Paddy Kenny having a medical at QPR today

[shorehamview]

An open letter to Paddy Kenny. Perhaps he can get help reading it, because he sure as hell can't read cough medicine labels.

Dear Paddy,

We, the fans of Sheffield United, who stuck by you and gave you tremendous support through all your off-the-pitch problems, both domestic and health related, feel that before you fuck off to London for a big wage rise that you owe us a season. Not a cheery wave as your Porsche scoots off down the M1. And why the fuck did you buy a Cayman? A poor man's 911. It says one thing about you. It says "I had to buy this because I'm paying my wife a shitload."

Lots of love,

The shat-on Blades.

P.S. You can drink Benylin by the pint in London. Tis true.....

 

[bartman]

Micalijo I blame McCabe above all for the demise of this club.

1) The Acadamy : This was an argument he won because we produced the players in the two Kyles that paid for it. Not a production line of talent in 5 years that was promised however

2) Clubs all over the globe. This was going to help us broaden our player base and help us get players playing in Europe from outside, circumventing the need for work permits. I haven't seen a jot of progress saying this is any closer than it was when it was dreamed up.

3) Hotel and ground development. Why? What is the point of a big bloody hotel on the corner of the ground? Who wants to stop near Bramall Bloody Lane? The surrounding area is hardly somewhere someone from foreign shores would want to spend the evening. Sipping expresso and whiling away the small hours in the shadow of London Road.

4) Money. Where the hell has it all gone? I know its not easy running a football club but from what was a promising start he really has slashed a lot of cash up the wall. He tells us we don't have to sell to progress then suddenly anyone decent leaves the club on the back of whatever offer comes in. I am struggling to think of the last time we actually stopped a player leaving.

5) Manager selection. He fell lucky with Warnock (and god that sticks in my throat). After Warnock we got probably the worst managerial appointment we could have made at the time. We have had worse managers I am sure but with the weight of expectation KM really buggered it up. Then when he bottled it with Robson he took Blackwell on. Why? Because he knew we had no money so we needed a manager who wouldn't moan when he pulled the rug from under him. And boy has he done that on a daily basis. In reality Blackwell in spite of his limited ability doesn't have a hope in hell. He has no budget to work with and no hope of keeping anyone decent.

6) The fans : He lies to us week in week out. We are now back where we were when he started. All be it with a better ground (and credit to him for that). We are not a selling club according to him, but it is all we do. We paid £3m for Ched Evans when it suits him and £1.5m when it doesn't. Football is in crisis according to him but we were supposed to be one of the best managed clubs in the country. A template for all to look at and wonder how great our financial management was. I have spoken to McCabe and until this year would have backed him (and have) above all. The man just lies to suit his own ends. He recently told everyone who would listen that Billy wouldn't be leaving. Oh guess what, he is on his way.

So why is he a disgrace to me? Because with Brearley and co we knew we had crooks in charge and we knew we would be shafted. Their PR was almost laughable and you knew there was a steaming pile around the next corner. This guy was supposed to be different. He raised expectation and almost delivered. However, the books balance less with him in charge than they did ever before. Theres money from transfers (I made it around £15m at the last count) theres £5m per year from West Ham. Where the hell has it all gone? The wage bill has been slashed, the playing squad is wafer thin so where the hell is the money going?

He is a disgrace because he has lied to everyone time and time again. The only man who will benefit in the end from SUFC is McCabe and his family. The fans are where they were 15 years ago. They are where we were 25 years ago. Middle of the second tier of English football. Woohoo, all praise the king.

You will see from my rant that I am not best chuffed with our Kev.

1.A production line of talent in 5 years ? Where has that quote come from ? We have produce Mellis and the two Kyleswho have brought in £10million in cash. Doesn't that mean it is a success from a cash point of view. In terms of Players,hasn't McCabe recognised this by bringing in Pemberton ?

2.I agree mostly. The only advantage I can see at the moment is that we can send players on loan there.The Hungarian adventure seems more trouble than it is worth.

3.The hotel brings us incremental income . Copthorne wouldn't have invested there if that wasnt the case. How much money have we spent on the hotel that Copthorne aren't covering ?

4.McCabe backed Warnock,Robson and Blackwell in his first 12 months. The money has now run out. The money has gone on wages and transfers especially in the last 12months of Warnock and Robson...money wasted on Hendrie,Shelton,Fathi,Horsfield,Carney,Akinbiyi and so on. At least £8million in fees there and i reckon at least £2.5million in wages per year just on these players. Beattie £4miilion plus(rumoured) £2million per year wages,Ehiogu £1million pr year,Naysmith the same,Henderson and Sharp both on around £600k per year and so on.

5.How can you critisise him than say he felll ucky with Warnock. He could have chosen Megson who also applied.How did he bottle it with Robson? I agree it was wrong to take him on but would we have got the players we did with NW in charge? He sacked him and replaced with KB who took us from a near relegation position to just missing the play offs.Wasn't this a good decision at the time ? Yes we had to cut our cloth as income has drastically reduced.we couldn't keep spending the way we did...in terms of results,should KB really be sacked for finishing 8th given the circumstances you describe along with the injuries ?

6. What lies. This is always rolled out by critics and yet no proof is ever shown. What makes you say we aren't a well run club? Because we aren't spending millions we haven't have.? Billy leaving?(considered over rated by many Blades) At the time of the forum he wasn't due to be sold and we had no offer in.What do you expect him to say,' we are getting rid but no one wants to buy him yet?'In the end that decision is down to the manager re BS and it would appear,he doesnt want himin his first team.

You say we have made £15million in transfers plus the tevez money. You ignore current wage bills,previous wage bills and so on.

tell us how McCabe and his family are beneffiting financially from running United.? Tell us where he has lied and lied again ?How do the books balance less now than previously?

If it wasn't so wide of the mark,your post is bordering on libellous

 

[Jostein Flo]

5.How can you critisise him than say he felll ucky with Warnock. He could have chosen Megson who also applied.

Urgh... that actually made me throw up a little

 

[sothall blade]

i am not one to start rumours but,,,,,,, if paddy and sharpy are going,is it because we have signed the quality midfielder joe cole who apparently has signed for an unnamed club. a season under blackwells guidence and he will be crap like the rest of the no marks

 

[Bladesman]

Joe Cole looks like he signing for Arsenal.

 

[Jostein Flo]

Hmmm... Fabregas out & Joe Cole and upwards of £30'000'000 in? I'd take it if I we're a gooner

 

[Foxy]

Hmmm... Fabregas out & Joe Cole and upwards of £30'000'000 in? I'd take it if I we're a gooner

They'd also save money needing one less pair of adult shorts in the first team kit.

 

[sothall blade]

thought i might have provoked some sort laughter with the joe cole joke,be we seem to be on doom and gloom mode,or have i logged on to pork talk

 

[Bladesway]

Bartman

Good post right up to the point where you say I am wide of the mark. I don't agree with your points in the main but they are, like my own an opinion. The day that is "wrong" or "libellous" is a shitty day for all message forums.

McCabe told my own Father and anyone who would listen about three weeks ago that Billy Sharp wasn't going anywhere and he would "bang heads together" to make it work. On that we shall see.

As for your points on mine as it were.

1) It was published in the media at the time that the academy was going to produce a production line of talent within 5 years that would be feeding the first team. True, if you want to take me to task, Kevin McCabe never said whose first team but I assumed our own at the time. Oh and I did say that in pure financial terms he was right. I thought the academy was a good thing at the time to be honest but I didn't want it to feed Spurs backline quite so quickly as it did (i.e when the first offer came in).

2) We agree so I'll move on.

3) Incremental income, Meh. It hasn't and won't put a centre forward on the pitch so I don't care.

4) Where the hell has the money gone? You mention elsewhere in your post I said £15m in transfer fee profit then you mention wages and all that. What you omitted was the Parachute Payment money that I chose to leave out or gate receipts or merchandise or just about any other income. In my mind, deluded or otherwise we should have a few bob held somewhere, unless we got shafted seven ways from Sunday on every deal we ever did (which wouldn't surprise me either).

5) We missed the biggest opportunity in our lifetimes when Warnock stayed. If McCabe was the businessman and not the fan we would have got another manager in to do the job in the Premiership. My opinion and I realise its a devisive one. I believe Chairmen should be more accountable for the men they hire. Robson was a disgraceful decision, based on the mans reputation. He was a shit manager but McCabe still (if reports are correct) tried to move him upstairs and make him Director of Football or somesuch. Blackwell was a kid in a sweetshop. He would do whatever McCabe wanted, hence he got his contract extension and McCabe actually pulls all the strings at the club now. I think that sucks myself. I think McCabe has made crap appointments in Managers and made the wrong decisions all along the way. As for Megson, get a grip man, Fred West and Peter Sutcliffe would have been ahead in the fans mind and no one could have got that wrong.

6) Europe in 5 years, Academy bearing a production line in 5 years then selling all the talent way before you could/should. Sheffield United not having to be a selling club yet we are on a daily basis. Paddys get out clause is the best example (if true) of that you could ask for. Any man who lets Neil Warnock come back to our club and get one over on us in this way is close to dereliction of duty. I am sure I could trot out a whole load of examples but as I don't have the written evidence (KM is good at that) and his spin people could take me to task on much of it, then its conjecture and opinion in the minds of those who have an alternative view.

The rest is based on stock being issued and more shares are floated. I am as sure as shit that we don't get richer on the back of that. Who buys the majority of the shares? As a random stab in the dark I am guessing it is the McCabe family and associates.

I ask one question that I never hear addressed anywhere, by anyone. Where has the money gone? I don't want a team in China, I don't want a Hotel, I don't want a World Cup 2018 bid, I don't want anything other than the best possible players playing for Sheffield United. Oh and I don't want telling that we have a rosy future when to me I see a great big steaming pile on the horizon.

Allegedly by the way

 

[puppet]

5.How can you critisise him than say he felll ucky with Warnock. He could have chosen Megson who also applied. Urgh... that actually made me throw up a little

I just did a bit of sick in my mouth then

 

[Guesty]

Megson didn't apply. He was going to and realised he couldn't at the last minute.