Interview with HRH

[cooperblade]

He has a right pop at weds at the end!

http://www.sheffieldtelegraph.co.uk...ffield-united-the-prince-speaks-out-1-6526505

It has been six months since HRH Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was unveiled as Sheffield United’s co-owner.



The Saudi Arabian, a businessman and member of the Kingdom’s ruling family, agreed to invest in the League One club after securing a 50 per cent stake. As Nigel Clough’s side prepare for tomorrow’s visit to Swindon Town, and next month’s FA Cup semi-final against Hull City, he discussed his thoughts on recent events at Bramall Lane with The Star’s James Shield.

JAMES SHIELD: What impressions have you formed during your first six months as co-owner of Sheffield United?

PRINCE ABDULLAH: There are three. During the first half of the season, I thought we were very poor, definitely not promotion material. Now with few additions, I see that we have grit, determination and fire in the belly. I see a club hungry for promotion and able to go after it. Secondly, we are beginning to see the fruits of a management formula on and off the pitch that has the capacity to work for us in a big way and, finally, our fans are everything we assessed them to be beforebuying into the club. Indeed, they are even better than we thought. I am really proud to count myself a Blade.

JS: Naturally there have been highs and lows so, what is the most enjoyable aspect?

PA: I cannot hide it. I like winning. I like clean sheets. I like posting points on the league table. The FA Cup run has been a highlight. The undefeated run has been a highlight. The record setting run of clean sheets has been a highlight. I have also enjoyed watching the lads play for each other and hearing our fans sing the lads on to victory.

JS: And the most disappointing?

PA: The worst day was perhaps the first match I saw at Rotherham last Fall. I thought then that we had a great deal of work before us. Of course, there was nothing for it, but to settle in for a long hard effort.

JS: A disappointing start, change of manager, FA Cup run and now improved results in the league, is it fair to say you have experienced nearly everything English football has to offer since joining United?

PA: It’s seemed like a roller coaster at times. I am really glad to be having this experience and to have it with Sheffield United. God willing, I hope to see the club through to a long run in the top flight. For now, we will battle on, slogging it out one day at a time.

JS: What plans do you have for next season?

PA: My plan is to stick with the plan that we have. It’s working. We have the right management team resourced at the right levels doing the right things. Results will come, if we remain resolute and roll with the punches.

JS: Are there any new ideas, away from the actual team itself, that you would like to implement and which can be shared?

PA: Winning is the new idea, and it is taking hold, I think. As to specifics of our plans, we prefer to do less talking and more executing. We will continue to listen closely to our fans and to seek to grow the fan base. And we will work to fix the things that are not working. We know there is much to do. We know we can do better by all parts of our community, including our team, staff, fans, sponsors, neighbours and greater Sheffield. We cannot do all we would like to at once. But we can work through the issues with earnest determination, moving as quickly as we can.

JS: Are you promoting United in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East? If so, how?

PA: Awareness of the club has gone up in Saudi. There is even an Arabic language fan page. But we have been focused principally on basics in Sheffield and for the stage that we are in, that’s still the right approach.

JS: What are your thoughts on reaching the FA Cup semi-finals?

PA: No one expected this. I have been over the moon about it. I can’t wait to join our amazing supporters at Wembley and to cheer for our lads as they fight for their place in English football history. Chances like these are always earned, never flukes. Sheffield United has earned its place on that stage and I am sure our lads will go out there and give everything they have for each other, for the fans and for glory.

JS: And on the qualities of Nigel Clough?

PA: Nigel is doing a fine job. He has a combination of attributes that are perhaps rare in his trade; humility, integrity, toughness, insight, a common touch and class. He knows the sport as few do and he has vision. He can see the short term in its proper relationship to the long term and he is patient and intuitive.

JS: Where and what sort of club would you like United to be in five years time?

PA: My ambition is that by then we will be playing in good form in the top flight. I believe that is do’able. I am under no illusions about the difficulty involved in doing that, but I am committed.

JS: And, finally, what would you say United’s best quality or most valuable asset is?

PA: Without hesitation, I would say that our supporters are the club’s most powerful, most valuable, most enduring asset. Other things may rust and crumble and require repairs and replacement. But we have fans who truly love the club and have committed themselves and their families to the club and all that it stands for.

 

[Deadly_D'Jaffo]

Is it fair to say already that we have struck gold with our HRH, Selahattin & Jim P?

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

He gets it! Or he is being very well briefed and that probably goes back to Big Jim. As for the football side, the position and importance of the fans don't underestimate the work and involvement of Fener connected Selah.

 

[Woodwardfan]

What a superb response about the qualities of Nigel Clough.

Know what? I agree with every word and at last we can believe we have someone who can cope with life at this level and plan the development of the squad to compete and succeed at higher levels.

I have always said you need to be ready for the next challenge by the time you get promoted and under NC we will be. The emerging style of football will stand us in good stead in the Championship, maybe more so up there than in L1.

 

[Esablade]

Hmmmmm...co-owner interview after best run 'EVER' and FA cup semi..why not!

Could have asked him a few more specific questions rather than pleasant generalities....but I do have 'faith' that the Prince will/has been good to his word in backing the club.

UTB!

 

[MightyBlades]

HRH seems very well grounded and realistic. Quietly very ambitious too!

I just sense that he will be with United for a very long time, taking us all the way to the promised land and keeping us there.

There will be no bluff, or bluster with this fella, and he seems the type that will be happy to stay in the background and let others get on with the groundworks. He will simply provide the briefs, the resources and the connections.

I just hope the fans let the guy get on with the job in hand, and don't get on his back when things go wrong from time to time, which they inevitably will. Nothing ever goes smoothly, at any football club in the world, not at Manchester United, nor Real Madrid, and certainly not with a provincial club like the Blades.

My only worry is that Blades fans will end up driving the poor bugger away. That he will eventually say he's had enough of all the mindless crap and blame being thrown his way, and so he will simply walk away from the project. Blades fans can be a self-destructive, vindictive, and not all together very intelligent bunch at times, so I just hope that they don't prove my fears correct.

Support the club and team and let the owners get on with their jobs, and this should be a very exciting and enjoyable ride, which I'm hoping will firmly plant the club back in the top echelons of English football, where it's history and long traditions dictate is where it truly belongs.

Up the Blades!

 

[ilovesufc]

"Nigel is doing a fine job. He has a combination of attributes that are perhaps rare in his trade; humility, integrity, toughness, insight, a common touch and class. He knows the sport as few do and he has vision. He can see the short term in its proper relationship to the long term and he is patient and intuitive."

SOOOOOO back in love with United again!!! - won't it be amazing if all this promise actually comes to fruition and we have found owners, management and team to take us back up there? I'm definitely buying into it all...for now at least ha ha!

 

[Houso]

we prefer to do less talking and more executing.

 

[SwitchBLADE Smiles]

"we prefer to do less talking and more executing."

Is this why we've been so good of late?

 

[Sothall_Blade]

Quote of the week:- "Winning is the new idea"...

You can't say fairer than that

 

[Trigger Blade]

"we prefer to do less talking and more executing."

Is this why we've been so good of late?

A few years ago, I was in Jeddah over their weekend. I asked in the hotel what there was to do in town over the weekend. The concierge said it was the first time in all his years that anybody had asked, it not being a great holiday destination. He thought a while and then said that as it was Friday, I could go down to the square after prayers and watch the executions. I didn't

It is certainly true that the profile of the club is much higher over there. My customer in Jeddah now follows the club, not because of my publicity efforts, but because of the Prince. my customer also believes the HRH is rather wealthier than we are led to believe, but he may have no more idea than I have.

 

[raul]

In conjunction with the snippet posted by Linz on the fans forum feedback thread about NC not doing a meet the fans night, I'm of the mind that we're now being run by professionals rather than spin doctors.

The business of SUFC is to put a team on the field, once or maybe twice a week, that's the best it can be and that nettle seems well and truly grasped. The only need for communication is that everybody inside the club- no matter how disconnected it seems from actually playing- and outside the club- us- are all important in delivering that.

Now, let's enjoy the rest of the season and crack on.

 

[itsinyerblood]

A few years ago, I was in Jeddah over their weekend. I asked in the hotel what there was to do in town over the weekend. The concierge said it was the first time in all his years that anybody had asked, it not being a great holiday destination. He thought a while and then said that as it was Friday, I could go down to the square after prayers and watch the executions. I didn't

It is certainly true that the profile of the club is much higher over there. My customer in Jeddah now follows the club, not because of my publicity efforts, but because of the Prince. my customer also believes the HRH is rather wealthier than we are led to believe, but he may have no more idea than I have.

Sorry Trigger Blade, but that made me laugh in a sick kind of way....maybe we could transfer this 'tradition' to BDTBL and have pre-match executions as a way of developing dressing room camaraderie.....it wouldn't half give the opposition a jolt to their systems.

Right, who's first? Think we should start with the shower from S6, trouble is finding a neck worth slicing through (that assumes beheading!)

 

[Kev Gee]

What a ride this guy has been on this season with ourselves.

he has been through every emotion possible.

Well HRH, sit back & strap in. This is only the beginning.

 

[Pinchy]

Sorry Trigger Blade, but that made me laugh in a sick kind of way....maybe we could transfer this 'tradition' to BDTBL and have pre-match executions as a way of developing dressing room camaraderie.....it wouldn't half give the opposition a jolt to their systems.

Right, who's first? Think we should start with the shower from S6, trouble is finding a neck worth slicing through (that assumes beheading!)

Well. as I have said before, I would have happily watched and cheered if Semi-Pro had been tarred and feathered in the centre circle at Wembley immediately after the Burnley game.

 

[Pinchy]

HRH seems very well grounded and realistic. Quietly very ambitious too!

I just sense that he will be with United for a very long time, taking us all the way to the promised land and keeping us there.

There will be no bluff, or bluster with this fella, and he seems the type that will be happy to stay in the background and let others get on with the groundworks. He will simply provide the briefs, the resources and the connections.

I just hope the fans let the guy get on with the job in hand, and don't get on his back when things go wrong from time to time, which they inevitably will. Nothing ever goes smoothly, at any football club in the world, not at Manchester United, nor Real Madrid, and certainly not with a provincial club like the Blades.

My only worry is that Blades fans will end up driving the poor bugger away. That he will eventually say he's had enough of all the mindless crap and blame being thrown his way, and so he will simply walk away from the project. Blades fans can be a self-destructive, vindictive, and not all together very intelligent bunch at times, so I just hope that they don't prove my fears correct.

Support the club and team and let the owners get on with their jobs, and this should be a very exciting and enjoyable ride, which I'm hoping will firmly plant the club back in the top echelons of English football, where it's history and long traditions dictate is where it truly belongs.

Up the Blades!

I like your style Mighty! Are you me in disguise?

 

[Dkc]

Basically that interview can be condensed into two sentences: “United are a great club, the fans are great, and we have a great manager. My ambition is to get in the Premier League.

If I were to interview HRH I’d ask

1) You are a member of a ruling family whose values (capital punishment, women’s rights, political freedoms etc) are seen as unpalatable by many in the West. Do you personally subscribe to the views of the Saudi government on these and similar issues?

2) Were the funds available to bring in loanees during the window?

3) How often do you personally speak to Clough and McCabe? Do you have any influence in the decision making at club level, such as what prices to charge for games etc?

4) Would you support Clough were he to decide to offer Ched a contract when he is released? Have you been asked for your input on this issue?

5) Presuming we are in League One next season, can you give us any idea of what our transfer kitty will be in the summer? More than five million?

 

[judge]

Basically that interview can be condensed into two sentences: “United are a great club, the fans are great, and we have a great manager. My ambition is to get in the Premier League.

If I were to interview HRH I’d ask

1) You are a member of a ruling family whose values (capital punishment, women’s rights, political freedoms etc) are seen as unpalatable by many in the West. Do you personally subscribe to the views of the Saudi government on these and similar issues?

2) Were the funds available to bring in loanees during the window?

3) How often do you personally speak to Clough and McCabe? Do you have any influence in the decision making at club level, such as what prices to charge for games etc?

4) Would you support Clough were he to decide to offer Ched a contract when he is released? Have you been asked for your input on this issue?

5) Presuming we are in League One next season, can you give us any idea of what our transfer kitty will be in the summer? More than five million?

Probably why james" sheild of truth "shield got the gig

 

[Kenilworth]

Basically that interview can be condensed into two sentences: “United are a great club, the fans are great, and we have a great manager. My ambition is to get in the Premier League.

If I were to interview HRH I’d ask

1) You are a member of a ruling family whose values (capital punishment, women’s rights, political freedoms etc) are seen as unpalatable by many in the West. Do you personally subscribe to the views of the Saudi government on these and similar issues?

2) Were the funds available to bring in loanees during the window?

3) How often do you personally speak to Clough and McCabe? Do you have any influence in the decision making at club level, such as what prices to charge for games etc?

4) Would you support Clough were he to decide to offer Ched a contract when he is released? Have you been asked for your input on this issue?

5) Presuming we are in League One next season, can you give us any idea of what our transfer kitty will be in the summer? More than five million?

All well and good but he might just cut your nuts off and feed them to you just for the cheek of it

 

[Bladesway]

HRH seems very well grounded and realistic. Quietly very ambitious too!

I just sense that he will be with United for a very long time, taking us all the way to the promised land and keeping us there.

There will be no bluff, or bluster with this fella, and he seems the type that will be happy to stay in the background and let others get on with the groundworks. He will simply provide the briefs, the resources and the connections.

I just hope the fans let the guy get on with the job in hand, and don't get on his back when things go wrong from time to time, which they inevitably will. Nothing ever goes smoothly, at any football club in the world, not at Manchester United, nor Real Madrid, and certainly not with a provincial club like the Blades.

My only worry is that Blades fans will end up driving the poor bugger away. That he will eventually say he's had enough of all the mindless crap and blame being thrown his way, and so he will simply walk away from the project. Blades fans can be a self-destructive, vindictive, and not all together very intelligent bunch at times, so I just hope that they don't prove my fears correct.

Support the club and team and let the owners get on with their jobs, and this should be a very exciting and enjoyable ride, which I'm hoping will firmly plant the club back in the top echelons of English football, where it's history and long traditions dictate is where it truly belongs.

Up the Blades!

So we shouldn't question bad ownership and let him get on with it yeah?

 

[itsinyerblood]

Basically that interview can be condensed into two sentences: “United are a great club, the fans are great, and we have a great manager. My ambition is to get in the Premier League.

If I were to interview HRH I’d ask

1) You are a member of a ruling family whose values (capital punishment, women’s rights, political freedoms etc) are seen as unpalatable by many in the West. Do you personally subscribe to the views of the Saudi government on these and similar issues?

2) Were the funds available to bring in loanees during the window?

3) How often do you personally speak to Clough and McCabe? Do you have any influence in the decision making at club level, such as what prices to charge for games etc?

4) Would you support Clough were he to decide to offer Ched a contract when he is released? Have you been asked for your input on this issue?

5) Presuming we are in League One next season, can you give us any idea of what our transfer kitty will be in the summer? More than five million?

Hi Dkc, I think the nature of press interviews often skate over what you might refer to as sensitive issues, such as social attitudes that exist in Saudi. I don't always agree with this, but it happens. It all depends on the journalist and his/her intentions.

What you'll never discover is what funds/budgets are available to a manager. It would be poor judgement to alert other clubs to the sort of money we have. Buying a player is often a cat and mouse negotiation, so those figures will always remain close to the chest of those who matter. Also, it would raise/lower supporter's expectations, which in turn may impact on ticket sales etc. I imagine there'd be some fluidity in terms of budgets too. If, towards the end of a transfer window our manager desperately wanted to buy a player, yet had spent nearly all his budget, he might ask the Prince to cough up the necessary amount to push us over the line. So a lot to consider when it comes to what should be made public and what should always remain in-house.

 

[Dkc]

Yep, you're right. But I still think it's up to journos to ask questions, even when detailed answers aren't likely to follow.

Speaking as a Blade, I wouldn't want the Prince to be subjected to a grilling about human rights, his views on the Ched case etc by a hack. I'd be quite happy if no one rocked the boat, with him for to be sitting in the background, offering praise, and funding the team when needed. But I'd expect an objective journalist who isn't a Blades fan to delve a little deeper.

Is Shield a Blade btw? I know he's covered us for many years now, but does he have an emotional as well as a professional investment?

 

[itsinyerblood]

Yep, you're right. But I still think it's up to journos to ask questions, even when detailed answers aren't likely to follow.

Speaking as a Blade, I wouldn't want the Prince to be subjected to a grilling about human rights, his views on the Ched case etc by a hack. I'd be quite happy if no one rocked the boat, with him for to be sitting in the background, offering praise, and funding the team when needed. But I'd expect an objective journalist who isn't a Blades fan to delve a little deeper.

Is Shield a Blade btw? I know he's covered us for many years now, but does he have an emotional as well as a professional investment?

I agree mate. So much depends on the quality of journalist, what investigative drives they may have (are they driven by the need to probe, to seek revelations about personal lives etc), has their editor given them a remit to keep it nice and simple etc. My own view is that local papers adopt a view that apar from transfers, takeovers, or sensational, Ched-like stories, that will go national anyway, keeping their readership onside rather than creating potential hostility is the order of the day.

The Star probably has fewer in-house journalists than say 5 years ago, sales have dropped, and local papers generally are on a readership offensive, with sports being a vital element in all of this. How many of us turn to the back page first of all when buying a paper? I tend to unless my eyes are drawn to a front page headline of interest. Football is a massive interest for many in this country, so the type of journalism you should expect locally won't seek to expose in quite the same way as a national paper.

No idea about Shield's club affiliations or whether he's passionate about the Blades. Many journos tend to be a bit cynical about the news in general, so it wouldn't surprise me if Sheild's were to move to another paper that he'd comment on that club with the same approach. Just part of being a journalist I reckon.

 

[Blade56]

1) You are a member of a ruling family whose values (capital punishment, women’s rights, political freedoms etc) are seen as unpalatable by many in the West. Do you personally subscribe to the views of the Saudi government on these and similar issues?

WTF?

 

[Blade56]

I liked the last bit...
PA: Without hesitation, I would say that our supporters are the club’s most powerful, most valuable, most enduring asset. Other things may rust and crumble and require repairs and replacement. But we have fans who truly love the club and have committed themselves and their families to the club and all that it stands for.

 

[itsinyerblood]

I liked the last bit...
PA: Without hesitation, I would say that our supporters are the club’s most powerful, most valuable, most enduring asset. Other things may rust and crumble and require repairs and replacement. But we have fans who truly love the club and have committed themselves and their families to the club and all that it stands for.

Now, who on earth could the Prince have been thinking about with that second sentence? Surely not...no, he'd never be so insensitive as to suggest...no, not the Prince?

 

[judge]

So we shouldn't question bad ownership and let him get on with it yeah?

No , you should get in fist and carry on relentlessly until the club is exctinct

Yep, you're right. But I still think it's up to journos to ask questions, even when detailed answers aren't likely to follow.

Speaking as a Blade, I wouldn't want the Prince to be subjected to a grilling about human rights, his views on the Ched case etc by a hack. I'd be quite happy if no one rocked the boat, with him for to be sitting in the background, offering praise, and funding the team when needed. But I'd expect an objective journalist who isn't a Blades fan to delve a little deeper.

Is Shield a Blade btw? I know he's covered us for many years now, but does he have an emotional as well as a professional investment?

Hes a chelsea fan

 

[Pinchy]

No , you should get in fist and carry on relentlessly until the club is exctinct

Have you been out and about with Darren?

 

[Bladesway]

Now, who on earth could the Prince have been thinking about with that second sentence? Surely not...no, he'd never be so insensitive as to suggest...no, not the Prince?

Sell the ground and share with the pork of course.

 

[Dkc]

WTF?

As I said, I'm not suggesting we grill our prince on these issues. As I undertand he spends much of his time in LA and is involved in business, not politics.

But the House of Saud has been criticised for all kinds of crimes including institutional racism (especially against Indians and Pakistanis) involvement in the international sex slave trade, lack of democracy, secret trials, cruel and inhumane punishments, funding of terrorism, the list goes on.

I'm not saying that Saudi Arabia is guilty of all these accusations, but many would say it has a pretty dodgy track record on human rights. Unlike say Abramovich, who has a thorny relationship with Putin, HRH is a member of Saudi's ruling elite, and has presumably represented them in the past.

All I'm saying is that a more objective political journalist might pull him up on the actions of some of his extended family back home.