Sheffield United not high-profile enough to win penalties, claims Chris Wilder after Blades crash at Fulham

With the game reaching its conclusion, Fulham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola came out to try to win the ball from Jayden Bogle. He got a slight touch, but his heavy follow-through clattered into the shins of the substitute.

Referee Martin Atkinson awarded Fulham a free-kick and video assistant referee Peter Bankes ruled there had not been a clear and obvious error.

Wilder felt – with some justification – it was a very similar incident to the one Bankes sent Sheffield United’s John Lundstram off for at Brighton and Hove Albion in December.

He also argued had it happened to a player from one of the country’s “big clubs”, the outrage he was feeling would have rumbled on in the media for days.

“They’re not that bothered,” he complained. “The only person who’s bothered about Sheffield United is me when we come on to those (Premier League) meetings – me, and the people involved in the football club.

“They’re only bothered about their own club anyway, so I get that. I’m not bothered by anybody else. But, for the life of me I’m telling you, there will be some comment and debate and discussion of moaning and groaning if that happens to one of the big boys, 100 per cent.

“It would last forever, and it would have lasted forever when the ball went over the line about a year ago (June’s ‘ghost goal’ at Aston Villa), that would have lasted forever – but it doesn’t, so it just sort of gets pushed away, ‘Ah, yeah well they’re having a moan up.’

“I’m just delighted Jayden is getting back on the coach (rather than being in hospital).”

In fairness to Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness, who attracted Wilder’s ire with his comments about the Blades’ January defeat at Tottenham Hotspur, he launched into a fierce criticism of “a ridiculous decision by another very, very poor referee,” but Wilder is right that incidents in the most high-profile games involving the most high-profile teams attract far more debate.

The Blades could not claim to have played well at Craven Cottage, but with seven minutes of stoppage time after the incident, a penalty could have potentially stopped two consecutive defeats turning into three. United have become the first English league team to lose 20 of their first 25 matches since Southport in 1979-80, and the first in the history of top-division football.

“I don’t think there’s a more straight-forward decision this season,” said Wilder. “It’s reckless, it’s out of control, it’s not a 50-50. Jayden’s not out of control.

“Lundstram’s (at Brighton) was a sending off. I thought that was a really good tackle but the way the game’s changed, it was (when Wilder played) and it isn’t today.

“We have to look at ourselves and the decisions we’ve made and the opportunities we’ve had in the final third to show that quality has yet again let us down. But if we had had a penalty and scored – the skipper’s on the pitch (penalty-taker Bill Sharp) – and they went down to 10 men – I don’t know if he gets sent off or not, that’s how much I know about the rules at the moment – it would have been a huge opportunity to look for a winner.”

The defeat means the number of points the Blades are away from Premier League safety is greater than their remaining games, and they suffered a further blow when Chris Basham went off with a hamstring injury.

They had already lost John Egan to a dislocated toe in midweek, and although Jack O’Connell is training after knee surgery, he is still some way from being ready to play, meaning the Blades will be without any of last season’s back three at home to Liverpool on Sunday.

“Basham has done his hamstring – the fittest kid in the club by a million miles,” said Wilder. “He’s a top professional, he looks after his body, he’s played how many games over the last three or four years and then he does his hamstring.

“The (injury) record that we have had is ridiculous. I think there are only two or three players who haven’t had injuries this season.

“You sometimes hear stuff about put the kids in but it’s not a time for young kids. First of all they’ve got to be good enough to train, second they’ve got to be good enough to step on the pitch in the Premier League and you know what happens if they’re not ready and they’re not right so we’ve got to try and formulate something from somewhere to try and give us an opportunity to get a result but we will be competitive as we have been all season.”

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