Sheffield United

Adam Oxley
BBC Radio Sheffield journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Judge us after 10 games.

That is what managers, players and supporters often say when teams have a poor start to a season, because it's usually viewed as a reasonable amount of time to assess results and performances.

Well, Sheffield United went into the first international break bottom of the Championship after losing their opening five games in league and cup.

Ruben Selles was sacked just one game later, and former boss Chris Wilder was reinstated with hopes high for an immediate impact.

But going into the second international break, the Blades remain bottom, and after 10 games in all competitions, they have one win and nine defeats.

For any club, that would be judged as a disaster.

For a club that competed in last season's Championship play-off final and spent three of the past six campaigns in the Premier League, it's incomprehensible.

United's American owners COH Sports have shouldered the blame for the club's nightmare start, having hired, fired and rehired in just 89 days this summer.

So how should we judge returning boss Wilder, his beleaguered playing squad and the team's prospects for the rest of the Championship season, as things stand?

Performances have improved in the four games under Wilder but it has not been the returning-manager bounce anyone expected, none more so than by Wilder himself.

For example, at Hull City last weekend, the Blades had more shots than the Tigers, more shots on target, more possession, more corners and a better pass success rate… but they lost 1-0, missing a late penalty in the process.

Most of the players are better than what they are showing, given what they have already demonstrated at Bramall Lane, or with other clubs throughout their careers. Their confidence is understandably low, and many are making mistakes they wouldn't usually make.

The multiple changes in manager, formation and style have to be taken in consideration, but none of these factors should give the players a free pass for where the club finds itself.

It is now down to Wilder and his staff to organise, motivate and galvanise those players, who in turn need to stand up and be counted if this season is going to be more than a fight for survival.

Right now, any talk of a promotion push – as referenced by the Blades board when reappointing Wilder – should be shelved. This does not mean it is impossible, but if results do not improve, that will quickly be the case.

The immediate focus for everyone at Sheffield United has to be getting out of the relegation zone, nothing more.

Many so-called big clubs have fallen through the top divisions to League One before, including the Blades themselves - and Luton Town's current situation should serve as a real warning of what could happen if performances and results don't continue to improve.

The Blades played the Hatters in the Premier League just over 18 months ago.

Nobody thought Luton could go down last season, but they did, and they have just sacked their manager Matt Bloomfield, sitting 11th in the third tier.

That position in League One is where Wilder originally inherited his boyhood club in 2016, before leading them to the Premier League in three years.

The task Wilder has inherited in his third spell as Blades boss currently feels as big as it did nine years ago, and nobody will be more determined that United are looking up not down as this season unfolds.

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder said his side are their own worst enemy after they were beaten 1-0 by Hull City.

"It's incredibly disappointing," he told BBC Radio Sheffield. "We are beating ourselves at the moment. We have to take something out of this.

"We allowed them to get their noses in front and although we got into good positions, we were were not able to find that final bit.

"That's the game-changer. It was loose and rushed and there was no sign of the obvious ability these players have got to change the course of the game. We got into some great positions.

"They sat in and tried to hit us on the counter but we were never in danger. We just couldn't find that final bit."

Image source, Opta

Chris Wilder's quest to haul Sheffield United off the bottom of the Championship takes the Blades east to Hull City on Saturday lunchtime (12:30 BST).

Tuesday's 2-1 home defeat to Southampton was a seventh in eight league games for United, who are still only three points adrift of fourth-bottom Oxford United, albeit with a goal difference of -12, by far the worst in the division, though the only side to have conceded more than their 15 is Saturday's hosts, with 16.

Wilder will face a familiar face at the MKM Stadium as Oli McBurnie - who spent five seasons at Bramall Lane - is leading the line for the Tigers and is in the best form of his career.

The 29-year-old Scot bagged a second-half brace at home to Preston on Tuesday as City followed-up their impressive 3-1 win over Southampton in their previous home match.

• Hull City have won just one of their past eight league games against Sheffield United (D1 L6), failing to score in six, though the Tigers did win the last meeting 3-0 in January earlier this year.

• Sheffield United have won each of their past four away league games against Hull City, scoring 2+ goals in each of those victories.

• Hull City have only kept one clean sheet in their past 25 home league games, while that came in March against a Plymouth side who went on to be relegated from the Championship (2-0 win).

• Sheffield United have lost seven of their eight Championship matches this season (W1). It took them until their 40th match of the previous league campaign to suffer their seventh defeat.

• Ahead of facing his former side, Oli McBurnie has netted in four consecutive Championship appearances (five goals); his longest ever scoring run in the top four tiers of English football.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has said Tahith Chong will miss up to six weeks after injuring his knee in the warm-up against Oxford.

The midfielder signed for the Blades in the summer from Luton and has featured off the bench on three occasions.

Wilder has confirmed the extend of the Curacao international's injury.

"Unfortunately he's not great, he tore a meniscus cartilage in his knee in the warm-up so that's going to be four to six weeks, so not as bad as what it could have been," Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"But unfortunately missing a player that would have been involved at Oxford and would have been involved in the up and coming games.

"So the international break, in a way, comes at the right time. He might miss a couple of the games after the international break, but fingers crossed he won't be out for too long."

Listen to the full interview and more on BBC Sounds.

Chris Wilder's red card for kicking the ball into the stands at Bramall Lane was "harsh" according to the BBC's EFL 72+ podcast team.

Wilder was dismissed by referee Adam Herczeg for booting the ball into the crowd while leaving the field for half-time, moments after Saints were awarded a penalty in first-half stoppage time in their 2-1 win at the Blades on Tuesday night, which left Wilder's side bottom with seven defeats in eight Championship games.

Co-host Jobi McAnuff told the 72+ podcast: "I think he's really unlucky, there's no intent whatsoever. We have seen incidents in the past where someone has smashed the ball into the stands... it was nothing like that.

"He's had a word with one of his players, the ball is rolling towards him, I tell you what it's a hell of a strike, he's caught it beautifully, but obviously a bit too well and it's ended up in the crowd.

"His immediate reaction summed it all up, he couldn't believe it, goes into the crowd and makes sure everything's alright.

"The referee clearly saw no alternative but I thought it was a bit harsh, I don't think there was any malice or any harm done."

72+ guest and former Hull City boss Phil Brown suggested Wilder should be "cut some slack".

"It wasn't malice, there wasn't anything in it. He's not gone down the tunnel and had to be pulled back, he's gone straight across to the person, why give him a red card after that?" he added.

Image source, Opta

Sheffield United will seek to avoid unwanted history when they welcome Southampton to Bramall Lane on Tuesday night (19:45 BST).

With Chris WIlder back at the helm the Blades picked up their first points of the season with a 1-0 success at Oxford United on Saturday but return home where they have lost their opening three fixtures. Four of their past five fixtures have seen a single goal scored, though the other was a 5-0 defeat at Ipswich.

Will Still's Saints were pegged back by Middlesbrough in a 1-1 draw at St Mary's on Saturday and are now winless in six Championship games since the opening day.

They drew their opening two away games but went down 3-1 at Hull City in their most recent away game, though their recent record against United has been excellent.

• Sheffield United have lost each of their past four league meetings with Southampton, all in the Premier League in 2019-20 and 2020-21. The Blades have never lost five in a row versus the Saints before.

• Southampton have won on three of their last four league visits to Sheffield United (D1), as many as their first 22 beforehand (W3 D4 L15).

• Sheffield United have lost all three of their home league games this season; only in 1954-55 have they ever begun a league campaign with four successive home defeats.

• Since the start of last season, Southampton have won just one of their 22 away league games (D5 L16), a 2-1 victory at Ipswich in February.

• Southampton have lost each of their past four away league games played in midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) since a 1-1 draw at Coventry in December 2023. Their last such win was at Stoke in October 2023.

Image source, Getty Images

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder says his side's performance in the second half of their 1-0 win at Oxford United was more of what he expects from his side.

The Blades ended a six-game losing start to the season with victory at the Kassam Stadium.

It was Wilder's second game since returning to the club after replacing successor Ruben Selles earlier this month.

"It's been a tough period for everybody and I've watched from afar and I've watched from close by, especially over the last couple of weeks," Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"The players want to leave everything out there, which they did. I thought the second-half performance was more like us, more composed, more calm, more belief - I thought there were some really good performances out there second half.

"I think you've got to accept that we're on a losing streak, so it's not going to be free-flowing.

"We didn't give the supporters the result they deserved last week - the turnout was so humbling in terms of 30-odd thousand coming to watch a losing team.

"Today was a bit scrappy, a bit bitty first half, but we calmed them down at half-time, believed in the process, believed in how we go about trying to win a game of football with and without the football, and I thought they showed all good qualities this afternoon."

Chris Wilder has been speaking to the media ahead of the trip to Oxford United in the Championship on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Here are the main talking points.

• Following the 1-0 loss to Charlton Athletic last time out, Wilder has had "sterner" chats with his players. The Blades "need a big performance pretty quickly" as the losing mentality becomes harder to shift the longer a losing run goes on.

• This week Wilder has focused on delivering those sterner messages, having individual player meetings, ensuring players are taking accountability and are equipped to deal with disappointment. He wants more physicality and more running on the pitch. "These are the things I don't compromise on."

• The players are "a little bit confused in terms of a lot of the messages that got put into them". Wilder is trying to strip back his messages in order to help along the fundamentals of putting in good performances on the pitch and converting those into results.

• Wilder provided injury news on his Sheffield United squad. Tom Davies played a half for the under-21s team this week and may feature in the matchday squad at Oxford.

• Danny Ings has had a week's training and also may feature. Wilder is keen to have his more experienced players back as he believes they can help the team escape its winless rut.

Listen to the full interview with Chris Wilder and more Sheffield United content on Sounds.

Sheffield United will seek their first points of the season against a resurgent Oxford United when they visit the Kassam on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Chris Wilder's return as Blades boss was marked with a loss against Charlton Athletic to see the side still yet to move off the mark.

In contrast, Oxford have come out of a tough trilogy of games against promotion-contenders to take five points out of nine, finding their first victory of the season against Bristol City last time out following two hard-fought draws with Leicester City and Coventry City.

• Oxford won this exact fixture 1-0 in April, but haven't beaten Sheffield United in consecutive league meetings since October 1984.

• Having won just one of their first 10 away league games against Oxford between 1969 and 1996 (D4 L5), Sheffield United have now won three of their last four visits to the U's (L1).

• Following a 3-1 win against Bristol City last time out, Oxford are looking to win consecutive league games for the first time since January.

• Sheffield United have lost all six of their league games so far this season. Since the rebrand in 2004, only two teams have lost each of their first seven to start a Championship campaign – Peterborough United in 2012-13 and Wycombe Wanderers in 2020-21.

• Oxford have scored more set-piece goals than any other side in the Championship this season (excl. pens), with seven of their nine strikes coming from a set play.

A potential move to take the Championship play-offs down to eighth place would damage the competition's credibility, according to former Huddersfield, Stoke and Middlesbrough defender Tommy Smith.

The EFL board is set to discuss proposals to increase the number of teams in the end-of-season play-offs from four to six but Smith, who was promoted to the Premier League with Huddersfield via the play-offs in 2017 is not a fan of the idea.

"It's not for me - I think it suits teams who don't really have a chance to get in the top six," he told the BBC's EFL podcast 72+.

"From a credibility point of view the top six is there to be aimed at and you have to earn your place in it."

The play-offs were first introduced for the 1986-87 season where sides finishing third down to fifth were involved along with the team third-from-bottom in the top flight.

After two seasons the format was changed to be played out between teams finishing third to sixth in the second tier.

"To finish eighth in the Championship and potentially get promoted to the Premier League it just doesn't sit right with me," added Smith.

"Notoriously over the past years getting into the top six is tough and when you get in there after a long hard season it feels brilliant, so to make it a top eight it dilutes it."

Image source, Getty Images

Former Nottingham Forest assistant manager Guilherme Ramos has joined Sheffield United as their new first-team coach.

He is the newest addition to the Blades backroom staff following the managerial return of Chris Wilder alongside long-time staff members Alan Knill and Matt Prestridge.

"As I said to the media when I returned, I was keen to use the opportunity to try and freshen up the coaching side. Guilherme is someone I've been aware of for a while now, and he adds something a little different which will complement the talents of Alan, Matt and Micky Collins," Wilder told the club website., external

"He's a young coach, but he's built up an impressive CV working in different countries alongside some respected names in the game. I think it's a progressive appointment for all parties and he's someone we're excited to be working with."

Ramos was part of Forest's setup during their 2020-21 season and joins the Blades from French side Caen.

Adam Oxley
BBC Radio Sheffield commentator

Image source, PA Media

Having spent just 89 days away from Sheffield United this summer, there were hopes heading into last weekend's latest homecoming that Chris Wilder could pick up where he left off.

But when Isaac Olaofe scored in the 90th minute to give Charlton a 1-0 win at Bramall Lane, it felt like the beginning of a difficult third spell as United manager, rather than a continuation of what had gone before.

The boyhood Blade led his side to the Championship play-off final before he was sacked in June, as the club sought a new direction under Ruben Selles.

The Spaniard didn't win a game, United's board ate a significant slice of humble pie, took responsibility for the club's disastrous start to the campaign, and turned once again to Wilder, saying they "remain fully committed to supporting the team and pursuing promotion".

Hopes of a Premier League return sounded bold after five-straight league defeats. Now it's six losses in a row, and avoiding relegation would be a notable feat.

Sheffield United are only the fourth team in the 20-year history of the Championship to lose their first six games of the league season.

Two of those teams went down, while only one survived - city rivals Sheffield Wednesday in 2007-08.

On average, it takes 78 points to achieve a place in the Championship play-offs. This means the Blades would now need to win 26 of their remaining 40 league games.

That's quite an ask for any team, let alone one which is currently pointless, having scored the fewest number of goals (1) while conceding the most (13) at the bottom of the second tier.

If one man can do it though, you would suggest it's Chris Wilder, who turned a struggling League One side into a top-10 Premier League team in his first spell, and then came within 15 minutes of an immediate return to the top flight in his second stint after overhauling a side that broke records in relegation.

Wilder admitted after the defeat to Charlton that maybe he "was too much on the optimistic side of we'll be OK" in returning to Bramall Lane, with his players looking "fragile and damaged".

It feels like anything remains possible for Sheffield United this season, albeit with unnecessary damage caused by the firing and re-hiring of Chris Wilder by the club's American owners COH Sports.

Some of the players signed this summer, 14 in total, seem like Wilder-type signings. Some we know he courted in the past.

But ultimately they are not his signings, and while there is plenty of quality at his disposal, on paper, Wilder now has to gel a new-look Blades side capable of climbing the table, with players lacking confidence, rather than building on the strong foundations he laid last season.

Image source, Getty Images

Chris Wilder praised the Bramall Lane crowd for trying to lift his side as his homecoming was spoilt by another poor Sheffield United performance.

The Blades manager saw his side make it six straight defeats at the start of the season by losing 1-0 at home to Charlton Athletic.

He told BBC Radio Sheffield: "We've got a bit of work to do.

"There are some bits and pieces out of there I was pretty pleased with, but there's a lot of stuff that definitely needs some work on the training ground.

"We came in today in a positive mood after a good week's work but the key is having the nuts to do it on a Saturday afternoon, because that's where everybody is judged, players and myself.

"The crowd were tremendous and tried to lift us and drive us forward, give us that energy that we need, but then it slipped away a bit towards the end of the second half and became quite chaotic.

"I saw an honest performance but you have to get that balance right, and with the quality we have got we never really showed that, or any control on the game.

"The goal is a chaotic goal, a straight ball, a flick-on and then two versus two and the boy finds a pass in the 90th minute."