Sheffield United have saved Sheffield Wednesday blushes - it involves Xisco Munoz & Ruben Selles | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday may be feeling a sense of relief after Ruben Selles' departure from Steel City rivals Sheffield United.

With Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United experiencing tough starts to the new Championship season, it is fair to say that it has been a turbulent few months on both sides of the Steel City.

Of course, amid their ongoing ownership and financial turmoil, Sheffield Wednesday's problems are far deeper and much more severe than those of their near neighbours, and it could be argued that many of Sheffield United's issues have been self-inflicted.

Despite accumulating a total of 90 points last season, which would have been 92 if not for a two-point deduction, and reaching the play-off final, Sheffield United controversially parted company with manager Chris Wilder in June, with disagreements over the club's new data-driven recruitment model believed to have been one of the key factors behind his exit.

Ruben Selles was appointed as Wilder's replacement, but his ill-fated tenure lasted only six games, and just 89 days after his summer departure, Wilder made a sensational return to Bramall Lane and is currently beginning his third spell in charge of the Blades.

In normal circumstances, Wednesday supporters would take great pleasure in the current plight of their bitter rivals, but while they will mainly be preoccupied by their own predicament, they may feel that Selles' disastrous spell in charge of United has taken one negative bit of history away from them.

Ruben Selles, Sheffield United situation will remind Sheffield Wednesday of Xisco Munoz nightmare

There is no denying that Sheffield United's decision to replace Wilder with Selles in the summer was baffling, but Sheffield Wednesday are no stranger to making a questionable managerial call of their own.

The Owls parted company with Darren Moore just weeks after he led them to promotion from League One in 2023, and after numerous statements and accusations from owner Dejphon Chansiri as he attempted to defend himself from the supporter backlash, former Watford boss Xisco Munoz was eventually named as his replacement.

On paper, the appointment of Munoz was a logical one as the 45-year-old had guided Watford to automatic promotion to the Premier League during his previous spell managing in English football, and he also had an impressive 80% Championship win record under his belt.

However, there was a feeling among the Hornets faithful that, rather than any kind of tactical acumen being behind his success, Munoz had simply brought a sense of positivity to Vicarage Road and given his players freedom to express themselves, but with a much lesser squad at his disposal at Hillsborough, many had reservations about whether he would be suited to the demands of a relegation battle.

As it turned out, those doubts were quickly proven correct as Wednesday lost their opening four league games under Munoz, and in addition to the poor results on the pitch, the Spaniard did not make many friends in South Yorkshire, with supporters frustrated by his combative and argumentative interview style, as well as his decision to freeze out fan favourites such as Marvin Johnson and Reece James.

There was one brief glimmer of hope for the Owls under Munoz as they secured a shock point in a 0-0 draw against promotion favourites Leeds United at Elland Road in their fifth game of the season, but that was little more than a false dawn.

After Wednesday picked up just two points from their first 10 games, which was statistically the worst start in the club's history, Munoz was dismissed in early October, and the only criticism supporters had of the decision was that it did not come much earlier.

Ruben Selles, Sheffield United spell will ease Sheffield Wednesday, Xisco Munoz embarrassment

Up until recently, Munoz's dismal spell at Sheffield Wednesday was regarded by many as the worst managerial stint in Championship history, but that may now have changed after Selles' departure from Sheffield United.

In Selles' defence, he was always going to face an uphill battle to win over the Blades fanbase after replacing a popular manager like Wilder, who most did not want to leave in the first place, and having only narrowly kept Hull City in the Championship last season, he had neither the credentials nor the experience to be able to handle the Bramall Lane pressure cooker and should not have been put in that position.

However, with many of the team that reached the play-off final still at the club, and 14 new signings arriving as part of a big summer recruitment drive, Selles was given a squad that should have at least been competitive, even if it was unfair to expect him to match or better Wilder's achievements from the previous season.

With that in mind, there was little excuse for Selles to lose all six of his games in charge in all competitions, and it is difficult to argue that those defeats were not deserved, with his side scoring just two goals and conceding 14 during that time.

While Munoz did not fare much better at Wednesday, he did at least pick up two points during his time at Hillsborough, while he was also working with a squad that was largely the same as the one that had won promotion from League One under Moore, having only been allowed to bring a few free transfers and loan signings during the summer.

In truth, Blades and Owls supporters will both be desperate to forget the tenures of Selles and Munoz at their respective clubs, but it is difficult to think of any Championship managerial spell that has gone quite as badly as Selles' reign at Bramall Lane, and his zero-point haul is likely to ensure that he retains an unwanted place in the history books for a long time to come.