Yusuf Giansiracusa - "Chairman"

[Shoreham_Bhoys]

I’m glad we had a not a football guy drawing up the “strategic plan” for a football club.

 

[madeinsheffield]

Going back 40 years, I worked for a small, family owned manufacturing plc that bumbled along profitably and unremarkably, with a turnover of about £10m. The family member chairman seemed to use the company as a bit of a cash cow

Gradually however, he surrounded himself with people who understood the business much better than he did and today, that small company has a turnover of £250m and a market value of more than £1 billion.

There’s no direct comparison, but as you say, if we end up with football people running the football and business people steering the ship, that has at least a fair chance of working.

I don’t suppose they’re in a position to buy a football club are they?….

 

[Yogi]

I listened to the hour long presentation and my view of Yusev is positive. No nonsense tells it like it is and doesn’t suffer fools.
At no time did I get impression he doesn’t care about the club.
I like his attitude frankly. Also media comments today have dissed the boards treatment of Slav.
The chairman gave praise and called him and team a class act so misleading portrayal.
Bottom line is the boards 5 yr plan means promoting youth year 1 and promotion yr 2 without spending big money. Then if promotion years 3 -5 means premier money bankrolls higher spending and academy.
Slav year 1 in January wanted money for 3 players so prob £30m so immediate fall out and Slav has made his feelings clear.

The issue is this is clearly the second iteration of the plan. The initial iteration involved appointing an expensive manager and you would assume appropriately backing him 4 months later we have a new plan. I’m not necessarily against that as plan a wasn’t working but there’s no guarantee we see year 2 of this plan. Ultimately it’ll be shown in time and it’s all done bar the shouting now hecky has my full support and I hope he and his team do well.

I’d believe a lot more in the commit the board has to the plan once they break ground on the long promised but so far undelivered infrastructure improvements.

 

[Charlieblade]

I think that we all know, and are obliged to accept that today, football clubs are managed as a business. That generally means the football club cannot be allowed to spend money that we don’t have.
Appointing a group of football management knowledge and experience therefore makes sense in the present climate. Be thankful we are not controlled by business managers who have leveraged the clubs name for profit. (Man United).

The 3 guys appointed by the board have the knowledge and experience to run the football side of the business without overspending.

We are not a giant football club, we are a small outfit, sensibly managed within its means. The new football management team can have no doubt about their place in the scheme of things going forward. PH has managed the young players well, and seems to be cautious in his approach to blooding specific youth players who he trusted.

Now he has complete autonomy in his selection process, based on the knowledge that youth has to be integrated into an aging side, and still get the tactics, formation and results right.

They deserve some patience from the fan base for taking on such a huge task. Anything else is not possible without investment.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Ask McCabe's lawyers if the present chairman is good at his job . Might be a odious tool but he knows HIS job

International respected lawyer criticised by people with even less experience than he has as Chairman of a football club. He may have none whatsoever but has experience of big business. Unlike 99% of the experts on here, some of whom worry about getting a pint at half time.

 

[Keen Blade]

A chairman doesn’t need to be an expert in HR or genius R&D engineer. He needs to be a good leader and able to lay the foundations so an organisation can flourish. Far too much stock in football is placed on whether or not someone can recite scores from the 1984 European Cup Quarter Finals. If an organisation has turned over £400m over 4 years, you need someone that knows business principles, and get those in place that know football.

So he's failed thus far eh ?
Wilder allowed to fuck the club's finances up.
Recruited expensive Slav when no startegic plan in place.
Spent the January money paying off Slav.
Meaning he's promoted the U23 manager (who didn't want the job 6 months ago).
A feckin shambles.
No wonder Le Petit Prince has fucked off out of sight after his Blades Way interview.
Yusuf & Bettis are about the most unimpressive feckers I've ever seen.
What a frighteningly dull & unitelligible press conference.
Almost as bad as the frighteningly dull & unintelligible local journos.
Who couldn't cross-examine their way out of a wet paper bag.
Sheffield United in all its glory.
No one watching that 1hr 9mins of utter bollocks would EVER buy us.
We are truly fucked.

 

[Keen Blade]

I must have watched a different conference then. I saw a discussion about running the club sustainably, investing in facilities and youth, structuring the club correctly and operating to a unified strategic plan. Y’know, like all successful businesses do…

where the fuck have you been for the last 2 years ?
they are supposed to have been doing this since the Prince gained ownership
and in that time the club has fallen off a feckin cliff !!
having not one jot of tangible benefit from the £250m which has slipped through its fingers

 

[Keen Blade]

I listened to the hour long presentation and my view of Yusev is positive. No nonsense tells it like it is and doesn’t suffer fools.
At no time did I get impression he doesn’t care about the club.
I like his attitude frankly. Also media comments today have dissed the boards treatment of Slav.
The chairman gave praise and called him and team a class act so misleading portrayal.
Bottom line is the boards 5 yr plan means promoting youth year 1 and promotion yr 2 without spending big money. Then if promotion years 3 -5 means premier money bankrolls higher spending and academy.
Slav year 1 in January wanted money for 3 players so prob £30m so immediate fall out and Slav has made his feelings clear.

calling Slav a class act is hardly credible after sacking him 4 short months into an expensive 3 year contract !

why the fuck did you painstakingly recruit him after such a long process if your long term plan (formulated only 5 minutes later) led in a totally different direction ?
You might be a decent lawyer/mouthpiece for the absent Prince but I woudn't trust you to sit the right way round on a toilet.
you're a bullshitting bumbling idiot and you've chucked away my beloved club's money and its best chance of long term success in my lifetime
sell the Lane for student flats and put me out of my misery

 

[Keen Blade]

International respected lawyer criticised by people with even less experience than he has as Chairman of a football club. He may have none whatsoever but has experience of big business. Unlike 99% of the experts on here, some of whom worry about getting a pint at half time.

This club , amongst its many failings , can't even serve me a pint at half-time , which is nothing to be proud of.

If it can't do that , I don't see us building a Cat 1 Academy , if Bettis' weasely promises are the best we can get.

 

[A Storm of Blades]

where the fuck have you been for the last 2 years ?
they are supposed to have been doing this since the Prince gained ownership
and in that time the club has fallen off a feckin cliff !!
having not one jot of tangible benefit from the £250m which has slipped through its fingers

He clearly says the strategic plan has been in development for over a year and is now ready to be deployed. I’ve been involved in a few business redevelopment strategies and the good ones:
a) take ages.
b) never stay still.

 

[A Storm of Blades]

So he's failed thus far eh ?
Wilder allowed to fuck the club's finances up.
Recruited expensive Slav when no startegic plan in place.
Spent the January money paying off Slav.
Meaning he's promoted the U23 manager (who didn't want the job 6 months ago).
A feckin shambles.
No wonder Le Petit Prince has fucked off out of sight after his Blades Way interview.
Yusuf & Bettis are about the most unimpressive feckers I've ever seen.
What a frighteningly dull & unitelligible press conference.
Almost as bad as the frighteningly dull & unintelligible local journos.
Who couldn't cross-examine their way out of a wet paper bag.
Sheffield United in all its glory.
No one watching that 1hr 9mins of utter bollocks would EVER buy us.
We are truly fucked.

I mean, if you listen - he answered a lot of that. Sorry if I’m not outraged enough when I hear a sensible approach to running a business.

 

[A Storm of Blades]

Don't buy this at all. You've got people who know FA about football deciding who should be the manager. And they're deciding what his reach should be, what the first team needs. You've had 2 managers call them out for getting it wrong and damaging the football side in turn.
If the football side isn't right the turnover drops very very quickly.

Does the CEO of Netflix need to be a Dr Who nerd or be able to recite every line of Star Wars? Or, is it likely that their job is to get great people into post and give them resources to utilise their talents?

 

[Rodley]

I mean, if you listen - he answered a lot of that. Sorry if I’m not outraged enough when I hear a sensible approach to running a business.

It was meaningless management waffle. The efficacy of the strategy has already been proven not to work on numerous occasions, not least at BDTBL. Not spending on the first team squad and relying on the inconsistent and sporadic flow of youngsters does not lead to success on the pitch. End of.

One thing the punters can recognise at SUFC is a “strategy” ripe for slow, steady decline. You don’t need an MBA to do so.

 

[A Storm of Blades]

We’ll I watched a different one to you in which I heard the following statements….

“SJ was appointed before they had a written a strategic plan. When they'd written it he wasn't part of the plan!!”

And

“The new manager won't be judged on results on the pitch” And even if that could make any sense, Bettis had said in the official statement that results weren't good enough and that's why Slav was sacked.

Sounds like a really successfully run business -

He provided almost direct answers addressing that, which you seem to have omitted. Ok, you’ve decided to be outraged and shape the narrative to justify it.

 

[Hague Blade]

I don’t know how good a lawyer he is (Jones Day certainly out manoeuvred McCabe) but he strikes me as utterly unsuited to doing the job he’s doing now.

Lawyers shouldn’t dabble like this IMHO.

I don’t disagree with that. From memory, his Chambers entry said something like “Clients say he’s a very good technical lawyer” which to me carries the unspoken subtext “…but it’s a shame he’s a bit of a prick”

 

[Muttley]

He came across appallingly today. This guy, a relatively unknown solicitor in the Middle East, who by his own admission "isn't a football guy" is head of Board at our club. Imagine being Wilder or Slav and having to take direction from that clown?

 

[A Storm of Blades]

It was meaningless management waffle. The efficacy of the strategy has already been proven not to work on numerous occasions, not least at BDTBL. Not spending on the first team squad and relying on the inconsistent and sporadic flow of youngsters does not lead to success on the pitch. End of.

One thing the punters can recognise at SUFC is a “strategy” ripe for slow, steady decline. You don’t need an MBA to do so.

Well, yes of course. Even mildly complex business strategies that have to be made palliative for the general public, can easily be dismissed as ‘meaningless management waffle’. I’ve been developing a Category Plan this year with Kraljic Matrices, Porters Five Forces, Forcefield Analysis etc. Are they vital tools and models for planning? Yes. Would they seem completely ridiculous in a press conference? Yes.

 

[A Storm of Blades]

Kruger Dunning Effect in full force on the forum…

 

[Rodley]

Well, yes of course. Even mildly complex business strategies that have to be made palliative for the general public, can easily be dismissed as ‘meaningless management waffle’. I’ve been developing a Category Plan this year with Kraljic Matrices, Porters Five Forces, Forcefield Analysis etc. Are they vital tools and models for planning? Yes. Would they seem completely ridiculous in a press conference? Yes.

Not spending transfer money and relying solely on the youngsters doesn’t work. The United World thing hasn’t worked. The efficacy of both strategies is proven to fail. The rest of it was flannel.

 

[Houston_Blade]

He’s very typical of businessmen in the gulf region, his view is right and any weakness can’t be shown. I’ve dealt with a lot of this type of person and it’s a prevalent behavioural trait of the Arabic world.

Whether it’s bullshit and bluster or he actually knows what he’s on about remains to be seen.

 

[A Storm of Blades]

Don't buy this at all. You've got people who know FA about football deciding who should be the manager. And they're deciding what his reach should be, what the first team needs. You've had 2 managers call them out for getting it wrong and damaging the football side in turn.
If the football side isn't right the turnover drops very very quickly.

So, by that logic you wouldn’t want Warren Buffet, Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk buying us then?

“Thank you for your offer to buy the club gentlemen, I can see account statements showing your combine wealth totalling approx. $1 trillion. That just leaves one last thing before we complete the transaction… Can you tell me who scored the winning goal for Wimbledon in the 1988 FA Cup Final?”

 

[Rodley]

He’s very typical of businessmen in the gulf region, his view is right and any weakness can’t be shown. I’ve dealt with a lot of this type of person and it’s a prevalent behavioural trait of the Arabic world.

Whether it’s bullshit and bluster or he actually knows what he’s on about remains to be seen.

I struggle to retain any hope that (of all the clubs in all the world) our crack team have solved the riddle of delivering a sustainable and successful football model, when we couldn’t get all the turnstiles working for the first match of the season.

 

[A Storm of Blades]

Not spending transfer money and relying solely on the youngsters doesn’t work. The United World thing hasn’t worked. The efficacy of both strategies is proven to fail. The rest of it was flannel.

With respect, I’m not sure that’s what he said.

 

[S64 Blade]

I’m not too bothered about him not being a football man. As others have said, it’s not overly relevant for his role as Chairman.

However, I do have an issue with the utter contempt and seeming lack of awareness that he demonstrated. These are not good leadership qualities for someone whose role it is, to hold those to account who are employed to deliver the strategy of the club.

 

[Rodley]

I’m not too bothered about him not being a football man. As others have said, it’s not overly relevant for his role as Chairman.

However, I do have an issue with the utter contempt and seeming lack of awareness that he demonstrated. These are not good leadership qualities for someone whose role it is, to hold those to account who are employed to deliver the strategy of the club.

It’s largely immaterial whether he’s a football man or not. But the whole thing was a mess.

 

[Blade56]

As things stand I really do see us on a slippery slope to nothingness. Also potentially sleepwalking into relegation either this season or next. There will be no more investment from PA as he looks to operate us on a shoe string until he finds a buyer for United World.

Well I’m going to stick my neck out here and give our “chairman” some credit.

We have been fed a diatribe of lies and half truths for years by owners and club officials. The owner Prince massive C**T couldn’t be arsed to show his face by Zoom. However, this guy was refreshing coming out and saying he doesnt care about Sheffield or the club and that they are all feckin off and letting the cheapest option manager to turn the lights of when it’s all over.

We always wanted the owner / chairman to be honest with the fans, well, this is what the medicine tastes like.

 

[S64 Blade]

It’s largely immaterial whether he’s a football man or not. But the whole thing was a mess.

It then begs the question how the club act when dealing with other clubs on transfers, or with potential investors, or with suppliers etc.

If a simple press conference that’s without much challenge ends up antagonising fans, I dread to think about situations which may require a little more agility.

 

[Blade56]

International respected lawyer criticised by people with even less experience than he has as Chairman of a football club. He may have none whatsoever but has experience of big business. Unlike 99% of the experts on here, some of whom worry about getting a pint at half time.

Our best hope is the Football Regulator is set up quick and fans are given a golden ticket to be involved with the running of the club. Then we will be able to get a timely pie and pint at half time along with the other 1,500 fans at the game.

Ill give the owners some credit, they came with good intention (football and profit), fought against the odds while their partners tried to shaft them and take their munneh, got us within a hairs width of the big time but then, epic fail.

 

[Rodley]

With respect, I’m not sure that’s what he said.

"The plan should not be 'fresh blood' or 'new bodies' in the coming window. We will not work this way. We will work with the manager and the team on a longer term plan and promoting players + staff from within.”

 

[Bookers Mullet]

I'm not an expert on running a business, but I'd have thought not antagonising your customer base was quite high on the list of good things to do?

Surely he could have said "I'm a man of business not football and I'm not from the area so I don't understand the ethos of the club, which is why we've appointed three men who have these qualities in abundance, so that I can concentrate on running the business side of things, knowing that football side is in more than capable hands"

Says pretty much the same thing without making him sound like an uncaring bell end