Sheffield United look to rivals Sheffield Wednesday for rescue inspiration as Chris Wilder sends results warning
Sheffield United look to rivals Sheffield Wednesday for rescue inspiration as Chris Wilder sends results warning
With their club coming off the back of a highest-ever points tally in the Championship, and the other in a state of seemingly perpetual crisis, not many Sheffield United supporters would have envisaged trying to emulate their rivals Wednesday at any point this season.
But that is exactly the situation that the Blades find themselves in, after a sixth defeat from six league games this season left them rooted to the foot of the Championship on Saturday.
That late loss to Charlton Athletic at least saw some slight signs of improvement from what had gone before under Ruben Selles' charge, but not enough to prevent boos at the full-time whistle as Chris Wilder's latest homecoming got off to an inauspicious start.
It is a unique quirk of Wilder's three spells at United, a club where his name is so synonymous with success, that all have now begun with the disappointment of league defeats.
But while United overcame a loss at Bolton back in 2016 to storm their way to the League One title, and Liverpool's class told in the Premier League back in December 2023, the problems this time around seem more deep-rooted.
Sheffield United look to rivals Sheffield Wednesday for rescue inspiration as Chris Wilder sends results warning
Many of United's players, put simply, look shot. Not in terms of ability or commitment but in the equally-important areas of confidence and belief. This run of results will do that to a group; players such as Harrison Burrows have been seemingly sapped of that instinct and freedom that United enjoyed last term.
After walking into the Bramall Lane press room buoyed by three huge points on United soil, Charlton boss Nathan Jones insisted, unprompted, that United will be fine this term. Their players, he insisted, are too good; their manager knows how to get results.
But as Wilder admitted when he sat in that same seat a while later, the league table doesn't lie and the Blades are where they are for a reason. They have scored once in six league games, on the opening day. Of more than a dozen opportunities created against Charlton, only one ended up on target.
Their full-backs were ineffective offensively and exploited too easily going the other way, Ben Godfrey struggling against a tricky winger for the second game in a row. Is United's current group suited to a back three, unleashing Femi Seriki and Burrows? Surely nothing should be off the table at this point.
And back to the headline stat. United on Saturday became only the fourth team since the inception of the Championship two decades ago to lose all of their opening six league games.
The others were Wycombe Wanderers in 2020/21, the 2012/13 Peterborough United group and Wednesday, back in 2007/08. Of that trio, the Owls were the only ones who avoided relegation.
United suffering such a fate, with the options they have at their disposal, still seems far-fetched, even after this run. But other teams will not feel sorry for United's current struggle and football is full of examples where negative momentum has proved hard to shrug off.
United, put simply, need to get their season up and running, sooner rather than later. "We've got to find a way to get out of this situation pretty quickly," Wilder admitted himself, "because the stats don't lie. The league table doesn't lie at the moment and we are that team that's at the bottom of the division for a reason."
The display against Charlton, while perhaps not as disastrous as some will make out, did at least further highlight the size of the task facing Wilder after his return to Bramall Lane a week ago.
"It was never going to be straightforward," he said. "I'll be honest, though; I expected better though. So, it's a little bit of a worry. I expected us to have that a little bit more belief in our play. Maybe I shouldn't have underestimated the effect of the last four or five, six games towards us."
That won't happen again. United's players will be primed for a reaction this week, ahead of the weekend trip to Oxford United. And United, for once, will be looking towards their city rivals for a bit of inspiration.