Chris Wilder's position as Sheffield United boss

[Mendi]

Wilder's position as Sheffield United boss under serious threat

EXCLUSIVE: Chris Wilder's future at Sheffield United is being threatened by disagreements with the club's owners over key issues such as recruitment and the state of the training ground.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[AdamSufc1997]

Source Dailymail lol

"It is understood that the owners are keen for a director of football to take control of recruitment.

They believe his record in that department since they bought he club has not been good enough. "

Ok if this is true then i don't see what the problem is. Maybe the Prince wants to look for foreign players as they're cheaper over the english ones

 

[Black Cloud]

I don’t see anything wrong with the Princes’ approach. Chris is a great coach and man manager but I’m afraid his dealings in the transfer market are appalling...I don’t buy the transfer ‘target’ scenario, you cut your cloth accordingly and maybe some help in the minefield that is the transfer market is just what he needs...

 

[Robboblade1889]

If it is help then fist enough if it is completely ripping up what’s been done previously then I am against it. You cannot completely change the approach after one poor season when the previous 4 have been fantastic.
I always said this is the approach they wanted to take if we lose Chris Wilder over this the owners better hope and pray it doesn’t go tits up because the fan base will turn very very quickly and it won’t be pretty.

 

[knowsnowt]

It's the daily mail ffs.
GET TO FUCK.

 

[S40BLADE]

It's the daily mail ffs.
GET TO FUCK.

Daily Mail repeating what Sutcliffe in the Athletic has been saying. Sadly seems there's plenty to this stuff ATM.

 

[Kev Gee]

It's only right that questions are asked.
Are we not in the top 10-15 clubs in the whole of Europe for transfer market spend in the last year or something?

I don't think that HRH wants Chris gone at all or to rip everything up. He's trying to help him.

Remember that HRH said he will never sack the guy!

 

[BladeInIreland]

Wasn't Berge signed via this sort of route? A player most agree is good but doesn't fit the system. Personally I think wilder has still done well with transfers. Up till the premier league it was brilliant and whilst the recent signings have not hit the ground running they were signed for their long term prospects and certainly shouldn't be written off as bad transfers.

 

[wavy-blade]

Every club buys players that don’t work out . Manure Utd have a massive list of players that have cost them millions and have not worked out , Jordan Rhodes hasn’t worked out at the pigs , it just a part of football .

 

[Blade58]

It's only right that questions are asked.
Are we not in the top 10-15 clubs in the whole of Europe for transfer market spend in the last year or something?

I don't think that HRH wants Chris gone at all or to rip everything up. He's trying to help him.

Remember that HRH said he will never sack the guy!

But it's not a case of HRH sacking CW, he'll walk. Seems pretty obvious to me that with CW saying what he has, that discussions behind the scenes haven't gone his way
Money is now tight, with the Prince I understand having to take a financial hit if relegated, having taken out the loan to pay for the assets

It's a stone cold certainty that some players will leave the club and imo, so they should, which contradicts CW's opinion that he wants to keep the whole squad together.
Berge wants out. I can see Egan being sold to a PL club. Players such as Mousset, should be moved on if any club is interested that is and there's no way CW will tolerate a Director of Football, even if many of us think it's the right thing to do.

 

[Kev Gee]

But it's not a case of HRH sacking CW, he'll walk. Seems pretty obvious to me that with CW saying what he has, that discussions behind the scenes haven't gone his way
Money is now tight, with the Prince I understand having to take a financial hit if relegated, having taken out the loan to pay for the assets

It's a stone cold certainty that some players will leave the club and imo, so they should, which contradicts CW's opinion that he wants to keep the whole squad together.
Berge wants out. I can see Egan being sold to a PL club. Players such as Mousset, should be moved on if any club is interested that is and there's no way CW will tolerate a Director of Football, even if many of us think it's the right thing to do.

Hes in no position as things currently stand to be making these sort of demands. We simply can't just continue with our current recruitment model. It doesn't work in today's game. British players cost a club like ours - were we need maximum value for money, too much.

 

[Foody]

Thing is now we're going back down, I'm not so worried about transfers. Wilder's record at recruitment in the football league is very good, in the Premier league though it's been poor. We certainly need someone to help modernise and improve our scouting and recruitment set up. It's fairly obvious that we've struggled to identify targets who are capable of making a significant difference.

It's not about removing wilder from the process, it's about having someone who can help him and oversee a bit of an overhaul.

 

[S64 Blade]

Every club buys players that don’t work out . Manure Utd have a massive list of players that have cost them millions and have not worked out , Jordan Rhodes hasn’t worked out at the pigs , it just a part of football .

If we are using the pigs as a benchmark then we are doomed.

 

[Geordie Blade]

Chris is a great coach and man manager but I’m afraid his dealings in the transfer market are appalling.

Fleck, Egan, McGoldrick, O’Connell, Henderson, Baldock, Duffy, Clarke, Stevens*. How much did they cost, and what value have they given us?

Ramsdale, McBurnie, Brewster, Bogle, Berge are all young and should be judged after three years. They won’t all be successes (some certainly aren’t looking likely at the moment), but we should still be patient given their age.

Others, such as Lundstram, Lowe, Bryan, Jagielka, Ampadu, Mousset, Freeman, Osborn, Burke were bought as squad players and were never intended to be regularly in the first team. Circumstances have exposed this horribly this year.

There have clearly been some failures too (he seemed to see C Robinson as a focal point for the attack, and that was misjudged). As I say, a couple of those younger buys are looking shaky at the moment.

When looked at as a whole, his transfer dealings are not “appalling”.

*[Insert pre March 2020 caveat here]

 

[McGrath]

Oh joy. So the future is foreign mercenary players, managed by patsy foreign mercenary managers, an unaccountable director of football and a detached foreign owner living in California.

Look forward to our souless future folks.

 

[Melton Blade]

I think CW has an agenda here.
Despite the Prince's assurance about his future, he may be using the potential loss of "full" control as an excuse to walk into another job in the Prem in the next couple of months. He has had a taste of life at the top and wants to stay there....
CW's name will be high up the list of any Prem vacancy.
UTB

 

[bongleblade]

the problem is change in transfer strategy more than anything. we are going for high profile prospects and not lower league gems (except for a few).

I do wonder if it’s the change in chairman which has led to that in some part, and we arent getting the full story from our end.

Just to back Chris for a second here, maybe the prince instructed him to buy Brewster, Berge and Ramsdale, or at least go and find young players which fit a certain philosophy (epl youth prospects)

And then maybe Chris was allowed some relative freedom in the market (Burke and Bogle) who fit his own philosophy, but then he was turned down by the prince for key additions such as a lcb and swift as we’d already blown the money on the hollywood signings the prince had asked for.

The evidence for this is that every year, we seem to buy young expensive players, or top championship players. They fit in two specific boxes, is that because they are split between Prince/CWAK signings?


All speculating of course, but i could see why chris would walk if this was the case and it must be frustrating that he cant tell his side of things and the transfers have tarnished his reputation significantly

he’s not daft our chris and im sure he saw the gaping gaps in the squad from day 1 this season, so imagine if he was denied the opportunity to fill those gaps because the chairman wanted a 23.5m 19yo striker... fuming

 

[William]

Wilder's position as Sheffield United boss under serious threat

EXCLUSIVE: Chris Wilder's future at Sheffield United is being threatened by disagreements with the club's owners over key issues such as recruitment and the state of the training ground.

www.dailymail.co.uk

I love how in the article it says Chris Wilder could point to the successes of Jesse Lingard, Matt Cash, Ollie Watkins and Ben Davies (who went to Liverpool) as proof that he knows what he’s doing in the transfer department because he identified them to the owners. Hardly a scouting masterclass that is it. If anything that is proof we need a director of football because Chris is clearly fishing in the wrong pond.

 

[Nicolaus_Copernicus]

Missionary

 

[McGrath]

Fleck, Egan, McGoldrick, O’Connell, Henderson, Baldock, Duffy, Clarke, Stevens*. How much did they cost, and what value have they given us?

Ramsdale, McBurnie, Brewster, Bogle, Berge are all young and should be judged after three years. They won’t all be successes (some certainly aren’t looking likely at the moment), but we should still be patient given their age.

Others, such as Lundstram, Lowe, Bryan, Jagielka, Ampadu, Mousset, Freeman, Osborn, Burke were bought as squad players and were never intended to be regularly in the first team. Circumstances have exposed this horribly this year.

There have clearly been some failures too (he seemed to see C Robinson as a focal point for the attack, and that was misjudged). As I say, a couple of those younger buys are looking shaky at the moment.

When looked at as a whole, his transfer dealings are not “appalling”.

*[Insert pre March 2020 caveat here]

People are quick to criticise Wilder on signings at the moment (it seems to be usual sorts that do). But he's been absolutely hamstrung by who he can sign. The board clearly don't give him the budget to compete wages wise.

The fact we got gazumped by Fulham for Antonee Robinson and Cash went to Villa after it looked like he was coming to us, says it all.

 

[Broomhall Blade]

To be fair too Chris he has a point in that some of his 1st choice players Watkins, Cash, Robinson, Davies we didn't get. Would getting these players have made us stronger ? add Lingard in as well who seems on fire for West Ham then I think the answer is yes they would have.
I think the worrying thing also is the training ground, it looks like that isn't now happening.
The Prince is now caught between a rock and a hard place, sell our best players and replace them with cheaper options then we will struggle to go back up.
Try to keep our best players invest in 2 or 3 quality players then I think we will have every chance of going straight back up.
This is a big test for the Prince it has the potential to turn nasty. If he lets Chris walk he will upset alot of our fans, he then has one shot at getting it right in appointing a new manager. If he sells all of our best players that will also set us back god knows how long and again upset the fans.
The Championship and 1st Division is full of sides who got it wrong after relegation from the Premiership.
I personally have a worrying doubt that this ownership is going to go pear shaped, partly because its the United way we can only seem to manage 2 consecutive season in the Premiership then a long absence away, but also the worrying signs of work on the new training ground not starting and the whisper that we are going too sell our better players.

 

[McGrath]

I love how in the article it says Chris Wilder could point to the successes of Jesse Lingard, Matt Cash, Ollie Watkins and Ben Davies (who went to Liverpool) as proof that he knows what he’s doing in the transfer department because he identified them to the owners. Hardly a scouting masterclass that is it. If anything that is proof we need a director of football because Chris is clearly fishing in the wrong pond.

I don't understand your point

 

[Carlton Blade]

People are quick to criticise Wilder on signings at the moment (it seems to be usual sorts that do). But he's been absolutely hamstrung by who he can sign. The board clearly don't give him the budget to compete wages wise.

The fact we got gazumped by Fulham for Antonee Robinson and Cash went to Villa after it looked like he was coming to us, says it all.

Forest rejected our bid and Villa ended up paying £16m for him. We were nowhere near. Surely a big part of recruitment is understanding the market and who can realistically fit in your budget?

 

[Geordie Blade]

Forest rejected our bid and Villa ended up paying £16m for him. We were nowhere near. Surely a big part of recruitment is understanding the market and who can realistically fit in your budget?

Right, so you just want him to find players that nobody else thinks are valuable, yet are guaranteed to be better than the expensive players.

 

[bartman]

I think CW has an agenda here.
Despite the Prince's assurance about his future, he may be using the potential loss of "full" control as an excuse to walk into another job in the Prem in the next couple of months. He has had a taste of life at the top and wants to stay there....
CW's name will be high up the list of any Prem vacancy.
UTB

High on the list of any Prem vacancy ? He wont be top of the list for any top league job at the moment . Possibly too end Championship but which of those teams will be getting rid of their managers ?

The only Prem job I can see being free where he would have an outside chance of getting would be Newcastle but if they get new owners they may want a foreign manager

 

[McGrath]

Forest rejected our bid and Villa ended up paying £16m for him. We were nowhere near. Surely a big part of recruitment is understanding the market and who can realistically fit in your budget?

I don't understand your point there.

Are you saying Wilders a bad manager for bidding for a player that others might have outbid us for. That sounds a little absurd to me.

Who sets the bids anyway?

Surely Wilder just says who he wants and leaves the financials upto the board.

 

[Carlton Blade]

I don't understand your point there.

Are you saying Wilders a bad manager for bidding for a player that others might have outbid us for. That sounds a little absurd to me.

Who sets the bids anyway?

Surely Wilder just says who he wants and leaves the financials upto the board.

My point is that expecting Cash to be available for the money we had seems like it was unlikely. That's not saying Wilder is a bad manager, just that perhaps more preparation work was required

 

[robbiez666]

It's quite simple really, the way Chris likes to do transfers works brilliantly in the lower divisions. Less so in the championship and then doesn't work in the top flight. He's spent a lot of money on players who have not had the desired effect. We're not a club in a position to spend £20 million on a player who is for the future. We need to use the resources we have better. We need to recruit from the widest pool possible using the most extensive range of knowledge possible. On the other hand, and I can't read the article, there needs to be investment in our training and Academy as that is also the future. If the Prince is now backing out of doing that then it's not good enough.

The only way Sheffield United could ever become an established PL club is our youth pipeline and recruitment is world class. Both of these are currently greatly lacking. At this level, you need a DoF or something similar.

 

[Champagneblade]

All depends how this is presented.

I love a lot of the early recruitment.

However if you are still expecting to compete with the other top 19 clubs in the country based on Mitch's little black book then you're not giving yourself a fair chance.

Having some additional expertise in an area of such importance isn't a bad thing.

Successful people shouldn't have an issue bringing on board other successful people to help them improve and succeed further. If this is an issue then it's a little bit small time to be honest.

But again, how is it being presented? Are you offering help or is it seen as taking away some of the Manager's autonomy?

 

[The Crab]

If it is help then fist enough if it is completely ripping up what’s been done previously then I am against it. You cannot completely change the approach after one poor season when the previous 4 have been fantastic.
I always said this is the approach they wanted to take if we lose Chris Wilder over this the owners better hope and pray it doesn’t go tits up because the fan base will turn very very quickly and it won’t be pretty.

I don't disagree, but..................

Whilst the previous few years HAVE been fantastic, there is a quantum leap in quality between the Prem and the leagues below. Perhaps that does need a different approach?

I love CW, I love what he has brought to the club. But I'd question whether his judgement has always been on point with regards to recruitment. You can get away with that in the Champ and LG1, but the Premiership is a different proposition.

Ultimately, the direction of the club is the responsibility of the Chairman and board. Like any other business (and rightly or wrongly football HAS become a business) direction has to come from the top. And if a DOF is the direction the board want to take, then the manager has to be on board with that, or they will find another manager. That's how business works. And it cannot work if the tail is wagging the dog, even if that tail is what has made the dog great for the last few years.

In my view, things have to change, next time we come up to the prem, we have to be ready. For me, that is the following -

A DOF experienced in the European (and wider preferably) markets. We need to start looking under the radar instead of relying on the overpriced British market all the time.

A manager who understands the above, and can implement it. Now, I really hope that is CW as I still think he's the best man for the job. But my question is this. CW has come up through the managerial ranks in the traditional ways, the old school ways. But things in the game are changing, some good, a lot bad. But the old ways of doing transfer business are disappearing, it's a new world and you need a recruitment team with a wider remit. The days are gone when deals are done at a motorway services, they are much more complex.

We might not agree with it, but thats the way things are.