Chris Wilder tipped to have made ’embarrassing’ Sheffield United owners pay for crawling back
Chris Wilder has seen the Sheffield United owners come for him for the third time after the sacking of the underwhelming Ruben Selles.
Sources told Football Insider on 13 September that Sheffield United were eyeing up Wilder to re-join the club with that rumour now becoming a reality.
Selles was relieved of his duties after a 5-0 battering by Ipswich Town under the guidance of Graham Potter replacement target at West Ham Kieran McKenna last weekend (12 September).
Similarly, Man United could re-hire Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to replace Ruben Amorim at Man United and follow in the Blades’ footsteps.
Former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan has deemed the Sheffield United ownership as lucky to have even received a response from Wilder to come back to manage once again.
Chris Wilder can feel ‘harshly treated’ by Sheffield United says Simon Jordan upon third stint
Speaking on talkSPORT (16 September) over the ex-Watford manager’s comeback, Jordan felt the Englishman was unfairly treated after just missing out on a return to the Premier League last season.
The ex-Palace chairman strongly believed the ownership made a huge error sacking Wilder in the first place and are fortunate that he has willingly decided to come back again.
The pundit said: “I think he’s done a decent job. He’s done a decent job most of the time he’s been at Sheffield United.
“I didn’t think it was particularly fair that he got he lost his job at the end of the summer.
“So, I think it’s quite embarrassing for the ownership because it’s not as if you’ve gone and gotten someone different.
“You’ve gone back to somebody that you said, ‘yeah, I don’t fancy you anymore because you don’t fit the profile of a progressive manager because we want to be data driven’ or whatever the hell they thought they were doing.
“‘So, we’re going to bring somebody in that we think is going to do a better job than you. And after 5 minutes of them being here, we’re going to come back to you.’
“I hope he’s held their feet to the fire. I’m always the first person to defend the owners, but in this instance, I think he can consider himself harshly treated.
“I think they’re lucky that he’s a Sheffield United fan and feels so motivated to go back there.”
Faltering start for many Championship teams gives Sheffield United golden opportunity
Amongst the fans, the return of Wilder has been met with a renewed sense of hope that the Blades can push once again to get promoted back to the Premier League.
After five matches, Sheffield United sit in rock bottom with no points but there is still a chance they can finish in the play-off places come the end of the season.
At the moment, no second-tier side looks like they will run rampant like Leeds United and Burnley did in 2024-25 which could see a much more hotly contested top half of the table.
| Sheffield United 2024-25 Championship | |
| Wins | 28 |
| Draws | 8 |
| Defeats | 10 |
| Points | 90 |
| Position | 3rd |
Wilder will also likely experience a smoother transition than most managers when arriving at a club given he understands the layout and importance of managing the team.
They take on Charlton Athletic next who have gathered just the five points thus far, which will be a pivotal match to win for the Blades.
The ex-Middlesborough boss is back in the driving seat once again and will be motivated to get his boyhood club back into the top-flight.