"The glue" - Chris Wilder lauded for the "magic" he's showing at Sheffield United | OneFootball

The Blades boss has revolutionised the club after his return to Bramall Lane in December 2023

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Chris Wilder and Sheffield United; they go together like chips and a teacake. You can barely think of one without the other.

Over his two spells in charge at Bramall Lane, the self-confessed Blades fan has had bags of success in the red half of the Steel City, with two promotions to his name, and a third within their grasp at the end of the current campaign.

He gets the club, and the club get him, and together they are a force to be reckoned with. Just ask any of the other 23 teams in the second tier this season who have had to come up against their relentless aggression and quality all over the pitch.

But how do you describe the Blades boss in just one word? We asked Football League World’s Sheffield United fan pundit Jimmy from Blades Ramble to give it his best shot.

Chris Wilder Sheffield United impact hailed

Things have been far from straight forward for Sheffield United in recent seasons, with the Blades facing a tough season in the Premier League where they managed just three victories all year, before dropping back into the second tier.

Upon their arrival back into the EFL, the club were hit with a two-point deduction due to financial irregularities, meaning they were playing catch-up from the second the season began, while the uncertainty regarding a takeover of the club restricted any movement in the transfer market for large periods of the summer.

But through it all, Wilder kept face and continued with the task at hand, as he compiled a squad capable of earning an immediate return to the top flight, with that quest in full fight as we head into the final few months of the season.

There aren’t many bosses that would thrive under the pressure he has been under, with his relationship with the Blades faithful continuing to blossom as a result, as Jimmy testifies.

When asked about the boss, the Blades fan said: “Describe Chris Wilder in one word? Well, there are a few words I could use, but the best way to describe him in his position right now at Sheffield United is ‘The glue’.

“He is the glue that holds everything together; he is involved in every decision, which is right because he is proven and has earned that right.

“He has got us to the top of the division, a position that we have no real right to be in with the amount of new players that we have got, the injuries that we have had. It has been remarkable with the two-point deduction as well.

“He is working magic at Sheffield United once again, and it does feel like there is a bit of lightning in a bottle that has been captured twice, and it is very exciting to be a Blade, and that is all down to the glue that is Chris Wilder.”

Chris Wilder unity could reap Sheffield United rewards

Right from the first weekend of the Championship season, Wilder has reinstated that ‘us against the World’ mentality within Bramall Lane, with the Yorkshire side aiming to defy the odds and bounce straight back up to the top flight.

The Blades saw a number of key players leave the club last summer, with the likes of Chris Basham, George Baldock and Oli Norwood seeing them shed years of experience in the dressing room, with a number of new arrivals having to be gelled together over the off-season.

With funds limited at the time, United only spent fees on three players: Harrison Burrows, Michael Cooper and Kieffer Moore, while having to add free agents and loan deals to supplement matters.

That has been no issue for Wilder though, who currently has his side occupying the second automatic promotion place as it stands, with Burnley and Sunderland in hot pursuit.

That love for the red and white that Wilder oozes just cannot be replicated, and his desire to get the job done for the club he loves means he will put up with whatever comes his way if he can still get results, and that has been rewarded once again this year, with the Premier League back within their grasp.