When Wednesday evening’s team sheet was announced for the away clash against Manchester United, there may have been a few Sheffield United supporters who raised one or two eyebrows.
One interesting decision by Chris Wilder was to drop Ivo Grbic and replace him with Wes Foderingham. And inside the first few minutes at Old Trafford, that decision looked to have been the correct one with Foderingham making a couple of great saves early on.
The reinstated number one made a total of nine saves in the game but he could do nothing to stop Bruno Fernandes’ outstanding left-footed long-range strike, ten minutes from time.
This gave the Red Devils their first lead of the evening, and they would go on to add a fourth in the final few moments of the game as it finished 4-2.
Nevertheless, it was a spirited performance from the Blades and if it wasn’t for the early heroics of Foderingham in goal, Sheffield United could have been on their way to another embarrassing loss.
Chris Wilder on Wes Foderingham’s performance against Manchester United
Speaking in his post-match media duties with SUTV, Chris Wilder gave his verdict on the performance of United’s shot-stopper.
“He was good. I could’ve made that decision at half time [against Burnley] but I didn’t. When you look back: did you make the right decision or not? But of course you have to make big decisions and it was the right thing to do, to put Wes in [against Man United].
“I thought he was outstanding, a really good performance from Wes. He had to make some crucial saves, all goalkeepers in this division have to make saves and have to make big ones and he did.”
Chris Wilder on making Oli Arblaster the Sheffield United captain against Man United
Another huge decision made by Wilder was to hand the captain’s armband to the boyhood Blade Oli Arblaster, who has been sensational since stepping up to the first team.
Many supporters and even managers across football tend to reject the notion of an extremely young captain. Having said that, in Arblaster’s case, he has led by example with some stellar performances since his Premier League debut.
After the game, Wilder explained his decision to hand the 19-year-old the captain’s armband, “He didn’t need any inspiration, he didn’t need any motivation. He’s our best player,” he said.
“He went to Liverpool and had to deal with the three midfield players, he played against £200m worth of midfield players against Chelsea and was the best midfield player on the park. He’s been outstanding.
“I knew how humble he would be. I knew he’d lead by example. I knew he takes information on and passes it on, and I knew he’d produce a top performance, and he did.”
The Sheffield United chief finished off by saying, “the longer the game went on: he’s running past a couple of our midfield players in the 90th minute. He’s got a big future so that was a natural decision for me. He’s going to be a big player and we’re delighted he’s with us.”
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