Barnsley has 3 the week; Sheffield Wednesday’s defender adds steel; Leeds United striker leads the line
Barnsley, Bradford City, Harrogate Town, Huddersfield Town and Rotherham United can switch games on weekdays to allow enthusiasts if new regulations allow
Hear from Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder and this may be the era that will, despite everything, be his team’s fate in 2020-21, a verification season in football for countless clubs on and off the pitch.
Wilder’s Blades, who was defeated 4-1 at Chelsea on Saturday night, took a point from his first eight Premier League games and supported the table.
They are the lowest problems overall at this level of a Premier League campaign, along with Manchester City (1995-96), Southampton (1998-99), neighbours Sheffield Wednesday (1999-00) and Sunderland (2013-14).
Southampton and Sunderland controlled the maximum at the end of their respective seasons, while City and the Owls suffered relegation.
Wilder’s team has faced Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool in successive matches and Arsenal have also been on the itinerary in their last five matches.
By the end of 2020, they will face players such as West Bromwich Albion, Brighton and Hove Albion, Burnley and West Ham United, and will host Newcastle United in their first home game of 2021.
Wilder added: “You have to be realistic, the groups we’ve faced won’t be our future.
“If we only win one of our next 10 games, it’s probably going to be our future.
“Because sitting after 18 mid-season games with a dozen problems on the table would probably not be enough to get you off the stage you’re on. It was a very complicated race all season, this season and in the last five opposition games we faced and the way we play.
“There is no magic wand, we will have to succeed over this and we will.
“We all have periods like this, not only in football, but also in life when it’s hard,” Wilder added.
The Blades boss admits that he is grateful for the two-week break abroad to allow his players to “clear their heads. “
When they return to the combat house opposite West Ham in thirteen days, they have to start popping the chest again, according to Wilder.
He added: “Even if some players go to the foreign break, we can transparent our heads and all the team spirit that everyone talks about when the groups are ok will be tested to the fullest.
“They have to combine again and separately they have to shake a little. It was a tough race.
“The player organization did a fabulous task for me and the club.
“I know there will be reviews there and there will be many in Sheffield right now. But the organization will remain united like us and fight in its own way.
“Everyone is so skilful when things are going well. You want to get your chest out.
“A lot of fabulous things have been said about us for a while and we were given to dig and leave that period,” he said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we did and that’s the confidence we’re going to have in combination as a player and personal organization. “
Across town, if Sheffield Wednesday had lost to Millwall, the two Steel City would have been in the back of their respective divisions.
Report and analysis: 3
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