Unfortunately while the Blades have been very much in contention for a play-off spot to reach the Premier League all season long the last 5-10 games of the campaign have caused Chris Wilder’s men more problems than they would like and the form of the team has seen them just slip out of the Championship play-off picture over the last weeks of the campaign.
United’s loss to Preston North End last weekend saw them finally mathematically eliminated from the race for the Premier League.
As we wrote about way back in mid-February the issues between Sheffield United co-owners Kevin McCabe and HRH Prince Abdullah Bin Mosa’ad Abdulaziz Al Saud are possibly having a negative impact on the Blades both on the pitch and at Board level.
Blades boss Chris Wilder could be reaching the point of no-return on the contentious issues at Bramall Lane between the co-owners and if things are not sorted out in a prompt and reasonable fashion, the club may not be able to consolidate their place in the Championship. We could even see them lose the manager and miss out on signing transfer targets as the indecision and doubts around the club’s future are starting to effect things rather negatively.
Speaking after the Preston loss Wilder had this to say about the lack of clarity regarding the plans of the club:
“I just want the team to progress, to do well, and move forward,”
“I think we’ve got something special going on here. We’ve got an honest group. We’re all employees of the football club. They need to know as well as I do.”
Commenting again on the situation, Wilder added “It’s a 100 per cent critical it has to be resolved. I can’t do my job properly unless there is direction and a decision.”
Prince Abdullah, who reportedly received 50% of United’s parent company in exchange for him delivering certain monetary obligations, does not appear to be seeing eye to eye with co-owner Kevin McCabe.
The problems between the two owners is bound to cause serious knock-on effects for the club and the ramifications could see Wilder and some of his players start to consider their futures. When there are feuds going on at Board level they eventually start to affect the club as a whole.
It seems as though Prince Abdullah has tabled a take-over bid which triggered McCabe to react with his own scheme to see the Blades back under his sole-control but in the meantime Wilder and his staff do not know what the budget will be for transfers this summer and various other matters remain unresolved.
Speaking after the Preston defeat last weekend, Wilder went on to say:
“I’ve had this for longer than the last hour and a half,”
“I’m not coming out with this because we’ve lost. We’re competing with some huge football clubs. I don’t want to hurt the football club. We charge sensible prices. I don’t want to see those shoot up.”
Wilder, it seems, is not playing favourites and has not been drawn into speaking about which owner should have control of the team as all he wants is a firm blueprint in place and the club to stick to that plan and he does not seem to mind who has control of the club as long as he implements the plan.
No matter what happens, resolution needs to be achieved in short order if Sheffield United are to build on their impressive first season back in the Championship. With the stability of Chris Wilder managing at Bramall Lane and the continuation of the Blades’ squad development growth on the field should follow.
Wilder is likely to be an even more wanted man this summer and beyond so the Blades need to have clarity and the right environment for the manager to continue his impressive stint at the helm of Sheffield United. With Sunderland heavily linked with a move for the United manager now the new owners have taken over at the Stadium of Light, the Blades boss may have some career opportunities placed in front of him. Whether Wilder would want to go back into League 1 is the big question but money sometimes talks.
The Blades need to sort things out with their ownership uncertainty and secure their manager to a long term deal as soon as possible as top flight clubs might well come in for the talented Blades boss in addition to the Black Cats.