Prince on Sheff United Way

[BalticBlade]

Some key bits with some of my thoughts.:

Denied that any bid was agreed to sell Ndiaye prior to this season. Stated that he negotiated with him via facetime and wanted to get him to LA away from distractions to talk in person over new deal. AFCON played a part in decision to sell as did the prospect of going down with Ndiaye leaving on a free. Claims it's better for the future of the club to bring in young permanent signings.

No opinion on safe standing. Removal of Kop posts would've happened if no Covid. Club lost circa 30 million due to Covid. No new plan re post removal. Didn't think he really answered the question tbh.

Berge has been offered new deals in the past

Various reasons for contract situations: not keen to negotiate due to divisional status, age of players and opinion that players perform better in their last year and reduce output when sat on long deals. I was surprised he wasn't pushed on young players contracts as that seems like madness.

No questions re hotel reopening or new training ground.

New ownership: 70-80% there. Wants to retain a stake in the club. New owner would have controlling interest. Due diligence only his problem to a limited extent. Football authorities have much bigger resources and he trusts them to make the decision. Admission that club is now worth much more in the Prem. I felt an opportunity was lost to ask whether he thought a lack of due diligence had damaged the club and could continue to do so as it prevented past and potentially future takeovers materialising. Essentially it's very time consuming seeing of tire kickers this way.

Dozy has paid part of a down payment but not all of it.

Dazzler Smith is a friend due to fair reportage of the court case.

Favours new over legacy media as he can talk on camera rather than in print. Also unhappy with his past portrayal in legacy media. Happy to talk to them in future.

Wont discuss budget or individual player contracts as potentially damaging

On Squad building. Targeting young players for e.g. 5 million rather than more expensive 20 million pound deals like last time. Sees it as imperative to get average age down which fits into our none renewal of Sharp, Stevens etc.

Gives Wilder a share of credit for our promotion last season. Is on good terms with him and has had various meetings. Says he is a better manager now than when he left and can't understand why he isn't with a championship club.

Says he's a fan with a long term interest in future of the club. This is reflected in transfer approach and desire to maintain a minority shareholding.

The Wilder bit is the crucial bit of the interview

 

[originaltrueblade]

Let’s be honest without star boy we are up shit creek without a paddle and if Berge goes too we are up shit creek without a paddle and surrounding by crocodiles

 

[Derby blade]

Thought his Answers were very long and just repeating himsel, Nick looked frustrated, to say it was 60 mins interview very few questions was asked

 

[CaptainMorgans]

The Wilder bit is the crucial bit of the interview

Wouldn't be surprised if Wilder's NDA expires soon so he's tried keeping him sweet to stop him singing like a canary.

 

[Rodley]

Wouldn't be surprised if Wilder's NDA expires soon so he's tried keeping him sweet to stop him singing like a canary.

Would you rule out CW coming back if Hecky got potted?

 

[SotonBlade]

...... I do think Princy has a slight Hal man crush....

We all do don't we?

 

[CaptainMorgans]

Would you rule out CW coming back if Hecky got potted?

He'd be a bad fit under this owner. He'd be at War with him very quickly.

 

[cooperblade]

I thought his waffle about NFL contracts was worryingly incorrect. Teams don’t tend to wait to offer new deal to good players until the last year of their deal as the clubs have less leverage in that situation. Normally when NFL teams know they have a good player on their hands that player get a massive multi year deal as soon as possible because it works out cheaper that way.

And they also have the option of the franchise tag so still hold the power even when a contract ends (as many running backs are currently finding out).

 

[cooperblade]

Decided a while ago not to read or watch stuff that I knew would annoy me. That's why I've blocked so much of twitter and have so many on here on ignore.

I know that's not for everyone but it works for me.

To clarify, that was aimed at the interviewee, not the interviewer YorkBlade

 

[raul]

To be fair, our previous one also used to do fans forums and call supporters directly.

Hey! Martin! Thanks for the banner, love to the kids from San.

 

[HarryHaslam]

Wouldn't be surprised if Wilder's NDA expires soon so he's tried keeping him sweet to stop him singing like a canary.

It isn’t that, was CW who reached out as he was still upset with how it all ended, enough time had passed and he wanted to make up.

 

[Foxy]

Alright Kev..

There’s plenty to throw at both of them without rewriting history

 

[HarryHaslam]

He'd be a bad fit under this owner. He'd be at War with him very quickly.

But the owner wanted him as manager at a different club if everything went to plan. Which it didn’t.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back at the Lane at some point if PA is still involved.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

... if PA is still involved.

Let's hope not then!

 

[metalblade]

I really don't know what fans expect of the Prince would any of you lot tell me how much was in your bank accounts if you wanted to buy my house? I don't think so. So the Prince isn't going to divulge how big Hecky's budget is or how much we receive for Iliman it would make no business sense. I do think the blokes heart is in the right place and he is doing his best, hardly his fault that he doesn't have a bottomless money pit. Maybe we would be better off if McCabe hadn't tried forcing him out. I would have no problem with him retaining a percentage ownership if that is acceptable to a new owner. But a more wealthy owner is what is needed or we will always be strugglers.
Glad to see he is on better terms with Chris Wilder now and I do see where his reluctance to talk to the Sheffield press comes from they have never licked his arse like they do the incumbent at S6 who always gets an easy ride with The Star and to a certain extent Radio Sheffield you only have to think back to the Ched Evans saga where the club got dogs abuse, none of them ever ran with a save our Blades campaign. My criticism of him is to me he runs the club from too far a distance and runs a risk of not getting a feel for the club like the fans do, not saying he has to be UK based but I'd like to see him around a little more and not just for cup semi finals.

 

[Addison]

He made this illogical point twice imo - on Slav and Wilder. He claimed both he and Mccabe wanted Wilder instead of positive Nigel. Weird.

Scott not Kevin on Wilder

 

[Yogi]

And they also have the option of the franchise tag so still hold the power even when a contract ends (as many running backs are currently finding out).

Yeah I don’t think you make too many comparisons between the way the NFL does contracts and the way football does I’d hope we’re not

 

[Millhousesblade1889]

I was looking forward to the interview and I think Hal & Nick asked every question that people had.

However I felt quite deflated after it and not really sure if anything was gained for us fans or the prince after it.

He made quite a lot of strange points and contradicted himself a few times too

 

[Bl4desutd]

Thanks for sharing the interview with us guys. Can’t really say I’ve learnt much new from it but that was more to do with the answers PA gave than the questions you put to him.
Anyway, keep up the good work and prepare yourself for the usual bollocks that probably coming your way

 

[Addison]

This is where the local media let themselves down. After Radio Sheffield gets a tap in from York blade to set up an interview Rob Staton decides to publicly call out the Prince and refute allegations of unfair court coverage, copying him in on his tweet.

Surely a PM to the Prince/Club suggesting a live interview would have been more appropriate giving RS the chance to raise these concerns in the interview itself. Probably just closed down any opportunity for this to happen in the immediate future.

 

[YorkBlade]

This is where the local media let themselves down. After Radio Sheffield gets a tap in from York blade to set up an interview Rob Staton decides to publicly call out the Prince and refute allegations of unfair court coverage, copying him in on his tweet.

Surely a PM to the Prince/Club suggesting a live interview would have been more appropriate giving RS the chance to raise these concerns in the interview itself. Probably just closed down any opportunity for this to happen in the immediate future.

I tried.

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

Probs as expected, having just listened.

Some seemingly straight talking and transparent answers, if you believe them. Fair does.

Some waffle and hot air, saying a lot, without saying anything at all.

Some questions truly dodged - FFS Princeh just tell Dazza to pipe down. Don't condone his jabberings on social media.

Some questions answered seemingly fairly and showing his/their rationale for how they arrive at the decisions they do.

 

[Proper Blade]

I think Hal and Nick asked some decent questions so fair play to them for that. Sadly though many of the Prince's answers were just waffle. There were loads of worrying aspects to his answers:

1) Basically saying they're not renewing players' contracts because a) the players don't want to sign them and b) because it's a strategic thing. IE, he thinks players will perform better if they're playing for a contract. Those ideas might wash if we weren't renewing the contracts of older players, but we're not tying anyone down to longer-term deals. There's no justification for letting our young players enter the last year of their deals. It's just poor management and poor planning from someone who isn't up to running a football club.

2) He also just seemed to blame Berge for never wanting to sign a new deal. I see a theme developing here. It is always the player's fault. "We offered him a brilliant deal, but he just doesn't want to be here." It can't be the case with every player.

3) He mentioned the African Cup of Nations a few times as a reason for selling Ndiaye. Again, I'm just not buying that. It's a poor excuse for a catastrophic sale.

4) I don't know why he is telling Heckingbottom what the profile of the squad should look like. It is very worrying that our owner thinks he knows better than a professional football manager. Stay out of it.

5) As for the accountant stuff. Fuck me. Darren was 'fair' in his coverage of the court case (in other words: he said the things the Prince wanted to hear) so the Prince started leaking insider club news to him. I don't even have the words to describe the lunacy of this situation. A random accountant in Spain called Darren is our de facto club spokesperson because of his reporting about the court case 4 years ago. Just take that in.

I thought the club was a total circus before this interview, and this has only reinforced that idea. We need a new owner, and we need one quickly.

 

[BalticBlade]

This is where the local media let themselves down. After Radio Sheffield gets a tap in from York blade to set up an interview Rob Staton decides to publicly call out the Prince and refute allegations of unfair court coverage, copying him in on his tweet.

Surely a PM to the Prince/Club suggesting a live interview would have been more appropriate giving RS the chance to raise these concerns in the interview itself. Probably just closed down any opportunity for this to happen in the immediate future.

It was a court case. The media accurately reported what was said in court. The end.

 

[Bladesman]

This is where the local media let themselves down. After Radio Sheffield gets a tap in from York blade to set up an interview Rob Staton decides to publicly call out the Prince and refute allegations of unfair court coverage, copying him in on his tweet.

Surely a PM to the Prince/Club suggesting a live interview would have been more appropriate giving RS the chance to raise these concerns in the interview itself. Probably just closed down any opportunity for this to happen in the immediate future.

Yep, that were my thoughts reading that. The local press do have a habit of getting really tetchy about things like this. I know it was 4 years ago now but PA is still correct about some of the local press.

 

[Moan? Nope-I saw Longhorn]

The prince can not afford to run the club on his own admission. what would be the point of keeping him on, he has no money.I would be very surprised if whoever takes over would be willing to keep him on.

Aye
Maybe keep him involved for when we need £2m or so to avoid a transfer embargo - so long as he’s still willing to (re)remortgage his California gaff to do so?

 

[Kozzy_is_my_Dad]

I think Hal and Nick asked some decent questions so fair play to them for that. Sadly though many of the Prince's answers were just waffle. There were loads of worrying aspects to his answers:

1) Basically saying they're not renewing players' contracts because a) the players don't want to sign them and b) because it's a strategic thing. IE, he thinks players will perform better if they're playing for a contract. Those ideas might wash if we weren't renewing the contracts of older players, but we're not tying anyone down to longer-term deals. There's no justification for letting our young players enter the last year of their deals. It's just poor management and poor planning from someone who isn't up to running a football club.

2) He also just seemed to blame Berge for never wanting to sign a new deal. I see a theme developing here. It is always the player's fault. "We offered him a brilliant deal, but he just doesn't want to be here." It can't be the case with every player.

3) He mentioned the African Cup of Nations a few times as a reason for selling Ndiaye. Again, I'm just not buying that. It's a poor excuse for a catastrophic sale.

4) I don't know why he is telling Heckingbottom what the profile of the squad should look like. It is very worrying that our owner thinks he knows better than a professional football manager. Stay out of it.

5) As for the accountant stuff. Fuck me. Darren was 'fair' in his coverage of the court case (in other words: he said the things the Prince wanted to hear) so the Prince started leaking insider club news to him. I don't even have the words to describe the lunacy of this situation. A random accountant in Spain called Darren is our de facto club spokesperson because of his reporting about the court case 4 years ago. Just take that in.

I thought the club was a total circus before this interview, and this has only reinforced that idea. We need a new owner, and we need one quickly.

On point 1, I think it's a shortsighted, risky and limited take - it's not the soundest organisational psychology, by any means. For example, I don't know about you, but I perform best when I feel my efforts are recognised by my organisation and when I have job security. He felt quite generalised in his thinking, that all players are fickle contract cowboys, only working when under pressure. If my arse were almost on the line, and my family's security depended on it, I'd be looking elsewhere for career security and worth.

 

[Addison]

Yep, that were my thoughts reading that. The local press do have a habit of getting really tetchy about things like this. I know it was 4 years ago now but PA is still correct about some of the local press.

I guess he's uncomfortable going back to the pre Court days when KM used the local press to push his version of events prior to the Hearing taking place. I don't recall any bias on the reporting of what actually happened at Court.

The allegations of fraud were part of the pleadings, in the public domain and had to be reported on. In fact the Star provided journalists who tweeted extracts which were very informative. Post Court KM ranted for a few weeks about the Prince being a dishonest person and not fit to run the Club via his mouthpiece the Mail. Local press as they do these days quoted the national article and that maybe where some of the irritation arises.

Not sure why PA referenced someone referring to his entourage as an example of bias. Just clumsy wording imo. He has more of a case against the local media/press over Chris Wilder where they allowed him to question PA's actions that eventually led to his demise and the ensuing fall out.

Just feel its unprofessional of Staton to tweet what he has . There was an opportunity to interview PA after a 4 year news blackout. They've just made it harder to achieve now.

 

[s20Blade]

I'm calling it now, Wilder to come back in when things turn tough with Hecky as his assistant.

 

[Eric_Brooks]

Scott not Kevin on Wilder

That's the first time I have heard it was the Prince that wanted wilder before Adkins. Also the 1st time I heard it was him behind bringing him in the 2nd time round (with scott) and it not being chance meeting with Kevin that was the reason.