Sky using Chris Wilder as a Pundit

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It was their Chief Exec "Ken", he vetoed the DoF Luke Dowling's recruitment of Wilder.

Dowling quit over it, and WBA scrapped the role rather than replace him. Ken recruited Ismael himself.


It was the owner Lai who vetoed CW's appointment. Ken and the Board had accepted Dowlings recommendation. The strained relationship with Sheffield United owners was given as the reason. The interview wouldn't have been a good read for any prospective owner with talk of negotiations being done via the Managers Association. That aside in reality Lai would have had to cover the lost severance from CW which could have run into seven figures. At that time it was reported Lai did not want to bring in a Manager and have to pay compensation. The WBA Board had agreed with CW he could bring in his own back room team, one assumes Alan Knill would have been one of them. AK was still contracted to SUFC and no doubt we would have asked for compensation further adding to the WBA bill.

So the evidence suggests it was the Princes interview with Sky in March that was an influencing factor together with the overall cost in terms of severance and potential salary. Its reported WBA eventually had to pay out £2 million to get Ismael and his team from Barnsley. I suspect salaries were lower than those that would have been paid to CW and his team.

If SUFC had wanted to restrict CW's ability to obtain new employment during the period of his severance then it would have been in the NDA. Clearly it wasn't and as others have pointed out it was financially beneficial to the Club if he did obtain new employment before the end of the severance period. That doesn't mean to say that mindful of the prospect of this the Club ensured AK remained on the books to cover the potential for compensation. We will never know as AK has now left.

CW has gone good luck to him in the future. The conspiracy theories will persist but its time to put them to bed and look forward to a new chapter in SUFC's history IMO.
 
United did not want wilder at West Brom or any other so called rival. I know this is true. But no point in getting into a back and forth about it. They got there wish ! United have moved on . Wilder though is stuck in the wilderness at the minute
Then wba chairman put an end to wilder going there because he slagged the owners of United off in public !
 
Does anyone think that this situation wi Wilder (the love him or forget him) is staggeringly upsetting?
I think it’s such a shame


The way it ended, compared to how it was with him, was indeed a real shame. Very 'United' you might say, in so far as we can never seem to cling onto any sort of success, and I still believe that had covid never happened, we'd have been firmly established in the PL. Then there was the clear impact it was having on him. He underwent a complete personality change, but stress does that to people.

All that being said however, his stubbornness had completely alienated my by the time he walked away.
 
Howe took Bournemouth to the prem, kept them up for a few years, then when it got iffy stuck it out, shook the hand of every player on relegation day and then resigned.
Currently out of work

CW took us up, held us there for 1 season, when it got iffy got mardys on, slated the board, dismissed his players as championship lads, tried to resign, was offered total backing and still walked…
Then to add insult dug in for a multi million pound payout from ‘his’ club

Hardly the behaviour a chairman would look on kindly

My concern if I was his agent is any club in trouble may look at him as a ‘good time’ manager, great when’s all rosey, but throws a fanny paddy when it gets tough
 
Howe took Bournemouth to the prem, kept them up for a few years, then when it got iffy stuck it out, shook the hand of every player on relegation day and then resigned.
Currently out of work

CW took us up, held us there for 1 season, when it got iffy got mardys on, slated the board, dismissed his players as championship lads, tried to resign, was offered total backing and still walked…
Then to add insult dug in for a multi million pound payout from ‘his’ club

Hardly the behaviour a chairman would look on kindly

My concern if I was his agent is any club in trouble may look at him as a ‘good time’ manager, great when’s all rosey, but throws a fanny paddy when it gets tough

If clubs do start to see him like that, it would be very ironic considering his previous reputation for managing clubs through very difficult periods, with very few resources (Halifax, Northampton, us.. for a while at least.
 
If clubs do start to see him like that, it would be very ironic considering his previous reputation for managing clubs through very difficult periods, with very few resources (Halifax, Northampton, us.. for a while at least.

Fair point, reckon league 1 would see that, but wonder if the upper end championship/lower prem would be so forgiving…..

I also agree that at that level, where he has total control as they don’t have a DoF etc he is suited
but in the big league where he fits into a structure, rather than having control over all things playing related whether he is a square peg round hole etc

The days of a manager scouting in the stands before bringing him into his office to negotiate the contract Cloughy style have gone
 
tried to resign, was offered total backing and still walked…
He tried to resign because he always said he'd leave if he felt he couldn't take us any further.

He wasn't backed, the board publicly "backed" him as their way of saying "we're not sacking you and paying the compo, if you want to leave then resign and forfeit the compo". They no longer wanted him but they didn't want to spend money to get rid. It all became very public around this time, so both sides were being extra vocal about their stances.

In the end they managed a mutual agreement, which I assume suited them both.
 
He tried to resign because he always said he'd leave if he felt he couldn't take us any further.

He wasn't backed, the board publicly "backed" him as their way of saying "we're not sacking you and paying the compo, if you want to leave then resign and forfeit the compo". They no longer wanted him but they didn't want to spend money to get rid. It all became very public around this time, so both sides were being extra vocal about their stances.

In the end they managed a mutual agreement, which I assume suited them both.
I don't remember the club saying anything at all before Chris left, they certainly weren't extra vocal. One side was dignified, the other was shameful.
 
He tried to resign because he always said he'd leave if he felt he couldn't take us any further.

He wasn't backed, the board publicly "backed" him as their way of saying "we're not sacking you and paying the compo, if you want to leave then resign and forfeit the compo". They no longer wanted him but they didn't want to spend money to get rid. It all became very public around this time, so both sides were being extra vocal about their stances.

In the end they managed a mutual agreement, which I assume suited them both.

Backed more than any Sheffield United manager could reasonably expect though, huge money flying about for us.

If he got the arse on because it still wasn't enough, then that's on him for forgetting that he was Sheffield United manager and wanting to go too fast.

Always said he wouldn't jeopardise the club financially so you have to operate within the club's means. He knew that.
 

It’s a weird one regards Wilder….he’s been brilliant for 4 years but might need to start again to rebuild his reputation.

If you look at Wilders managerial background and experience, he’s a real novice at top class (PL and Champ level) management.
He’s hardly any experience coaching ego’s, players on big salaries, even foreign players.
He’s always managed at really small clubs with Sheff Utd (his home town) being by far and away the biggest club he’s managed.

Here’s a summary of his management experience, he’s been reasonably successful everywhere he’s been.
10 years non league
6 years league 2
1 year league 1
2 years Championship,
1.5 years Premier League

So looking at that…one would be forgiven for thinking that Wilder could be a 1 hit wonder at upper level management….and his talents belong to the lower leagues.

I‘ve always said that Wilder would struggle to attract any PL club, so there was no risk of us losing him.
Think plenty of Championship clubs would be interested but I would imagine Chris thinks he can expect a big salary
where as I still think most Champiomship clubs see him as a risky appointment, so wont pay him big money…so he’s currently in a limbo.

He’ll be in high demand at league 1 level and will easily get a job , but again they won’t be able to pay him a big salary.
If he’s not careful the best jobs he could realistically acquire is at Derby or Sunderland….but this would show how low his stock has fallen.
You could also look at Dean Smith's trajectory.

You can't totally remove the element of resources from the discussion.

Wilder in my opinion is a better manager than Dean Smith. He's bested him on numerous occasions. In fact the only time they beat us in the past 3 years was with a free pass of playing against 10 men for almost the whole match.

But he is manager of Villa with more resources. So when we wanted Watkins and Cash, they got them. O'Connell is better than Mings in my view too, but crucially Ming's didn't get injured, O'Connell did and Villa don't have a system so heavily reliant on having a left footed centre back for it to function. You saw how much they struggles previously when Grealish was injured and to Wilder O'Connell was our Grealish.

I know fine margins became a bit of a parody of a catchphrase but they are finer at smalller clubs than your Villas. There is a possibility that both Ramsdale, already, and Brewster may equal the careers of Martinez and Watkins but they just weren't ready at the time we got them. For Aaron the turnaround was in 6 months for Rhiann maybe longer.

Then there is just simple luck. Villa didn't deserve to stay up but fluked it. They then invested heavily on players we could have signed if they'd been a Championship club and now despite losing Grealish, they're out signing Ings with little thought of looking over their shoulder.

They go down, we get Watkins, we get Cash. Who knows? Certainly that ghost goal had further reaching repurcussions if you put in that context.

Football can be a cruel mistress at times.
 
Why do we continue to berate wilder, he did wonders for our club, and as a supporter of 30 years will be forever grateful. Move on and give him the respect he deserves
It is rather strange mate isn't it. You can only assume that some lack the intelligence to use critical thinking and given only one side has really voiced their side that they have lapped it up as the truth. No doubt Wilder made mistakes on AND off the field and did himself no favours with some of his media interviews, however by all accounts he may have been in the midst of a breakdown of some sorts. There seems to be a narrative that Wilder realised he was out of his depth; that his signings were failing, his tactics found out, and he had lost the players, and thus tried to get out to avoid a relegation on his CV, which of course could be true.

The other possible side is that the Prince had decided that he wanted to fundamentally change the structure at the club; that Wilder was being vetoed on his signings, that he was being told who to sign, and possibly being told that he needed to keep playing some players so they retained their value. It could just be that Wilder felt that as mentioned in this thread, he had taken the club as far as he could (either in his capabilities personally or in his perceived hands being tied) and wanted to resign due to a fundamental rift in his and the Prince's philosophical ideals. Who knows, but it is sad that some are taking the Prince's version as gospel. The truth as they say is probably between both options. The sad thing is that over time it seems the Wilder critics are getting more and more vehement, time does not seem to be a healer in this situation. If you sell both Berge and Ramsdale for say 60 Million they certainly won't be updating their opinions and will still likely stick to the 'Wilder spunked 120 million up the wall' lines. Time will tell on Brewster and McBurnie, so far they don't look too great, but if they improve like Ramsdale has it will be all SJ's doing. I don't think I have ever seen such a hero to zero so quickly, it is very sad.
 
I don't remember the club saying anything at all before Chris left, they certainly weren't extra vocal. One side was dignified, the other was shameful.
Prince and the chairman said numerous times that Chris had their full support and would be the manager for years, even when relegated. On face value it sounds nice, but it was their way of telling him to resign as they weren't going to fire him and pay compensation no matter what.
 
Eddie Howe did the punditry circuit for a year and it doesn't seem to be going to well for him either at the moment. Being an out of work English former Prem manager isn't all it's cracked up to be.
He was offered the Celtic job, but turned it down.
 
United did not want wilder at West Brom or any other so called rival. I know this is true. But no point in getting into a back and forth about it. They got there wish ! United have moved on . Wilder though is stuck in the wilderness at the minute
Wilder-ness lol
 
It is rather strange mate isn't it. You can only assume that some lack the intelligence to use critical thinking and given only one side has really voiced their side that they have lapped it up as the truth. No doubt Wilder made mistakes on AND off the field and did himself no favours with some of his media interviews, however by all accounts he may have been in the midst of a breakdown of some sorts. There seems to be a narrative that Wilder realised he was out of his depth; that his signings were failing, his tactics found out, and he had lost the players, and thus tried to get out to avoid a relegation on his CV, which of course could be true.

The other possible side is that the Prince had decided that he wanted to fundamentally change the structure at the club; that Wilder was being vetoed on his signings, that he was being told who to sign, and possibly being told that he needed to keep playing some players so they retained their value. It could just be that Wilder felt that as mentioned in this thread, he had taken the club as far as he could (either in his capabilities personally or in his perceived hands being tied) and wanted to resign due to a fundamental rift in his and the Prince's philosophical ideals. Who knows, but it is sad that some are taking the Prince's version as gospel. The truth as they say is probably between both options. The sad thing is that over time it seems the Wilder critics are getting more and more vehement, time does not seem to be a healer in this situation. If you sell both Berge and Ramsdale for say 60 Million they certainly won't be updating their opinions and will still likely stick to the 'Wilder spunked 120 million up the wall' lines. Time will tell on Brewster and McBurnie, so far they don't look too great, but if they improve like Ramsdale has it will be all SJ's doing. I don't think I have ever seen such a hero to zero so quickly, it is very sad.
Just a reminder, he sold Ramsdale for £1,000,000 first (among other future internationals for peanuts).
And selling Berge for serious money, we we will see.
 
Better manager than pundit. Looked a bit rough to me.
 
You could also look at Dean Smith's trajectory.

You can't totally remove the element of resources from the discussion.

Wilder in my opinion is a better manager than Dean Smith. He's bested him on numerous occasions. In fact the only time they beat us in the past 3 years was with a free pass of playing against 10 men for almost the whole match.

But he is manager of Villa with more resources. So when we wanted Watkins and Cash, they got them. O'Connell is better than Mings in my view too, but crucially Ming's didn't get injured, O'Connell did and Villa don't have a system so heavily reliant on having a left footed centre back for it to function. You saw how much they struggles previously when Grealish was injured and to Wilder O'Connell was our Grealish.

I know fine margins became a bit of a parody of a catchphrase but they are finer at smalller clubs than your Villas. There is a possibility that both Ramsdale, already, and Brewster may equal the careers of Martinez and Watkins but they just weren't ready at the time we got them. For Aaron the turnaround was in 6 months for Rhiann maybe longer.

Then there is just simple luck. Villa didn't deserve to stay up but fluked it. They then invested heavily on players we could have signed if they'd been a Championship club and now despite losing Grealish, they're out signing Ings with little thought of looking over their shoulder.

They go down, we get Watkins, we get Cash. Who knows? Certainly that ghost goal had further reaching repurcussions if you put in that context.

Football can be a cruel mistress at times.
Dean Smith is the luckiest bugger out there. A cheque book manager with, it seems, a huge cheque book backing him up. Villa’s form without Grealish, I think, shows how inept he is. They’ll survive this year but they won’t be troubling the top 6 as I think they hope to
 
It's a bit like Curtis Woodhouse situation.
Hes been posting some really childish / hurtful / disrespectful, call it what you like about a professional sportsman.
Made himself look very immature.
Then blames a whole host of other reasons why he doesn't get a crack at a league club .
No self respecting owner is going to touch him with a 20 ft barge pole .
I'm not sure why no one is advising him .
 
I'd love to have Wilder back here again one day, fighting for the club together. Our best years ♥️⚔️
I agree with the sentiment Kozzy but, for better or worse, today is the end of the CW era. The new fella has hell of an act to follow but here’s hoping that we get off to a positive start. I can’t get over to the uk this weekend but I’m optimistic for the new season - COYRAWW!
 

You could also look at Dean Smith's trajectory.

You can't totally remove the element of resources from the discussion.

Wilder in my opinion is a better manager than Dean Smith. He's bested him on numerous occasions. In fact the only time they beat us in the past 3 years was with a free pass of playing against 10 men for almost the whole match.

But he is manager of Villa with more resources. So when we wanted Watkins and Cash, they got them. O'Connell is better than Mings in my view too, but crucially Ming's didn't get injured, O'Connell did and Villa don't have a system so heavily reliant on having a left footed centre back for it to function. You saw how much they struggles previously when Grealish was injured and to Wilder O'Connell was our Grealish.

I know fine margins became a bit of a parody of a catchphrase but they are finer at smalller clubs than your Villas. There is a possibility that both Ramsdale, already, and Brewster may equal the careers of Martinez and Watkins but they just weren't ready at the time we got them. For Aaron the turnaround was in 6 months for Rhiann maybe longer.

Then there is just simple luck. Villa didn't deserve to stay up but fluked it. They then invested heavily on players we could have signed if they'd been a Championship club and now despite losing Grealish, they're out signing Ings with little thought of looking over their shoulder.

They go down, we get Watkins, we get Cash. Who knows? Certainly that ghost goal had further reaching repurcussions if you put in that context.

Football can be a cruel mistress at times.

Always glad of that particular affair though!
 

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