Sheffield United’s defensive record this season has been exquisite.
They may not be as exquisite as promotion rivals Burnley, who have conceded a hugely impressive nine goals in 28 games, but their 18 goals in 28 games are all sublime. In fact, he is the third best player in the top four divisions of English football.
What’s even more satisfying for the Blades and their fans is that they’re coming off a season where they set Premier League records for all the wrong reasons.
It is a name that will be recorded in history, including the most goals conceded in a season (104), the most goals conceded at home in a season (57), the most goal differential at home (-38), and the most goals conceded (-38). Goal difference (-69, tied with Derby in 2007/08).
Sheffield United were relegated from the Premier League last season.
Friday, January 24th 7:30 PM
Kickoff at 8pm
sky sportsDan Long reminded Chris Wilder of last season’s appalling numbers as the two teams spoke via Zoom, but the Blades boss winced when asked how much the relegation scheme had hurt him. “Oh, don’t do that!”
He promised that subsequent talks would proceed in a positive direction.
“I was happy when we were 5-0 down at half-time to Arsenal. It felt really good.” he said jokingly.
“When they are ahead of us and within 20 minutes we are down 4-0 against the likes of Villa and Brighton. Oh, the pain.
“But as you live in it, you realize the ruthlessness of the division and how teams find moments of quality, which makes it the best division in the world. And when they don’t, you get exposed. Enough is enough.
“It’s a tough place to be and it’s a pretty lonely place to be as a manager, but I’ve been in the game long enough to know it won’t last forever and I needed a reset in the summer.”
As part of the reset, the backline was almost completely changed in the summer. As Wilder puts it, it’s a “clean sweep.”
On the final day of the 2023/24 season, the back six of Wes Foderingham, Jayden Bogle, Anel Ahmedhodzic, Auston Trusty, Jack Robinson and Max Lowe became a back five of Michael Cooper, Alfie Gilchrist, Harry Souttar, Ahmedhodzic and Harrison Burrows. They beat Watford 1-0 in their first game since the end of the summer transfer window.
Bogle and Trusty were sold to Leeds and Celtic respectively, Lowe joined Steel City rivals Sheffield Wednesday on a free and Foderingham did the same for West Ham.
The style of play is also different, with a back four being used almost exclusively.
“We’ve never designed our group to be a counter-attacking team that sits around on the break and beats people. We want to control possession and create opportunities,” said Wilder.
“I don’t think it’s traditional. I think it’s the right school to get both sides of the game right and win possession. We needed to be successful to give ourselves a chance to win the game.
“Of course we understand the different levels we are playing at and we are not as harshly punished in this department as we are in the Premier League. “We are still proud of the work in progress and we have to keep working on that.
“A lot of people were expecting us to get through the Championship and maybe even into Ligue 1, where we were a few years ago, so let’s stop that slide and start bringing that feel-good factor back to the football club. Winning football is It was a positive thing not only for me, the coaches and players, but most importantly for the supporters.
“They have seen a team that plays with passion, plays with commitment, pride and character and plays with structure and I am sure they will be delighted to see that.”
Even if there was such a person, Wilder is not the person to reveal the secret to success in the first 28 games of the season.
But he has his core ingredients, so to speak. The foundation on which everything is built.
“Being a team player takes attitude,” he continues. “Everyone has a job to do – recovering wingers, forwards getting back into a solid and compact shape, midfield players recovering runs, set plays and the general attitude of making sure the ball doesn’t end up in the back of the net. .
“It’s a very simple expression, but sometimes it comes down to that. What is your attitude in training? If it’s a small game, do you want to win? Do you want to keep the ball out?” Do you want to make a tackle behind the net?
“If you have that attitude in you, you give yourself a chance to win a football game.
“We’re not gung-ho. We don’t want it to be a basketball game. There are times when we get on the back foot that we have to deal with, and we want to go and punish the team.”
“I don’t think there is a secret. You want to be the best at what you want to do. You want to be the best at set plays. I heard Mikel Arteta talk about that. They want to be the best team. Counter-attacking , conversions, defense, attack, xG etc. are what you are aiming for.
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Sky Bet Championship match highlights between Swansea City and Sheffield United.
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Rhian Brewster scored against his former club Swansea as the Blades won 2-1 in South Wales earlier this week.
“The attitude of the players and their acceptance and passion to get better individually and as a team is always a huge asset. We have players who want to get better individually and hopefully that will make us do that.” A better team overall.
“Behind everything you need a goalkeeper who can make big saves and certainly Michael (Cooper) has done that when asked this season, which is very important.
“Here was Dean Henderson, and I had a lot of love and talk about Dean. From a character standpoint, he’s a completely different character than Michael, but what Michael is doing now is what Dean did for us that season. promotion from the Championship in 2018/19).
“There’s still a long way to go and a lot of work to be done, but we’re in a good position.”
Watford and Preston jointly hold the record for conceding the fewest goals in a Championship season. The Hornets have conceded just 30 goals in 46 games during their 2020/21 promotion campaign, which works out to just 0.65 goals per game. North End did the same in 2005/06, eventually losing to Leeds in the play-off semi-finals.
The Blades are currently averaging 0.68 points per game, but Burnley are currently on pace to break the record with 0.32 points per game.
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The Sky Sports Essential EFL Podcast panel looks at Sheffield United’s promotion push and what they need to add in January.
Still, it’s not on Wilder’s radar.
“It’s something you can enjoy!” he answers. “Look back at how many points you need to get into the playoffs. We know last year we had three teams over 90 points, which is an incredible achievement.
“Hopefully we can have a good season, but you never know, because sometimes you look and set yourself up like if you want a successful season you have to score over 75 points and allow under 45 points.
“There are a lot of tight matches and sometimes you need a bit of luck, but you need players to make the big decisions and sometimes you just need enough players to win a football game.
“From a manager’s point of view, sometimes you wish you were more relaxed, but sometimes it’s important to get over the line. Sometimes we enjoy a clunky 1-0 as much as a free-flowing one. There can be 2-0 or 3-0 in a season.
“We have to keep our heads down and move from game to game and along the way, if we can continue to get those numbers up and improve on those numbers in every way, that’s what we’ll be working on throughout the season. It’s got to be a big ambition and goal to improve. “
Naturally, the main goal is automatic promotion. Wilder has previously kept the Blades out of League One and the Championship and is not one to deny them another promotion.
The top four – Leeds, Sheffield United, Burnley and Sunderland – are five points clear ahead of Friday night’s game, but Wilder fears more players could join the race.
“We have to win football games because we are judged on winning football games,” he says.
“I think there are other clubs coming into the mix as well that can suddenly appear – some of these clubs can win six, seven, eight games on the spin and suddenly the landscape for those teams changes dramatically.
“Of course you like the position because it means you are doing the right thing, the players are doing the right thing and we are winning football games, so we want to continue that.
“We’ve worked hard to get to this position and we have to accept it. We can’t hide from it. It’s everywhere. You turn on the TV, you go online, it’s there. We have to embrace it and definitely enjoy it. .”
