Sheffield United owners will be praying they don't repeat big Birmingham City mistake | OneFootball

Ruben Selles' tenure as Blades boss didn't get off to the flying start people expected

Sheffield United were already under immense pressure to perform this season following their play-off final defeat, but to remove Chris Wilder from his post increased that pressure tenfold.

So, when the final whistle blew on the Blades' opening day 4-1 defeat to a Bristol City side whom Wilder had masterminded a record aggregate scoreline in Championship play-off history just three months ago, the decision-makers at Bramall Lane began to sweat.

Wilder was incredibly popular at the club. A boyhood Blade, he helped bring Premier League football back to Bramall Lane after dropping as far down as League One, and was on course to do so last season too, picking up 92 points before a two-point deduction.

If it wasn't for two centurian sides and a 94th-minute Sunderland Wembley winner, Sheffield United could have been opening their season this coming weekend in the top flight. As it stands, they sit bottom of the second tier after the opening round of fixtures.

And whilst it's just one game, the owners at Bramall Lane will be hoping that a similar situation which was bestowed upon Birmingham City not too long ago won't repeat itself this season.

Birmingham City went from Championship play-offs to Championship relegation in 2023/24

Two months into the 2023/24 Championship campaign, Birmingham sat inside the top six under John Eustace, playing a brand of football which was gritty and tough to break down.

The Blues were under the threat of relegation the season prior, and Eustace, as has seemingly become his trademark recently, managed to steer the ship and make his side competitive again in no time, but the new ownership group, led by Tom Wagner, decided to sack him, hiring Wayne Rooney as his replacement.

It was a big roll of the dice, and one that didn't pay off at all. Blues fans have come to like Wagner for his role in improving the club exponentially both on and off-the-pitch since their relegation, but it was a relegation that seemed incredibly self-inflicted, as Birmingham would win just twice in the 15 games managed by Rooney, as their position in the table slipped from sixth to 20th.

Ultimately, the side couldn't recover from such a disastrous tenure, and they suffered relegation.

Like Birmingham before them, Sheffield United have rolled the dice on a new recruitment process, and an up-and-coming manager whose strengths lie in developing and improving young stars.

The squad at Selles' disposal has a lot more quality than Rooney had at St Andrew's @ Knighthead, so a relegation would be a true disaster. In this case, though, the Blades would have comfortably been a contender for the top two if they had kept Wilder in the dugout, and this risk in bringing in the former Hull City boss could see them fail to meet their pre-season expectations.

Sheffield United's performance showed signs of positivity, despite a heavy defeat

It's easy to get carried away by looking at results on opening day, and Bristol City's 4-1 thrashing of Sheffield United at Bramall Lane was definitely the standout. However, the underlying stats in the match don't make for awful viewing from a Blades standpoint.

The tale of the game showed that Gerhard Struber's Robins were ruthless when presented with chances, something which Sheffield United struggled with.

The Blades still managed to create three big chances and an xG of 2.3, having 20 shots and 74% of possession throughout the game. Part of the issue lay in not being able to take the chances offered, something which you'd expect would be ironed out over the next few weeks.

Whilst Selles' side did allow five shots on target, the expectation during the season is that 80% of those won't go in. A Scott Twine wonder goal from a set-piece and a deflected effort for the fourth won't happen every game.

The Robins performed admirably on Saturday, but the scoreline did flatter them slightly. For Selles, the pressure meter's been cranked up slightly, but there'll be faith there that the Blades can put the opening day embarrassment behind them and kick on from that next weekend at Swansea City.