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Three hundred and fifty-one days, 14 wins, 12 draws, 12 losses and a global pandemic since his hesitant first step in the Premier League, Sheffield United signed a memorable season for all sorts of other reasons. Wilder reflected on his scale in Southampton, given the achievements of his players and the progress they have made.
“It’s probably the most powerful department in Europe and the most powerful department in the world,” he said, after United finished ninth in the standings despite the 3-1 loss at St Mary’s Stadium. “And we come from where we come here, facing clubs that are absolute giants. The boys represented our club brilliantly.
Although the result of the attack on St Mary’s is a source of frustration: Che Adams scored twice against his former club and Danny Ings scored once after John Lundstram had previously damaged the impasse, United will return to his cades in the afterlife 11 months. with immense pride.
Nearly a year ago, just over 30 miles west, Wilder’s men were told that the descent was waiting for them while they were ready to launch the new high-level crusade opposite AFC Bournemouth. Eddie Howe’s men fell, but Wilder’s fees flew. Although they were told they were too simple, too naive and too inexperienced, after 12 long years of absence, to survive, let alone thrive in such an exclusive company.
“The players gave me everything, surely everything, but of course we also have to move on,” Wilder said. “We have to move on because that’s what everyone’s going to do. And I’ll do everything I can to make that happen. I will do my best to make sure that we keep moving in the right direction and that we are in everything we do.”
With the moving window open in less than 24 hours, United had traveled south with one eye on Ralph Hasenhuttl and the other on his recruitment plans.
The opening exchanges of this contest revealed where Wilder will look to improve before competition resumes in September and also why – having named a short-handed bench following injuries to Jack O’Connell and David McGoldrick, United found themselves chasing the ball for the first 15 minutes but still created the best early opening.
Unfortunately, he was rejected, Billy Sharp pushed the ball directly onto Alex McCarthy after being released through Lundstram. The captain of United, a former Southampton teamman, gave the impression of being caught in the crossfire when Oli McBurnie advanced in a relentless chase, shouting for a pass and making Sharp aware of his presence. Wilder, who recognizes that his team wants to be more clinical and calculating in order to make the most of his progress over the more than 11 months, shrugged and walked away.
But his dismay turned to delight midway through the first-half when Lundstram powered home from close range. Receiving possession from John Fleck, Enda Stevens’ cross slipped through Jannick Vestergaard’s legs after being shielded by Sharp and reached the midfielder – who converted from close range.
Lundstram’s idea that he had extended United’s merit soon after, but his effort was stored through McCarthy.
“The game is made a decision in either square and that’s what happened here,” Wilder said, telling how the game nevertheless bypassed United’s reach. “They were clinicians in our area. We weren’t clinicians in your area. But there were tired minds and bodies there.
“I think we had produced a very adult performance,” Hasenhuttl said. “We show many intelligent attributes opposed to very intelligent opponents. So it’s smart to leave this note now.
Lundstram’s impact on the first half, impressive on both property and off-property before winning his fifth of the crusade, underlined the midfield’s importance to a United team that showed a wonderful field ahead of consistent Southampton polls. But as the contract negotiations between him and the club have supposedly made little progress, there will be doubts about Lundstram’s long-term bramall Lane.
Wilder, who would rather the player and his agent settle for United’s offer and allow everyone to move on, also faces a worried wait before knowing if Dean Henderson will return next quarter.
The goalkeeper, on loan from Manchester United, has been superb since first arriving in South Yorkshire two summers ago. If this was his last appearance in a United jersey, it actually turned out to be a pretty disappointing one – Henderson looking crestfallen when Adams’ shot flew past him at the near post early in the second period. For all their slick exchanges and movement, Southampton’s equaliser was created in pretty scrappy circumstances; the ball falling kindly for the former United youngster following a challenge by Sander Berge.
Adams has matured beyond popularity since leaving United shortly after Wilder’s appointment in 2016, when he sold to Birmingham City as a component of the fundraising exercise that helped build the team that then awarded the League One title.
He showcased his instincts once again with a little over a quarter-of-an-hour remaining – sweeping the ball beyond Henderson, who was powerless to intervene, after Kyle Walker-Peters’ shot had cannoned into a defender. Ings added the third from the spot after being clipped by John Egan as substitute Oliver Norwood attempted to shepherd him across the area.
“I think it was a game we deserve to have won in the first half,” Wilder said. “We deserve to have been out of sight at half-time.”