3 Years Since Heckingbottom Became Blades Boss | OneFootball

On the 25th of November 2021, Paul Heckingbottom was announced as Sheffield United’s new manager immediately replacing Slavisa Jokanovic. At the time, the Blades sat in 16th in the Championship, 8 points off the playoffs.

Three years after his appointment, it feels like a good time to reflect on his time with the Blades, from his academy work to becoming manager.

Mentor of Blades Youth

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

In July 2020, Heckingbottom became Sheffield United’s Under-23s lead coach.

His Blades U23s side finished top of the U23 Professional Development League North on 48 points in the 2021-2022 season.

Heckingbottom managed future Blades stars, Iliman Ndiaye, Andre Brooks and Will Osula just to name a few.

The Audition

Of course, during his time as U23s Lead Coach, Heckingbottom became the men’s team’s interim manager. In March 2021, after Wilder’s departure, Heckingbottom took over the Blades who were 12 points from safety in the Premier League.

Whilst, his first match against Leicester City ended in a 5-0 demolition. Heckingbottom picked up three wins in the 11 games he managed. Adding nine points to the initial 14 collected by Wilder.

His second win against Everton was testament to his work in the academy. With the Blades winner being scored by Daniel Jebbison in the 7th minute. The goal saw Jebbison become the youngest player to score on their first Premier League start. One positive record from a season of negatives.

Over the Summer of 2021, Slavisa Jokanovic was named Blades boss as Heckingbottom returned to the academy. Although, his time as interim manager would stand him in good stead later in the year.

Becoming Blades Boss

(Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images)

When Heckingbottom replaced Jokanovic, he picked up a side in a slightly better position to the one he became interim manager of. Rather than a side rock bottom of the Premier League. The Blades of 2021-2022 had promise, they just needed a leader to get momentum going the right way.

As Heckingbottom said to club media at the time: “No-one can feel sorry for themselves we have to focus on what’s ahead of us.

“We have to find a level of consistency in our work that allows to pick up more points than others and I’m confident that I can do it.”

His first game in charge set the tone of his time as Blades boss in the Championship. A solid 2-0 victory against Bristol City at a snowy Bramall Lane. Goals from Brewster and Sharp got Heckingbottom off the mark.

By the end of the season, Heckingbottom had made good progress. His Blades side finished 5th in the league. Unfortunately, they were narrowly defeated in the playoffs by Nottingham Forest in a now infamous penalty shootout.

Promotion to the Premier League

(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Heckingbottom’s 2022-2023 season couldn’t have got off to a better start with the summer transfer window. His main signing, a while in the making, was Anel Ahmedhodzic, a rare signing for the Blades at the time delving outside of the English leagues.

Additionally, he brought in Manchester City duo, James McAtee and Tommy Doyle on loan, who became more crucial to his side as the season progressed. The only misstep was perhaps the loan signing of Reda Khadra.

On 26th April 2023, Heckingbottom’s Blades secured promotion to the Premier League against West Brom at Bramall Lane. The Blades finished the Championship season in 2nd on 91 points.

The FA Cup Run

(Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Heckingbottom wasn’t content with just gaining promotion in 2022-2023. He fancied an FA Cup run. The Blades who seem to be making it a once every decade tradition to reach the FA Cup semi-finals started with a win against Millwall.

The next round brought excitement, but not because of the Hollywood narrative surrounding a match against Wrexham. But the fact that after two full-blooded matches, Billy Sharp quite rightly decided to stick up for himself and Sheffield United. It’s safe to say, Billy probably won’t be getting a Disney+ account any time soon.

Up next, the Blades took down Spurs at the Lane. A spirited performance made only nervy by the 1-0 scoreline. Iliman Ndiaye, again involved in Heckingbottom’s Blades success sending us to a quarter final with Blackburn.

Finally, Blackburn came to town, a back and forth fixture, saw the Blades come out on top with Tommy Doyle scoring the winner and one of the most memorable Blades’ goals in recent history. The only downside was that Doyle and McAtee couldn’t play in the semi-final against their parent club.

The semi-final saw the Blades put up a good fight and have some promising early chances, only for a penalty to let Manchester City take control. Despite the result, the memories of the 2023 FA Cup run had been made.

The Ending

(Photo by Matt McNulty/Getty Images)

It may be harsh to speak about his Premier League season under ‘The Ending’ category. But honestly, a lot of why Heckingbottom’s tenure ended can be traced back to as early as pre-season.

The sudden departure of Sander Berge was one thing but the on-and-off departure of Iliman Ndiaye was a sucker punch for both manager and fans alike.

After leaving the Blades, Heckingbottom said to Talksport: “We lost our identity, there was no way the club was willing to let these top players go on a free transfer because we were in a tough situation.”

In fairness, to Heckingbottom, the Blades started okay in the opening five games, staying in games losing by just a goal. Even getting a point against Everton at Bramall Lane. The defeat to Tottenham showed just how hard the season was going to be, despite taking the lead relatively late on, the Blades still lost in the tenth minute of added time.

Perhaps, due to the blow of losing all three points at Spurs, the Blades entered the sixth game against Newcastle United looking shell-shocked. The 8-0 defeat taking away any resemblance of what Sheffield United had been under Wilder and Heckingbottom, a tough team that stuck in games. Now, the floodgates had opened and the goals poured in.

Heckingbottom saw out two 5-0 defeats to Arsenal and Burnley before being relieved of his duties. The latter to a relegation rival spelt the end of his time as Blades manager. Whilst, a change was needed, many Blades fans, including myself felt sympathy towards Heckingbottom who was sent out to battle with a severely blunted Blade.

Takeaways

Three years on from his announcement, summing up Heckingbottom’s time as Sheffield United manager is difficult. There isn’t really a lot that he got wrong and his tenure has given many Blades some brilliant memories.

Whilst, Jokanovic had to take the initial blow of the Wilder hangover as the first permanent Blades boss after Chris. Heckingbottom pulled off his own impressive feat after almost half-a-decade of upward trajectory. Paul Heckingbottom made it so the Blades didn’t derail from the task at hand. He delivered us back to the Premier League and amazingly despite not being a Wilder-level Blade through and through, he built a connection to the fans close to that of Wilder’s.

In many ways, whilst it is a simplification and a disservice to his work, Heckingbottom was a great custodian of Chris Wilder’s project. He entered the Blades as an academy coach under Chris’ vision. Then, stepped up to leave the club in a place for Wilder to come back and carry on his work.

In the end, I can’t wait for Preston North End to visit Bramall Lane. So, Heckingbottom and McCall can get the ovation they deserve.