Why we should give Chris/Alan a chance

[Tony Currie]

Swapping and changing managers all the time is ludicrous - just look at all the many clubs that have done it and where they are now. Okay we didn't make the playoffs (always unrealistic) but if we had flirted with relegation all season and just avoided the drop would there have been more praise? We have to give an experienced manager with multiple promotions a chance to rebuild and go again.

Chris has been saying for the last six matches he knows what needs changing, he has a plan. He knows the players aren't good enough. All the talk about he is rubbish at transfers is just picking the duds every manager has them, he has also picked some real gems. With little budget I trust Chris and Alan to get us at least a playoff place next season.

 

[dexter101]

Swapping and changing managers all the time is ludicrous - just look at all the many clubs that have done it and where they are now. Okay we didn't make the playoffs (always unrealistic) but if we had flirted with relegation all season and just avoided the drop would there have been more praise? We have to give an experienced manager with multiple promotions a chance to rebuild and go again.

Chris has been saying for the last six matches he knows what needs changing, he has a plan. He knows the players aren't good enough. All the talk about he is rubbish at transfers is just picking the duds every manager has them, he has also picked some real gems. With little budget I trust Chris and Alan to get us at least a playoff place next season.

I agree, but I also think Wilder and the board need to come out and say what their expectation is for next season.

Are we planning on mid table, are we going to try and get into the extended play offs.

I feel a bit like we don't know what expectation we have had this past couple of seasons and its then hard to judge Wilder's success on that basis.

 

[calcalcal]

I trust them to keep us safe
Playoffs looks a little unrealistic given the dross we have and the number of strong sides we are likely to face

Spurs/wham
Burnley
Wolves
Wrexham
Birmingham
Norwich
Derby
Boro
Millwall
(Assuming ipswich and soton go up)

 

[LBA_Blade]

Swapping and changing managers all the time is ludicrous - just look at all the many clubs that have done it and where they are now. Okay we didn't make the playoffs (always unrealistic) but if we had flirted with relegation all season and just avoided the drop would there have been more praise? We have to give an experienced manager with multiple promotions a chance to rebuild and go again.

Chris has been saying for the last six matches he knows what needs changing, he has a plan. He knows the players aren't good enough. All the talk about he is rubbish at transfers is just picking the duds every manager has them, he has also picked some real gems. With little budget I trust Chris and Alan to get us at least a playoff place next season.

He also said in his last interview post Preston he has known for a while what needed changing, you do wonder what a while is in timeframe speak. Everyone in January could tell what business needed to be done. We have been left with a poor 2nd choice Keeper which could have easily been dealt with by a free transfer. I understand the view of chopping and changing managers, the problem really is the club, he is a legacy manager similar to how Warnock was, both near on a decade at the club and bring success but also in at the same time it is difficult to get rid of the furniture if you like. That's why from learning about DoF/technical directors they are there long term with a strategy so when coaches do go there isn't as much disruption.

I am always an optimist (strange for a blade) but for me, I don't think making the playoffs was unrealistic (winning them is a different story) even now if we look at the table we are 13 points behind Wrexham, we dropped 2 points at home to both West Brom and Swansea and both Blackburn and Preston at home for a team like ours should be on the tick list of winnable games. That is 10 points just out of those 4 fixtures, ultimately a home match against Wrexham that goes in our favour all of a sudden we are onto the same points as them. Not losing from being 3-1 away at Wrexham and it's a whole different story. Going back further there were countless games under Wilder that should have been won or drawn.

I would even argue to say yes the initial aim was to stabilise the club however then a top half finish should have been next, we could end up finishing the season 17th depending on results next weekend, we could get 12th with a win which although not a great achievement might go some way to signing off the season.

 

[bornablade]

I agree, but I also think Wilder and the board need to come out and say what their expectation is for next season.

Are we planning on mid table, are we going to try and get into the extended play offs.

I feel a bit like we don't know what expectation we have had this past couple of seasons and its then hard to judge Wilder's success on that basis.

For goodness sake - don't come on here and start putting forward sensible ideas.

 

[HOT CURRIE 10]

Swapping and changing managers all the time is ludicrous - just look at all the many clubs that have done it and where they are now. Okay we didn't make the playoffs (always unrealistic) but if we had flirted with relegation all season and just avoided the drop would there have been more praise? We have to give an experienced manager with multiple promotions a chance to rebuild and go again.

Chris has been saying for the last six matches he knows what needs changing, he has a plan. He knows the players aren't good enough. All the talk about he is rubbish at transfers is just picking the duds every manager has them, he has also picked some real gems. With little budget I trust Chris and Alan to get us at least a playoff place next season.

Well said,Mr Wilders mum.

 

[unitedbhoy]

I'm not Wilder Mk2 and Mk3's biggest fan. I think there has been a ridiculous amount of money wasted in the past 2 January windows, and the football / selections have been poor.

However, I think with the lack of money we have, we need to realise where we'll be next season. We're without parachute payments and will be shopping with minimal fees, free transfers and loans. This for me has been were CW has done his best business for United - summer 2024 was a very good window amidst all the uncertainty with the takeover.

I think it would be a huge risk to appoint a new manager who would have to do all this as well. It doesn't mean promotion isn't possible - Cov/Millwall/Hull don't have parachute money. But you could argue Cov and Millwall have been building their squad for a few years.

I'm not one who thinks there are no other managers who can be successful at SUFC other than Wilder btw! As long as we don't waste our summer budget on just crocks and and aging players, I'm content with CW trying to sort the squad and build again for the future. I'd like to see a team with athleticism, better fitness and attacking football next year - if we don't get promotion so be it, as long as there's a good feel and we can see what is trying to be achieved.

 

[DifferentClass]

Posting THAT on this forum... good luck

 

[Numpty's Dusty Ruts.]

Swapping and changing managers all the time is ludicrous - just look at all the many clubs that have done it and where they are now. Okay we didn't make the playoffs (always unrealistic) but if we had flirted with relegation all season and just avoided the drop would there have been more praise? We have to give an experienced manager with multiple promotions a chance to rebuild and go again.

Chris has been saying for the last six matches he knows what needs changing, he has a plan. He knows the players aren't good enough. All the talk about he is rubbish at transfers is just picking the duds every manager has them, he has also picked some real gems. With little budget I trust Chris and Alan to get us at least a playoff place next season.

We really don't need another thread on this subject.
But as I'm here, where are the "multiple promotions"???
We were promoted from League 1 to the Championship in 2017.
We were promoted from the Championship to the PL in 2019.
Wilder was manager for both.
The promotion in 2023 was under Hecky.
Anything before he was manager at United really is ancient history and has no relevance now.

 

[Carlton Blade]

Swapping and changing managers all the time is ludicrous - just look at all the many clubs that have done it and where they are now. Okay we didn't make the playoffs (always unrealistic) but if we had flirted with relegation all season and just avoided the drop would there have been more praise? We have to give an experienced manager with multiple promotions a chance to rebuild and go again.

Chris has been saying for the last six matches he knows what needs changing, he has a plan. He knows the players aren't good enough. All the talk about he is rubbish at transfers is just picking the duds every manager has them, he has also picked some real gems. With little budget I trust Chris and Alan to get us at least a playoff place next season.

Did you expect him to say "I have no idea how to fix this, I have no plan at all"?

 

[LBA_Blade]

Did you expect him to say "I have no idea how to fix this, I have no plan at all"?

A bit of honesty for a change wouldn't go a miss.....

 

[ATL Recs]

Swapping and changing managers all the time is ludicrous - just look at all the many clubs that have done it and where they are now. Okay we didn't make the playoffs (always unrealistic) but if we had flirted with relegation all season and just avoided the drop would there have been more praise? We have to give an experienced manager with multiple promotions a chance to rebuild and go again.

Chris has been saying for the last six matches he knows what needs changing, he has a plan. He knows the players aren't good enough. All the talk about he is rubbish at transfers is just picking the duds every manager has them, he has also picked some real gems. With little budget I trust Chris and Alan to get us at least a playoff place next season.

He's not had a promotion for 8 years

 

[Lane Ender]

Swapping and changing managers all the time is ludicrous - just look at all the many clubs that have done it and where they are now. Okay we didn't make the playoffs (always unrealistic) but if we had flirted with relegation all season and just avoided the drop would there have been more praise? We have to give an experienced manager with multiple promotions a chance to rebuild and go again.

Chris has been saying for the last six matches he knows what needs changing, he has a plan. He knows the players aren't good enough. All the talk about he is rubbish at transfers is just picking the duds every manager has them, he has also picked some real gems. With little budget I trust Chris and Alan to get us at least a playoff place next season.

 

[crucialkneeligaman]

We really don't need another thread on this subject.
But as I'm here, where are the "multiple promotions"???
We were promoted from League 1 to the Championship in 2017.
We were promoted from the Championship to the PL in 2019.
Wilder was manager for both.
The promotion in 2023 was under Hecky.
Anything before he was manager at United really is ancient history and has no relevance now.

I presume he is including Wilders promotions with other clubs as well, which to be fair shows he hasn't got a bad record.

 

[KMC-1889]

He's not had a promotion for 8 years

Hasn't made a good signing in nearly that long as well.

Not sure why someone that's overseen the worse season since our last relegation to league one should get time when other managers that have come in haven't been given the same excuses.

They weren't good enough, neither is wilder.

 

[PeterNdlovu081]

Not sure why someone that's overseen the worse season since our last relegation to league one should get time when other managers that have come in haven't been given the same excuses.

They weren't good enough, neither is wilder.

To be fair he did have to clean up the mess left by Selles this season though.

Next season he won't have that excuse.

It really is shit or bust for him now.

 

[Houston_Blade]

The main reason he should keep the job is because we don’t seem to have any idea how to go about life without him.

It’s gone beyond a competency question on his part now, we need him “just coz”.

 

[MayorOJC]

Swapping and changing managers all the time is ludicrous - just look at all the many clubs that have done it and where they are now. Okay we didn't make the playoffs (always unrealistic) but if we had flirted with relegation all season and just avoided the drop would there have been more praise? We have to give an experienced manager with multiple promotions a chance to rebuild and go again.

Chris has been saying for the last six matches he knows what needs changing, he has a plan. He knows the players aren't good enough. All the talk about he is rubbish at transfers is just picking the duds every manager has them, he has also picked some real gems. With little budget I trust Chris and Alan to get us at least a playoff place next season.

Devil's advocate.

- We have a squad with transfer fees/ value / wages far above the league average. Most teams in this league (even ones in and around the playoffs) would love to have the likes of Hamer, O'Hare, and Tanganga. For anyone saying "yeah but Tanganga is crap", Moore is leading the line at a play-off chasing team, Norrington-Davies is above us in the table and Brewster is very close to scoring more for Derby than he did his entire Blades career. When everyone looks better out of a Blades shirt, the problem is us.

- Fair enough, didn't have the summer to pick the transfers. Neither did Kim Hellberg or Phil Clement. They got on with it and adapted to the players they had available.

- The league average for games lost from winning positions is 2.6. Ours is 7. Good managers adapt to keep leads.

- 85% of the games we've fallen behind in, we've lost. Only Wednesday have a worse record, and I think they have a slightly better excuse. Good managers adapt to get back into games.

- Unable or unwilling to sort out the fitness issue.

- Unable or unwilling to sort out the discipline issue (nice to see we've swapped mass brawls for red cards this season though, it's cheaper).

- Spent £10 MILLION on Tom Cannon. That shouldn't get you fired. That should get you fired into the sun. For context, Norwich rebuilt half their squad smartly with £10m, bringing in Toure, Makama, Maghoma and Ahmed. Give Wilder £10m again and it's probably going on Joe Gelhardt.


Used to be a great manager in 2020, but whatever he had - it isn't there any more. Time to move on.

 

[SouthportBlade]

There will have been no plan to relieve him of his duties this summer, once it was clear we’d moved clear of relegation. I mean there was even talk of a playoff charge, which given the Selles shitshow he inherited was a decent position. Granted things tailed off.

Plans will have been discussed over the last few weeks and months about the summer, said churn and targets. Ripping up this as a plan because we’ve lost a few dead rubbers and players who’ve probably been told they’ve no future or will be getting sold aren’t busting a gut for the for the cause is bad policy.

I’m on the fence about our prospects next season, but I’d say Wilder deserves a pre season and 10-15 games minimum to show signs of improvement.

 

[dellasthunderbolt]

To be fair he did have to clean up the mess left by Selles this season though.

Next season he won't have that excuse.

It really is shit or bust for him now.

This is why I think we stick for now. Next year he either does a good job and pretty much shuts up the anti-Wilder section or he fails and the the pro- wilder brigade are silenced. Either way we can then move on.

 

[Sportbilly /Detroit Blade]

I'm not buying or selling, but I'm not sure why we'd want to keep a manager who seemingly divides the fanbase so much.

Do I know who could do a better job, who is a realistic target, no and I've not really thought about it that much.

Not sure keeping him because we're not sure we can do any better is a robust reason not to make a change.

 

[Roygbiv]

This is why I think we stick for now. Next year he either does a good job and pretty much shuts up the anti-Wilder section or he fails and the the pro- wilder brigade are silenced. Either way we can then move on.

I worry neither will be silenced as it's likely we'll have another middling season. His supporters will say he needs time to rebuild, his doubters will say it's another season where he's achieved nothing. I don't see a satisfactory end unless we get promoted and that's highly unlikely no matter who the manager is.

 

[Wards]

There's a lot to be said for stability, I'm not against that at all. That said I don't know what to think regards this version of Wilder. Thought we looked genuinely entertaining for the first time in a long time around December/January then it's fallen to bits quite badly. Concerning type badly. And we're back to slow predictable football.

 

[Dkc]

I'm not buying or selling, but I'm not sure why we'd want to keep a manager who seemingly divides the fanbase so much.

Do I know who could do a better job, who is a realistic target, no and I've not really thought about it that much.

Not sure keeping him because we're not sure we can do any better is a robust reason not to make a change.

A reason not to make a change is that the owners have already committed to Wilder - he has a contract until Summer 2027. It would cost a fortune in compensation to replace Wilder and his entire team now. Any new manager would want to bring his own coaching team in and his own players. We aren't getting parachute payments any more.

 

[Varkanoid]

I agree, but I also think Wilder and the board need to come out and say what their expectation is for next season.

Has there been any talk of a meeting between Wilder and COH to discuss the summer and next season ? This will be quite interesting to see if one occurs like it did with the Prince. The Prince at least was more hands on (apart from when he was told to distance himself by his family) I reckon it will just be Wilder and Bettis.

 

[coaxingstar71]

I keep saying that anyone who thinks Wilder won't be here next season is seriously deluded, regardless of your opinion.

Considering the shitshow in the summer and that the owners ate some serious humble pie to get Wilder back in, there's no way on earth they are going to get rid of him anytime soon. I think everyone needs to accept that and move on.

All these should we stick with Wilder or not threads are quite pointless, it's not up to some miserable bastards on a forum whether he stays or not.

 

[bakeblade]

Swapping and changing managers all the time is ludicrous - just look at all the many clubs that have done it and where they are now. Okay we didn't make the playoffs (always unrealistic) but if we had flirted with relegation all season and just avoided the drop would there have been more praise? We have to give an experienced manager with multiple promotions a chance to rebuild and go again.

Chris has been saying for the last six matches he knows what needs changing, he has a plan. He knows the players aren't good enough. All the talk about he is rubbish at transfers is just picking the duds every manager has them, he has also picked some real gems. With little budget I trust Chris and Alan to get us at least a playoff place next season.

I think I'd be tempted to keep CW but pension off Knilly.
Replace with a younger coach with new ideas

 

[SB_90]

im more than happy to give wilder another year. yes i might be too trusting but i Believe Wilder when he says he going to try his hardest to get it right. because his biggest strength can be his weakness.

wilder would work 24 hours a day if you'd let him. because he is desperate to bring success & has said many times before because his family & friends support the blades he takes the defeats harder

but as i said on saturday. on the pitch & recruitment has to improve. it likely going to be 2 wins in the last 15 v promoted teams & if we get what we seen since half time in the sheffield derby. then sadly it would time to part ways next season

 

[Brian Deane]

The Scenario will be a decent start next season and perhaps looking like we're in the running up until renew contract time for Wilder then once that's been sorted we will become the same turgid performances as this season. So mid table after a decent start ( Top 6 until New year)

 

[Broomhall Blade]

I keep saying that anyone who thinks Wilder won't be here next season is seriously deluded, regardless of your opinion.

Considering the shitshow in the summer and that the owners ate some serious humble pie to get Wilder back in, there's no way on earth they are going to get rid of him anytime soon. I think everyone needs to accept that and move on.

All these should we stick with Wilder or not threads are quite pointless, it's not up to some miserable bastards on a forum whether he stays or not.

I have accepted and moved on by not renewing my season ticket.
The thought of slow boring backwards and sideways passing, wrapped up with baffling team selections and substitutions, with someone who never takes any blame but will gladly slap the badge when we win just doesn't appeal to me.
I wouldn't also be 100% sure he will be here next season when they see how much season ticket sales are down.