“Steve, we’ve known each other a long time.”
And there begins the first long-form interview by anyone involved in Sheffield United’s current ownership.
Nathan Zegura, a summariser known as ‘the voice’ of the Cleveland Browns, is the man sat across from Steve Rosen, the co-chairman at Bramall Lane. They appear to be friends.
It’s the kind of conversation that would have been really welcome at the start of Rosen’s tenure at United. A warm ‘get to know you’ piece.
It’s not appropriate now though, 18 months into what has been a chaotic period of ownership.
They gave manager Chris Wilder a new contract in January 2025, only to part ways months later.
They then had to go cap in hand back to Wilder after his replacement Ruben Selles lost every game in a disastrous short spell in charge.
This all came after working with pro-gambler James Bord as an advisor, who months later would fail in a bid to buy city rivals Sheffield Wednesday, after squandering money on a list of bad signings.
Maybe things would settle down after that? Nope.
This summer we’ve had the former owners, United World, claiming they’re owed £35m as part of the sale.
This has never been disputed. The holding company that originally controlled United has been liquidated.
Questions remain how the current owners intend to handle the situation, and what actions the English Football League (EFL) and Independent Football Regulator (IFR) will take, if any, following a truly bizarre set of circumstances.
None of these matters are properly addressed in this long-awaited interview. They are airily discussed as if it’s merely part of the rough and tumble of running a club.
Every statement on the United World situation and the threat of a possible points deduction has been dismissive, more or less saying it’s a storm in a tea cup. There was more of that here.
This is the exchange between Rosen and Negura on the matter:
Rosen: “I can’t see in any scenario where the club gets a points deduction because of the (EFL’s) insolvency rule. It wasn’t like Sheffield Wednesday where they had an administrator and it went into insolvency, couldn’t pay their bills and all that. That’s not our situation.”
Negura: “Well, good.”
Rosen: “Yeah, really good, right?”
Negura: “Because all this is all about winning. Yeah?”
Rosen: “(It’s) all about winning.”
This isn’t an adequate addressing of a significant worry for many fans. We simply don’t know yet what the EFL or IFR will do, either, irrespective of what’s said here.
