Sheffield United find themselves at the foot of the Championship table as we head into the second international break of the 2025/26 campaign.
The Blades were one of the pre-season favourites to win promotion, however, they’ve looked far off top six standards after nine games.
Sheffield United Have Still Not Recovered From Play-off Heartbreak
It’s been a rollercoaster of emotions over the last few months for United. After making the Championship play-off final against Sunderland, the Blades thought they had taken a 2-0 lead until a VAR intervention which still seems questionable to this day. Sunderland went on to turn the game on its head in the second half as they found two goals in the final 15 minutes to win the game. And the Blades have seemingly not recovered from this bitter blow.
Despite earning 92 points last term, COH Sports decided to part ways with Sheffield United legend Chris Wilder early in the summer. As a result, and perhaps even more controversially, they appointed inexperienced Championship manager Ruben Selles who had left Hull City at the end of the 2024/25 season.
The Failed Ruben Selles Experiment
The appointment of the Spaniard proved to be a disaster having failed to win a single point during his five league games in charge. Yet, he wasn’t exactly helped by the board with some poor recruitment (or lack of) across the first few weeks of August.
The final straw was a 5-0 defeat away at Ipswich Town, and within hours of the result, rumours of Wilder’s return already began to circulate. Of course, those rumours of a third spell in charge became factual, with the board bringing Wilder back to his beloved football club to restore its identity.
Can Chris Wilder Drag the Blades Out of Trouble?
While Wilder’s return brought hope, the Blades fell to a last-minute defeat at home to Charlton Athletic on his first game back. They managed to dust themselves down and register their first win of the campaign with a 1-0 at Oxford United. However, they then entered the international break with back-to-back losses: a 2-1 loss to Southampton and 1-0 to Hull City.
United are already playing catch-up when the league action begins again in October, and Championship consolidation, not promotion, may be the more realistic target if form doesn’t improve immediately.
The Selles gamble in the summer did not pay off, and now Wilder will need to dig his side out of a bad spot once again, a challenge that requires patience and perhaps even a little bit of luck, much like trying your hand at online slots.
Sheffield United will have a chance of stringing wins together after the international break given they play two of the current bottom six teams in the division along with an inconsistent Watford side at Bramall Lane.
