Post by deadbat on May 14, 2023 9:06:36 GMT
2022/23 SUFC SEASON REVIEW / SCHOOL REPORT
Staff report
Board / Club
Prince HRH Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud A year ago there was the first real signs that the Prince might not be here much longer and was not in it for the long haul. Not long after I wrote the end of season review reports came out that businessman Henry Mauriss was in talks to acquire the club from Abdullah. Concerns around whom Mauriss was and his bona fides emerged soon after with the Californian having already failed to buy Newcastle United previously. Mauriss was jailed for fraud earlier this year. It set the wheels in motion that Prince Abdullah wanted out. We were still part of the United World Group but issues with Beerschot in Belgium (who were also relegated and facing financial issues) and others not quite having the impact in their respective countries and leagues – meant even this much ballyhooed operation was not really having an impact both in terms of their impact on their own and as a collective group.
We have barely heard or seen from Abdullah over the last few years. There is the odd post on social media but it is rarely ever about United but then he did pop up with a few tweets near the end of the season and resurfaced at Wembley and then strode across the Bramall Lane pitch and in front of the fans. I thought this was incredible that he came out of the woodwork when he has left it to Heckingbottom and Bettis to face the press and tricky questions (re on and off the field stuff). He turned up suddenly when we have the sniff of glory. Poor look for me. Said nothing for a long time and then is facing the press and discussing things – seemed to be a bit too little, too late. Maybe that is harsh but how I feel? He left Bettis and Hecky to deal with the embargo and admin questions and only came back when it was positive stuff going on.
However, it is clear he now wants to recoup what money he can from United and move on. Maybe he is bored of it all? Maybe he recognises he lacks the finances to really push us on? Maybe the Newcastle takeover has had an impact on him in his homeland? Whatever the reason – it seems his lack of interest and recent investment in the club means the end is coming soon. Some will argue he has put a fair bit in to keep us going – although until the accounts come out then that is debatable – and he has not sold our main assets but we also have been run shambolically in the last few months. Going into a transfer embargo, bills not been paid and suppliers demands ignored is a really bad look for the club. There is a lot of debate about why we are in a mess and blame being apportioned. Clubs that come down do struggle as the parachute payments start to come to an end (ours were already accounted for anyway) and we have not sold any players outside of Ramsdale. Others will point to the money spent (and arguably wasted) on Brewster, Berge and others when Wilder was manager. However, it still seems inconceivable that we are scrimping and saving and there seems to have been real mismanagement of the finances.
His board members are never here (till that last week when we saw Yusuf and co again!) and the whole interest and desire to be involved from the Saudi contingent seems almost non-existent. You would expect when/if we are bought out that the United World is effectively broken up – I do not see the new owner wanting to take on all the other clubs and expect them to be taken over too.
The Mauriss takeover collapsed and never seemed particularly serious, although Prince Abdullah is allegedly still seeking costs from Mauriss that any would be buyer would have to fit in terms of entering an initial agreement but there was a great deal of speculation over who would be next? There were rumours of Turkish links, then Chinese and then other parties in the Middle East. When the name Dozy Mmobuosi was linked it was therefore somewhat out of the blue and a complete surprise. Like with Mauriss, everybody of course researched this new name. The Nigerian founder and group chief executive officer of IT service management company Tingo Inc, the parent company of Tingo Mobile, also has involvement in a number of other subsidiaries. However, like with Mauriss doubts have emerged throughout. After his interview with Rio Ferdinand, it was revealed he met Prince Abdullah over a pint of Guinness in a pub in Sheffield and suddenly became interested. There were then concerns of various law suits and issues with his finances. He allegedly owed rent on a simple semi-detached house in St Albans and there were more alarmingly several county court judgements outstanding against him in the States. An alleged airline company had literally never got off the ground. The fact was there were lots of questions but he seemed determined to be try and get United. He was seen at Reading in the flesh and then he continued to state he would prove to the EFL he had the funds to meet the financial checks they were undergoing. The first new of a possible takeover came early in 2023 and we are now over 4 months down the line and the fact it has not been completed has to raise concerns. If he had the money/funds and could prove it (had Deloitte involved) then surely it would have been completed? I know EFL have tightened things up but surely if he, and his companies, had that much money, it would not be hard to prove his finances to satisfy them and take over.
Reports came out it was off around the day of the West Brom game and it seemed doubtful from the rumours and then Prince’s interview. Dozy was steadfast in that he still wanted to buy us and said he was still in talks. There was then talk of new possible owners and there was rumours of groups in North America and the Far East as promotion meant maybe new interest? The Prince said he could sell within four weeks (after almost a year of messing around with two-time wasters – he would sell in a month?) and then said he might not do. It was really mixed messages. Hecky rightly said it needed sorting now for clarity on contracts and budgets and it was worrying despite getting promoted early, we could be playing catch up and not in a secure position to build a squad to have a chance next season at the top level.
Surely any period of exclusivity has now elapsed but are there any would be rich businessmen/women who want to come in? If there was, then surely the Prince would have sold us by now. I feel like he has wasted a year on Mauriss and now Mmobuosi. Although recent times we have heard he has upped his bid or maybe that the sale price had to go up anyway? He was still being mentioned as being interested but you do wonder if a lot of it was around him and his companies getting media traction.
We now face more uncertainty which is affecting the club and threaten to waste another great chance to build something – we need to be thinking of the first team, the academy, the training ground, the hotel and the ground but none of these will be any further along than last time we were here without a takeover happening and to someone of repute, financially.
The Premier League money and status is huge. Maybe others may want a piece of us now but know we have a lot of debt to sort using said Premier League money so it’s not like we are exactly settled and could easily be back in the Championship in 12 months. The embargo for now has been lifted but there are so many questions and uncertainty and this makes it very hard for the manager and CEO to play in terms of contracts and budgets. The fact we are saying we may have to keep many of the old guard is a concern to me and we face another race against time when we should have sorted this out a long time ago.
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The rest of the board as it stands are officially (according to the latest programme):
• Yusuf Giansiracusa (Chairman)
• Princess Reem Bint
• Abdullah Al Saud (who is the owner)
• Abdullah Alghamdi
Yusuf Giansiracusa Was told he was acting chairman when the Prince’s son stepped down but has been chairman for over 2 years! A lawyer by trade – he is most well-known for his press conference after Jokanovic was fired. He said after that we would not hear from him or see him (or the rest of the below) and to be fair he was right as the overall day to day stuff been left to Bettis and Heckingbottom. He came back to hand the medals out – but that was it. Not great really.
Princess Reem I believe is the chairman’s wife and the Prince’s daughter in law? We don’t hear much from her or what her role is? Apparently, she is involved with the women’s team but we do not hear anything from her? She remains on the board but she will move on when Abdullah does sell up.
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 as well as being a Sheffield United Board member and a Beerschot board member.
Of course, you would expect all the above to leave and a new board to be assembled whenever any takeover is completed.
The other positions of note include:
Stephen Bettis The only real visible presence as part of the board. Certainly, the only one based in Sheffield and who is involved seemingly day to day. Do you know what, I feel sorry for Bettis. I recall his press conference after the Jokanovic sacking and he was contradicting himself and did not come across that well. I actually think in other interviews and press stuff he has been good and actually fairly straight forward. Yes, there has been times when we have not heard from him as much but he was good to come out and dismiss the admin stuff recently and it must be hard as he might not even know fully what is going on. He is basically left to front up and deal with everything as all the rest of the board are not here and now seemingly not interested. He probably has to deal with angry suppliers and clubs who we owe money to. I think he has a thankless task but often gets hammered when he comes out and says stuff or when he does not. I actually think compared to other CEO’s/front men we have had; he has been ok to be honest. I know I do impressions of him on the Tufty Club pod but it is very much tongue in cheek. I really do not mind him. You wonder what kind of day-to-day crap he has to deal with and to be fair he has remained and got on with it. He could leave and probably earn a similar salary for a lot less flak. He came back out of loyalty to Wilder but now you wonder what he has to gain from remaining – his own position also may be in jeopardy when we have a new owner come in who may choose to bring all his own people in. I for one hope he stays regardless as he seems a steady pair of hands and someone who generally seems to be quite honest. His comments on the training ground, hotel and other matters might not always what we want to hear but he calls it how it is.
Carl Shieber, I believe is still there heading up the finances but we do not hear too much of him but he was another that seemed to be around, then leave and come back I think?
Dave McCarthy is involved still as Operations Director and we also have Paul Reeves as the head of marketing. We had a sponsorship deal with USG which was for three years when we went up and was reported to be the biggest, we have ever had but this was pulled two years in after the company hit financial problems. Global health specialist Randox was then announced a partnership which was to last three years of which we are now two years into this but they also were apparently having some issues financially. They had been involved in sponsoring the Grand National and recently, have been developing tests for Covid 19. I see some of their shops in Birmingham and London. However, they have not been shown in a particularly great public light either reading about how they have handled elements of providing the process for testing and kits. Once again this is just what we hear and could be wrong of course.
As for the kit well this time last year we moved on from Adidas to Errea with mixed reaction. We of course would get a so-called bespoke kit but then we have seen the trade off with the quality of kits and leisurewear being nowhere near the standard of Adidas. The actual design of the three kits are on the whole nice. I quite like all of them but the quality leaves a lot to be desired. Seeing badges and stitching falling off is not a good look – that’s on the players too! The deal is a multi-year deal (not seen the length announced anywhere?) and covers all the clubs under the United World umbrella. Once again if we change owners not sure where that leaves that deal too?! We have had issues with delivery
Ticketing is always a discussion point and the arguments on loyalty points rages on although most games have gone to general sale this year. Season tickets remain mostly competitive in terms of prices and it is hard for United as this year, the same as last season, they have not known which division they would play in. I always think we keep prices at a really good level, although some criticise the fact the payment plan has been stopped.
The semi-final tickets seemed a bit of a mess with too long for ticket to be bought for season tickets, unnecessary restrictions and errors such as some fans being able to buy extras in the first few hours? We made it so convoluted to buy it meant by the time the final week came around tickets only just went on general sale which was too late for many to plan. I also do not understand why we had to print ours when other teams could just show a mobile ticket? However, the ease which we got tickets was much different to the old days when you would go and queue – although oddly I miss the communal/shared experience of being in the car park!
Match day tickets have steadily gone up and are very expensive. I have had friends who have gone on the Kop and paid quite a lot for a bog-standard Championship game but I guess there are not that many that pay on the day now or buy individual tickets and it is geared to the regulars – whether that is right or wrong?
The biggest issue in terms of the stadium has been the Kop where the Sheffield safety advisory group felt there were safety issues in terms of people standing in areas where they did not have the seat. It does seem it happens at other clubs but Sheffield Council seem very officious and we ended up with sections shut for cup games and tickets not being sold. It seems we are on the way to this being sorted and we were able to sell some/most towards the end and get it back full again and hopefully next season they will be all back on sale. Longer term the design of the Kop and how it is set up means we would ideally hope to develop this one day but seems further off than ever. If we knew what we did now, we would have demolished it during Covid and rebuilt in the 18 months without games but now if we are successful, it will be tricky to rebuild it without affecting fans.
The social media team continue to do an excellent job. We have content regularly produced and we have seen some brilliant videos, tweets and messages. Some might say it’s too much to see the players playing FIFA against each other or following them around for a day but I enjoy this sort of stuff. I also quite like the training videos and Behind the Blades can be interesting and show things you would not pick up normally.
Shout out at this point to all the unofficial stuff coming out from so many fans still. Dem Blades fanzine and online stuff, The Pinch that has started is a great read. I love the videos, vlogs and interviews and almost daily content, The Sheff Utd Way, keep putting out there. Even with Hal being abroad they keep bringing stuff out. They have got some tremendous interviews and to get the Prince on and other well-known people from United, past or present, is really a huge credit to the work of Hal and InGoodNick. Also, the American Blades who contribute with the passionate watch alongs. Still enjoy the match vlogs from Shoreham View and of course the podcasts/vlogs such as Blades Pod/4 Blades/Red Half of Sheffield and the stuff Travelling Blades does. All offer great analysis and entertainment. There is the Tufty Club too. I digress! Also, it is fantastic the work Rainbow Blades had done too in trying to make the club and fans more inclusive and credit to the club for recognising them and working with them too. There really is some great content out there so well done all. Of course, S2 4SU and its moderators/creators continue to do an amazing job also along with posters like Roy and his superb view from. Not sure many make much actual or much money from it and most are doing it for the love of the Blades so it really is good to hear/see/watch so much great content and all are different/offer something to fans. Been fortunate enough to meet a lot of them now too and they are all fantastic and great company. We have talked about a game of football for charity with all the social media people playing so hopefully we can sort that soon. Been brilliant to meet Chad/Noah from the States in the last year too.
I wrote this last year but I do think the local press (to be fair two seem ok - Nathan Hemmingham does not seem bad at Yorkshire Live and gets some exclusives or things we did not know about such as the board room stuff. Ditto for Richard Sutcliffe at the Athletic writes some decent stuff too but he has been on loan to Wrexham recently!) seem very stale and the likes of Shield/Hall/Biggs rarely get any inside scoops or news stories. Shield and Biggs in particular are long serving and obviously are competent at what they do or would not have a made a living but rarely if ever do they tell us something we did not know or is that interesting. Biggs gives his opinions which is one facet of journalism but I can hear that from any fan really? I want a bit more. They do not seem to have any kind of relationship with the powers that be but were not exactly getting much out of Wilder too even though many seemed to think they had a positive relationship with him – surely, they have been there long enough to get some kind of exclusives or things we do not already know? Sadly, the nationals get more stuff than the Star and our city daily often throws stuff out days or weeks after the story has come out. Quite poor really but as I say luckily, we have the excellent S2 4SU and lots of other sources to get our information. It is incredible that people pay for the subscriptions the Star does which you have to in order to see the local news. I do wonder from a Sports point of view who exactly subscribes? 30 years ago, Tony Pritchett was a proper journalist who had a good relationship with the manager AND the board. Those days seem long gone.
As an aside the long serving groundsman; Glenn Nortcliffe and his team have continued to maintain the Desso pitch but would say this year we have seen some issues with it and it has not looked quite as good but we have had some bad weather – I know in the past every few years they have to do some work (put in new Desso fibres to help it knit etc) so guess that might be done again this summer – although the Def Leppard concert may delay that too? This does bring in revenue but might delay things. There has been an argument that the Women should not use the pitch but we only have 23 games on it a year so surely it should be able to take more – maybe in the winter months we need a contingency plan for them to play elsewhere? Of course, we now have undersoil heating at Shirecliffe too.
The spectre of Kevin McCabe still refuses to go away though as signs a few years ago were erected near the corner of the Kop and John Street and the other end on the corner of Cherry Street as the two pieces of land, he owns he publicly announced would see construction start on student flats and offices. Seemed more posturing from him and nothing actually has happened since! Surely, he could make more money selling these to Abdullah and knows one of them may have an issue undergoing planning permission as it could deny access/entry to the Kop? McCabe recently lost a court case trying to sue the lawyers who represented (and lost) in the case against Prince Abdullah. What happens next – does he sue the new lawyers who were represented him against his original lawyers?!
Grade C- (Last season D-):
Next season
Overall, it is hard to properly analyse this section of the club. On the one hand we did not sell our better players and have been largely successful on the pitch (which is where it matters) and got to the semi-final of the cup and been in a promotion race. However, it remains a mess with the club in limbo. Our owner wants out but the lag in any sale and the fact he has only been able to attract potential with questionable backgrounds/finances allegedly means it is a major concern. We are not paying bills and somehow ended up in a transfer embargo which may still be there even this summer. I feel like our finances have been badly mismanaged. There is an argument that promotion means the gamble was worth paying and now we will not have the same issues but if we had not gone up – then what? I am concerned that we seem a little rudderless behind the scenes and the work Heckingbottom and co have done seems to mask how the club is being run. The fact we have so many players out of contract is a concern and has meant uncertainty in this regard and leaves so much work to be done. There is no way you should have a dozen senior players; many you would want to keep unsigned as you go into the close season but the financial situation and the ownership uncertainty has meant we have not been able to make short term or even midterm decisions for the playing squad or the business as a whole. There are still so many questions here.
Manager/Coaches
Paul Heckingbottom I have to be honest and eat humble pie as I never thought he would be here when I wrote this. I was convinced his appointment was short term and necessary mainly due to the disaster that Jokanovic oversaw but he did brilliantly first season and we were unfortunate not to get to the play off final. He brought the playing staff, club and fans together relatively quickly and got everyone smiling again. I thought it might be tough for him to keep us up near the top, especially with Gibbs White departing but the division did seem weaker. We had a good start and never really looked back. Sure, they were a couple of poor spells and at times we sort of ground out wins rather than dominated as we had earlier in the season. He never got flustered (well maybe when he got sent off at the Boro game for kicking a bottle!) and kept his composure even when some fans (myself included) criticised his tactics and substitutions. This is something many had criticised him when we went on our poor spells but to be fair, he made some brave decisions and recall him taking Norwood out and think at Reading he made some bold moves across the team. It paid off as the two City lads gave us energy and a lift and he kept the same team for much of the run in and other than the Burnley game away (with the red card) we kept winning games to end up going up.
In the end he slowly improved everything in terms of selections, tactics and more than that just kept calm and unflustered. As the season went on, he did not panic and when teams looked to reel us in, we just slowly went on another run and quietly moved away from the rest again. To go up with three games left shows how well he, the coaching staff and the team have done. Seems a really nice fella. With Warnock and Wilder before, they have undoubtedly been more media personalities and a little more extroverted and ‘out there.’ Hecky does not have that think where others fans would really dislike him, I don’t feel – sure he may have the odd club (Forest and Boro are two sets of fans that made comments) but overall, he just was fairly reserved and quietly did his job with the team.
Will he be good enough at the next level? You see it with Cooper and others who end up struggling and risking their job – so going up can be worse for them in the short term! He has never been at this level and I do worry he is not being helped in terms of recruitment as the squad as it stands would come flying back down in my opinion. He needs a lot of investment with half a team of starters and another half a dozen to come and compete. He said he could not afford to do this and wanted to keep most of those out of contract – that did concern me? Yes, they have been great servants but the likes of Stevens, Fleck, Sharp and a few others need to have a big thank you and move on. Maybe Billy can be kept as a player-coach type role of some sort where he plays the cup games and supports with the u23’s but would he want to do that? We need to sign quality, with pace, power and some experience of this level. I hope they do not hamstring before we begin. As it stands without that investment, it becomes a struggle but he deserves a proper shot. Look at Farke and how he kept doing it with Norwich and what has happened since they got rid of him? We may go straight back down and might be a bit yo-yo, but is that the worst thing? He has done a great job and bounced back from some managerial spells which did not go his way and after being overlooked in preference to Slav, did not sulk and worked for the u23’s and then got his chance again and took it. Our record since he came in has been outstanding – moving us away from the bottom and to the playoffs and then taking us up.
He averaged 1.83 PPG last season and took this up to 1.98 PPG this season and has won 48 out of 83 games in all competitions. We have had stutters but have reeled up big unbeaten runs too and normally bounce back quickly after one or two poor results. He has got the squad tight knit and supporting each other. You rarely see any fall outs or talk of unrest and each players/staff member seems to get on – at least from the outside looking in.
Great to see him fist pumping the crowd at the end of the season to celebrate promotion. Seems a relatively understated chap but he deserves all the acclaim he gets. Any manager who takes the Blades up will always be remembered. Lots of other managers like Carrick, Robins and Edwards rightly got plaudits but Hecky despite a superior budget/playing squad, had to work with so many injuries and all the off-field stuff. Been so impressive both on and off the field.
Grade A (Last season B+)
Stuart McCall has continued to be alongside Hecky (and Lester). I’m still not that convinced he has ever proven he is that good a manager or coach looking at the results elsewhere but some of the midfielders, including Norwood, have raved about him. He always seems so positive and enthusiastic and that is important too. Had a mixed spell (in terms of results) when he was on the side lines when Hecky was banned. I think it can be important that one of your coaching staff has played at the highest level although not the biggest factor as successful players have proved not to be so adept at managing at the highest level and he struggled in this capacity but his knowledge of big games/situations surely can only help? Good to see him celebrating with the lads on the night of promotion too and on the bus.
Jack Lester was so well thought of as an academy coach at Forest and then at us later on. It was a bit of a surprise when he was moved up but showed what Hecky thought of him in terms of skills to communicate and relate to players with his ideas. I always felt this was more a stop gap move and he may have moved back to head up the academy but he remained with the first team so clearly the arrangement suits all parties. Although we never win penalties anymore so he maybe needs to work on the strikers ensuring they maximise contact (not cheat!) a bit more like he used to do!
I do wonder if they will need help now, we have gone up. We never employed a defensive coach assuming McCall works with the midfielders and Lester the strikers mostly and indeed the whole coaching team being dependent on three seems a little limited in terms of the level we are now going to be at.
Tom Little was added as the club's head of performance in the summer of 2022 and Sheffielder Matt Duke is United's goalkeeping coach. This again a job he kind of fell into when Darren Ward moved on (now part of the England women’s set up by the way) -Duke was an academy coach and much like Hecky and Lester was bumped up after the changes. The medical department is headed up by Steve Humphries, Ryan Flanagan, Ignatius Szuba, Chris Senior and Paul Evans. The club doctors are Dr Alex Worthington and Dr Roshan Gunaserkera.
The first team management are furthered supported on and around the training ground by Lee Rickards, Rob Rayner, Lee McMahon and Nathan Winder, whilst Carl Hopwood and Adam Geelan (led the song chants at the parade too!) sort the kit and equipment, with chef Matt Dale responsible for the food intake of the playing staff and player liaison Ian McCallum works closely to assist the players. The analyst department is led by Hayden Whiting, Alex Delves and Alex Bailey who also work with the recruitment team, which is headed up by Paul Mitchell, who was previously supported by Jared Dublin (Dublin has recently left to head up Reading’s scouting) amongst others and Heckingbottom recently admitted we need to recruit new staff in this area.
Next season
Heckingbottom, McCall and Lester deserve their shot at the big time. As I said sometimes being promoted is not always the best for a manager as the top flight is unforgiving. Just hope they can give them some/the funds they need to be competitive. I do not want to see a side like the Wilder 2nd season one getting beat every week. We need to play a certain way and we will need to hold onto Ahmedhodzic, Berge and Ndiaye – three key men and guaranteed starters and with experience of Baldock, Egan, Norwood around them – hope we can sign Doyle and then sign some others to supplement this core. I do worry whether the top level might be a bit much for a management team who have never been at this level and Lester/McCall struggled as managers in their last roles but of course are now coaches. I wonder if they need another coach to support who has been at this level or is that harsh?
For now, Hecky will feel confident that he can get us to at least have a go and you have to be at the top level. We do need to get him some help though but you look at a Bournemouth who did not sign lots of players and you think maybe we could do that but would argue they had a stronger squad possibly, deeper at least and more athleticism/pace so we need to address this as some of our squad lack the pace/mobility at this level so we need to upgrade in these attributes. For now, though this trio (they have a song which is fantastic of course) and like Wilder and Knill before them, have ended up being a team that has got the best out of this group and hopefully this team spirit, with those additions we need can ensure we try and be competitive. We won’t be 9th placed but the hope is we can recruit well and smartly and in a few years who knows maybe we can be like Brentford and Brighton who have shown you can be solid at this level if you sign well and get a certain way of playing.
I hope if we do not start badly, people do not question him too much, especially if he does not get the help with transfers he needs and recognise the situation. For me unless we have the start we had in that second season under Wilder, he deserves the chance to have a full season and have a go at it. It is concerning that he has made comments about him being sacked because of others (the board) not because of his ability.
Staff report
Board / Club
Prince HRH Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud A year ago there was the first real signs that the Prince might not be here much longer and was not in it for the long haul. Not long after I wrote the end of season review reports came out that businessman Henry Mauriss was in talks to acquire the club from Abdullah. Concerns around whom Mauriss was and his bona fides emerged soon after with the Californian having already failed to buy Newcastle United previously. Mauriss was jailed for fraud earlier this year. It set the wheels in motion that Prince Abdullah wanted out. We were still part of the United World Group but issues with Beerschot in Belgium (who were also relegated and facing financial issues) and others not quite having the impact in their respective countries and leagues – meant even this much ballyhooed operation was not really having an impact both in terms of their impact on their own and as a collective group.
We have barely heard or seen from Abdullah over the last few years. There is the odd post on social media but it is rarely ever about United but then he did pop up with a few tweets near the end of the season and resurfaced at Wembley and then strode across the Bramall Lane pitch and in front of the fans. I thought this was incredible that he came out of the woodwork when he has left it to Heckingbottom and Bettis to face the press and tricky questions (re on and off the field stuff). He turned up suddenly when we have the sniff of glory. Poor look for me. Said nothing for a long time and then is facing the press and discussing things – seemed to be a bit too little, too late. Maybe that is harsh but how I feel? He left Bettis and Hecky to deal with the embargo and admin questions and only came back when it was positive stuff going on.
However, it is clear he now wants to recoup what money he can from United and move on. Maybe he is bored of it all? Maybe he recognises he lacks the finances to really push us on? Maybe the Newcastle takeover has had an impact on him in his homeland? Whatever the reason – it seems his lack of interest and recent investment in the club means the end is coming soon. Some will argue he has put a fair bit in to keep us going – although until the accounts come out then that is debatable – and he has not sold our main assets but we also have been run shambolically in the last few months. Going into a transfer embargo, bills not been paid and suppliers demands ignored is a really bad look for the club. There is a lot of debate about why we are in a mess and blame being apportioned. Clubs that come down do struggle as the parachute payments start to come to an end (ours were already accounted for anyway) and we have not sold any players outside of Ramsdale. Others will point to the money spent (and arguably wasted) on Brewster, Berge and others when Wilder was manager. However, it still seems inconceivable that we are scrimping and saving and there seems to have been real mismanagement of the finances.
His board members are never here (till that last week when we saw Yusuf and co again!) and the whole interest and desire to be involved from the Saudi contingent seems almost non-existent. You would expect when/if we are bought out that the United World is effectively broken up – I do not see the new owner wanting to take on all the other clubs and expect them to be taken over too.
The Mauriss takeover collapsed and never seemed particularly serious, although Prince Abdullah is allegedly still seeking costs from Mauriss that any would be buyer would have to fit in terms of entering an initial agreement but there was a great deal of speculation over who would be next? There were rumours of Turkish links, then Chinese and then other parties in the Middle East. When the name Dozy Mmobuosi was linked it was therefore somewhat out of the blue and a complete surprise. Like with Mauriss, everybody of course researched this new name. The Nigerian founder and group chief executive officer of IT service management company Tingo Inc, the parent company of Tingo Mobile, also has involvement in a number of other subsidiaries. However, like with Mauriss doubts have emerged throughout. After his interview with Rio Ferdinand, it was revealed he met Prince Abdullah over a pint of Guinness in a pub in Sheffield and suddenly became interested. There were then concerns of various law suits and issues with his finances. He allegedly owed rent on a simple semi-detached house in St Albans and there were more alarmingly several county court judgements outstanding against him in the States. An alleged airline company had literally never got off the ground. The fact was there were lots of questions but he seemed determined to be try and get United. He was seen at Reading in the flesh and then he continued to state he would prove to the EFL he had the funds to meet the financial checks they were undergoing. The first new of a possible takeover came early in 2023 and we are now over 4 months down the line and the fact it has not been completed has to raise concerns. If he had the money/funds and could prove it (had Deloitte involved) then surely it would have been completed? I know EFL have tightened things up but surely if he, and his companies, had that much money, it would not be hard to prove his finances to satisfy them and take over.
Reports came out it was off around the day of the West Brom game and it seemed doubtful from the rumours and then Prince’s interview. Dozy was steadfast in that he still wanted to buy us and said he was still in talks. There was then talk of new possible owners and there was rumours of groups in North America and the Far East as promotion meant maybe new interest? The Prince said he could sell within four weeks (after almost a year of messing around with two-time wasters – he would sell in a month?) and then said he might not do. It was really mixed messages. Hecky rightly said it needed sorting now for clarity on contracts and budgets and it was worrying despite getting promoted early, we could be playing catch up and not in a secure position to build a squad to have a chance next season at the top level.
Surely any period of exclusivity has now elapsed but are there any would be rich businessmen/women who want to come in? If there was, then surely the Prince would have sold us by now. I feel like he has wasted a year on Mauriss and now Mmobuosi. Although recent times we have heard he has upped his bid or maybe that the sale price had to go up anyway? He was still being mentioned as being interested but you do wonder if a lot of it was around him and his companies getting media traction.
We now face more uncertainty which is affecting the club and threaten to waste another great chance to build something – we need to be thinking of the first team, the academy, the training ground, the hotel and the ground but none of these will be any further along than last time we were here without a takeover happening and to someone of repute, financially.
The Premier League money and status is huge. Maybe others may want a piece of us now but know we have a lot of debt to sort using said Premier League money so it’s not like we are exactly settled and could easily be back in the Championship in 12 months. The embargo for now has been lifted but there are so many questions and uncertainty and this makes it very hard for the manager and CEO to play in terms of contracts and budgets. The fact we are saying we may have to keep many of the old guard is a concern to me and we face another race against time when we should have sorted this out a long time ago.
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The rest of the board as it stands are officially (according to the latest programme):
• Yusuf Giansiracusa (Chairman)
• Princess Reem Bint
• Abdullah Al Saud (who is the owner)
• Abdullah Alghamdi
Yusuf Giansiracusa Was told he was acting chairman when the Prince’s son stepped down but has been chairman for over 2 years! A lawyer by trade – he is most well-known for his press conference after Jokanovic was fired. He said after that we would not hear from him or see him (or the rest of the below) and to be fair he was right as the overall day to day stuff been left to Bettis and Heckingbottom. He came back to hand the medals out – but that was it. Not great really.
Princess Reem I believe is the chairman’s wife and the Prince’s daughter in law? We don’t hear much from her or what her role is? Apparently, she is involved with the women’s team but we do not hear anything from her? She remains on the board but she will move on when Abdullah does sell up.
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 as well as being a Sheffield United Board member and a Beerschot board member.
Of course, you would expect all the above to leave and a new board to be assembled whenever any takeover is completed.
The other positions of note include:
Stephen Bettis The only real visible presence as part of the board. Certainly, the only one based in Sheffield and who is involved seemingly day to day. Do you know what, I feel sorry for Bettis. I recall his press conference after the Jokanovic sacking and he was contradicting himself and did not come across that well. I actually think in other interviews and press stuff he has been good and actually fairly straight forward. Yes, there has been times when we have not heard from him as much but he was good to come out and dismiss the admin stuff recently and it must be hard as he might not even know fully what is going on. He is basically left to front up and deal with everything as all the rest of the board are not here and now seemingly not interested. He probably has to deal with angry suppliers and clubs who we owe money to. I think he has a thankless task but often gets hammered when he comes out and says stuff or when he does not. I actually think compared to other CEO’s/front men we have had; he has been ok to be honest. I know I do impressions of him on the Tufty Club pod but it is very much tongue in cheek. I really do not mind him. You wonder what kind of day-to-day crap he has to deal with and to be fair he has remained and got on with it. He could leave and probably earn a similar salary for a lot less flak. He came back out of loyalty to Wilder but now you wonder what he has to gain from remaining – his own position also may be in jeopardy when we have a new owner come in who may choose to bring all his own people in. I for one hope he stays regardless as he seems a steady pair of hands and someone who generally seems to be quite honest. His comments on the training ground, hotel and other matters might not always what we want to hear but he calls it how it is.
Carl Shieber, I believe is still there heading up the finances but we do not hear too much of him but he was another that seemed to be around, then leave and come back I think?
Dave McCarthy is involved still as Operations Director and we also have Paul Reeves as the head of marketing. We had a sponsorship deal with USG which was for three years when we went up and was reported to be the biggest, we have ever had but this was pulled two years in after the company hit financial problems. Global health specialist Randox was then announced a partnership which was to last three years of which we are now two years into this but they also were apparently having some issues financially. They had been involved in sponsoring the Grand National and recently, have been developing tests for Covid 19. I see some of their shops in Birmingham and London. However, they have not been shown in a particularly great public light either reading about how they have handled elements of providing the process for testing and kits. Once again this is just what we hear and could be wrong of course.
As for the kit well this time last year we moved on from Adidas to Errea with mixed reaction. We of course would get a so-called bespoke kit but then we have seen the trade off with the quality of kits and leisurewear being nowhere near the standard of Adidas. The actual design of the three kits are on the whole nice. I quite like all of them but the quality leaves a lot to be desired. Seeing badges and stitching falling off is not a good look – that’s on the players too! The deal is a multi-year deal (not seen the length announced anywhere?) and covers all the clubs under the United World umbrella. Once again if we change owners not sure where that leaves that deal too?! We have had issues with delivery
Ticketing is always a discussion point and the arguments on loyalty points rages on although most games have gone to general sale this year. Season tickets remain mostly competitive in terms of prices and it is hard for United as this year, the same as last season, they have not known which division they would play in. I always think we keep prices at a really good level, although some criticise the fact the payment plan has been stopped.
The semi-final tickets seemed a bit of a mess with too long for ticket to be bought for season tickets, unnecessary restrictions and errors such as some fans being able to buy extras in the first few hours? We made it so convoluted to buy it meant by the time the final week came around tickets only just went on general sale which was too late for many to plan. I also do not understand why we had to print ours when other teams could just show a mobile ticket? However, the ease which we got tickets was much different to the old days when you would go and queue – although oddly I miss the communal/shared experience of being in the car park!
Match day tickets have steadily gone up and are very expensive. I have had friends who have gone on the Kop and paid quite a lot for a bog-standard Championship game but I guess there are not that many that pay on the day now or buy individual tickets and it is geared to the regulars – whether that is right or wrong?
The biggest issue in terms of the stadium has been the Kop where the Sheffield safety advisory group felt there were safety issues in terms of people standing in areas where they did not have the seat. It does seem it happens at other clubs but Sheffield Council seem very officious and we ended up with sections shut for cup games and tickets not being sold. It seems we are on the way to this being sorted and we were able to sell some/most towards the end and get it back full again and hopefully next season they will be all back on sale. Longer term the design of the Kop and how it is set up means we would ideally hope to develop this one day but seems further off than ever. If we knew what we did now, we would have demolished it during Covid and rebuilt in the 18 months without games but now if we are successful, it will be tricky to rebuild it without affecting fans.
The social media team continue to do an excellent job. We have content regularly produced and we have seen some brilliant videos, tweets and messages. Some might say it’s too much to see the players playing FIFA against each other or following them around for a day but I enjoy this sort of stuff. I also quite like the training videos and Behind the Blades can be interesting and show things you would not pick up normally.
Shout out at this point to all the unofficial stuff coming out from so many fans still. Dem Blades fanzine and online stuff, The Pinch that has started is a great read. I love the videos, vlogs and interviews and almost daily content, The Sheff Utd Way, keep putting out there. Even with Hal being abroad they keep bringing stuff out. They have got some tremendous interviews and to get the Prince on and other well-known people from United, past or present, is really a huge credit to the work of Hal and InGoodNick. Also, the American Blades who contribute with the passionate watch alongs. Still enjoy the match vlogs from Shoreham View and of course the podcasts/vlogs such as Blades Pod/4 Blades/Red Half of Sheffield and the stuff Travelling Blades does. All offer great analysis and entertainment. There is the Tufty Club too. I digress! Also, it is fantastic the work Rainbow Blades had done too in trying to make the club and fans more inclusive and credit to the club for recognising them and working with them too. There really is some great content out there so well done all. Of course, S2 4SU and its moderators/creators continue to do an amazing job also along with posters like Roy and his superb view from. Not sure many make much actual or much money from it and most are doing it for the love of the Blades so it really is good to hear/see/watch so much great content and all are different/offer something to fans. Been fortunate enough to meet a lot of them now too and they are all fantastic and great company. We have talked about a game of football for charity with all the social media people playing so hopefully we can sort that soon. Been brilliant to meet Chad/Noah from the States in the last year too.
I wrote this last year but I do think the local press (to be fair two seem ok - Nathan Hemmingham does not seem bad at Yorkshire Live and gets some exclusives or things we did not know about such as the board room stuff. Ditto for Richard Sutcliffe at the Athletic writes some decent stuff too but he has been on loan to Wrexham recently!) seem very stale and the likes of Shield/Hall/Biggs rarely get any inside scoops or news stories. Shield and Biggs in particular are long serving and obviously are competent at what they do or would not have a made a living but rarely if ever do they tell us something we did not know or is that interesting. Biggs gives his opinions which is one facet of journalism but I can hear that from any fan really? I want a bit more. They do not seem to have any kind of relationship with the powers that be but were not exactly getting much out of Wilder too even though many seemed to think they had a positive relationship with him – surely, they have been there long enough to get some kind of exclusives or things we do not already know? Sadly, the nationals get more stuff than the Star and our city daily often throws stuff out days or weeks after the story has come out. Quite poor really but as I say luckily, we have the excellent S2 4SU and lots of other sources to get our information. It is incredible that people pay for the subscriptions the Star does which you have to in order to see the local news. I do wonder from a Sports point of view who exactly subscribes? 30 years ago, Tony Pritchett was a proper journalist who had a good relationship with the manager AND the board. Those days seem long gone.
As an aside the long serving groundsman; Glenn Nortcliffe and his team have continued to maintain the Desso pitch but would say this year we have seen some issues with it and it has not looked quite as good but we have had some bad weather – I know in the past every few years they have to do some work (put in new Desso fibres to help it knit etc) so guess that might be done again this summer – although the Def Leppard concert may delay that too? This does bring in revenue but might delay things. There has been an argument that the Women should not use the pitch but we only have 23 games on it a year so surely it should be able to take more – maybe in the winter months we need a contingency plan for them to play elsewhere? Of course, we now have undersoil heating at Shirecliffe too.
The spectre of Kevin McCabe still refuses to go away though as signs a few years ago were erected near the corner of the Kop and John Street and the other end on the corner of Cherry Street as the two pieces of land, he owns he publicly announced would see construction start on student flats and offices. Seemed more posturing from him and nothing actually has happened since! Surely, he could make more money selling these to Abdullah and knows one of them may have an issue undergoing planning permission as it could deny access/entry to the Kop? McCabe recently lost a court case trying to sue the lawyers who represented (and lost) in the case against Prince Abdullah. What happens next – does he sue the new lawyers who were represented him against his original lawyers?!
Grade C- (Last season D-):
Next season
Overall, it is hard to properly analyse this section of the club. On the one hand we did not sell our better players and have been largely successful on the pitch (which is where it matters) and got to the semi-final of the cup and been in a promotion race. However, it remains a mess with the club in limbo. Our owner wants out but the lag in any sale and the fact he has only been able to attract potential with questionable backgrounds/finances allegedly means it is a major concern. We are not paying bills and somehow ended up in a transfer embargo which may still be there even this summer. I feel like our finances have been badly mismanaged. There is an argument that promotion means the gamble was worth paying and now we will not have the same issues but if we had not gone up – then what? I am concerned that we seem a little rudderless behind the scenes and the work Heckingbottom and co have done seems to mask how the club is being run. The fact we have so many players out of contract is a concern and has meant uncertainty in this regard and leaves so much work to be done. There is no way you should have a dozen senior players; many you would want to keep unsigned as you go into the close season but the financial situation and the ownership uncertainty has meant we have not been able to make short term or even midterm decisions for the playing squad or the business as a whole. There are still so many questions here.
Manager/Coaches
Paul Heckingbottom I have to be honest and eat humble pie as I never thought he would be here when I wrote this. I was convinced his appointment was short term and necessary mainly due to the disaster that Jokanovic oversaw but he did brilliantly first season and we were unfortunate not to get to the play off final. He brought the playing staff, club and fans together relatively quickly and got everyone smiling again. I thought it might be tough for him to keep us up near the top, especially with Gibbs White departing but the division did seem weaker. We had a good start and never really looked back. Sure, they were a couple of poor spells and at times we sort of ground out wins rather than dominated as we had earlier in the season. He never got flustered (well maybe when he got sent off at the Boro game for kicking a bottle!) and kept his composure even when some fans (myself included) criticised his tactics and substitutions. This is something many had criticised him when we went on our poor spells but to be fair, he made some brave decisions and recall him taking Norwood out and think at Reading he made some bold moves across the team. It paid off as the two City lads gave us energy and a lift and he kept the same team for much of the run in and other than the Burnley game away (with the red card) we kept winning games to end up going up.
In the end he slowly improved everything in terms of selections, tactics and more than that just kept calm and unflustered. As the season went on, he did not panic and when teams looked to reel us in, we just slowly went on another run and quietly moved away from the rest again. To go up with three games left shows how well he, the coaching staff and the team have done. Seems a really nice fella. With Warnock and Wilder before, they have undoubtedly been more media personalities and a little more extroverted and ‘out there.’ Hecky does not have that think where others fans would really dislike him, I don’t feel – sure he may have the odd club (Forest and Boro are two sets of fans that made comments) but overall, he just was fairly reserved and quietly did his job with the team.
Will he be good enough at the next level? You see it with Cooper and others who end up struggling and risking their job – so going up can be worse for them in the short term! He has never been at this level and I do worry he is not being helped in terms of recruitment as the squad as it stands would come flying back down in my opinion. He needs a lot of investment with half a team of starters and another half a dozen to come and compete. He said he could not afford to do this and wanted to keep most of those out of contract – that did concern me? Yes, they have been great servants but the likes of Stevens, Fleck, Sharp and a few others need to have a big thank you and move on. Maybe Billy can be kept as a player-coach type role of some sort where he plays the cup games and supports with the u23’s but would he want to do that? We need to sign quality, with pace, power and some experience of this level. I hope they do not hamstring before we begin. As it stands without that investment, it becomes a struggle but he deserves a proper shot. Look at Farke and how he kept doing it with Norwich and what has happened since they got rid of him? We may go straight back down and might be a bit yo-yo, but is that the worst thing? He has done a great job and bounced back from some managerial spells which did not go his way and after being overlooked in preference to Slav, did not sulk and worked for the u23’s and then got his chance again and took it. Our record since he came in has been outstanding – moving us away from the bottom and to the playoffs and then taking us up.
He averaged 1.83 PPG last season and took this up to 1.98 PPG this season and has won 48 out of 83 games in all competitions. We have had stutters but have reeled up big unbeaten runs too and normally bounce back quickly after one or two poor results. He has got the squad tight knit and supporting each other. You rarely see any fall outs or talk of unrest and each players/staff member seems to get on – at least from the outside looking in.
Great to see him fist pumping the crowd at the end of the season to celebrate promotion. Seems a relatively understated chap but he deserves all the acclaim he gets. Any manager who takes the Blades up will always be remembered. Lots of other managers like Carrick, Robins and Edwards rightly got plaudits but Hecky despite a superior budget/playing squad, had to work with so many injuries and all the off-field stuff. Been so impressive both on and off the field.
Grade A (Last season B+)
Stuart McCall has continued to be alongside Hecky (and Lester). I’m still not that convinced he has ever proven he is that good a manager or coach looking at the results elsewhere but some of the midfielders, including Norwood, have raved about him. He always seems so positive and enthusiastic and that is important too. Had a mixed spell (in terms of results) when he was on the side lines when Hecky was banned. I think it can be important that one of your coaching staff has played at the highest level although not the biggest factor as successful players have proved not to be so adept at managing at the highest level and he struggled in this capacity but his knowledge of big games/situations surely can only help? Good to see him celebrating with the lads on the night of promotion too and on the bus.
Jack Lester was so well thought of as an academy coach at Forest and then at us later on. It was a bit of a surprise when he was moved up but showed what Hecky thought of him in terms of skills to communicate and relate to players with his ideas. I always felt this was more a stop gap move and he may have moved back to head up the academy but he remained with the first team so clearly the arrangement suits all parties. Although we never win penalties anymore so he maybe needs to work on the strikers ensuring they maximise contact (not cheat!) a bit more like he used to do!
I do wonder if they will need help now, we have gone up. We never employed a defensive coach assuming McCall works with the midfielders and Lester the strikers mostly and indeed the whole coaching team being dependent on three seems a little limited in terms of the level we are now going to be at.
Tom Little was added as the club's head of performance in the summer of 2022 and Sheffielder Matt Duke is United's goalkeeping coach. This again a job he kind of fell into when Darren Ward moved on (now part of the England women’s set up by the way) -Duke was an academy coach and much like Hecky and Lester was bumped up after the changes. The medical department is headed up by Steve Humphries, Ryan Flanagan, Ignatius Szuba, Chris Senior and Paul Evans. The club doctors are Dr Alex Worthington and Dr Roshan Gunaserkera.
The first team management are furthered supported on and around the training ground by Lee Rickards, Rob Rayner, Lee McMahon and Nathan Winder, whilst Carl Hopwood and Adam Geelan (led the song chants at the parade too!) sort the kit and equipment, with chef Matt Dale responsible for the food intake of the playing staff and player liaison Ian McCallum works closely to assist the players. The analyst department is led by Hayden Whiting, Alex Delves and Alex Bailey who also work with the recruitment team, which is headed up by Paul Mitchell, who was previously supported by Jared Dublin (Dublin has recently left to head up Reading’s scouting) amongst others and Heckingbottom recently admitted we need to recruit new staff in this area.
Next season
Heckingbottom, McCall and Lester deserve their shot at the big time. As I said sometimes being promoted is not always the best for a manager as the top flight is unforgiving. Just hope they can give them some/the funds they need to be competitive. I do not want to see a side like the Wilder 2nd season one getting beat every week. We need to play a certain way and we will need to hold onto Ahmedhodzic, Berge and Ndiaye – three key men and guaranteed starters and with experience of Baldock, Egan, Norwood around them – hope we can sign Doyle and then sign some others to supplement this core. I do worry whether the top level might be a bit much for a management team who have never been at this level and Lester/McCall struggled as managers in their last roles but of course are now coaches. I wonder if they need another coach to support who has been at this level or is that harsh?
For now, Hecky will feel confident that he can get us to at least have a go and you have to be at the top level. We do need to get him some help though but you look at a Bournemouth who did not sign lots of players and you think maybe we could do that but would argue they had a stronger squad possibly, deeper at least and more athleticism/pace so we need to address this as some of our squad lack the pace/mobility at this level so we need to upgrade in these attributes. For now, though this trio (they have a song which is fantastic of course) and like Wilder and Knill before them, have ended up being a team that has got the best out of this group and hopefully this team spirit, with those additions we need can ensure we try and be competitive. We won’t be 9th placed but the hope is we can recruit well and smartly and in a few years who knows maybe we can be like Brentford and Brighton who have shown you can be solid at this level if you sign well and get a certain way of playing.
I hope if we do not start badly, people do not question him too much, especially if he does not get the help with transfers he needs and recognise the situation. For me unless we have the start we had in that second season under Wilder, he deserves the chance to have a full season and have a go at it. It is concerning that he has made comments about him being sacked because of others (the board) not because of his ability.
