Chris Wilder decision made Sheffield United regret £400k Charlton Athletic deal | OneFootball

The Blades boss' switch in system had major effects on their arrival from The Valley

After working his way up through the bottom two league of the EFL, Ricky Holmes made the biggest move of his career in January 2018, as he left League One Charlton Athletic for Championship outfit Sheffield United.

After stints at Barnet, Portsmouth and Northampton prior to his time at The Valley, the tricky forward had proven himself worthy of an opportunity to compete in the second tier, with the Blades adapting to life back the division after earning promotion the season before.

Things weren’t to go to plan once the player made his move to the Steel City though, with just a handful of performances to his name during his time in red and white, before dropping back down to the third tier on loan months later.

While Charlton had the money in the bank, United were left with a player who wasn’t welcome at Bramall Lane for the next 18 months, before finally parting ways in the summer of 2020.

Ricky Holmes Charlton Athletic form attracts Sheffield United interest

Holmes’ industrious displays were often sprinkled with stardust after making his way into the EFL with Barnet back in 2010, having made his way up into the fourth tier after initially starring for Chelmsford City in the non-league circuit.

The forward played his part in keeping the Bees above the drop zone during his time with the club, before 18 months at Fratton Park saw him further add to his reputation as a creative spark for any aspiring side in the fourth tier.

Northampton proved to be that club, with the Cobblers getting 17 goal contributions out of their playmaker during the 15/16 campaign en route to the League Two title, before Holmes’ rise up the pyramid continued with the move to Charlton.

Even with the step up in division, the forward continued to prove his ability, with his most productive season of his career coming after moving to The Valley, totalling 19 goal contributions across the campaign for the Addicks.

One of the 13 goals scored that season was at Bramall Lane, as he opened the scoring with a sublime free-kick against his future employers, with that goal likely to have caught the eye of the powers that be in the Steel City ahead of their return to the Championship.

Ricky Holmes fails to recreate Charlton Athletic form after Sheffield United move

With the next season with Charlton starting in fine fettle, Holmes seemed to be a man at the peak of his powers as he entered his fourth decade on Earth, with a further 13 goal contributions before January underlining his reputation as one of the finest attacking talents outside of the top two tiers.

It was no surprise when Sheffield United moved to make him theirs in the mid-season transfer window then, with the Blades said to have paid £400,000 for the 30-year-old, with Chris Wilder being reunited with a player who served him so well during his time in charge at Northampton.

But despite paying the six-figure fee for a player they had tracked since the previous summer, the Cobblers comeback did nothing for Holmes’ hoped of becoming a regular for his new side, as he told The Athletic upon his departure from Bramall Lane:

“It is a big frustration that things did not work out. I came in at a time when Sheffield United were on a bit of a losing streak. I was told I’d need to work my way into the team, which I didn’t have a problem with at all. It’s how football works.

“I had a couple of sub appearances, then played against Wolves and it was after that the gaffer pulled me. He said, ‘I’m going have to go back to the team that was getting results in the first place’.

“We beat Leeds at home in the next game. After that, I couldn’t work my way in. We’d be winning 1-0 and in that situation, he would take off the No 10 — which was usually Mark Duffy, a great player — but bring on a central midfielder.

“Frustrating, since you always want to hit the ground running at a new club. But I understood and the results had picked up.”

From then on, the writing was on the wall for Holmes, and after switching to a three-man midfield for the following campaign - which would ultimately end in promotion to the Premier League - Holmes knew his time on the pitch would be limited, with wingers not featured in his boss’s plans.

Two months after his arrival, the forward had played his last match for his new side, although it was unbeknownst to him at the time, with the change of system and subsequent injury issues seeing him sent to Oxford United and Gillingham to try and get minutes under his belt.

With a back problem sustained during his time on a building site during his semi-pro days continuing to cause havoc, Holmes eventually left Bramall Lane in the summer of 2020, having not played a professional match for over a year.

A return to Northampton preceded a short stint at Southend United, before joining Farnborough FC in the summer of 2022, a team he still features for to this day, as they battle for a play-off place in the National League South.

The Sheffield United switch seemed like a dream move for Holmes, but soon turned into a nightmare, but having worked his way up to the top from his humble beginnings, he will have no regrets about trying to carve a career at the highest level he possibly could.