Post by deadbat on Jul 28, 2020 13:08:52 GMT
2019/20 SUFC SEAON REVIEW / SCHOOL REPORT
Rest of week will be posted as below
Wednesday – Part 3 Goalkeepers
Thursday – Part 4 Defence
Friday – Part 5 Midfield
Saturday – Part 6 Attack
Sunday – Part 7 Final awards / Conclusions
Staff report
Board / Club
When I wrote this article last year; the court case was about to get under way over the summer months and the effective control of Sheffield United would be decided in a court room in London. Billed as Kevin McCabe Sheffield United Ltd (SUL) versus Prince HRH Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his UTB group. It had become increasingly obvious that McCabe had tried to manipulate the situation some time before it came to solicitors and the court room being required. In affect he called Abdullah’s bluff in terms of trying to wrest back full control but Abdullah would not be lowballed and served a counter offer for the club. This meant it went to court to see who would gain control with no prospect of these men every working together. As Justice Fancourt stated, Kevin McCabe ‘accordingly took the risk that UTB would serve a counternotice, but he undoubtedly believed that if it did so SUL would be paid £5 million for its shares and the Scarborough Group would be entitled to receive another £40 million or so within a year for the property assets’
I had said before the case started in my notes last year that:
‘’We will wait to see what happens in the court hearing in May – my concern reading between the lines is that HRH may enough to force through a verdict to get control from the bits and pieces I have seen and understand. I am sure McCabe then may appeal and on it goes.’’
It seems I may have right….I digress and go back to last summer before we come to where we are now.
Over the dates of 13-17 May, 20-24 May, 4, 5, 7, 10-13, 18, 19 June 2019; United’s dirty washing was once again aired in public. There was evidence given from both sides, McCabe’s ‘ways’ in doing business did not come out very positively at all and as the case went on. Justice Fancourt stated of McCabe in his findings that; ‘he gave every impression of there being little in the way of truth or objective fact that differed from his own understanding or opinion.’
There was talk of Bin Laden family loans being used by the other side (to be honest the size of the Bin Laden family and any kind of research into them made this a non story but it did get some traction in the tabloids of course). Some seemed to give better account than others with one of McCabe’s aids, Jeremy Tutton, giving to quote Justice Fancourt, ‘an extraordinary performance in the witness box. He was extremely nervous and uncertain in much of the evidence that he gave, and eager to blame others for things that had gone wrong and absolve himself from responsibility. I regret to say that I consider that some of the evidence that he gave in his witness statements, particularly in relation to the Charwell loan, was a fabrication.
No-one seemed to know which side the courts would come down as it seemed both sides had been given a going over but it seemed McCabe and his side had maybe not helped themselves in how they presented at all, alongside the evidence they were scrutinising also.
Eventually on the 16th September the court returned to deliver its findings and Mr Justice Fancourt ruled Mr McCabe must now sell his stake to Prince Abdullah for £5m. The judge ruled the contract of sale and purchase of Sheffield United Ltd's shares could not be set aside. The judge said UTB LLC would also have to buy the club's property assets from Sheffield United Ltd. This includes the Bramall Lane stadium and the Sheffield United hotel. In a statement issued after the ruling, a spokesman for Mr McCabe said: "He has supported Sheffield United through thick and thin going back to the 1950s and wishes nothing more than success for the club, its supporters and the many staff employed by it.
"Mr McCabe sincerely hopes that he is proved wrong in relation to his deep misgivings about the suitability of Prince Abdullah as an appropriate custodian of Sheffield United."
"No owner, director, coach or player is bigger than the club but together with the fans, we all share the common desire to make the club ever greater," he said.
Sheffield United released a statement saying the judgement "brings an end to the uncertainty over Sheffield United's future ownership and allows us to focus our full attention on the season ahead".
The website now says even to this day: Sheffield United Football Club Ltd is directly owned by Blades Leisure Limited. Blades Leisure Ltd is owned by UTB LLC, and UTB 2018 LLC, companies who are 100% owned by H.R.H. Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Riyadh.
The operations of Blades Leisure Ltd are focused on professional footballing activities and the operation of sports stadium. Other interests within the group include stewarding services and commercial gym operations.
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If you have a spare week (once you have wasted days reading my stuff) then go to below for the full court case notes…138 pages but some good stuff in there amongst the court/financial jargon and some interesting characterisation of some of the leading characters involved in the case/dispute.
www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2019-09-16_Sheffield-United_Approved-Judgment.pdf
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Events after the hearing were interesting to say the least as McCabe refused to take it lying down and talked about an appeal – he also used the hotel to hold a meeting with shareholders/fans I think before the Liverpool game but not sure many actually attended. We had an odd banner erected (not sure by whom) thanking him for his service for the club.
Abdullah kept his council initially just saying he was pleased with the verdict but over the next few days and weeks, as I and many others had asked for, he became more vocal and prominent. He was around the club a lot in the weeks that followed and started attending games and was seen and interviewed at the game v Man Utd (when Wilder’s contract was improved again) and the Arsenal game a few weeks before this. His son Prince Musaad bin Khalid bin Musaad Al Saud was named as Chairman and his father stated he would move over here with his wife.
Of course, all those with McCabe links had to move on and we saw few murmurs even from the likes of Tony Currie (who had been on the board) but even he still seems to be around in some capacity. Scott and Simon his sons who had bounced on and off the board of course moved on. There was some talk McCabe was banned from attending but not sure how that is true or fi he simply said this to curry more favour. This was incidentally dwindling fast. He then of course appealed and this was turned down in January and you thought that would be the end but no of course it wasn’t and isn’t!
The deal to be completed for the remainder of the property was now not going ahead at this time as in affect McCabe and his property group seem to want more money and have again changed the goalposts. There were claims from the club that McCabe’s Scarborough group had tried to discredit them saying that the ground could be sold for housing. It also stated that due to McCabe’s actions they could not acquire the hotel and develop the Kop (Scarborough own this land and talked about still building student flats but were compelled to sell it as instructed in court). It seems it a final attempt for McCabe to put up more barriers and/or gain more funds. I might be wrong but that is how it appears. McCabe did a lot of good things for United but he also made many mistakes. Ultimately it was his decision to bring Abdullah in and his decision to have the clause in the deal for each party to buy each other out. He has no one to blame but himself. He is not exactly skint but it is sad that someone who often uses the phrase, ‘Hey, there’s no bigger Blade than me!’ is proving that is far from the case as it is all about him and his family as perhaps been the case quite a lot in the latter years of his reign. I don’t blame him for wanting to look after himself and his money but the way he has gone about it and rather publicly has meant his reputation will never be repaired from the Blades fans. A sad way for him to bow out when he eventually does.
However, in early July United announced the repurchase of Bramall Lane along with their Shirecliffe training facility and a number of other key assets.
The verdict allowed the Prince to purchase the freehold of the stadium (together with the long leasehold interests in the Copthorne Hotel and Enterprise Centre), plus Shirecliffe Academy, the Junior Development Centre at Crookes and certain parcels of land within the 'Bramall Lane footprint'. It was not clear if the hotel would be reopened and/or if this included the land at the back of the Kop. There was a statement that said there would be more good news soon but as yet not sure if that was around this land at the back of the Kop, a new training ground or something else?
Prince Abdullah added: "When I assumed sole ownership of the club nine months ago, I committed myself to preserving the club's heritage, upgrading the club's physical assets and improving the fan experience.
As we sit now, we have to say we can be nothing but impressed with what Abdullah and his associates have done. He has tied Wilder down, clearly has a close ally in Bettis (as the court case showed when I felt it might have been the opposite – Bettis linked more to McCabe – when it started) and has really backed the club. We have broken our transfer record 4 times and the signing of Berge for over 20 million was a sit up and take notice job. He is more involved but does not interfere and still overseeing things from afar but you see him in more meetings (the mid-season break to Abu Dhabi an example) and you get a sense it is his vision now being filtered down which in affect is leave to Wilder and they will do the other stuff off the field. Little things like the announcement on season tickets (refund or money off) for next season and saying it is all about the fans have further endeared him. So far, he has been perfect in the sense he has backed the manager, kept him happy and seemingly that little uncertainty of their relationship (I always sense Wilder was more a McCabe man) has gone away and now they seem pretty harmonious when you see them or hear things. Things could change but so far, we have not had any interference, he has not tried anything about the fabric of the club and has listened to those that know the club.
There is still work to be done in terms of the ground development (the Kop and/or South Stand extension) but there does not have to be a great rush for this but if we do establish ourselves long term as a Premier League club then would be surely expediated – to increase capacity, crowds and revenue. We also need to improve the training ground or ideally move to a brand new one. He seems to want to sever all links from the McCabe era in the sense he stopped the Women playing out of the Legacy Park and you feel he would want to help us into a brand new state of the art training facility and maybe small ground where the Academy and the Women could play as well as new building and facilities for the first team. We saw rumours of them looking at ground in Norton near the old Aerodrome site so hopefully we may hear news soon. The current one is not going to help attract players and maybe the worst in the top division so good news about the expansion at Shirecliffe but wonder if they may still eventually move some of the operation or all of it?
We saw news recently about plans to improve the first team operation with a new building to be put in at Shirecliffe with a new two-storey building, which will be comprised of a gym, training area, physiotherapy and hydrotherapy zones, as well as office facilities. The new training centre will be built on the current Shirecliffe site. The structure will sit between the two existing buildings, on the perimeter of the current first team training pitches. Planned features of United's first team training facility include:
• Brand new elite bespoke changing facilities for first team players, including heat therapy and relaxation areas
• Purpose built performance gym including heat/altitude training chambers
• Enhanced medical and kit management facilities
• Panoramic views of the training ground and facilities
• Team meeting rooms
• State-of-the-art restaurant and club lounge for players
• Improved office space for all first team management and staff
Linked to that we need to improve the academy and see if we can develop this side – I will allude to that more in this article but it has not progressed in recent years and the staff turnover and lack of production of players at any level (not just United) in the last 5 years has to be a concern after the huge successes previously.
The rest of the board with McCabe’s family and associates gone is all from Abdullah’s contingent – although of course Bettis and Shieber are there too who maybe were not necessarily part of either group but remain as holdovers. The current board is listed as:
Yusuf Giansiracusa (Assistant Chairman)
Jan Van Winckel
H.H. Prince Musa'ad bin Khalid Al Saud (Chairman)
Princess Reem Bint Abdullah Al Saud
Abdullah Alghamdi
H.H. Prince Musa'ad bin Khalid Al Saud (Chairman) is of course Abdullah’s son. A quick look on Wikipedia and you can find out a bit more about him! He is only 27 which is very young for a Football Chairman but he has packed a lot into his young life. Musa’ad holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a major in Project Management from Al Faisal University. He speaks Arabic, English, and Italian. In 2010, Musa’ad established a leading football academy focusing on the development of youth players. It was also used as a training facility for other football teams in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and then became the President of the General Sports Authority in Saudi Arabia.In 2016, Musa’ad joined Ernst & Young. He held three positions during his time there: Consultant, Senior Consultant in Strategy & Customer, and EY's Sport & Entertainment Sector Manager at EY MENA Advisory Services. He is also director of K Beerschot VA. This is the club in Belgium which the Prince has ownership in and is quite involved seemingly.
Yusuf Giansiracusa. He seems more of an advisor than a ‘money man’. Specialising in representing clients and commercial and corporate transactions but he was a key man at the court case and often is seen with Abdullah and in the meetings with Wilder. He seems like very much a key aide for the Prince.
Jan Van Wincklel has been here a while now but we don’t actually know what he does. Van Winckel, who holds a UEFA Pro License was a technical expert for FIFA and led the Saudi Arabian football team, as chairman of the technical committee, to the World Cup in Russia. He also held several coaching jobs and was for several years the assistant manager to Marcelo Bielsa at Olympique de Marseille in France. He still is here but publicly saying little and you still get a feeling Wilder would prefer for there to be no involvement but that could be just my take on the situation. He seems to be involved in meetings and conference calls and maybe the Verrips and Berge signing; he might have had some influence on and I am being a bit harsh.
Princess Reem Bint Abdullah Al Saud I believe is the chairman’s wife? We don’t hear much from her or what her role is?
Abdullah Alghamadi – works for a company called Amos holdings and is group CEO where Abdullah’s son also has a role. Alghamadi is Group CEO. He is listed also as a Financial and Investment Advisor aswell as being a Sheffield United Board member and a Beerschot board member.
Carl Shieber oversees player contract negotiations still I believe and Wilder has alluded to his role being important. His actual title is head of football administration.
Stephen Bettis came back as chief executive and this seemed an underrated move when Wilder remained last summer as seems a big fan of Bettis and seems to be an important cog. He seems very much a favourite of Abdullah reading the court case but more importantly Wilder always speaks highly of him and they seem close both professionally and personally. He does seem a key figure and real conduit between the Prince and the board and the management/playing side.
Dave McCarthy is involved still as Operations Director and we also have Paul Reeves as the head of marketing. We got a sponsorship deal with USG which was for three years and was reported to be the biggest we have ever had. It probably is ironic we could smash that deal with other bigger companies now due to how well we have done and the exposure we had. It seems they are in trouble in Australia in terms of financial issues but have different arms to the operation worldwide so be interesting to see what happens.
As for Adidas, we still have a few more years to run. I liked the kits they have produced and last years were really good but not as convinced by the new ones for the next season (especially the pink one) which seem a drop off from this years – in my opinion. The stuff in the shop is expensive but much better quality than we had smaller companies.
In terms of the ticketing/fans experience, I had personal experience of them bungling things up with the movement of certain season ticket holders and how it was done but I have moved on! Literally! I think overall the ticket office do a good job. There are a lot of arguments about loyalty points and maybe they might need to make some tweaks but not sure they can change much. I said there could be an argument to rotate a bit so people get chance to new grounds but those that have lots of points will want to go to every game so it is hard and will argue they deserve to. It does feel a bit closed shop and you see the same 2,000 faces (along with those tickets people have given out etc!) at grounds and some of the younger element do find it hard to catch up (will I ever be able to take my son to the big away games for instance) but as I say not sure how they resolve it. No system is perfect. I am fortunate I can get to a ticket to every game almost but I do have sympathy with some fans who are say 30,000 points or around and still cannot get.
I think they made a mess of the opening games restricting the number of points and general sale and making it very hard to get tickets especially when there were seats free. Slowly they seemed to iron this out and most weeks it was nearly full but with not much marketing and common sense we should not have had an empty seat all season really so they missed a trick somewhere. To hear of fans turning up a few days before the game and not being able to get tickets was a nonsense – sure a few may be rival fans but so what – it’s not like a 1,000 fans of Southampton or Leicester were going to go in the home ends?
Be interesting to see how the virus affects re-sales as some people might not be in a position to go or with social distancing still in place if we can go back from October; then how they will rotate the seats around be a challenge. Think it is fair to say with 20,000+ season ticket holders and talk of 10-12,000; all of us will miss some games and it will probably be rotated around. Not sure it should be done on loyalty points as it would be a closed shop – think all season ticket holders of the previous season should get chance to go and it be changed each week. The club made a great gesture with refunds if fans want it or towards the cost off next years and trying to keep the price the same. This was excellent and was rightly praised.
I have to also make comment on the excellent work the social media team have done. Some of the videos and marketing stuff has been sensational and real tear jerkers at times! They have taken this side of the club seriously and we look a lot more professional than the amateurish set up what he had before. The pods they do are good (not as good as the unofficial ones – thumbs up to the superb Blades Pod/4 Blades in a Pub) and they keep you informed on all news/developments. They are superb at what they do and righty have been nominated for awards.
As an aside the long serving groundsman; Glenn Nortcliffe and his team have continued to maintain an excellent pitch. Even with some tricky weather; it looks fine and to see it almost perfect by the season end is testament to why it was important to get the Desso. It was good they took time to do work when we had the lockdown too which will help for a quicker turnaround. It does feel great to walk into the Lane whether it be August, December or March and it look fantastic. Even a few months into the season, the pitch barely looks played on.
Grade B+ -They have backed Wilder and seemingly kept him happy/tied down but provided him with funds. The McBurnie and Berge signings were big landmarks in our recent history. They lost marks as a department due to all the off field stuff which carries on even to this date. I also think the training ground needs to be massively upgraded or a new one secured. The ground (Kop) still needs work but this will take some time with McCabe throwing spanners in the work of course (Last season C)
Next season
There are so many positive things at the club from the board and the people behind the scenes and we are investing on and off the field. To me the priority has to be still keeping Wilder happy and backing him – if we continue to be successful on the field; the other things will swing into action and happen due to the success and the funds it will bring from many areas (TV, sponsorship etc). I do wonder whether the Prince may look to bring more investment in if he does not quite have the funds to compete with the real big hitters (don’t mean Man City but others). We do need to improve the training ground and the academy needs to develop in terms of its production line. Good to see we are making strides with that. Longer term the stadium and the Kop will need doing but for me we are only just getting the near capacity grounds. Another year of establishing ourselves and we can turn to needing better facilities and maybe a bigger ground. We are not at that stage yet and the virus has really pushed anything back as we have to wait to see what income we can get from fans as it may not be the same for a period.
Managerial team/Coaches/Academy
Chris Wilder Had signed a new contract on the 9th July (three years) but then got improved terms not long after this in the November (just before the Man Utd game) which took him up to 2024. It seemed the board were rightly quick to tie him down even longer and to reward him. I recall an interview with Prince Abdullah where he discussed how important he is to Neville/Carragher on Sky TV. Hopefully, he will be here for a very long time.
This section my words cannot do justice to what he has done to the club, for the team and the fans. Other coaching staff, players, backroom staff have certainly had major parts but he is the focal point and the leader of everything that has happened. He has been fantastic to the club and you cannot say enough what he has done for the club, team, players he has brought in/brought on and for the fans. He has basically completely transformed the club. In turn we are now liked by national and international football fans and media. Yes, a few still have a pop but these are simply wide of the mark and these opinions have become less and less. The evidence is irrefutable.
He is so presentable and likeable (yes, a few Wednesday fans may talk of his remarks about them or the way he is but even they have to grudgingly admit what a fantastic job he has done -they can’t say anything else). He always fronts up to the media and is funny, honest and self-depreciating too. He never gets ahead of himself and whilst confident, is not cocky or arrogant.
His post match interviews remain very honest. He will say it like it is. He has at times occasionally even criticised an individual or the team a few times (Liverpool at home with Henderson or Liverpool away for the team) but less so this season and maybe kept things in house more and generally praises a ‘great group.’ That was until his Leicester rant which reminded me of Hull a few years ago! To be fair he has not had to criticise them much anyway as they do everything, he asks them to do. Often, he says exactly what most fans are thinking. He maybe has been questioned for throwing them under the bus a bit but that is his style and earned the right to say what he wants pretty much.
He has embraced the challenge of going up against top level managers and was right in the mix for manager of the year until we maybe fell off a bit towards the end. It was always going to be hard to keep the momentum going and the break did not help us but then we seemed to get going and he outcoached some big clubs/managers but we just ran out of steam. At the end even he could not criticise too much as saw the players were doing their best but could not just keep to what they had done. We did fall away and it clearly rankled as he talked of us going to the summer as losers when in reality even he knew that was not the case.
In terms of analysing the whole season though for the most part we have continued to attack teams and not gone away from our approach with the wing backs, overloads and desire to move the ball about. At times we have had to reign it in a bit and was brave to change the midfield 3 moving away from a 10 with Lundstram coming in. The next challenge maybe to look at having a different plan when teams press Norwood, stop the overloads or pin the centre backs back with quicker strikers.
His signings have been on the whole decent but he will want more from them and any more prospective signings. None that came in have been spectacular but decent and with the prospect of improving. Maybe he might have wanted more out of a few – Freeman and Robinson but they have made those in the team play better with the improved competition. Mousset and Mcburnie both have had great spells mixed in with some ok performances but the strikers were rotated around anyway. The lads brought in January were not able to quite find their feet but Berge especially I hope will come good and one for the future no doubt.
The biggest thing for me though is that spine of the team have continued to grow and perform. He has given them the belief and freedom they can play at this level and do very well. I was not sure about the wing backs higher up, Basham I did not think could do what he has, Egan I worried about a bit with the better strikers and O’Connell the same. All have been brilliant. Norwood had been quickly jettisoned when he got to this level before but has shown he can play her using his strength’s and not worrying about what he cannot do. Lundstram was superb, especially to start the season and shocked all of us but proved why Wilder kept him and had signed him originally. Fleck has got better and better also and now is one of the better midfielders at this level – that is not an exaggeration. The strikers have been rotated and whilst McGoldrick found goals hard to come by, he contributed still with some fantastic team displays. Sharp was written off again but came back with goals and performances at times.
Overall, the application, ethic and consistency has been outstanding. The team spirit that comes from him (and so many captain types, not just Billy) is old school but he seems to take on new methods and his tactics and how we go about things proves that.
He has massively given us our club back and the way we play, the way the manager/players care, the connection has never been greater between the fans and the players. Still above that we have to play good football and win games and for the most part he has done that. Gradually bit by bit he keeps improving us and in four years we have progressed massively every single season. It has been a remarkable turnaround. To get us from League One to the Premier League and then on the brink of Europe in this time is astounding in today’s finance dominated football world when we have in real terms not had the same backing and financial acumen as may others.
I am actually dreading the day he leaves, either to go onto better things or feels if the board situation is not resolved he cannot push us much higher but hope he gives us another couple of years at least no matter what as there is no reason, we cannot keep progressing. They often say the second season is the toughest but he will thrive on the challenge. Every year many (including our own fans write us off) and whilst it will be hard to match this season positionally and performance wise, he will drive the team to just do that. If he sets his standards high then the team always follows. There will be no talk of just staying up again and this expectation and pressure he seems to thrive on and the players likewise.
For me, he is the heartbeat of this club. No manager, player, official is bigger than the club and ever will be and he knows that but at the moment he embodies and represents everything we love about Sheffield United. He has been simply fantastic and now is right up there with Dave Bassett as the best manager we have ever had in my lifetime.
Grade A (Last season A+) – if we had made Europe it would have been A+
Alan Knill continued as Wilder’s trusty aide. His work goes under the radar somewhat but is crucial to our success in terms of planning, the tactical side, set plays and shape. He seems the sort that actually would not want to be a manager and seems happy with his lot as a number 2 allowing Wilder to take the good and the bad. Seems a really quiet, unassuming sort but the players seem to respect him massively. He seems to have quietly relished working at the higher level and against better teams. You do see him taking a lot of the training/shape sessions with Wilder overseeing and he is a massive part of what we do. This small paragraph does not do him justice but he needs that recognition really and is often never mentioned when nationally United are praised for what they have done. Wilder knows how important he is and so do we and I think he appreciates that from time to time we give him a chant/wave etc.
Matt Prestridge is the least known of the three main coaches but his work on the fitness and planning cannot be underestimated. Our injury record has actually been stellar over the last few years with very few long-term injuries and he has meant even older (say that they are not ancient) players like McGoldrick, Basham and Sharp have stayed fit. I as concerned at this level that the super fit athletes and physical specimens would show us up but it never happened. Rarely did a team look fitter. Maybe they had individuals with more pace and athleticism but even that did not see us losing games really – the likes of Traore for Wolves or Vardy at Leicester (pace and strength) or Mane/De Bruyne or Aguero (ability) hurt us but they hurt other teams and it was not down to them being more conditioned really. In terms of the affect the lockdown had many thought we would come back raring to go due to our outstanding fitness record but then we started to pick up injuries (O’Connell and Fleck) even if they were more impact and the fitness seemed to be nowhere near the levels we expected when we started but maybe the number of games affected lots of club as not many teams were consistent (even the clubs like Liverpool and Man City). Will be interesting how he deals with another shortened break. The players need a rest of course but it is not like normal close seasons and less time to recover and then get going again.
Darren Ward continues to coach the keepers and continues to help with the development of the fantastic Dean Henderson. Deano seems to really value Ward and his work. Moore seems happy to be part of the group and is a really good pro (see below). Verrips we only saw a glimpse of against Fylde so we will wait and see if he can be pushed on. A lot depends on what we do with Henderson or sign another keeper but maybe Verrips could have some time out on loan as needs to get used to the pace of English football. We have not quite seen the progression with Eastwood perhaps we hoped. Apparently he had a lot to do with the signing of Foderingham so will wait to see how he pans out but see him as a backup. Ward seems quite a part of the matchday things and not just the goalkeeping side. Wilder sees him as important part of things. Will hope he can work with Henderson another year moving forward.
Academy / Development side
Travis Binnion left the club at the start of the previous season (believe he is with his old friend Nick Cox at Manchester United as u14-16 lead coach) and in came Jack Lester in July 2019 who now runs most things down at the Academy in terms of heading up the operations Derek Geary runs the u18’s in terms of match to match. Andy Hughes came in from Leeds as the u23’s coach but as results/development of players did not really progress; he did not last long and moved on recently. Not sure why he moved on? Maybe both parties agreed to part ways. It seems with a few coming and going recently this is the one areas of the club that there is not been much stability. Lester has not been there that long and we now made another change to the u23’s. It was rumoured a while ago that former Barnsley and Leeds coach Paul Heckingbottom was lined up which seemed a bit of a coup and maybe he wanted to go back to coaching rather than managing but it was still a surprise when he was named recently. Hopefully, a positive step.
Some of the u18’s/u23’s interchange – many are at different points buts it’s not uncommon for players to feature for both.
The U23’s finished 2nd bottom (albeit in a curtailed season) and really struggled.
The u18’s did better and finished 4th in a season ended early (the league was topped by Wednesday but we beat them 4-0 in January) but I think results at these levels are not as important if we see players coming through – not sure we have seen that but it is so tough now we are at this higher level. The fact the Academy is Category B when most at this level and some lower is Category A means we are not going to get the top talent and teams like Burnley and Leeds are both now Category A.
There are a few players who may still be quite young but seem to have been around for a few years now. The squad (development squad) seems very big when you look on the website and you feel they may cull a few this summer but I know they are all at different stages. It just seems awfully big to say non are close to the first team (even for the cup games) and not may outside of the more experienced youngsters - these are effectively on pro deals I believe but still part of what I call our development squad such as Eastwood, Graham, Slater, Norrington Davies, Parkhouse and Smith; are even going to league clubs on loan?
Below is a detailed summary of the young players we have that @goodpinch provided me with that really helped – so massive thank you to him for this which helps enormously fill in the many gaps I had! As I say quite a number moved between u16-u18-u23 action so a number are interchangeable. The more senior youths (if that makes sense) are shown first and then down the most inexperienced/younger.
I have left out Berge and Retsos (young players) who have been part of the first team squad – my comments below on players/each age group are in italics – the other details were provided by @goodpinch (twitter) and @balls_up – so not taking much credit! There are a few contracts we are not totally sure on though. Most of the brilliant research below is due to @goodpinch so thank him for a lot of below!
I have put comments on young players like Smith/Norrington Davies and Slater here and the contact situations for those players listed below, rather than in the body of the main player sections which concentrates on those in the 25 at some stage this season or senior players that have departed either on loan or permanently
U21 (or older)
Gribbin, Callum
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Early season u23 trialist after his release from Manchester United during summer 2019, signed in September after scoring in two consecutive games.
Seems he has done enough to be retained and has been released.
Mallon, Stephen
Contract: Unknown – still under contract on the retained/released list
Notes: Returned from a loan spell at Central Coast Mariners during 2019, played a few u23 games and then went on loan to Derry City. Made a couple of appearances for Ireland u21.
He was a player that impressed me when I saw him at Academy level and in some u23’s a few years ago but he too picked up a few bad injuries and seemed to lose his way. He seemed to do ok at Derry and you wonder if he may end up signing permanently but then on the released/retained list it seems he is still under contract? Always seemed to have a great left foot and be very good technically but was caught between positions and not sure he was strong enough defensively to play the wing back role or quick enough to play higher up the field.
Norrington-Davies, Rhys
Contract: Unknown – still under contract on the retained/released list
Notes: Spent the season on loan with Rochdale. Made several appearances for Wales u21.
He had done well a few seasons ago pre-season and then went to Barrow on loan and did well. Last season he was given his first chance of league football as he was sent to Rochdale. He did really well play left back, left wing back and left centre back and the Rochdale fans always were raving about his performances. He seemed to have a little dip mid-season but then was performing strongly again. A regular for them and seen as one of their bright lights in another struggling season. He continued to play for Wales under 21’s too (did you know he was born in Riyadh – no neither did I?!). If he is still under contract then we can hopefully get him out on loan again, maybe to a Championship club as part of his development to see if he can keep progressing. He is not one I think the club will release at this stage after the progress he has made and is only just turned 21.
Smith, Tyler
Contract: Pro until end of 20/21
Notes: Spent first half of the season on loan with Bristol Rovers then switched to Rochdale for the second half.
Smith, now 21, played well on loan at Barrow and scored a lot of goals in 18-19 and went to Doncaster and he started his spell superbly with two goals as he came on as a sub against Burton. After this he did not feature too much and was mainly on the bench. Indeed, he only played 70 odd minutes I believe. He went to Bristol Rovers and began well, as he had done at Donny, but ended up out of the team and only scored 3 goals in 20 games. He was recalled and sent back on loan to Rochdale but had not been there long (1 goal in 4 before the lockdown). He was back at the club and scored in the pre-pre season game v Huddersfield. A quick player who plays on the shoulders; interesting that Billy Sharp sees a bit of himself in Smith. A big season for him if he wants to make it (not just at United level but any league level) as wherever he goes on loan will need to become a regular in games and goals.
DB – I can see Norrington Davies and Smith going out loan next year but important years for them if they have any future/chance at the Lane (long shot I know) but Mallon not sure there is much of a future even short term.
U20
Ferguson, Keenon
Contract: Pro until end of 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Missed midseason with injury.
Keenan Ferguson Like Graham, who he often partnered at junior level at centre back, he always stood out for his pace, height and athleticism. I always thought he had a chance and although he has been a regular at u23 level, another that has maybe not quite kicked on. He has not been out on loan a far as I am aware and I have a feeling his 2-year pro deal is up now (* now been released)
Graham, Samuel
Contract: Unknown but still under contract
Notes: Loaned to Notts County for the season but ruptured an Achilles in September and missed the rest of the season.
Graham is the son of famous boxer, Herol ‘Bomber’ Graham. He is a big lad who plays centre back and had been rumoured to be on Everton’s radar a few years ago. He was on loan at Halifax and Oldham but he earned mixed reviews before going to play in Australia over the summer. Last season he went to Notts County but once again made some errors and his rawness was in evidence. I recall seeing him make a bad mistake in a TV game on BT that cost County the game. He then got a really serious injury, rupturing his Achilles and his spell was curtailed at Meadow Lane. He came back to United and then I saw something where he posted on Twitter about getting a new contract which seemed a surprise. Not sure if this is accurate or not but he is another who has not quite gone on to fulfil the promise he had shown at Academy level but is still only 19 so will maybe go on loan again when he is fully fit.
Greaves, Oliver
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Loaned to Barrow for the first half of the season. Only made a handful of u23 appearances from the bench on his return.
Greaves was looking really promising till a bad injury but has fought his way back and ended up being a key player for the u23’s a few years ago and went to Valencia with the first team squad in the promotion season. Went to Barrow but made little impact. I recall Ian Evatt being a bit critical of him in his loan spell at Barrow and seems to have gone backwards a bit. He is now nearly 21 and his contact is now up and has been released. Seems like he was once seen as someone to look out for but now will have to probably go down to the non league level.
Ndiaye, Iliman
Contract: Pro until end 21/22
Notes: After trialling from Boreham Wood in January 2019 returned to trial again during pre and early season. Signed in September. Loaned to Hyde United for the second half of the season.
Aged 20, he came from Boreham Wood and was part of the rising ballers programme. He spent time at Hyde United last season but is still under contract with United for 2 more years. Seems a long way from being even close to league football even lower down.
Parkhouse, David
Contract: Pro until end 21/22
Notes: After a summer season with Derry City played a handful of u23 games before being loaned to Stevenage for the second half of the season. Made several appearances for Northern Ireland u21.
David Parkhouse was bizarrely linked with Manchester United a few years ago but now has drifted around a few loan spells in non-league and ended up on loan at Derry and scored quite a few goals there and then Celtic were linked. He turned down a new contract with us and probably saw little interest, changed his mind and resigned for a few more years. He went to Stevenage but did not play much. He is a big lad who puts himself about. Expect him to go out on loan next season.
Sheppeard, Harry
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Played regularly for the u23 team during the first half of the season then loaned to Guiseley for the second half.
Came from Tadcaster – his contract is now up after being around the u23’s for a few seasons and has been released.
Slater, Regan
Contract: Unknown – still under contract on the retained/released list
Notes: Made four appearances in first team preseason games. Spent the season on loan with Scunthorpe United. Returned for the u23 derby at Hillsborough for what would be the final game of the u23 season.
Slater was someone Wilder really enthused about and he made some first team appearances I 17-18 and recall that tackle he made at Ipswich and Wilder’s cemented comment. However, it has not really happened for him either at Carlisle or at Scunthorpe where you would think he would have stood out but he has not even been a regular at two struggling clubs. I thought he was out of contact but shows up the retained list so maybe has been given another year or had maybe another year after all? Not sure he has much of a future here after not kicking on.
York, Reece
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Sat on the bench for the first team preseason game at Burton Albion. Played regularly for the u23 team during the first half of the season then loaned to Hyde United for the second half.
He came in from Fulham a few years back but has not really maybe progressed as much as United hoped and will now move on.
DB – Not sure any of the above will be anywhere close and it could be the end for many. Parkhouse and Ndiaye need to go out on loan but time is up for York, Sheppeard, Greaves and Ferguson. Slater and Graham remain but if they cannot make an impact right at the bottom of League 2/Conference then not sure they can really see a future with us, a top flight team.
U19
Amissah, Jordan
Contract: Pro until end 22/23
Notes: Involved in almost all u23 games, half between the sticks and half on the bench.
Had been at Borussia Dortmund and Schalke as a youngster -huge goalkeeper who is still only 18. He has German citizenship I believe but is Ghanaian. Hard as a keeper as we have Dewhurst and Eastwood (when not on loan) and then Verrips has played some u23 games too – so maybe he needs some experience in the non league?
Andall-Gibbons, Ta'Shae
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Signed in September after trialling from the SCL sport education provider. Played in around half of the u23 games.
Impressed on trial to get a one year deal but not done enough and moves on.
Belehouan, Jéan Leroy
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now given contract extension – length unknown
Notes: Played the majority of u23 games.
He came to us from Man Utd. 19 years of age and a decent athlete who has played right wing back and right centre back. Has been given an extension but he needs to get some game time with a lower league club rather than just playing u23 action which has its definite limitations in development terms.
Broadbent, George
Contract: Unknown – still under contract on the retained/released list
Notes: Played regularly for the u23 team during the first half of the season then loaned to Curzon Ashton for the second half.
A big lad who operates in midfield, he came from Man Utd and has been a regular for the u23’s – has been given an extension but he seems a long way off and was only playing at National League North.
Dewhurst, Marcus
Contract: Unknown – still under contract on the retained/released list
Notes: Involved in the first team pre-season including a start at Chesterfield. Loaned to Carlisle United for the season. Made an appearance for England u19.
Dewhurst had previously been involved in England Youth teams and was taken to a mid-season first team camp in the Championship promotion season. He spent some time on loan at Gainsborough Trinity and Guiseley last season and this before in January he went to Carlisle in League Two. He was only named on the bench one before the lockdown but at 19 years of age, it was good experience for him being with a league club. He seems to have another year left as he signed a new contract; I believe around a year ago but may need to confirm that? If he is around, I expect him to go out on loan again next season.
Hall, Ashton
Contract: Pro until end 20/21
Notes: Resigned from Matlock Town in summer 2019. Played in a majority of u23 games.
Hall, 18, was with United at 15, got released and then resigned for his boyhood club. A centre back who had been playing in the Evo Stik Premier League earlier this season until resigning for United.
Ompreon, Samuel
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Played in a majority of u23 games.
Tall rangy striker when I have seen him who has pace but looks like he has a long way to go and it won’t be at United.
Young, Jake
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Sat on the bench for the first team preseason game at Burton Albion. Played in a majority of u23 games but seems to have been released.
Came from Guiseley earlier in the season. A striker but obviously not done enough and will move on.
DB – Signed for Forest Green in July on a 2 year deal which was a surprise he got a league club who must have seen something in him.
U18
Ackroyd, Sam
Contract: Youth ends 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Involved in majority of u18 games and a handful of u23 games.
Scored 8 goals for the u18’s
Boyes, Harry
Contract: Youth ends 19/20 – given contract offer
Notes: Involved in the first team pre-season including a substitute appearance at Chesterfield. Played in majority of u23 games and a good few u18 games.
Harry Boyes is another been with the club for a few years since he came from Man City. Still only 18. Think his deal is up though but has been given a contract offer I believe.
Brunt, Zak
Contract: Recently signed first pro, unsure of end date
Notes: Broke through into u23 team involved in almost half of games and played in more than half of u18 games.
Brunt was a player that drew a lot of media interest as he had played or a number of clubs as a young protégé but then was stuck at Derby until he ended up getting out of his Academy contract to sign for Matlock. United brought him in and he seems to have slowly re enhanced his reputation to the point where he was a regular for the u23s and also trained a bit with the first team. He signed a pro contract which was a reward for his hard work. Seems to be technically good and plays midfield but also can do a job up top too He may have a chance but needs to look at others like Slater and De Girolamo who also were seen as highly rated so has to work hard – even more so considering United’s elevated league status. One who might benefit from a loan next season to help toughen him up.
Cappello, Angelo
Contract: Recently signed first pro, unsure of end date – 21/22?
Notes: With the demise of the Futures team played a decent amount of u18 games and made his debut of the bench for u23 team.
Notes: Made several appearances for Belize u18 scoring at least once.
Capped by Belize – a striker who likes to run at defenders – believe he has just got a pro deal.
Foulstone, Harrison
Contract: Youth ends 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Played in decent amount of u18 games and handful of u23 games.
Come through the ranks with United but not played much in the u23’s like some of his peers and will leave United this summer.
Gaxha, Leonardo
Contract: Pro until 22/23 – Gaxha, a forward was given a deal at the same time as another striker Cappello. Notes: Played in majority of u18 games and handful of u23 games.
Striker/midfielder who has started to really impress and been thrust into u23 games and scored too just before the lockdown.
Gomis, Nicksoen
Contract: Pro until end 23/24
Notes: Played several u23 and several u18 games.
Gomis according to some sites has a long contact with the Blades and is also still only 18 and came from France. Defender as far as I am aware?
Gordon, Kyron
Contract: Pro until end 21/22
Notes: Played around half of u23 games and several u18 games.
Younger brother of Tyler Smith, has been promising whenever I have seen him for the u23’s but he is most famous for having a spat with Tony Mowbray last year when he was a ball boy. He is still only 18. Central defender who likes to come out with the ball and a good athlete with pace. One to watch for me.
Leak-Blunt, Connor
Contract: Pro until unknown – he was given an extension but the same type as the pros out of contract so unsure if he will stay?
Notes: After signing a three year deal with Leeds United he trialled with the u23 team and signed in January. Played a few u23 and u18 games.
Another likes Gibbins who big things were expected at another club and then fell away/moved on – he has not been with United long and unsure if they will retain him.
Neal, Harrison
Contract: Youth ends 19/20 – been given a pro deal tbc?
Notes: After breaking through to the u23 team last season spend most of the season captaining the u18s but also played several u23 games.
Seriki, Oluwafemi
Contract: Unknown – still under contract on the retained/released list
Notes: Signed after Bury were expelled from the EFL. Played a handful of u23 and u18 games.
Williams, Tommy
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – just been given an extension I read tbc?
Notes: Defender who played the majority of u18 games and a handful of u23 games.
U17
Ayari, Hassan
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Played a handful of u18 games and set on the bench for the u23 team a couple of times.
Was in the news recently as Ayari joined the TW Braga academy but recently TW Braga were fined more than £8,000 for failing to properly register Ayari. FIFA's discipline committee found TW Braga breached their regulations in relation to the 'registration of players and the protection of minors' when signing him. TW Braga insist they were told by local football authorities in Northern Ireland that it was fine because he was travelling on a European passport. He was registered on four separate occasions with three different clubs before joining Sheffield United. States he is Tunisian on some internet sources?
Brooks, Andre
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Played around half of the u18 games and has twice come off the bench for the u23 team.
Chapman, Joshua
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Made a couple of appearances in goal but spent a lot of time sat on the bench for the u18 team, has also been an unused sub for the u23 team.
Cullinan, Harvey
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Signed from Ireland's Newmarket Celtic at the end of last season. Played a handful of u18 games and made his u23 debut off the bench.
Gayle-Jebbison, Daniel
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Played majority of u18 games scoring plenty of goals, also made a couple of u23 appearances off the bench.
Leading scorer for the u18’s with 9 goals. Started at the ANB futbol academy in Canada and relocated to the UK in 2017.
Grant, Kamarl
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Trialled from the Kinetic Academy before Christmas and then signed. Played a handful of u23 and u18 games,
Kelly, Jacob
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Played majority of u18 games. Broke into u23 team playing a few games, scored on his starting debut.
Kelly, Samuel
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Similar to his twin brother above, played majority of u18 games and made his debut for the u23 team after a sitting on the bench a couple of times during the previous season. Goalkeeper?
Maguire, Francis
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Played in every u18 game.
A midfield player who was regular with 20 games started the last season for the u18’s.
Osula, William
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Broke into u18 team playing a handful of games and made one appearance off the bench for the u23 team.
Danish player apparently who won a talent contest at Man Utd.
Skerritt, Tristin
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Played a single u18 game but sat unused on the bench for more than half of the games.
Viggars, Ryan
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Played in more than half of u18 games and made his u23 debut from the bench. Made several appearances and scored for Wales u17.
A few other academy players who aren't in the official PL u21 squad have made the matchday 18s including two for the u23s.
Anderson, Beau
Contract: Youth, unknown end date as age group unknown
Notes: Played in a couple of u18 games.
Hackford, Antwoine
Contract: U16 Youth ends 19/20
Notes: Made a handful of u18 appearances off the bench and then made his u23 debut off the bench in the u23 derby at Hillsborough for what would be the final game of the u23 season. Made an appearance for England u16. Seen as the most highly rated of the bunch in this bracket and drawing rave reviews from some.
Hampshaw, Henry
Contract: Youth, unknown end date as age group unknown
Notes: Trialled from Huddersfield Town before signing in January. Unused substitute goalkeeper in a handful of u18 games.
Hiddleston, Callum
Contract: Youth, unknown end date as age group unknown
Notes: Unused substitute goalkeeper in a handful of u18 games.
Potter, Finley
Contract: Youth, unknown end date as age group unknown
Notes: Played a handful of u18 games, promoted from the u16 team.
Stainrod, Jack
Contract: Youth ends 19/20
Notes: Made a handful of u18 appearances off the bench.
Williams, Theo
Contract: Youth, unknown end date as age group unknown
Notes: Made a handful of u18 appearances, also started one u23 game.
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Overall, above does not paint a great picture of the ones that are oldest of the young ones. Eastwood was at Scunthorpe but was in and out and is out of contact this summer. Ditto for Slater, who much was thought of in his early days with Wilder himself seemingly a big fan but he has not pushed in with two largely unsuccessful spells at lower league Carlisle and Scunny. Norrington Davies has done well at Rochdale, being a regular and playing in a few positions. We may need to see if a Championship club might take him next season? Tyler Smith scored a few at Bristol Rovers after doing well in non-league the year before but fell away and he went to Rochdale. Defender Sam Graham who went on loan to Notts County (had been at Central Coast Mariners with Mallon) but got injured and seemed to struggle there. David Parkhouse went to Derry and was linked with Celtic and then seemed set to leave as he turned down a new contract but then he went to Stevenage on loan and it said he had signed a new 2 and a half year contract so he seems set to stay along with Smith as two young strikers – expect both to go out on loan again.
We did loan a far few out but it seemed like the squad was changed every week with trialists or new players coming in from Man Utd, Leeds and Everton for instance. Not many of these seemed infinitely better than those we already had (not saying these were good enough either to really push on).
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It seems all the focus has rightly gone into the first team and maybe the levels we have gone up means the standards they need to show have to be of course infinitely better than if they were competing for a place in the Championship or League One. However, no one is even remotely close at all and it is a concern we don’t even have many going out on loan, let alone doing well, at league level- even if it was just League Two.
Every other Premier League club has players on loan in either the English pyramid or out abroad. We do not. I would not want, nor could we afford big squads like Chelsea with so many out on loan but it is worrying that other than Norrington Davies at Rochdale (not best of level); all our young players struggled for game time or success and you would expect most to move on probably now if they cannot make an impact at Scunthorpe for instance (no offence to them or Eastwood/Slater).
It does seem a bit unstructured and no clear philosophy on what we are doing at this level to the untrained eye. The revolving door of coaches has not helped but it seems a bit clumsy to me. Maybe I am wrong but it seems we have taken our eye off the ball here. It is hard when we are Category 2 and have such inferior facilities to most, if not all, at this level (to think we used to laud Shirecliffe say 10 years ago). It seems much of the focus in improvements will be the first team initially and whether the rumours about a move to Norton come to fruition we will wait and see. However, ultimately the academy is to try and provide development opportunities for players, hopefully with us or if not with other clubs (not many will make it with us) but not sure we are hitting these targets or have for a good number of years. The days of Maguire, Long etc is now going back almost 8 or 9 years when they came through. 2011 that FA Youth Cup final which seems like it was more recent!
It is the one areas of the club that really needs close work/attention moving forward but whether they prioritise it I don’t know but the contact changing of coaches suggests that the club knows they have not got it right – but maybe it goes deeper than who is in charge and the competition for top class players at youth level now we are right in with the big boys. Lester and whoever comes into the u23’s face a challenge to get this part of the club reinvigorated.
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Word also for the SUFC Women’s team who finished 2nd in a curtailed season so well done to Carla Ward and the team. They moved from the Legacy Park to Saltergate but not sure where the future lies in terms of where they play but McCabe obviously owns the Legacy Park so it seems unlikely, they will return there. They will want to push on and hopefully contend for promotion and a place in the top level and this will be helped now Manchester United and last season Villa have now gone up. It seemed odd that Ward moved on after the season though as United looked to continue their resurgence. There were then stories of numerous players demanding answers and it all seemed a bit messy after such an upward trajectory the last few years.
Paul Mitchell continued to head up the scouting side and is a trusted confidante of Wilder. He did have some time off after he had some heart issues but has been back involved. I do thing we have had to move forward and exploit the international market and we have started to see players come in from overseas. I have not heard anything said that we now have more scouts or resources in this area and when Wilder signed Berge he said Mitchell and Knill had seen him play quite a bit; which is normal of course but I do wonder if we still need to enhance things in this area even though strides have been made. Van Winckel’s role is still a little unclear also. I do hope this is an area we can address as is a weakness in the club at the moment. He faces a huge summer. He has shown before he can find the right players – the issue is now the enormous fees/wages we will have to find but we may have to do it on a budget.
One thing we have to do is bring the age of the team down with three of four key men in advancing years still and the Berge, McBurnie, Mousset type signings were a good step but then the other side of the coin is despite them having youth and time to grow – 60 million+ has been a lot for probably not the return we would have wanted- yet. Robinson went out on loan, Berge struggled initially but then showed promise, McBurnie was up and down and Mousset tailed off after a good start. I hope this summer we can maybe sign 2 or 3 young League 1/Championship players (the problem is even lads like Stacey and James who moved from Luton are 5 million+ and these were league one players). We need to find some young talent though as it is not coming through with us – even if they are signed and then loaned out and continue to look at evolving the age of the squad. We need to improve the depth considerably though and bring in players who can step in – sadly quite a lot of our signings have not really showed at this stage to be any better than the ones we had before.
When we have had to bring in players recent times they have not really stood out as any better than what we had (yet) and value for money I am not sure we have got. I know other clubs have wasted money on players too but for United to spend 60 million you would hope one would nail down a first team spot and really make you think he can be a regular and positive most weeks. We have not seen that as they play well one week and then are off it the next. They need to be more consistent. The recruitment the last 2 years has been patchy to say the least after the great signings of Egan, Norwood and Henderson. The loan lads in the Champ gave us depth and helped us get over the line but even the some of the lads we signed from abroad did not work. Retsos, Verrips and Zivkovic have not really contributed at all and one went back early. The recruitment is not quite Premier League level yet, whether that is down the wages we pay or we are just not equipped to go out and find players from around the world who can help us. We need to find some gems though and it is not all about splashing money. That is the job of Mitchell and Van Winckel but they have not quite found the players to improve us in recent years after some fantastic work. The bulk of our success is down to who we found 2 or 3 or 4 years ago. Of course, some of the younger lads the jury is out on, may come good.
Next season
Wilder, Knill and Prestridge will be back for another challenge. The great thing is despite Wilder’s success none of the big clubs will look at him I feel. The likes of Dyche and Howe did well for 4/5 years and nobody had looked at them so not sure they would like at Wilder either. Also, our success means he has improved his wages and contract and is managing in the Premier League so any move would be sideways/backwards. As I alluded to above; I dread the day this managerial team leaves but I hope Wilder will be here for the long haul yet and we can keep this amazing run going. He is close to being the best manager we have ever had. 3 or 4 more years of this upward trajectory or even consolidation and he will definitely eclipse Harris and Bassett for best manager ever post war, if he has not already. The challenge will be that teams will be more ready for us but also now we are more established and in turn can attract better players and the belief should be from the manager down the players and fans that we belong here. Wilder will now face the challenge of improving the squad but keeping the ethos/playing style that made us successful. He is facing challenges in contracts (players now have proved themselves so want more money but also probably know they won’t have the success at other clubs I don’t think – but sadly money talks) and getting players that won’t rock the boat in terms of the team spirit and can fit into our style.
It won’t be easy as we have seen many of the newcomers have been up and down – the likes of Basham, O’Connell, Fleck, Stevens, Baldock it has taken them 1-2 seasons to get to where they need to be (recall even O’Connell being a bit in and out/up and down and ditto for the wing backs in their first season’s at the club). I hope he can find those extra 2-3 quality players and the back ups we need to continue to grow. The challenge now will be to establish ourselves as a solid Premier League team – the likes of Bournemouth, Huddersfield, Hull etc all have had 2 or 3 years but now have struggled and gone down. We need to ensure we can become a Stoke/Burnley (not in style) and that financially will give us the spring board to get even better players and develop the academy/ground. Simply speaking a 3-4 year window at this level initially could give us the platform to go on and become really established – the next dream is to go and win a cup/make Europe. Things we never thought possible but with the right progress, sensible but ambitious investment to match the ambitions of our manager and who knows where we may go? I certainly feel confident with Wilder at the helm that any backwards steps would be small and his drive is such that I feel supremely confident that if he remains, it will continue to be a fantastic time to be a Blade.
Rest of week will be posted as below
Wednesday – Part 3 Goalkeepers
Thursday – Part 4 Defence
Friday – Part 5 Midfield
Saturday – Part 6 Attack
Sunday – Part 7 Final awards / Conclusions
Staff report
Board / Club
When I wrote this article last year; the court case was about to get under way over the summer months and the effective control of Sheffield United would be decided in a court room in London. Billed as Kevin McCabe Sheffield United Ltd (SUL) versus Prince HRH Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his UTB group. It had become increasingly obvious that McCabe had tried to manipulate the situation some time before it came to solicitors and the court room being required. In affect he called Abdullah’s bluff in terms of trying to wrest back full control but Abdullah would not be lowballed and served a counter offer for the club. This meant it went to court to see who would gain control with no prospect of these men every working together. As Justice Fancourt stated, Kevin McCabe ‘accordingly took the risk that UTB would serve a counternotice, but he undoubtedly believed that if it did so SUL would be paid £5 million for its shares and the Scarborough Group would be entitled to receive another £40 million or so within a year for the property assets’
I had said before the case started in my notes last year that:
‘’We will wait to see what happens in the court hearing in May – my concern reading between the lines is that HRH may enough to force through a verdict to get control from the bits and pieces I have seen and understand. I am sure McCabe then may appeal and on it goes.’’
It seems I may have right….I digress and go back to last summer before we come to where we are now.
Over the dates of 13-17 May, 20-24 May, 4, 5, 7, 10-13, 18, 19 June 2019; United’s dirty washing was once again aired in public. There was evidence given from both sides, McCabe’s ‘ways’ in doing business did not come out very positively at all and as the case went on. Justice Fancourt stated of McCabe in his findings that; ‘he gave every impression of there being little in the way of truth or objective fact that differed from his own understanding or opinion.’
There was talk of Bin Laden family loans being used by the other side (to be honest the size of the Bin Laden family and any kind of research into them made this a non story but it did get some traction in the tabloids of course). Some seemed to give better account than others with one of McCabe’s aids, Jeremy Tutton, giving to quote Justice Fancourt, ‘an extraordinary performance in the witness box. He was extremely nervous and uncertain in much of the evidence that he gave, and eager to blame others for things that had gone wrong and absolve himself from responsibility. I regret to say that I consider that some of the evidence that he gave in his witness statements, particularly in relation to the Charwell loan, was a fabrication.
No-one seemed to know which side the courts would come down as it seemed both sides had been given a going over but it seemed McCabe and his side had maybe not helped themselves in how they presented at all, alongside the evidence they were scrutinising also.
Eventually on the 16th September the court returned to deliver its findings and Mr Justice Fancourt ruled Mr McCabe must now sell his stake to Prince Abdullah for £5m. The judge ruled the contract of sale and purchase of Sheffield United Ltd's shares could not be set aside. The judge said UTB LLC would also have to buy the club's property assets from Sheffield United Ltd. This includes the Bramall Lane stadium and the Sheffield United hotel. In a statement issued after the ruling, a spokesman for Mr McCabe said: "He has supported Sheffield United through thick and thin going back to the 1950s and wishes nothing more than success for the club, its supporters and the many staff employed by it.
"Mr McCabe sincerely hopes that he is proved wrong in relation to his deep misgivings about the suitability of Prince Abdullah as an appropriate custodian of Sheffield United."
"No owner, director, coach or player is bigger than the club but together with the fans, we all share the common desire to make the club ever greater," he said.
Sheffield United released a statement saying the judgement "brings an end to the uncertainty over Sheffield United's future ownership and allows us to focus our full attention on the season ahead".
The website now says even to this day: Sheffield United Football Club Ltd is directly owned by Blades Leisure Limited. Blades Leisure Ltd is owned by UTB LLC, and UTB 2018 LLC, companies who are 100% owned by H.R.H. Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Riyadh.
The operations of Blades Leisure Ltd are focused on professional footballing activities and the operation of sports stadium. Other interests within the group include stewarding services and commercial gym operations.
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If you have a spare week (once you have wasted days reading my stuff) then go to below for the full court case notes…138 pages but some good stuff in there amongst the court/financial jargon and some interesting characterisation of some of the leading characters involved in the case/dispute.
www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/2019-09-16_Sheffield-United_Approved-Judgment.pdf
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Events after the hearing were interesting to say the least as McCabe refused to take it lying down and talked about an appeal – he also used the hotel to hold a meeting with shareholders/fans I think before the Liverpool game but not sure many actually attended. We had an odd banner erected (not sure by whom) thanking him for his service for the club.
Abdullah kept his council initially just saying he was pleased with the verdict but over the next few days and weeks, as I and many others had asked for, he became more vocal and prominent. He was around the club a lot in the weeks that followed and started attending games and was seen and interviewed at the game v Man Utd (when Wilder’s contract was improved again) and the Arsenal game a few weeks before this. His son Prince Musaad bin Khalid bin Musaad Al Saud was named as Chairman and his father stated he would move over here with his wife.
Of course, all those with McCabe links had to move on and we saw few murmurs even from the likes of Tony Currie (who had been on the board) but even he still seems to be around in some capacity. Scott and Simon his sons who had bounced on and off the board of course moved on. There was some talk McCabe was banned from attending but not sure how that is true or fi he simply said this to curry more favour. This was incidentally dwindling fast. He then of course appealed and this was turned down in January and you thought that would be the end but no of course it wasn’t and isn’t!
The deal to be completed for the remainder of the property was now not going ahead at this time as in affect McCabe and his property group seem to want more money and have again changed the goalposts. There were claims from the club that McCabe’s Scarborough group had tried to discredit them saying that the ground could be sold for housing. It also stated that due to McCabe’s actions they could not acquire the hotel and develop the Kop (Scarborough own this land and talked about still building student flats but were compelled to sell it as instructed in court). It seems it a final attempt for McCabe to put up more barriers and/or gain more funds. I might be wrong but that is how it appears. McCabe did a lot of good things for United but he also made many mistakes. Ultimately it was his decision to bring Abdullah in and his decision to have the clause in the deal for each party to buy each other out. He has no one to blame but himself. He is not exactly skint but it is sad that someone who often uses the phrase, ‘Hey, there’s no bigger Blade than me!’ is proving that is far from the case as it is all about him and his family as perhaps been the case quite a lot in the latter years of his reign. I don’t blame him for wanting to look after himself and his money but the way he has gone about it and rather publicly has meant his reputation will never be repaired from the Blades fans. A sad way for him to bow out when he eventually does.
However, in early July United announced the repurchase of Bramall Lane along with their Shirecliffe training facility and a number of other key assets.
The verdict allowed the Prince to purchase the freehold of the stadium (together with the long leasehold interests in the Copthorne Hotel and Enterprise Centre), plus Shirecliffe Academy, the Junior Development Centre at Crookes and certain parcels of land within the 'Bramall Lane footprint'. It was not clear if the hotel would be reopened and/or if this included the land at the back of the Kop. There was a statement that said there would be more good news soon but as yet not sure if that was around this land at the back of the Kop, a new training ground or something else?
Prince Abdullah added: "When I assumed sole ownership of the club nine months ago, I committed myself to preserving the club's heritage, upgrading the club's physical assets and improving the fan experience.
As we sit now, we have to say we can be nothing but impressed with what Abdullah and his associates have done. He has tied Wilder down, clearly has a close ally in Bettis (as the court case showed when I felt it might have been the opposite – Bettis linked more to McCabe – when it started) and has really backed the club. We have broken our transfer record 4 times and the signing of Berge for over 20 million was a sit up and take notice job. He is more involved but does not interfere and still overseeing things from afar but you see him in more meetings (the mid-season break to Abu Dhabi an example) and you get a sense it is his vision now being filtered down which in affect is leave to Wilder and they will do the other stuff off the field. Little things like the announcement on season tickets (refund or money off) for next season and saying it is all about the fans have further endeared him. So far, he has been perfect in the sense he has backed the manager, kept him happy and seemingly that little uncertainty of their relationship (I always sense Wilder was more a McCabe man) has gone away and now they seem pretty harmonious when you see them or hear things. Things could change but so far, we have not had any interference, he has not tried anything about the fabric of the club and has listened to those that know the club.
There is still work to be done in terms of the ground development (the Kop and/or South Stand extension) but there does not have to be a great rush for this but if we do establish ourselves long term as a Premier League club then would be surely expediated – to increase capacity, crowds and revenue. We also need to improve the training ground or ideally move to a brand new one. He seems to want to sever all links from the McCabe era in the sense he stopped the Women playing out of the Legacy Park and you feel he would want to help us into a brand new state of the art training facility and maybe small ground where the Academy and the Women could play as well as new building and facilities for the first team. We saw rumours of them looking at ground in Norton near the old Aerodrome site so hopefully we may hear news soon. The current one is not going to help attract players and maybe the worst in the top division so good news about the expansion at Shirecliffe but wonder if they may still eventually move some of the operation or all of it?
We saw news recently about plans to improve the first team operation with a new building to be put in at Shirecliffe with a new two-storey building, which will be comprised of a gym, training area, physiotherapy and hydrotherapy zones, as well as office facilities. The new training centre will be built on the current Shirecliffe site. The structure will sit between the two existing buildings, on the perimeter of the current first team training pitches. Planned features of United's first team training facility include:
• Brand new elite bespoke changing facilities for first team players, including heat therapy and relaxation areas
• Purpose built performance gym including heat/altitude training chambers
• Enhanced medical and kit management facilities
• Panoramic views of the training ground and facilities
• Team meeting rooms
• State-of-the-art restaurant and club lounge for players
• Improved office space for all first team management and staff
Linked to that we need to improve the academy and see if we can develop this side – I will allude to that more in this article but it has not progressed in recent years and the staff turnover and lack of production of players at any level (not just United) in the last 5 years has to be a concern after the huge successes previously.
The rest of the board with McCabe’s family and associates gone is all from Abdullah’s contingent – although of course Bettis and Shieber are there too who maybe were not necessarily part of either group but remain as holdovers. The current board is listed as:
Yusuf Giansiracusa (Assistant Chairman)
Jan Van Winckel
H.H. Prince Musa'ad bin Khalid Al Saud (Chairman)
Princess Reem Bint Abdullah Al Saud
Abdullah Alghamdi
H.H. Prince Musa'ad bin Khalid Al Saud (Chairman) is of course Abdullah’s son. A quick look on Wikipedia and you can find out a bit more about him! He is only 27 which is very young for a Football Chairman but he has packed a lot into his young life. Musa’ad holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a major in Project Management from Al Faisal University. He speaks Arabic, English, and Italian. In 2010, Musa’ad established a leading football academy focusing on the development of youth players. It was also used as a training facility for other football teams in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and then became the President of the General Sports Authority in Saudi Arabia.In 2016, Musa’ad joined Ernst & Young. He held three positions during his time there: Consultant, Senior Consultant in Strategy & Customer, and EY's Sport & Entertainment Sector Manager at EY MENA Advisory Services. He is also director of K Beerschot VA. This is the club in Belgium which the Prince has ownership in and is quite involved seemingly.
Yusuf Giansiracusa. He seems more of an advisor than a ‘money man’. Specialising in representing clients and commercial and corporate transactions but he was a key man at the court case and often is seen with Abdullah and in the meetings with Wilder. He seems like very much a key aide for the Prince.
Jan Van Wincklel has been here a while now but we don’t actually know what he does. Van Winckel, who holds a UEFA Pro License was a technical expert for FIFA and led the Saudi Arabian football team, as chairman of the technical committee, to the World Cup in Russia. He also held several coaching jobs and was for several years the assistant manager to Marcelo Bielsa at Olympique de Marseille in France. He still is here but publicly saying little and you still get a feeling Wilder would prefer for there to be no involvement but that could be just my take on the situation. He seems to be involved in meetings and conference calls and maybe the Verrips and Berge signing; he might have had some influence on and I am being a bit harsh.
Princess Reem Bint Abdullah Al Saud I believe is the chairman’s wife? We don’t hear much from her or what her role is?
Abdullah Alghamadi – works for a company called Amos holdings and is group CEO where Abdullah’s son also has a role. Alghamadi is Group CEO. He is listed also as a Financial and Investment Advisor aswell as being a Sheffield United Board member and a Beerschot board member.
Carl Shieber oversees player contract negotiations still I believe and Wilder has alluded to his role being important. His actual title is head of football administration.
Stephen Bettis came back as chief executive and this seemed an underrated move when Wilder remained last summer as seems a big fan of Bettis and seems to be an important cog. He seems very much a favourite of Abdullah reading the court case but more importantly Wilder always speaks highly of him and they seem close both professionally and personally. He does seem a key figure and real conduit between the Prince and the board and the management/playing side.
Dave McCarthy is involved still as Operations Director and we also have Paul Reeves as the head of marketing. We got a sponsorship deal with USG which was for three years and was reported to be the biggest we have ever had. It probably is ironic we could smash that deal with other bigger companies now due to how well we have done and the exposure we had. It seems they are in trouble in Australia in terms of financial issues but have different arms to the operation worldwide so be interesting to see what happens.
As for Adidas, we still have a few more years to run. I liked the kits they have produced and last years were really good but not as convinced by the new ones for the next season (especially the pink one) which seem a drop off from this years – in my opinion. The stuff in the shop is expensive but much better quality than we had smaller companies.
In terms of the ticketing/fans experience, I had personal experience of them bungling things up with the movement of certain season ticket holders and how it was done but I have moved on! Literally! I think overall the ticket office do a good job. There are a lot of arguments about loyalty points and maybe they might need to make some tweaks but not sure they can change much. I said there could be an argument to rotate a bit so people get chance to new grounds but those that have lots of points will want to go to every game so it is hard and will argue they deserve to. It does feel a bit closed shop and you see the same 2,000 faces (along with those tickets people have given out etc!) at grounds and some of the younger element do find it hard to catch up (will I ever be able to take my son to the big away games for instance) but as I say not sure how they resolve it. No system is perfect. I am fortunate I can get to a ticket to every game almost but I do have sympathy with some fans who are say 30,000 points or around and still cannot get.
I think they made a mess of the opening games restricting the number of points and general sale and making it very hard to get tickets especially when there were seats free. Slowly they seemed to iron this out and most weeks it was nearly full but with not much marketing and common sense we should not have had an empty seat all season really so they missed a trick somewhere. To hear of fans turning up a few days before the game and not being able to get tickets was a nonsense – sure a few may be rival fans but so what – it’s not like a 1,000 fans of Southampton or Leicester were going to go in the home ends?
Be interesting to see how the virus affects re-sales as some people might not be in a position to go or with social distancing still in place if we can go back from October; then how they will rotate the seats around be a challenge. Think it is fair to say with 20,000+ season ticket holders and talk of 10-12,000; all of us will miss some games and it will probably be rotated around. Not sure it should be done on loyalty points as it would be a closed shop – think all season ticket holders of the previous season should get chance to go and it be changed each week. The club made a great gesture with refunds if fans want it or towards the cost off next years and trying to keep the price the same. This was excellent and was rightly praised.
I have to also make comment on the excellent work the social media team have done. Some of the videos and marketing stuff has been sensational and real tear jerkers at times! They have taken this side of the club seriously and we look a lot more professional than the amateurish set up what he had before. The pods they do are good (not as good as the unofficial ones – thumbs up to the superb Blades Pod/4 Blades in a Pub) and they keep you informed on all news/developments. They are superb at what they do and righty have been nominated for awards.
As an aside the long serving groundsman; Glenn Nortcliffe and his team have continued to maintain an excellent pitch. Even with some tricky weather; it looks fine and to see it almost perfect by the season end is testament to why it was important to get the Desso. It was good they took time to do work when we had the lockdown too which will help for a quicker turnaround. It does feel great to walk into the Lane whether it be August, December or March and it look fantastic. Even a few months into the season, the pitch barely looks played on.
Grade B+ -They have backed Wilder and seemingly kept him happy/tied down but provided him with funds. The McBurnie and Berge signings were big landmarks in our recent history. They lost marks as a department due to all the off field stuff which carries on even to this date. I also think the training ground needs to be massively upgraded or a new one secured. The ground (Kop) still needs work but this will take some time with McCabe throwing spanners in the work of course (Last season C)
Next season
There are so many positive things at the club from the board and the people behind the scenes and we are investing on and off the field. To me the priority has to be still keeping Wilder happy and backing him – if we continue to be successful on the field; the other things will swing into action and happen due to the success and the funds it will bring from many areas (TV, sponsorship etc). I do wonder whether the Prince may look to bring more investment in if he does not quite have the funds to compete with the real big hitters (don’t mean Man City but others). We do need to improve the training ground and the academy needs to develop in terms of its production line. Good to see we are making strides with that. Longer term the stadium and the Kop will need doing but for me we are only just getting the near capacity grounds. Another year of establishing ourselves and we can turn to needing better facilities and maybe a bigger ground. We are not at that stage yet and the virus has really pushed anything back as we have to wait to see what income we can get from fans as it may not be the same for a period.
Managerial team/Coaches/Academy
Chris Wilder Had signed a new contract on the 9th July (three years) but then got improved terms not long after this in the November (just before the Man Utd game) which took him up to 2024. It seemed the board were rightly quick to tie him down even longer and to reward him. I recall an interview with Prince Abdullah where he discussed how important he is to Neville/Carragher on Sky TV. Hopefully, he will be here for a very long time.
This section my words cannot do justice to what he has done to the club, for the team and the fans. Other coaching staff, players, backroom staff have certainly had major parts but he is the focal point and the leader of everything that has happened. He has been fantastic to the club and you cannot say enough what he has done for the club, team, players he has brought in/brought on and for the fans. He has basically completely transformed the club. In turn we are now liked by national and international football fans and media. Yes, a few still have a pop but these are simply wide of the mark and these opinions have become less and less. The evidence is irrefutable.
He is so presentable and likeable (yes, a few Wednesday fans may talk of his remarks about them or the way he is but even they have to grudgingly admit what a fantastic job he has done -they can’t say anything else). He always fronts up to the media and is funny, honest and self-depreciating too. He never gets ahead of himself and whilst confident, is not cocky or arrogant.
His post match interviews remain very honest. He will say it like it is. He has at times occasionally even criticised an individual or the team a few times (Liverpool at home with Henderson or Liverpool away for the team) but less so this season and maybe kept things in house more and generally praises a ‘great group.’ That was until his Leicester rant which reminded me of Hull a few years ago! To be fair he has not had to criticise them much anyway as they do everything, he asks them to do. Often, he says exactly what most fans are thinking. He maybe has been questioned for throwing them under the bus a bit but that is his style and earned the right to say what he wants pretty much.
He has embraced the challenge of going up against top level managers and was right in the mix for manager of the year until we maybe fell off a bit towards the end. It was always going to be hard to keep the momentum going and the break did not help us but then we seemed to get going and he outcoached some big clubs/managers but we just ran out of steam. At the end even he could not criticise too much as saw the players were doing their best but could not just keep to what they had done. We did fall away and it clearly rankled as he talked of us going to the summer as losers when in reality even he knew that was not the case.
In terms of analysing the whole season though for the most part we have continued to attack teams and not gone away from our approach with the wing backs, overloads and desire to move the ball about. At times we have had to reign it in a bit and was brave to change the midfield 3 moving away from a 10 with Lundstram coming in. The next challenge maybe to look at having a different plan when teams press Norwood, stop the overloads or pin the centre backs back with quicker strikers.
His signings have been on the whole decent but he will want more from them and any more prospective signings. None that came in have been spectacular but decent and with the prospect of improving. Maybe he might have wanted more out of a few – Freeman and Robinson but they have made those in the team play better with the improved competition. Mousset and Mcburnie both have had great spells mixed in with some ok performances but the strikers were rotated around anyway. The lads brought in January were not able to quite find their feet but Berge especially I hope will come good and one for the future no doubt.
The biggest thing for me though is that spine of the team have continued to grow and perform. He has given them the belief and freedom they can play at this level and do very well. I was not sure about the wing backs higher up, Basham I did not think could do what he has, Egan I worried about a bit with the better strikers and O’Connell the same. All have been brilliant. Norwood had been quickly jettisoned when he got to this level before but has shown he can play her using his strength’s and not worrying about what he cannot do. Lundstram was superb, especially to start the season and shocked all of us but proved why Wilder kept him and had signed him originally. Fleck has got better and better also and now is one of the better midfielders at this level – that is not an exaggeration. The strikers have been rotated and whilst McGoldrick found goals hard to come by, he contributed still with some fantastic team displays. Sharp was written off again but came back with goals and performances at times.
Overall, the application, ethic and consistency has been outstanding. The team spirit that comes from him (and so many captain types, not just Billy) is old school but he seems to take on new methods and his tactics and how we go about things proves that.
He has massively given us our club back and the way we play, the way the manager/players care, the connection has never been greater between the fans and the players. Still above that we have to play good football and win games and for the most part he has done that. Gradually bit by bit he keeps improving us and in four years we have progressed massively every single season. It has been a remarkable turnaround. To get us from League One to the Premier League and then on the brink of Europe in this time is astounding in today’s finance dominated football world when we have in real terms not had the same backing and financial acumen as may others.
I am actually dreading the day he leaves, either to go onto better things or feels if the board situation is not resolved he cannot push us much higher but hope he gives us another couple of years at least no matter what as there is no reason, we cannot keep progressing. They often say the second season is the toughest but he will thrive on the challenge. Every year many (including our own fans write us off) and whilst it will be hard to match this season positionally and performance wise, he will drive the team to just do that. If he sets his standards high then the team always follows. There will be no talk of just staying up again and this expectation and pressure he seems to thrive on and the players likewise.
For me, he is the heartbeat of this club. No manager, player, official is bigger than the club and ever will be and he knows that but at the moment he embodies and represents everything we love about Sheffield United. He has been simply fantastic and now is right up there with Dave Bassett as the best manager we have ever had in my lifetime.
Grade A (Last season A+) – if we had made Europe it would have been A+
Alan Knill continued as Wilder’s trusty aide. His work goes under the radar somewhat but is crucial to our success in terms of planning, the tactical side, set plays and shape. He seems the sort that actually would not want to be a manager and seems happy with his lot as a number 2 allowing Wilder to take the good and the bad. Seems a really quiet, unassuming sort but the players seem to respect him massively. He seems to have quietly relished working at the higher level and against better teams. You do see him taking a lot of the training/shape sessions with Wilder overseeing and he is a massive part of what we do. This small paragraph does not do him justice but he needs that recognition really and is often never mentioned when nationally United are praised for what they have done. Wilder knows how important he is and so do we and I think he appreciates that from time to time we give him a chant/wave etc.
Matt Prestridge is the least known of the three main coaches but his work on the fitness and planning cannot be underestimated. Our injury record has actually been stellar over the last few years with very few long-term injuries and he has meant even older (say that they are not ancient) players like McGoldrick, Basham and Sharp have stayed fit. I as concerned at this level that the super fit athletes and physical specimens would show us up but it never happened. Rarely did a team look fitter. Maybe they had individuals with more pace and athleticism but even that did not see us losing games really – the likes of Traore for Wolves or Vardy at Leicester (pace and strength) or Mane/De Bruyne or Aguero (ability) hurt us but they hurt other teams and it was not down to them being more conditioned really. In terms of the affect the lockdown had many thought we would come back raring to go due to our outstanding fitness record but then we started to pick up injuries (O’Connell and Fleck) even if they were more impact and the fitness seemed to be nowhere near the levels we expected when we started but maybe the number of games affected lots of club as not many teams were consistent (even the clubs like Liverpool and Man City). Will be interesting how he deals with another shortened break. The players need a rest of course but it is not like normal close seasons and less time to recover and then get going again.
Darren Ward continues to coach the keepers and continues to help with the development of the fantastic Dean Henderson. Deano seems to really value Ward and his work. Moore seems happy to be part of the group and is a really good pro (see below). Verrips we only saw a glimpse of against Fylde so we will wait and see if he can be pushed on. A lot depends on what we do with Henderson or sign another keeper but maybe Verrips could have some time out on loan as needs to get used to the pace of English football. We have not quite seen the progression with Eastwood perhaps we hoped. Apparently he had a lot to do with the signing of Foderingham so will wait to see how he pans out but see him as a backup. Ward seems quite a part of the matchday things and not just the goalkeeping side. Wilder sees him as important part of things. Will hope he can work with Henderson another year moving forward.
Academy / Development side
Travis Binnion left the club at the start of the previous season (believe he is with his old friend Nick Cox at Manchester United as u14-16 lead coach) and in came Jack Lester in July 2019 who now runs most things down at the Academy in terms of heading up the operations Derek Geary runs the u18’s in terms of match to match. Andy Hughes came in from Leeds as the u23’s coach but as results/development of players did not really progress; he did not last long and moved on recently. Not sure why he moved on? Maybe both parties agreed to part ways. It seems with a few coming and going recently this is the one areas of the club that there is not been much stability. Lester has not been there that long and we now made another change to the u23’s. It was rumoured a while ago that former Barnsley and Leeds coach Paul Heckingbottom was lined up which seemed a bit of a coup and maybe he wanted to go back to coaching rather than managing but it was still a surprise when he was named recently. Hopefully, a positive step.
Some of the u18’s/u23’s interchange – many are at different points buts it’s not uncommon for players to feature for both.
The U23’s finished 2nd bottom (albeit in a curtailed season) and really struggled.
The u18’s did better and finished 4th in a season ended early (the league was topped by Wednesday but we beat them 4-0 in January) but I think results at these levels are not as important if we see players coming through – not sure we have seen that but it is so tough now we are at this higher level. The fact the Academy is Category B when most at this level and some lower is Category A means we are not going to get the top talent and teams like Burnley and Leeds are both now Category A.
There are a few players who may still be quite young but seem to have been around for a few years now. The squad (development squad) seems very big when you look on the website and you feel they may cull a few this summer but I know they are all at different stages. It just seems awfully big to say non are close to the first team (even for the cup games) and not may outside of the more experienced youngsters - these are effectively on pro deals I believe but still part of what I call our development squad such as Eastwood, Graham, Slater, Norrington Davies, Parkhouse and Smith; are even going to league clubs on loan?
Below is a detailed summary of the young players we have that @goodpinch provided me with that really helped – so massive thank you to him for this which helps enormously fill in the many gaps I had! As I say quite a number moved between u16-u18-u23 action so a number are interchangeable. The more senior youths (if that makes sense) are shown first and then down the most inexperienced/younger.
I have left out Berge and Retsos (young players) who have been part of the first team squad – my comments below on players/each age group are in italics – the other details were provided by @goodpinch (twitter) and @balls_up – so not taking much credit! There are a few contracts we are not totally sure on though. Most of the brilliant research below is due to @goodpinch so thank him for a lot of below!
I have put comments on young players like Smith/Norrington Davies and Slater here and the contact situations for those players listed below, rather than in the body of the main player sections which concentrates on those in the 25 at some stage this season or senior players that have departed either on loan or permanently
U21 (or older)
Gribbin, Callum
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Early season u23 trialist after his release from Manchester United during summer 2019, signed in September after scoring in two consecutive games.
Seems he has done enough to be retained and has been released.
Mallon, Stephen
Contract: Unknown – still under contract on the retained/released list
Notes: Returned from a loan spell at Central Coast Mariners during 2019, played a few u23 games and then went on loan to Derry City. Made a couple of appearances for Ireland u21.
He was a player that impressed me when I saw him at Academy level and in some u23’s a few years ago but he too picked up a few bad injuries and seemed to lose his way. He seemed to do ok at Derry and you wonder if he may end up signing permanently but then on the released/retained list it seems he is still under contract? Always seemed to have a great left foot and be very good technically but was caught between positions and not sure he was strong enough defensively to play the wing back role or quick enough to play higher up the field.
Norrington-Davies, Rhys
Contract: Unknown – still under contract on the retained/released list
Notes: Spent the season on loan with Rochdale. Made several appearances for Wales u21.
He had done well a few seasons ago pre-season and then went to Barrow on loan and did well. Last season he was given his first chance of league football as he was sent to Rochdale. He did really well play left back, left wing back and left centre back and the Rochdale fans always were raving about his performances. He seemed to have a little dip mid-season but then was performing strongly again. A regular for them and seen as one of their bright lights in another struggling season. He continued to play for Wales under 21’s too (did you know he was born in Riyadh – no neither did I?!). If he is still under contract then we can hopefully get him out on loan again, maybe to a Championship club as part of his development to see if he can keep progressing. He is not one I think the club will release at this stage after the progress he has made and is only just turned 21.
Smith, Tyler
Contract: Pro until end of 20/21
Notes: Spent first half of the season on loan with Bristol Rovers then switched to Rochdale for the second half.
Smith, now 21, played well on loan at Barrow and scored a lot of goals in 18-19 and went to Doncaster and he started his spell superbly with two goals as he came on as a sub against Burton. After this he did not feature too much and was mainly on the bench. Indeed, he only played 70 odd minutes I believe. He went to Bristol Rovers and began well, as he had done at Donny, but ended up out of the team and only scored 3 goals in 20 games. He was recalled and sent back on loan to Rochdale but had not been there long (1 goal in 4 before the lockdown). He was back at the club and scored in the pre-pre season game v Huddersfield. A quick player who plays on the shoulders; interesting that Billy Sharp sees a bit of himself in Smith. A big season for him if he wants to make it (not just at United level but any league level) as wherever he goes on loan will need to become a regular in games and goals.
DB – I can see Norrington Davies and Smith going out loan next year but important years for them if they have any future/chance at the Lane (long shot I know) but Mallon not sure there is much of a future even short term.
U20
Ferguson, Keenon
Contract: Pro until end of 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Missed midseason with injury.
Keenan Ferguson Like Graham, who he often partnered at junior level at centre back, he always stood out for his pace, height and athleticism. I always thought he had a chance and although he has been a regular at u23 level, another that has maybe not quite kicked on. He has not been out on loan a far as I am aware and I have a feeling his 2-year pro deal is up now (* now been released)
Graham, Samuel
Contract: Unknown but still under contract
Notes: Loaned to Notts County for the season but ruptured an Achilles in September and missed the rest of the season.
Graham is the son of famous boxer, Herol ‘Bomber’ Graham. He is a big lad who plays centre back and had been rumoured to be on Everton’s radar a few years ago. He was on loan at Halifax and Oldham but he earned mixed reviews before going to play in Australia over the summer. Last season he went to Notts County but once again made some errors and his rawness was in evidence. I recall seeing him make a bad mistake in a TV game on BT that cost County the game. He then got a really serious injury, rupturing his Achilles and his spell was curtailed at Meadow Lane. He came back to United and then I saw something where he posted on Twitter about getting a new contract which seemed a surprise. Not sure if this is accurate or not but he is another who has not quite gone on to fulfil the promise he had shown at Academy level but is still only 19 so will maybe go on loan again when he is fully fit.
Greaves, Oliver
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Loaned to Barrow for the first half of the season. Only made a handful of u23 appearances from the bench on his return.
Greaves was looking really promising till a bad injury but has fought his way back and ended up being a key player for the u23’s a few years ago and went to Valencia with the first team squad in the promotion season. Went to Barrow but made little impact. I recall Ian Evatt being a bit critical of him in his loan spell at Barrow and seems to have gone backwards a bit. He is now nearly 21 and his contact is now up and has been released. Seems like he was once seen as someone to look out for but now will have to probably go down to the non league level.
Ndiaye, Iliman
Contract: Pro until end 21/22
Notes: After trialling from Boreham Wood in January 2019 returned to trial again during pre and early season. Signed in September. Loaned to Hyde United for the second half of the season.
Aged 20, he came from Boreham Wood and was part of the rising ballers programme. He spent time at Hyde United last season but is still under contract with United for 2 more years. Seems a long way from being even close to league football even lower down.
Parkhouse, David
Contract: Pro until end 21/22
Notes: After a summer season with Derry City played a handful of u23 games before being loaned to Stevenage for the second half of the season. Made several appearances for Northern Ireland u21.
David Parkhouse was bizarrely linked with Manchester United a few years ago but now has drifted around a few loan spells in non-league and ended up on loan at Derry and scored quite a few goals there and then Celtic were linked. He turned down a new contract with us and probably saw little interest, changed his mind and resigned for a few more years. He went to Stevenage but did not play much. He is a big lad who puts himself about. Expect him to go out on loan next season.
Sheppeard, Harry
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Played regularly for the u23 team during the first half of the season then loaned to Guiseley for the second half.
Came from Tadcaster – his contract is now up after being around the u23’s for a few seasons and has been released.
Slater, Regan
Contract: Unknown – still under contract on the retained/released list
Notes: Made four appearances in first team preseason games. Spent the season on loan with Scunthorpe United. Returned for the u23 derby at Hillsborough for what would be the final game of the u23 season.
Slater was someone Wilder really enthused about and he made some first team appearances I 17-18 and recall that tackle he made at Ipswich and Wilder’s cemented comment. However, it has not really happened for him either at Carlisle or at Scunthorpe where you would think he would have stood out but he has not even been a regular at two struggling clubs. I thought he was out of contact but shows up the retained list so maybe has been given another year or had maybe another year after all? Not sure he has much of a future here after not kicking on.
York, Reece
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Sat on the bench for the first team preseason game at Burton Albion. Played regularly for the u23 team during the first half of the season then loaned to Hyde United for the second half.
He came in from Fulham a few years back but has not really maybe progressed as much as United hoped and will now move on.
DB – Not sure any of the above will be anywhere close and it could be the end for many. Parkhouse and Ndiaye need to go out on loan but time is up for York, Sheppeard, Greaves and Ferguson. Slater and Graham remain but if they cannot make an impact right at the bottom of League 2/Conference then not sure they can really see a future with us, a top flight team.
U19
Amissah, Jordan
Contract: Pro until end 22/23
Notes: Involved in almost all u23 games, half between the sticks and half on the bench.
Had been at Borussia Dortmund and Schalke as a youngster -huge goalkeeper who is still only 18. He has German citizenship I believe but is Ghanaian. Hard as a keeper as we have Dewhurst and Eastwood (when not on loan) and then Verrips has played some u23 games too – so maybe he needs some experience in the non league?
Andall-Gibbons, Ta'Shae
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Signed in September after trialling from the SCL sport education provider. Played in around half of the u23 games.
Impressed on trial to get a one year deal but not done enough and moves on.
Belehouan, Jéan Leroy
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now given contract extension – length unknown
Notes: Played the majority of u23 games.
He came to us from Man Utd. 19 years of age and a decent athlete who has played right wing back and right centre back. Has been given an extension but he needs to get some game time with a lower league club rather than just playing u23 action which has its definite limitations in development terms.
Broadbent, George
Contract: Unknown – still under contract on the retained/released list
Notes: Played regularly for the u23 team during the first half of the season then loaned to Curzon Ashton for the second half.
A big lad who operates in midfield, he came from Man Utd and has been a regular for the u23’s – has been given an extension but he seems a long way off and was only playing at National League North.
Dewhurst, Marcus
Contract: Unknown – still under contract on the retained/released list
Notes: Involved in the first team pre-season including a start at Chesterfield. Loaned to Carlisle United for the season. Made an appearance for England u19.
Dewhurst had previously been involved in England Youth teams and was taken to a mid-season first team camp in the Championship promotion season. He spent some time on loan at Gainsborough Trinity and Guiseley last season and this before in January he went to Carlisle in League Two. He was only named on the bench one before the lockdown but at 19 years of age, it was good experience for him being with a league club. He seems to have another year left as he signed a new contract; I believe around a year ago but may need to confirm that? If he is around, I expect him to go out on loan again next season.
Hall, Ashton
Contract: Pro until end 20/21
Notes: Resigned from Matlock Town in summer 2019. Played in a majority of u23 games.
Hall, 18, was with United at 15, got released and then resigned for his boyhood club. A centre back who had been playing in the Evo Stik Premier League earlier this season until resigning for United.
Ompreon, Samuel
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Played in a majority of u23 games.
Tall rangy striker when I have seen him who has pace but looks like he has a long way to go and it won’t be at United.
Young, Jake
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Sat on the bench for the first team preseason game at Burton Albion. Played in a majority of u23 games but seems to have been released.
Came from Guiseley earlier in the season. A striker but obviously not done enough and will move on.
DB – Signed for Forest Green in July on a 2 year deal which was a surprise he got a league club who must have seen something in him.
U18
Ackroyd, Sam
Contract: Youth ends 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Involved in majority of u18 games and a handful of u23 games.
Scored 8 goals for the u18’s
Boyes, Harry
Contract: Youth ends 19/20 – given contract offer
Notes: Involved in the first team pre-season including a substitute appearance at Chesterfield. Played in majority of u23 games and a good few u18 games.
Harry Boyes is another been with the club for a few years since he came from Man City. Still only 18. Think his deal is up though but has been given a contract offer I believe.
Brunt, Zak
Contract: Recently signed first pro, unsure of end date
Notes: Broke through into u23 team involved in almost half of games and played in more than half of u18 games.
Brunt was a player that drew a lot of media interest as he had played or a number of clubs as a young protégé but then was stuck at Derby until he ended up getting out of his Academy contract to sign for Matlock. United brought him in and he seems to have slowly re enhanced his reputation to the point where he was a regular for the u23s and also trained a bit with the first team. He signed a pro contract which was a reward for his hard work. Seems to be technically good and plays midfield but also can do a job up top too He may have a chance but needs to look at others like Slater and De Girolamo who also were seen as highly rated so has to work hard – even more so considering United’s elevated league status. One who might benefit from a loan next season to help toughen him up.
Cappello, Angelo
Contract: Recently signed first pro, unsure of end date – 21/22?
Notes: With the demise of the Futures team played a decent amount of u18 games and made his debut of the bench for u23 team.
Notes: Made several appearances for Belize u18 scoring at least once.
Capped by Belize – a striker who likes to run at defenders – believe he has just got a pro deal.
Foulstone, Harrison
Contract: Youth ends 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Played in decent amount of u18 games and handful of u23 games.
Come through the ranks with United but not played much in the u23’s like some of his peers and will leave United this summer.
Gaxha, Leonardo
Contract: Pro until 22/23 – Gaxha, a forward was given a deal at the same time as another striker Cappello. Notes: Played in majority of u18 games and handful of u23 games.
Striker/midfielder who has started to really impress and been thrust into u23 games and scored too just before the lockdown.
Gomis, Nicksoen
Contract: Pro until end 23/24
Notes: Played several u23 and several u18 games.
Gomis according to some sites has a long contact with the Blades and is also still only 18 and came from France. Defender as far as I am aware?
Gordon, Kyron
Contract: Pro until end 21/22
Notes: Played around half of u23 games and several u18 games.
Younger brother of Tyler Smith, has been promising whenever I have seen him for the u23’s but he is most famous for having a spat with Tony Mowbray last year when he was a ball boy. He is still only 18. Central defender who likes to come out with the ball and a good athlete with pace. One to watch for me.
Leak-Blunt, Connor
Contract: Pro until unknown – he was given an extension but the same type as the pros out of contract so unsure if he will stay?
Notes: After signing a three year deal with Leeds United he trialled with the u23 team and signed in January. Played a few u23 and u18 games.
Another likes Gibbins who big things were expected at another club and then fell away/moved on – he has not been with United long and unsure if they will retain him.
Neal, Harrison
Contract: Youth ends 19/20 – been given a pro deal tbc?
Notes: After breaking through to the u23 team last season spend most of the season captaining the u18s but also played several u23 games.
Seriki, Oluwafemi
Contract: Unknown – still under contract on the retained/released list
Notes: Signed after Bury were expelled from the EFL. Played a handful of u23 and u18 games.
Williams, Tommy
Contract: Pro until end 19/20 – just been given an extension I read tbc?
Notes: Defender who played the majority of u18 games and a handful of u23 games.
U17
Ayari, Hassan
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Played a handful of u18 games and set on the bench for the u23 team a couple of times.
Was in the news recently as Ayari joined the TW Braga academy but recently TW Braga were fined more than £8,000 for failing to properly register Ayari. FIFA's discipline committee found TW Braga breached their regulations in relation to the 'registration of players and the protection of minors' when signing him. TW Braga insist they were told by local football authorities in Northern Ireland that it was fine because he was travelling on a European passport. He was registered on four separate occasions with three different clubs before joining Sheffield United. States he is Tunisian on some internet sources?
Brooks, Andre
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Played around half of the u18 games and has twice come off the bench for the u23 team.
Chapman, Joshua
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Made a couple of appearances in goal but spent a lot of time sat on the bench for the u18 team, has also been an unused sub for the u23 team.
Cullinan, Harvey
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Signed from Ireland's Newmarket Celtic at the end of last season. Played a handful of u18 games and made his u23 debut off the bench.
Gayle-Jebbison, Daniel
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Played majority of u18 games scoring plenty of goals, also made a couple of u23 appearances off the bench.
Leading scorer for the u18’s with 9 goals. Started at the ANB futbol academy in Canada and relocated to the UK in 2017.
Grant, Kamarl
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Trialled from the Kinetic Academy before Christmas and then signed. Played a handful of u23 and u18 games,
Kelly, Jacob
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Played majority of u18 games. Broke into u23 team playing a few games, scored on his starting debut.
Kelly, Samuel
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20 – now been released
Notes: Similar to his twin brother above, played majority of u18 games and made his debut for the u23 team after a sitting on the bench a couple of times during the previous season. Goalkeeper?
Maguire, Francis
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Played in every u18 game.
A midfield player who was regular with 20 games started the last season for the u18’s.
Osula, William
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Broke into u18 team playing a handful of games and made one appearance off the bench for the u23 team.
Danish player apparently who won a talent contest at Man Utd.
Skerritt, Tristin
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Played a single u18 game but sat unused on the bench for more than half of the games.
Viggars, Ryan
Contract: Youth ends 20/21 but reviewed end 19/20
Notes: Played in more than half of u18 games and made his u23 debut from the bench. Made several appearances and scored for Wales u17.
A few other academy players who aren't in the official PL u21 squad have made the matchday 18s including two for the u23s.
Anderson, Beau
Contract: Youth, unknown end date as age group unknown
Notes: Played in a couple of u18 games.
Hackford, Antwoine
Contract: U16 Youth ends 19/20
Notes: Made a handful of u18 appearances off the bench and then made his u23 debut off the bench in the u23 derby at Hillsborough for what would be the final game of the u23 season. Made an appearance for England u16. Seen as the most highly rated of the bunch in this bracket and drawing rave reviews from some.
Hampshaw, Henry
Contract: Youth, unknown end date as age group unknown
Notes: Trialled from Huddersfield Town before signing in January. Unused substitute goalkeeper in a handful of u18 games.
Hiddleston, Callum
Contract: Youth, unknown end date as age group unknown
Notes: Unused substitute goalkeeper in a handful of u18 games.
Potter, Finley
Contract: Youth, unknown end date as age group unknown
Notes: Played a handful of u18 games, promoted from the u16 team.
Stainrod, Jack
Contract: Youth ends 19/20
Notes: Made a handful of u18 appearances off the bench.
Williams, Theo
Contract: Youth, unknown end date as age group unknown
Notes: Made a handful of u18 appearances, also started one u23 game.
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Overall, above does not paint a great picture of the ones that are oldest of the young ones. Eastwood was at Scunthorpe but was in and out and is out of contact this summer. Ditto for Slater, who much was thought of in his early days with Wilder himself seemingly a big fan but he has not pushed in with two largely unsuccessful spells at lower league Carlisle and Scunny. Norrington Davies has done well at Rochdale, being a regular and playing in a few positions. We may need to see if a Championship club might take him next season? Tyler Smith scored a few at Bristol Rovers after doing well in non-league the year before but fell away and he went to Rochdale. Defender Sam Graham who went on loan to Notts County (had been at Central Coast Mariners with Mallon) but got injured and seemed to struggle there. David Parkhouse went to Derry and was linked with Celtic and then seemed set to leave as he turned down a new contract but then he went to Stevenage on loan and it said he had signed a new 2 and a half year contract so he seems set to stay along with Smith as two young strikers – expect both to go out on loan again.
We did loan a far few out but it seemed like the squad was changed every week with trialists or new players coming in from Man Utd, Leeds and Everton for instance. Not many of these seemed infinitely better than those we already had (not saying these were good enough either to really push on).
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It seems all the focus has rightly gone into the first team and maybe the levels we have gone up means the standards they need to show have to be of course infinitely better than if they were competing for a place in the Championship or League One. However, no one is even remotely close at all and it is a concern we don’t even have many going out on loan, let alone doing well, at league level- even if it was just League Two.
Every other Premier League club has players on loan in either the English pyramid or out abroad. We do not. I would not want, nor could we afford big squads like Chelsea with so many out on loan but it is worrying that other than Norrington Davies at Rochdale (not best of level); all our young players struggled for game time or success and you would expect most to move on probably now if they cannot make an impact at Scunthorpe for instance (no offence to them or Eastwood/Slater).
It does seem a bit unstructured and no clear philosophy on what we are doing at this level to the untrained eye. The revolving door of coaches has not helped but it seems a bit clumsy to me. Maybe I am wrong but it seems we have taken our eye off the ball here. It is hard when we are Category 2 and have such inferior facilities to most, if not all, at this level (to think we used to laud Shirecliffe say 10 years ago). It seems much of the focus in improvements will be the first team initially and whether the rumours about a move to Norton come to fruition we will wait and see. However, ultimately the academy is to try and provide development opportunities for players, hopefully with us or if not with other clubs (not many will make it with us) but not sure we are hitting these targets or have for a good number of years. The days of Maguire, Long etc is now going back almost 8 or 9 years when they came through. 2011 that FA Youth Cup final which seems like it was more recent!
It is the one areas of the club that really needs close work/attention moving forward but whether they prioritise it I don’t know but the contact changing of coaches suggests that the club knows they have not got it right – but maybe it goes deeper than who is in charge and the competition for top class players at youth level now we are right in with the big boys. Lester and whoever comes into the u23’s face a challenge to get this part of the club reinvigorated.
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Word also for the SUFC Women’s team who finished 2nd in a curtailed season so well done to Carla Ward and the team. They moved from the Legacy Park to Saltergate but not sure where the future lies in terms of where they play but McCabe obviously owns the Legacy Park so it seems unlikely, they will return there. They will want to push on and hopefully contend for promotion and a place in the top level and this will be helped now Manchester United and last season Villa have now gone up. It seemed odd that Ward moved on after the season though as United looked to continue their resurgence. There were then stories of numerous players demanding answers and it all seemed a bit messy after such an upward trajectory the last few years.
Paul Mitchell continued to head up the scouting side and is a trusted confidante of Wilder. He did have some time off after he had some heart issues but has been back involved. I do thing we have had to move forward and exploit the international market and we have started to see players come in from overseas. I have not heard anything said that we now have more scouts or resources in this area and when Wilder signed Berge he said Mitchell and Knill had seen him play quite a bit; which is normal of course but I do wonder if we still need to enhance things in this area even though strides have been made. Van Winckel’s role is still a little unclear also. I do hope this is an area we can address as is a weakness in the club at the moment. He faces a huge summer. He has shown before he can find the right players – the issue is now the enormous fees/wages we will have to find but we may have to do it on a budget.
One thing we have to do is bring the age of the team down with three of four key men in advancing years still and the Berge, McBurnie, Mousset type signings were a good step but then the other side of the coin is despite them having youth and time to grow – 60 million+ has been a lot for probably not the return we would have wanted- yet. Robinson went out on loan, Berge struggled initially but then showed promise, McBurnie was up and down and Mousset tailed off after a good start. I hope this summer we can maybe sign 2 or 3 young League 1/Championship players (the problem is even lads like Stacey and James who moved from Luton are 5 million+ and these were league one players). We need to find some young talent though as it is not coming through with us – even if they are signed and then loaned out and continue to look at evolving the age of the squad. We need to improve the depth considerably though and bring in players who can step in – sadly quite a lot of our signings have not really showed at this stage to be any better than the ones we had before.
When we have had to bring in players recent times they have not really stood out as any better than what we had (yet) and value for money I am not sure we have got. I know other clubs have wasted money on players too but for United to spend 60 million you would hope one would nail down a first team spot and really make you think he can be a regular and positive most weeks. We have not seen that as they play well one week and then are off it the next. They need to be more consistent. The recruitment the last 2 years has been patchy to say the least after the great signings of Egan, Norwood and Henderson. The loan lads in the Champ gave us depth and helped us get over the line but even the some of the lads we signed from abroad did not work. Retsos, Verrips and Zivkovic have not really contributed at all and one went back early. The recruitment is not quite Premier League level yet, whether that is down the wages we pay or we are just not equipped to go out and find players from around the world who can help us. We need to find some gems though and it is not all about splashing money. That is the job of Mitchell and Van Winckel but they have not quite found the players to improve us in recent years after some fantastic work. The bulk of our success is down to who we found 2 or 3 or 4 years ago. Of course, some of the younger lads the jury is out on, may come good.
Next season
Wilder, Knill and Prestridge will be back for another challenge. The great thing is despite Wilder’s success none of the big clubs will look at him I feel. The likes of Dyche and Howe did well for 4/5 years and nobody had looked at them so not sure they would like at Wilder either. Also, our success means he has improved his wages and contract and is managing in the Premier League so any move would be sideways/backwards. As I alluded to above; I dread the day this managerial team leaves but I hope Wilder will be here for the long haul yet and we can keep this amazing run going. He is close to being the best manager we have ever had. 3 or 4 more years of this upward trajectory or even consolidation and he will definitely eclipse Harris and Bassett for best manager ever post war, if he has not already. The challenge will be that teams will be more ready for us but also now we are more established and in turn can attract better players and the belief should be from the manager down the players and fans that we belong here. Wilder will now face the challenge of improving the squad but keeping the ethos/playing style that made us successful. He is facing challenges in contracts (players now have proved themselves so want more money but also probably know they won’t have the success at other clubs I don’t think – but sadly money talks) and getting players that won’t rock the boat in terms of the team spirit and can fit into our style.
It won’t be easy as we have seen many of the newcomers have been up and down – the likes of Basham, O’Connell, Fleck, Stevens, Baldock it has taken them 1-2 seasons to get to where they need to be (recall even O’Connell being a bit in and out/up and down and ditto for the wing backs in their first season’s at the club). I hope he can find those extra 2-3 quality players and the back ups we need to continue to grow. The challenge now will be to establish ourselves as a solid Premier League team – the likes of Bournemouth, Huddersfield, Hull etc all have had 2 or 3 years but now have struggled and gone down. We need to ensure we can become a Stoke/Burnley (not in style) and that financially will give us the spring board to get even better players and develop the academy/ground. Simply speaking a 3-4 year window at this level initially could give us the platform to go on and become really established – the next dream is to go and win a cup/make Europe. Things we never thought possible but with the right progress, sensible but ambitious investment to match the ambitions of our manager and who knows where we may go? I certainly feel confident with Wilder at the helm that any backwards steps would be small and his drive is such that I feel supremely confident that if he remains, it will continue to be a fantastic time to be a Blade.
