Bristol City v Sheffield United: Don't get mad, get even as Chris Wilder straps himself in for Championship 'rollercoaster'

The Sheffield United manager witnessed his side's search for back-to-back Championship wins for the first time since April continue in a 3-2 defeat at Portsmouth which stuck in his craw.

All the talk afterwards surrounded the first-half dismissal of Hamza Choudhury - to say his second booking was dubious is putting it mildly.

Speaking afterwards at Fratton Park, Wilder voiced his anger at referee Oliver Langford - who has considerable history with the Blades - taking the game in the first place.

He went on to question the refereeing pathway which he sees as preventing up-and-coming officials from taking games instead of 'survivor' referees of the ilk of the Midlander - in his eyes.

Come the next day, Wilder's anger had not sufficiently subsided. He confirmed that the club were in the process of filing a formal letter of complaint to the English Football League and referees' body Pro Ref to outlining their grievances.

A couple of days on, the experienced Blades boss is firmly back in 'next game' mode following a short turnaround and another long trip south.

That's Championship life and it's ultimately about not getting mad, but even.

Wilder said: "We have to quickly get over and deal with the anger and frustration of Wednesday night and go to work on Saturday.

"We have to be focused on our performances and hopefully the results will come once we iron out certain things. But I don't think we've got a disciplinary problem.

"The amount of calls I've had from people in the game overnight and waking up on Thursday morning saying exactly the same thing (that the Choudhury decision was wrong)... And it just goes to show I'm not deflecting.

"But we have to deal with it and stay in touch. It might be a season where in the second part of the season, if we can be in and around the top ten, we can kick on."

After 10 games of the campaign, United find themselves in a modest 15th position.

Yet in a season where seventh and eighth place would be enough to book a play-off ticket, they remain very much in striking distance of the business end. It's hardly time to panic.

The expanded format will give hope to many heading into the spring, when it normally wouldn't. The Blades could well be one of those sides, as could their next opponents.

A 'perennial Championship side' is what Charlton boss Nathan Jones recently called Bristol City. It was not the slight that many might perceive it to be.

In 11 seasons at second-tier level following promotion from League One, the Robins have finished between 11th and 19th place on nine occasions and have broken into the top ten twice, reaching the play-offs in 2024-25 when they were eviscerated by the Blades over two legs.

Somewhat fittingly, City are currently 12th. They remain among a group of well-matched clubs who are shouldn't be fighting relegation fires, but who are likely to fall comfortably short in terms of top-two prospects.

For their part, United have won consecutive league matches just twice so far in 2026. Equally, they have lost successive Championship games on only three occasions.

Wilder commented: "It's going to be a rollercoaster ride for not just Sheffield United, but three quarters of the clubs that are trying to get into the top eight and extend their season. And we're one of those clubs.

"I should imagine that Bristol City would be one of those clubs as well. A new manager and new ideas and they have had some good results and not so good results. We've had a mixed bag of results there.

"We can't beat ourselves up too much and must strap ourselves in for this rollercoaster ride. The players have to get on with it.

"This is not a divided group, but one that gives everything. It has a different feel to the group that I had last year. It's a long old season. We just need to keep grinding away."

Choudhury's absence leaves United with an issue on the right-hand side of their defence, as Femi Seriki, Matt Doherty and Jamie Shackleton are also unavailable.

Given United's schedule and the short Wednesday-Saturday turnaround amid a three-game week, Wilder has suggested that he will freshen up his side with the likes of Jordan Ayew, Ryan One, Harrison Burrows and Kalvin Phillips among those likely to come into his thoughts.