He has lost it?

[Kenworthy’s Tash]

Every fucker has turned him on after a few losses.

 

[Silky Sabella]

No he's just feeling the pain like we all are.

He is the CAUSE OF THE PAIN !

 

[Rob86]

This is exactly right.

We haven’t bottled anything. We’ve played the same way all season and been lucky or been bailed out by our star players. Did we play much worse today than we did against Plymouth at our place? Not really.

For the last few months the refrain has been “it doesn’t matter how you’re playing as long as you’re winning.” Well the last three games is why it matters.

Completely agree

From an outsider perspective it is a huge bottle job but I don’t think many of us were eagerly anticipating a sprint finish. More hoping we could hobble over the line and complete the race.

The two teams who will go up automatically have significantly better goals for and goals against records than any of the division, they are clear front runners.

We are just a bit better than most teams which in the championship is not very significant at all.

It is the timing of the collapse which is causing the reaction from the fans and Wilder. If we’d hovered around the play offs all season or fallen away much earlier I doubt there would have been as bigger panic to the last 3 results.

 

[Silky Sabella]

Clear to see Wilder is an embarrassment to Sheffield United

Perfectly stated

 

[Camden Blade]

I genuinely don't know what to make of it.

For most of the season I thought he looked like a man who was a re energised but also calmer and perhaps wiser version of the manager who walked away from us before. He had shown genuine skill and craft in the transfer market, and rebuilt a team that had been on its arse only months before and took it into a 3 way slugfest for the title.

However something seems to have flipped recently. He now looks worn out, bereft of ideas and constantly on the verge of a meltdown and that is surprising for a man who had previously relished and thrived during the pressure of the run in.

The players need to take their share of the blame too, and perhaps they made the same mistake that Leeds did after beating us, by thinking that if we got past say the the Pigs and Cov we were home and hosed?

Fuck knows what has happened, but this is the biggest implosion I have seen by us for a long long time, and one I never thought I would see from a Wilder team,.

True. Wilder has aged. He looks about 65 yet he is 57 I think. That's the pressure of the job. We're beginning to see the same problems as last time around. It's when the chips are down that you need a winning character. Wilder lashing out at the fans, sulking, adopting a victim mentality was precisely the opposite of what was needed post-Oxford defeat.

 

[AlienWoodward]

He is the CAUSE OF THE PAIN !

Don't be ridiculous.
We'd probably still be in league one if he'd never taken over.

 

[Nagima]

Criticism of Wilder doesn't mean you are anti Wilder. Criticism is a valid response of supporters who pay good money to see their team play. Losing 3 in a row from being top of the league to being 5pts behind the top 2. Hurts alot more than at the start of the season.

The consistent theme this season is largely about style of play or organisation. Winning but not playing as well as we could.

We have had some good additions to the squad but I can't understand buying Holding if you are not going to play him. Souttar hasn't been replaced. The logic of Robbo and Anel playing is weak. Both are emotional and rash. Robbo has been bullied all game against Millwall. That is the main gripe from me.

Our 4231 formation with full backs pushing up too much leaves us vulnerable on the counter and I don't know why you would even dare to do this with Anel & Robbo playing. Right back has been a joke position.
Gilchrist solid defending poor in attack.
Clarke the opposite.
Shackleton Choudray Anel Serike all played in that position.

We are coming down the straight hoping to win. The managers decisions on picking the team, substitutions, and in game changes are poor.

 

[Balham]

Don't be ridiculous.
We'd probably still be in league one if he'd never taken over.

It is quite reasonable to applaud Chris Wilder for the job he did between 2016 and 2020 and also question what he’s doing in 2025.

We’re miles away from that swaggering team which swept from 11th in L1 to 9th in the PL in the space of 4 years.

 

[AnstonBlade1]

If Wilder shows his true colours after a loss then what about our own fans?

Every fucker has turned him on after a few losses.
Clapping like seals when we ground our results every week.

If we get into the play-offs I won't be shocked to see Bramall Lane with 7/8k fans missing, waiting to jump all over the players & Wilder if things go wrong.

Put your white flags down, lads.
We've still got a massive opportunity to get promoted this season.

There’s absolutely no point in getting promoted
We’d be relegated by November getting embarrassed every week.
We’re a championship side it’s just who we are.

 

[JJBlade]

If Wilder shows his true colours after a loss then what about our own fans?

Every fucker has turned him on after a few losses.
Clapping like seals when we ground our results every week.

If we get into the play-offs I won't be shocked to see Bramall Lane with 7/8k fans missing, waiting to jump all over the players & Wilder if things go wrong.

Put your white flags down, lads.
We've still got a massive opportunity to get promoted this season.

It has nothing to do with a few losses. Most of our own fans don't like him and haven't done since he had his brainfart in 2020 left us up shitcreek, his mental state has declined further since,
And the results have done nothing to cover what a few of us on here could see coming a mile off.

He doesn't learn, he doesn't change, he's not willing to do anything different from the boring, scrappy, mind numbing script that he's written, he has killed the performance of exciting players who have dug him out of a hole with 5 seconds of quality play in numerous shit games this season, and he's done his best to stifle even that 5 seconds because it takes it all away from him when a player hits the headlines rather than him.

When it gets tough he cracks, he absolutely cannot deal with pressure and he absolutely brings it all on himself by being so stubborn

 

[Slug]

I genuinely don't know what to make of it.

For most of the season I thought he looked like a man who was a re energised but also calmer and perhaps wiser version of the manager who walked away from us before. He had shown genuine skill and craft in the transfer market, and rebuilt a team that had been on its arse only months before and took it into a 3 way slugfest for the title.

However something seems to have flipped recently. He now looks worn out, bereft of ideas and constantly on the verge of a meltdown and that is surprising for a man who had previously relished and thrived during the pressure of the run in.

The players need to take their share of the blame too, and perhaps they made the same mistake that Leeds did after beating us, by thinking that if we got past say the the Pigs and Cov we were home and hosed?

Fuck knows what has happened, but this is the biggest implosion I have seen by us for a long long time, and one I never thought I would see from a Wilder team,.

The comfort of a (Unnecessary long) 3 year contract perhaps? No longer feeling like he is on trial in front of the new owners and now reverting back to type?

I know the owners did it with the best intentions but there was absolutely no need to dish out such a lengthy contract to him in January.

 

[Silky Sabella]

Don't be ridiculous.
We'd probably still be in league one if he'd never taken over.

I would rather us be in league 1 than have street fighter wilder as manager !

 

[ISZA ⚔️]

Criticism of Wilder doesn't mean you are anti Wilder. Criticism is a valid response of supporters who pay good money to see their team play. Losing 3 in a row from being top of the league to being 5pts behind the top 2. Hurts alot more than at the start of the season.

The consistent theme this season is largely about style of play or organisation. Winning but not playing as well as we could.

We have had some good additions to the squad but I can't understand buying Holding if you are not going to play him. Souttar hasn't been replaced. The logic of Robbo and Anel playing is weak. Both are emotional and rash. Robbo has been bullied all game against Millwall. That is the main gripe from me.

Our 4231 formation with full backs pushing up too much leaves us vulnerable on the counter and I don't know why you would even dare to do this with Anel & Robbo playing. Right back has been a joke position.
Gilchrist solid defending poor in attack.
Clarke the opposite.
Shackleton Choudray Anel Serike all played in that position.

We are coming down the straight hoping to win. The managers decisions on picking the team, substitutions, and in game changes are poor.

Great post

 

[JustLookin]

This is exactly right.

We haven’t bottled anything. We’ve played the same way all season and been lucky or been bailed out by our star players. Did we play much worse today than we did against Plymouth at our place? Not really.

For the last few months the refrain has been “it doesn’t matter how you’re playing as long as you’re winning.” Well the last three games is why it matters.

A quality post by a quality poster.

 

[brownblade]

I'm actually away on holiday, should be relaxing but as ever United cause stress!

Same. Oxford day before flying, when should have been driving. Millwall here. Plymouth here.

But RE Wilder... I think it's harsh to blame him for much, team selection or otherwise. How many fans truly thought we'd battle for the top 2 this season? We were atrocious last season. He instilled fight and character back into the team and it's taken us a long way.

Unfortunately we're not a particular good footballing team. But who's to say that next season we won't be (in the Championship)? It's impressive what we have done this season in many ways.

 

[Champagneblade]

If Wilder shows his true colours after a loss then what about our own fans?

Every fucker has turned him on after a few losses.
Clapping like seals when we ground our results every week.

If we get into the play-offs I won't be shocked to see Bramall Lane with 7/8k fans missing, waiting to jump all over the players & Wilder if things go wrong.

Put your white flags down, lads.
We've still got a massive opportunity to get promoted this season.

I think we need to reset a little and look back at some of those early season predictions.

A lot of recency bias and folk are understandably angry in the money with losses to teams in the positions they are.

But if you add bad in the context of having 85 points gained with 4 matches still to go, having accumulated 26 wins, there isn’t a single fan that wouldn’t have taken that in August.

Some thought squeezing into the Play Offs would be a good season. We’re guaranteed them now with time to spare. It’s now an unlikely outside chance of going up automatically against the two teams with greater resources. No shame in that.

There’s four matches left. Potentially at least six and possibly seven.

We need everyone pulling together and getting some form back to play two other teams which in all likelihood we’ve taken minimum 3 points from already, 4 in most cases.

 

[nopigfansintown]

If Wilder shows his true colours after a loss then what about our own fans?

Every fucker has turned him on after a few losses.
Clapping like seals when we ground our results every week.

If we get into the play-offs I won't be shocked to see Bramall Lane with 7/8k fans missing, waiting to jump all over the players & Wilder if things go wrong.

Put your white flags down, lads.
We've still got a massive opportunity to get promoted this season.

Our fans are a joke and have been all season. That's the truth. What has made them really turn is being told what their job was before the Millwall game by Wilder (not that it made any difference). A large proportion of them sre now that entitled and deluded they wouldn't look out of place at the stadium of rust. This was all the case prior to the last three games by the way. A derby double, 85 points accumulated in 39 games, and our own fans made the place toxic in what the consensus believed was a consolidation season.

I ask myself is it just the weird United fan hostility to the successful managers (Bassett, Warnock, Wilder) or is this a new breed of United supporter. Something similar to your average pig/Leeds fan? Something that will endure post Wilder.

 

[Tony_Kaufman]

I think we need to reset a little and look back at some of those early season predictions.

A lot of recency bias and folk are understandably angry in the money with losses to teams in the positions they are.

But if you add bad in the context of having 85 points gained with 4 matches still to go, having accumulated 26 wins, there isn’t a single fan that wouldn’t have taken that in August.

Some thought squeezing into the Play Offs would be a good season. We’re guaranteed them now with time to spare. It’s now an unlikely outside chance of going up automatically against the two teams with greater resources. No shame in that.

There’s four matches left. Potentially at least six and possibly seven.

We need everyone pulling together and getting some form back to play two other teams which in all likelihood we’ve taken minimum 3 points from already, 4 in most cases.

It's not about the results. If you'd asked me back in August would I take 3rd place at the end of the season having played poorly all season, losing three games at the end of the season with one being to the bottom team having been top of the table prior to this, and potentially entering the players out of form with the players looking lost and devoid of confidence, with a stubborn manager losing the plot, would I take it.

No, no I wouldn't. Because all season I've consistently argued that performance is more important than results and that good performances will bring good results. Arguably we could still be in the same position but you'd have something to base optimism about the play offs on, rather than blind faith.

 

[Nagima]

Our fans are a joke and have been all season. That's the truth. What has made them really turn is being told what their job was before the Millwall game by Wilder (not that it made any difference). A large proportion of them sre now that entitled and deluded they wouldn't look out of place at the stadium of rust. This was all the case prior to the last three games by the way. A derby double, 85 points accumulated in 39 games, and our own fans made the place toxic in what the consensus believed was a consolidation season.

I ask myself is it just the weird United fan hostility to the successful managers (Bassett, Warnock, Wilder) or is this a new breed of United supporter. Something similar to your average pig/Leeds fan? Something that will endure post

Can you not take a reasonable view of the last few months rather than the either or polar opposite views. The reason fans at present are complaining about Wilder is 3 consecutive losses when we were top of the table. The line of we would have taken this at the start of the season is irrelevant. We assembled a very strong squad and spent a significant amount of money. Due to this and the start we made in the first half of the season expectations rightly grew.

Wilder has done a lot of good this season but we have thrown away promotion in the automatic spots. And for the last 3 games Wilder seems to have lost the plot.

 

[nopigfansintown]

Can you not take a reasonable view of the last few months rather than the either or polar opposite views. The reason fans at present are complaining about Wilder is 3 consecutive losses when we were top of the table. The line of we would have taken this at the start of the season is irrelevant. We assembled a very strong squad and spent a significant amount of money. Due to this and the start we made in the first half of the season expectations rightly grew.

Wilder has done a lot of good this season but we have thrown away promotion in the automatic spots. And for the last 3 games Wilder seems to have lost the plot.

This is the reasonable view. You need to take your own advice. Pre January recruitment we'd spent about 6 million, banked around 30 million, had a tiny overrun squad of players ( including injuries to key players Souttar and Arblaster) and were in the midst of a takeover. The consensus in July/August was let's not go down again/let's consolidate.The place was still negative city
despite exceeding all reasonable expectations in Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Jan etc etc. United have accumulated 85 points from 42 games which in any other season is well on course for automatic promotion. Despite that three games ago our own manager has had to appeal to our fans to stop being poisonous. Bramall Lane is a morgue and more hostile for our team than the opposition. It isn't acceptable and none of us should pretend it is.

 

[CaptainMorgans]

Serious question where does your optimism come from that Wilder can get us Promoted via the play offs ?
Because based on the fact that we have just lost to two poor sides and been beaten at home by a bang average side scoring only 1 goal in those 3 games it dosent bode well.
We were also very fortunate to get a draw against an excellent Bristol City at home who are firmly in the play off picture, it dosent look good.

We have a big performance in us.
We've seen it on a handful of occasions this season, including against likely play-offs teams Middlesbrough and Coventry.

We have significantly more points than anyone in the play-offs, and better players.

We have plenty of time to turn it around.

 

[Gin&Juice]

This is the reasonable view. You need to take your own advice. Pre January recruitment we'd spent about 6 million, banked around 30 million, had a tiny overrun squad of players ( including injuries to key players Souttar and Arblaster) and were in the midst of a takeover. The consensus in July/August was let's not go down again/let's consolidate.The place was still negative city
despite exceeding all reasonable expectations in Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Jan etc etc. United have accumulated 85 points from 42 games which in any other season is well on course for automatic promotion. Despite that three games ago our own manager has had to appeal to our fans to stop being poisonous. Bramall Lane is a morgue and more hostile for our team than the opposition. It isn't acceptable and none of us should pretend it is.

Agree/Disagree.

For me a tale of two seasons. First half, massive benefit of the doubt, young team, reeling off from the worst season we've ever had, you've got the hangover of the Prince and his short comings. So for Chris to get us up there, by hook or crook, really impressive.

Just feel after January, hes been backed, we just haven't established a playing identity, were too cautious, the attacking options should be blowing teams like Plymouth and Oxford away, but also most of the teams we've played. I know its stupid to expect every game, but we've relied too much on Hamer and Campbell. Not replaced Souttar. He has to take the blame. We've not played a sustainable brand of football, he's not addressed the inevitable and here we are!

 

[bertieblade]

The problem is that he got us into a position that no one expected and then has failed to capitalise as he has made fundamental errors some of which seemingly just to prove that he knows best whilst not accepting responsibility and blaming everyone but himself.

Would any other manager or indeed fan have :-
Played Cannon at Plymouth
Played Robinson
Played BBD in the wrong position
Played Hamer on the left yet allow him to drift infield subsequently allowing no one to offer support to Burrows
Refuse to have raki saki swap wings
Make substitutions to preserve a lead as opposed to killing teams off
Waste money on squad players as opposed to first team players in January.
Have no settled strike force or seemingly plan to create chances

Etc. etc.

 

[nopigfansintown]

Agree/Disagree.

For me a tale of two seasons. First half, massive benefit of the doubt, young team, reeling off from the worst season we've ever had, you've got the hangover of the Prince and his short comings. So for Chris to get us up there, by hook or crook, really impressive.

Just feel after January, hes been backed, we just haven't established a playing identity, were too cautious, the attacking options should be blowing teams like Plymouth and Oxford away, but also most of the teams we've played. I know its stupid to expect every game, but we've relied too much on Hamer and Campbell. Not replaced Souttar. He has to take the blame. We've not played a sustainable brand of football, he's not addressed the inevitable and here we are!

I don't think you're ever replacing Souttar at this level in January. If we're Liverpool we've lost our Van Dijk. You can't replace him.You saw what happened the other year when that actually happened. We've also lost Arblaster. Two of our three best players out for the season. I thought automatic had gone with Arblaster in November tbh. Then Souza - not the same since the injury boxing day. I think we could've done better with the signings but they've done ok and kept a point total that should result in automatic ticking over.

The reality is that if it isn't for two juggernauts we'd still be on course for automatic with our brand of football.

Hopefully it's over quickly if there's not to be an amazing turnaround so we can get over it and prepare early for the play offs.

 

[FTPE]

If Wilder shows his true colours after a loss then what about our own fans?

Every fucker has turned him on after a few losses.
Clapping like seals when we ground our results every week.

If we get into the play-offs I won't be shocked to see Bramall Lane with 7/8k fans missing, waiting to jump all over the players & Wilder if things go wrong.

Put your white flags down, lads.
We've still got a massive opportunity to get promoted this season.

I haven't turned on Wilder one bit.
Should he have played Cannon over Campbell? No. Should Robbo have been replaced weeks ago? Probably. Should he kick off at the final whistle? Absolutely not.
But,
Has he got us to a much higher position than any of us thought possible? YES and is the season over? Not at all.

 

[Slugger]

Our fans are a joke and have been all season. That's the truth. What has made them really turn is being told what their job was before the Millwall game by Wilder (not that it made any difference). A large proportion of them sre now that entitled and deluded they wouldn't look out of place at the stadium of rust. This was all the case prior to the last three games by the way. A derby double, 85 points accumulated in 39 games, and our own fans made the place toxic in what the consensus believed was a consolidation season.

I ask myself is it just the weird United fan hostility to the successful managers (Bassett, Warnock, Wilder) or is this a new breed of United supporter. Something similar to your average pig/Leeds fan? Something that will endure post Wilder.

Great post

Just in the last few days:

Wilder calling a few of our fans "pathetic" for verbally abusing particular players at one particular game has now become "Wilder abuses the fans"

Wilder's gathering the players in a huddle after yesterday's game (something that has been done several times this year) was apparently evidence that he was publicly humiliating them. (some excellent lip-readers with bionic vision amongst our supporters)

A few words with 2 Plymouth players and a bit of pushing and shoving became "Wilder loses it and violently attacks opposing players" even though minutes later he was giving a perfectly calm interview live on Sky

and then possibly the most ridiculous one, the claim that Wilder is basing his team selections as a "fuck you" to the fans. Picking Cannon to prove he was correct in signing Cannon, and not picking Holding to prove he was correct in er ... Wilderbashers have lost me on this one.

We've even got posters here thinking we should sack our manager now (yes the manager who has led us to 3rd in the league) and let someone else take the team that he built through the play-offs!!!!

 

[true99blade]

Anybody criticising the fans have fucking short memories or simply don’t fork out obscene amounts of money like many of us following the team. Wilder and the players owed us big time after one of the worst seasons in football history, I seriously don’t understand how people can simply forget last season. If Wilder thinks it’s now unacceptable to call out shit performances for what they are then he’s lost all respect.

He’s no chance of getting us through the playoffs, and I hope he’s gone as a result.

 

[nopigfansintown]

Great post

Just in the last few days:

Wilder calling a few of our fans "pathetic" for verbally abusing particular players at one particular game has now become "Wilder abuses the fans"

Wilder's gathering the players in a huddle after yesterday's game (something that has been done several times this year) was apparently evidence that he was publicly humiliating them. (some excellent lip-readers with bionic vision amongst our supporters)

A few words with 2 Plymouth players and a bit of pushing and shoving became "Wilder loses it and violently attacks opposing players" even though minutes later he was giving a perfectly calm interview live on Sky

and then possibly the most ridiculous one, the claim that Wilder is basing his team selections as a "fuck you" to the fans. Picking Cannon to prove he was correct in signing Cannon, and not picking Holding to prove he was correct in er ... Wilderbashers have lost me on this one.

We've even got posters here thinking we should sack our manager now (yes the manager who has led us to 3rd in the league) and let someone else take the team that he built through the play-offs!!!!

They have a pathological agenda driven dislike. You can't argue with irrationality so it's pretty pointless trying. It all predates the last three results so you have to remind them of that.
Bassett got similar in the end as did Warnock. There's no manager at United more disliked than a successful one so it's a badge of honour really.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Great post

Just in the last few days:

Wilder calling a few of our fans "pathetic" for verbally abusing particular players at one particular game has now become "Wilder abuses the fans"

Wilder's gathering the players in a huddle after yesterday's game (something that has been done several times this year) was apparently evidence that he was publicly humiliating them. (some excellent lip-readers with bionic vision amongst our supporters)

A few words with 2 Plymouth players and a bit of pushing and shoving became "Wilder loses it and violently attacks opposing players" even though minutes later he was giving a perfectly calm interview live on Sky

and then possibly the most ridiculous one, the claim that Wilder is basing his team selections as a "fuck you" to the fans. Picking Cannon to prove he was correct in signing Cannon, and not picking Holding to prove he was correct in er ... Wilderbashers have lost me on this one.

We've even got posters here thinking we should sack our manager now (yes the manager who has led us to 3rd in the league) and let someone else take the team that he built through the play-offs!!!!

“"Wilder loses it and violently attacks opposing players"

Has anyone on here said that? I suggested that it could be a fuck you selection but it’s not as ridiculous as your above claim.

Re Cannon, l can see no reason why he would play him Saturday, based on his pretty dismal performances. Where did he believe playing him as a sole striker would see him look good? Then there’s sticking with the tactics that failed miserably in the previous two games.

Robinson has long been a scapegoat for some. Unlike the Cannon selection l don’t see that as a fuck you fans issue.

 

[Nagima]

This is the reasonable view. You need to take your own advice. Pre January recruitment we'd spent about 6 million, banked around 30 million, had a tiny overrun squad of players ( including injuries to key players Souttar and Arblaster) and were in the midst of a takeover. The consensus in July/August was let's not go down again/let's consolidate.The place was still negative city
despite exceeding all reasonable expectations in Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Jan etc etc. United have accumulated 85 points from 42 games which in any other season is well on course for automatic promotion. Despite that three games ago our own manager has had to appeal to our fans to stop being poisonous. Bramall Lane is a morgue and more hostile for our team than the opposition. It isn't acceptable and none of us should pretend it is.

Bramall lane has not been a morgue. Players getting ovations when being substituted. 3 losses in a row and suddenly the fans are toxic all season long. I mentioned in the last post that it is the throwing away automatic promotion with 3 straight losses that is causing fans to be disgruntled. Expectation grew because of the position we were in.

But Wilder is above criticism for 1 having a go at fans, 2. Having a go at the fans in his interview.
3. Starting a row with Plymouth Argyle fans.

The first half of the season. Cooper Souttar Burrows Hamer and Souza were in the running for championship team of the season. The squad was a bit light but had quality. Yes we had injuries but since most of those players have comeback the team is playing worse. Cannon Choudry and Clarke have been added to strengthen the squad.