Brighton v Sheffield United: The Blades view with Vital Blades

Who would be a football fan? Sheffield United supporters like the guys at Vital Blades have gone from ecstasy to agony in the 10 months that have passed since they last faced Brighton.

Back in February, the Blades were on the cusp of qualifying for Europe in their first season back in the Premier League. United just missed out on a continental adventure but still finished an impressive eighth in the table.

The 2020-21 season has been a completely different story. United will arrive at the Amex with just one point from their opening 13 games, the worst start to an English top flight season ever going back over 120 years.

What has happened to cause such a dramatic decline in form? What does it mean for the future of Chris Wilder? And most pressing of all, can United survive from what looks like a hopeless position?

We caught up with Paul Holland from Sheffield United site Vital Blades who gave us the inside track on a very peculiar season so far at Bramall Lane.

The obvious place to start is what has happened to Sheffield United this season to go from being on the cusp of European football in 2019-20 to having one point from 13 games in 2020-21?
It can always be difficult to pinpoint what the issue is when a club goes from being heroes to zeros in a short space of time, but I believe that United’s problem stems down to two factors; recruitment and injuries.

United didn’t have the funds to invest in the squad as much as they needed to. Their only big money spends were Rhian Brewster from Liverpool, Aaron Ramsdale from Bournemouth and then the Derby boys, Max Lowe and Jayden Bogle, amounting to circa £50 million. That isn’t a big war chest in comparison to what other clubs can easily spend without watching the purse strings.

Last season the Blades had a pretty much untouchable back five; Chris Basham, Jack O’Connell, and John Egan in the centre and George Baldock and Enda Stevens at wing-back.

O’Connell is injured and set to be out for the remainder of the season whilst Egan has been in and out either with suspension or self-isolating, forcing Chris Wilder to field several combinations in the back three.

What do United need to do to turn it around and do you think they can survive from here?
Win games would be the obvious answer, but the question is how? United have struggled to score goals, scoring just seven with two of those coming from the penalty spot.

It comes down to lack of attempts on goal and our inability to score is now being highlighted more due to a leaky defence. Last season the Blades lacked up top but barely conceded. This season we have let in 24 already, which is the difference.

I believe that whilst the defence is struggling to cope as it is unrecognisable from last season, a change in formation is required to 4-3-3 playing with just one striker up top. I also believe that Billy Sharp needs to be involved in more games.

Chris Wilder must have a huge amount of credit in the bank for what he has done for United. Is there a chance though that he could be sacked?
He is still regarded as a hero and has the fans backing in getting United out of this proverbial. He has been given the full backing of the chairman, the proof will be in the pudding as they say but Prince Abdullah has quoted on record saying that Wilder will still be a manager even if United are playing Championship football next season.

However, we have just seen Slaven Bilic at West Bromich Albion lose his job despite drawing at Manchester City, so who knows. Anything can happen in football. The biggest question is who would you appoint?

The Albion are not really performing either, results wise at least. How vital does that make Sheffield United’s visit to Brighton for the Blades?
United were involved in a must-win fixture a couple of games ago when they lost 0-1 at West Brom in a dire match and the trip down south will be no different, with the exception that fans will be allowed into the stadium and that gives Brighton a slight advantage.

Sheffield is still in tier 3 and has yet to sample this experience. The game against Brighton will be vital. As each winless game passes, it slowly adds another nail in the coffin.

We were linked with Sander Berge for much of last season. How is he getting on at Bramall Lane?
The big Norwegian seems to be the backbone of United’s midfield. It took some time for him to settle into the side. He scored at Anfield earlier in the season from the spot where United were unfortunate to lose that match after a good performance. Against a lesser quality side than Liverpool, they might have got more.

Berge has been in the news in the last few days with a link away from Bramall Lane, suggesting that he will leave at the end of the season regardless of the Blades final position with the likes of Arsenal sniffing for his signature.

On a similar theme, there have been rumours that Brighton might try and sign Dean Henderson on loan due to Maty Ryan’s questionable form. It seems pretty unlikely to be honest, but just in case a shock deal does happen, would he be a good signing?
Hendo was instrumental for United in the two seasons that he spent on-loan. Blades fans would have liked to have continued his association with United but that move didn’t seem possible.

I do not believe that Ole knew what to do with him, loan him out or keep him at Old Trafford as a back-up. Wilder made enquiries but Manchester United wanted a huge percentage of his wages, terms that the Blades simply couldn’t afford.

He would be a strong acquisition for any club if he was to go out on loan. Having already acquired Ramsdale, its highly unlikely that the Blades will make a move for Henderson, though I would be tempted to try and get him if it was at all possible.

United took four points from Brighton last season. What did you make of those two matches?
That was last season when United were full of confidence. I thought that United were unfortunate to draw at Bramall Lane, though Maupay is a player who I regard highly and would like to see in a red and white shirt one day. Enda Stevens scored our goal of the season that day too!

At the Amex, Oli McBurnie scored a good goal on the day as Sheffield United beat Brighton 1-0 – the same result would be nice this time around.

Finally, what is the Vital Blades prediction for Brighton v Sheffield United?
I have to remain optimistic, United to win 1-0.

Thanks to Paul for answering our questions. There is loads of great Sheffield United content on Vital Blades for you to check out before they come to Brighton and you can follow Vital Blades on Twitter.