Shirt Sponsor

[Westran]

We do have a shirt sponsor. All contracts finalized.

However, now we are working to make sure all follow-on activities happen, and we have shown ourselves not to be great at agile project delivery. I’ve been in touch several times to offer my services over the last few years. We do it on the cheap with junior PMs, sadly.

I think Sheffield United seriously need to employ a senior project manager, they do things well, but their timing is woeful and they miss so many opportunities because of how badly timings are organised. If they had someone scheduling change and analysing risk and issues, they'd create more revenue. The role would pay for itself.

 

[Eric_Brooks]

Absolutely. As long as he is the owner though he decides as he wants. It's how ownership works. Guess we should wish McCabe was still leading us.

Guess we should accept it then. He is a guardian of our club yet tries to sell to charlatans and lies. Not sure how one is better than the other, but unfortunately for the prince he sits in the uncomfortable seat now. Unfortunately whilst he is feeding the various channels of forums twitter and you tube it will cause further division.

 

[Cappy]

I think Sheffield United seriously need to employ a senior project manager, they do things well, but their timing is woeful and they miss so many opportunities because of how badly timings are organised. If they had someone scheduling change and analysing risk and issues, they'd create more revenue. The role would pay for itself.

Agree, and don’t want to say too much as I have only had conversations but not lived the day-to-day there. The issue as I see it is at the strategic delivery level. I.e the role(s) with accountability to deliver the agreed strategy. At that level the culture is not that managed delivery of strategically-aligned change is a specialist skillset beyond appointing a generic manager who is “well organized”. They don’t buy into it at all. Below that level, the people in delivery roles can only operate in the culture that is set and enforced. They do seem to do their best.

 

[Nightsweats]

Basically anyone wondering why something every football club does every year (get a sponsor) hasn't been done are "spineless wonders" "Spout anger and vitriol without a clue about how and why we are where we are" "Demand A, B, C, D and E" and "aren't Blades". Seen as it's a United forum and pretty much 99% of people are wondering where the sponsor is I'd say when you say "the majority" it's about 99%

I get it. You have complete faith in the owner/board and don't feel that they've put a foot wrong since taking over the club. Any issues at all are completely outside of their control and you want to give them a big hug and tell them it'll all be OK and "real Blades" are 100% behind them.

I just disagree

Disagreeing is great. Be no point in the forum if everyone thought the same way.
Your post is disengenuous in inventing how I feel about the ownership You've dreamt up 99% from nowhere. A majority starts at 50.1%.
I've read countless posts full of misunderstanding, misinterpretation, assumtions and baseless accusations.
The owners are ultimately responsible for any and all problems (bar covid) and undoubtadly made decisions which have lead us to our current situation.
They shouldn't have backed Wilder; kept players when we were relegated and their value higher with more time on their contracts. What I do believe is the owners gave Wilder and Hecky the best chances of success by their actions. Damned if you do damned if you don't.
We'll agree to differ but please don't invent things I didn't post. They are there in black and white.

 

[Nightsweats]

Guess we should accept it then. He is a guardian of our club yet tries to sell to charlatans and lies. Not sure how one is better than the other, but unfortunately for the prince he sits in the uncomfortable seat now. Unfortunately whilst he is feeding the various channels of forums twitter and you tube it will cause further division.

Completely agree our PR from the board has been woeful since Hecky was appointed full time. We were told at that presser it would be reigned right back which has caused a lot of confusion and disatisfaction and understandably so.

 

[Westran]

Agree, and don’t want to say too much as I have only had conversations but not lived the day-to-day there. The issue as I see it is at the strategic delivery level. I.e the role(s) with accountability to deliver the agreed strategy. At that level the culture is not that managed delivery of strategically-aligned change is a specialist skillset beyond appointing a generic manager who is “well organized”. They don’t buy into it at all. Below that level, the people in delivery roles can only operate in the culture that is set and enforced. They do seem to do their best.

Yeah I can imagine that, it would be a start to have someone who can highlight risks and issues as a starter, someone who tries to assist aligning strategic delivery and then hopefully that helps develop a culture from within itself. If Ops Managers are expected to just do it themselves I'm not surprised there's a poor culture, they have their own priorities and will end up in disagreement if another department tries to tell them what to do, but if you have a PM who can come at it from a neutral perspective and some governance to say how risks and issues are resolved and escalated, you might get more people pulling in the same direction.

 

[Carlton Blade]

Disagreeing is great. Be no point in the forum if everyone thought the same way.
Your post is disengenuous in inventing how I feel about the ownership You've dreamt up 99% from nowhere. A majority starts at 50.1%.
I've read countless posts full of misunderstanding, misinterpretation, assumtions and baseless accusations.
The owners are ultimately responsible for any and all problems (bar covid) and undoubtadly made decisions which have lead us to our current situation.
They shouldn't have backed Wilder; kept players when we were relegated and their value higher with more time on their contracts. What I do believe is the owners gave Wilder and Hecky the best chances of success by their actions. Damned if you do damned if you don't.
We'll agree to differ but please don't invent things I didn't post. They are there in black and white.

Majority starts at 50.1%, ends at 100%. So I haven't invented anything.

"Countless posts"? I'd be delighted to see some

 

[Antarctic Monkey]

Agree, and don’t want to say too much as I have only had conversations but not lived the day-to-day there. The issue as I see it is at the strategic delivery level. I.e the role(s) with accountability to deliver the agreed strategy. At that level the culture is not that managed delivery of strategically-aligned change is a specialist skillset beyond appointing a generic manager who is “well organized”. They don’t buy into it at all. Below that level, the people in delivery roles can only operate in the culture that is set and enforced. They do seem to do their best.

I think you'd pass the job interview...

 

[S64 Blade]

Absolutely not. I'm not under attack, just a Blades fan who tries to look at the bigger picture before slating all and sundry at the club.

I don't think anyone is slating all and sundry at the club. There's a clear and recognised difference between the great job that Hecky has done on the field, compared to that being done off it. Without the on field events going so well, we'd be in even more turmoil now.

There's many examples of where the club, off the field, has made very poor and bad decisions in the last year, or so. There seems a lack of strong leadership.

 

[bikerblade]

​ Agree, and don’t want to say too much as I have only had conversations but not lived the day-to-day there. The issue as I see it is at the strategic delivery level. I.e the role(s) with accountability to deliver the agreed strategy. At that level the culture is not that managed delivery of strategically-aligned change is a specialist skillset beyond appointing a generic manager who is “well organized”. They don’t buy into it at all. Below that level, the people in delivery roles can only operate in the culture that is set and enforced. They do seem to do their best. I agree to some point but do see some pitfalls with employing a Project Manager and all that entails (if following full procedures and paperwork/documentation etc.). I've been a PM and a PgM in the past and found a few PM's became too rigid and protective of their own Project only. Far too many slow any transformation and thus become less agile, due to strict time consuming governance - not always a bad thing but a balance needs to be had. PM's tend to work better with absolutes (imo) - dates, cash, personnel. In the past some work really well - eg installing a new piece of machinery or new build, but in other cases where the preffered outcome is know but the path is muddled then some PM's can struggle.

 

[Cappy]

​ I agree to some point but do see some pitfalls with employing a Project Manager and all that entails (if following full procedures and paperwork/documentation etc.). I've been a PM and a PgM in the past and found a few PM's became too rigid and protective of their own Project only. Far too many slow any transformation and thus become less agile, due to strict time consuming governance - not always a bad thing but a balance needs to be had. PM's tend to work better with absolutes (imo) - dates, cash, personnel. In the past some work really well - eg installing a new piece of machinery or new build, but in other cases where the preffered outcome is know but the path is muddled then some PM's can struggle.

Completely agree. But a conversation like the above just didn’t happen. They didn’t see the risk/reward of needing to employ a specific skillset or experience (as you‘ve alluded to) in order to deliver the outcomes. It wasn’t about being burned in the past with rigid approaches etc, just an absolute lack of belief the existing way needed to change.

But you know what, I run a specialist practice, and this is not uncommon. I have customers all over the world, in all sorts of industries. We not only deliver projects/programmes/manage portfolios for them, but we help with specialists recruitment/training, etc

I’ve had way more conversation with potential customers that have come to nothing, than conversations that have ultimately led to us helping them be successful.

I could never understand it for a few years, but you slowly realise you can’t convince everyone, and you know what, they can still deliver some successes without you.

UTB

 

[bikerblade]

Completely agree. But a conversation like the above just didn’t happen. They didn’t see the risk/reward of needing to employ a specific skillset or experience (as you‘ve alluded to) in order to deliver the outcomes. It wasn’t about being burned in the past with rigid approaches etc, just an absolute lack of belief the existing way needed to change.

But you know what, I run a specialist practice, and this is not uncommon. I have customers all over the world, in all sorts of industries. We not only deliver projects/programmes/manage portfolios for them, but we help with specialists recruitment/training, etc

I’ve had way more conversation with potential customers that have come to nothing, than conversations that have ultimately led to us helping them be successful.

I could never understand it for a few years, but you slowly realise you can’t convince everyone, and you know what, they can still deliver some successes without you.

UTB

It does sound short sighted not to have someone with an overall view with the relevant skill set - maybe they hired the wrong people on the past, who knows.
Good PM's and PgM's can save you quite a bit of time and money in certain circumstances.

 

[LBA_Blade]

It all depends on the commercial side of the business and usually that is the side that is forgotten about/hidden from public view. If you go to the official website https://www.sufc.co.uk/commercial/club-partners/ they have all the current partners that offer something of value to the club. Most of it is the most random things like "Official Immunity Support Partner" and "Official Data and Electronic Recycling Partner" to name 2 but that cuts costs down through services for sponsorship etc. When picking a main sponsor there should be a full due diligence process done. For me any betting sponsors should be banned not just as a gentleman's agreement when the EPL feel fit but from FIFA across the board. In the Premier League naturally viewing audiences and markets are bigger than anywhere else even clubs like us get big publicity especially when the "die-hard" fan on twitter is following Man United from Ghana or wherever he may be based. Due to this sometimes you do wonder, are we trying to maximise profits and punching a bit above our weight, by asking too much? As if we are realistic apart from the expat Blades there aren't many that follow us out of the blue without some connection to the club in other countries. The exposure comes from when we are playing the likes of Man City, Man United, Liverpool and Arsenal etc.

There was a stat given showing for 2022/23 the annual revenue for main front shirt sponsors in the EPL totalled £349.1 million which would be great if an even split across the clubs however Man City earned £67.5 million, Liverpool £50 Million and Man United £47.5 Million which leaves £184.1 Million split across the other 17 clubs. There are quite alot of under £1million but Newcastle were on £7million and Leeds £6million which isn't big, given their fan base. There is money for the shirt manufacturer too although we can safely say we aren't getting much from ours.

In summary its about value for money on a recent trajectory of football we are in a similar position to Leeds although they are a bigger club in terms of attendances and ones left over from the "glory days". If we look at them as a bench mark, £6 million revenue, their shirt manufacture however is (not sure for 2023/24) Adidas which is definitely better Errea as a brand in terms of reach and market if nothing else. We also have to factor in the fact presumingly the new "released" shirt has been manufactured without a sponsor in mind. When you bring those factors together we are asking a customer to pay x to be associated with a shirt small brand of Errea and we have manufactured the design without taking into the fact of how your logo will fit so will need some design work (regardless of how small) plus we stand a chance of relegation (like all promoted teams) so your logo is going to be 2nd even when playing at Bramall Lane in recognition on TV to any major sides. Its a difficult proposal to sell when you look at it and we have to be sure the company is sound and isn't going to go under too.

 

[Nightsweats]

Majority starts at 50.1%, ends at 100%. So I haven't invented anything.

"Countless posts"? I'd be delighted to see some

I'm still waiting for you to show me a single one where I use 99%! Don't pretend you haven't read numerous posts just ranting with no back up facts.

 

[Nightsweats]

Sheffield United sponsor: Why Blades do not have advertisement explained

Sheffield United are the latest Premier League side to launch their 2023/24 kit without a sponsor. The Blades have joined Nottingham Forest and Chelsea in releasing their new home and away tops wit…

talksport.com

 

[Carlton Blade]

I'm still waiting for you to show me a single one where I use 99%! Don't pretend you haven't read numerous posts just ranting with no back up facts.

I talked through the 99% thing but happy to accept that it was my interpretation of what you said

It's a football forum. Sometimes just ranting is the point

 

[Nightsweats]

I talked through the 99% thing but happy to accept that it was my interpretation of what you said

It's a football forum. Sometimes just ranting is the point

So misquoting/inventing things that weren't said or inferred is how you roll.
I'll remember to ignore reality if I engage with you again.
Crack on making things up . Have a good day.

 

[Carlton Blade]

So misquoting/inventing things that weren't said or inferred is how you roll.
I'll remember to ignore reality if I engage with you again.
Crack on making things up . Have a good day.

Ah, pretending you've been completely misquoted and misunderstood. The last attack of the person with nothing to actually add.

 

[Slim Man]

So misquoting/inventing things that weren't said or inferred is how you roll.
I'll remember to ignore reality if I engage with you again.
Crack on making things up . Have a good day.

Do you actually have a point?

 

[Macfarlane21]

Every day this continues we are losing out on revenue from kit sales. Once again, theres a lack of communication from the club since the home shirt was revealed.

Surely the club could have at least made the shirt available for pre-order?!!!

 

[Nightsweats]

Ah, pretending you've been completely misquoted and misunderstood. The last attack of the person with nothing to actually add.

There's no pretending, just your inability to quote anything where 99% appears. You can't because it dosen't exist, rather like your ability to debate with credibility.

 

[biggiesablade]

99% of my farts end in me following through.

 

[Nightsweats]

Do you actually have a point?

Try reading earlier posts. In a nutshell rather than base criticisms on credible and justified events a good number prefer the pitchfork and burning torch approach to the club.
As far as you're concerned I have no idea what anything you post is about. All yours pal. No interest in further waste of time exchanges with you.

 

[Slim Man]

As far as you're concerned I have no idea what anything you post is about.

So what was it you had a problem with in that case?

 

[Carlton Blade]

There's no pretending, just your inability to quote anything where 99% appears. You can't because it dosen't exist, rather like your ability to debate with credibility.

You’re not debating. You’re leaning on one point I’ve already clarified to try and hide the fact you have nothing worthwhile to say

 

[ISZA ⚔️]

I imagine a lot of people won’t bother with the shirt now with the lack of enthusiasm that’s around since the Ndiaye sale.

 

[LBA_Blade]

I imagine a lot of people won’t bother with the shirt now with the lack of enthusiasm that’s around since the Ndiaye sale.

Anyone on the forum a tradey - Front shirt sponsors Clive and Son Roofing on the back Pete's Plumbing Services.... Sorted!

 

[NateDogg]

Wouldn't you think that since people like to butly rhw shirt for the summer that they'd have brought it out a month ago? I know it won't bring in shit loads but every bit counts surely.

 

[jt64]

Every day this continues we are losing out on revenue from kit sales

How many shirts do you think we will sell, and how much profit do you think the club makes on each one?

 

[Eric_Brooks]

Wouldn't you think that since people like to butly rhw shirt for the summer that they'd have brought it out a month ago? I know it won't bring in shit loads but every bit counts surely.

2nd year in a row my son has been on holiday without a shirt. Just don’t get it