Ownership update !

[UnitedBlade]

Looking at this objectively, the way things have progressed over the last 18 months on and off the pitch we have become an investment opportunity. The Prince and McCabe are fully aware of this and as a result things that were probably on the back burner are now key topics.

The club is in a great position to go forward and whilst the two owners may not agree on everything, they know that the future can be a bright one.

Regarding today, I am not sure that there is a lot of new information, but clarity on things that were perhaps rumours and hearsay before.

McCabe, obviously has been able to tell things from his perspective and we have only heard his side of things. The Star article on the Prince this week has not really helped his side because i feel that the way it was reported by the star was not really well done by Shield.

Again trying to be objective, McCabe has made a lot of mistakes over the years, many which he has admitted and i think Wilder coming in when he did has not only revitalised his interest in the club, something it seemed was waning. Wilder and McCabe have given the club a new vision. As i said to my mate, McCabe of 2018 is a very different one to the McCabe of 2008.

I think the most important factor is that Wilder and McCabe have a plan, currently its working and if there are to be any changes such as international scouting, it has to be an improvement on what we have. We don't do things just because one guy likes the idea.

I think that the Prince and McCabe ownership situation can work, but as long as things stay the way they have been the last 12 months. Use the networks we have, use the people and teams we have and build on them. Know where we are weak, know what we don't know and address those issues. If we do feel the need to exploit foreign markets, then start small and grow those scouting networks naturally.

The current set up allows the manager to be accountable to the owners, but whilst keeping control on recruitment.

The Prince would be wise to enable the current structure to develop, funding this will generate more success than throwing money into international signings.

I would assume that the Prince, having had business success elsewhere, will be headstrong in what he wants, but also smart enough to realise that something is actually working quite well at United.

The last thing the Prince needs is to have a situation where he alienates the fans. McCabe seems to be preventing him going down this route, thankfully. And lets face it, McCabe knows what happens when he gets things wrong!

If the Prince is unsure what the result will be if he throws money in, but dismisses the importance of the clubs identity, he just needs to look around the Football league, particularly the bottom end of this division and also League one. Theres lots of fans there of clubs which used to be in the Premier League.

The obvious small starting point is Beerschot Wilrijk, the Prince owns them. They’ve failed to get up through the playoffs so we can review if they currently have anyone any good and presumably now they are recruiting for next season.

 

[Jonboy60]

I understand Wilder’s thinking, but perhaps it’s a limitation of his to not have confidence in his ability to create a team culture with players from overseas. When you think of the likes of JAF, Nilsen, Borbokis and others, I think it would be a shame to cut ourselves off completely from foreign markets. There is a difference between overloading the squad with players from outside the UK, and supplementing the squad with overseas talent.

Cannot believe for one minute, CW wouldn’t entertain signing overseas players, (as long as they’re good enough)
It doesn’t mean ignoring home grown players, we’ve had foreign players before.

 

[snootyfenooty]

I’m sure they are.

Like re-programming the sat-nav!!

 

[robbiez666]

Although on the one hand I agree with McCabe's (and Wilder's) sentiment regarding the culture of the club and trying to stick with British/Irish players, IF and it's currently a big IF, we are to start playing with the big boys, we surely have to look outside of these two islands if we are to move forward!?
Let's be honest here, our current squad has punched above their weight all season and surprised many, but they are a long way off being a successful Premier league team!

It's remarkable short-sighted to not look at least to Europe for players. It's not a case of bringing in 12 Spanish players but looking what we can do in terms of bringing in one or 2 players to fill gaps we can't afford to fill with the domestic market.

 

[fireblade]

Can anyone clarify what the litigation process involves and whether a non agreed outcome can be imposed on one party.
At the moment I just get a feeling the prince is in a much stronger position and his lack of communication is a reflection of his confidence things are going his way.
Either way, please guys, don't let this derail what we have going at the moment.

 

[Tynemouth Blade]

It's remarkable short-sighted to not look at least to Europe for players. It's not a case of bringing in 12 Spanish players but looking what we can do in terms of bringing in one or 2 players to fill gaps we can't afford to fill with the domestic market.

And to add to your comment, we've all seen this season the quality of many of these overseas players can bring to a team.

 

[Blade56]

There’s a complete information void from the Prince’s side

If I was in a position where I wanted to turn public opinion against a potential foreign owner of a football club, I'd drop hints about leaving the ground, I'd say they saw the fans as customers and I'd say they didn't get the culture of the club.

I think the most important factor is that Wilder and McCabe have a plan,

Got to agree with the above.....

We have only heard one side of the story. What IF HRH has a plan, might be different to kev and Wilders plan but he has a plan.

If his plan is to use van winkle to scout out the top international tallent and use the well respected Belgian academy set up to build a team of home grown and foreign players. And who says he's likely to sell the ground? Only McCabe has hinted at it not said he will do it.

Think we are at risk of being comfortable with the devil we know and ignoring the potential alternative opportunities. Yes there are a few nightmare ownership stories but more positive ones.

I have no loyalty to either, whoever has the most positive progressive plan to take this club into the world of today's football not living in the past.

One thing is for sure the litigation is about the estate valuation not about where the club is being taken, and the meeting could just be disinformation to get the fans on his side.

I'm staying neutral.

 

[spongebobblade]

If the Prince wanted to do anything ridiculous like move away from Bramall Lane then I'd like to think our fans simply wouldn't allow it. But then again, we're a weak, faint hearted bunch these days.


As for foreign players, Wilder and the club need to evolve. It is increasingly challenging to get value for money in the domestic market. The maximum sort of fee we can spend brings no guarantees whatsoever. We should use the foreign market at least to supplement what we get from the domestic one.

Weak and faint hearted we maybe at times Ricky but I think the issue of leaving Bramall Lane would be one step too far for 95% of our support. I think we would be ‘united’ together on this one.
100% agree on your second point though. To think that we can be a solid premier league side based entirely on British talent is both short sighted and naive. Primarily then possibly but certainly not entirely. There simply isn’t the talent out there and what there is would but ridiculously unaffordable

 

[GallonofMagnet]

So, bringing the Prince on board in the first place is beginning to look like the latest in a long line of McCabe fuck-ups. And has the potential to be the biggest yet.

 

[Jonboy60]

Didn’t go myself, but can someone who did, verify that one woman stood up and said that she had been left shares in sufc, and asked how much they were worth, and when told they were worth nothing at the moment, she wanted to know why not. After a few seconds of silence, what followed was a few chuckles by parts of the members.

 

[Harry's Game]

To think that we can be a solid premier league side based entirely on British talent There simply isn’t the talent out there and what there is would but ridiculously unaffordable

Fully agree with this.

Look at the likes of Henderson at Liverpool and Dier at Spurs. Two bang average players being made to look good by their foreign team mates.

Either would now cost around £30m

Ridiculous.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Didn’t go myself, but can someone who did, verify that one woman stood up and said that she had been left shares in sufc, and asked how much they were worth, and when told they were worth nothing at the moment, she wanted to know why not. After a few seconds of silence, what followed was a few chuckles by parts of the members.

She obviously posts on here...

 

[Yewsman]

The way I see is that the Prince has only put very modest (by footballing standards) into the club since coming on board 5-6 years ago. We do not know how much he has put in this season but based on our spending again it must be modest or may be it has all come from KM? Whilst it might have been understandable that he would only invest a limited amount in League 1 now we are doing well in the Championship surely he would be expected to up his input otherwise what is he there for? I think KM has effectively said put up or move on by activating the terms of the original agreement which apparently gave him the option to require the Prince to buy him out including buying the free holds to the club’s various properties. The Prince however is dragging his feet by saying the price is too high and has started litigation.
It is extremely worrying that the two owners are now locked in litigation. Surely If they have a decent relationship they could have sat round a table and discussed things rather than bring in the lawyers? I think that for whatever reason the Prince does not now want to put up the money. I don’t see now in the light of what he has done, how we can ever go down the road of having him buy the club and take it over. If he has cold feet after 6 years then he is not the right man.
The best solution would be for another investor to come in and replace him. It is now public knowledge that we are “for sale”. We are doing well in the Championship and have good gates plus a good ground and infrastructure so could be an attractive proposition.
It is clear that KM wants an exit route and no one can blame him for this. He has done his bit over the years. I believe he has the best interests of the club at heart and would do his best to ensure that any new owner bought into the ethos, history etc of the club but once it is sold he would have no control and there would be nothing to stop the new owner going back on promises which would not be legally enforceable. It is only a matter of time I think until we have a new owner and we just have to trust KM to chose the right purchaser to take us forward as he and the fans would wish. Let us hope he chooses “CW type” purchaser rather than a “ Madkins type”

 

[Sheffsteel]

Parts of this thread demonstrates why traditionally Sheffield is always low on any list for potential investors.

‘We value tradition and don’t like change of any sort”

We can’t have it both ways.

Option A
We either stick with McCabe, value our traditions and try our best on a low budget.
Would guess some fans will lose interest due to a lack of spending compared to other clubs

Option B
Or we attract overseas investment who will do virtually anything to get us in the PL.
We’ll spend more and at least compete with other clubs in the league.
So that means tradition isn’t that important, fans are customers, we run as a business and go the foreign route.
Would guess some fans will lose interest because the club had changed too much.

Option A is currently Sheffield United
Option B is currently Sheffield Wednesday and more and more clubs.

Will be intreresting to see if it all ends in tears down at S6.

 

[Liverpool blade]

Sounds to me as though we still have no idea about what's happening ownership wise?. What brilliant timing for all this to flare up?. Wilder must be getting pissed off as he's already trying to formulate plans for next season!!.

 

[Dutch Blade]

Parts of this thread demonstrates why Sheffield is always low on any list for potential investors.

‘We value tradition and don’t like change”

We can’t have it both ways.

Option A
We either stick with McCabe, value our traditions and try our best on a low budget.
Would guess some fans will lose interest due to a lack of spending compared to other clubs

Option B
Or we attract overseas investment who will do virtually anything to get us in the PL.
We’ll spend more and at least compete with other clubs in the league.
So that means tradition isn’t that important, fans are customers, we run as a business and go the foreign route.
Would guess some fans will lose interest because the club had changed too much.

Option A is currently Sheffield United
Option B is currently Sheffield Wednesday and more and more clubs.

Will be intreresting to see if it all ends in tears down at S6.

Option A all the way. With good policy we will end up in the PL sooner or later.

Option B can be good if you have a good owner, but most of them are just playing around with their club so that's a huge risk and can ruin the club.

 

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

The obvious small starting point is Beerschot Wilrijk, the Prince owns them. They’ve failed to get up through the playoffs so we can review if they currently have anyone any good and presumably now they are recruiting for next season.

Euloge Mèmè Placca Fessou, a 23yr old Togolese forward appears to be the only one worth looking at. 20 in 40ish games over 2 seasons for the de Kielse Ratten. Although, i'd like to flag I haven't watched him in the flesh, so feel free to take my opinion with a pinch of salt.

Cercle Brugge on the other hand are a whole different kettle of fish...

https://www.mcfcwatch.com/2018/01/1...udly-reveal-manchester-city-scouting-mission/

 

[stringer]

I wish people would forget this nonsense about foreign owners = club going forward... Meanwhile, Watford and Bournemouth were busy getting into the PL. Not every takeover ends like Man. City's.

Watford and Bournemouth, owned by Italians and Russians respectively?

 

[yorkshirecoast]

Parts of this thread demonstrates why traditionally Sheffield is always low on any list for potential investors.

‘We value tradition and don’t like change of any sort”

We can’t have it both ways.

Option A
We either stick with McCabe, value our traditions and try our best on a low budget.
Would guess some fans will lose interest due to a lack of spending compared to other clubs

Option B
Or we attract overseas investment who will do virtually anything to get us in the PL.
We’ll spend more and at least compete with other clubs in the league.
So that means tradition isn’t that important, fans are customers, we run as a business and go the foreign route.
Would guess some fans will lose interest because the club had changed too much.

Option A is currently Sheffield United
Option B is currently Sheffield Wednesday and more and more clubs.

Will be intreresting to see if it all ends in tears down at S6.

Or Option C
Attract significant investment that allows us to compete - rather than trying to cope on a budget befitting a small L1 club. AND retain our identity and traditions - just like the majority of clubs with big foreign investment have done.

 

[Cerberus Blade]

Sounds like a complete shambles - so no change there then. Two owners - neither capable of taking us forward.

 

[ucandomagic]

Can anyone clarify what the litigation process involves and whether a non agreed outcome can be imposed on one party.
At the moment I just get a feeling the prince is in a much stronger position and his lack of communication is a reflection of his confidence things are going his way.
Either way, please guys, don't let this derail what we have going at the moment.

As I understand it McC wants to sell and Prince A has the right to buy at market value. The dispute is about market value of the real estate, which is normally solved by somebody independent being appointed to take a number of valuations and then decide. Of course, this can then be challenged...

So the issue isn’t around tradition, or foreign players or BDTBL it’s about £££. Everything else is just smoke.

Reality is Prince A will buy if he wants to - and like most rich kids he will have fun while things go well, and then he’ll want a new toy when this one isn’t fun any more.

Tufty will never leave the club, as long as the club doesn’t leave him, but foreign owners who think of us as a team rather than a club and look for quick fixes are the quickest way for this to happen.

I guess if Tufty left it would probably signal to me that after 47 years my old lady had left me. Rather than look for a younger, sexy model I think I would settle down with Sheffield FC. At my age I just need somebody to share my cocoa with!

Magic Always Moves On

 

[Davalon]

Whatever is in the pipeline it's all very Sheffield United.

 

[Champagneblade]

Let’s be right, this is only a fair assessment when the Prince is allowed to host a meeting Kevin isn’t invited to and gets to share his side. Otherwise it’s bound to be slanted towards McCabe.

I’d also be surprised if Wilder was dismissing foreign players. We need to delve into many pools to progress. What he probably doesn’t want is a huge influx to undermine the spirit he has built and create cliques in the group.

It needs sorting before the season ends either way.

 

[Fraggle Blade]

McCabe never mentioned an issue over the value of the club holdings....it’s in the contract an independent valuation will sort that out at the time of any sale

 

[Sean Thornton]

As I understand it McC wants to sell and Prince A has the right to buy at market value. The dispute is about market value of the real estate, which is normally solved by somebody independent being appointed to take a number of valuations and then decide. Of course, this can then be challenged...

So the issue isn’t around tradition, or foreign players or BDTBL it’s about £££. Everything else is just smoke.

Reality is Prince A will buy if he wants to - and like most rich kids he will have fun while things go well, and then he’ll want a new toy when this one isn’t fun any more.

Tufty will never leave the club, as long as the club doesn’t leave him, but foreign owners who think of us as a team rather than a club and look for quick fixes are the quickest way for this to happen.

I guess if Tufty left it would probably signal to me that after 47 years my old lady had left me. Rather than look for a younger, sexy model I think I would settle down with Sheffield FC. At my age I just need somebody to share my cocoa with!

Magic Always Moves On

Yes but you wouldn't have been fucked half as much by any other old lady......

 

[Come from away]

Can't see anything being settled until we know for sure what league we will be playing in next year. Just gotta wait.

 

[Fraggle Blade]

Seemed to me the main sticking point was probably the direction of the club under a new ownership and guaranteeing heritage and the way we do things is maintained. McCabe seemed very fair in what he said about the prince even through the mumblings of some in the room who had him down already as the comedy evil villain

 

[ucandomagic]

Yes but you wouldn't have been fucked half as much by any other old lady......

She wasn’t always old - and some of them were real volcanic eruptions and worth all the lie back and think of England times.

 

[Fraggle Blade]

As it stands the outcomes remain the same
A) the prince taking over
B) McCabe taking full control
C) the club continuing with shared ownership

The question nobody asked was if McCabe became sole owner again, is he prepared to carry on investing in our upwards spiral, or is it an emergency search for new investors again

 

[grafikhaus]

Watford and Bournemouth, owned by Italians and Russians respectively?

Oh, I'm not saying it never works - it fails as often as it works. Bournemouth's owners didn't wish to employ a DoF as that would have fucked Eddie Howe off. Watford are a basket case who'll be back where they belong in the next 2/3 years.

One of the problems with these 'foreign owners' is that they think, in return for their investment, they can fuck about with the structure of the club and bring their own people in. It's working at Wolves but (thankfully) it's failed at Wednesday. Carvalhal's hands were tied, but look at him now. It's also working at Cardiff. Foreign investment + a very good manager has a good chance of equalling success.

We've got the best of both worlds. A genuine fan as chairman who's (finally) stumbled on an excellent manager. Chancer's millions has seen them trailing way behind the Blades. He's also funded an overpaid, overrated squad that will prove very difficult to move on.