Post Souttar's injury last season, United were a good, not great Championship team (42 points from 23 games, scored 31, conceded 23), and that is with Anel and Souza who despite their foibles, were 2 excellent athletes. It also included JRS, Choudhury and BBD, and even Brewster who were all good athletes when fit. I think there's a very strong argument that the heart of that 24/25 team - Cooper, Souttar, Anel, Souza, Hamer, Campbell will all have either left or dropped off to the point they need replacing now.
Wilder inherited a side in a mess mentally in September 2025 and took 10 games to start making a real difference. If we take the last 23 matches of this season, 34 points, scored 35, conceded 30.
That's 76 points and a +13 goal difference. I think that is a much fairer reflection of the standard of the squad and team than the "92 points" campaign pushes.
My biggest concern is that despite having 4 transfer windows now since coming back for his 2nd and 3rd spells, we are yet to sign a plus athlete on a permanent basis, and our loans have mostly been an absolute disaster (BBD 1, Choudhury and Bindon are probably the exceptions). Cannon is a great example of the sort of player the Championship has left behind. Not quick, not strong, almost helpless in open play and United invested a huge fee in him.
I worry that the Championship is clearly a league dominated by athleticism, and Wilder doesn't really value it. There's a lot of talk around "AI signings" but none of them play, other than Soumare who is in fact the sort of athlete the Championship is full of. In January, where there was a chance to look to replace the traits that Anel, Souza and even Souttar showed we signed 2 CM's who can't run and a right back slower than the one we currently start.
I understand that people have confidence in Wilder and I think he provides a base level of competence well above the likes of Selles obviously. But I'm not sure where the evidence he can build another top 2 challenger comes from?