Sheffield United take action against James Bord firm as Sheffield Wednesday takeover nears - 'wasted finance' claim made | OneFootball

FLW's Sheffield United fan pundit has given his verdict on the club cutting ties with Short Circuit Science

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 have terminated their agreement with Short Circuit Science amid James Bord’s impending takeover of rivals Sheffield Wednesday.

It has been reported by City AM that the consultancy firm hired by COH Sports last year is no longer involved with the Blades.

The company, led by Bord, was involved with both player recruitment last summer, as well as the decision to change manager.

Short Circuit provided a data and AI-led model towards player trading, and recommended the appointment of Ruben Selles in place of Chris Wilder.

However, Wilder has since returned to Sheffield United following a poor start to the season under the Spanish coach, and a number of the summer signings have failed to feature regularly, if at all.

Sheffield United happy to move on from Short Circuit Science

When asked if this is a good decision by the club, FLW’s Sheffield United fan pundit Jimmy claimed that this is a positive step for the Blades as a lot of finances were wasted last summer with their involvement in player recruitment.

He believes that there is a use for data-driven models in football, citing Brighton and Brentford as obvious examples, but that he’s happy Short Circuit will now be Sheffield Wednesday’s problem.

“I definitely hope [to see less AI-driven recruitment],” Jimmy told Football League World.

“Look, the AI and data definitely has a part to play in recruitment going forward, we’ve seen successful models at Brighton and Brentford, and these are obviously the go-to examples of how to run a football club for many people.

“But for us, it’s resulted in a lot of wasted finance in our final year of parachute payments.

“We’ve brought in players that haven’t been anywhere near the first team, and it’s been really disappointing.

“James Bord was leading that charge.

“He was also said to be a significant part of the decision to remove Chris Wilder initially, and bring in Ruben Selles, so in all honesty I’m absolutely delighted he’s going to be involved with our rivals.

“And I wish them all the best going forward.”

Sheffield United were aiming to earn promotion to the Premier League in the summer, but they now only have faint chances of another top six finish.

Wilder’s side are 16th in the Championship table, nine points adrift of the top six after 25 games played.

The Blades will need to string together a very strong second half of the campaign to get back into the play-offs again this season, after losing in the final to Sunderland in 2025.

Next up for Sheffield United is a trip to face Charlton Athletic on 17 January in a 3pm kick-off.

Sheffield United will be better off without Short Circuit Science

Last summer was a disaster for Sheffield United, with the team taking a clear step backwards under Selles.

The quality of the squad declined, with big names departing like Anel Ahmedhodzic and Vini Souza, and the club failed to adequately replace them.

So the Blades will be better off without Short Circuit’s involvement in player recruitment, and there’s no way supporters would stand for the Sheffield Wednesday owners having that kind of connection to their team.