Changes at the Steelers with Smith taking over the reigns

SHEFFIELD, U.K. – What the Sheffield Steelers fans would give for a quiet summer, one that’s not marred by financial woes, changes of ownership and allegations made against a former Coach. But that certainly wouldn’t be representative of the roller coaster that is British Elite League ice hockey.

A week is a long time in hockey, and it was only seven days ago that all seemed rosy and the Steelers were re-signing the core of their Championship winning team from last term, and things were falling into place with the planned Festival of Hockey, celebrating 20 years of Sheffield’s dominance of British ice hockey. Paul Ragan will retain a 50% ownership share of the Steelers, but will leave the day to day running of the club to Tony Smith, and Ragan will commit his time and effort to rivals the Cardiff Devils whom are also under his ownership. The problems started when it was announced that both the clubs management company ‘Rink Corp Limited’ had decided to voluntarily liquidate, leaving 16 employees facing redundancy. Both the Steelers and the Devils have now been granted two business licenses to trade separately unlike the one which both were operated under before. The separate business licenses have been a silver lining in the rather large torrid cloud, ensuring that season tickets are honoured and the clubs will both trade next season, much to the delight but somewhat bemusement of the fans. Paul Ragan spoke out about his decision in a statement released today by the Steelers. “Following events of the past few weeks, I have taken a decision to commit 100% of my time going forward to the Cardiff Devils.   The running of two clubs has been a challenge to say the least, and I do not consider it fair on either set of fans, to split my time or loyalties. I will retain a silent equity stake in the Sheffield Steelers, but going forward all control will be handed over to Tony Smith,” Ragan said. The former ‘Secret Millionaire’ concluded his statement by wishing the club, fans, players, and Smith a “successful season next year.” Ragan recently got into a war of words with former Steelers title winning Player/Coach Ben Simon, making several allegations including secretly signing player contracts with “two of his best buddies” for the forthcoming campaign even though Simon had served notice he was leaving the club. The players being referred to were Rob Globke (who has since been released) and Neil Clark (who has signed a new contract on a reduced salary). Other claims included Ben Simon leaving his “rented house in a mess” at the end of the season ensuring the bond was forfeited and implying that Simon had “no respect for budgets or the financial running of the business.” Ben Simon graciously answered the allegations made by Ragan, and dealt with them in such a way that the fans became accustomed to during his time here as Player/Coach, with dignity, pride, and professionalism. A fans forum was due to be held tomorrow (3oth June) with Ragan addressing issues and concerns. It will now be a fan forum with Smith being the focal point, leaving fans disgruntled, as they wanted the opportunity to speak with Ragan regarding issues that have arisen over the summer. Many fans believe he has deflected the blame and responsibility from himself onto Simon who isn’t around to defend himself, and that Ragan ‘jumped ship’ before the fans forum so he didn’t have to explain himself.
With Smith the fans can hopefully look forward to a brighter future with an owner who has the best intentions of the club at heart, and has been an avid Steelers fan for the last fifteen years or so. Smith, 57, is best known in the hockey world as the owner of Sheffield-based sportswear manufacturer Rhino Sports, who have provided many teams in the UK with their team jerseys. Sheffield-born Smith spoke out about his new role at the club, “What the fans of this club have been through year on year is outrageous and starting from today it ends. This club can be stable and we will ensure that it is. It’s a fine balance between that stability that as Steelers supporters we all strive for and on ice success that we have become used to. I’m positive that with me running the business side and Ryan Finnerty the hockey side we will combine well and take this club forward,” Smith said. “It’s been a busy few days since I put forward my plan to take full control. We have many people to talk too, many people to satisfy and much work to-do as the season is only a couple of months away. Ryan and the players have been remarkable, we have reiterated to Ryan that his position and that of his players is solid and they have our full confidence going forward. Ryan is enthusiastic and we hope to complete the signing of the squad shortly,” Smith concluded. The Steelers fans will have an opportunity to hear what Tony Smith has to say at the planned fans forum tomorrow night, but the general consensus and feeling amongst the fans is that the appointment of Smith is a step in the right direction, but with concerns being shown about Ragan’s involvement and his ‘silent stake’ within the club. Time will tell for the Sheffield Steelers, but the fans will certainly be praying to the hockey Gods that they have an owner who has the club’s best interests at heart. Contact the author at Scott.antcliffe@prohockeynews.com