Bladesman
The Great Grumbleduke
Compensation campaign not over for Blades
SHEFFIELD United considered the possibility of hauling FA Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore through the law courts at the height of the Carlos Tevez Affair.
The Championship club's legal team are waiting anxiously for the outcome of talks between Kia Joorabchian - the Anglo-Iranian businessman who insists he still owns the Argentine international - and West Ham whose ability to select Tevez during the closing stages of last season helped condemn United to relegation.
Kevin McCabe, the major powerbroker at Bramall Lane, has vowed to continue the fight to expose what he claims are serious irregularities in the FAPL's handling of the most controversial episode in English football's recent history.
Yesterday, sources close to Joorabchian - who has issued West Ham with a High Court writ in an attempt to force through Tevez's move to Manchester United - revealed that his lawyers are ready to subpoena Scudamore to discover who granted West Ham permission to tear up the original contract which took the former Corinthians striker to Upton Park.
And United officials are also believed to have considered taking this dramatic step before the failure of their bid to persuade an arbitration panel to overturn the original decision by a disciplinary commission not to punish West Ham with a points deduction for breaching the rules governing third party ownership of players.
Although United privately admit their battle to be reinstated to the FAPL, possibly at West Ham's expense, has now failed, their recent silence on the matter should not be interpreted as a weakening of resolve and they remain committed to securing financial compensation.
A series of meetings are known to have taken place between a United representative and Joorabchian in London earlier this month, but McCabe and his advisors are likely to hold fire for the time being.
However, sources close to United have gone to great lengths to stress that the anger among its senior officials shows no signs of abating and that, as far as McCabe is concerned, the Campaign for Fairness is still far from over.
I hope we are still after some cash.