Remember when Sheffield United took the Premier League by storm and finished 9th in the top flight? It wasn’t all that long ago, but so much has changed since then.
Under Chris Wilder, we saw the combative, fiery nature of the Blades completely overwhelm many of the top teams in the Premier League in 2019/20.
It was Sheffield United’s first time in the top flight since way back in 2006/07, and they more than made up for lost time. They finished ninth that season, picking up wins against Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur along the way.
That’s a stark contrast to the Blades team we see now under Ruben Selles in the Championship today, and it’s safe to say the squad from five years ago has been stripped apart now.
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Jack Robinson of Sheffield United applauds
Photo by Ed Sykes/Getty Images
Jack Robinson was the last of Sheffield United’s Premier League dream team
In the dying moments of transfer deadline day, we saw Jack Robinson move to Birmingham City, leaving Sheffield United after five and a half years at the club.
The old-school defender joined the Blades back in January 2020, bolstering their backline for the second half of that iconic Premier League campaign.
Until yesterday, Robinson was the final remnant of that squad from 2019/20. With his departure, Sheffield United have now completely transformed in a five-year period, but not necessarily for the better.
The squad back then included Dean Henderson in goal, John Egan and Robinson in defence, Sander Berge and John Lundstram in midfield, and the likes of David McGoldrick, Billy Sharp, and Oli McBurnie in attack.
What was really special about the team Wilder built, though, was the incredible team spirit, togetherness, and never-say-die attitude. Right now, those appear to be alien concepts for Sheffield United.
Ruben Selles, Manager of Sheffield United, looks on
Photo by Tony King/Getty Images
Sheffield United are a completely different style of team now
With four defeats in their first four league games, Sheffield United have made their worst start to a season in 30 years.
Selles has clearly not got the players working to his system, and he doesn’t look like he’s prepared to adapt anytime soon, either. In many ways, things have turned ‘toxic’ at Sheffield United already, and a lot of fans want a change of manager.
There appears to be none of that fighting spirit, guile, and physicality that were trademarks of Wilder’s era at Bramall Lane. Selles is clearly hoping and trying to turn the Blades into a more slick, modern footballing team, but sometimes that’s like forcing a square peg into a round hole.
It’s easy to look at what Sheffield United used to be with a sense of nostalgia, but the fact of the matter is that style worked for them and was a clear identity. That’s entirely dissipated now, with just one transfer window stripping away everything that made the Blades a formidable team.
Jack Robinson was never going to be a key player this season, but he was a symbolic representation of Sheffield United’s biggest achievement of the modern era.