Prince Abdullah Interview (2 Parts)

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Yes , a good read thanks for sharing
Truth is though , when I saw the news originally , that some Prince from the Arab World was joining the Club , I imagined "loads of money " , happy days , and all that ......everything is going well , but Sheikh Mansour he most certainly isn't .
 
I like these quotes...


"But there is also commercial, ticketing and the fan experience." (Q: How can the club improve?)

"We need to introduce international scouting for players. It is a must in the Premier League and a good thing in the Championship. English players are expensive. You can choose from a bigger pool."

"If you have good players, you pay them well and you keep them."



Overall, an excellent interview from him.

Very glad to see he's serious about improving the scouting network.
 
Interesting. Not least the stated priorities, re spending. Scouting, other behind the scenes stuff, and players all identified as the main financial focal points. No mention at all of upgrading the ground.
 
Mmmmmmmmmm, sounds like me, a reight fan but no deep pockets. Very wishi-washi questions IMO. Didn't get down to JTW strategy or probe the Chinese interests. TBF he sounds a nice guy and wants the best for the club, if we lost Wilder how would we fair on a tight budget attracting a new manager? Still all sounds a bit McCabe esc philosophy to do it on a shoe string.

But hey, I'm not bothered cause I sing when we're winning and at the moment I gargle every night.
 
You’re always going to get an element of rhetoric in these interviews so it’s about pearling the little nuggets of info which Ricky has done above.

For me, we’re fortunate that we have two joint owners who “get it”, who understand the club and it’s identity. I think that’s incredibly important so well done HRH.
 
I still think there appears to be a bit of a divide at board level, the Prince distances himself from McCabe in answering questions quite a bit there, it’s something I’ve notice McCabe also do in interviews.
 
Rodley said:
You’re always going to get an element of rhetoric in these interviews so it’s about pearling the little nuggets of info which Ricky has done above.

For me, we’re fortunate that we have two joint owners who “get it”, who understand the club and it’s identity. I think that’s incredibly important so well done HRH.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. It's all very bladey, but it's absolutely necessary IMO. Blade at the top, in the managers job and at the top of the field. It's resonates with the crowd and a crowd that feels very much part of their club, especially when it's doing well, will just spur everyone on. Everyone pulling in the same direction & all that. The chairmen buy into it, the manager buys into it, the players buy into it and importantly the fans buy into it. We have something quite special at the lane these days.

IMO Mr Phipps deserves a lot of credit (more than he actually receives). Jim was arguably one of the first who 'got it' and being Prince Abdullah's advisor, he has evidently passed this on. Jim put all the donkey work in, and although he didn't get everything right, he made an impact on the fans and subsequently HRH.

Although I didn't agree with him on the Evans fiasco, he stuck with it & was eventually proven correct. He showed a lot of bottle for what he did & showed that he gave a shit about this club by putting his neck on the line, for what was something that a good chunk of the blades fans wanted. He didn't have to do that, but did it anyway for the fans. For that alone he gets a lot of respect from me.

Thank you for helping give us our club back Jim.
 
DerbyDave said:
Sheikh Mansour he most certainly isn't .
Click to expand...
Surely that's a good thing. There are big parallels between City and the Blades and whilst I'd love United to be in the dizzy heights that City find themselves in, I would worry that I'd end up turning to Sheffield FC.

The thing with owners is that they are only good when you are doing well and only bad when you're doing badly. I much prefer models where fans have a stake in the ownership because that allows

Wednesday are a case in point. Chansiri comes in, they use a dodgy firm in Doyen to recruit a manager and players (to the tune of millions of pounds). This experiment initially goes very well. But the dust settles and it becomes obvious that despite the owner's investment, he's a massive prick without any interest in the fans. The tickets price hikes that he introduced are now scrutinised for what they really are; two fingers up to fans.

I'm happy with our current model, 50/50 provides balance and despite the flack, he (rightfully at times) gets, Kevin McCabe has broadly done a good job and would never see us run out of business.

I just hope that whatever the future holds, if it ever gets to the point where tickets prices are hiked all of a sudden, as fans, we all vote with our feet to nip it in the bud and avoid the Wednesday debacle of accepting short-term gratification for long-term plight.
 



DerbyDave said:
......everything is going well , but Sheikh Mansour he most certainly isn't .
Click to expand...
Or Vincent Tan, or Assem Allam, or Carson Yeung...or Chansiri :eek:

People often quote Manchester City as a model of foreign ownership, but even that didn't run smoothly. In 2007 - after unsuccesful attempts to buy Liverpool and Fulham - Thaskin Shinawatra bought City and here we have one of the reasons* why English football is so attractive to foreign 'investors'. Despite being embroiled in poltical and financial scandals for years (Shinawatra is now in self-imposed exile and faces a 2-year jail sentence if he returns to his native Thailand), the blazer-wearing old duffers who ru(i)n English football deemed him a 'fit and proper person' to own a football club.

* Another reason is - with 90% of transfers reported as 'Undisclosed' - it's a wonderful opportunity for a bit of money-laundering. Also the average football fan is stupidly loyal and will put up with most things. So we have long queues at Hillsborough willing to pay over the odds for overpriced, tacky, poorly-fitting and badly-designed shirts.
 
This bit's the best.....


JS: You describe yourself as a fan. So how do you separate the ‘fan’ from the co-owner? And how do you aim to retain the fans’ trust? PA: I am a fan but when you are close to the club you can not just be a fan, you have to be rational. But if you are consistent then I think fans trust you. I know fans are always suspicious because how many times have I read about money we are taking out. Look, if anybody can prove I have taken £1 out, I will give them my share for free. I do this because I have a passion. The feeling after the Sheffield Wednesday game was priceless.

Read more at: http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/foot...bdulaziz-al-saud-interview-part-two-1-8826088
 
Some fans are their own worst enemy with this sort of thing. It was quite clear to most, or anyone who really looked, that this wasn’t a man with billions ready to spend, and in fairness to the him he never claimed to be someone he wasn’t either.But some got over excited and started believing what they wanted to be the case, and then are frustrated when it doesn’t happen.
When he came in I took it as a likeminded guy to KM with similar funds, and with the deal we had effectively doubled down with the investment potential.
My concern was that he wasn’t a fan, he was purely an investor and we all know the adage around how you make a small fortune in football.
During his tenure he does seem to have been bitten by the bug, granted he took a noticeable step back when we were struggling due to other commitments, but continued to support where it counted by covering off our ongoing losses.
Now I honestly believe he wants Premiership football, not just for a return on his investment but also for the club and its fans. We have two fans holding the purse strings, and I’d personally love them to achieve their aims, doing what we’re doing. What I’m still not sure about is if we have the finanical clout to do so and wether you can get up and stay there based purely on excellent management but with a significantly lower level of investment to the majority of your rivals?
I’m rather looking forward to finding out.
 
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Flatulent_Bob said:
Some fans are their own worst enemy with this sort of thing. It was quite clear to most, or anyone who really looked, that this wasn’t a man with billions ready to spend, and in fairness to the him he never claimed to be someone he wasn’t either.But some got over excited and started believing what they wanted to be the case, and then are frustrated when it doesn’t happen.
When he came in I took it as a likeminded guy to KM with similar funds, and with the deal we had effectively doubled down with the investment potential.
My concern was that he wasn’t a fan, he was purely an investor and we all know the adage around how you make a small fortune in football.
During his tenure he does seem to have been bitten by the bug, granted he took a noticeable step back when we were struggling due to other commitments, but continued to support where it counted by covering off our ongoing losses.
Now I honestly believe he wants Premiership football, not just for a return on his investment but also for the club and its fans. We have two fans holding the purse strings, and I’d personally love them to achieve their aims, doing what we’re doing. What I’m still not sure about is if we have the finanical clout to do so and wether you can get up and stay there based purely on excellent management but with a significantly lower level of investment to the majority of your rivals?
I’m rather looking forward to finding out.
Click to expand...
Hang on, if anyone was guilty, it was the Board (Sean can tell us who said it) with their "Think Liverpool" quotes. There's always going to be a certain amount of excitement with a new chairman/investor and the Board clearly played a part in fanning the flames of the excitement. Is every fan then expected to forensically examine the accounts after glancing the back page of a Stir headline?
 
Enjoyed reading that

"We have to run the best financial operation, have the best people and now we are lucky because we have the Messiah (Chris Wilder)." :)


"I do this because I have a passion. The feeling after the Sheffield Wednesday game was priceless." :)

"I have a plan and my people will present it to the board. We want Sheffield United to be a world class club. But we also never want to fans to lose sight of the fact this is Sheffield United, their club. We never want them to feel it isn’t."


What's this plan you talk about Mr Prince?
 
I always assumed they just used their left hand to wipe their arse with in Saudi, surprised he made any money at all ;)
 
Rodders said:
Hang on, if anyone was guilty, it was the Board (Sean can tell us who said it) with their "Think Liverpool" quotes. There's always going to be a certain amount of excitement with a new chairman/investor and the Board clearly played a part in fanning the flames of the excitement. Is every fan then expected to forensically examine the accounts after glancing the back page of a Stir headline?
Click to expand...

If ever anything was taken wildly out of context, it was this 'think Liverpool' nonsense. As has been said elsewhere on this thread, when HRH came in there was lots of talk and comparison to Man City, understandable given the situation at both clubs. As this persisted, the question was asked, 'Can we expect a quick upfront investment at Sheffield United similar to Man City' (remember, £32m on Robinho the day they took over) the answer was 'don't think Man City, think Liverpool' It was always meant to signify a steady investment rather than a massive splurge like Man City. Why the hell anyone thought we were going to be matching Liverpool in the transfer market, chuff knows.
 



Good read. Seems to be grounded and sensible in terms of not splashing money about but also shows he wants to develop as best he and the board can. Just take a look at the blue half of Sheffield and the turmoil they are currently in with chansiri and his empty promises, willy-nilly spending and his ambivalence towards his club's own fans. Give me McCabe and the prince any day.
 
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