air. Jump on Board.

 

[Tunstall Fred]

Are you on glue or summat, Fred?

pommpey

I answered your query,you didn't like the answer,so you resort to childish insults.

 

[pommpey]

Pommpey, there is a spirit of unity and friendship in the air. Jump on Board.

I'm on board. Readdress this to Bert and his Desso Friends, please. They are wasting valuable bandwidth thinking I am in some way wounded irreparably by their supreme wit in the stark daylight of them not being able to square a couple of observable facts. They can crack on. It still doesn't answer much though.

pommpey

 

[CopenhagenBlade]

You have no proof of the extent that McCabe backed both Clough or Adkins. I'd say with the signings and acquisitions of each, the 'options' given both managers were pretty limited. Unless you see otherwise. Any idea why Clough was sacked/left? Still a bit of a mystery, isn't it?

pommpey

I would say that he backed Clough, judging by the amount of players that he bought, including Brayford, who wasn't cheap.
I can only go on gossip as to why Clough was sacked but I was here on this site and went to a couple of games and he had split the club and the fans and the games were boring. He had to go. I think he forgets he is Nigel not Brian

 

[Bert]

Save for last season it didn't.

The pitch isn't the issue. Playing talent is. Plenty of teams above us don't have Desso pitches and still manage to knock out decent football, plenty below us do also and plenty have come to the Lane on the Desso and beaten us. Explain that.

pommpey

We now play a passing game which we didn't last season under Adkins.
Our team selection and style of play had to be changed today due to the crap pitch at Oldham.

 

[Barney]

Pommpey, there is a spirit of unity and friendship in the air. Jump on Board.

The type where you block people and cry 'shark attack' when your disagreed with? Some unity that.

 

[Bert]

I'm on board

No doubt you are but the rest of us are on dry land.

 

[pommpey]

I answered your query,you didn't like the answer,so you resort to childish insults.

You said Lavery was injured, presumably alluding to the fact that he might not have been had he been playing on a Desso.

I asked if it was attributable to the pitch. You don't know. I think you're on summat. Not necessarily 'the point', mind.

pommpey

 

[pommpey]

No doubt you are but the rest of us are on dry land.

*chortle*

Great stuff, Bert. Been waiting all afternoon for that.

pommpey

 

[Woodwardfan]

The type where you block people and cry 'shark attack' when your disagreed with? Some unity that.

Keep up Barney!!

 

[Tunstall Fred]

You said Lavery was injured, presumably alluding to the fact that he might not have been had he been playing on a Desso.

I asked if it was attributable to the pitch. You don't know. I think you're on summat. Not necessarily 'the point', mind.

pommpey

You asked how many of our players returned with injuries after playing on rubbish pitches,I gave you an example of Lavery getting injured this afternoon after playing on a rubbish pitch,injured that means he is going for a scan on Monday.

I see the shorter sentences are creeping in,a sure sign you are getting angry,once again.

 

[pommpey]

We now play a passing game which we didn't last season under Adkins.
Our team selection and style of play had to be changed today due to the crap pitch at Oldham.

Which, Bert, is part of 'Association Football'

Because of our successive inability to climb to the higher echelons, we can't expect to play on the vastly superior playing surfaces offered at Premier League grounds. If Chelsea played Oldham tomorrow, they'd have to adjust similarly, although I offer they wont be selling Willian for an undisclosed to fund other club attributes in the near future. We play a passing game not because of the Desso. We play a passing game because we have a midfield which is able to do that and we have a manger who clearly wants that, Desso or not.

pommpey

 

[CopenhagenBlade]

I have explained it. The pitch doesn't guarantee will win games, but it does guarantee that we play the way we want to.
Look, I think the pitch is a good and sensible investment for many different reasons, and I bet Wilder agrees. You don't, fine your opinion. You can't 100% prove that it is a waste of money despite believing it is, just because McCabe did it and you know better than him.
I have to go out now so no more replies from me.