Sheffield United's new owners would benefit from giving Prince Abdullah AND Kevin McCabe a call

Where do you go for advice if you’re first-time owners of a football club? Well, here’s one suggestion in the case of COH Sports and Sheffield United - BOTH the previous owners.

That might seem an incendiary idea considering the acrimonious split that saw the outgoing Prince Abdullah wrest control from long-time custodian Kevin McCabe. Also in that both made mistakes along the way, neither perfect in the eyes of most supporters who were split on their merits. But the fact is both men presided over some successful times. Each would have valuable pointers to offer And you learn more from mistakes in life than anything else.

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I’m reminded of this while reading “Mucky Boots”, McCabe’s highly revealing and searingly honest account of his time in football, written in tandem with Peter Beeby. It’s clear no-one, perhaps least of all McCabe and Abdullah, would wish to further rake over the row that cleft the club in two and ended in a courtroom. But both have demonstrated they have United’s best interests at heart, besides sharing promotions to the Premier League.

And Blades followers have cause to be grateful to both of them, even if the Prince admits, as in a BBC Radio Sheffield interview, that he departed with a “good profit” in the end. Which could certainly not be said of McCabe, who ploughed over £100m from his property empire into the club.

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McCabe’s enterprise fashioned a modern stadium, albeit - by his own admission - his decision-making on football could be suspect, particularly hiring and firing of managers and CEOs. Abdullah, too, has admitted errors. Nobody can be faultless in such a volatile arena. He has been cast as an opportunist on McCabe’s spadework and I think there is much truth to that in that he capitalised on the scarcely believable tactical error from his partner that saw control switch between them. But he oversaw three seasons in the Premier League and both would surely agree that the club - one of which McCabe has been a lifelong supporter - comes first.

I reckon he’s due far more credit than he’s received for reforming a run-down outfit into a club with a good infrastructure besides being more competitive on the field, and appointing Chris Wilder whose impending new deal is a no-brainer.

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The academy, so consistently high-performing, must be rated the jewel in McCabe’s crown and credit to his successor for polishing it.

Abdullah has already said he would be open to consultation with new owners Steven Rosen and Helmy Etoukhy. I know that would apply to McCabe also, with no strings attached. For instance, there could be a pick up on his far-advanced erstwhile plans to make Bramall Lane a 40,000 capacity stadium via redevelopment of the Kop and South Stand. We’re talking about two former owners who know all the pitfalls.

Obviously Rosen and Etoukhy will do things their own way and rightly so. But always there are lessons in the past that lead to the future.