Sheffield United decision after PL relegation looked great on paper but was destined to fail: View | OneFootball

Highlights

Sheffield United looked to be in a great position despite their relegation back in 2021.

They may have finished bottom of the Premier League, with Chris Wilder and Paul Heckingbottom failing to squeeze the best out of the Blades, but they appointed Slavisa Jokanovic during the latter stages of May 2021.

Jokanovic previously won promotion with Watford and Fulham, taking the former up automatically and winning the play-offs with the latter.

On paper, few other managers would have been better for the Blades in their situation.

During the 2019/20 campaign, it was clear to see that United had plenty of potential, so the following campaign was a major disappointment.

But they could use the 2019/20 season to give themselves encouragement for 2021/22 - and they previously looked better prepared than West Bromwich Albion, who had also been relegated.

It took some time for them to decide who to appoint before opting for Valerien Ismael, so the Blades would have fancied themselves to be in a better position at the start of the campaign.

Sheffield United's recruitment failure

Despite making a productive start to the summer with the appointment of Jokanovic, recruitment wasn't going quite as well, with the board not sanctioning the first signing of the summer until August 16th, when the season had already started.

This was around the time Aaron Ramsdale had left the club - and there were persistent rumours about Sander Berge's future throughout the summer, too.

The Norwegian midfielder may have stayed put, but the South Yorkshire side had holes to fill during the summer with Ethan Ampadu leaving the club after the end of his loan spell and Phil Jagielka, John Lundstram, Simon Moore, Jack Rodwell and Kean Bryan all leaving.

It felt like the right time for Jagielka, Moore and Rodwell to depart, but Lundstram had played a key part at Bramall Lane and Bryan could have been an excellent player to have for the future.

Bryan retired following some cruel injury setbacks at West Brom, but at the time, he looked as though he could have been a real asset for the Blades in the Championship.

It was only during the latter stages of the 2021 summer window that things started to look more positive for United, with Conor Hourihane, Morgan Gibbs-White and Robin Olsen all arriving on loan in the few days leading up to the deadline.

Slavisa Jokanovic was destined to fail at Sheffield United

The appointment of Jokanovic signalled a new era.

The Chris Wilder chapter was going to be officially closed, with caretaker boss Paul Heckingbottom sticking with a back three when the former left.

Jokanovic, however, moved to a back four with a different playing style.

It was always going to take time for Jokanovic to implement his methods, but after years under Wilder, it was going to be particularly complicated for the Blades to adapt during the first few months of the Serbian manager's tenure. The squad was built for 3-5-2 or a variation of that, not a progressive 4-3-3.

And it felt as though he never formed a real connection to the supporters, potentially a key reason for his downfall, as well as the style of play.

Recruitment was also a massive factor.

The likes of Gibbs-White and Hourihane were excellent additions to have, and Iliman Ndiaye was breaking through as well, but most of their 2021 summer signings arrived when the season had already started and that put Jokanovic on the back foot.

There were some bright moments for the 55-year-old at Bramall Lane, with their thumping 6-2 win against Peterborough United a particularly memorable moment.

He even won his last game in charge at Reading.

But in hindsight, the decision to part ways with him after the game in Berkshire was the right decision by the Blades.

The decision to appoint Heckingbottom was a bold one even though he had done well with the squad amid that tough Premier League situation, but he turned out to be the right fit in the end and owner Prince Abdullah was justified in making this big call some time later.