Blades Reforged: Analysis of Sheffield United’s Transformation Under Chris Wilder in Just 12 Months | OneFootball

What a difference a year makes, or half a year; around this time 12 months ago Chris Wilder rejoined his boyhood club after Sheffield United sacked Paul Heckingbottom.

In early December, the Blades were bottom of the Premier League, and just got smashed 5-0 by their relegation rivals Burnley. With Wilder’s return to the club,  United seemed to get a new manager’s bounce in terms of performance, but the results were still poor.

Despite a strong showing in Wilder’s first game back, the Blades fell to a 2-0 defeat. They then followed that performance up with a 1-0 win against Brentford thanks to a spectacular strike from James McAtee. Following on, United would taste defeat at Chelsea.

The Christmas week promised to be something entertaining when the Blades took a surprising lead at Aston Villa in the 87th minute, through Villa academy product Cameron Archer. However, as was the common theme last term, United dropped points late on. Although it was two points dropped, the performance, and even result, proved to be promising as the Blades geared up to host Luton Town on Boxing Day. But we all know how that turned out… United dominated proceedings, yet were defeated 3-2, with two huge deflections going against them.

Chris Wilder Has Turned Sheffield United Around, Again

12 months later, Sheffield United head into the Christmas period top of the Championship on 45 points, three points ahead of second place Leeds United, in spite of starting the campaign on minus-two points. This is testament to the hard work that went on in the summer in terms of recruiting and coaching.

Parachute payments is a common topic of discussion in the Championship when the league table is dominated by a recently relegated team. And, it has been mentioned over the last few weeks, by neutrals, that the Blades are only top of the league due to parachute payments – pure nonsense.

Not only are United nowhere near the top six in terms of expenditure in the summer compared to the rest of the Championship, they got rid of a dozen players, most of which were considered deadwood, but they also waved goodbye to some vastly experienced players who have been there and done it in the Championship, and that were considered captains among the group. This is also without taking into consideration that Chris Wilder opted to completely refresh the football club with a new style of play; the squad heavily relied on the 5-3-2 base formation for more than half a decade. Plus, there was no real time for a bedding-in period because the Blades began the season with a two-point deduction.

Neutrals also want to point to the drop in league quality – from Premier League to the Championship – as the reason for United’s strong form. Of course, that is partially down to it, but, the summer recruitment under the new recruitment team was outstanding as opposed to the summer of 2023.

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – AUGUST 13: Harry Souttar of Sheffield United reacts during the Carabao Cup First Round match between Sheffield United and Wrexham at Bramall Lane on August 13, 2024 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Sheffield United: Standout Summer Signings & Key Stats

You can point to a number of players that have been the “signing of the season” for United, highlighting the brilliant summer they had. One of those is Harry Souttar. The Australian international was signed on loan from Leicester City in the summer, adding a lot more height and physicality to the back line, which was flat out poor in the Premier League.

The towering defender has registered 97 clearances this season, 29 more than the next closest Blades player (Alfie Gilchrist). And, you’ll also be surprised (sarcasm) to learn that he has one of the highest aerial success rates in the Championship – himself and Kieffer Moore have made 67 headers, with the next closest player being Vinicius Souza with 30.

The defence, which has regularly been: Alfie Gilchrist – Harry Souttar – Anel Ahmedhodzic – Harrison Burrows, has massively improved compared to last season’s defence. In the Premier League last term, Sheffield United were conceding 2.7 goals per game. This season, they are conceding 0.52 goals per game – the second-best in the Championship.

There are a number of reasons for the improvement defensively. Stating the obvious, they are against lesser quality opposition than last season. But, there is no doubt they are more prepared to defend their box better this time out. Additionally, United were under heavy pressure almost constantly in every game, whereas they control games a lot more this season – averaging 49.25% possession per game.

Another reason as to why the defence is much-improved is the addition of Michael Cooper; the Blades practically stole the 25-year-old from Plymouth Argyle, who he just recently got a clean sheet against. Cooper has conceded nine goals in 19 appearances from an expected goals on target faced 14.44. According to Opta, he has prevented 5.4 goals this season, which is fourth-best in the Championship (naturally those above him will have a higher number because they are facing over double the xGOT number).

Now turning our attention to the attack, the Blades are mid-table in terms of non-penalty expected goals with 25, and they’ve scored 29 non-penalty goals. And while there is room for improvement on the creative front, the players in scoring positions have performed excellently, averaging a conversion rate of 11.15% – 5th best in the division. And the free transfer of Tyrese Campbell in the summer has been a huge reason for that. The former Stoke City forward has scored six goals from just 12 shots on target, and he currently has the fifth-best “goals vs xG” number in the division (3.11), meaning he has been extremely clinical in front of goal.

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 29: Chris Wilder, Manager of Sheffield United, applauds the fans after the team’s victory in the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield United FC and Sunderland AFC at Bramall Lane on November 29, 2024 in Sheffield, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Chris Wilder 2.0: The Difference in Style & Shape

Back in the first Chris Wilder era (2016-2021), the Blades deployed a 5-2-1-2/5-3-2 shape where they really set a trend in English football with the overlapping centre-back system. Sheffield United had Chris Basham and Jack O’Connell as their wide centre-backs overlapping down the wing, whilst Enda Stevens and the late great George Baldock bombed forward from wingback as well. Additionally, to make it an even more of an overload, they would have the number ten, Mark Duffy, float in between the half-spaces and out wide, to often create a three-vs-two situation in their favour.

Now, Wilder uses a 4-2-3-1 shape which can easily be shifted into a 4-3-3 with Gustavo Hamer dropping into midfield and Callum O’Hare drifting to the left. These days, the onus is on the likes of attacking full-back Harrison Burrows to hold the width, along with Gustavo Hamer and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi, even though both do invert as well, particularly Hamer in the final third.

Difference in Overloads

What I find most interesting despite all these changes, and it’s difficult to explain in an article, Wilder’s philosophy is the same, just with different (or extra-added) ingredients…

In his first spell, Wilder was all about chucking men forward down the flanks and overloading wide zones, blatantly saying “this is how I’m going to attack (three-vs-two/three), try and stop me”, to create high percentage crossing or cutback opportunities nearer the byline. This season, he overloads central zones with Hamer dropping into the ten position, and this manufactures high percentage crossing opportunities for the likes of Harrison Burrows or Jesurun Rak-Sakyi to exploit, see diagram above.

Midfield Double Pivot & The Concept of Spacing to Aid Progression From Defence

Another difference is in the central midfield. In Wilder’s previous spell it was Oliver Norwood as the main orchestrator/progressive passer of the ball. Sometimes referred to as the “quarterback role”, Norwood would drop into the back line to take the ball off of John Egan so he could get the ball moving, which also allowed O’Connell and Basham to drift wide into more of a full-back position.

Now, the Blades utilise a fluid double pivot. The main double pivot has been Vinicius Souza and Oliver Arblaster/Sydie Peck, and it has provided United with far more stability and control in the middle of the park. The duo often take it in turns to drop to receive the ball from the back line, while the other one rotates in midfield ten yards or so in front of the other, in order to find space for himself.

But, by doing this, it can also be used as a tactic to pull the opposition midfield away from the centre of the pitch so the likes of Anel Ahmedhodzic, Souttar or Souza have the option to carry the ball forward into a free lane so to speak, and deliver a simpler pass into the likes of Callum O’Hare or Hamer.

Again, as mentioned earlier in the overload section, this double pivot allows Wilder’s defence to behave similarly (but with a different setup) to how it did in the previous era, in terms of carrying the ball forward with their wide centre-backs.

For example, in the 2018/19 campaign compared to other Championship centre-backs, Basham ranked in the 99th percentile for progressive carries and 60th for total carries. This season, Ahmedhodzic ranks in the 91st percentile for progressive carries and 69th for total carries per Fbref. Whilst O’Connell ranked in the 49th percentile for progressive carries and 69th for total carries, compared to Souttar’s 31st percentile for progressive carries and 65th for total carries.