Is Kevin McCabe the best chairman we've ever had?

[Sean Thornton]

Thanks for that Sean, that's how I remember it. I had a look at the 2014 accounts on the club website and there's no mention of anything to do with the prince or his appointees as at 30th June 2014.

There must be an agreed trigger when the book entries are effected. No way can that such a fundamental principle of the deal be ignored without the whole relationship collapsing and in any case it will all be contractual. The prince said at the time that being debt free led him to Sheffield rather than Leeds when he was doing due dilligences.

If I go to the AGM I'll ask the question if it is still an outstanding matter. I missed last year's meeting.

Sheffield United Ltd has nothing to do with the Prince or his appointees though, so you wouldn't expect much about them. The only mention is of the joint venture with Blades Leisure Ltd of which SUFCL own 50% of the issued shares. Although there is an addition to shares relating to joint ventures written off in full and dealt with in the administrative expenses section as I said.

No longer a Plc, the accounts are in a much more basic format.

 

[LoughboroBlade]

again hindsight , great thing
rememberr most blades thinking wont be a bad one this

I'm actually amazed to read a comment like that – I can barely remember reading a comment that was positive about him. It was blindingly obvious that he was a very poor appointment given the options available - most were willing to back him, but were definitely not happy it was him. Even with Jags and CKR removed from the squad, we still had a set of players well-placed to get us back up. We didn't need a mass overhaul, but that was sadly the only way Robson was going to have a chance of cobbling together something that worked.

I have far more of a bad taste thinking back to Robson's time than Weir. Weir was an inexperienced gamble gone wrong. Robson had an air of failure about him that everyone bar McCabe could smell a mile away.

If you don't believe the sentiment was clearly anti-Robson, I suggest you read the reaction on here to the news at the time:
http://www.s24su.com/forum/index.php?threads/bryan-robson-is-our-new-manager.6812/

 

[Woodwardfan]

Sheffield United Ltd has nothing to do with the Prince or his appointees though, so you wouldn't expect much about them. The only mention is of the joint venture with Blades Leisure Ltd of which SUFCL own 50% of the issued shares. Although there is an addition to shares relating to joint ventures written off in full and dealt with in the administrative expenses section as I said.

No longer a Plc, the accounts are in a much more basic format.

Although I go away on holidays a lot and miss things, it's my belief that SUFC Ltd. has a Board of:

K. McCabe/ D. Green alternate Chairman
Scott McCabe
J. Tutton
The prince
J. Phipps
S.Baki

I would have though they should all be quoted on the 2014 accounts.

If you are correct Sean, it is strange that the prince has no representatives on the football club board, very trusting!!

 

[Sean Thornton]

Although I go away on holidays a lot and miss things, it's my belief that SUFC Ltd. has a Board of:

K. McCabe/ D. Green alternate Chairman
Scott McCabe
J. Tutton
The prince
J. Phipps
S.Baki

I would have though they should all be quoted on the 2014 accounts.

If you are correct Sean, it is strange that the prince has no representatives on the football club board, very trusting!!

Sheffield United Ltd isn't the football club woodwardfan. It's what used to be the plc. The football club is The Sheffield United Football Club Limited. Directors are, I believe Scott McCabe, Jim Phipps and Mal Brannigan. There were resignations last June of the Prince and Baki.

Edit
Not sure if I deleted it but of course Dave Green is an FC Director.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Sheffield United Ltd isn't the football club woodwardfan. It's what used to be the plc. The football club is The Sheffield United Football Club Limited. Directors are, I believe Scott McCabe, Jim Phipps and Mal Brannigan. There were resignations last June of the Prince and Baki.

Edit
Not sure if I deleted it but of course Dave Green is an FC Director.

That's June 2014. Kevin McCabes appointment as a director was terminated in December 2014.

 

[Blade82]

Our net spend since the prince came in must be the highest than under any previous chairman? Yes we've sold Murphy and maguire and a few fringe players have left but we've easily spent more than what's come in. This is, on that basis, the best regime in my lifetime but need a promotion or two to seal it.

I've said it before but McCabe bringing in the prince, after a chance meeting, is his get out of jail card. We were heading down the leagues with McCabe alone.

 

[metalblade]

Our net spend since the prince came in must be the highest than under any previous chairman? Yes we've sold Murphy and maguire and a few fringe players have left but we've easily spent more than what's come in. This is, on that basis, the best regime in my lifetime but need a promotion or two to seal it.

I've said it before but McCabe bringing in the prince, after a chance meeting, is his get out of jail card. We were heading down the leagues with McCabe alone.

How do you work that out when most deals are undisclosed ?

 

[Sean Thornton]

Our net spend since the prince came in must be the highest than under any previous chairman? Yes we've sold Murphy and maguire and a few fringe players have left but we've easily spent more than what's come in. This is, on that basis, the best regime in my lifetime but need a promotion or two to seal it.

I've said it before but McCabe bringing in the prince, after a chance meeting, is his get out of jail card. We were heading down the leagues with McCabe alone.

We need promotion to stem the losses we are making which ultimately impacts on player recruitment, irrespective of SCMP.

 

[MiserableBlader]

Haven't read this because I cannot believe it is a serious post.
But I have had the misfortune to see some of it

No he's the worse.
He is THE devil.
Only a bigot/moron could not see this.
There used to be a saying - "they'll take everything that isn't nailed down".
The cunt has taken everything that is nailed down, all that is built on foundations - all the physical assets.
SUFC literally do not own a pot to piss in.
And he's fucked up worse than anyone ever on the field!

 

[Sean Thornton]

He owned it all before the transfers of assets from the FC.

He's not managed to take us into the 4th division.

Other than that.....

 

[BushBlade]

Haven't read this because I cannot believe it is a serious post.
But I have had the misfortune to see some of it

No he's the worse.
He is THE devil.
Only a bigot/moron could not see this.
There used to be a saying - "they'll take everything that isn't nailed down".
The cunt has taken everything that is nailed down, all that is built on foundations - all the physical assets.
SUFC literally do not own a pot to piss in.
And he's fucked up worse than anyone ever on the field!

So he's worse than Woolhouse and Hinchcliffe, or MacDonald?

Who's the best then?

 

[Darren]

My rating of chairman since 1968:

1. Brealey
2. Wragg
3. MacDonald
4. McCabe
5. Woolhouse
6. Hassall

 

[Sean Thornton]

My rating of chairman since 1968:

1. Brealey
2. Wragg
3. MacDonald
4. McCabe
5. Woolhouse
6. Hassall

That list has "success" written all over it.

 

[Darren]

That list has "success" written all over it.

Indeed. It is - to use a vulgar analogy - a bit like grading the consistency of one's stools.

In terms of promotions and relegations, I think we have:

Brealey - 4 promotions 2 relegations
Wragg - 1 promotion
MacDonald zero either way
McCabe 1 promotion 2 relegations
Woolhouse - zero either way
Hassall - 3 relegations

 

[1danewhitehouse]

so your saying he had 3 good seasons followed by a bad one
he got boro up
they stayed there, (we didnt)
and he kept west brom up against the odds (again we didnt )
so we knew hed be crap mmm, well argued

Nope. What I’m saying is that he had one good run (about 10-15 game period) at West Brom. At no other point in his career has he ever exceeded expectations but he has regularly fallen short of them.

Middlesborough- Yoyo club under his tenure. Their budget was probably that of a mid-table Prem team for most of that time (Ravanelli, Emerson, Festa, Branco, Juninho, Merson, Townsend, Gascoigne, Ricard, Barmby, Fjortoft, Schwarzer etc don’t come cheap). OK, 2 promotions but a relegation and on his way to another until Tel came in.

Bradford- Simply atrocious- 22 points from 27 games and relegated with time to spare.

West Brom- Poor start- crowd deriding him as they got pummelled 4-0 by rivals Birmingham, Then found a combination that generated a few results and they somehow stayed up despite amassing a paltry 34 points. Less than we have ever had in a Prem season by the way. They were lucky that 3 teams managed to be even worse. But he soon got back to form the following season making sure they were relegated with games to spare and was then sacked the following season after a poor start back in the championship.

That’s far from a glowing CV IMO and since Boro about 8/9 years before we appointed him, it looked decidedly grim (bar a few decent games in the 2nd half of the 04/05 season where Horsefield and Earnshaw found some form).

Again, most people with even a little knowledge of football knew it was a crap appointment but hoped that despite him being poor, he could buy promotion like he did at Boro. But even with Beattie, Cahill, Hendire, Speed, Ehiogu, Killa, Morgs, Bardsley, Tonge, Kenny etc at his disposal, he spent his entire time at the club significantly closer to relegation than promotion and that 3-0 battering at home to Stoke still remains all too fresh in the mind. Even the limited Blackwell showed what could be done with even a bit of competence in managing that squad.

I know you like to defend our club to the hilt but only an idiot would have thought Robson was a good appointment and he definitely wasn’t roundly welcomed. In fact, in my time of following the blades (Sine around 1990) I think only Adkins’ appointment has been met with the approval of the vast majority of the fan base. I’m not sure why anyone would pretend otherwise.

 

[blade too long]

Middlesborough- Yoyo club under his tenure.

Bradford- Simply atrocious- 22 points from 27 games and relegated with time to spare.

West Brom- Poor start- crowd deriding him as they got pummelled 4-0 by rivals Birmingham.

middlesboro have been a yo yo club since the start
west brom regular promotion relegation
Bradford , come on they did well to stay up first time
all 3 are hardly prem residents onm a long term basis
west brom do the bset but theyve been relegated reguarly and no doubt will do again
boro are in the championship again , spent a bomb last year didnt go up

bit like Bruce at Hull was only a matter of time ,

Im not defending Robson he was terrible just saying he was a fool to himself had he stayed sober hed probably done better

 

[Silent Blade]

My rating of chairman since 1968:

1. Brealey
2. Wragg
3. MacDonald
4. McCabe
5. Woolhouse
6. Hassall

In terms of honesty

1. Hassall - what has he been dishonest about?
2. McCabe - ditto
3. Brealey - got into a lot of trouble when he had problems at India and then at SUFC he started to make promises that he couldnt keep
4. Wragg - Allegedly made a deal with L**ds chairman that he would get his vote to be in the FA international committee if Mick Jones could go to L**ds. Failed to keep the promises he made to TC in 1973 (when he agreed to sign a new contract) that the club would sign players to build around him
5. McDonald - made a financial killing when he floated the club into the stock market and turned a blind eye to Green's dealings
6. Woolhouse

 

[Revolution]

In terms of honesty

1. Hassall - what has he been dishonest about?
2. McCabe - ditto
3. Brealey - got into a lot of trouble when he had problems at India and then at SUFC he started to make promises that he couldnt keep
4. Wragg - Allegedly made a deal with L**ds chairman that he would get his vote to be in the FA international committee if Mick Jones could go to L**ds. Failed to keep the promises he made to TC in 1973 (when he agreed to sign a new contract) that the club would sign players to build around him
5. McDonald - made a financial killing when he floated the club into the stock market and turned a blind eye to Green's dealings
6. Woolhouse

McCabe said James Beattie had the flu...

 

[Silent Blade]

McCabe said James Beattie had the flu...

Ok, that is one! This is why he is below Hassall...

 

[1danewhitehouse]

middlesboro have been a yo yo club since the start
west brom regular promotion relegation
Bradford , come on they did well to stay up first time
all 3 are hardly prem residents onm a long term basis
west brom do the bset but theyve been relegated reguarly and no doubt will do again
boro are in the championship again , spent a bomb last year didnt go up

bit like Bruce at Hull was only a matter of time ,

Im not defending Robson he was terrible just saying he was a fool to himself had he stayed sober hed probably done better

Just to clarify. He didn't take West Brom to the Prem nor Bradford. He took over Bradford in the 2nd tier and relegated them to the 3rd with an awful record. He took over West Brom in the prem and whilst he kept them up in the first season (with 34 points) he took them down comfortably in his second (only 30 points) and didn't look like bringing them back.

Yes he may have done better without the bottle but the point is, his record was poor and having managed decent sized clubs, everyone had seen how poor he was. His relationship with the bottle was already well publicised by the time we appointed him as well.

 

[grafikhaus]

can always rely on you to see the sun shine

“It has never been hard to tell the difference between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine.”

― P.G. Wodehouse

It's a big 'Yes' from me. You've only got to look at Oyston at Blackpool or - nearer to home - a Chairman who 'rewards' his loyal fans by making it near-unaffordable to attend matches. McCabe has done an incredible amount of good in his time here.

Just wish he'd stay out of it when interviewing (most) managers...

 

[Grappler]

“It has never been hard to tell the difference between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine.”

― P.G. Wodehouse

It's a big 'Yes' from me. You've only got to look at Oyston at Blackpool or - nearer to home - a Chairman who 'rewards' his loyal fans by making it near-unaffordable to attend matches. McCabe has done an incredible amount of good in his time here.

Just wish he'd stay out of it when interviewing (most) managers...

"...Just wish he'd stay out of it when interviewing (most) managers...."

Yes, it is not his best talent! However, I think Adkins is the best manager we could have hoped for, so fingers crossed this one works and we get out of League 1

 

[bladeinspaceandtime]

McCabe said James Beattie had the flu...

McCabe also said (after the Palace game in 2006) that we wouldn't be celebrating another promotion.

Oh.....

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

"...Just wish he'd stay out of it when interviewing (most) managers...."

Yes, it is not his best talent! However, I think Adkins is the best manager we could have hoped for, so fingers crossed this one works and we get out of League 1

I sometimes think how the hell did we get Adkins, what bit of the normal process didn't they follow?

 

[Worksop II]

I sometimes think how the hell did we get Adkins, what bit of the normal process didn't they follow?

Nigella Adkins pffft, as if ...............

 

[Revolution]

McCabe also said (after the Palace game in 2006) that we wouldn't be celebrating another promotion.

Oh.....

Yes, he said that to a lot of people at the time. I hope he was wrong...

 

[blade too long]

Just to clarify. He didn't take West Brom to the Prem nor Bradford. He took over Bradford in the 2nd tier and relegated them to the 3rd with an awful record. He took over West Brom in the prem and whilst he kept them up in the first season (with 34 points) he took them down comfortably in his second (only 30 points) and didn't look like bringing them back.

Yes he may have done better without the bottle but the point is, his record was poor and having managed decent sized clubs, everyone had seen how poor he was. His relationship with the bottle was already well publicised by the time we appointed him as well.

never mentioned him taking anyone other than boro up
but its easy to say he spent big , everyone who goes up normally do , in fact wednesday are treading water not getting near the top 6 as they dont spend real money
but also I could name 5 or 6 top managers that had red noses and were occasionally a bit slurry of speech
you hate him with a passion which is understandable, I mean we did lose 12 games under him
like players all managers are a punt
sometimes they unexpectedly fit
or they fail miserably,at least we got shut pretty quick

 

[1danewhitehouse]

I don't hate him with a passion. I just think he's an utterly crap football manager and did at the time we appointed him. I thought it was common knowledge too. He might be a lovely bloke for all I know I just think and thought before we appointed him that football management was most definitely not his game.

He did OK at boro when very well backed and has been crap everywhere else.

 

[blade too long]

oh and if we never took on managers with poor recent records

We took on Warnock direct from Bury , where he had had a 24% win ratio at Bury- won 19 of 77 games there
thats worse than robsons record at bradford

robson managed 38 games for us
won 14 drew 12 and lost 12 37% win rate , by no means the worst ever, on paper
just our expectations were much much higher

 

[wizadry]

We need promotion to stem the losses we are making which ultimately impacts on player recruitment, irrespective of SCMP.

I'm not debating whether or not we're running at a loss, that much is obvious, what I would say though is how is getting promotion to the Championship going to stem our losses? All that would achieve in realistic terms is losing even more money unless of course we can jump two levels straight to the Premier , we would have to spend loads more money just to compete with the clubs that are already in it now and that's only going to get worse.

I'm not saying lets not go up 'btw', I'm just very interested as to how we'd cope if we were to get promoted.

Even if we put prices up we're still paying out more wages, bigger transfer fees and all this will be just to stay up, then if we stay up we have to go up another level on the spending front to push on further, I'm just hoping the Prince comes up trumps if we do end up getting promoted, otherwise we could be having a lot more visits to league one clubs in the next few seasons.

Ultimately, the main issue is how can a club in League one be running at such an high loss, it's this that needs looking at because 9 times out of 10, a club spending that much in this league should be getting promotion if used CORRECTLY.

This isn't directed at you 'btw', the point about stemming our losses made me think a bit.