Time for McCabe to show leadership and banish myths

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Jeez... Can everyone pick their dummies up and get back in their respective prams.
 
Woodwardfan said:
For Pompey too, though it's probably a waste of time of course.

The following are mostly guesses!! off the top of my head.. Brayford £1.75m, Done £ 700k, Coutts say £250k, Sharp £500k, Adams £200k, McNulty £300k, Scougall £300k, Wallace J. £250k, Flynn £300k, Cuvelier £400k, Baxter £400k. Total £5.3m
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Haven't those purchases been balanced out by the sale of our best players in Maguire and Murphy, the cup semi-final, (less cost of new pitch) together with the Man U cup game gate receipts?

Only my opinion, but I assume the Princes investment is purely propping up the wage bill and nothing more, which is concerning when the numbers quoted by Phipps are so substantial. One thing is certain, which ever way you look at it, we certainly aren't getting value for money
 
Blade58 said:
Haven't those purchases been balanced out by the sale of our best players in Maguire and Murphy, the cup semi-final, (less cost of new pitch) together with the Man U cup game gate receipts?

Only my opinion, but I assume the Princes investment is purely propping up the wage bill and nothing more, which is concerning when the numbers quoted by Phipps are so substantial. One thing is certain, which ever way you look at it, we certainly aren't getting value for money
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Yes but the point is we are a buying club at this level with more muscle than all bar Wigan. We are a selling club as well but so are all the others including those who went up in past seasons with the exception of Bournemouth perhaps.

The month after month outward drain of cash on routine expense has been alarming, easily £1m per month for quite some time, so there lies the need to reduce the size of the squad. No doubt all areas of cost will be under pressure as in any business.

I agree we do not get value for money but Adkins is a victim of circumstances. Clough overspent and accumulated so much mediocrity and Adkins has taken his time to assess every player after being appointed well into the summer. In the meantime injuries, doping scandals, player attitudes, poor form and downright mediocrity have conspired against the manager. Having said all that management of the squad has been a shambles at times; wrong tactics, formations etc etc compounded his very mediocre signings and has led us to the current low.

The big unanswered question right now is whether he prince will keep investing until we succeed.
 
I think one of the main points made in the original post was that McCabe really should make a statement which may dispel a few myths or confirm that there are difficulties and how they are being addressed. And despite all the ranting on here. I can't see there is anyone who'd disagree with that.
Also McCabe has invested loads if time and money and is a Blade like the rest if us. But he's been unsuccessful for the last 8 years and made some very bad decisions. He's acknowledged that.
The Bury performance alarmed me for all the reasons well explained above. There was no bite, aggression, leadership, will to win. They flattered to deceive for give minutes at the beginning of each half and that was all. They were individually poor and collectively the team were less than the sum of its parts indicating poor coaching/ management/instruction. No controversy there.
We are all angry and very upset, but why in looking for a bit of insight and collective understanding on a forum do fellow supporters want to abuse each other. And its an open forum why would you use language that some would find very offensive? It just makes you look stupid and devalues the points you want to make.
Less heat and a bit more light eh?
 
Kev Gee said:
Kmc is the man at the top. He sets the budget and appoints the managers.

Like or not the buck stops with him.
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^^^This
But all this talk about 'sack the board' is ludicrous. Who can sack the board? Until we get new investment - serious new investment which will be able to compete with the cash-rich top two divisions - we're reliant on McCabe and I'm afraid his 'fortune' is loose change nowadays. He's done well to keep us ticking along but the chickens are now coming home to roost. So we're stuck with McCabe and the board for the forseeable.

Where I would blame McCabe is his disastrous recruitment policy - the managers. When Adkins goes, it will be followed by the usual navel-gazing and talk of 'We can't keep sacking managers'. No, we can't keep employing crap managers. Whatever their past successes - and most of our managers post-Warnock have not had any past success - must have a very easy ride at interview stage. As most things about football now involve a scientific approach, conversely it would seem that the board's mind is made up before the manager in front of them even attends the interview.

Are questions - precluding all talk of 'past successes', this is the here and now - like 'Which coaches do you admire?', 'Why?', 'How do you think you could emulate that at United?', 'How much do you think you would need to begin this reconstruction?', 'What tactics do you envisage employing?', 'Which young, up-and-coming players do you admire and do you think you could attract them to Bramall Lane?'

All obvious stuff, but would Adkins have passed any of that? (If he was honest, he'd fail on every question). They just 'tell a good story' and, when employed, insist on bringing their old mates - background staff and players - who may have been OK a few years ago, but aren't up to it now.

Football has changed enormously in the last 5 years and continuously evolves. Chelsea, for all their spending, are also-rans in the PL while bright, young outfits like Watford and Palace are out-performing them. The days of 't'local lad made good' being chairman are long gone. Look at Wendy. Having kissed enough frogs (and chancers) in their search for a new owner - Sheard, Strapon, Azerbaijan-man and even Mandaric - haven't just 'struck lucky' with Chansiri. They scoured the globe. Ditto managers. While Dave Jones, Stuart Grey, Megson, Irvine, Laws, Sturrock will take you so far, they're incapable of driving the club forward. Who had heard of Carvalhal? Again, they didn't 'get lucky'. Somebody had done serious background searches.

In a bit, I'll be setting off for the Lane. A task I find about as appealing nowadays as a trip to the dentist. Adkins' latest motivational talk will be ringing in my ears. 'It will get worse before it gets better.' Well, he's had 2/3rds of a season to regress the club to it's lowest point in decades. Under Adkins, it will get worse. It might get better when he's gone and the board step into 21st century reality.
 
grafikhaus said:
^^^This
But all this talk about 'sack the board' is ludicrous. Who can sack the board? Until we get new investment - serious new investment which will be able to compete with the cash-rich top two divisions - we're reliant on McCabe and I'm afraid his 'fortune' is loose change nowadays. He's done well to keep us ticking along but the chickens are now coming home to roost. So we're stuck with McCabe and the board for the forseeable.

Where I would blame McCabe is his disastrous recruitment policy - the managers. When Adkins goes, it will be followed by the usual navel-gazing and talk of 'We can't keep sacking managers'. No, we can't keep employing crap managers. Whatever their past successes - and most of our managers post-Warnock have not had any past success - must have a very easy ride at interview stage. As most things about football now involve a scientific approach, conversely it would seem that the board's mind is made up before the manager in front of them even attends the interview.

Are questions - precluding all talk of 'past successes', this is the here and now - like 'Which coaches do you admire?', 'Why?', 'How do you think you could emulate that at United?', 'How much do you think you would need to begin this reconstruction?', 'What tactics do you envisage employing?', 'Which young, up-and-coming players do you admire and do you think you could attract them to Bramall Lane?'

All obvious stuff, but would Adkins have passed any of that? (If he was honest, he'd fail on every question). They just 'tell a good story' and, when employed, insist on bringing their old mates - background staff and players - who may have been OK a few years ago, but aren't up to it now.

Football has changed enormously in the last 5 years and continuously evolves. Chelsea, for all their spending, are also-rans in the PL while bright, young outfits like Watford and Palace are out-performing them. The days of 't'local lad made good' being chairman are long gone. Look at Wendy. Having kissed enough frogs (and chancers) in their search for a new owner - Sheard, Strapon, Azerbaijan-man and even Mandaric - haven't just 'struck lucky' with Chansiri. They scoured the globe. Ditto managers. While Dave Jones, Stuart Grey, Megson, Irvine, Laws, Sturrock will take you so far, they're incapable of driving the club forward. Who had heard of Carvalhal? Again, they didn't 'get lucky'. Somebody had done serious background searches.

In a bit, I'll be setting off for the Lane. A task I find about as appealing nowadays as a trip to the dentist. Adkins' latest motivational talk will be ringing in my ears. 'It will get worse before it gets better.' Well, he's had 2/3rds of a season to regress the club to it's lowest point in decades. Under Adkins, it will get worse. It might get better when he's gone and the board step into 21st century reality.
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Brilliant post.
 
Gentlemen... toys back in respective prams please.

Consider this an advanced warning that when we get back at 5pm, we are fully expecting to be suffering from a complete sense of humour failure and a rapidly increasing report list.
 
Eskimo said:
I think one of the main points made in the original post was that McCabe really should make a statement which may dispel a few myths or confirm that there are difficulties and how they are being addressed. And despite all the ranting on here. I can't see there is anyone who'd disagree with that.
Also McCabe has invested loads if time and money and is a Blade like the rest if us. But he's been unsuccessful for the last 8 years and made some very bad decisions. He's acknowledged that.
The Bury performance alarmed me for all the reasons well explained above. There was no bite, aggression, leadership, will to win. They flattered to deceive for give minutes at the beginning of each half and that was all. They were individually poor and collectively the team were less than the sum of its parts indicating poor coaching/ management/instruction. No controversy there.
We are all angry and very upset, but why in looking for a bit of insight and collective understanding on a forum do fellow supporters want to abuse each other. And its an open forum why would you use language that some would find very offensive? It just makes you look stupid and devalues the points you want to make.
Less heat and a bit more light eh?
Click to expand...


I disagreed in my first post on this thread because I don't think McCabe is running this club any more; he's more of a guardian/ consultant if needed. Let the prince's reps stand up and be counted.

Phipps should communicate through proper channels and not get bogged down with the sort of nonsense some fans and pigs have thrown at him onTwiiter/ Facebook; that was always naive and doomed to failure.
 
When McCabe employed Nigel Adkins it was considered by many on here to be a major coup, the very best available at this level, at last a proper manager with a superb CV.

Since it's become apparent that perhaps he's not the new Messiah, it's McCabes fault.

The bloke can't win :eek:
 
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The Bohemian said:
I understand why Kevin McCabe took a communication backseat since Jim Phipps assumed the role of fronting the club. For whatever reason Jim has gone quiet just when leadership is most needed and McCabe needs to fill the void.

The fans are hurting and without a clear and coherent message from the club, people will make up their own mind - often based on half-truth, rumour and myth.

When things are bad - and let's all be honest, they are dire right now - it's natural to look for someone to blame. Most supporters, for now, seem reluctant to blame Adkins, so the players and the owners get it instead.

McCabe seems to be getting a lot of stick - much of which seems unjustified and based on the aforementioned myths and rumours. Before any bandwagon aimed at his removal gathers pace, there are a few things we should remember:

- his family have put around £90m to the club in chasing the dream.
- despite rumours to the contrary he continues to invest alongside the Prince (I understand another £8m this season alone)
- he is first and foremost a supporter, who actually cares about the club (pretty rare nowadays)

The last two managers (both popular appointments amongst supporters) have been backed financially and given plenty of scope to make their own decisions. The current team cost around £4m in transfer fees and we must have the biggest wage bill after 'parachuting Wigan.'

I'm not saying mistakes haven't been made, including by McCabe, but he is not the reason we're under-performing at present. We probably need him more than ever right now.
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Can I ask what leads you to believe £8 million has been invested this season?
 
derryblade said:
I am sure one of our leaders will make an appearance shortly just before the season ticket renewal drops on our doormats, promising a new dawn, long term plan.
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Season ticket renewal or is it a donkey sanctuary asking for a donation, read it very carefully.
 

The Bohemian said:
McCabe seems to be getting a lot of stick - much of which seems unjustified and based on the aforementioned myths and rumours. Before any bandwagon aimed at his removal gathers pace, there are a few things we should remember:

- his family have put around £90m to the club in chasing the dream.
- despite rumours to the contrary he continues to invest alongside the Prince (I understand another £8m this season alone)
- he is first and foremost a supporter, who actually cares about the club (pretty rare nowadays)

The last two managers (both popular appointments amongst supporters) have been backed financially and given plenty of scope to make their own decisions. The current team cost around £4m in transfer fees and we must have the biggest wage bill after 'parachuting Wigan.'
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Scarily accurate to what McCabe has just said today :eek:
 
FatLadFromSheffield said:
Scarily accurate to what McCabe has just said today :eek:
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The £8 million figure is taken from a share allotment form dated December 2015. It's the increase in share capital. Reading it though only 30p in the pound had been paid at that date, which does not amount to £8 million.

The difference may have been paid since but it will be some time before that's confirmed at Companies House.

McCabe is correct though about the ridiculous statements that he's taken money out of the club.
 
The Bohemian said:
I understand why Kevin McCabe took a communication backseat since Jim Phipps assumed the role of fronting the club. For whatever reason Jim has gone quiet just when leadership is most needed and McCabe needs to fill the void.

The fans are hurting and without a clear and coherent message from the club, people will make up their own mind - often based on half-truth, rumour and myth.

When things are bad - and let's all be honest, they are dire right now - it's natural to look for someone to blame. Most supporters, for now, seem reluctant to blame Adkins, so the players and the owners get it instead.

McCabe seems to be getting a lot of stick - much of which seems unjustified and based on the aforementioned myths and rumours. Before any bandwagon aimed at his removal gathers pace, there are a few things we should remember:

- his family have put around £90m to the club in chasing the dream.
- despite rumours to the contrary he continues to invest alongside the Prince (I understand another £8m this season alone)
- he is first and foremost a supporter, who actually cares about the club (pretty rare nowadays)

The last two managers (both popular appointments amongst supporters) have been backed financially and given plenty of scope to make their own decisions. The current team cost around £4m in transfer fees and we must have the biggest wage bill after 'parachuting Wigan.'

I'm not saying mistakes haven't been made, including by McCabe, but he is not the reason we're under-performing at present. We probably need him more than ever right now.
Click to expand...

This current squad probably did cost £4 million but we'v e made more in transfer fees so woopee
 
brownie said:
Yeah, but to what standard did you play football?
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A lower standard than Top Cat, Brownie. Obviously.

Woodwardfan said:
This thread started with a quality OP and look at it now. Each poster should look at himself and reflect how he/she spoiled the thread.

For my part, I regret getting trying to achieve some balance in the thread by correcting wild nonsense by Pommpey whose first post on the thread was further repetition of his usual vulgar rants.
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Feller - this started with a statement, some disagreement on content and then a beamside personal attack, concentrating on the spelling of my online name, and my geographic location.

As for 'vulgar rants', do you go to the match with earmuffs on? Do you cross yourself every time someone in the nearby environment uses some passionate vernacular to describe their feelings of disappointment or even ... joy at scoring? Have you never screamed 'Fucking Get In!' when United score? I have, even in my living room, 225 miles away from Bramall Lane.

Get over yourself, eh?

pommpey
 
The Bohemian said:
I understand why Kevin McCabe took a communication backseat since Jim Phipps assumed the role of fronting the club. For whatever reason Jim has gone quiet just when leadership is most needed and McCabe needs to fill the void.

The fans are hurting and without a clear and coherent message from the club, people will make up their own mind - often based on half-truth, rumour and myth.

When things are bad - and let's all be honest, they are dire right now - it's natural to look for someone to blame. Most supporters, for now, seem reluctant to blame Adkins, so the players and the owners get it instead.

McCabe seems to be getting a lot of stick - much of which seems unjustified and based on the aforementioned myths and rumours. Before any bandwagon aimed at his removal gathers pace, there are a few things we should remember:

- his family have put around £90m to the club in chasing the dream.
- despite rumours to the contrary he continues to invest alongside the Prince (I understand another £8m this season alone)
- he is first and foremost a supporter, who actually cares about the club (pretty rare nowadays)

The last two managers (both popular appointments amongst supporters) have been backed financially and given plenty of scope to make their own decisions. The current team cost around £4m in transfer fees and we must have the biggest wage bill after 'parachuting Wigan.'

I'm not saying mistakes haven't been made, including by McCabe, but he is not the reason we're under-performing at present. We probably need him more than ever right now.
Click to expand...


After today's interview, please explain how you quoted the exact £90m investment figure quoted by KM and which I have never heard before ( but understood and ratified) and the £4m transfer fees for the current squad ( which was understated IMO).

Please explain.
 
Woodwardfan said:
After today's interview, please explain how you quoted the exact £90m investment figure quoted by KM and which I have never heard before ( but understood and ratified) and the £4m transfer fees for the current squad ( which was understated IMO).

Please explain.
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I got to know McCabe quite well before he became Chairman and when I was a bit more involved with The Blades. Well enough to feel the need to speak up for him when his integrity and intentions are questioned and when accusations are made that I know are false.

That's not to say we're mates and I hadn't been in touch with him for a few years, but earlier this week I felt the need to drop him a line. He's always been forthcoming with supporters and he shared some information, which I felt appropriate to pass on in order to provide a bit of context to forum discussion.

I was delighted that he chose to go public today and state or restate his own perspective. Not that it will appease everyone but his ongoing level of financial commitment will not easily be replaced and it might encourage a few people to pause for thought before slaughtering the guy.
 
I don't understand why everybody makes it seem complicated.
Forget luck, forget plans, it all boils down to one simple equation.

The teams that do well improve their team every year. The teams that don't...don't.
Every year since we got relegated to this division, our team has got worse every season due to selling our best players and replacing them with crap. I reckon if we still had Blackman, McDonald, Maguire, Murphy and had improved by adding 1 or 2 good players every year, we would now be in the top half of the championship. The board have sold promotion down the river every single year and whilst that continues we won't go up in a million years of trying.
 
Jostein's Bandage said:
I don't understand why everybody makes it seem complicated.
Forget luck, forget plans, it all boils down to one simple equation.

The teams that do well improve their team every year. The teams that don't...don't.
Every year since we got relegated to this division, our team has got worse every season due to selling our best players and replacing them with crap. I reckon if we still had Blackman, McDonald, Maguire, Murphy and had improved by adding 1 or 2 good players every year, we would now be in the top half of the championship. The board have sold promotion down the river every single year and whilst that continues we won't go up in a million years of trying.
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I agree with you.

McCabe's perspective in today's interview: something along the lines of: if a top half Championship club comes in offering Jamie Murphy a lot more money and he's ambitious, you've got to let him go.

I don't accept this premise and would hold a player to his contract unless we were very sure we'd got an equal or better replacement.
 
The Bohemian said:
The figure came from Kevin McCabe.


No coincidence as he told me.
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Woodwardfan said:
After today's interview, please explain how you quoted the exact £90m investment figure quoted by KM and which I have never heard before ( but understood and ratified) and the £4m transfer fees for the current squad ( which was understated IMO).

Please explain.
Click to expand...

I have no doubt the McCabe family has pumped £90 million in over the years in loans and share purchases. Some loans have been repaid but I'd suggest he's still around £60 million down. £37 million alone is shown in the football club accounts if you want to see it.

He didn't say he'd lost or it owed him £90 mill. He said that's what they'd put in over the years. I wouldn't disbelieve him for one minute.
 

Sean Thornton said:
I have no doubt the McCabe family has pumped £90 million in over the years in loans and share purchases. Some loans have been repaid but I'd suggest he's still around £60 million down. £37 million alone is shown in the football club accounts if you want to see it.

He didn't say he'd lost or it owed him £90 mill. He said that's what they'd put in over the years. I wouldn't disbelieve him for one minute.
Click to expand...
But you just have

He sez £90m you suggest £60m

S'pose it's close enough not to matter :rolleyes:
 
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