What is the least worst alternative

[56yearsablade]

An early post from a new contributor so I hope you will bear with me here...

As thoughts move towards next season it seems more likely than not that we will be facing another season in the Championship despite the fantastic efforts of the team and manager during the current season.

I would pose the following for comment:

What is the least worst alternative of

a- The Prince winning overall control of the club say by the end of May 18

b- The Prince backing out and the club reverting post this to KM by say May 18 thereby enabling KM to potentially pursue other options.

c - The current litigation ( far more likely ) of the dispute moving well in to next reason

All of the above have downsides and all of the above may/could create sufficient uncertainty for CW to smell the "lack of funds" coffee and seriously consider the many options that are bound to come his away.

On the basis 99.99 % of us would want CW to stay any thoughts on the above ?

 

[GreasyChipBeattie]

It's taken you 56 years to come up with that shite?

 

[GreasyChipBeattie]

Being serious for just one second, the prince worries me.
I can smell trouble ahead if he gains overall control, so it's a B from me.

 

[Whiston Blade]

I would say B, although we would have little to nothing transfer fund's wise we would be in safe hands and try to fight off relegation.

 

[Rusty view]

C - Unfortunately, with Sir Chris getting fed up and leaving resulting in us in a relegation dog fight.

(And I'm usually very positive)

 

[Worksop II]

I would say B, although we would have little to nothing transfer fund's wise we would be in safe hands and try to fight off relegation.

Getting on for nearly 20 years under McCabe, and you acknowledge no Transfer Funds .... why ?

A for me, with bells on

 

[Esablade]

Hobsons choice.

All your proposed choices look shit to me.
Perhaps this i why we have a 'so much negativity' thread?

 

[Whiston Blade]

Getting on for nearly 20 years under McCabe, and you acknowledge no Transfer Funds .... why ?

A for me, with bells on

Isn't it common knowledge he doesn't want to pay in any more which is why he wants rid?

 

[Worksop II]

Isn't it common knowledge he doesn't want to pay in any more which is why he wants rid?

Thats my reading of it, but then again we did have the "I'm not going anywhere" statement from McCabe

 

[itsinyerblood]

Impossible to answer....as regards facts, or at least those things that are meant to matter to a supporter: the Prince delegates to the point of being almost invisible. Even at Chelski Abramovich can be seen supporting his team. Does it matter if the owner attends home games? Not sure, but I'd take some comfort from knowing our owner showed regular interest.

There seems to be a relationship between Kev and Chris, whereas the Prince seems to have invested less time in getting to know our manager. Of course I could be wrong where this is concerned, but should the Prince take control is there any guarantee that HRH will provide Chris with the funds that were promised once we returned to the Championship? Not sure whether Kev wants to invest any more either, so damned if we do, damned if we don't it seems.

Rare things these Blade billionaires. Trying to find one that is both supporter and awash with dosh is nigh on impossible.

Whatever is considered the lesser of evils, be very careful what you wish for fellow Blades.

 

[Worksop II]

so damned if we do, damned if we don't it seems

100% agree, that is where we are

But if the prince does take control, he is gonna be relieved of a fair amount of money ........ by Kev

Why would the Prince spend that if he aint serious, and as for staying out of the way ..... maybe he leaves CW and AK to get on with it

 

[itsinyerblood]

100% agree, that is where we are

But if the prince does take control, he is gonna be relieved of a fair amount of money ........ by Kev

Why would the Prince spend that if he aint serious, and as for staying out of the way ..... maybe he leaves CW and AK to get on with it

It could be that the Prince continues in the same belief that Wilder can continue to pull rabbits out of hats, thus delivering promotion to the land of milk and honey. At which point HRH might seek new investment/owners in the belief that he'll make a tidy profit? Unlikely I must add, but stranger things have happened.

 

[Worksop II]

It could be that the Prince continues in the same belief that Wilder can continue to pull rabbits out of hats, thus delivering promotion to the land of milk and honey. At which point HRH might seek new investment/owners in the belief that he'll make a tidy profit? Unlikely I must add, but stranger things have happened.

Cant argue with what might happen

I am in favour of the split, and the Prince getting a crack at it ........... though where that Red & White road leads us is anyones guess

I have been down the McCabe road

 

[itsinyerblood]

Cant argue with what might happen

I am in favour of the split, and the Prince getting a crack at it ........... though where that Red & White road leads us is anyones guess

I have been down the McCabe road

The finger that gets pointed at McCabe is usually based on his talent for making poor decisions. The appointment of Wilder may have been that rare example of getting something right for once. You could be right, perhaps the Prince will support Wilder in ways that so far we've not considered possible. Whatever happens, once the genie is out of the bottle there's little that can be done to change things.

 

[Revolution]

In the rare moments I think of the Prince and his money, I think of the following:

- his investment being finalised after the transfer window shut in 2013

- all that Jam Tomorrow stuff we were told, i.e. Serious investment will not come until after we get promoted

- Jim Phipps claiming the Prince had put a particular amount into the club, which turned out to have been inflated by 50% or so by the inclusion of the Maguire and Murphy fees and the money from the cup runs

- low level grumbling and hints from those itk that there is some sort of a dispute about putting money in

- the Prince triggering the option to buy McCabe out (which appears to have been something of a surprise to the latter) and the transaction not going through yet, if at all.

None of this fills me with any confidence that the Princ has greater resources than McCabe does.

 

[LJBlade]

In the rare moments I think of the Prince and his money, I think of the following:

- his investment being finalised after the transfer window shut in 2013

- all that Jam Tomorrow stuff we were told, i.e. Serious investment will not come until after we get promoted

- Jim Phipps claiming the Prince had put a particular amount into the club, which turned out to have been inflated by 50% or so by the inclusion of the Maguire and Murphy fees and the money from the cup runs

- low level grumbling and hints from those itk that there is some sort of a dispute about putting money in

- the Prince triggering the option to buy McCabe out (which appears to have been something of a surprise to the latter) and the transaction not going through yet, if at all.

None of this fills me with any confidence that the Princ has greater resources than McCabe does.

The Prince didn't trigger the option did he? I thought McCabe had done it, or have I got it the wrong way around?

 

[Revolution]

The Prince didn't trigger the option did he? I thought McCabe had done it, or have I got it the wrong way around?

I was under the impression the Prince had triggered it. Happy to be corrected.

 

[Sean Thornton]

In the rare moments I think of the Prince and his money, I think of the following:

- his investment being finalised after the transfer window shut in 2013

- all that Jam Tomorrow stuff we were told, i.e. Serious investment will not come until after we get promoted

- Jim Phipps claiming the Prince had put a particular amount into the club, which turned out to have been inflated by 50% or so by the inclusion of the Maguire and Murphy fees and the money from the cup runs

- low level grumbling and hints from those itk that there is some sort of a dispute about putting money in

- the Prince triggering the option to buy McCabe out (which appears to have been something of a surprise to the latter) and the transaction not going through yet, if at all.

None of this fills me with any confidence that the Princ has greater resources than McCabe does.

Yes, Jim claimed it was investment because he hadn't taken it out. That was very odd.

I feel that one or both of them has backers, because as you say, neither would appear to have the funds to take us to the next level.

 

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

I was under the impression the Prince had triggered it. Happy to be corrected.

"In response to a process commenced by Sheffield United Limited, on 26th January 2018 UTB LLC, a company controlled by the Prince, served a notice exercising an option to purchase the remaining 50% of Blades Leisure from Sheffield United Limited."

 

[Worksop II]

Yes, Jim claimed it was investment because he hadn't taken it out. That was very odd.

I think "they both" do the same sum, owt sold and kept in becomes investment ..... <shrug>

Certainly McCabe did a BBC Radio Interview where he was asked about how much he had invested

He answered £8 Million, then mumbled something ... came out later it was £4 Million each .... slight of hand from Kev

 

[LJBlade]

I was under the impression the Prince had triggered it. Happy to be corrected.

I thought I remembered someone pointing it out on here when it was first discussed, could be wrong though

 

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

To be honest I find the whole thing baffling. It would appear that the Prince can only afford/only wants the team and not the land & property, and that KM wants to sell everything. Which all seems contrary to what I thought the positions would be. Previously it was my understanding that KM wanted to safe guard BDTBL by retaining it and that that putting off potential buyers. It's a basic rule in business that you protect/guarantee the place where you carry your business out, so I can't understand the current position of either party. The Prince should be raiding the penny jar to acquire everything & protect his position at all costs and I would have thought that KM would've been happy to retain the F/H of the land & property in the family trust and have a rent coming in from the club for the next 99 years. Unless, as has been said on here, the whole thing is a way of getting rid of the Prince, allowing other avenues to be pursued

 

[Sean Thornton]

I was under the impression the Prince had triggered it. Happy to be corrected.

Quite a few were under that impression. Including much of the media who reported it incorrectly.

 

[Sean Thornton]

To be honest I find the whole thing baffling. It would appear that the Prince can only afford/only wants the team and not the land & property, and that KM wants to sell everything. Which all seems contrary to what I thought the positions would be. Previously it was my understanding that KM wanted to safe guard BDTBL by retaining it and that that putting off potential buyers. It's a basic rule in business that you protect/guarantee the place where you carry your business out, so I can't understand the current position of either party. The Prince should be raiding the penny jar to acquire everything & protect his position at all costs and I would have thought that KM would've been happy to retain the F/H of the land & property in the family trust and have a rent coming in from the club for the next 99 years.

Maybe he wants a Belgian based academy?

The current rent would mean him still losing money.

 

[Revolution]

I thought I remembered someone pointing it out on here when it was first discussed, could be wrong though

It would appear that the Prince did indeed trigger the option.

The "process" McCabe commenced referred to in Copernicus' post was, I assume, also a sort of trigger. Perhaps the agreement gave McCabe a chance to require the Prince to trigger the option within a certain time.

I haven't checked back but I vaguely remember that the last McCabe meet the fans event was before the Prince triggered the option and McCabe was hinting (but did not say directly) that there would be a parting of ways. This makes me think that:

(A) McCabe had served some sort of notice and there was a period for the Prince to exercise his option to purchase, and

(B) McCabe did not expect the Prince to take the option up.

I may be way off about this, but I think this scenario tallies with what has been said in public.

 

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

Maybe he wants a Belgian based academy?

The current rent would mean him still losing money.

Wouldn't you still want the land? I'd hazard a guess the book value of the academy is less than x hectares of housing land. Unless KM is sticking restrictive covenants into things.

 

[Worksop II]

Concerning the Timing, I think the Prince kicked it off in case we went up,

preferring to payout for a Championship Club rather than a PL Club, s'pose they have differing Values

A couple of weeks and both guys will know the status of the Club they are negotiating about

 

[Sean Thornton]

Concerning the Timing, I think the Prince kicked it off in case we went up,

preferring to payout for a Championship Club rather than a PL Club, s'pose they have differing Values

A couple of weeks and both guys will know the status of the Club they are negotiating about

The Prince didn't kick it off.

 

[Revolution]

The Prince didn't kick it off.

But irrespective of who started the process he has exercised an option to purchase, yes?

 

[Sean Thornton]

Wouldn't you still want the land? I'd hazard a guess the book value of the academy is less than x hectares of housing land. Unless KM is sticking restrictive covenants into things.

More expense.