Is Wilder still a legend in your eyes?

[Sean Thornton]

Another poll.

Wilder took a club from bottom of league 1 to 6th place in the Premier league genuinely battling for a champions league spot using many of the lower league players.

That feat is remarkable and I would say impossible ….its probably the best feat in English football since Brian Clough
took Nottingham Forest from div 2 to winning div 1….then winning the European Cup (that rise also seems impossible).

So just based on those 4 years Wilder became a legend
And if people have sincerity then once a legend always a legend.

However that doesn’t mean he can’t be criticised and/ or sacked
But like Warnock and Bassett (and even Hecky), he’ll always be welcome back at the club.
Wilder gave me some of my best times supporting United in 50 years….so I’ll always be grateful.

A comparison with Clough? Really? Jesus.

His early exploits give him that status. Although he’s not the same Wilder these days his failures don’t detract from those glory days. For me anyway.

But it’s no reason to keep him on imo.

 

[Missing Spark]

Not been the best season, but is he still a ledge for what he did back in his first spell?

Or is this season and his "Mardiola" reputation sullying things?

I'm obviously pro-Wilder and think we would have made the playoffs if we stuck with him and not appointed Selles. But that isn't the most popular tek on here now.

He will always be a legend in my eyes.

Yes

 

[GymClassHero]

He took us from L1 fodder to genuinely giving the top 6 a run for their cartel money.

Of course he, and always will be.

And yeah. I do fucking want him here next season. This squad needs almost fully gutting. He will look to build a team around Bamford, Cooper. Characters like that with a bit of bite.

 

[reedy63]

Chris Wilder deserves to be called a Blade Legend.

Chris Wilder has a great record against wendy. His first Spell got us from the dog and duck league to 9th in the Premier League.
got the attendance up from 15,000 to 31,000. I am sure He will get the players that can go for promotion, so I trust Chris Wilder 100%.

 

[JJ Sefton]

Not been the best season, but is he still a ledge for what he did back in his first spell?

Or is this season and his "Mardiola" reputation sullying things?

I'm obviously pro-Wilder and think we would have made the playoffs if we stuck with him and not appointed Selles. But that isn't the most popular tek on here now.

He will always be a legend in my eyes.

Obviously a legend no matter what. Bassett’s last season was crap and nobody says that cancels out everything before.

 

[wavy-blade]

Get behind him , this will be his last shot so just accept it , I personally think he’s got until Xmas ish time , and if we’re not doing well he will be gone . There are going to be massive changes ( so they say ) So wait and see what we look like in the 1st quarter of the season.
I personally don’t know what the answer is but if we get rid now we will be exactly in the same position as we were last season but we have less money this season !!
Ps he will always be a legend , remember days like 2-4 bouncing massacre , all the victory’s against the pigs for that alone he deserves some support !
One last time Chris , got my back anyway !!

 

[bornablade]

Chris Wilder deserves to be called a Blade Legend.

Chris Wilder has a great record against wendy. His first Spell got us from the dog and duck league to 9th in the Premier League.
got the attendance up from 15,000 to 31,000. I am sure He will get the players that can go for promotion, so I trust Chris Wilder 100%.

Attendance of 15,000. ????

In 2015 /16 we never had a league game attendance as low as 15,000.

There's very little consistency at our club but one constant remains and that's the support of the fans.

The final game of the season against Scunthorpe attracted 21,445 although I'll admit there was less than 15,000 to witness the Walk of Shame.

If we are to give our manager a level of holiness then let's at least get our facts right.

 

[Bladesman101]

Hmm. Taking United from the depths of league 1 to a European attempt in 4 seasons. Unbeaten against pigs and we sent em down in Feb. Hmm. Might have to come back to me.

 

[ATL Recs]

Chris Wilder deserves to be called a Blade Legend.

Chris Wilder has a great record against wendy. His first Spell got us from the dog and duck league to 9th in the Premier League.
got the attendance up from 15,000 to 31,000. I am sure He will get the players that can go for promotion, so I trust Chris Wilder 100%.

15,000? When was that then gates were around 19-22,000 more or less sane as his first half season in charge
He should never have come back certainly not twice

 

[CPB]

How anyone can't consider him one is beyond me.

That's not to say you have to want him as the manager right now but that first stint was legendary status. We've made players legends for far less.

 

[metalblade]

For me Wilder believed the media hype about himself thinking he was one of the elite managers in the game. His downfall from his peak of a top half Premier League finish started when he continued to play Lundstram rather than replace the bloke who clearly wanted to leave for more money. Stubbornness is not always a bad thing, but Wilder had convinced himself that he was always right. We never replaced O'Connell and Wilder's game plan started to fall apart, when things got tough he showed little leadership and sneaked out of the back door with £4m. This spoilt his previous good work for me, all it showed was his trait of "it is never my fault" mentality that we see today. Did nothing at Boro or at Watford then came back here playing cowardly football to get his famed 92 pts which he forever reminds us of rather than his bottle job when well-placed towards the end of the season, capped of by the ultimate throwing away of winning a play off final which was there for the taking. We have seen the best and worst of Wilder, Legend? Not for me, I'm just sick of the circus that follows him around.

 

[nopigfansintown]

Yes.Tier one post war Blades legend based on his first spell. He's done an excellent job in spells two and three but not legendary stuff, albeit he was 20 minutes away (or a VAR call or Brooks sitter) away at Wembley. I feel grateful to have him as manager. This is likely to be his last dance due to the squad, general position of the club, deluded fan expectations and his contract being up at season's end (iirc). I will really try and saviour this season as CW's are thin on the ground in our history. Great memories to last a lifetime!

 

[SwissBlade]

Not been the best season, but is he still a ledge for what he did back in his first spell?

Or is this season and his "Mardiola" reputation sullying things?

I'm obviously pro-Wilder and think we would have made the playoffs if we stuck with him and not appointed Selles. But that isn't the most popular tek on here now.

He will always be a legend in my eyes.

If they hadn’t done their little experiment we’d have been top 2 this season

 

[nopigfansintown]

I'd liken him to Bassett, in that he took a team with little talent and poor morale, that was floundering in the third tier (Bassett started in 2nd but only really had chance to make significant changes in his first pre-season), spent very little money on a team of, generally, journeymen and misfits, and guided them to the Premier League in 3 seasons. Not only that he, along with the coaching staff, revolutionised the way we played and transformed nothing players, like Basham, into key players at the heartbeat of the team. We not only got to the Premier League, we finished a very respectable 9th in our first season and I'm convinced if it hadn't been for Covid, we'd have qualified for Europe and wouldn't have been relegated the following season. I genuinely think that some fans forget what an achievement that was.

For that he should always be regarded as a legend, regardless of what happens.

For me Bassett is the one person on the football side that is a bigger post war legend than Wilder. I think the relative situation was even worse. Bassett saved United as a major football club. We were on the brink of being Notts Countied if it hadn't already happened (arguable).

Wilder reanimated the body when the club was in an extremely unpropitious situation. The financial disparities are even greater now which is an argument in his favour as the greatest.

You can also go for Harris whose teams played the best football and achieved the most on the pitch with a very tight budget.

 

[metalblade]

If they hadn’t done their little experiment we’d have been top 2 this season

Really? We have lost 16 games with Wilder, top two teams don't lose half that.
Be prepared for him bringing in a load of older players with question marks over their fitness or needing to resurrect their failing careers. He never did like young upcoming players he never wanted Sander Berge and certainly Iliman Ndiaye would have never got a look in Hecky was much better with the youth.

 

[coaxingstar71]

For me Bassett is the one person on the football side that is a bigger post war legend than Wilder. I think the relative situation was even worse. Bassett saved United as a major football club. We were on the brink of being Notts Countied if it hadn't already happened (arguable).

Wilder reanimated the body when the club was in an extremely unpropitious situation. The financial disparities are even greater now which is an argument in his favour as the greatest.

You can also go for Harris whose teams played the best football and achieved the most on the pitch with a very tight budget.

Clearly there are differences but also parallels, especially as both inherited very poor playing squads and little or next to no money to play with.
Kudos for the use of unpropitious, I had to google it!

In terms of Harris, my opinion is that although he didn't spend much, and according to sources that was sometimes his own decision, it was more of a level playing field in that not many teams at the time were chucking vast sums of money around. This will be an unpopular opinion, but I always feel there was a huge opportunity missed in that era and actually we underachieved considering the talent we had in the team. Our record in the cups, for example, was extremely poor, when it wouldn't have been beyond us to win something. I think the main problem was there was no depth to the squad at the time. I always hear how, 'on our day' we could beat anyone, which also suggests a lot of inconsistency.

 

[sitwell]

For me Wilder believed the media hype about himself thinking he was one of the elite managers in the game. His downfall from his peak of a top half Premier League finish started when he continued to play Lundstram rather than replace the bloke who clearly wanted to leave for more money. Stubbornness is not always a bad thing, but Wilder had convinced himself that he was always right. We never replaced O'Connell and Wilder's game plan started to fall apart, when things got tough he showed little leadership and sneaked out of the back door with £4m. This spoilt his previous good work for me, all it showed was his trait of "it is never my fault" mentality that we see today. Did nothing at Boro or at Watford then came back here playing cowardly football to get his famed 92 pts which he forever reminds us of rather than his bottle job when well-placed towards the end of the season, capped of by the ultimate throwing away of winning a play off final which was there for the taking. We have seen the best and worst of Wilder, Legend? Not for me, I'm just sick of the circus that follows him around.

You are the circus that follows him around.

 

[Sean Thornton]

15,000? When was that then gates were around 19-22,000 more or less sane as his first half season in charge
He should never have come back certainly not twice

Average the season before was just under 20k. Think 1996/97 was the last average gate under 15k.

 

[Montymagic]

Legend yes

Above criticism and sacking...no.

 

[GreasyChipBeattie]

Clubs have ups and downs. Unless we get owners such as the likes of Man City, we've not much chance of being a regular Champions league qualifier.
Wilder got us close, and may do so again one day, but it will always be something/someone special to do it.
Burnley have just got rid of Parker because he couldn't make them competitive in the PL.
Will changing manager give them a better chance next season of a) coming back up, and b) staying there with similar limited investment?
I'll watch with interest....

 

[CPB]

For me Wilder believed the media hype about himself thinking he was one of the elite managers in the game. His downfall from his peak of a top half Premier League finish started when he continued to play Lundstram rather than replace the bloke who clearly wanted to leave for more money. Stubbornness is not always a bad thing, but Wilder had convinced himself that he was always right. We never replaced O'Connell and Wilder's game plan started to fall apart, when things got tough he showed little leadership and sneaked out of the back door with £4m. This spoilt his previous good work for me, all it showed was his trait of "it is never my fault" mentality that we see today. Did nothing at Boro or at Watford then came back here playing cowardly football to get his famed 92 pts which he forever reminds us of rather than his bottle job when well-placed towards the end of the season, capped of by the ultimate throwing away of winning a play off final which was there for the taking. We have seen the best and worst of Wilder, Legend? Not for me, I'm just sick of the circus that follows him around.

Can say media hype but he was voted LMA manager of the year in his first stint. That's by fellow managers.

Also to answer one of your other posts regards not playing the young upcoming players. He's made Seriki, Brooks, Peck and Arblaster first team players in these last two stint. Brought D.Brooks through in his first as well.

Also I think he was for S.Berge signing. It's players like Coulibaly he was not keen on.
N'Diaye wasnt really ready till the season after when we came down. And if you look at the way it went with Iliman. He was never really playing until he signed a new deal. Which is why didn't start until several games in vs Peterborough. Nowt to do with Wilder there.

 

[metalblade]

You are the circus that follows him around.

Ah here we go Mr up n at em. Watching a club that will never win owt and clapping like a seal don't make you the big Blade. It's not manly or character building as you seem to think, just makes you look sad and pathetic but hey you get to see your mates for a pint before and after the boredom of 90mins of Wilder ball.

 

[Aston max]

He'll always have a spot in my heart for his first spell , but it's time to go and whilst I was disappointed he was brought back after selles I get why COH did it ! We need a real transformation of the football side . If that takes a couple of seasons " so be it " .

 

[joe casey]

Really? We have lost 16 games with Wilder, top two teams don't lose half that.
Be prepared for him bringing in a load of older players with question marks over their fitness or needing to resurrect their failing careers. He never did like young upcoming players he never wanted Sander Berge and certainly Iliman Ndiaye would have never got a look in Hecky was much better with the youth.

I think the original poster is suggesting the squad would not be the ramshackle bunch it is now.

I'll certainly be devastated when he brings in older players with question marks over their fitness like Patrick Bamford and Jairo Riedewald. Not to mention ones in the past like David McGoldrick, Jake Wright, Richard Stearman.

He hates all young players as well doesn't he like David Brooks, Jack O'Connell, Dean Henderson, Jayden Bogle, Oli Arblaster, Sydie Peck, Harrison Burrows, Andre Brooks, Femi Seriki - never signs or plays a single one of them

 

[Sydney Blade]

Not been the best season, but is he still a ledge for what he did back in his first spell?

Or is this season and his "Mardiola" reputation sullying things?

I'm obviously pro-Wilder and think we would have made the playoffs if we stuck with him and not appointed Selles. But that isn't the most popular tek on here now.

He will always be a legend in my eyes.

I think it’s worse than that, I think the league would have been a cakewalk if he’d had the money Selles had over the summer. We were one or two top quality players away from a Leeds/Burnley-esq team that would have been tight at the back and scored for fun. McBurnie would returned and rotated with big keef, someone like a Jack Rudoni would have come in, and Robbo would finally have been an able deputy to a decent new left centre back. Instead we got Alex Matos (still not sure where he actually plays), and Luton’s cast offs for mind blowing fees on mind blowing contracts. Wilder does none of that and I’m not even his biggest fan. That window put us back 3-5 years, an absolute disaster.