Without checking, I'm sure that every club that is taken over is accompanied by similar noises from the new owner. Claims by the new owner that he and his family will "just be custodians" of a club that ultimately belongs to the fans. Claims that traditions will be respected, no boardroom input into signings or team selection, promises to upgrade facilities etc etc. The Venkeys, the Oystons, as well as the "good owners" whose teams have remained in the PL and can't really lose money as a result, will all have said similar stuff.
Any new owner will give similar reassurances to the fans. I would have been amazed if the Prince didn't come out with anything different,
We see being "one of our own" as a massive virtue when it comes to our team's management and captaincy. But the fact is that now our Chairman is a 26 year old Saudi Arabian, HRH Prince Musa’ad Bin Khalid Bin Abdulrahman Al Saud. His young wife Latifa will also have a seat on the board. I would be surprised if they knew more about the history, customs and traditions of the Blades than our previous owner. Will other boardroom members be permitted to drink alcohol when he is around? Will the female hospitality staff be allowed to serve him?
McCabe was and still is "one of our own" - perhaps more so than Wilder or Sharp as he has never been employed by another club. He was born on Shoreham St, grew up in Sheffield, and was a fan long before entering the boardroom. For all his faults there's no doubt that Kev knows what it means to be a Blade more than the young Prince Misa'ad.
Of course, we all want the new regime to be a success. We all want to beleive. And if we don't get relegated or get into huge debt, it will be. It will be a very exciting time. But if we get relegated, or heavan forbid drop down to League One, is the Prince more likely than McCabe to mortgage his assets to save the club from administration? Would the Prince put 100 million quid of his own money into the club over time to keep it afloat, then write off the debt? That's the kind of chairman we need - one who will stick with us through the lean times as well as the good ones.
McCabe is a typical Sheffield self-made businessman. Cautious with money, a bit of a control freak, preferring to trust his instinct over the advice of accountants. There are probably a few like him who post on here. He's flawed, but he would never allow United to go under.
Given the choice, I would have preferred to see McCabe retain control, but will give the Prince a chance. He seems like a decent bloke. But it will take more than nice words to convince me that he will stick by the club through thick and thin. And my gut feeling is that the Sunni-Wahhabi ideology is a poor fit with the values of the club. What helps are the positive comments from Jim Phipps, who is clearly an honest bloke (and also has religious beliefs that are a little alien to us).
As fans, we should be welcoming to the Prince but not fawning. All major decisions taken by a Prince-controlled board should be scruitonized closely. He shouldn't be given a free hand. People are queuing up to slag off McCabe now, but he got a lot right during his tenure - not lease ticket prices, and communication - regular meetings with fans, supporters clubs and shareholders, making himself available to chat to fans in the Copthorne after games, even on trains to away games. We may yet come to regret his departure.
