James Shield's Sheffield United Column: The Blades need a shake-up but it would not come without risk

Personally, professionally or even when the two become intertwined, things have a habit of changing. Few things, save for your love of your favourite football team for example, don’t have some sort of shelf life.

First team squads are no different, as countless managerial greats will tell you. And although I take no pleasure from saying this, particularly given what the overwhelming majority of them have given to the club over the past five years or so, but my eyes are telling me that Sheffield United’s current crop might have now reached the end of the road. (If that provokes the type of one fingered response critics have received from them in the past then, to be perfectly frank, I’ll be absolutely made up and pleased to be proved wrong).

No one, absolutely no one, can take anything away from the likes of John Fleck, Chris Basham, Enda Stevens, Billy Sharp or others who helped bring the pride back to Bramall Lane after half a decade in the doldrums. At this point it would be remiss of me not to mention former manager Chris Wilder too who, despite probably being persona non grata with some members of the hierarchy right now, was responsible for leading United from League One to ninth in the Premier League before exiting stage left two months ago following a series of disagreements behind the scenes. Nor am I saying there isn’t merit in maintaining the status quo either, because form is temporary and United boast some class talents.

But as what has been an utterly wretched and dispiriting season draws mercifully to a close, it is surely impossible not to reach the conclusion that major changes are required. Not just in Wilder’s old office, where caretaker Paul Heckingbottom could soon be preparing to deposit his stuff. But also on the pitch, where United enter Saturday’s game against Crystal Palace at the bottom of the table, already relegated and seemingly even lower on confidence than they are on points.

“It’s been tough, I think everyone knows that and appreciates it,” Heckingbottom recently reminded us. “But in this business, you can’t have people signing your name all the time. It doesn’t work like that and, when it doesn’t, the only thing you can do is puff out your chest and dig yourself out of it.”

“We’re trying to change the mood because, as I’m sure you can imagine, it’s not as good as it could be,” he added. “That’s a big priority, because we want to get what we had back.”

In itself, United’s demotion isn’t that troubling. Disappointing, yes. But not a shock or cause for recrimination given the type of company they have spent the past two campaigns keeping. Privately, if they’ve been doing their jobs correctly, those in positions of power should have suspected it might happen and planned accordingly.

What is alarming, however, is the demeanor and body language of those on the pitch. Admittedly there have been a few notable exceptions in recent weeks, the recent win over Brighton and Hove Albion included. But they are exactly that - exceptions - rather than the rule.

United’s body language was worrying during last weekend’s defeat by Tottenham Hotspur. Only one or two of those facing the Londoners seemed angry whenever a goal was conceded. When Spurs’ fourth and final effort found the back of his net, Aaron Ramsdale punched the turf in fury, Most of his colleagues simply stared at it. I’m not actually saying they are. But many of them gave off the air of people who had accepted the situation and were resigned to it. Despite the fact, with nothing to lose, it was a fixture they should have gone out and attacked.

“We weren’t on the front foot and we weren’t aggressive,” Heckingbottom said, implicitly admitting as much. “We know how good these boys can be when they do that, because we’ve seen it enough times down the years.”

“The turnover, when we were in possession, must have been about 50 or 60 percent before we even got past two passes. We told them that had to change. It had to. If you aren’t aggressive against good players, let alone world class players, then everyone knows what is going to happen.”

We do. And it did.

Gareth Bale scored possibly the easiest hat-trick of his career and Spurs’ defenders probably skipped the post-match shower because they were barely asked to break sweat.

I don’t blame Heckingbottom for not saying so. After all, he is trying to get a tune out of the lads he inherited following Wilder’s exit. But they were passive, compliant and timid in the capital. In other words, everything United aren’t when they are at their best.

The noises coming out of United at present suggest they want to give the majority of this side a chance to redeem themselves in the Championship next term. Hopefully that is out of loyalty and appreciation, not a desire to save a few quid.

Either way, and accepting that some exits are inevitable in situations such as this, I can’t help feeling that is a mistake. The core should remain intact. But one fears many of those currently in situ need a new challenge to heal their mental scars. And that the others would benefit from an influx or fresh faces, big personalities and new ideas.

Sometimes the most precious gift a manager, coach or sporting administrator can possess isn’t knowing who to sign, but when to cut those they were responsible for recruiting loose.

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