It's time for some action.....

[Blade56]

Kevin McCabe is going nowhere unless he gets the money he thinks he can get by holding out for it.

I think he needs to be realistic and accept a down payment, with a plan that pays him more when we get to the Championship, so much a year while we are in the Championship and then a big pay off if we get to the Premier League.

But the above is what I want, not what he wants.

You mean sell him jam tommora? No fool will fall for that

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

, I wouldnt want anyone from this site, or any internet site like this anywhere near running our club...

But we'd sign the next Currie and Deane and have the next Walker, Jags and Maguire coming through the academy.

That's all we need, be dead easy.

 

[Grappler]

You mean sell him jam tommora? No fool will fall for that

It's the deal that Dave Allen got when Manderic bought the pigs I think? If McCabe thinks he will get a buyer for us in Division 3 he is only fooling himself

 

[Blade56]

It's the deal that Dave Allen got when Manderic bought the pigs I think? If McCabe thinks he will get a buyer for us in Division 3 he is only fooling himself

Snared the Prince of fools dint he

 

[Grappler]

Snared the Prince of fools dint he

He is not a buyer though, is he mate? To buy McCabe out will cost more than it cost Mr Tuna to buy the pigs from t'owd Milan, and no one will pay that for a team that could be looking at a few more seasons in League One.

 

[Lawrence]

I don't agree. Fans making the board feel uncomfortable will have an impact eventually. it did with brearly and we were languishing halfway up the championship when those protests took place

OK so who is going to reform BIFA?

 

[alcoblade]

An erudite and carefully considered post Alco, which captures several of the key issues blighting our club over recent years.

1. McCabe: with a large tinge of sadness it is difficult to argue with your summary of his tenure being, at this point, an abject failure. Given the very distant prospect of promotion, it is very likely we will spend a minimum of 6 years in the lower leagues, under his stewardship, i.e. as many as the previous 100+ years before he took over.

2. Phipps: It's more than just his social media profile. He's been put in an impossible situation - asked to do a job which he has neither the knowledge nor experience to fulfil. The outcome is poor decision-making, inconsistent communication and a general sense of malaise.

3. Academy: A huge disagreement on this one. Let's leave aside the economic argument as without the actual numbers that's mainly speculation (the money received for Kyle's, Jags, Lowton and Maguire would have made a big dent though). For me, much of the pleasure in watching the Blades over the Academy years has been in seeing home-grown talent come through and prosper. Even this season, seeing at least one player - Billy - who really seems to care and feel the pain of our current predicament, raises the spirit a little.

4. and 5. Transfers/Adkins: absolutely bang on. The biggest question mark hanging over Adkins is his transfer market strategy to date. We simply won't get out of Div 3 using older players on their way down. He made reference to targeting younger players in a recent interview, so hopefully the penny has dropped.

6. "Listen to offers for every single player." Isn't that continuation rather than change?

To your blueprint I would add:

7. Find an owner/CEO who understands football. Stop running the football side of the club like a North East Counties outfit, i.e. using willing supporter/volunteers who happen to have some time to commit. Just because someone has succeeded in business does not equip them to make key decisions in a football club, which requires an understanding of both football and business. Several years ago McCabe lamented the failure of the club's exec's to deliver his strategy. At that point he stopped using Scarborough execs and hired Trevor Birch on £250k p.a. This was at least a step in the right direction in terms of a thought process (Birch being an ex pro and qualified accountant) but we needed more than cost savings and accurate accounting.

Ideally, the owner would have the required nous to do the job (think Daniel Levy, Steve Gibson, Jeremy Peace et al) but failing that the club needs to invest time, effort and ultimately money in finding an exec who understands players, agents, managers and the full workings of a football club (think: David Gill, David Dein, Karren Brady et al).

I haven't got a suggestion - yet! - for the role and a preference would be to find a hands-on owner who really gets it.

Re 6 - I don't follow. Listening to offers is not continuation is it? I think every player has a price, and it should be up for discussion. Some of the contracted players I'd let go for nothing , others (not many) I'd want to keep.

UTB

 

[Alfreton14Blade]

Kevin McCabe is going nowhere unless he gets the money he thinks he can get by holding out for it.

I think he needs to be realistic and accept a down payment, with a plan that pays him more when we get to the Championship, so much a year while we are in the Championship and then a big pay off if we get to the Premier League.

But the above is what I want, not what he wants.

And this is exactly why McCabe fully deserves the tsunami of opposition, growing dislike, even incipient hatred, that's gradually building up to be unleashed on him at some point.

Rather than seeing himself, massive Blade that he is, as custodian of a football club (& of the hopes & dreams of the tens of thousands of Blades invested in that club), he sees himself instead as a "canny" businessman who needs to maximise his financial "output" where United are concerned (having dodgily blurred the lines between his own business interests and those of the football club he is privileged to own).

I may be entirely wrong, but my feeling is the tide's turning against him, big time.

 

[alcoblade]

But we'd sign the next Currie and Deane and have the next Walker, Jags and Maguire coming through the academy.

That's all we need, be dead easy.

Anyone who thought it would be easy to run a club Is a fool. But it would be easy, without hindsight, to not make the mistakes McCabe has for the last decade.

UTB

 

[judge]

I just read on another thread that the players are not trying in order to get Adkins sacked.

Now I'm reading that our Co-Chairman doesn't actually want promotion and actually wants us to remain in League One.

Any more conspiracy theories going?

Think you read it wrong

 

[judge]

Perhaps as a protest we could do a reverse Delia Smith. All congregate on the pitch and shout 'where are ya?' At the directors box.

And then throw shit at them

 

[judge]

Kevin McCabe is going nowhere unless he gets the money he thinks he can get by holding out for it.

I think he needs to be realistic and accept a down payment, with a plan that pays him more when we get to the Championship, so much a year while we are in the Championship and then a big pay off if we get to the Premier League.

But the above is what I want, not what he wants.

Maybe he is asking for an exorbitant asking price but maybe he is going to chuck in a meeting with bryan robson

Apparently chinese businessmen will spend billions just to stand next to him.in the urinals

 

[grafikhaus]

And it's not about boycotts or car park protests - it's time for real change in the club.

We've now become established in England's third division. Some realities need to sink in, and we need to shape up for a leaner future;

1. Owner - Kevin McCabe - He should put us on the market and signal his intention to move on. After more than a decade in charge, he has failed, miserably. I don't subscribe to the idea he hasn't invested enough. He is just a serial, piss poor decision maker. Poor and cheap managerial appointments, poor structuring on the boardroom, poor appointments of key decision makers, poor yet big investments into sideshows (China, Hotels, leisure clubs) that have failed. A complete and utter failure, unfortunately.

Some very valid points there, alco. I totally agree with just about all of it - especially the bit about the academy. You're right, the money we make when we - inevitably - sell any talent that comes out of it is more than swallowed up by the running costs (or the 'black hole' of United's accounts). Use other mugs' academies and cherry pick their bright talent.

But I'm afraid it will all come to nought due to your point 1. He will almost certainly want all his money back and this is simply not achievable with a club firmly ensconced in the lower leagues, a series of poor managers and a squad whose total value is, at best £2m. Our only asset is our supporter-base and McC is going to devalue that further next season. Unless he can do dodgy deals like Mandaric, he will cling on like a limpet hoping that the sectors he's made money with in the past - construction, hotels etc. - will have an upturn. Even if they do, he's up against much bigger boys. Plus, football is unrecognisable from 2007 when we were last in the PL. It could well be that United have totally and irrevocably missed the boat. Like a gambler, he should realise he's had a good run but now's the time to take the money and run before his original stake totally loses its value. But I just can't see it happening.

The only action we can collectively take is Blackpool-esque, stay away and I ain't doing that

In a perverse way, Blackpool were actually honest with their supporters. They got to the PL, had no intention of investing to stay there and Oyston trousered the money with no lies about 'game-changing investment', ''think Liverpool' or total untruths about what to expect in the transfer market.

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

Maybe he is asking for an exorbitant asking price but maybe he is going to chuck in a meeting with bryan robson

Apparently chinese businessmen will spend billions just to stand next to him.in the urinals

The bloke was famous world wide. Trust me when I say people DID want to meet him.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/...yan-robson-at-the-double-in-1982-9215159.html

 

[Silent Blade]

3. Academy: A huge disagreement on this one. Let's leave aside the economic argument as without the actual numbers that's mainly speculation (the money received for Kyle's, Jags, Lowton and Maguire would have made a big dent though). For me, much of the pleasure in watching the Blades over the Academy years has been in seeing home-grown talent come through and prosper. Even this season, seeing at least one player - Billy - who really seems to care and feel the pain of our current predicament, raises the spirit a little.

Our Academy is now in Category 2. PL clubs are able to get our best talent for very little compensation due to the EPPP. Jags was never an Academy product. He had already played in our 1st team before our Academy started. Due to the EPPP, we are unlikely to see any more young players who are as good as the two Kyles and Maguire

 

[The Bohemian]

Our Academy is now in Category 2. PL clubs are able to get our best talent for very little compensation due to the EPPP. Jags was never an Academy product. He had already played in our 1st team before our Academy started. Due to the EPPP, we are unlikely to see any more young players who are as good as the two Kyles and Maguire

Yes, yet another outrageously short sighted innovation by the Premier League, motivated by shovelling yet more money into the troughs of the top clubs. Some smaller clubs. E.g Yeovil have already decided to close their Academy as a result of EPPP.

 

[BushBlade]

Our Academy is now in Category 2. PL clubs are able to get our best talent for very little compensation due to the EPPP. Jags was never an Academy product. He had already played in our 1st team before our Academy started. Due to the EPPP, we are unlikely to see any more young players who are as good as the two Kyles and Maguire

But if we get back to the championship we should be able to upgrade it back to Cat 1 a lot easier than we could if we closed it and sold off the land. If you sell off all your assets during the bad times you're in a much poorer position to capitalise on the good times.
It's quite possible that we could sell it all off, piss the money away and still be in L1, but without an academy. And then KM and the Prince will really be the asset strippers they've been accused of being.

 

[nopigfansintown]

Being discussing this with mates recently. If these people in charge had big ambitions the academy would be moving up to Cat 1 as a matter of urgency. If not its a white elephant. The ground can wait until we're an established Champ team.

 

[BushBlade]

Yes, yet another outrageously short sighted innovation by the Premier League, motivated by shovelling yet more money into the troughs of the top clubs. Some smaller clubs. E.g Yeovil have already decided to close their Academy as a result of EPPP.

Whereas Cambridge kept theirs going even in the Conference when they weren't getting league funding.

But I agree, it was a shocking move by the PL.

 

[Blade56]

We should be careful what we wish for. Who would be happy with the dolphin killing tuna King came in and bought McCabe out and merged all his new assets in a new stadium?

 

[raul]

McCabe?

 

[Sean Thornton]

I doubt any saving achieved by closing the academy would result in the money being spent on the team.

 

[pommpey]

I doubt any saving achieved by closing the academy would result in the money being spent on the team.

Me too. We seem to be under the misguided impression Clough was handed a suitcase full of tenners to blow on key players. I still don't see that as being the truth. McDonald was sold (for whatever it was near £800k) and what did we buy? Yup, we loaned in Brayford and acquired a number of lesser quality midfielders and bought Done. Then we lost Coady and failed to bring him back to BDTBL for whatever reason. Clough went on acquiring players but none of it spells to me the words 'go get some influential stand-out players who will completely revolutionise the way we play. Instead Clough gets sacked and we sell our best centreback.

None of it adds up and doesn't give me confidence that moves like closing the academy and rationalising our resources will result in investment in on-pitch talent and that is what the whole thing is about.

Which is why we have a new Desso pitch we get bummed on, five times this season., instead of a brace of game changers.

pommpey

 

[Silent Blade]

But if we get back to the championship we should be able to upgrade it back to Cat 1 a lot easier than we could if we closed it and sold off the land. If you sell off all your assets during the bad times you're in a much poorer position to capitalise on the good times.
It's quite possible that we could sell it all off, piss the money away and still be in L1, but without an academy. And then KM and the Prince will really be the asset strippers they've been accused of being.

If we get back to the Championship we might upgrade our Academy to category 1. How long will that take?? I even think Academy category 1 is vastly over rated because in the last 10 years PL clubs rather buy foreigners than try their own youngsters. I would keep our 21s team and rather than spending all that money on the academy (coaches costs £35 per hour) I would spend it on scouting at PL Academies and give trials to the best of "rejects"

 

[Sothall_Blade]

If we get back to the Championship we might upgrade our Academy to category 1. How long will that take?? I even think Academy category 1 is vastly over rated because in the last 10 years PL clubs rather buy foreigners than try their own youngsters. I would keep our 21s team and rather than spending all that money on the academy (coaches costs £35 per hour) I would spend it on scouting at PL Academies and give trials to the best of "rejects"

I think that scaling down the number of academy players/coaches is a very different thing to bulldozing the academy/training facilities and selling off the land.
Which was the proposal made in the original post.
Even then, I think if there were large financial savings to be made by scaling down the academy, the club would already have done it by now.
It comes back to the question of why the club can't be more transparent about the cost of running the academy?

 

[Deadbat]

It is interesting and I am not begrudging a lot of good work/coaching that may go on and I am sure there are lots of part time coaches up at shirecliffe, but there does seem to be an awful lot of staff who work up there. You see 20+ coaches around on a match day when I have been up on a Saturday morning - none I have ever heard of or have any connection to the u21's/first team.

it seems a big operation (know it starts under 8's/9's) and an awful lot of money for little output currently - Walker/Naughton and MAguire/Long some time ago now really.

 

[judge]

The academy is supposed to be self sufficent isnt it ?

At least that was the promise when it was built according to kevin mcca.....

....Oh i see

 

[Silent Blade]

The academy is supposed to be self sufficent isnt it ?

I find that very hard to believe. An ex-Academy coach told me that the club gets little grant compared with the spending on Academy

 

[BushBlade]

If we get back to the Championship we might upgrade our Academy to category 1. How long will that take?? I even think Academy category 1 is vastly over rated because in the last 10 years PL clubs rather buy foreigners than try their own youngsters. I would keep our 21s team and rather than spending all that money on the academy (coaches costs £35 per hour) I would spend it on scouting at PL Academies and give trials to the best of "rejects"

If we're now saying we 'might' get into the championship then it's probably time we sold the Lane too because it's far too expensive to run for a L1 club. A nice new 20k seater in the east end, let KM do what he's always wanted to and build flats, offices and retail in the site.
Personally I still believe we WILL get back in the championship. Although it's probably just blind faith atm.

 

[judge]

I find that very hard to believe. An ex-Academy coach told me that the club gets little grant compared with the spending on Academy

From memory it was to do with renting out the facilitys when the club werent using them