COH Sports slammed for Sheffield United, Sheffield Wednesday misjudgment - "The rivalry is huge" | OneFootball

FLW's Sheffield United fan pundit has given his verdict on potential merger with Sheffield Wednesday

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Sheffield United owners COH Sports have reportedly made a surprise enquiry regarding the takeover process of rivals Sheffield Wednesday.

According to The Telegraph, the Blades’ owners made contact regarding their Yorkshire rivals’ status amid rumours of a potential merger between the two clubs.

COH Sports purchased Sheffield United late last year, and have overseen a difficult first year at the helm, with the team fighting alongside the Owls in the relegation zone of the Championship just months after losing the play-off final.

It’s been claimed that COH Sports were among the over 80 enquiries made regarding Sheffield Wednesday after they were put into administration in late October.

However, it’s believed that further talks are unlikely at this stage, with the list of potential takeover candidates now whittled down to just a few names.

Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United merger would not be welcome

When asked about these reported plans for the two clubs, FLW’s Sheffield United fan pundit Jimmy form Blades Ramble claimed that he is quite disappointed in the Blades’ owners.

He believes it is further proof that the owners do not get the football club or the region as a whole, and that any kind of merger would not be accepted by either set of supporters.

“I’m quite disappointed, really,” Jimmy told Football League World.

“It just further demonstrates that I don’t really feel like they understand the region, the football club itself.

“We’re built on tradition as one club, and the rivalry is a huge part of both clubs, so for them to believe that it would be either one of two things, they believe it would be accepted by the fanbase, or they don’t care.

“And they would just progress with the super club, and hope to acquire fans of said super club along the way over time because I don’t think either existing fanbase would accept a merger.

“I just cannot see a world in which Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday come together.”

Sheffield United have endured a difficult first portion of the new season, with the team struggling to maintain the form that brought them to third in the table in the previous campaign.

An upheaval of the first team squad in the summer, along with the failed appointment of Ruben Selles as manager, has hurt their standing in the division.

However, the Blades did enjoy a 3-0 win over their rivals Sheffield Wednesday upon the return to action after the November international break.

Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday merger is a total non-starter

We saw during the pandemic that fans coming together can use their voice to put a stop to moves that they are completely against when English clubs were forced to pull out of the European Super League.

It’s possible that a merger of the two Sheffield clubs could generate a similar kind of response if it were to ever gain any traction.

There is simply no way that these two rival clubs could ever be merged into one successfully, and it would only splinter both sets of fans.

COH Sports have not ingratiated themselves to the Sheffield United supporters since taking over, and even just making this inquiry could further harm that relationship.