Carlton Blade
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The cover of the match-day programme the last time Sheffield United travelled to West Bromwich Albion proved strangely prescient.
Above an image of Hal Robson-Kanu that had been superimposed over a mean and moody looking Villa Park could be found under the Game of Thrones-inspired banner headline, “A Hero Will Rise”.
Tagged on the end in a much smaller font were the words, “to head in the first” — a nod to the flicked header by Robson-Kanu that had set Albion on their way to a 2-0 win at Aston Villa the previous week.
If the front page, which was also emblazoned with the word “Gladiator”, was meant to inspire the home side, it failed. Kieran Dowell settled matters to leave Chris Wilder’s players in a euphoric mood.
“We came in the dressing room afterwards and said, ‘We’re really here’,” said on-loan goalkeeper Dean Henderson later, revealing the infusion of belief generated by triumphing at the home of a genuine promotion rival who had started the afternoon just a point behind second-placed United in the table.
Oh, how the South Yorkshire club could do with a similar lift in Saturday’s Premier League clash, the first time they have returned to The Hawthorns since that 1-0 victory in February 2019.
Rock bottom of the table with just one point and four goals to their name from nine Premier League outings, United are odds-on to be relegated. Facing the only other side in the top four divisions of English football yet to win a match this season, defeat is inconceivable.
“In a perverse way, I quite enjoy times like this,” insists Wilder. “It is in my nature to fight. It is in our nature as a club to fight. This is a rollercoaster of a football club. We don’t always have it easy and it isn’t easy at the moment. But we have always come through by putting up a fight.”
A scrap is exactly what Wilder and his players have on their hands. How has it come to this? And is there a way back for a club that was chasing European qualification in July?
Sheffield, mid-June. The resumption of the Premier League is just a couple of days away and the mood at United’s Shirecliffe training ground is buoyant.
Wilder’s side, seventh in the table when the top flight had been placed into hibernation in March, will kick things back off for English football on Wednesday tea-time at Aston Villa. It is United’s game in hand and victory will take them up to fifth with nine games to play.
As ever with a session overseen by Wilder, the pace of training is fast and frantic with the tackles flying — one of the first post-lockdown small-sided games had ended with Jack O’Connell grabbing David McGoldrick in a headlock as tempers briefly boiled over.
That will to win is clearly evident once again as preparations are honed for the upcoming trip to Villa Park, even as this latest training-ground match moves into the final stages.
O’Connell, rushing back towards his own goal, is attempting to block a shot when he accidentally collides with Henderson. The defender’s knee takes much of the impact, immediately putting his involvement in the Villa match in doubt.
O’Connell has been sorely missed after having surgery two games into the season (Photo: Visionhaus)
What no one realises, however, is that the seeds for a difficult second season are being sown.
A scan showed that O’Connell avoided ligament damage and he did make a welcome return to the starting XI after five games to help United to back-to-back home wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea. The discomfort with his knee, though, refused to go away even after a short period of rest during the close season.
He then started the opening two games of this season but was a pale shadow of the player who had been such a pivotal part of United’s success. Further medical opinion was sought and the decision was taken for O’Connell to undergo surgery that will likely rule him out until the spring.
O’Connell is far from the only injury headache Wilder has had to contend with this season. John Fleck and Enda Stevens have had spells out to disrupt the left side of the team. But the absence of O’Connell, who plays as United’s left-sided centre-back, has been the most keenly felt.
An aerial vulnerability has crept into the defence, but it is not just at the back where O’Connell is missed. Going forward, United have been less dynamic without the key cog in their overlapping-centre-back system, making the entire team easier to close down.
The pass maps below from Twenty3 show just how much the injury to O’Connell — plus issues down the left that include a loss of form by Stevens and Fleck when fit — have affected United in attack.
In 2019-20, there was a lot of passing activity down that flank, while the midfield was less involved. The centre-backs would bomb forward to help build attacks in the wide areas, freeing up players to make late runs into the box.
It also meant midfielders could take up positions in the half-spaces to deliver crosses from a deeper position, bending away from the goal. These could then be attacked by Oli McBurnie, John Lundstram or a combination of George Baldock and Chris Basham in a wide-right role.
Sheffield United’s passing combinations in 2019-20. Darker arrows show more common passes; players’ placement based on average position (Image: Twenty3)
This season, there has been significantly less threat down that left side, leading to Oliver Norwood — or whoever has been filling the central midfield role — becoming much more involved in United’s passing. Norwood is an excellent player, but having one clear distributive hub makes it easier for a team to close United down, especially in the congested centre of the pitch.
Sheffield United’s passing combinations in 2020-21. Darker arrows show more common passes; players’ placement based on average position (Image: Twenty3)
Wilder, aware of how integral O’Connell was to the side’s success last season, did look for a replacement in the final days of the extended summer window. Feelers were put out regarding Terence Kongolo, Huddersfield Town’s record signing, and Preston North End’s Ben Davies. Kongolo, however, opted to join Fulham, while Preston refused to countenance Davies leaving despite the defender being into the final year of his contract.
Marcos Rojo, Manchester United’s out-of-favour defender, has his admirers among the Sheffield United board and a loan move was suggested. The coaching staff, however, had question marks over whether the Argentinian would fit into the club’s unique style of play.
Instead, Sheffield United opted to make do and mend from within the existing squad but, as confidence levels dipped and key players struggled for form, results have flat-lined.
Jack Robinson, Ethan Ampadu and Stevens have all attempted to fill what has become a problematic hole in the back three but none has convinced. Max Lowe has also struggled at left wing-back and the absence of Fleck, who returned in last weekend’s defeat to West Ham United, has meant more round pegs in square holes on the left side of central midfield.
Solving that problem in the seven games that lie ahead before the January window opens is likely to be the biggest challenge of Wilder’s four-and-a-half-year reign.
In a Premier League world populated largely by billionaire owners, Sheffield United stand out.
The club’s outlay on recruitment since winning promotion stands north of £120 million and the wage bill is understood to have tripled in 18 months, but those figures are a drop in the ocean of top-flight spending. Wilder simply cannot compete with his peers when it comes to a two-way scrap for a transfer target.
That much was clear in the summer when moves for Antonee Robinson and Matty Cash floundered the moment a Premier League rival entered the bidding.
In the case of Robinson, Wilder felt confident he had the Wigan Athletic wing-back after triggering the £1.9 million release clause in his contract.
Wilder even got as far as explaining to his prospective new signing, face-to-face, what he would need to do to depose Stevens as first choice.
Terms were discussed and the deal seemed on, only for Fulham to emerge as a late bidder with a substantially better contract offer. Similar disappointments were felt over missing out on Cash, who moved from Nottingham Forest to Aston Villa, and John Swift, whose move fell apart after Reading performed an about-turn and decided against a £4 million deal that had been mooted in the back channels.
That Robinson has started the last seven games for Fulham, while Cash — the subject of a rejected £10 million bid from United after it became clear Villa were willing to pay more — made an immediate impact in the Premier League has only added to Wilder’s frustration at a time when United’s results have been so poor.
However, Wilder’s disappointment did not prevent him from seeking out Robinson after last month’s 1-1 draw at home to Fulham to praise his display.
The board has backed Wilder as much as possible. With a second year in the Premier League essentially secured, completing the £22 million purchase of Sander Berge in January by raiding this summer’s budget made economic sense, but club owner Prince Abdullah bin Mosa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Sa’ud’s decision to dig out the money to sign Rhian Brewster — a deal that will see Liverpool paid a minimum £18 million — was a different matter.
Brewster has yet to score since his move from Liverpool (Photo: James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)
Not only was this outlay not in the original budget set at the start of the window, but United had taken on a sizeable commitment via the mortgage needed to buy back properties including Bramall Lane and the club’s Shirecliffe training base from the previous owner, Kevin McCabe, during the summer.
Above an image of Hal Robson-Kanu that had been superimposed over a mean and moody looking Villa Park could be found under the Game of Thrones-inspired banner headline, “A Hero Will Rise”.
Tagged on the end in a much smaller font were the words, “to head in the first” — a nod to the flicked header by Robson-Kanu that had set Albion on their way to a 2-0 win at Aston Villa the previous week.
If the front page, which was also emblazoned with the word “Gladiator”, was meant to inspire the home side, it failed. Kieran Dowell settled matters to leave Chris Wilder’s players in a euphoric mood.
“We came in the dressing room afterwards and said, ‘We’re really here’,” said on-loan goalkeeper Dean Henderson later, revealing the infusion of belief generated by triumphing at the home of a genuine promotion rival who had started the afternoon just a point behind second-placed United in the table.
Oh, how the South Yorkshire club could do with a similar lift in Saturday’s Premier League clash, the first time they have returned to The Hawthorns since that 1-0 victory in February 2019.
Rock bottom of the table with just one point and four goals to their name from nine Premier League outings, United are odds-on to be relegated. Facing the only other side in the top four divisions of English football yet to win a match this season, defeat is inconceivable.
“In a perverse way, I quite enjoy times like this,” insists Wilder. “It is in my nature to fight. It is in our nature as a club to fight. This is a rollercoaster of a football club. We don’t always have it easy and it isn’t easy at the moment. But we have always come through by putting up a fight.”
A scrap is exactly what Wilder and his players have on their hands. How has it come to this? And is there a way back for a club that was chasing European qualification in July?
Sheffield, mid-June. The resumption of the Premier League is just a couple of days away and the mood at United’s Shirecliffe training ground is buoyant.
Wilder’s side, seventh in the table when the top flight had been placed into hibernation in March, will kick things back off for English football on Wednesday tea-time at Aston Villa. It is United’s game in hand and victory will take them up to fifth with nine games to play.
As ever with a session overseen by Wilder, the pace of training is fast and frantic with the tackles flying — one of the first post-lockdown small-sided games had ended with Jack O’Connell grabbing David McGoldrick in a headlock as tempers briefly boiled over.
That will to win is clearly evident once again as preparations are honed for the upcoming trip to Villa Park, even as this latest training-ground match moves into the final stages.
O’Connell, rushing back towards his own goal, is attempting to block a shot when he accidentally collides with Henderson. The defender’s knee takes much of the impact, immediately putting his involvement in the Villa match in doubt.
O’Connell has been sorely missed after having surgery two games into the season (Photo: Visionhaus)
What no one realises, however, is that the seeds for a difficult second season are being sown.
A scan showed that O’Connell avoided ligament damage and he did make a welcome return to the starting XI after five games to help United to back-to-back home wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea. The discomfort with his knee, though, refused to go away even after a short period of rest during the close season.
He then started the opening two games of this season but was a pale shadow of the player who had been such a pivotal part of United’s success. Further medical opinion was sought and the decision was taken for O’Connell to undergo surgery that will likely rule him out until the spring.
O’Connell is far from the only injury headache Wilder has had to contend with this season. John Fleck and Enda Stevens have had spells out to disrupt the left side of the team. But the absence of O’Connell, who plays as United’s left-sided centre-back, has been the most keenly felt.
An aerial vulnerability has crept into the defence, but it is not just at the back where O’Connell is missed. Going forward, United have been less dynamic without the key cog in their overlapping-centre-back system, making the entire team easier to close down.
The pass maps below from Twenty3 show just how much the injury to O’Connell — plus issues down the left that include a loss of form by Stevens and Fleck when fit — have affected United in attack.
In 2019-20, there was a lot of passing activity down that flank, while the midfield was less involved. The centre-backs would bomb forward to help build attacks in the wide areas, freeing up players to make late runs into the box.
It also meant midfielders could take up positions in the half-spaces to deliver crosses from a deeper position, bending away from the goal. These could then be attacked by Oli McBurnie, John Lundstram or a combination of George Baldock and Chris Basham in a wide-right role.
Sheffield United’s passing combinations in 2019-20. Darker arrows show more common passes; players’ placement based on average position (Image: Twenty3)
This season, there has been significantly less threat down that left side, leading to Oliver Norwood — or whoever has been filling the central midfield role — becoming much more involved in United’s passing. Norwood is an excellent player, but having one clear distributive hub makes it easier for a team to close United down, especially in the congested centre of the pitch.
Sheffield United’s passing combinations in 2020-21. Darker arrows show more common passes; players’ placement based on average position (Image: Twenty3)
Wilder, aware of how integral O’Connell was to the side’s success last season, did look for a replacement in the final days of the extended summer window. Feelers were put out regarding Terence Kongolo, Huddersfield Town’s record signing, and Preston North End’s Ben Davies. Kongolo, however, opted to join Fulham, while Preston refused to countenance Davies leaving despite the defender being into the final year of his contract.
Marcos Rojo, Manchester United’s out-of-favour defender, has his admirers among the Sheffield United board and a loan move was suggested. The coaching staff, however, had question marks over whether the Argentinian would fit into the club’s unique style of play.
Instead, Sheffield United opted to make do and mend from within the existing squad but, as confidence levels dipped and key players struggled for form, results have flat-lined.
Jack Robinson, Ethan Ampadu and Stevens have all attempted to fill what has become a problematic hole in the back three but none has convinced. Max Lowe has also struggled at left wing-back and the absence of Fleck, who returned in last weekend’s defeat to West Ham United, has meant more round pegs in square holes on the left side of central midfield.
Solving that problem in the seven games that lie ahead before the January window opens is likely to be the biggest challenge of Wilder’s four-and-a-half-year reign.
In a Premier League world populated largely by billionaire owners, Sheffield United stand out.
The club’s outlay on recruitment since winning promotion stands north of £120 million and the wage bill is understood to have tripled in 18 months, but those figures are a drop in the ocean of top-flight spending. Wilder simply cannot compete with his peers when it comes to a two-way scrap for a transfer target.
That much was clear in the summer when moves for Antonee Robinson and Matty Cash floundered the moment a Premier League rival entered the bidding.
In the case of Robinson, Wilder felt confident he had the Wigan Athletic wing-back after triggering the £1.9 million release clause in his contract.
Wilder even got as far as explaining to his prospective new signing, face-to-face, what he would need to do to depose Stevens as first choice.
Terms were discussed and the deal seemed on, only for Fulham to emerge as a late bidder with a substantially better contract offer. Similar disappointments were felt over missing out on Cash, who moved from Nottingham Forest to Aston Villa, and John Swift, whose move fell apart after Reading performed an about-turn and decided against a £4 million deal that had been mooted in the back channels.
That Robinson has started the last seven games for Fulham, while Cash — the subject of a rejected £10 million bid from United after it became clear Villa were willing to pay more — made an immediate impact in the Premier League has only added to Wilder’s frustration at a time when United’s results have been so poor.
However, Wilder’s disappointment did not prevent him from seeking out Robinson after last month’s 1-1 draw at home to Fulham to praise his display.
The board has backed Wilder as much as possible. With a second year in the Premier League essentially secured, completing the £22 million purchase of Sander Berge in January by raiding this summer’s budget made economic sense, but club owner Prince Abdullah bin Mosa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Sa’ud’s decision to dig out the money to sign Rhian Brewster — a deal that will see Liverpool paid a minimum £18 million — was a different matter.
Brewster has yet to score since his move from Liverpool (Photo: James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images)
Not only was this outlay not in the original budget set at the start of the window, but United had taken on a sizeable commitment via the mortgage needed to buy back properties including Bramall Lane and the club’s Shirecliffe training base from the previous owner, Kevin McCabe, during the summer.
