Sheffield United

Sheff Utd announce £2.6m profit
Sheffield United made a £2.6m profit for the last six months of 2006. United won promotion to Premiership last May - returning them to the top flight for the first time in 12 years. Lucrative deals followed, with figures for the six months to 31 December showing turnover rose 27% to £25.9m, while £14.9m was invested in players. "The reshaping of Sheffield United has continued apace since our return to the Premier League," said Blades executive chairman Kevin McCabe. "Substantial sums have been utilised for team strengthening demonstrating our firm intention to remain in the top echelon of football. "We have an average crowd that establishes us as the 11th-best supported club in the Premier League. "Assuming we achieve the goal of maintaining our status in the top league then our next challenge is to provide football management with resources to deliver a first team capable of competing towards the higher end of the Premier League." Meanwhile, the club are considering the possibility of extending the capacity at Bramall Lane. "With average attendances exceeding 30,000 per match we are studying the benefits of redeveloping or extending the HallamFM Kop and or the Global Windows stand," he added. "Both options are likely to include complex construction projects that will be expensive and the feasibility of both options is being reviewed."

FA fines Sheffield Utd & Reading
The Football Association has fined Sheffield United £10,000 and Reading £5,000 after a touchline fracas during their match on 20 January. Reading coach Wally Downes has also been fined £2,000 and handed a one-match touchline ban. Downes had admitted a charge of improper conduct. That match also saw Blades substitute Keith Gillespie sent off for swinging an arm into the face of Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt. The incident was followed by the altercation between Blades boss Warnock and Downes who were both, consequently, sent to the stands. Downes was seen to confront Warnock, seemingly for a kicking gesture made by the Blades boss, sparking a brief brawl involving substitutes and backroom staff from both sides. Warnock's said after the incident that his gesture was made in order to tell referee Mark Halsey that an earlier tackle by Reading's Steve Sidwell on Blades defender Chris Armstrong had been the worst of the game. According to Coppell, Downes thought the United boss had instructed his players to kick their opponents. A charge of improper conduct against Reading academy manager Eamonn Dolan was withdrawn. Reading won the fixture at the Madejski Stadium 3-1.

Wright extends Forest loan deal
Defender Alan Wright has extended his loan spell wth Nottingham Forest and will be available for the League One play-off semi-final against Yeovil. Wright, 35, has played in Forest's last nine games but his initial loan from Sheffield United ran out on Saturday. Boss Colin Calderwood said: "We're grateful to Sheffield United as they could have recalled him, it's great news he's here for the play-offs." Striker Spencer Weir-Daley has returned to Forest after a loan at Bradford.

Warnock resigns as Blades manager
Neil Warnock has resigned as manager of Sheffield United - three days after relegation from the Premiership. The 58-year-old has ended his tenure at Bramall Lane after seven-and-a-half years in charge of the Blades. "I believe that this is the right time for me to go," said Warnock. "I'm proud of what I have achieved at this club but the decision is best for everyone." Chairman Kevin McCabe added: "Neil has well and truly left his mark on the history of Sheffield United." Warnock said he was convinced the Blades were in a good position to bounce straight back after Sunday's 2-1 defeat at home to Wigan consigned them to the Championship. He added: "I honestly feel the squad here is the best equipped of the three relegated teams to mount a bid for an immediate return to the Premiership. "The fans will give the new manager 100% support at the start of next season, whereas they may not have done the same to me. "I feel proud of what I have achieved with the club and of becoming the third longest-serving Blades manager - but this decision is the right one." Warnock also said he wanted one more challenge before retiring from football. "This past season has only whetted my appetite to achieve success in the game," he revealed. "I am still enthusiastic about managing, am experienced enough to make a fresh start elsewhere and I will relish an opportunity to continue managing for a few more years. "It will be strange taking over another club but it will be great for me to start again. "I would love to get back into the Premiership in the near future." Warnock also played down reports that he had decided to leave because he was unhappy with the new contract he was being offered. "That had nothing to do with it, Kevin and myself didn't even talk about money," he insisted. "A new contract has never entered into the conversation." McCabe was keen to thank Warnock, who was appointed Blades boss in December 1999, for his services. "Neil is a great motivational team manager and he has played a key role in assisting the reshaping of the club," said McCabe. "We have come a long way with Neil and, on a personal note, I thank him for his commitment to United. "He is and always will be a Blade and has a special place here at Bramall Lane." McCabe also revealed the club would not rush into appointing a successor. "We want to take a considered view as part of the transformation and shaping of one of the best clubs in the land," he stated. "Exciting times and further challenges lie ahead, on and off the field, and the new manager will have a full part to play."

Blades keep manager options open
Sheffield United have played down speculation that Bryan Robson is set to fill the vacancy filled by Neil Warnock's resignation as manager. Chairman Terry Robinson said the club had drawn up three shortlists. The first contains candidates "with all the ideal qualities" and the other two are made up of up-and-coming coaches and overseas managers respectively. Robinson told the club website: "We're working mainly from the first list, and have contacted managers on it." The Blades are seeking a replacement for Warnock, who ended his eight-year reign at the club by mutual consent the day after their relegation from the Premiership. Former West Brom and Middlesbrough boss Robson has been installed as favourite, despite recently setting up a sports consultancy business he is reportedly reluctant to leave. Robinson said: "We are looking at three lists, one containing the names of men with all the ideal qualities. "Another is a list of up-and-coming younger managers, and then some from abroad to give as a wide choice of possibilities. "We will progress from there when we have enough information and confidence to take things to the next stage. "The time-frame for appointing is really to get everything sorted out as soon as possible." Sheffield United plc chairman Kevin McCabe is in America on business and Robinson said: "We are doing the groundwork so that he can decide, possibly as early as next week."

Robson says Hulse will not leave
Sheffield United's new manager Bryan Robson insists striker Rob Hulse will definitely be at the club next season. Robson sold the striker when the pair were at West Brom, but he says there are no hard feelings between the two and that Hulse has a big part to play. He told SSB: "I've seen him play several times for Leeds and more recently for Sheffield United last season where he was excellent. "We have had a good chat and there is no ill feeling between us." The 27-year-old fell out of favour at the Hawthorns before being sold by Robson to Leeds in May 2005. But Robson explained that the decision to let Hulse move on was not personal. He added: "The problem for Rob at West Brom was that he had lots of strikers in front him, the likes of Nwankwo Kanu and Rob Earnshaw and he wanted first team football. The only way he could get that was to move on."

Kenny feels Jagielka should leave
Sheffield United keeper Paddy Kenny feels the time is right for Phil Jagielka to leave Bramall Lane. The 24-year-old utility man has been linked with a move since United's relegation, with Everton amond several clubs interested in his signature. "I'm surprised he hasn't moved before, but now I think it's time," Kenny told SSB. "He did well for us last season and if something did come along I don't think he'd turn it down." Kenny added: "He deserves his chance, he's a Premiership quality player and if he does leave he will be missed."

Blades confident of reinstatement
Sheffield United plc chairman Kevin McCabe is confident the club will be reinstated to the Premiership. An arbitration panel on 18 June will hear the Blades' claim against the Premier League's failure to dock West Ham points over the Carlos Tevez saga. "I firmly believe we will win and the previous decision will be overturned," McCabe told SSB. "Officials have said that if the arbitration overturns the previous decision then we should be reinstated." The Blades are challenging a decision to fine West Ham rather than dock them points and cancel striker Tevez's registration. The Premier League had initially told Sheffield United, who were relegated on the last day of the season, that they were wasting their time and money. But McCabe claims officials have since told the club they will regain their top-flight status if their claim is successful. Asked about what that would mean to West Ham, who stayed up in 15th place while Sheffield United were relegated on goal difference after finishing on the same number of points as 17th-placed Wigan, he said: "That's conjecture. That's not my issue, that is one that has to rest firmly with the Premier League. "Our dispute is with the Premier League." The Blades chief said having an extra team in the Premiership was a possibility. He added: "It seems a simple way of sorting things out but again that is really for the board of the Premier League to decide and opine upon." The issue has dragged on since March when the Hammers were charged by the Premier League with breaching rules in relation to the signings of Argentine duo Tevez and Javier Mascherano. Tevez and Mascherano, who has since left for Liverpool, joined the club in August but their registration with third party Media Sports Investment broke regulations. West Ham were found guilty of acting improperly and withholding vital documentation over the duo's ownership but they escaped a points deduction and Tevez was allowed to continue playing. He was one of the major factors in the club's late escape from the drop but the Blades have vowed to fight the Premier League's decision. McCabe stated: "I think the Premier League accept they wish the arbitration was not happening. "But in the knowledge it is happening and it cannot be prevented, then if the decision is overturned we should be reselected to the Premier League. "Since we really looked into the whys and the wherefores of the Tevez affair it became apparent that a wrong decision was made. "There were circumstances behind the wrong decision but we've looked at it and consulted with our lawyers and we're confident that the arbitration will overturn it. "An injustice has been done - a club that played within the rules has been relegated and a club that breached the rules has been rewarded." Actor and Sheffield United fan Sean Bean will lead a delegation to Parliament on 13 June - five days before the arbitration looks at the Blades' claim. McCabe has not ruled out taking the matter further if the decision is not in their favour. He said: "The arbitration is critical to our reinstatement to the Premier League. If there are other legal recourses they may be looked into but we're all working hard towards 18 and 19 of June."

Sheffield United have failed in their attempts to be reinstated in the Premier League after an independent arbitration panel dismissed their claim of an unfair punishment handed out to West Ham United over the Carlos Tevez affair. The Blades had called for a new disciplinary hearing against West Ham having argued that the £5.5million fine handed out in the spring was too lenient and that a points deduction was warranted after The Hammers were found guilty regarding the ownership of Tevez and Javier Mascherano. A tribunal which was set up by The Premier League took place last month but a final verdict was delayed for two weeks while the decision was contemplated by a three-man panel headed by retired High Court judge Sir Philip Otton. United, along with Fulham, also claimed that Tevez, who was key to Alan Curbishley's side avoiding relegation on the final day of the season, should have been de-registered, but that too was rejected by the independent arbitration panel. "The tribunal have found in favour of the FA Premier League on both issues and dismissed the claims of Sheffield United FC and Fulham FC," a statement from the panel read. Sheffield United would not normally have been allowed to dispute other clubs' charges, but exceptional circumstances, with the Yorkshire club dropping back into the Championship, led to compassion and resulted in the setting up of the tribunal. However, they have ultimately lost their fight and must now prepare for life in England's second tier, which begins on 11th August when Bryan Robson's side open the season at home to Colchester, while the hefty fine handed out to West Ham stands but they remain in the Premier League. The panel's ruling states: "Ian Mill QC mounted a strong attack on the legality of the decision and the tribunal had much sympathy for Sheffield United's grievances. "However the tribunal had to apply the principles of judicial review and determine whether the decision was irrational or perverse. This is a very strict test and is very difficult to satisfy. "It concluded that it was impossible for this tribunal to find that the decision was irrational or perverse."

Hulse to miss start of campaign
Sheffield United manager Bryan Robson has confirmed that striker Rob Hulse will not be fit enough to start playing at the beginning of the season. Hulse, 27, suffered a double leg fracture after colliding with Chelsea keeper Petr Cech in March and as a consequence underwent surgery. Robson told SSB: "Rob will miss the start of the season. "Rob has got to be able to take his time and he can only come back when the medical people say he's ready to play."

Sheff Utd are set to sue West Ham
Sheffield United are to sue West Ham for the cost of their relegation from the Premier League. The Blades were relegated after the Premier League opted not to dock West Ham points for fielding an ineligible player in Carlos Tevez. Sheffield United have estimated the cost of their relegation at between £30m-£50m. The Blades claim West Ham gained an unfair advantage by signing an illicit player in Tevez.

Stelios turns down Blades offer
Bolton's Greece international winger Stelios Giannakopoulos has turned down a move to Sheffield United. The Blades had agreed a loan with the Premiership side for Giannakopoulos, but the 33-year-old has refused to drop down to the Championship. Bramall Lane boss Bryan Robson told the Blades website: "(The move for) Stelios is definitely dead in the water. "He doesn't want to drop down into the Championship and I couldn't persuade him to do that." Robson added: "It would have been nice to have him in our squad, but it's not going to happen and we have to move on."

Blades goalkeeper joins Worksop
Sheffield United goalkeeper Stephen Hernandez has joined Worksop Town on loan until early December. Hernandez, 18, made his debut for the Tigers in their 2-1 defeat against Fleetwood Town on Saturday. He played in a number of reserve games and excelled as the Blades reached the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals last term. Hernandez joined Sheffield United's academny to start his scholarship and signed his first professional deal in the summer of 2007.

Brazilian star on trial at Blades
Former Brazil international Ze Maria has joined Sheffield United on a week-long trial. The 34-year-old right-sided player is available on a free transfer after leaving Spanish side Levante. Blades manager Bryan Robson said: "We want to assess his fitness but Brazillians, generally, stay very fit." Ze Maria, who enjoyed a three-year spell at Italian side Inter Milan and also played at Parma, won 43 caps for Brazil in total.

Ze Maria set for Blades transfer
Sheffield United boss Bryan Robson is confident of completing a deal for Brazilian trialist Ze Maria next week. The 34-year-old former Inter Milan, Parma and Perugia defender has been training with Robson's squad this week after leaving Spanish side Levante. Robson said: "I'm going to make a decision on Ze Maria early next week. "I'll be speaking to him and the people involved with him and if we can come to some agreement there's every chance I will take him on board." Ze Maria left Levante during the summer and has recently been linked with a return to Italy with Lazio. He can play at right-back or on the right wing and has won 43 caps for Brazil in total.

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