Sheffield United’s finance over football approach sucking fun out of Premier League adventure

Many members of that squad remain at Bramall Lane and for all the talk of righting the wrongs, of making up for lost time and the assumed bonus of having fans back in stadia, the Blades have continued where they left off during that Covid-affected horror show of a campaign. Of their last 51 top-flight games, they have lost 41, scoring 28 times and conceding 98. After 10 games this time around they have already conceded almost half (29) of the 63 goals they let in during their last disastrous season at this level.

Many - including this writer - fully expected this time to be different. That supporters back, roaring on their side from the stands, could help bridge the gap in quality that exists between newly-promoted sides and those established in the Premier League. It hasn’t. United are not just worlds away from the top clubs they have faced so far in terms of resources, but cannot even compete with those in and around the lower half of the table.

Upcoming clashes against the likes of Bournemouth and Burnley will prove a better yardstick. Wolves this weekend is being billed as a winnable game but even they, despite their own struggles, are 12th and unbeaten in five PL games. Pedro Neto’s injury blow will be cushioned by either £35m Fabio Silva or Pablo Sarabia, a senior Spanish international who spent last season playing alongside Messi, Neymar and Mbappe at Paris Saint-Germain.

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That is where my sympathy for Paul Heckingbottom kicks in. He was dropped on the front line in the summer, armed with a pea-shooter. A £20m permanent budget in the summer - played down by social-media spin doctors but proved by the summer net spend - forced him down a different path in terms of recruitment. The five summer incomings signed in time for the first game of the season at home to Crystal Palace had a combined 50 appearances in English football under their belts - 48 for Auston Trusty, in the Championship with Birmingham, and Yasser Larouci’s two FA Cup games for Liverpool.

Sold short by the late departures of Iliman Ndiaye and Sander Berge, 11 and three days before the start of the season respectively, United began life back in the Premier League weaker than months earlier in the Championship. Their top scorer was gone, their top two assist contributors, four of their five top chance creators. As a result, two ‘winnable’ early games passed United by and they were behind the eight-ball from the start.

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It’s understandable that United owner Prince Abdullah was wary of repeating the same financial mistakes that followed their last Premier League adventure, which ended in him pumping in large amounts to keep the club going, a transfer embargo and Stephen Bettis forced to deny reports the club was close to administration. Bar a few cosmetic upgrades, those two years in the Premier League left United with nothing really tangible to show for it - even their new training pitch had to be funded by boss Heckingbottom sacrificing some of his transfer budget - and the hierarchy have clearly learned some lessons.

But this is the unfortunate end result. A season marauding towards humiliation, eyes currently on beating Derby’s low of 11 points and not breaking multiple other records for games lost and goals conceded. United are broken, bruised and battered - both figuratively and literally, given their depressing injury record - and all the joy and excitement of promotion back to the Premier League has been sucked away. And pundits keep calling them simply Sheffield.

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Getting back up was an absolute necessity for United’s financial health but has created problems elsewhere. A fanbase is torn over sacking or backing Heckingbottom; on the way back from the Emirates, there were reports of Blades fighting other Blades over their desire to see a man lose his job. MPs are writing letters for attention - of the Prince and probably wider public - calling for more investment or a sale. Social media is becoming increasingly toxic over the same arguments, such as the fault over injuries or the pros and cons of Chris Wilder returning.

This isn’t what football should be about. Reaching the pinnacle of English football should be a joyful experience but at the minute the only people celebrating are those more concerned with balance sheets than clean ones. United are on the slow march towards a painful end and only a sale, rather than a sacking, can really help them avoid it now.

The full episode of Everything but the Prem, featuring more on the themes around this article, is available on demand on Shots! TV and on Freeview channel 276. Click here to watch.