Sheffield United fans call for seat at table as EFL and Independent Regulator scrutiny of Blades owners continues
Sheffield United’s Fan Advisory Board wants supporters represented in any future discussions involving the club, the EFL and Independent Football Regulator amid ongoing scrutiny of United’s ownership.
Sheffield United’s Fan Advisory Board has called for supporters to be given a seat at the table in any future discussions involving the club, the EFL and football's Independent Regulator as scrutiny of the Blades’ ownership continues. Both the EFL and IFR are looking into the Blades’ situation.
United arrived on their radar after COH Sports Bidco, the former parent company of United, was wound up in the High Court recently amid a dispute with former owner Prince Abdullah over a £35m debt claim.
The EFL are also understood to be looking into the transfer of United to a new holding company, US-based 1919 Partners LLC, which took place without the league's prior knowledge or approval.
The FAB met with Steve Rosen, the United co-owner, earlier this month alongside manager Chris Wilder and chief executive Stephen Bettis. The contents of the meeting have not been published in full, although the FAB did offer a summary after some criticism from supporters.
The FAB then met local MPs and representatives of the Football Supporters' Association last Thursday, after MPs had earlier held talks with the EFL and Independent Football Regulator about the regulatory processes surrounding the current situation at Bramall Lane.
The supporters' group says they, and United, only became aware of that meeting after it had taken place, with MPs subsequently explaining that their discussions had centred on understanding the regulatory processes and powers involved rather than the specifics of the club's situation.
But the FAB has now made clear that it wants to be involved if those conversations continue. "The FAB believes supporters should be represented in discussions which have the potential to affect the future of Sheffield United," a statement this week read.
The Football Supporters' Association has offered to facilitate a meeting between the FAB and the EFL to help the group better understand the regulatory process and how supporter interests can be represented within it.
The call for greater supporter involvement comes after the FAB’s meeting with Rosen, Bettis and Wilder, where concerns and questions submitted by supporters were raised. The FAB said that meeting was part of its aim to improve direct communication between supporters, the club and ownership.
"We believe that direct dialogue is the most productive way of ensuring supporters receive accurate information while allowing us to continue asking the difficult questions on their behalf," the group said.
In the meeting, Rosen told the FAB that the priority was to protect United as a “vital community asset” and that he did not want to “risk everything for one season and then be in trouble for nine more.”
On the broader financial picture, Rosen and Bettis told the FAB that the club was being operated with a focus on long-term financial sustainability, with the loss of parachute payments meaning United had to reduce their player wage bill in order to comply with the EFL’s squad cost ratio rules.
The ownership also told the supporters’ group that money received through player sales had been used in part to cover player and staff costs and existing liabilities, rather than simply being extracted from the club.
The FAB said it was given a direct assurance that funds coming into Sheffield United had been reinvested into the club as part of the plan to improve its financial stability. The club also said it had inherited football-related creditor liabilities of around £26m to £27m and was actively working to bring that figure down, initially towards £10m.
The FAB statement added that “perhaps the most important outcome of the meeting was agreement on the need for better and more direct communication between the ownership, the Club and supporters. Both Steven Rosen and Stephen Bettis feel that the FAB should be a useful way of communicating with fans.”
Local media have tried numerous times to sit down with Rosen since he took over the Blades, with many of those requests going unanswered. He recently sat down with a long-time associate for a lengthy discussion, although it did not provide answers to many of the questions surrounding United’s current situation.