Sheffield United Show No Signs of Improvement; Weaknesses Will Only Get Fixed Once Duo Returns – Opinion

The midfield has been United’s achilles’ heel from the very first whistle of the season. It lacks defensive solidity, leaving the backline repeatedly exposed to counter-attacks, and it offers very little in terms of progressive passing.

Sydie Peck’s form has been a particular disappointment. The young midfielder’s progressive passing statistics rank among the worst in the division, underlining the lack of control and creativity in United’s engine room. His struggles see the United academy product rank in the 33rd percentile among Championship midfielders this season for progressive passes per 90 minutes (registering just under four per 90).

His partner in midfield over the last two games has been Alex Matos, who arrived late in the transfer window from Chelsea. United knew exactly what they were going to get in the 20-year-old. Matos brings energy; his profile closely mirrors N’Golo Kante, thriving in duels, interceptions, and driving the ball into space.

But he is not a passer capable of unlocking a deep defensive block, nor someone who can dictate tempo. Evident in his percentile ranking of 5th for progressive passes per 90 compared to other Championship midfielders last season (1.74 per 90). As a result, the midfield continues to look disjointed and lethargic in possession.

United’s Midfield Issues Will Only Get Fixed Once Duo Returns

Of course, the only way the Blades can improve their midfield is when Oliver Arblaster and Tom Davies come back from injury, with the duo recovering from their respective injuries. Both are technically and tactically far better players than what United currently have in the middle of the park.

Both are natural progressors of the ball because of their ability to carry and pass the ball effectively through the thirds. Arblaster averaged almost eight progressive passes per 90 last term (98th percentile), whereas Davies averaged over five (76th percentile).

Plus, they know when to slow the game down and when to speed it up. If you look across the division, it seems like every genuine Championship play-off hopeful has a player of that criteria. You look at Hayden Hackney at Middlesbrough, Alex Mowatt at West Bromwich Albion, and Jason Knight at Bristol City, to name a few.

Speaking to SUTV last week, before the Charlton game, Wilder himself underlined how crucial Davies’ return could be:

“He’s back on the grass. He’s one of the ones that’s excited me straight away… Having Tom back would be a massive boost straight away but he’s a week or two off. He’s a massive player. One of the holes that’s quite a big hole that we’ve filled with a couple of the younger players was Vini [Souza], in terms of his experience, so having Tom in and around Soumare, Matos, Peck, and Arblaster when he’s back is key and it’s key keeping him fit.”

Arblaster, who Selles stated pre Ipswich Town had faced a setback, would also help with United’s lack of control in midfield once he’s back. Wilder expanded on the setback Arblaster recently suffered:

“It’s not a big setback. He just had a little bit of fluid on his knee and that’s because he wants to get back. The handling of him is really important because if I said to him now ‘you’re playing in the middle of the park tomorrow afternoon’ he’d put a shirt on right now.

We have to be careful because he’s a proper player and we don’t want to lose him because we’re pushing him too quickly. No [big] issue with Arblaster at all.”

Until either Davies or Arblaster is fit enough to return, Wilder looks set to inherit the same tactical conundrum that undid Selles. Without a midfielder capable of knitting possession together, United’s play becomes fragmented and predictable, and defensive frailties are ruthlessly exposed by the “bread and butter” Championship teams such as Charlton.

Can Chris Wilder Improve Sheffield United?

The fans came out to welcome Wilder back to the dugout at Bramall Lane last Saturday afternoon in hope that the legendary Blades manager could help inspire the team to their first win of the campaign. In reality, United never looked like scoring, whereas the Addicks looked the more likely to score, especially in transition.

After Saturday’s game, Nathan Jones spoke to BBC Radio London where he said, “we had the better chances. Their keeper made some great saves, but the level of performance was fantastic. We had similar opportunities to what Ipswich Town had the week before, they scored five, we only managed one.”

His assessment isn’t an exaggeration either; Charlton created three big chances which was the same number that Ipswich managed to create against Selles final Blades team.

Since the 4-1 defeat to Bristol City on opening day, a large section of United’s fan base called Selles clueless. And they described him as a manager that doesn’t know how to set up a team defensively, this is even despite Selles’ Hull City side conceding just two more than Wilder’s United from matchday 20 until the end of season. However, the same defensive flaws Sheffield United had under Selles were still there to be seen last weekend.

Without being disrespectful to Charlton, United allowed more final third entries (56) and more penalty area entries (33) to an inferior Charlton on Saturday (at home for Wilder’s ‘homecoming’) than they allowed against both Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town away from home under Selles.

On the flip side, Sheffield United recorded five less penalty area entries last weekend than they did in an absolute thumping at Portman Road. Granted he only had 5 days to prepare his side, but, as of now, Wilder’s presence in the dugout has not improved the Blades. In fact, a lot of the key performance indicators have regressed.

There’s no sugarcoating it; the players are performing poorly, and I think it’s more than just a “confidence” issue like fans on social media are alluding to, as the data at the back end of last term shows a clear regression from the first half of the 2024/25 campaign.

On a more positive note, Wilder will have had more time to prepare his team for the visit to Oxford United on Saturday, who just recorded a very impressive 3-1 victory at Bristol City. Sheffield United will be hoping they can kickstart their 2025/26 campaign on the same pitch that began a terrible run of results which ultimately derailed their 2024/25 automatic promotion hopes.

Stats taken from Opta and FBref.