Humble pie and food for thought at Bramall Lane
Six things to learn from three months of chaos at Sheffield United
Sheffield Hallam University runs a football leadership course and a study trip to nearby Bramall Lane would provide plenty of course material. From humble pie being served in the boardroom to getting the right balance in recruitment between data and scouting, events at Bramall Lane have highlighted many issues in football generally. What’s unfolding at Sheffield United is not a one-club story.
Having dismissed Ruben Selles after six games and six defeats, United’s American owners, COH Sports, have turned back to Chris Wilder, who they’d sacked 89 days previously. Not all United fans will be overjoyed at taking another walk on the Wilder side, remembering the damaging three consecutive losses in April to Oxford, Millwall and Plymouth, and some of the football. But Selles had to go. Wilder was the obvious replacement. So, here are potential additions to Sheffield Hallam’s syllabus, and six things football can learn from three months of chaos at Bramall Lane…
1. Keep the faith. If you have a good manager, stick with him during a difficult time. Wilder has fought through adversity before. Nobody would have been more frustrated than Wilder at missing out on promotion having gained 92 points from 46 games, losing out on automatic promotion to Burnley and Leeds, and then losing out in the play-off final to Sunderland having led with 14 minutes to go at Wembley. It’s his job, his passion, his club. Wilder’s a proud man and what unfolded at Wembley hurt.
The problem was that Wilder was not their man. COH backed him when they arrived, hinting at a desire for continuity, and also an understanding of his connection with the club and his ability. But maybe they wanted someone younger, more associated with progressive football. But be careful what you wish for.
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2. Acknowledge mistakes. Fair play to COH. They realised they erred in getting rid of Wilder. They realised they erred in appointing Selles. So they have been decisive. They had little choice, of course, as the fans was mutinous towards Selles, and the players’ belief in him seemed minimal. COH, new to English football, and especially the Championship jungle, needed to access better advice earlier.
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3. Recruitment. AI addio. It’s a balance. Data-driven recruitment works successfully in tandem with proper scouting of character. The old eye-test, the calls to contacts for background into a player, still matter. Sir Alex Ferguson knew everything about a target’s life as well as playing abilities. Liverpool have the right balance in data and old-school checking on character.
One experienced figure in recruitment at an English club currently competing in the Champions League told me he worried that young recruitment staff were spending so long in front of screens, checking analytics, that they weren’t themselves going out and playing. Some left training and playing for non-League clubs to sit behind a screen at a Premier League club. This sporting director worried they would lose their connection with the actual game, that football to them became almost a computer game. Players are people, not simply vessels of analytics.