McCabe wants to lead revival

[creswell blade]

http://www.thestar.co.uk/sport/football/sheffield-united/mccabe_wants_to_lead_revival_1_3975887

for those who carnt open links..

CHIEF executive Julian Winter has rubbished claims Sheffield United’s plc chairman Kevin McCabe is contemplating leaving the club despite the heavy losses they sustained for the financial year ending June 30.

McCabe apologised to United’s shareholders on Tuesday night after the published annual report and accounts showed the club had lost a staggering £13.6m between June 2010-11.

The net debt stands at £32m and revenue streams, including gate receipts, have dropped considerably following relegation to League One.

But Winter, who has previously worked at Watford, insists McCabe remains committed to the cause and is determined to turn things around on and off the pitch.

“Kevin [McCabe] has been fantastically supportive of this football club and will continue to be,” he said. “He still has an interest [in the club] as an owner. The family have stood by the club on many occasions. The club is in safe hands with Kevin and the McCabe family.”

Winter says his objective is to make the club “stand on its own two feet”. However, he has stated there could be money available for boss Danny Wilson to strengthen the squad in January.


The one comment its got underneath reads...

from Paulsheffield

In other words "I'm not going anywhere until I've got my money back even if that means taking the club to the verge of going bust" McSue As an Owl it's my duty to hate United but I tell you what I hate people like you even more. Just like Hulkey & Grierson at S6 they blamed everyone barring themselves for the mess and clung on till deaths door hoping someone would come along with deep pockets to bail them out so they could get some cash back despite what it could do to the club, you it appears are about to do the same. How in earth could anyone in their wildest dreams believe that a man that's blown the best part of 150 million over 10 could sort out the mess they created is beyond me. Do the people of Sheffield a favor and pi55 of back to your tax haven as much as I hate united they don't need you...

 

[Revolution]

Winter says his objective is to make the club “stand on its own two feet”. However, he has stated there could be money available for boss Danny Wilson to strengthen the squad in January.

The key word in that sentence is "could".

One "consolation" this year, however, is there's nobody left whose departure would drastically weaken the squad. They can sell who they like as far as I'm concerned. The cupboard marked "good players" is bare.

 

[beightonblade]

don't talk the talk McCabe .......walk the walk !

 

[axel smeets]

Perhaps an announcement that he is writing off the remaining debt owed to him and that the club will, from now on, spend only what it earns would be a good start?

 

[sheffielder]

Perhaps an announcement that he is writing off the remaining debt owed to him and that the club will, from now on, spend only what it earns would be a good start?

Are you for real? You want him to write off £50m? Do you think mad Mandy would write off what Wednesday owe him, and believe me there will probably be about £20m as owed to Mandy already.

 

[bladeinspaceandtime]

Which clubs stand on their own two feet? Most of McCabes attempts to generate revenue from "off the pitch" activities have failed miserably, so how is the club going to generate enough income? This is a massive issue that football in general needs to address (costs of running the club cannot be met by revenue from club activities) but in the short term it's worrying. Wilderness years indeed....

 

[Latters]

Well he's done a good enough job of leading the demise so it seems only right that he sorts out the shit state we're in now. I'm just not confident he knows how to go about it.

 

[axel smeets]

If you put £50m into a club like SUFC, you can't expect it back without destroying the entity that is SUFC, IMO. What Mandaric does at swine cottage is an irrelevance. McCabe should have known what the risks were when he decided to start putting larger amounts of money in 10 years ago. He has changed the ground unbelievably from what is was 10 years ago, but the fact is that as fans, we pay to watch the team, and the team is a pub team in Division Three.

 

[ghandi]

If you put £50m into a club like SUFC, you can't expect it back without destroying the entity that is SUFC, IMO. What Mandaric does at swine cottage is an irrelevance. McCabe should have known what the risks were when he decided to start putting larger amounts of money in 10 years ago. He has changed the ground unbelievably from what is was 10 years ago, but the fact is that as fans, we pay to watch the team, and the team is a pub team in Division Three.

Lets dispel this ground improvement myth. He put a new roof on on the lane end and filled the corners ..one with a an office building and one with an hotel both which he bought for total £2.

 

[Balham]

Lets dispel this ground improvement myth. He put a new roof on on the lane end and filled the corners ..one with a an office building and one with an hotel both which he bought for total £2.

Bramall Lane upper is a million times better than it was before McCabe took over and the view from the new corner between Bramall Lane and the South Stand is the best in the ground. Atmosphere is rubbish, mind.

Was the corner between John Street and the Kop a McCabe thing too? It looks awful at the moment but I guess that's because it was designed to fit in with a rebuilt Kop.

 

[Worksop II]

Lets dispel this ground improvement myth. He put a new roof on on the lane end and filled the corners ..one with a an office building and one with an hotel both which he bought for total £2.

Dont forget the Second Hand TV from Darlington .......

 

[alcoblade]

Are you for real? You want him to write off £50m? Do you think mad Mandy would write off what Wednesday owe him, and believe me there will probably be about £20m as owed to Mandy already.

He can leave it on the books and never get it back, but remind us all what a mess he's made every year. Or he can write it off and never get it back, and at least have a legacy of that of our best chairman in 30 years, or more.

UTB

 

[Ted Danson]

I think people are too hard on McKabe, I think he gambled trying to make us be able to support ourselves without the need of a millionaire owner however his gamble failed and we are where we are now. Yes he made several big mistakes that we've been over many times but I do think he has the best interests of the club at heart. Its not as easy as people seem to make out that he can just stump up some cash for new players as the club is now a PLC and if he puts cash in he cant say what it is going to be used for, it would have to go infront of the board of the PLC who would decide whats the best thing to do with the cash which as we're haemorrhaging so much cash wouldn't be to invest in playing staff.

 

[axel smeets]

Yes of course you're bang on about him trying to make us self sufficient without the need for him to continue pumping in millions. If the world recession had never happened, United might have made millions from China, the hotel might have turned a profit and the Valad thing might have made him so rich that he might have chucked another £20m at the club if we had returned to the top flight.

BUT, every plan should have a Plan B, so to speak. I just believe that with what has happened, the lack of real leadership from the top, and the sheer amount owed to the McCabe family, it is impossible to get that back without destroying SUFC in the process. Therefore, I think he should write the debt off.

Others obviously don't, but unless a new Dave Bassett comes along, takes us into the top flight on a shoestring and then keeps us there on a shoestring, he's never gonna recover his investment.

 

[beightonblade]

If he invested in the Blades to make money .....he's as daft as a brush !

 

[Pinchy]

He didn't and he isn't. He's a fan who happens to own the club. He's made a lot of mistakes and he knows it. But, with McCabe we'll always have SUFC. Left to those of you who would like him out (without a clue as to how you would achieve that or the faintest idea of who/what would replace him) we wouldn't last five minutes.

Grow up and get real.

 

[dkc Blade]

The stadium looks fantastic. A million times better than it was when I started watching the Blades. We have Reg Brealy to thank too, of course

 

[travellingblade]

He didn't and he isn't. He's a fan who happens to own the club. He's made a lot of mistakes and he knows it. But, with McCabe we'll always have SUFC. Left to those of you who would like him out (without a clue as to how you would achieve that or the faintest idea of who/what would replace him) we wouldn't last five minutes.

Grow up and get real.

Well said, and I totally agree.

Get real the rest of you.

 

[Come from away]

Having met the man and spent time with him, I'm with Pinchy on this one. It is real easy to take shots at someone when you have no responsibility for your actions. I will always have great respect for him personally, while I continue my roller coaster ride as a fan. This is not our first time in this division, we made it out before, I just hope we do it quickly this time.

 

[beightonblade]

humbug .................. were in the pub league with a woefull squad,debt to put a southern european country to shame and no leadership......

Let the facts speak.

 

[Come from away]

Being a fan, this is my pub league team but only when you're full of it (beer) would you imagine that any pub team would survive 5 minutes against our 1st team - just a cheap shot. I wish we weren't in this league but I am not dumping on my team cause I feel entitled to having a prem club in front of me - get real.

 

[beightonblade]

Being a fan, this is my pub league team but only when you're full of it (beer) would you imagine that any pub team would survive 5 minutes against our 1st team - just a cheap shot. I wish we weren't in this league but I am not dumping on my team cause I feel entitled to having a prem club in front of me - get real.

Would you like to comment on the debt and leadership as well ?

 

[Come from away]

Would you like to comment on the debt and leadership as well ?

Thanks for the offer but I have to get back to work - not retired yet.

 

[Bladesway]

He didn't and he isn't. He's a fan who happens to own the club. He's made a lot of mistakes and he knows it. But, with McCabe we'll always have SUFC. Left to those of you who would like him out (without a clue as to how you would achieve that or the faintest idea of who/what would replace him) we wouldn't last five minutes.

Grow up and get real.

How do you know this? Its arrogant in the extreme to presume withour KM we wouldn't last 5 minutes. How can you actually back up such a ridiculous claim? While, if we got the wrong person in we would be in deep shit lets not laud the man as the only saviour of SUFC.

FWIW if he admits his previous mistakes thats fine by me. The fact he has stood up and admitted it goes some small way to repair the huge damage HE has done to this club via his poor decisions and mismanagement. Do not underestimate how far down the pan he has taken us from a position of relative power. His ventures almost to a one have been catastrophic failures. The business centre is half empty and he now wants out, China was a failure, Hungary was a failure. The list goes on. Call me cynical but if this was his own business I think he would have thought a little more carefully about his appointments and aquisitions. The fact its all ringfenced by SUFC means the only people who suffer from a poorer product is us.

So he wants to lead us out of this. Thats good, its a real positive. Because he bloody needs to or piss off. There is no middle way. We cannot afford to bob around the middle reaches of League One for a few years and test the water. We will be in administration within 2 seasons if that happens, trust me. we are actually a great deal closer to the wall than many care to acknowledge. Why is that? Its all, in its entirety down to McCabe.

So, I'm happy if he wants to lead us forward but the more cynical among us will want to see more than a few words to unbreak the utter car crash that has been the past 5 years.

 

[Kendal]

I'm (slowly) reading the Blades Biography I picked up at the superstore for a fiver after the derby game. I've just finished the chapters covering the 20s and 30s, and it certainly sounds like exactly the same debates were going on then - players paid too much, not putting a shift in. Not enough money in the game, nearly all clubs making a loss. Needing to balance the books. Pointing at more successful clubs and saying they had a sugar daddy of sorts, whilst United were run by a group of civic dignitaries without that much money. There were even coverage issues with the '36 FA Cup final, with the FA wanting more money from broadcasters/film companies for the rights.

As one of our more colourful posters says,
"Same Owd, Same Owd..."

 

[Revolution]

There were even coverage issues with the '36 FA Cup final, with the FA wanting more money from broadcasters/film companies for the rights.

The only film of that game is taken from an airship, as the FA would not let anyone film at Wembley. Shame.

 

[Pinchy]

How do you know this? Its arrogant in the extreme to presume withour KM we wouldn't last 5 minutes. How can you actually back up such a ridiculous claim? While, if we got the wrong person in we would be in deep shit lets not laud the man as the only saviour of SUFC.

FWIW if he admits his previous mistakes thats fine by me. The fact he has stood up and admitted it goes some small way to repair the huge damage HE has done to this club via his poor decisions and mismanagement. Do not underestimate how far down the pan he has taken us from a position of relative power. His ventures almost to a one have been catastrophic failures. The business centre is half empty and he now wants out, China was a failure, Hungary was a failure. The list goes on. Call me cynical but if this was his own business I think he would have thought a little more carefully about his appointments and aquisitions. The fact its all ringfenced by SUFC means the only people who suffer from a poorer product is us.

So he wants to lead us out of this. Thats good, its a real positive. Because he bloody needs to or piss off. There is no middle way. We cannot afford to bob around the middle reaches of League One for a few years and test the water. We will be in administration within 2 seasons if that happens, trust me. we are actually a great deal closer to the wall than many care to acknowledge. Why is that? Its all, in its entirety down to McCabe.

So, I'm happy if he wants to lead us forward but the more cynical among us will want to see more than a few words to unbreak the utter car crash that has been the past 5 years.

What is the mechanism by which he would 'piss off'? What would then happen? Despite what you say, there was (for once) no arrogance in what I wrote; just practical common sense. Until you and other critics (and yes, criticism is more than justified) can give real world answers to the questions I pose, then criticism is as far as it goes.

 

[metalblade]

In other words "I'm not going anywhere until I've got my money back even if that means taking the club to the verge of going bust" McSue As an Owl it's my duty to hate United but I tell you what I hate people like you even more. Just like Hulkey & Grierson at S6 they blamed everyone barring themselves for the mess and clung on till deaths door hoping someone would come along with deep pockets to bail them out so they could get some cash back despite what it could do to the club, you it appears are about to do the same. How in earth could anyone in their wildest dreams believe that a man that's blown the best part of 150 million over 10 could sort out the mess they created is beyond me. Do the people of Sheffield a favor and pi55 of back to your tax haven as much as I hate united they don't need you...

Just about spot on, we would be better off going into administration but it will not happen McCabe will continue to wring every penny possible out of the club............ Big Blade my arse he has taken out far more ££££'s than he ever invested

 

[Foxy]

Just about spot on, we would be better off going into administration but it will not happen McCabe will continue to wring every penny possible out of the club............ Big Blade my arse he has taken out far more ££££'s than he ever invested

I'm not expecting an answer on this one, but just exactly how has he managed to "wring every penny possible out of the club"?

 

[metalblade]

UMMMM do the maths Foxy, no one really needs to explain again about loans to SUFC at 3% over the banks lending rate or the balance sheet on player sales, not to mention the tevez money.