Managers Sheffield United Should Be Looking At If Blades Did the Unthinkable And Sack Chris Wilder

As the managerial future remains in limbo, here are three prominent names that could be potential replacements: Gary O’Neil, Steve Cooper, and, perhaps more hopeful rather than realistic, Liam Rosenior.

Gary O’Neil

One of the likely favourites for the Sheffield United job, if Wilder was to be sacked, would likely be former Bournemouth and Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O’Niel. The 42-year-old is very much liked by Des Taylor, who is an acting advisor on the Sheffield United board.

O’Neil is a pragmatic, reactive coach who often sets his teams up to be compact, disciplined, and tough to break down. He favours a structured 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 or 3-4-2-1 shape and excels at organising low blocks and pressing triggers across the pitch.

His success with Bournemouth and early results with Wolves showcased his adaptability as a manager. Yet, O’Neil would come to Bramall Lane with possibly a point to prove to his former employers, Wolves, because he was really set up to fail there. He was forced to sell a number of key players such as Pedro Neto and Max Kilman with the club being under severe pressure due to profit and sustainability rules. And due to this, he was unable to maximise these funds to bring in suitable replacements.

Steve Cooper

Steve Cooper’s time at both Swansea City and Nottingham Forest showed that he is very capable of switching up styles and systems. At Swansea, his team would look to dominate possession, while at Forest his side relied more on quick counterattacks and combination play in the final third.

During his time at Swansea and Forest, he regularly deployed 3-4-2-1 or 4-2-3-1 systems. To add, Cooper values youth development and works well within sporting director-led setups, often leaning on data and a modern recruitment system.

Cooper’s most recent role saw him get sacked at Leicester City last season when the club was in 16th, and they’d end up finishing in the relegation zone in 18th under Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Liam Rosenior

Liam Rosenior is more than likely too far along now in his progression as a coach to even think about joining the Blades. Then again, Southampton have just managed to convince Will Still to leave RC Lens and join the Saints in the Championship, so maybe it’s not overly unrealistic.

Rosenior is a typical young modern coach who has a big focus on possession and also control, both on and off the ball. His Strasbourg side regularly used a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 setup, dictating the tempo and where the game was played. He encourages short-passing build-up play from the back, to mitigate risks of being counterattacked, and positional rotations in midfield with a double pivot and a natural number ten which can also drop in to form a three-man midfield if needed. He also wants his wingers to stay high and wide, whilst allowing them the ability to come to feet in the half-space.

Rosenior has carried Strasbourg to seventh in Ligue 1, which means they will compete in the European Conference League qualification stage. If the Blades did sack Wilder and pursue Rosenior, would he stay with Strasbourg for the chance of managing in European competition? Or, would he choose to join the Blades who would offer him more than his reported current €35,000 per week wage, as well as the chance to manage a Premier League club in the future?

Is This Really the End For Chris Wilder at Sheffield United?

This article is purely looking at what managerial candidates could be of interest if the Blades did the unthinkable and sack Chris Wilder in the next few weeks. I personally think it would be harsh to sack a manager that has just won you 92 points during a season where you’ve had to rebuild almost an entire new squad.

Then again, there are rightful questions regarding the overall effectiveness from last season, as Sheffield United were the 6th-best attacking team statistically in the Championship. Even Sheffield Wednesday had a higher xG per 90 than the Blades.

Plus, United only had an expected points total of 75 compared to their actual tally of 90, which means the Blades massively overperformed in this department. You never know if these new owners are looking at these sort of stats and thinking, ‘although we were close to going up, we were fortunate to even be in that position in the first place’.

Stats taken from Opta.