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Sharpened Blades

Sheffield United lost £7.7m in League One in 2016/17. Wages were equal or in excess of income for three of the years they were in the third tier, but it still took a club that attracts big crowds six years to get back to the Championship: Sheffield United finances analysed

An interesting point made is that 'The ownership of the club is a little muddy. The McCabe family, who had owned the club for a long time, sold a 50% share of the parent company Blades Leisure Limited to a Saudi investor via a company called UTB LLC, registered in the West Indies in 2013. Hopes of a Manchester City style splashing of the cash from Middle East ownership have never materialised though. This may change perhaps in the Championship, with the allure of Premier League exposure being so close.'

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