Wilder skulking off at the end of the game

[Rusty]

Fckn ell... let's all feel sorry for ourselves. Again. Should've won didn't. Sunderland got the breaks..VAR, Gus going off, us finishing with 10. Yep played a bit too deep again in 2nd half but up until they scored did they look like scoring? Not sure they did.
CW? Not sure he's the man for the prem now but championship? Course he fckn is. 90pts, did anyone see 90pts on the horizon this time last year? If we're seriously not in the mix come December then yes it will need addressing, but I'm reasonably confident we'll be up there again. For those who want rid now... who? Foreign manager new to English football, championship football.. do me a favour.
Before i get the pelters, been going to Lane 54 years, ST etc, so like you all I know the pain, frustration, just the general fckn weariness of failing again. We move on. We go again. Again...UTB

 

[Booker4]

It's played on my mind that some of his actions this season would come back to bite. What goes around comes around.

Social media is having a field day at his expense and it's far from just pigs and Leeds.

That tells you how his actions have gone down with the wider football community.

5 years ago he was generally well liked by neutral fans.

We had very similar reactions from other fans when we had Warnock. I really don't care what other fans think to be honest.

 

[Houston_Blade]

Every interview next season is going to be Wilder mentioning how we got 92 points isn’t it?!

The fanboys are giving him the script before he’s even had to think of it himself.

 

[Youngand70]

I’ve mentioned the guy at Bodo Glimt on here a couple of times now. Other than that, the club should be trying to identify the next Glasner or Iraola. They are out there.

Couldn't agree more but sadly who do we have at the club with experience at the higher "modern" level of Football to identify the right man. The accountant Bettis has managed to worm his way onto the board and it was him who stated in May 2024 that "Sheffield United will not be having a Director of Football". I fear that none of the other board members have the experience in football to make major "footballing" decisions. I ask who has advised them or will advise them in the future?

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

Alexander Blessin - St Pauli. Plays great football and part of a huge city wide footballing community. Keeping a small team in 1 Bundesliga is great work. He can bring Jackson Ervine with him as skipper too. Incredible athlete, intelligent, bi lingual, community leader and minded and emotionally aware.

Julian Schuster - SC Freiburg. Again, excellent football, plays players in the right positions

When Wilder leaves we need to make a big change.

They're out there. Younger, hungrier, willing to develop and adapt and no emotional baggage with the club and their own football background that complicates football decision making

Hopefully our board are already looking and will know better than us.

Ooooohhhh
Lexi
Good Times

Incoming? Thread 'Alexander Blessin'

Apr 1, 2021

EXC: Sheff Utd hold talks with Alexander Blessin over managerial role

EXCLUSIVE BY CHRIS WHEELER: KV Oostende boss Alexander Blessin has emerged as a strong contender for the managerial vacancy at Sheffield United.

www.dailymail.co.uk

• Sam64
• Replies: 1,191
• Forum: Rumour Mill

• 

 

[Sean Thornton]

Couldn't agree more but sadly who do we have at the club with experience at the higher "modern" level of Football to identify the right man. The accountant Bettis has managed to worm his way onto the board and it was him who stated in May 2024 that "Sheffield United will not be having a Director of Football". I fear that none of the other board members have the experience in football to make major "footballing" decisions. I ask who has advised them or will advise them in the future?

No DOF “ in this instance” ie with Wilder. The owners need to change that stance.

Although a qualified accountant that’s not his role at BL.

 

[Youngand70]

No DOF “ in this instance” ie with Wilder. The owners need to change that stance.

Although a qualified accountant that’s not his role at BL.

The owners certainly do need to change the thinking regarding a DOF. I do realise that Bettis is the CEO but an accountant by trade and as such I have always been amazed that we managed to miss transfer payments resulting in the 2 point deduction. Therefore when referring to Bettis I'm afraid a little sarcasm has to slip in hence the fact I referr to him as "the accountant", as I don't feel he has any outstanding experience or knowledge of football especially when it comes to taking the club forward, even more so with his stance on a DOF. He only has to look at the Premier League to see that this season 19 club's out of 20 had a DOF.

 

[thehet]

Not really my responsibility to find one, I’ll leave that to the board.

I’m not asking him to find the replacement. If he wants someone “outside the box” he ought to be able to describe what the box is and give an inkling, perhaps even an example, of someone who might fit the bill.

 

[Sean Thornton]

The owners certainly do need to change the thinking regarding a DOF. I do realise that Bettis is the CEO but an accountant by trade and as such I have always been amazed that we managed to miss transfer payments resulting in the 2 point deduction. Therefore when referring to Bettis I'm afraid a little sarcasm has to slip in hence the fact I referr to him as "the accountant", as I don't feel he has any outstanding experience or knowledge of football especially when it comes to taking the club forward, even more so with his stance on a DOF. He only has to look at the Premier League to see that this season 19 club's out of 20 had a DOF.

The transfer payments were “missed” because there were no funds available. How many times?

You think the no DOF “stance” was his doing or the owners? The owner who made up with CW who had made it clear he wouldn’t work with a DOF? More likely the reason for comment, to make our criticism lite manager feel more secure.

He’s was an employee, the big decisions were made by the owner, not him. Wilder would have a bigger say on football matters.

 

[Houston_Blade]

thehet said:
I’m not asking him to find the replacement. If he wants someone “outside the box” he ought to be able to describe what the box is and give an inkling, perhaps even an example, of someone who might fit the bill.

thehet Let’s start by looking outside of people with a Sheffield postcode and see how we get on from there.

 

[Davalon]

We had very similar reactions from other fans when we had Warnock. I really don't care what other fans think to be honest.

It's not about caring what other fans think or being desperate to be liked.

It's about the outside noise and extra pressure that comes with it when it seems clear we're not strong enough to deal with it.

 

[Booker4]

It's not about caring what other fans think or being desperate to be liked.

It's about the outside noise and extra pressure that comes with it when it seems clear we're not strong enough to deal with it.

Just so I understand your point, are you saying that Wilders fines have added pressure to the team?

I know Wilder likes the players to be tough mentally but I think that's a good thing as Wilder can't hold their hand on the pitch.

 

[MartBlade]

He needs to leave.

He’s had another interview where we’ve bottled a big game and he’s talking about the stats not backing up the result.

This is the bloke who said “you can stick your data”.

He’s a hypocrite and out of his depth.

Some fans buy into the parochialism but the smart ones see straight through it. Get a proper manager in, one we can build a transfer and playing strategy around. Then give them the time and money to implement it.

Wilder’s football this season has been shite, his fitness record has been shite and his ability to spend money is shite. Get rid.

Don’t get fucking Steve Cooper in either, think outside the box for once and ignore the dunces in our fan base.

Tell me a “proper manager” who will get us to 92 points after having to completely refresh the squad on an average budget.
I get the frustration and it’s really easy for so many to blame Wilder for us playing defensively second half but there is no way he sent the players out with that mindset.
Some key players underperformed at the wrong time - it happens. Injuries also hit us at crucial moments.
It boggles my mind that so many Blades are so keen to get rid of the man who is almost entirely responsible for our success in the last 6 years.
If the owners have a huge pot of gold then maybe other managers are an option but if our budget continues to be average, I still can’t think of anybody better to get us challenging again next season.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Tell me a “proper manager” who will get us to 92 points after having to completely refresh the squad on an average budget.
I get the frustration and it’s really easy for so many to blame Wilder for us playing defensively second half but there is no way he sent the players out with that mindset.
Some key players underperformed at the wrong time - it happens. Injuries also hit us at crucial moments.
It boggles my mind that so many Blades are so keen to get rid of the man who is almost entirely responsible for our success in the last 6 years.
If the owners have a huge pot of gold then maybe other managers are an option but if our budget continues to be average, I still can’t think of anybody better to get us challenging again next season.

Average budget?

 

[Blade21]

Tell me a “proper manager” who will get us to 92 points after having to completely refresh the squad on an average budget.
I get the frustration and it’s really easy for so many to blame Wilder for us playing defensively second half but there is no way he sent the players out with that mindset.
Some key players underperformed at the wrong time - it happens. Injuries also hit us at crucial moments.
It boggles my mind that so many Blades are so keen to get rid of the man who is almost entirely responsible for our success in the last 6 years.
If the owners have a huge pot of gold then maybe other managers are an option but if our budget continues to be average, I still can’t think of anybody better to get us challenging again next season.

An 'average budget' hes had a top 3 budget all season.

 

[Sean Thornton]

Tell me a “proper manager” who will get us to 92 points after having to completely refresh the squad on an average budget.
I get the frustration and it’s really easy for so many to blame Wilder for us playing defensively second half but there is no way he sent the players out with that mindset.
Some key players underperformed at the wrong time - it happens. Injuries also hit us at crucial moments.
It boggles my mind that so many Blades are so keen to get rid of the man who is almost entirely responsible for our success in the last 6 years.
If the owners have a huge pot of gold then maybe other managers are an option but if our budget continues to be average, I still can’t think of anybody better to get us challenging again next season.

Burnley had to rebuild. 100 points. Promoted.

 

[Houston_Blade]

Tell me a “proper manager” who will get us to 92 points after having to completely refresh the squad on an average budget.
I get the frustration and it’s really easy for so many to blame Wilder for us playing defensively second half but there is no way he sent the players out with that mindset.
Some key players underperformed at the wrong time - it happens. Injuries also hit us at crucial moments.
It boggles my mind that so many Blades are so keen to get rid of the man who is almost entirely responsible for our success in the last 6 years.
If the owners have a huge pot of gold then maybe other managers are an option but if our budget continues to be average, I still can’t think of anybody better to get us challenging again next season.

As I’ve stated a few times on various threads, it’s not my job to find us a new manager. My ‘ball knowledge’ is largely limited to what we’re doing, I’ll leave the name suggestions to those who take more of an interest in those things.

If we persist with ‘Chris/Neil/Paul from Sheffield’ we’ll never progress as a club. We’ve tried Mickey and Morgs as well temporarily with poor results. Some of our fans love the parochial behaviour as they can pretend Wilder is like them. But a change would be for the better in the long run.

The 92 points actually means nothing now, it’s just another way to highlight how much of a failure this season has been.

I don’t buy into the ‘rebuild’ excuse either. He got rid of a lot of the players he gave long contracts to the first time around and we had more than enough budget to have won promotion, certainly not ‘average’ in Championship terms. Yet we still failed.

 

[Houston_Blade]

Just so I understand your point, are you saying that Wilders fines have added pressure to the team?

I know Wilder likes the players to be tough mentally but I think that's a good thing as Wilder can't hold their hand on the pitch.

They showed a huge lack of mental toughness on Saturday, so maybe they’re just a bunch of babies who scrap after a game to make it look like they care?! It’s cost us £500k whichever one it is.

 

[MartBlade]

As I’ve stated a few times on various threads, it’s not my job to find us a new manager. My ‘ball knowledge’ is largely limited to what we’re doing, I’ll leave the name suggestions to those who take more of an interest in those things.

If we persist with ‘Chris/Neil/Paul from Sheffield’ we’ll never progress as a club. We’ve tried Mickey and Morgs as well temporarily with poor results. Some of our fans love the parochial behaviour as they can pretend Wilder is like them. But a change would be for the better in the long run.

The 92 points actually means nothing now, it’s just another way to highlight how much of a failure this season has been.

I don’t buy into the ‘rebuild’ excuse either. He got rid of a lot of the players he gave long contracts to the first time around and we had more than enough budget to have won promotion, certainly not ‘average’ in Championship terms. Yet we still failed.

92 points highlights “failure” ?
I think this simply underlines the unrealistic expectation that so many of our fans have.

 

[utd4ever]

He was given 10 million pounds and signed TOM CANNON.

He signed Holding and never really played him.

His substitutions were always mystifying

He sees us 1-0 up against a poor Sunderland and tells the players to keep it tight and punt it up the field for the 2nd half.

We lose 2-1 and he runs away.

Not a manager the new owners need.

 

[MartBlade]

An 'average budget' hes had a top 3 budget all season.

When I say “average” I mean that he is not being given a huge pot to spend by very rich owners as happened at Forest, Wolves etc…
If we had that type of money then I’d be more open to change at this point.
Many conveniently forget that the parachute payments that we enjoy are mostly accounted for by contracts written in the PL…. and the fact that we have them at all is down to Wilder in the first place.

 

[Davalon]

Just so I understand your point, are you saying that Wilders fines have added pressure to the team?

I know Wilder likes the players to be tough mentally but I think that's a good thing as Wilder can't hold their hand on the pitch.

Wilder's image has changed since Covid.

Most of that has been down to how he conducts himself.

He used to be praised for his honesty in interviews, his attitude and treatment of officials, apart from the odd spat, he seemed to get on well with most opposition managers.

Without going over all the incidents since, he's gone from being largely respected by neutral fans to really disliked. This naturally rubs off on everything to do with the club.

Instead of praise or being ambivalent, there's now regular criticism and mocking in the media and social media.

I'm pretty sure most of us perform better at work when either being praised or going under the radar, as opposed to getting stick or mirth thrown at us.

To perform at your best under the latter, you need a thick skin and a very strong mentality.

I've not seen that from our manager or some of our senior players, and in some cases the ill discipline backs that up.

 

[MartBlade]

He was given 10 million pounds and signed TOM CANNON.

He signed Holding and never really played him.

His substitutions were always mystifying

He sees us 1-0 up against a poor Sunderland and tells the players to keep it tight and punt it up the field for the 2nd half.

We lose 2-1 and he runs away.

Not a manager the new owners need.

I know people love to beat Wilder with this Cannon criticism. Nobody would argue that he looks a good signing but surely you have to balance that against the free transfer signing of Campbell, O Hare etc..? Loan deal for Souttar ? At the time we were linked with him, many on this forum were screaming that we had to beat Sunderland to his signature !!
People should at least be balanced in criticism.

 

[MartBlade]

Wilder's image has changed since Covid.

Most of that has been down to how he conducts himself.

He used to be praised for his honesty in interviews, his attitude and treatment of officials, apart from the odd spat, he seemed to get on well with most opposition managers.

Without going over all the incidents since, he's gone from being largely respected by neutral fans to really disliked. This naturally rubs off on everything to do with the club.

Instead of praise or being ambivalent, there's now regular criticism and mocking in the media and social media.

I'm pretty sure most of us perform better at work when either being praised or going under the radar, as opposed to getting stick or mirth thrown at us.

To perform at your best under the latter, you need a thick skin and a very strong mentality.

I've not seen that from our manager or some of our senior players, and in some cases the ill discipline backs that up.

And yet he has been massively praised by the likes of Colin Murray, Tony Cascarino etc… for how he conducts himself and represents the club. Also - pretty much every player is effusive about how fantastic it is to work with him and the other coaches.. it’s usually one of the reasons players sign for us.
Give me a passionate Blade with a winning mentality any day. If we upset a few along the way do we really care?

 

[Davalon]

If we upset a few along the way do we really care?

That's not the point I'm making.

It's what comes off the back of that and how you deal with it.

 

[Houston_Blade]

92 points highlights “failure” ?
I think this simply underlines the unrealistic expectation that so many of our fans have.

Lack of promotion highlights failure. The 92 points is irrelevant as 2 other teams got more and the 4th placed team beat us in the play offs after we shit the bed (again).

Wilder mk1 I still have as my favourite Blades manager, the current one is a busted flush with a raft of excuses.

 

[Le Cynique]

That's not the point I'm making.

It's what comes off the back of that and how you deal with it.

I personally couldn’t give a toss if other fans like us or our manager, but I suspect that the board will be somewhat unimpressed by the negative coverage that Wilder’s antics bring to the club, especially if they’re trying to get additional investment, sponsorship deals and that kind of thing. What many of our fans see as passion, they might see as uncouth behaviour and a lack of professionalism, especially if it hits them in the pocket.

 

[Le Cynique]

Lack of promotion highlights failure. The 92 points is irrelevant as 2 other teams got more and the 4th placed team beat us in the play offs after we shit the bed (again).

Wilder mk1 I still have as my favourite Blades manager, the current one is a busted flush with a raft of excuses.

Exactly this. We’ve achieved absolutely nothing this season in the cold light of day, and spent a lot of money in doing so. Bar the odd highlight - beating the pigs twice, some exciting stuff in the play offs before the final - we’re no better off than if we’d finished in mid table.

 

[Numpty's Dusty Ruts.]

I thought I'd let the air clear for a bit before I waded in on this one.
I went on Saturday, and thought we were in with a shout, especially when we all thought we were 2-0 up. I don't blame the use of VAR, even though I can't stand the thing, if it's disallowed, it's disallowed. I thought that Sunderland were no great shakes, but they were determined and had a plan which they stuck to, even after going behind. After a reasonably positive start to the second half, the team just crawled inside itself and went into a very familiar defensive pattern. We did have clear chances, but they were either missed, or we just ploughed on with trying to defend deep. This failed very recently against Plymouth, Millwall and Oxford, so it's chances of working against a better side than any of them, with a huge prize at the end, wasn't likely to succeed. When Sunderland scored, I knew what was going to happen, as we've seen it so many times. And it happened.
After initially thinking that this wasn't on the manager, it was about Moore's fuck up, I now think it really is on Wilder. He picked the team and the tactics, he made the substitutions, he decided to play JLT, and not let Holding anywhere near the field of play, and he stuck to "sitting in", when there's clear evidence over a number of games, that his team aren't actually very good at "sitting in".

We were playing a team who finished a full 16 points (including the deduction) behind us, who before just beating Coventry had been on an awful run, and who are young and relatively inexperienced. There are no guarantees, but with the start we had, we should have won this game. In my view, not doing so is entirely the responsibility of Wilder and his management team. As was the bizarre end to the regular season, and as is the turgid football served up for so much of this season. For these footballing reasons, Wilder should go, and the board should aim for some sort of reset. I don't know who, I'm a fan, that's not my job.

In terms of Wilder's behaviour and conduct as a manager and representative of SUFC, I think it's fair to say that he should have acknowledged the fans, and he should have been there for the players. That's his job, that's what goes with being a manager and leader. If he can't do this (and clearly he couldn't on Saturday), then he's not up to the job, and should be replaced by someone who is perhaps a bit less self-centered.

 

[Booker4]

Wilder's image has changed since Covid.

Most of that has been down to how he conducts himself.

He used to be praised for his honesty in interviews, his attitude and treatment of officials, apart from the odd spat, he seemed to get on well with most opposition managers.

Without going over all the incidents since, he's gone from being largely respected by neutral fans to really disliked. This naturally rubs off on everything to do with the club.

Instead of praise or being ambivalent, there's now regular criticism and mocking in the media and social media.

I'm pretty sure most of us perform better at work when either being praised or going under the radar, as opposed to getting stick or mirth thrown at us.

To perform at your best under the latter, you need a thick skin and a very strong mentality.

I've not seen that from our manager or some of our senior players, and in some cases the ill discipline backs that up.

I can see your angle but I don't think Wilders changed since he joined. He's said some very critical things in his first period such as they were league one players at one point when we were pushing promotion from the Champ I recall.

Ultimately his record is fantastic, in my opinion. I truly believe that no other manager we could have realistically got could have battered what we've done this season bearing in mind the tight budget for transfers last summer.

His comments after matches will attract some criticism from other fans at times but as I say I really don't care about Plymouth fans views or any other team. I've heard Wilder say the other team played well or congratulated them on a wins y times this season.

Wilder has always criticised players, at times, in his post match interviews but by in large it's done collectively not individually. He seems to have the backing of the players given the results we've had and that they signed for us in the first place.

I suspect that Knill plays good cop to Wilder bad cop in terms of criticism of the players performances. I recall Knill giving out praise to players and putting the arm around them on the behind the blades videos for example. This is all very similar to how Dave Bassett managed and again I saw Geoff Taylor doing the good cop role in that era

I can only go on what we hear and see publicly and whilst he's not perfect I think he's pretty amazing myself! Everyone sees things differently of course.