Sheffield United’s defensive record this season has been excellent.
Not as great as promotion rivals Burnley, who have conceded an extraordinary nine in 28 games, but 18 goals conceded in 28 games is still excellent. Third best in English football’s top four divisions, in fact.
What makes it even more satisfying for the Blades and their fans is that it comes after a season in which they set Premier League records for all the wrong reasons.
Their name is in the history books for most goals conceded in a season (104), most goals conceded at home in a season (57), worst home goal difference (-38) and worst goal difference (-69 , jointly with Derby in 2007/08).
Sheffield United were relegated from the Premier League last season
Friday, January 24 at 7:30 p.m
Start at 20:00
Sky SportsDan Long spares Chris Wilder reminders of last season’s dire numbers as the pair chat via Zoom, but the Blades boss deflects when asked how much the slump has hurt. don’t do it.”
He is promised that after that the conversation will take a positive course.
“I was delighted when we were 5-0 down against Arsenal. It was a great feeling,” he jokes.
“When they just run over us and after 20 minutes they’re 4-0 down against Villa and Brighton and stuff like that. Oh, it hurts.
“But when you live it, play it, play it out, and see the ruthlessness of the division and how teams find moments of quality, it makes it the best division in the world and you get exposed when you’re not good enough.
“It’s a tough place to be, a pretty lonely place for a manager too. But I’ve been in the game long enough to know it won’t last forever and we needed a reset in the summer.”
As part of the reset, the backline was almost completely changed over the summer, a “clean sweep,” as Wilder puts it.
Wes Foderingham, Jaden Bogle, Anel Ahmedhodzic, Auston Trusty, Jack Robinson and Max Lowe became the back five of Michael Cooper, Alfie Gilchrist, Harry Souttar, Ahmedhodzic and Harrison Burrows on the final day of the 2023/24 season. a 1-0 win over Watford in the first game since the summer transfer window closed.
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 at West Ham.
The style of play is also different, with a back four almost exclusively used.
“We’ve never set our group up as a counter-attacking team that sits back and hits people on the break, we want to control the ball and we want to create chances,” Wilder said.
“I don’t think it’s old school, I just think it’s the right school, to get both sides of the game right and without possession, we’ve had to do that to give us a chance to win games, which we have.
“Of course we understand at different levels where we play and we are not punished as harshly as you are in the Premier League. We are still proud of the work that goes on.
“There are a lot of people who were expecting us to go through the Championship and maybe get into League One, where we were a few years ago, so to stop that slide and bring the feel-good factor back to the football club, let’s start winning games has been positive not only for me, the coaches or the players, but most importantly for the fans.
“They’ve seen a team that plays with passion, plays with commitment, pride and personality, and plays with structure, which I’m sure they’re happy to see.”
Even if he were, Wilder is not the man to reveal the secret to success through the first 28 games of the season.
But it has its main components, so to speak. the foundations on which everything is built.
“Being a team player requires attitude,” he continues. “Everybody has something to do, whether it’s the wingers recovering, the forwards being solid, the midfielders recovering, playing set pieces and just the general attitude of keeping the ball out of the net .
“It’s a pretty simple way to put it, but sometimes it comes down to it. What’s your attitude in practice? Do you want to keep the ball out? recovery.
“If you have that attitude inside you, then you give yourself a chance to win football games.
“We’re not gung-ho, we don’t want it to be a basketball game. There are times when we get put on our feet that we have to deal with and we want to go and punish teams as well.
“I think there’s no secret to that. You want to be the best at what you want to do. I’ve heard Mikel Arteta talk about being the best in passing , to defend, to attack, xG – that’s what you’re trying to aim for.
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Swansea City v Sheffield United Sky Bet Championship highlights.
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Ryan 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 enthusiasm to be better individually and as a team is always a big asset to having a better team overall.
“Behind that you need a goalkeeper who can make big saves and certainly Michael (Cooper) has done that this season when called upon, which is important.
“We had Dean Henderson here, and I speak very fondly of Dean. He’s a completely different character from Michael, but what Michael is doing now is what Dean did for us that season /19 years).
“There’s still a long way to go, there’s still a lot of work to do, but we’re in a great place.”
Watford and Preston hold the joint record for the fewest goals conceded in a Championship season; In 2020/21, the Hornets conceded just 30 goals in 46 games, which equates to just 0.65 goals per game.North End did the same in 2005/06, before they eventually lost to Leeds in the play-off semi-finals.
The Blades currently average 0.68 per game, but Burnley are set to break the record at just 0.32 per game.
Please use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
The Sky Sports Essential EFL podcast panel looks at Sheffield United’s progress and what may need to be added in January.
Regardless, it’s not on Wilder’s radar.
“It gives you pleasure,” he replies. “You look back at how many points you need to make the playoffs. We know three teams scored over 90 last year, which is an incredible feat.
“Sometimes you see and you’ve got to maybe score over 75 and you’ve got to drop under 45 if you want to have a good season, so hopefully we’re on track to have a good season, but you never know.
“There are a lot of tight games out there and sometimes you need a bit of luck, but you need players to make big decisions and sometimes one is enough to win a football game.
“From a manager’s point of view, you wish it was a bit more comfortable sometimes, but sometimes it’s important to get over the line. Sometimes we enjoy the hard 1-0s as much as the free-flowing 2-0s you can have in one season.
“You’ve just got to put your head down and go from game to game and in the process, if we can continue to raise them and improve these numbers on all fronts, then we’ll try during the season and that’s got to be the big ambition and the big aim.”
The main goal is, of course, automatic promotion. Wilder has previously relegated the Blades from League One and the Championship and has ruled out another promotion.
Five points separate the top four – Leeds, Sheffield United, Burnley and Sunderland – ahead of Friday night’s game, but Wilder is wary that more could join the race.
“We’re judged for winning football games, so we have to win football games,” he says.
“I have to say I think there are other clubs involved in the mix that can come out of nowhere. Some of these clubs can go and win six, seven, eight games and all of a sudden, the landscape is changing dramatically for those teams.
“Of course you enjoy the position because it means you’re doing something right, the players are doing something right and we’re winning football games so we want to keep it going.
“We’ve worked hard to get into this position and we have to embrace it. You can’t hide from it. When you turn on the TV or whatever, it’s there. We have to embrace it.”
