Season Review: Unwanted records, a plethora of errors and a place at the foot of the Premier League table for Sheffield United

Sheffield United went into the 2020/21 campaign on the back of a marvellous first top-flight campaign in 12 years as Chris Wilder’s men finished ninth with Europe being a genuine possibility pre-lockdown.

There were expectations that the Blades could muster enough quality to keep themselves in the Premier League once again and stabilise a place in midtable.

Unfortunately, the season was nothing short of an absolute disaster. The South Yorkshire side had to wait 18 games until they recorded their first league victory of the season – one of just seven victories with five ending 1-0 in favour of the Blades.

United parted ways with manager and long-term supporter Chris Wilder in March with relegation to the Championship all but confirmed and eventually finished rock-bottom, a whopping 16 points from safety.

Five Key Games

Sheffield United 0-2 Wolves – 14th September 2020

The opening game of the 2020/21 campaign gave the Blades a glimpse of what was to come for the entire season as Chris Wilder’s men found themselves 2-0 down after just six minutes.

United regathered as a unit and defended more resolutely as the game wore on, preventing the scoreline from growing even further beyond their grasp.

However, as was the case in numerous games over the season, there looked to be very little threat in the final third, and Chris Wilder’s side lacked an attacking presence.

Sheffield United 1-2 Leicester City – 6th December 2020

Certainly one of the more gutting defeats for the Blades this campaign as Oli McBurnie’s strike midway through the first-half cancelled out Ayoze Perez’s opener just two minutes prior in what was a competitive and well-managed performance against a top side.

However, one individual error late on saw what would’ve been a valuable point go up in flames as boyhood Sheffield Wednesday fan Jamie Vardy succumbed United to their 10th defeat after just 11 games.

Already, their season looked to be heading in one direction.

Sheffield United 1-0 Newcastle – 12th January 2021

After breaking the record for the longest winless opening to a Premier League season, Sheffield United finally tasted victory at the 18th attempt at home to Newcastle United.

Billy Sharp’s penalty 17 minutes from time secured the three points which put the Blades on a still ghastly total of just five. However, it put an end to the most wretched of runs and provided a platform to build off of for the rest of the campaign.

Manchester United 1-2 Sheffield United – 27th January 2021

15 days after breaking their winless duck, the Blades stunned Manchester United, who were still in the title picture to an extent, at Old Trafford with a 2-1 victory.

Kean Bryan opened the scoring in the 23rd minute before Sheffield-born Harry Maguire levelled affairs just after the hour mark.

However, the South Yorkshire side were able to seal a famous smash-and-grab victory as Oliver Burke found the back of the net with 16 minutes to go.

It was a monumental win and certainly up there with the few bright sparks in what’s been a vastly dim season. However, the result didn’t do much in terms of boosting their survival bid.

Wolves 1-0 Sheffield United – 17th April 2021

On matchday 32, now under the temporary stewardship of Paul Heckingbottom, Sheffield United’s relegation was confirmed as they lost 1-0 to Wolves at Molineux.

It had been inevitable for months, with a lack of a clear goalscorer and a real struggle to keep clean sheets.

Another unwanted record followed as the Blades equalled the record for the fastest relegation from the Premier League, with six games remaining.

Ironically, United won three of those final six games with 1-0 wins over Brighton, Everton and Burnley.

Transfers and their impact

When it comes to Sheffield United’s summer transfer window and its complete misfire, look no further than the acquisition of Rhian Brewster.

The 20-year-old striker had failed to make any sort of impact for the Liverpool first-team before an impressive loan spell in the Championship with Swansea City, where the youngster netted 11 goals in 22 games.

This clearly caught the eye of the Blades who saw a young English striker with bags of talent and potential. On paper, it certainly looked like a shrewd signing, however, one begs to differ when you identify the price tag.

Different reports suggest different figures but the fee paid to Liverpool was well over £20m for a striker who had only played half a season of senior football.

There’s not much else to say about Brewster’s impact besides the fact he has ended the season with a grand total of zero goals and zero assists to his name. Although, he could certainly prove a lethal asset in the second tier.

Another poor example of transfer business was the re-signing of goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale from Bournemouth. The Blades had sold the English goalkeeper to the Cherries for £1m in 2017, only to be re-bought for a fee of around £15m more.

There have been glimmers of quality from the 23-year-old, who was added to Gareth Southgate’s 33-man provisional Euro 2020 squad before (unsurprisingly) failing to make the cut.

The loan signing of Ethan Ampadu from Chelsea was hit-and-miss with the 20-year-old making 25 Premier League appearances in both defence and midfield.

Jayden Bogle and Max Lowe joined from Derby County, with the former having a decent first season in the top-flight despite the outcome and could certainly have a strong campaign in the Championship next year.

Oliver Burke didn’t do much besides scoring the winner at Old Trafford.

Overall, the Sheffield United board may still be blushing over some of those deals.

Key player

In what ended up being a remarkably drab campaign for the Blades, one man clearly shone ahead of his teammates: David McGoldrick.

No Sheffield United player really came close to matching the Irishman’s eight Premier League goals with the 33-year-old striker making 35 appearances in the league.

Season verdict and hopes for next season

Overall, you would probably have to contest the idea that Sheffield United have underachieved this season. Given how exciting a prospect they were last season, the drop-off was colossal.

They didn’t score a hatful of goals in 2019/20, but they were immense at the back, and the long-term injury to Jack O’Connell has proved a major blow as the South Yorkshire side conceded a whopping 63 goals. That’s what has made the difference this season.

There should be some optimism going into next season though. The club have hired a man in Slavisa Jokanović with experience of promotion from the division with two clubs in Watford (2014/15) and Fulham (2017/18).

The Blades also have a handful of players who, if they are to stay and compete in the Championship, will be likely up there with the Championship’s brightest prospects.

It was a season of doom and gloom and the Premier League dream is over for now. Blades fans and all those at the football club should be going into next season thinking that a play-off push should be a realistic ambition.

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