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99% of the time, when a manager has taken 2 points from their first 17 games, you sack him without a doubt. Chris Wilder and Sheffield United are the remaining 1% -- they wouldn't be anywhere near the top flight without him, and no new manager is taking them out of the bottom 3.
Wilder isn't blameless at all for the Blades' malaise, but he does have some alibis.
He wanted Matty Cash, Ollie Watkins, Eberechi Eze and Antonee Robinson; the club gave him Jayden Bogle, Rhian Brewster, Ethan Ampadu and Max Lowe. Hardly Premier League-standard recruitment.
He wanted Matty Cash, Ollie Watkins, Eberechi Eze and Antonee Robinson; the club gave him Jayden Bogle, Rhian Brewster, Ethan Ampadu and Max Lowe. Hardly Premier League-standard recruitment.
Has he lost the dressing room? Has he underperformed with the squad at his disposal? Is another coach available that has the ability to somehow take them out of the relegation zone and get them firing on all cylinders?
If all those answers are 'no,' why sack a legendary manager?
If all those answers are 'no,' why sack a legendary manager?
Wilder took a bunch of League 1 and Championship players on a shoestring budget and made them into a top-half Premier League side.
Like Nuno, he wildly overachieved in his first season in the Prem; unlike Nuno, his players aren’t young, CL-standard players like Neto, Raúl etc.
Like Nuno, he wildly overachieved in his first season in the Prem; unlike Nuno, his players aren’t young, CL-standard players like Neto, Raúl etc.
Furthermore, of the players who have underperformed this season, there are plenty who could rebound and reach new heights in the Championship like Brewster, Bogle, Burke and Ramsdale.
Sheffield United are all but relegated, but they also aren’t in a Sunderland-esque position.
Sheffield United are all but relegated, but they also aren’t in a Sunderland-esque position.
Often when relegation is imminent, you see clubs attempting to raid the relegated team, but I doubt that will be the case here. Would imagine John Egan might leave, possibly Sander Berge if a club is willing to match the £24m they paid last year...hard to think of many others.
Blades fans will be back at Bramall Lane soon, watching their team face off against Preston or Cardiff. And when they do, I can imagine many of them will feel grateful they’re in the Championship with Wilder at the helm rather than in the Prem with a different manager in charge.
With all due respect, this looks a lot more like a top-half Championship squad than a mid-table Premier League side.
https://twitter.com/btlvid/status/1346499505651376129?s=21
https://twitter.com/btlvid/status/1346499505651376129?s=21
