Let's all play spot the layers of bullshit.
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Dear Blades,
Thank you for your letter and for the way you have represented supporters in raising it. We know you care deeply about this football club, and we do not take that lightly. We wanted to write back to you directly, in the round, because the honest answer to nearly all of them comes from the same place: our commitment to Sheffield United has not changed and it is not going to.
On the football side, nothing about the current legal matter touches what happens at Bramall Lane or at the training ground day to day. Chris and his staff are planning the season and recruitment is continuing. We have been in Valencia with the squad at our pre-season camp and seen first hand there has been one focus: getting ready for opening day against Birmingham City.
On the ownership itself, the changes announced last month, Tim Ryan joining the board and the move to the 1919 Partners structure, were about building a stronger platform to bring more investment into this club, not about stepping back from it. If anything, they reflect the opposite of what some of the coverage has implied. We have put our own money into United, we continue to do so, and the structure exists to make it easier for others to invest alongside us, not instead of us. Our vision for this club, competing at the top end of the table, building something sustainable, and giving Chris the tools to keep improving the team, is exactly the same today as it was when we stood in the fan zone and spoke to you directly.
We will also be honest with you: we have not got everything right since we arrived, and we do not pretend otherwise. What we hope supporters have seen is that when something is not working, we act. Bringing Chris back was the clearest example of that. It required us to put pride to one side and do what was right for Sheffield United, and it is a decision we are reminded of every day watching him work. That is the standard we hold ourselves to. We will keep learning, we will keep striving to be better owners of this football club, and we will keep making the decisions the club needs rather than the ones that are easiest for us.
Like you, we recognise that some of the detail cannot be discussed while a legal process runs its course. What we can tell you plainly is that this matter does not change our financial position, our day-to-day running of the club, or our plans for the future.
Where there is something material and appropriate to share, you will hear it from us, and we would rather supporters get that information from the club than piece it together from speculation. We are grateful to the FAB for giving us a direct channel to do that.
On governance, we have operated within EFL rules since the day we arrived and that has not shifted. We understand and accept the scrutiny that comes with owning a club like this one, and we take our obligations to the League and to the wider regulatory framework seriously.
None of this changes what we are most looking forward to, which is the season ahead. Chris has built something at this club that supporters can be proud of, and we are fully behind him and the team as they prepare for the new campaign. There is a lot of hard work still to do this summer, and we are getting on with it.
Thank you again for raising these questions on behalf of supporters.
Yours sincerely,
Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy
Co-chairmen, Sheffield United Football Club
