Roy's View From Social Media: the summer of discontent

Unlike Sheffield United's form, Roy is back with a bang, taking us through a topsy-turvy summer both on the pitch and on the World Wide Web

Andrew Hague

A new manager, a new era. Following the controversial sacking of Chris Wilder, Sheffield United entered the 2025/2026 season with only their second-ever foreign manager in the dugout. Rubén Sellés, the Spanish coach who had been sacked at Hull at the end of the previous season, was the man who had the difficult task of following Wilder. This task was made even harder after United sold star players Anel Ahmedhodžić and Vini Souza in the summer and failed to replace them by the time of the opening game against Bristol City.

Still, the team that took to the field at Bramall Lane for the first game of the season had enough quality in it to warrant hope that United could start this new period in their history in a positive manner. This hope wasn’t diminished even after going a goal behind early on, as United soon hit back through last season’s top scorer, Tyrese Campbell, and took charge of the game with some incisive attacking football. Unfortunately, chances went begging and Bristol City hit the home side with a sucker-punch breakaway goal that put them in the driving seat at half-time – nothing to worry about, though. Continue playing like this, and a positive result was still more than possible…

Power, politics and Chris Wilder’s return to Bramall Lane

Within five minutes of the second half, any serious possibility that this would be a golden start for Sellés and United was banished when the Robins made it 3-1. Soon after it was 4-1, and the away team had scored with every one of their shots. United tried to get back into the game, but the ball just wouldn’t go in. After the full-time whistle blew, Sellés proceeded to give a team talk on the pitch, Phil Brown-style. In just 90 minutes, the hope for the new season had led to quiet concern about the future. Still, it was only one game, and United hadn’t been that bad. A few defensive reinforcements, and surely things would improve, right?

A young United followed up the opening day defeat by bowing out of the League Cup at the first stage to newly promoted Birmingham City. An incredible halfway-line strike from Gus Hamer was not enough to see The Blades progress in a 2-1 defeat. United never did well in the cups under Wilder, though, so no worries. Onto Swansea…

There were still no new signings through the door by the time United travelled to the terribly-named Swansea.com stadium. Sellés had so far only been allowed to bring in 3 first-team signings, and anger was building towards the board at how slow the club was operating in the transfer market. However, the seemingly apathetic approach to squad building was no excuse for the performance United put in against Swansea. Managing just one shot on target, United lost 1-0 to a distinctly average Swans side who thoroughly deserved their three points. Even at this early stage, people were questioning whether Sellés was the right man to lead United forward:

Two more 1-0 losses came next: first at home to Millwall and then away to ’Boro. In the latter, Sellés stood in front of the away end at full-time and took serious abuse from the travelling Blades fans. After just four league games in charge, it looked like the end was near for United’s beleaguered new coach.

Whatever people’s opinions on Sellés, it was obvious that the team needed reinforcements, and to their credit/desperation, the hierarchy at Bramall Lane oversaw nine signings in just seven days. However, the approach did all seem very haphazard, and many Blades wondered if the board had totally understood what was needed:

Following a two-week international break, United found themselves at Portman Road to face recently-relegated Ipswich Town. Sellés was, somewhat surprisingly, still the Blades boss, although his team selection to face the Tractor Boys did little to endear him to the fans:

Alas, it was the disaster many supporters predicted, and a 5-0 walloping ensured it was the end of the road for Sellés. With seven losses in seven games, he left Bramall Lane with a record that will (hopefully) be in the history books forever. Not everything had been his fault, but nobody could argue that the decision to sack Wilder for someone so unproven had been a monumental mistake.

So who was next for United? Another continental coach? A former big-name player? A more experienced Championship manager?

Or maybe the guy who had been sacked just three months earlier?

Yes. Within a day of Sellés being dismissed, Chris Wilder was, quite incredibly, back in the hot seat at Bramall Lane:

Whilst most Blades were delighted to see “the messiah” return, some fans wondered how the club could ever move on from him:

This was apparently a new Chris Wilder though. One ready to embrace the AI technology the new American owners had brought into the club:

Charlton were the team that would bear the brunt of Wilder’s return. A near sell-out at Bramall Lane, the first game since 1991 where standing would be permitted on the Kop, and the return of a legend. What could go wrong?

United could go wrong. In a dreadful game, played in dreadful conditions, the Blades conceded in the final minute to lose 1-0. Had we brought the right ex-manager back?

The Charlton loss was a massive disappointment. United had looked no better, and for the first time, Blades fans pondered whether the problems went deeper than Sellés. The first half in the next game away at Oxford did nothing to quell any growing concerns. United were again dreadful and somewhat lucky to go in goalless at half-time.

And then, finally… a goal!

Good work from Chiedozie Ogbene on the right saw the ball fall to Callum O’Hare, who took a superb touch before guiding it into the bottom corner of the Oxford goal. It was United’s first league goal since the opening day and enough to see the Blades pick up their first points of the season. We were finally on our way:

With three points finally on the board, hopes were high when just a few days after the Oxford victory, struggling Southampton came to Bramall Lane for a midweek game. United went ahead in the 28th minute thanks to Campbell’s second of the campaign, before conceding a penalty in first-half stoppage time after goalkeeper Michael Cooper brought down Southampton striker Ross Stewart in the area. Despite Adam Armstrong blasting the ball over the bar to preserve United’s lead, Chris Wilder still wasn’t happy with the performance of referee Adam Herczeg and proceeded to blast a stray ball into the crowd right on half-time in frustration. Wilder was immediately sent off, leaving fans to debate whether the manager had been out of order:

Wilder’s mood worsened early in the second half when Stewart grabbed an equaliser for the Saints on 51 before adding a second for the visitors just seven minutes later. United did get the ball into the net late in the game, thanks to Sydie Peck, but the hapless Herczeg disallowed it for no obvious reason. United had played well and, with a competent ref, would have probably gained a deserved point, but the cold-hard fact was that United had lost yet another home game.

The Blades finished their three-game week with an away trip in Humberside to face Hull City, armed with ex-Blade favourites Oli McBurnie, John Egan, John Lundstram* and Reagan Slater. However, it wasn’t any of the old boys that came back to haunt United but David Akintola, whose first-half goal was enough to hand the Tigers three points and United their fifth 1-0 defeat of the season. Harrison Burrows missed a penalty late on, but a failure to score against the side with the weakest defensive record in the league further added to the feeling that had been gathering momentum for weeks – United were genuine relegation contenders.

The last three months have been far, far worse than any of us could have predicted. Eight losses in nine, a manager change and an unbalanced squad playing with no confidence. To go from a play-off final to being bottom of the league in just a few months is frankly astonishing.

There are many people who have contributed to the position United find themselves in. The owners, the recruitment team, the players, the old manager, maybe even the new (old) manager… all have had some part to play in United’s demise. United have now won just three league games in the last 16, with those wins coming against Cardiff, Stoke and Oxford. Our form since we beat Coventry in March is very much that of a relegation outfit, and everything suggests it’s going to be a struggle to get out of the mess we find ourselves in. We’ve signed 14 players, already flipped a manager and yet here we are, with just three points to our name.

Things can’t get any worse, right?

UTB