A Pound Down & Change Your Address

Chesterfield 0 v Sheffield United 0

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Saturday 11 July 2026

SUFC 2026/27 Game #1

When I was growing up, in the 1960s, it was normal for major household goods like Washing Dolly's and Wringers and the like to be bought on Hire Purchase. Your Mum (inevitably) paid a deposit on something, and then had to keep up installment payments, often by going to Wigfalls (or a similar shop) with the cash and a paying-in book.

If a new piece of kit appeared in your house, your school chums would assume Hire Purchase was involved. And the #BigJoke ‘round our way was…

What was it Phil? A pound down and change your address?

Look, that's a great fucking joke. I'm not minded to explain it too much. But, it alludes to the situation where you would pay a small deposit on a new vacuum cleaner, then move house, so it'd be more difficult to pursue you for the subsequent installments.

A pound down and change your address.

I mention that “humour” from the ‘60s because that is exactly the same fucking trick that Sheffield United's American Owners are pulling at the moment. There's far too much ludicrous shit going on for me to fully brief you here. But…

United World, the investment company of Saudi Arabian Prince Abdullah Bin Mosaad Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the former owner of Sheffield United, have filed a winding up petition against “current owners” COH Sports Bidco Ltd, led by Americans Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy.

COH Sports bought Sheffield United from United World (shorthand - Rosen & Eltoukhy bought United from Prince Abdullah) in 2024. Natch, a deposit and installments were involved. And our current American owners have (apparently) not kept up those payments to our previous Saudi owner. So, Prince Abdullah has put the wheels in motion to either get his money back, or wind up the company which owns Sheffield United.

I mean, even on that basis, what a load of dick swinging fucking about.

But, there's a twist. It turns out the Yanks had their fingers crossed behind their backs when they signed the agreement. Not true of course, but not far off.

What is actually being said is that Rosen & Eltoukhy, the owners of COH Sports, have transferred the ownership of Sheffield United to 1919 Partners LLC, in turn owned by (checks notes) Rosen & Eltoukhy.

So, let Prince Abdullah come after COH Sports for the money, with his big fuck off Winding Up Petition. Rosen & Eltoukhy couldn't give a fuck mate. Because they've made the classic - pound down and change your address - move already. The address of the Club is now 1919 Partners LLC, not COH Sports Bidco Ltd.

Now, my manifesto on Football Club Owners is well known.

Fuck ALL Owners

Nihilism mate. Let's fuck this lot off, so we can get the next lot in to fuck them off. One day, this will all be over. The collective “we” will have fucked off so many owners, there'll be none left. And … and … football.

Fuck ALL Owners

One correspondent has already responded…

It will all be OK. It's a commercial issue. It's not football related.

That distinction is shit - it's an issue for Sheffield United, for my Club, which is being fucked around with.

If I'd have been asked about the Terms of Reference for the Independent Football Regulator, I'd have just said…

Forget commercial and legal stuff, if Club Owners are fucking about, tell them they're fucking about, and we don't want any fucking about anymore, and stop them fucking about.

For clarity, any - pound down and change your address - move by Rosen & Eltoukhy is classic fucking about. And we should reject it immediately. Fuck ‘em.

And. So. We come to the Transfer Window still open phase of the (pre) season. Last season's loans have gone back. Last season's loans have come back. Some players' contracts have come to a natural end. Andre Brooks has gone. Romelle Donovan is here on loan.

There will be some fans out there hoping for “a good window”. Indeed, aren't all Blades hoping for “a good window”? The thing is there are differing definitions of what “a good window” looks like.

Some will want loads of players through the door, in the hope they are better than what we've already got, cheaper an’ all, with high resale potential. Sounds great don't it? Great, but fucking implausible.

My ideal Window would probably look like - none in. No more can't afford not good enoughs thanks and please.

We didn't look awful at Chesterfield. Not particularly bombscare. Not particularly always giving it away. Certainly not run ragged. But, very blatantly, we were never a real threat. No intensity. Not relentless.

I'm OK with move it on midfielders. They frustrate the fuck out of me. But, that's sort of where we are. Rothwell and Arblaster from the start. Riedewald and Peck later on. That stability might be handy later in the season. But, you've got to couple that with a creative and attacking threat from elsewhere. And in the modern game that's out wide, inverted or not. We didn't have any of that. Glimpses maybe, but nothing to sit you up.

Constant movement up top will help as well. Options Options Options. That certainly wasn't the case in the first half with Cannon and Big Pat. Indeed, even now, I couldn't really tell you what roles they were supposed to be taking. Campbell was a bit more of a handful when he came on.

I don't know where Ryan Oné was/is. Louie Louie Marsh had one great, great chance, and miffed it horrendously. It's knife edge stuff kid. Put that one away, and your stock rises.

Not awful, but nowt happening.

I felt quite good about myself (for once). As I had a few nice beers, in a couple of nice places, bumping into lots of friends. There's a long way to go, let's see what the drinking season holds.

The Derby Tup

387 Sheffield Rd, Whittington Moor, Chesterfield S41 8LS

Chesterfield Alehouse

37 West Bars, Chesterfield S40 1AG

Drone Valley Brewery, Cherry Stout on Cask at 5.2%

Acorn Brewery, Idaho Pink IPA on Cask at 5%

Azvex Brewing Company (Liverpool), Frozen Turtles, Hazy IPA on Keg at 7.2%

Polly's Brew Co (Mold), Moon Mountains, Hazy IPA on Keg at 5.7%

I polished them off. Watched a football match on the Tele. And checked flights to New York…

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