No respite for Sheffield United as Manchester City roll into town

Having come through one almighty examination at Liverpool last week, Sheffield United face another at home to Manchester City this afternoon.
FOCUSED: Chris Wilder. Picture: Andrew Yates/SportimageFOCUSED: Chris Wilder. Picture: Andrew Yates/Sportimage
FOCUSED: Chris Wilder. Picture: Andrew Yates/Sportimage

Once upon a time English football might have been all blood and thunder but with sophisticates like Pep Guardiola calling the top division home, it has become a test of intelligence as well as physique. Fortunately, in Ethan Ampadu and Sander Berge, Blades manager Chris Wilder believes he has two players who can excel at both.

The Blades took no points but plenty of positives from their 2-1 defeat at Anfield seven days ago, which Wilder felt was their best performance this season.

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One was a starring role for Ampadu, making his first start in the holding midfield role Berge and Oliver Norwood have both played in already this term as Wilder shuffles his pack looking for the right combinations.

Ampadu made his Blades debut at centre-back, where he is equally comfortable. The Welshman is yet to carve a niche out for himself, which is why Chelsea have been happy to loan him to Bramall Lane for a season but if he can replicate his Anfield performance against the best midfield in certainly English and possibly world football, he could give the Blades something different as they look to progress this season. He certainly struck an instant rapport with Berge, whose form continues to improve in 2020.

“The game has moved on, you have to be so mobile now as a professional footballer now,” comments Wilder. “Mobility is such a key word, everybody uses it.

“The game does become stretched but when you’ve got the likes of Sander and Ethan in there, it gives you a little bit more security. They are both very good learners with a huge appetite to get better.”

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People are writing Sheffield United off as suffering terminal “second-season syndrome” after a difficult opening which sees them still seeking their first win, just as Manchester City are being talked down. But the Blades have been under-estimated ever since they returned to the Premier League 14 months ago, and the fact they have been able to hold their own in such a competitive but also intelligent division shows up some of the lazy stereotypes about them and their football.

“It makes me smile when people say we’ve been sussed,” says Wilder. “When really good players are playing their system to their best of their ability it’s quite difficult to stop, even though you might have all the answers. In the cold light of day when the bullets are firing have you got the players who can carry your plans out and get through those situations?

“They’ve got different ways of playing as well.

“It’s an intelligent game now. It wasn’t a few years ago (in Wilder’s playing days), was it? Obviously!

“The tactical part of the game is as big as it’s ever been. With that comes players that need to be tactically smart and aware – and managers.”

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When asked if managing on the touchline can be like a game of chess, something Guardiola studies, Wilder replies with a smile: “There’s plenty of time when I want to bang the clock and have a bit of a break!

“It’s a fast-moving game and the players have got to suss it out as well. You can talk about managers and video analysis but it’s a moving game, isn’t it? The ball can be on any part of that football pitch at any time and it’s how you react to it, how you deal with it.

“You don’t have to go to university to be football intelligent and players nowadays have to be really football intelligent.”

After City finished well adrift of Liverpool in last season’s Premier League and – in keeping with many teams whose 2019-20 finished late because of European commitments – having not started the new campaign at full force, some have been writing obituaries for Guardiola’s third great club side. Wilder is not foolish enough to join in.

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“I didn’t see much loss of invincibility about them in the Champions League this week,” he says. “People are always doubting players and managers.

“They won’t be bothered. They have got world-class players, they invest in world-class players and a manager who has done it all. Only an outstanding Liverpool team finished ahead of them last season.

“For me, no judgement can be made at this part of the season.

“This is the world that we live in. People want to talk about other people’s failings. They might have a few injuries that have affected them but world-class players get up to speed pretty quickly.”

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The Blades will have to be at their most mobile and agile to keep up today.

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