What a difference the Manager makes at a club

[Tony Currie]

Leicester are not playing for the manager and only started putting effort in at 2-0 down. Cifuentes will be gone very soon. I am so glad they didn't take Wilder after interviewing him for the job.

We could have ended up in League one with Wednesday without Wilder. Now there is no chance and we are looking up. Wilder looking like the best manager in United's history. Promotion to the premier league would confirm that.

 

[Millhousesblade1889]

I think the summer proved that our club isn’t ready for a ‘head coach’ it needs a manager who oversees everything including recruitment.

I was pretty relieved in a weird way when Wilder was sacked in the summer, I thought in some ways at the back end of last season he held us back & I couldn’t digest the way we gave up second half of the play off final, but I was wrong.

If he’d have stayed we’d be up there now with a far better squad than we currently have. One thing that’s undeniable about Wilder is he’s a very good football league manager & we’re fortunate at this stage to have him.

 

[3Cheers4Ramirez]

A crazy amount hinges on Wilder, that was exposed absurdly quickly when he left, and it's a relief we've got him back because without him we'd be completely drifting

 

[FTPE]

Playing Leicester means this kind of thread IS one of the few Wilder ones that make sense. Yes we know Wilder has galvanised us and dragged us from the bottom, but Leicester interviewed him in the Summer and didn't give him the job. This is relevant today because Ive read quite a few quotes from Leicester fans saying how different a team looks that want to put in effort for a manager.
Do I love Wilder? Yes. Do I think he's the best in my lifetime? Yes, and if I'm honest I believe he's the only thing that sets us apart from 20 other clubs. Whether you like his personality or not (I do) we could go through 10 different managers, like Leicester will have to do, before we found another manager that would get the best out of this squad the way CW does.

 

[YES Blade]

A crazy amount hinges on Wilder, that was exposed absurdly quickly when he left, and it's a relief we've got him back because without him we'd be completely drifting

Hopefully the owners realise this and are taking steps to plan for the longer term future.

The success/failure of the club can’t be this heavily reliant on one person.

 

[3Cheers4Ramirez]

Yes, and if I'm honest I believe he's the only thing that sets us apart from 20 other clubs.

That is correct

 

[Jan Age]

The thing we were most guilty of was trying to move too far too quickly.

Everything about the club needs to be modernised so that we can keep up with the modern game.

We moved too quickly in one direction without the infrastructure when what we need to do is have a 3-5 year plan with a clear idea of what the end point looks like.

Wilder may well be part of the early stages but not the latter … he may be part of it all but in different roles… he may be part of it all as manager but need to adapt and work with different set ups….

The needs for us to modernise hasn’t gone away but we need to think clearly about how this is done

 

[vas borbokis]

He has his faults and some blind spots but is way better for us than anyone else we might attract.
I'm all in on Wilder. The fact he cares so much about our results means he has and always will give us his very best efforts and he gets the players to buy into that, or they're out of the team.
Long live the king!

 

[Ecco1889]

 

[Inter_blade83]

Love the pat on the back he gave himself after the first goal.

Also, turning and celebrating with the stand behind him after the 3rd.

Big smile on his face. He's loving it again.

Also, that 3rd goal. Wow. Great team goal and had me smiling so much the missus asked me why I was smiling

 

[Eric_Brooks]

His subs are an issue. First 70 mins he has pretty much nailed.

Leicester started getting more of the ball.

1st sub was Campbell for Bamford as we obviously needed his energy uo top.

2nd sub hamer for brooks. Ohare goes to right because when they attack down their right hand side hamer is the man you want to track back.

3 subs put on to stem the flow really to correct the first two sets of subs,

Ps did anyone see Campbell go round everyone before the start of the 2nd half. Last stop seriki and was chatting to him whilst hews praying. Even wilder thought it was weird

 

[IdLiketoRogerMoore]

Playing Leicester means this kind of thread IS one of the few Wilder ones that make sense. Yes we know Wilder has galvanised us and dragged us from the bottom, but Leicester interviewed him in the Summer and didn't give him the job. This is relevant today because Ive read quite a few quotes from Leicester fans saying how different a team looks that want to put in effort for a manager.
Do I love Wilder? Yes. Do I think he's the best in my lifetime? Yes, and if I'm honest I believe he's the only thing that sets us apart from 20 other clubs. Whether you like his personality or not (I do) we could go through 10 different managers, like Leicester will have to do, before we found another manager that would get the best out of this squad the way CW does.

Great post Sir!

It's the maddest idiosyncrasy of Sheff Utd, that as ever other club has evolved to the HC/DoF model, we're still operating with a 1980's type model that only works with a certain type of British manager. The minute we try to make that change, it falls apart very quickly.

It's equal parts frustrating - can't see us ever becoming the established PL we're striving to be with this model - but by the same token, it's bloody entertaining to watch us 'disrupt' the modern footballing eco-system with our contrarian methodology.

Wilder would (and has done) crash and burn at a more 'modern' club, and by contrast, we could have Pep Guardiola as a manager and he wouldn't do as well as Tufty.

As we start 2026, I think it's time to just accept we're stuck with one another!

 

[Keen Blade]

Great post Sir!

It's the maddest idiosyncrasy of Sheff Utd, that as ever other club has evolved to the HC/DoF model, we're still operating with a 1980's type model that only works with a certain type of British manager. The minute we try to make that change, it falls apart very quickly.

It's equal parts frustrating - can't see us ever becoming the established PL we're striving to be with this model - but by the same token, it's bloody entertaining to watch us 'disrupt' the modern footballing eco-system with our contrarian methodology.

Wilder would (and has done) crash and burn at a more 'modern' club, and by contrast, we could have Pep Guardiola as a manager and he wouldn't do as well as Tufty.

As we start 2026, I think it's time to just accept we're stuck with one another!

For now , yes , I agree.

But I hope the owners have an eye to succession planning.

It's too high risk otherwise , relying on one man who could fall under a bus tomorrow.

I've nothing against someone who loves the club , it's a great advantage.

Maybe they should be quietly talking to Billy Sharp - surely he's got to stop playing at some stage.

Has he done his badges ?

Get him in as an assistant before some other club nabs him.

 

[coaxingstar71]

I hope the owners learned their lesson, because it was a very expensive one.
Not only did they have to pay Wilder off having only just given him a new 4 year contract, but then they would have paid Selles off too.
In addition to that, it astounds me how few people could see that we over-achieved last season. Having come out of a disastrous season in the Premier League, followed by a (much needed) high turnover of playing staff, a much smaller squad (especially in the first half of last season) and it was the first proper season experience for Brooks, Seriki and due to the long term injury to Arblaster, Peck too. Despite that and several long term injuries, including the aforementioned Arblaster and Souttar, who was playing so well, we still managed to finish 3rd and were agonisingly close to actually winning the play-off final. Yet people were still not happy because, we weren't smashing teams 3 and 4 nil every week. It really beggars belief.
It's not a coincidence that we've turned a corner AND we're playing better football and scoring more goals. Imagine if Wilder had not been sacked, signed the players he wanted and then we'd started the season. I firmly believe we'd be challenging and probably in the top 2 at least. We've got a manager with a proven track record in this league and FIVE promotions on his CV, it's not luck.

In future lads and lasses, be very careful what you wish for.

 

[The Fox]

I tend to think the majority of managers , even those at the very top are one trick pony's.

They tend to find a way of playing with a certain set of players at a club and just try and re create that in new jobs for the rest of thier career.

Pretty much dependant on the surviving enough transfer windows and the owners backing to try and recreate a team .

Tend to think those who've cut thier cloth lower down the pyramid are better at having to problem solve , work with what they have

The ones that fail are sometimes described as sticking to thier principles , or being stubborn etc ..they just dont have the brains or talent to do it any other way .

As for ourselves , its become more of a coaching team effort , the manager sets the standards and principles , the coaches probably have a big say in who and how , probably the way forward and how younger managers work .

 

[LSF]

His subs are an issue. First 70 mins he has pretty much nailed.

Leicester started getting more of the ball.

1st sub was Campbell for Bamford as we obviously needed his energy uo top.

2nd sub hamer for brooks. Ohare goes to right because when they attack down their right hand side hamer is the man you want to track back.

3 subs put on to stem the flow really to correct the first two sets of subs,

Ps did anyone see Campbell go round everyone before the start of the 2nd half. Last stop seriki and was chatting to him whilst hews praying. Even wilder thought it was weird

Yes, I noticed that. He was very patient waiting for Femi to finish his prayer

 

[Houston_Blade]

Great post Sir!

It's the maddest idiosyncrasy of Sheff Utd, that as ever other club has evolved to the HC/DoF model, we're still operating with a 1980's type model that only works with a certain type of British manager. The minute we try to make that change, it falls apart very quickly.

It's equal parts frustrating - can't see us ever becoming the established PL we're striving to be with this model - but by the same token, it's bloody entertaining to watch us 'disrupt' the modern footballing eco-system with our contrarian methodology.

Wilder would (and has done) crash and burn at a more 'modern' club, and by contrast, we could have Pep Guardiola as a manager and he wouldn't do as well as Tufty.

As we start 2026, I think it's time to just accept we're stuck with one another!

This nails it for me.

I don’t not want Wilder, but I want us to be a club with the ability to recruit well and adapt both football and commercial sides of the club to compete in the modern game. If we could do that with Wilder then that’s fine for me.

Next season will be a huge challenge because we’ll be operating on a budget we haven’t had for a good few years and we’ll have to cut our cloth. Wilder has past history of being good for us in that situation, but he may also get pissed off if we’ve gone from a parachute budget to a bog standard Championship budget.

Player sales are the only way to address this and that would probably be the likes of Peck, Hamer, Arblaster, Brooks, Seriki (I.e. the players that Wilder has built his team around with the odd bit of experience thrown in to help).

It will be interesting to see how next season goes but I do think Wilder and his attitude to the changes required will be important in how well we do.

 

[Berkshire Blade]

Love the pat on the back he gave himself after the first goal.

He was asked about that on sky and was mocking the set play coach Gary Mcsheffery who hasn't been shy in boasting about our recent success from corners it seems!

 

[Berkshire Blade]

Approaching 1100 games and has managed at various levels and situations. A more experienced manager with success and knowledge would be hard to find

 

[ancientblade]

He was asked about that on sky and was mocking the set play coach Gary Mcsheffery who hasn't been shy in boasting about our recent success from corners it seems!

has he ? i like that and hes doing a fantastic job weve gone from a side never looking like scoring from corners to a very dangerous side at set pieces well done gary and keep on bragging about it

 

[PaulPeschBlade]

I think the summer proved that our club isn’t ready for a ‘head coach’ it needs a manager who oversees everything including recruitment.

I was pretty relieved in a weird way when Wilder was sacked in the summer, I thought in some ways at the back end of last season he held us back & I couldn’t digest the way we gave up second half of the play off final, but I was wrong.

If he’d have stayed we’d be up there now with a far better squad than we currently have. One thing that’s undeniable about Wilder is he’s a very good football league manager & we’re fortunate at this stage to have him.

I think the idea in the summer was the correct one.


Moving away from a manager who does everything to a structure where the manager is helped by a footballing structure.


It’s not that dissimilar to the issues Man United had post-Fergie.


The problem was we went from one spectrum to the other—the exact same thing we did with Slav. It needs to be done gradually. Maybe a Gary O'Neil or a Lampard would have been more sensible.

Wilder last season became a poor manager wit not many ideas perhaps the sacking made him realise that as this is the best football we have seen since Wilders 352 duffy in the ten team

 

[Berkshire Blade]

Wilder last season became a poor manager wit not many ideas perhaps the sacking made him realise that as this is the best football we have seen since Wilders 352 duffy in the ten team

He was rebuilding a side that stunk out the premier league.

Look at Southampton and Leicester this season to put into context what a good job he did getting 90+ points

 

[Snowflake]

I think the summer proved that our club isn’t ready for a ‘head coach’ it needs a manager who oversees everything including recruitment.

I was pretty relieved in a weird way when Wilder was sacked in the summer, I thought in some ways at the back end of last season he held us back & I couldn’t digest the way we gave up second half of the play off final, but I was wrong.

If he’d have stayed we’d be up there now with a far better squad than we currently have. One thing that’s undeniable about Wilder is he’s a very good football league manager & we’re fortunate at this stage to have him.

Whilst I agree with your positive comments about Wilder, I don’t think we always have to have a “manager who overseas everything “. It depends on the quality and ability of of the head coach and the recruitment structure above him.

 

[Espania blade]

If you really have an interest in this topic go to Utube "Diary of a CEO (Stephen Bartlett from Dragons den) interviewing a former Data manager in klopps era, really interesting insight into how data and other stuff works for recruitment including managers ! Well worth a listen if you have the time

 

[PaulPeschBlade]

He was rebuilding a side that stunk out the premier league.

Look at Southampton and Leicester this season to put into context what a good job he did getting 90+ points

It’s a fair point.


Ipswich will probably get the automatics, Saints could still make the top six, and Leicester are all over the place — plus they might still have a points deduction coming.


I wouldn’t say he was “rebuilding” though. Every team sells players and brings new ones in every window.


He did a good job, but we were never really a 90-point side.


This season, over the last 10 games, we’ve looked like an automatic-promotion team. Last year we were very poor at times, Hamer aside.

 

[Tony Currie]

Hopefully the owners realise this and are taking steps to plan for the longer term future.

The success/failure of the club can’t be this heavily reliant on one person.

It can be reliant on one person Alex Ferguson was at Manchester for 26 years!

Pep coming up to 10 years.

Klopp 8.5 years

As with Manchester United and Liverpool replacing the best manager you have ever had is nigh on impossible, I bet both sets of fans wish it could have been longer.

 

[ancientblade]

It’s a fair point.


Ipswich will probably get the automatics, Saints could still make the top six, and Leicester are all over the place — plus they might still have a points deduction coming.


I wouldn’t say he was “rebuilding” though. Every team sells players and brings new ones in every window.


He did a good job, but we were never really a 90-point side.


This season, over the last 10 games, we’ve looked like an automatic-promotion team. Last year we were very poor at times, Hamer aside.

last paragraph you make a good point we look a lot better team without hamer and im one of his biggest fans just seem more solid

 

[FH Team]

Hi Blades,

Some thoughts on the manager's man-management skills here if you're interested:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/czx1g52wdj8o

 

[Yewsman]

What is really frustrating is that this season the Championship is in my view the most open (and probably the weakest) it has been for a number of years. Historically it's dominated by the 3 teams relegated from the EPL the previous season who all have parachute payments, good squads plus other teams who still have parachute payments (like us this time). The three relegated teams, Ipswich, Soton and Leicester are not dominating although Ipswich are looking good and Soton may come good. With decent recruitment (and pps) we had really good chance of getting autos. Now we will struggle even to get play offs. Looks like next season we will.be in Champ again but on massively reduced income which means either ownership to pump.in cash(unlikely?) or we have to sell some of our crown jewels like Blaster, Peck, Sericki, Brooks with resultant worsening of squad. Not a great prospect!

 

[Pittsburg Blade]

Love the pat on the back he gave himself after the first goal.

I thought he was just getting old and had forgotten where the club badge is.
I’m much relieved now.