Hammer blow for Chris Wilder but no time to panic at Sheffield United

Defeats against Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea, while not acceptable, are understandable given the stature of those teams.

But they are not damaging defeats.

A loss to West Ham United however, at the start of a run of games highlighted by Sheffield United’s coaches, players, staff and no doubt fans as fixtures in which wins must be achieved, is one that causes damage.

It damages belief in the team’s ability to turn things around.

It leaves United rooted to the foot of the Premier League table, their winless start to the season now standing at nine games. Just one point gained all season.

West Ham were good, but not great. They were Premier League savvy; solid at the back, dangerous going forward. Sheffield United were not far behind, but the gulf in confidence was obvious.

The key difference was they had a striker in Sebastien Haller who cost £45m.

Oli McBurnie cost Sheffield United £20m and second-half substitute Rhian Brewster, £23m.

Haller had two chances, and stuck one of those away, ruthlessly lashing the ball home from 20 yards on 56 minutes, his shot struck so ferociously that Aaron Ramsdale – himself no bargain buy at £18m – could not get a strong enough hand to it to turn it around the post.

The two chances McBurnie had were fired straight at Lukasz Fabianski and then rasped against the cross bar. That latter effort was United’s best chance to equalise, and McBurnie’s squandering of it summed up their problems in front of goal.

They were guilty of missing chances as early as the third minute; George Baldock in-behind Arthur Masuaka but choosing to go to Fabianski’s near post rather than across him and into the unguarded far corner.

United need a bit of luck to go their way, but the amount of times they did fashion a chance only to be wasteful, it did make you wonder if a week spent doing nothing but shooting drills before next Saturday’s trip to West Brom would be wise.

Lose that one, and the panic buttons will be pressed.

Hopefully, though, the board sit tight. That United are in this position is worrying, but in times like these perspective should not be thrown out with the baby and the bath water.

Think back to where United were four years ago, down in League One, Chris Wilder in his first season trying to end their six-year exile in the third tier.

That they are playing against the likes of West Ham, Liverpool and Manchester City, is down to him. The hierarchies at some clubs suffering like this would have panicked by now and changed managers. The riches and rewards of the Premier League are too high to even flirt with relegation and the notion that it can all be taken away from one bad sequence of results, however long, induces knee-jerk reactions.

Having had the taste of the Premier League, gazed briefly upon European qualification in their first season back in the big time, United’s expectations have sky-rocketed.

Those sums of money for the likes of Brewster and Ramsdale, while swamped by the fees established Premier League operators can pay, are still huge for a club of blue-collar stock like the Blades.

They are a by-product of the strides made under Wilder these past four years, when the Blades knew nothing but upward trajectory.

Now that momentum has stalled, United would be wise to hold firm, stick to their beliefs and give those that have taken them this far, chance to extricate themselves from the hole they have dug.

These are worrying times for United, but the situation is not beyond salvation.

Wilder deserves the chance to save them. He is the heart and soul of Sheffield United. There may be no fans in Bramall Lane to get on the team’s back, to live the frustration just as much as their manager, but they will be hurting just as much as he is.

He knows the score. When asked last night if he fears the sack, Wilder – stressing he wasn’t being arrogant – did offer some perspective.

“I haven’t got the sack in 900-odd games. I don’t fear anything. I am concerned with the situation we’re in, because I love this football club, I love my players,” he replied.

“It’s great how flippantly you talk about careers and jobs. It’s not really involved me for 20 years. I’ve had a few down times, but I’ve got through it.

“This is a cut-throat division. You don’t get any handouts, it’s not a time to go in our shells as players, I certainly won’t be as manager.

“Four years ago we were 13th in League One, without wanting to be disrespectful but the places we were going to, weren’t great. Now we’re in the Premier League and I’m in my office with David Moyes. We have to embrace the challenge.”

The sooner the better, or panic will set in at Bramall Lane.

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