A Saudi Prince Or A Hedge Fund?

The biggest League One news of the week has been Sheffield United’s annonucement that Prince Abdullah bin Mosaad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, a member of the Saudi royal family, has purchased a 50% stake in the football side of the Blades.

Worth £18bn and with both a business and football background, the expectation is that the Prince will now be able to bankroll a return to the Championship and beyond for United after a difficult few years at Bramall Lane.

Is he the kind of investor that all football fans dream of having? Do we care where people come from or what their background is as long as they spend their money on new players and facilities?

‘Involved’

Much of the focus on Coventry City’s troubles has been on the ‘secretive’ nature of SISU and the suitability of a hedge fund being involved in football.

It is the kind of criticism that comes up when things are not going well but the main charge against SISU in connection with their ownership of the club is that they have not been very good at it having overseen relegation into League One.

Interestingly with the Blades taking on Rotherham United this weekend, Millers boss Steve Evans has been singing the praises of his chairman Tony Stewart.

Stewart has invested a lot of money into Rotherham and overseen their move from the dilipidated Millmoor (via the Don Valley Stadium) to a new ground of their own.

This is, of course, the model that CCFC are meant to be following with their own plans for a stadium in the ‘Coventry area’ to be built over the next few years.