Relegated in dismal circumstances from the Premier League, Chris Wilder worked quickly and efficiently to ensure there would be no hangover for Sheffield United heading into this season.
It is easy to say a relegated side should be among the favourites to go back up, but you have to remember this is a Sheffield United side that finished 10 points below Luton last season.
Wilder has adapted in his second stint at the club. The ‘false-fives’ formation with the overlapping centre-backs that steered their initial rise from League One to the top flight is no more. Aside from a couple of flirtations with a back three, it is very much a Blades back four these days. For most of the season it was 4-2-3-1, while there has also been a pragmatic shift to a 4-4-2 in the play-offs.
Saturday 24th May 2:00pm
Kick off 3:01pm
Recruitment was smart in the summer. Kieffer Moore and Tyrese Campbell are savvy Championship campaigners who provide different options in attack, while left-back Harrison Burrows has proved a revelation after joining from Peterborough.
They were even competing with Burnley in the defensive stakes until Harry Souttar – who joined on loan from Leicester – got injured in December. Goalkeeper Michael Cooper, meanwhile, who moved from Plymouth Argyle, is a future England international.
Wilder: We’re not weighed down by play-off history
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Wilder is ignoring the narrative about Sheffield United’s poor Wembley record and says his side are in great physical shape
Chris Wilder has insisted Sheffield United’s historic play-off record means nothing heading into Saturday’s final.
The Blades are yet to triumph in a play-off campaign in nine previous attempts.
“If I listen to all the narrative we might as well not turn up and might as well give myself a holiday,” Wilder told Sky Sports. “I’ve been to the majority of the [play-off defeats] and I was probably saying the same thing as what the majority of the punters are saying as well.
“We’re trying to write our own little bit in the chapter of this famous football club. There’s everything to gain from this group. You know, we’ve not been weighed down by any negativity at all.
“There’s been a real reset since we missed out on promotion. What we wanted to do after the Burnley game was to get ourselves back in form, get a couple of wins, and we managed that.
“We’re in great shape physically. The players are playing with a real light shirt and we’re really positive. The feel about the place has been completely different. And I know you can’t get away from the track record of the football club in the play-offs.
“But this club’s been here for over 135 years. And there is going to be a play-off campaign where we get it right in the next 135 years. I’m sure that supporters won’t want to wait that long.
“There’s been a real flow to our game, a positivity about our game, and from the stands and the supporters, a real freshness that this could be our year and we’ve got to go and make that happen.”
How Sheff Utd reached the final
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Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final first leg between Bristol City and Sheffield United
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Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final second leg between Sheffield United and Bristol City
Sheffield United’s miserable play-off record
- 1987/88 Division Three (third tier) – Lost in semi-final
- 1996/97 Division One (second tier) – Lost in final
- 1997/98 Division One (second tier) – Lost in semi-final
- 2002/03 Division One (second tier) – Lost in final
- 2008/09 Championship – Lost in final
- 2011/12 League One – Lost in final
- 2012/13 League One – Lost in semi-final
- 2014/15 League One – Lost in semi-final
- 2021/22 Championship – Lost in semi-final
- 2024/25 Championship – Final*
Wilder rebooted, recharged and out to end a play-off curse
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The Essential EFL podcast panel look ahead to the Championship play-off final between Sheffield United and Sunderland
Sky Sports EFL editor Simeon Gholam:
“Up until the end of Sheffield United’s first season in the Premier League in 2019/20, Wilder had experienced very little but success in his managerial career.
“But then came that tricky second season and eventual relegation, followed by challenging spells in charge of Middlesbrough and Watford that did not go how he would have hoped.
“He was concerned those stints would define him, rather than what he had achieved in the past. But even with that determination, there were some that considered his return to Sheffield United a mistake last year.
“Wilder was unable to prevent their inevitable drop back into the Championship, but since being back in the second tier he once again cuts the same figure that took them up in the first place.
“He felt he had a point to prove. It was one he could not quite manage to prove in the regular season, but that was mainly due to the ridiculous pace set by Leeds United and Burnley.
“Instead, the chance is there to end Sheffield United’s play-off curse. That would, in the grand scheme of things, do so much more for the club than automatic promotion would have. It would even further cement his status as a legend, and an icon, at Bramall Lane.”
Tactical preview: How the sides compare
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Andy Hinchcliffe and Don Goodman look at how both Sheffield United and Sunderland have used the 442 formation and compare their records this season
Don Goodman on the Sky Sports EFL play-off preview show:
“These are two of the more versatile, flexible coaches who are comfortable using different systems depending on their opponents.
“Sunderland have used the 4-4-2 more consistently throughout the season, while Sheffield United have turned to it more recently, and with greater success.
“Looking at a broader season comparison between the two teams, the league table shows there was a 14-point difference. In essence, that gap is really 16 points when you account for the two Sheffield United were deducted. But when you look at the underlying metrics, there isn’t much separating the sides.”
Fan view: Wilder has rebuilt optimism at Bramall Lane
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“This season has definitely been more entertaining than last year. Of course, everyone wants to be at the highest level but winning in the Championship has led to a happier Bramall Lane.
“Going into the season the rebuild task left this season uncertain. With Luton Town the unfortunate example of what could have been if the club got it wrong, but our recruitment has been excellent – in both windows.
“Equally, Chris Wilder, who was tactically doubted by many, has shown he is still among the best, and most astute, Championship managers.
“At the start of the season, if you’d offered play-offs we’d have taken it. But after the automatic race against the excellent Leeds United and Burnley expectations change. So, if promotion isn’t achieved on Saturday, disappointment would be an understatement because of how brilliant the players have been. But, ultimately, we have to accept we didn’t make the automatics.
“From a football perspective, promotion will always be exciting. But there will always be the reminders of the nightmare of 2023/2024. Obviously, you hope the preparation is better and I think it has been. The current squad seems more equipped than the relegated one.
“But the focus is on Wembley. The nerves, the excitement, the spectacle of the play-off final. And after that as the chant that rang around Bramall Lane on Monday goes: ‘Whatever will be, will be’.”
But could Sheffield United survive in the Premier League?
It is the question that has become more and more prevalent in recent seasons, as the gap between the top two flights has seemingly grown larger and larger.
The last six teams to be promoted have gone straight down, in most cases without much of a fight. But could Sheffield United survive in the Premier League?
They defied expectation once in 2019/20, let’s not forget. Wilder took them to ninth, and they were in with a shout of a European spot until a poor end to the campaign.
A mixture of poor recruitment and an inability to adapt cost them the year after. And last season they were relegated in rather dismal fashion.
It will be an uphill task for them to compete and stay up. But with a rejuvenated Wilder at the helm, he’ll be hoping to re-instill the spirit of that 2019/20 side to give them a chance.
Kick-off at 3.01pm… but why?
The EFL Play-Off Finals look a little different this year with all three matches now set to kick-off one minute later than scheduled.
Launching at last season’s Play-Offs, Every Minute Matters has already surpassed the initial target of encouraging 270,000 people – three times the capacity of Wembley Stadium – to learn CPR. Now, the campaign is aiming to go further by encouraging 360,000 people to use the British Heart Foundation’s online RevivR tool and to start learning the lifesaving technique by the time the Play-Off Finals come round.
Kick-off times…
- Championship Play-Off Final – Sat 24 May – 3.01pm
- League One Play-Off Final – Sun 25 May – 1:01pm
- League Two Play-Off Final – Mon 26 May – 3:01pm
To access BHF’s free, simple and easy-to-use online tool, RevivR, search ‘BHF RevivR’ or visit revivr.bhf.org.uk/efl
