23/04/10 - Reaction to Birch & McCabe Q&A

[GRUMPY BLADE]

I thought we had 'cut back' this season not spent £14m. Blackie therefore had done well under the circumstances and should be retained if we were to continue with cut backs.

Seems Blackie has fucked up big time given the wage bill and next season will be 'cut back city' so the question/s to ask now is:

When does the new manager start and whats his name?

 

[Worksop_Blade]

Some United fans show a bit of pragmatism and realism. We have moved on from those days, but next season we will have a more or less new team on less wages than their predessesors, they will take time finding their feet at the Lane and i feel that it will be a similar season to 2000/01 or 2001/02 as even if we was potless at the time, it was a transitional time where we regroup and began moving forward for the first time in years. If we finished 15th next season with a settled team sprinkled with youngsters playing good football i would regard it as a good season as i would be able to look forward with a bit of hope and pride.

I've said before about Burnley, they wish their wage budget was 7m last season. Look what can be achieved with a settled side and empty treatment room (Not this season as they have obviously ballsed it up)

They also splashed on signing Chris Eagles, who was the catalyst for them going up

A few points

a. I would hope there will be a reduction from £14MILLION!

b. Treacy went back, Reid went to CAFC, France has not played, Taylor is a DEVELOPMENT player as are Evans, Ward and Yeates.

I think Williamson, Creswell, Nosworthy, Connelly and Camara counter any claim that KB is the anti robson when it comes to signings.

c. If we finish 15th next season, I can guarantee KB will have been sacked before.

d. Chris Eagles was not a catalyst for anything apart from a rise in the number homosexuals at Burnley FC by 1.

A few stats...

Chris Eagles 2008/09 League Games: 31 Goals: 7 Assists: 6

David Cotterill 2008/09 League Games: 24 Goals: 4 assists: 7

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

McCabe said TONIGHT we will be spending money and signing players to mount another promotion push.

Him and Birch admitted that the cub signed piss poor players last summer and this summer will be different.

In 2000/01 or 2001/02 the club was skint/brassick/potless/revenueless 10 years later the club is miles from those days, its as if some United fans want the club to fall apart just so they can have a good grumble at seth.

I've said before about Burnley, they wish their wage budget was 7m last season. Look what can be achieved with a settled side and empty treatment room (Not this season as they have obviously ballsed it up).

£14M down the pisser and still got Blackie in charge. Next season will be shit, McC has no idea on who should manage the team, history proves that [Warnock in the prem then Robbo now Blackie]. Christ knows how he managed to build his empire, must be lucky so ask him what the lottery numbers will be next week?

 

[Worksop_Blade]

£14M down the pisser and still got Blackie in charge. Next season will be shit, McC has no idea on who should manage the team, history proves that [Warnock in the prem then Robbo now Blackie]. Christ knows how he managed to build his empire, must be lucky so ask him what the lottery numbers will be next week?

Yeah history proves that...

Warnock in 2002/03 and 2005/06


Ps. We went down by 1 goal from the Premier League its not as if we did a Derby County.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

This is not the thread to discuss it but Warnock should have been paid off after promotion. The guy shit himself when Bolton fucking Wanderers came to town and played 451 at home.

He is one of the best CCC managers around but is not up to the prem.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

'Ps. We went down by 1 goal from the Premier League its not as if we did a Derby County.'

So the pig fans will be dancing their way home down Penistone Rd if they go down by one goal?????

 

[Worksop_Blade]

This is not the thread to discuss it but Warnock should have been paid off after promotion. The guy shit himself when Bolton fucking Wanderers came to town and played 451 at home.

He is one of the best CCC managers around but is not up to the prem.

Yeah I remember when he shit his pants when Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool came to town.

Wednesday have nothing to do with this, your selective memory does however.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

I'll stand by the statement that warnock is one of the best CCC managers around. Just the man the pigs needed for example when they appointed Irvine.

Monty is one of the best CCC defensive midfielders. Like Warnock he had his good days in the prem but not enough to be good enough for a full season.

Just using Monty to try and put my perspective on Warnock over.

Football can be a brutal employer. If I was in charge of Newcastle I'd sack their manager now. He won't last till Xmas, someone with more talent should be looking at putting their prem squad together.

 

[Chingo]

Before you start ... I sent the email to attend but made it clear I could attend Friday but not Saturday due to work ... no invite.


Glad to hear that no interest is being charged on the loans , yeah I was shot down there but all publicity regarding them shows interest is being charged on them.

For me they answered nothing and I have no clearer idea of the direction which way the club is heading next season ... apart from mid to lower table at best (on whats been said tonight) .



No rallying call , no statements of intention and nothing to raise optomism to make the waverers renew ... very poor IMO.


Ask them where was the rallying call to make waverers renew , tell them to get Monty and Morgs sorted or it will not be the "Sheffield United" we know next season ... ask for assurances that Ward will still be here next season and tell them that 8 out of 10 Blades would chose Billy over Blackwell anyday !

 

[rachyblade]

I want to know why we sold the two Kyles when really we were under no pressure from contract conditions to do so.
He answered the bit about Killa which was understandable but took a wide birth and didnt mention the two Kyles.
Once all 3 had gone we knew we where short for cover so why didnt we buy anyone as a backup/replacement?

And also we knew Paddy was out for the season so why didnt we buy some cover?

Too many loans this season and not enough bought, I have tried my hardest not to do any questions and rants about this season because it has wound me up.

Someone messed up somewhere, you get McCabe saying one thing about transfers and Blackwell saying something else.

Need straight honest answers, and someone for once to hold there hand up and say yeah I got it wrong I'm sorry. Would gain alot of respect back which has been lost this season.

 

[Linz]

I want to know why we sold the two Kyles when really we were under no pressure from contract conditions to do so.

That was covered in the last Q&A in July...

 

[shreds1975]

Well I was there, managed to ask a couple of questions and it's always nice to see the speakers in question as some of the context can be lost on the radio, as you don't see reactions and the manner of delivery. Also got to say hello to Foxy and Linz.

I have read comments on this and other forums so thought I would offer my two penn'orth. The actual answers to questions can be read in the transcript but in summary:

My overall impression was favourable. They were pragmatic, trying to be positive (I still think the next couple of years will be tough as we are still downsizing our cost base and revenue streams will be tighter, although there is a "push to sweat the non-footballing assets more efficiently") and there was an acknowledgement of where improvements were required in a number of areas:
- exploiting the commercial/footballing opportunities of the global family
- player development from the academy (massive emphasis)
- better scouting - more so internationally
- mistakes made in transfer market
- style of play
- communication with the fans

McCabe is not taking interest on his loans. His money is there has been used and he is not going to walk away. Per the commercial agreements that had to be put in place, interest is accruing on loans but will be returned to the club. The search for investors who will buy new share capital is ongoing but this will be money directly to the football club and it would not be a purchase of Kevin's shares. Kevin is passionate about the Blades and wants success and seemed emotional and hurt when anyone suggested otherwise. Trevor Birch will be the man who day to day will drive the management forward to achieve it.

First impressions of Trevor Birch, I wasn't sure as he seemed a little jittery and McCabe took a lot of centre stage with some verbal jousting with a rattled Seth Bennett. As the session moved on, I could see a quiet, focused businessman. Not outwardly demonstrative and maybe won't be vocal and outwardly ambitious for some people, but I have confidence he will get the job done. It will be done in a business like and professional manner, maybe something we haven't been used to with his predecessor.

Where does it leave Kevin Blackwell? The criticism of player signings, of style of play and results was quite damning from both fans and McCabe and Birch. I think it will be an interesting few weeks, but I suspect that he will be with us to start the season. How long he will last beyond that?? Let's hope it's a while as that will mean that we have been successful.

Probably the most interesting comment came after the radio broadcast had finished. The discussion carried on for another quarter of an hour or so before Seth's belly was rumbling and he wrapped it up. When asked about the special agreement with Spurs re a loan player as part of the Kyles deal, Trevor said he didn't know what that was. He had no idea as to what had caused Spurs to recall Walker two hours before the deadline, despite telling the Blades in December that they were happy for Walker to stay. He alluded to rumours of Levy buying the players without Redknapp's agreement and thus horseplay between manager and chairman, but seemed bemused by it all. McCabe dismissed that it was due to any disagreement on United's part.

Both, along with other directors, stayed around afterwards to talk to the fans and it was an interesting evening.

People have commented on Seth hogging the limelight and duplication of questions from the floor. In truth there were not that many people interested in asking questions. I asked two, a couple of other guys asked a couple apiece and in total probably 6/7 different people asked questions. I wonder why some of the people came, they would have had the same benefit listening to the radio!

I will be interested to hear what comes up tomorrow morning. Can someone raise the question as to why directors Capper, Rockett and Robinson loaned the club £10k and Steer £25k last year, just seems very odd and relatively small amounts.

To those who go tomorrow. Enjoy!

 

[puppet]

All I heard was the typical floundering McCabe, muttering and stumbling over stuff and throwing a few well-rehearsed non-answers. They kept banging on in reply about budgets and the like about PAYING transfer fees and how fans didnt understand budgets/negotiations include wages like we're a bunch of lemons!!! Plenty of evasion, few if any straught answers.

 

[puppet]

Jesus christ, the more I listen back to this the happier I am I wont be renewing next season. Comparing our situation to Man Utd's. Laughable! Couldn't meet with KB this week to talk about next season because of the Icelandic volcano - has he never heard of Eurostar? I've never liked McCabe, never swallowed his Big Blade cack, this is just typical pathetic flannel.

 

[puppet]

What crap about the loans!!!!!

 

[Linz]

We'll be taking the comments from this thread tomorrow and as well as your questions, some of the comments will be put to the Chairman (obviously, there isn't time for everything).

If you do want your say and to the opportunity to have it passed on, get it on here by 8am in the morning.

 

[Blade]

What are mccabes feelings about the moment that blackwell shrugged his shoulders at the fans away at Doncaster?

who had overall responsibility for the squad that we had in place at the start of the season (having so little cover in LB, RB and CB positions and failing to arrange suitable cover)

how does it feel as a chairman to hear the manager you've hired telling the press that some of his signings pull out of challenges and are afraid to get stuck in but that's just the sort of players they are?

Is mccabe aware of the concern many fans feel towards the way the club is sanitising/alienating the support and affecting the match atmosphere by selling sponsorship rights to the GCB, trying to force fans to sing songs at the same time every week in an almost conducted manner - does he feel personally that there is a danger this could go too far?

has gary speed been on coach wages or players wages this season - is there a drastic difference between the two - can we afford in our current position where cuts are required to have 3 well paid people make up our management team on the sidelines each week?

why did the flying restrictions affect his ability to meet with Blackwell/Birch when he only lives in belgium and thousands of families with a fraction of his wealth were able to make their way home via various means? does he believe in the phrase "where there is will there's a way"?

how does mccabe feel the general election may effect the blades and in terms of the football club can he see any benefit of any one party winning over another?

will mccabe be having a pint or two when wednesday get relegated next week?

given both birch and mccabe are in agreement that some of the players we have signed this season may not have been suitable are any changes planned for the scouting personnel or setup at the club?

some clubs such as man city are moving or have moved towards hosting free media content on their websites such as match highlights/news and interviews etc - how long are we tied to using the providers of bladesplayer and is this something that we may be willing to consider?

what consideration if any have the lub given towards introducing season tickets that only cover weekend fixtures for those fans who live far away and find it difficult to make midweek visits?

what if any new revenue streams can birch and mccabe see coming online for the blades in the foreseeable future?

what positives can/should we as blades take from the last season?

Given the fans forum aims to promote transparency and openness has any consideration been given towards having Mr Blackwell in attendance/arranging a similiar opportunity for a Q&A session perhaps in the closeseason when he doesn't have a match to prepare for in which he is involved and available to address concerns and answer questions?

The Championship is one of the most competitive and unpredictable football leagues in the world, according to Deloitte Sports Business - how are United planning from here on to really set themselves aside from other clubs to enable us to compete realistically for those top two positions and avoid the unpredictability of the playoffs if achieved?

are there any plans to give montgomery a testimonial?

 

[Trigger Blade]

tomorrow will be no-holes barred stuff

That's it girl, you sort out your social life

 

[beightonblade]

same owd ...........same owd.

McCabe action speaks louder than words.
Many Blades feel at best you have misled them and at worst told porkies,one way or another they feel you have betrayed their trust in you. Stop the propaganda lets have some action.
Oh by the way thanks for not replying to my email yet again.

Serious question McCabe shud be asked.
Will you put the freehold of BDTBL in a life rent trust with the Blades being the sole benificieries ?

 

[Santos]

McCabe talks a good game as does Birch to a lesser degree but i think the problem is that points aren't awarded on fans forums they are awarded on that big green thing to the side of it with the set of goals at either end.

It is difficult to feel that delighted about next season as nothing i heard has meade me think we will be significantly different from how we have approached this one.

McCabe pretty much fudged the point about the signings we made last season. Obviously he can't say Ryan France is rubbish etc but do we honestly expect a better calibre of player to come in whilst reducing the overall costs of the football club?

Of course not.

I can't stand the bloke but right now if we are scaling down we need Neil Warnock back, if he didn't have the history with us and hadn't just got minted at QPR he'd be an ideal candidate.

 

[shreds1975]

McCabe talks a good game as does Birch to a lesser degree but i think the problem is that points aren't awarded on fans forums they are awarded on that big green thing to the side of it with the set of goals at either end.

It is difficult to feel that delighted about next season as nothing i heard has meade me think we will be significantly different from how we have approached this one.

McCabe pretty much fudged the point about the signings we made last season. Obviously he can't say Ryan France is rubbish etc but do we honestly expect a better calibre of player to come in whilst reducing the overall costs of the football club?

Of course not.

I can't stand the bloke but right now if we are scaling down we need Neil Warnock back, if he didn't have the history with us and hadn't just got minted at QPR he'd be an ideal candidate.

Not sure he did fudge the signings question to be fair. He admitted some players hadn't worked out and that would need to be addressed. We clearly thought buying players who had been relatively successful at Championship level with Wolves and Hull was a reasonable plan. He also said that in making future signings we would need to improve scouting, particularly internationally so similar mistakes aren't made. Maybe there is something in the Michael De Leeuw story that was on the Rumour Mill.

 

[Micalijo]

McCabe talks a good game as does Birch to a lesser degree but i think the problem is that points aren't awarded on fans forums they are awarded on that big green thing to the side of it with the set of goals at either end.

It is difficult to feel that delighted about next season as nothing i heard has meade me think we will be significantly different from how we have approached this one.

McCabe pretty much fudged the point about the signings we made last season. Obviously he can't say Ryan France is rubbish etc but do we honestly expect a better calibre of player to come in whilst reducing the overall costs of the football club?

Of course not.

I can't stand the bloke but right now if we are scaling down we need Neil Warnock back, if he didn't have the history with us and hadn't just got minted at QPR he'd be an ideal candidate.

Agree with all that, although I thought Birch talked awfully if the intention was to drum up interest and keep things going for next season. If the intention was to dampen expectations, which will be a good thing I suppose, then Trevor is right up there with the best.

I can't believe McCabe was realtively clear about Blackwell continuing but at the same time slated the signings he made. Fair play - the criticism of the signings was refreshing but way too much emphasis on injuries and luck for me.

 

[Micalijo]

Maybe he forgot to run it past you.

He was advised to do it but the interest was always going back into the club. It sounds like it was just done that way for the accounts.


You see as a total rookie I always thought accounts were there for the benefit of the tax man and company house.
Are you saying you thought accounts were supposed to be crystal clear and open? i think you are being naive Lenny.


he said he wasn't happy with the style of play nor the performances quite a few times this season and that they would be taking that up with the manager.



They were clear that Evans cost £750K upfront and the rest was entirely on appearances upto a total of £3 million.
The only thing they didn't know is exactly how many appearances he had made this season so couldn't give an exact figure.

Read the transcript on Evans. You are wrong imo and Birch/McCabe did not have a clue what they were on about.

 

[Elsecar_Blade]

Probably too late for the Q+A but I'd like to hear some answers about our scouting network. I am going to look to the second placed team in the Championship and their current central midfield: Robert Koren and Graeme Dorrans. Signed for less than £500k for the pair - one from Slovenia and one from Scotland. Best midfield in the division bar none.

How come we cannot unearth these bargains from abroad? How good are our scouting network? Do we need to invest in it or is it underachieving?

 

[shreds1975]

Yes McCabe said that scouting, particularly the international scouting was being reviewed as it wasn't working.

 

[Nick Jansky]

Season ticket sales seem to have held up very well in all the circumstances. I seem to recall somebody on here insisting that thousands wouldn't renew..............

 

[lenners]

Maybe he forgot to run it past you.

He was advised to do it but the interest was always going back into the club. It sounds like it was just done that way for the accounts.


You see as a total rookie I always thought accounts were there for the benefit of the tax man and company house.
Are you saying you thought accounts were supposed to be crystal clear and open? i think you are being naive Lenny.


he said he wasn't happy with the style of play nor the performances quite a few times this season and that they would be taking that up with the manager.



They were clear that Evans cost £750K upfront and the rest was entirely on appearances upto a total of £3 million.
The only thing they didn't know is exactly how many appearances he had made this season so couldn't give an exact figure.

Not read the transcript yet but the figures on transfer fees are in the accounts Bob.
A bit like the interest figures and the repayments to McCabe.
Unless you really think the company accounts are not a true representation of United's finances - in which case you would be making a pretty serious accusation.

 

[Chingo]

KM - managers have a difficult job, we all think we can do.better. we end up blaming, teams come to.stop us.

Apathy is worrying amongt long term supporters, people stopping coming,...

KM tell them to renew then.

how.are you going to encourgage.people?

KM - we are starting this morning, we get more frustrated because of.expectations. What is it people want?

TB we are working hard on players etc to give that boost.







WTF is all that about , he genuinely doesn't know what we want ?

A decent watch and a chance of success is all I want ... and his answer to apathy amongst the fans is just ridiculous !

 

[Flatulent_Bob]

Have you read the report on how much Ched cost Len, you'll like that bit £750K upfront as I stated at the start with the rest on appearances which you said was rubbish.
He's covered the interest figures, if you were that bothered you'd already know the answer of why they are there.
As I posted in your quotes he was advised to do it but the interest was always going back into the club. As per advice from the FSA.

 

[Nick Jansky]

Have you read the report on how much Ched cost Len, you'll like that bit £750K upfront as I stated at the start with the rest on appearances which you said was rubbish.
He's covered the interest figures, if you were that bothered you'd already know the answer of why they are there.
As I posted in your quotes he was advised to do it but the interest was always going back into the club. As per advice from the FSA.

It has become very clear over the last couple of days that Len has been wrong about loads of stuff.