“Sheffield Utd isn’t rotten top to bottom. Don’t think he could’ve done anything with the general shit we have to put up with.”
We were completely rotten from top to bottom, until Wilder walked through the door.
No, we weren't.
It's a popular view that whenever things are going badly on the field, the club is rotten from top to bottom, and whenever things are going well on the field, everything in the club is rosy. Neither is necessarily the case.
Before Wilder arrived we were under-performing on the field. But we spending a good amount of money on players for the level we were playing at, and had two owners putting in money to subsidise our losses without interfering unduly in the manager's responsibilities or constantly threatening to sell or withdraw their money. We also had good support, a fair ticket pricing structure and an impressive, modern ground, as well as a decent youth system producing players capable of challenging for the first team.
These are things many clubs envy. In short, there wasn't too much wrong apart from the performances on the field. It was that which made the performances so frustrating, because there was really no excuse for them. However, it was also that which meant we continued to be able to attract managers with good reputations, ultimately including Wilder.
That's what makes it feel so good right now. Not only are we winning, but we still have all of those things in the club as a whole which mean we have the potential to kick on from here and achieve success at a higher level.
Wilder deserves credit, but the owners and others involved in the club (including the fans) also deserve credit for creating the circumstances to enable him to achieve success on the field - circumstances which were there for other managers, who failed to take advantage.
