Blades fans will hope to knock Owls off perch

Since the Blades were pipped by city rivals Wednesday for promotion from League One in May 2012, and secured financial stability under new owner Milan Mandaric, United have been the poor relations in Sheffield.

But yesterday’s news that money will be coming in to strengthen David Weir’s side over the next couple of seasons has lifted spirits at Bramall Lane.

The Blades have endured a tough start to the season. Forced to sell midfielder Kevin McDonald to rivals Wolverhampton, they sit in the bottom half of League One ahead of Saturday’s trip to Rotherham United.

So will the Prince’s arrival signal the anticipated change in fortunes and help close the gap on Wednesday?

“I think so,” said Pete Whitney, Sheffield United Supporters Club chairman. “The first stage is to obviously get out of this division. It will not be easy this time because the sides that got relegated from the Championship are highly rated and playing well.

“But it’s early enough in the season to right a few wrongs within the team and hopefully we can get on a roll.

“It’s good to have the backing financially, because United have been relying on Kevin McCabe for far too long.

“Ultimately it all comes down to strikers. Over the years we have sold our strikers, going back to James Beattie. We have never recovered since selling James.

“Last year we had (Nick) Blackman and sold him, Ched Evans unfortunately went to Her Majesty’s and we never replaced them.

“If you are leaking goals, like we do this season, and not scoring at the other end, there’s only one way to go and that’s the bottom of the league.”

Whitney rues the timing of the deal, with Monday seeing the closure of the transfer window until January, although the loan market re-opens next week.

“It’s a pity it didn’t happen a couple of weeks ago when we had two more weeks before the transfer deadline,” he said.

“The first thing is to get out of this division. League One is a diabolical division to be in, but that’s where we are. We have had our chances to get out and haven’t capitalised on them.”

The Prince’s arrival sees another foreign owner coming into English football, but Whitney believes most fans do not care who is in the boardroom as long as there is success on the pitch.

“At the end of the day, it’s money coming into the club,” he said. “The average fan is just happy to take the money.

“The perfect scenario would be a Kevin McCabe, a Sheffield businessman, putting money into the club. That’s what you look for, a local man.

“Unfortunately these days, most local men haven’t got the financial amounts available to do this.”