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2024/25 SUFC SEASON REVIEW / SCHOOL REPORT : Part 2
Staff report
Board / Club
Prince HRH Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud I was beginning to think that he would never leave despite publicly saying he wanted to leave. It seemed like his desperation to go was such that he was willing to sell us to two investors who have ended up being less than reputable to say the least in Mauriss and Mmobuosi. That was always a worry and whilst we all accepted he could not support us with more investment, we still knew he was a relatively safe pair of hands and was not making stupid decisions and still always seemed to have us competitive at least top end Championship. Despite this the two point deduction and not paying our bills was not a good luck and the mess he oversaw for the Premier League season where we lost two key men and did not properly replace them. Furthermore, we saw many others run contracts down and saw us losing Jebbison and Bogle.
Off the field, we did finally see some potential improvements with the hotel reopen and more crucially a new training ground acquired on the old HSBC site. We also acquired the two plots of land from McCabe on the two sides of the Kop. We did seem to be trying to address the scouting/recruitment with changes being made in how we did things and personnel moving out and coming in, but these matters should have been addressed years ago and once again we had completely wasted a chance to try and cement ourselves at the top level.
There was so much talk of different American groups coming in. It seemed like it was happening and then it did not and then we heard the investors had changed. We heard from so many different sources with delays being attributed to the EFL and then Abdullah who wanted to make a percentage of any promotion income, if we went up. I had got to the point where I felt it was simply not going to happen but then whilst I was in America ironically – I saw that before Xmas it had finally gone through. It was nice to see him still talking about ‘us’ in a chat with Sheff United Way and I have no doubt he still has strong affections for the club.
The press release revealed that the new owners and co-chairmen were Helmy Eltoukhy and Steven Rosen had come in as part of the COH group which name comes from the bases of California/Ohio both Eltoukhy and Rosen are from. Eltoukhy is CEO and chairman of Guardant Health and has been influential in the medical field. Rosen has a background in the Cleveland area with several businesses. The press release talked about them taking over everything – it seemed that was of course the end of the United World links/partnership but the new owners took over the ground, hotel, training ground and everything connected to the club.
There was not real fanfare, or even a press conference. They just came in and said they backed Wilder and quickly gave him a new deal and did back him with the transfer business with some costly loans and a big money signing in Tom Cannon, coming through the door.
We saw them at the Wednesday game prior to the takeover and then they were introduced for the Burnley game but even since then we have heard little from them but they were around at the end of the season and seen at the games too such as the playoff and Wembley and tried to connect a bit more – the scarf giveaway at Wembley for instance. As a fan you want them to invest and make good decisions. So far, they have not tried to rock the boat.
Over time we had more new investors announced. The most well known was Joe Russo, who has been involved in the Marvel film franchise. Len Komoroski came in – he was another linked to the city of Cleveland and had been involved with sports teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers. Terry Ahern, has was involved in real estate and investment.
On the surface, it seemed like they had brought in some real wealth and a range of different types of businessmen who had expertise in different fields – things you need to run a successful football club and one that hopes can not only get to the Premier League, but also stay there. They gave Wilder the long-term deal but now with us not going up – you wonder if they might get itchy fingers if we start badly next season. American owners are generally not a patient bunch and will have come here to have us in the top division and now we are another season away at least. The chatter seems to be he will be the man but you know football is fickle and he will need to get it right. They will also look at how he has conducted himself at times and the fines we have picked up for ill-discipline.
We then had two further appointments with Pejman Nozad coming in – someone who has been involved with football as a player back in his native Iran – but had since become a successful businessman in the Silicon Valley. We also then had the news that long serving CEO Stephen Bettis, named as part of the board.
Stephen Bettis I have reference him above but he has been the one stable conduit in the change of ownership and remains someone who does get some flak but I think he has done well to remain a calm head and be the consistent day to day leader off the field and now is rewarded, with a place on the board. For a long time, he was the only real visible presence as part of the board. Certainly, the only one based in Sheffield and who is involved seemingly day to day. I think he has a thankless task but often gets hammered when he comes out and says stuff or when he does not. I actually think that compared to other CEO’s/front men we have had; he has been ok to be honest. I know we do impressions of him on the Tufty Club pod but it is very much tongue in cheek. I really do not mind him.
The current directors of both Blades Leisure Ltd, and Sheffield United Football Club Ltd are thus listed as :
Carl Shieber, I believe is still there heading up the finances but we do not hear too much of him but he was another that seemed to be around, then leave and come back I think but has remained even with the changes. Dave McCarthy is involved still as Operations Director and we have Paul Fielder, as head of commercial who left for Huddersfield at the end of last season. Fielder was previously with Central Coast Mariners and Blackburn Rovers.
We started the season without a sponsor which was odd as there was talk of a betting company or someone that Abdullah was not happy getting into bed with such a type of business. However, we did get a new sponsor when a cryptocurrency company based in Japan, Maneki was announced as the principal sponsor. The look of the log with a cartoon cat was not the best I have to be honest but fortunately many had bought the sponsor less shirts before this change.
The kits itself were ok – I like the home strip with a nod to former kits from the 90’s and the third one – the cream one also I was a fan of. I was not convinced by the away kit – as they again tried to recreate colours from an early 90’s kit but ended up a bit of a mess I though in its execution. Once again the kits came out way too late again – the sponsor issue might have not helped but other teams have things ready almost by the end of the season and Errea have not delivered in this regard. The deal was signed in 2022 and was announced as multi deal so wonder if it might be up this year (or maybe next?). Be interesting where the new owners go with this area and of course, the sponsorship, as the Maneki deal seemed to be just for this season.
Ticketing is always a discussion point and the arguments on loyalty points rages on although there were a lot of games where people could get tickets early on in the season but then of course as we are going for promotion, it becomes harder. Season tickets went up but remain mostly competitive in terms of prices. I do feel the match day ticket prices (and way they are sold) were crazy and we saw situations where huge games like Leeds were not even sold out due to this. The playoff semi-final prices were way too high but United said the other play-off teams would not let them cap them lower – the gate receipts are shared.
Long serving groundsman; Glenn Nortcliffe and his team have continued to maintain the Desso pitch and now have two more to look after at Shirecliffe with more to come at the new HSBC site – the state of our pitch compared to our city rivals is credit to him/his team. There has been an argument that the Women should not use the pitch but we only had 19 games on it a year so surely it should be able to take more – and think it is great both men and women play here. Whether that continues with the lack of success for the women – we will see.
The club continue to do well with its social media stuff on X/Instagram etc and get the balance right between information, entertainment and humour without being too cocky like some clubs are. Although will have been embarrassed to have been hacked at the end of the season!
Unofficial Club Media
I repeat what I say every year, but also a big shout out at this point to all the unofficial stuff coming out from so many fans. Dem Blades fanzine and online stuff, The Pinch has been doing for a while now, are great reads and some brilliant writers (much better than me!). Also, we have seen some of the art stuff (we have had Arty Bianco and Shoreham Street Magnifique do some great things) has expanded with Marty Griot’s posters becoming a real talking point and feature on home match days.
I love the videos, vlogs and interviews and almost daily content, The Sheff Utd Way, keep putting out there. Even with Hal being abroad they keep bringing stuff out and a huge credit to the work of Hal and InGoodNick and of course Olly who all are brilliant at what they do. Jimmy Ramble has been quite prolific too and now seems to be a full-time gig for him. He even managed to get an interview with the Prince and has content almost every day which is impressive! He too splits opinion – I did not agreed with him ‘going live’ so soon after the Baldock tragedy – but it is good to dip in and out of all the online stuff. I am not sure I could produce/watch that much stuff but is there if you want it. If we had nothing – we would moan and most do it for free too.
Also, the American Blades, Chad and Noah, who contribute with the passionate watch alongs. It would be remiss of me not to mention the untimely passing of Johnny from Shoreham View (I went to his funeral) and still hard to get my head around that he is not around and we won’t see any of his videos anymore – at least any new ones- but it’s great to go back and watch the old ones. Still enjoy the superb podcasts/vlogs too from Blades Pod/4 Blades/Red Half of Sheffield and the stuff Travelling Blades does. All offer great analysis and entertainment. There is the Tufty Club too. I digress! Also, it is fantastic the work Rainbow Blades had done too in trying to make the club and fans more inclusive and credit to the club for recognising them and working with them too. James has rightly won more awards for his work too. Of course, S2 4SU and its moderators/creators continue to do an amazing job also along with posters like Roy and his superb view from. BladesPod also has done some great stuff on the Women’s team.
There really is some great content out there so well done all. I do not really get involved in the bashing of stuff as I say more do it for the love of the club and you can choose who/what you want to listen to, so it really is good to hear/see/watch so much great content and all are different/offer something to fans. Been fortunate enough to meet a lot of them now too and they are all fantastic and great company.
The local press sadly has still struggled in comparison to put much interesting content out in my opinion. It has got worse since Nathan Hemmingham who was one of the better ones is not involved in covering United stopped being used by Yorkshire Live was it? Ditto for Richard Sutcliffe at the Athletic who now writes for Wrexham! The others seem very stale and the likes of Hall/Biggs rarely got any inside scoops or news stories. However, I would say Danny Hall did start to get more stuff (maybe after Abdullah moved on?) and we saw more stories that he broke rather than just repeated stuff he had read/seen on the internet.
Grade C (Last season F): Hard to rate this as we have had two ownerships over the season. Abdullah did back Wilder in the summer despite moving on although there is an argument we were still left light. He also sanctioned the hotel being re-opened and the training ground acquisition but maybe the takeover took way too long and it troubled some he still wanted money (even if not around) if we went up.
The new owners were able to reward Wilder and bring in players to help the promotion push so be interesting where we go now in terms of whether we offload players and/or bring many in and try and go again? It’s nice they have quietly gone about things behind the scenes but maybe I would like more in terms of what they want to achieve and their plans?
Next season
What they do next will of course go a long way to see if this mark goes up or down. I hope they can invest and properly back us – but it’s more the infrastructure off the field (training complex, academy status, ground improvements and a plan to develop a proper strategy in terms of scouting/player recruitment) that I want to see taken on to the next level. We still seem cautious as to their plans and intentions and is very much early doors. Not sure how many really do how much money they actually have and more importantly, how much they will want to invest.
Staff report
Board / Club
Prince HRH Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud I was beginning to think that he would never leave despite publicly saying he wanted to leave. It seemed like his desperation to go was such that he was willing to sell us to two investors who have ended up being less than reputable to say the least in Mauriss and Mmobuosi. That was always a worry and whilst we all accepted he could not support us with more investment, we still knew he was a relatively safe pair of hands and was not making stupid decisions and still always seemed to have us competitive at least top end Championship. Despite this the two point deduction and not paying our bills was not a good luck and the mess he oversaw for the Premier League season where we lost two key men and did not properly replace them. Furthermore, we saw many others run contracts down and saw us losing Jebbison and Bogle.
Off the field, we did finally see some potential improvements with the hotel reopen and more crucially a new training ground acquired on the old HSBC site. We also acquired the two plots of land from McCabe on the two sides of the Kop. We did seem to be trying to address the scouting/recruitment with changes being made in how we did things and personnel moving out and coming in, but these matters should have been addressed years ago and once again we had completely wasted a chance to try and cement ourselves at the top level.
There was so much talk of different American groups coming in. It seemed like it was happening and then it did not and then we heard the investors had changed. We heard from so many different sources with delays being attributed to the EFL and then Abdullah who wanted to make a percentage of any promotion income, if we went up. I had got to the point where I felt it was simply not going to happen but then whilst I was in America ironically – I saw that before Xmas it had finally gone through. It was nice to see him still talking about ‘us’ in a chat with Sheff United Way and I have no doubt he still has strong affections for the club.
The press release revealed that the new owners and co-chairmen were Helmy Eltoukhy and Steven Rosen had come in as part of the COH group which name comes from the bases of California/Ohio both Eltoukhy and Rosen are from. Eltoukhy is CEO and chairman of Guardant Health and has been influential in the medical field. Rosen has a background in the Cleveland area with several businesses. The press release talked about them taking over everything – it seemed that was of course the end of the United World links/partnership but the new owners took over the ground, hotel, training ground and everything connected to the club.
There was not real fanfare, or even a press conference. They just came in and said they backed Wilder and quickly gave him a new deal and did back him with the transfer business with some costly loans and a big money signing in Tom Cannon, coming through the door.
We saw them at the Wednesday game prior to the takeover and then they were introduced for the Burnley game but even since then we have heard little from them but they were around at the end of the season and seen at the games too such as the playoff and Wembley and tried to connect a bit more – the scarf giveaway at Wembley for instance. As a fan you want them to invest and make good decisions. So far, they have not tried to rock the boat.
Over time we had more new investors announced. The most well known was Joe Russo, who has been involved in the Marvel film franchise. Len Komoroski came in – he was another linked to the city of Cleveland and had been involved with sports teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers. Terry Ahern, has was involved in real estate and investment.
On the surface, it seemed like they had brought in some real wealth and a range of different types of businessmen who had expertise in different fields – things you need to run a successful football club and one that hopes can not only get to the Premier League, but also stay there. They gave Wilder the long-term deal but now with us not going up – you wonder if they might get itchy fingers if we start badly next season. American owners are generally not a patient bunch and will have come here to have us in the top division and now we are another season away at least. The chatter seems to be he will be the man but you know football is fickle and he will need to get it right. They will also look at how he has conducted himself at times and the fines we have picked up for ill-discipline.
We then had two further appointments with Pejman Nozad coming in – someone who has been involved with football as a player back in his native Iran – but had since become a successful businessman in the Silicon Valley. We also then had the news that long serving CEO Stephen Bettis, named as part of the board.
Stephen Bettis I have reference him above but he has been the one stable conduit in the change of ownership and remains someone who does get some flak but I think he has done well to remain a calm head and be the consistent day to day leader off the field and now is rewarded, with a place on the board. For a long time, he was the only real visible presence as part of the board. Certainly, the only one based in Sheffield and who is involved seemingly day to day. I think he has a thankless task but often gets hammered when he comes out and says stuff or when he does not. I actually think that compared to other CEO’s/front men we have had; he has been ok to be honest. I know we do impressions of him on the Tufty Club pod but it is very much tongue in cheek. I really do not mind him.
The current directors of both Blades Leisure Ltd, and Sheffield United Football Club Ltd are thus listed as :
- Helmy Eltoukhy
- Steven Rosen
- Joe Russo
- Len Komoroski
- Terry Ahern
- Pejman Nozad
- Stephen Bettis
Carl Shieber, I believe is still there heading up the finances but we do not hear too much of him but he was another that seemed to be around, then leave and come back I think but has remained even with the changes. Dave McCarthy is involved still as Operations Director and we have Paul Fielder, as head of commercial who left for Huddersfield at the end of last season. Fielder was previously with Central Coast Mariners and Blackburn Rovers.
We started the season without a sponsor which was odd as there was talk of a betting company or someone that Abdullah was not happy getting into bed with such a type of business. However, we did get a new sponsor when a cryptocurrency company based in Japan, Maneki was announced as the principal sponsor. The look of the log with a cartoon cat was not the best I have to be honest but fortunately many had bought the sponsor less shirts before this change.
The kits itself were ok – I like the home strip with a nod to former kits from the 90’s and the third one – the cream one also I was a fan of. I was not convinced by the away kit – as they again tried to recreate colours from an early 90’s kit but ended up a bit of a mess I though in its execution. Once again the kits came out way too late again – the sponsor issue might have not helped but other teams have things ready almost by the end of the season and Errea have not delivered in this regard. The deal was signed in 2022 and was announced as multi deal so wonder if it might be up this year (or maybe next?). Be interesting where the new owners go with this area and of course, the sponsorship, as the Maneki deal seemed to be just for this season.
Ticketing is always a discussion point and the arguments on loyalty points rages on although there were a lot of games where people could get tickets early on in the season but then of course as we are going for promotion, it becomes harder. Season tickets went up but remain mostly competitive in terms of prices. I do feel the match day ticket prices (and way they are sold) were crazy and we saw situations where huge games like Leeds were not even sold out due to this. The playoff semi-final prices were way too high but United said the other play-off teams would not let them cap them lower – the gate receipts are shared.
Long serving groundsman; Glenn Nortcliffe and his team have continued to maintain the Desso pitch and now have two more to look after at Shirecliffe with more to come at the new HSBC site – the state of our pitch compared to our city rivals is credit to him/his team. There has been an argument that the Women should not use the pitch but we only had 19 games on it a year so surely it should be able to take more – and think it is great both men and women play here. Whether that continues with the lack of success for the women – we will see.
The club continue to do well with its social media stuff on X/Instagram etc and get the balance right between information, entertainment and humour without being too cocky like some clubs are. Although will have been embarrassed to have been hacked at the end of the season!
Unofficial Club Media
I repeat what I say every year, but also a big shout out at this point to all the unofficial stuff coming out from so many fans. Dem Blades fanzine and online stuff, The Pinch has been doing for a while now, are great reads and some brilliant writers (much better than me!). Also, we have seen some of the art stuff (we have had Arty Bianco and Shoreham Street Magnifique do some great things) has expanded with Marty Griot’s posters becoming a real talking point and feature on home match days.
I love the videos, vlogs and interviews and almost daily content, The Sheff Utd Way, keep putting out there. Even with Hal being abroad they keep bringing stuff out and a huge credit to the work of Hal and InGoodNick and of course Olly who all are brilliant at what they do. Jimmy Ramble has been quite prolific too and now seems to be a full-time gig for him. He even managed to get an interview with the Prince and has content almost every day which is impressive! He too splits opinion – I did not agreed with him ‘going live’ so soon after the Baldock tragedy – but it is good to dip in and out of all the online stuff. I am not sure I could produce/watch that much stuff but is there if you want it. If we had nothing – we would moan and most do it for free too.
Also, the American Blades, Chad and Noah, who contribute with the passionate watch alongs. It would be remiss of me not to mention the untimely passing of Johnny from Shoreham View (I went to his funeral) and still hard to get my head around that he is not around and we won’t see any of his videos anymore – at least any new ones- but it’s great to go back and watch the old ones. Still enjoy the superb podcasts/vlogs too from Blades Pod/4 Blades/Red Half of Sheffield and the stuff Travelling Blades does. All offer great analysis and entertainment. There is the Tufty Club too. I digress! Also, it is fantastic the work Rainbow Blades had done too in trying to make the club and fans more inclusive and credit to the club for recognising them and working with them too. James has rightly won more awards for his work too. Of course, S2 4SU and its moderators/creators continue to do an amazing job also along with posters like Roy and his superb view from. BladesPod also has done some great stuff on the Women’s team.
There really is some great content out there so well done all. I do not really get involved in the bashing of stuff as I say more do it for the love of the club and you can choose who/what you want to listen to, so it really is good to hear/see/watch so much great content and all are different/offer something to fans. Been fortunate enough to meet a lot of them now too and they are all fantastic and great company.
The local press sadly has still struggled in comparison to put much interesting content out in my opinion. It has got worse since Nathan Hemmingham who was one of the better ones is not involved in covering United stopped being used by Yorkshire Live was it? Ditto for Richard Sutcliffe at the Athletic who now writes for Wrexham! The others seem very stale and the likes of Hall/Biggs rarely got any inside scoops or news stories. However, I would say Danny Hall did start to get more stuff (maybe after Abdullah moved on?) and we saw more stories that he broke rather than just repeated stuff he had read/seen on the internet.
Grade C (Last season F): Hard to rate this as we have had two ownerships over the season. Abdullah did back Wilder in the summer despite moving on although there is an argument we were still left light. He also sanctioned the hotel being re-opened and the training ground acquisition but maybe the takeover took way too long and it troubled some he still wanted money (even if not around) if we went up.
The new owners were able to reward Wilder and bring in players to help the promotion push so be interesting where we go now in terms of whether we offload players and/or bring many in and try and go again? It’s nice they have quietly gone about things behind the scenes but maybe I would like more in terms of what they want to achieve and their plans?
Next season
What they do next will of course go a long way to see if this mark goes up or down. I hope they can invest and properly back us – but it’s more the infrastructure off the field (training complex, academy status, ground improvements and a plan to develop a proper strategy in terms of scouting/player recruitment) that I want to see taken on to the next level. We still seem cautious as to their plans and intentions and is very much early doors. Not sure how many really do how much money they actually have and more importantly, how much they will want to invest.
