Sheffield United review: What went right – and wrong

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What went well?

Yes, give me a minute or two.

So Sheffield United didn’t waste their money just to get relegated (Burnley spent £100m last summer, for comparison). They spent around £30m net and then finished straight away bottom, which is what we expected at the start of the season when we looked at the squad. This wasn’t their ideal strategy – more about financial constraints – but at least there isn’t a bloated and expensive squad to manage this summer. Is it a positive?

Sheffield United did not start the season disastrously either. In their first five league games, they suffered four narrow defeats and drew with Everton. Three of those games (including against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City) were decided by goals in the 88th minute or later. Paul Heckingbottom’s side have not conceded more than two goals in any of them. Unfortunately, they then promptly lost 8-0 at home to Newcastle United and, well… you know.

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What went wrong?

Sheffield United have scored the fewest goals of any team in the Premier League this season and conceded the most of any team in the Premier League era. They have won three of their 38 games, lost 5-0 or worse six times and set a new Premier League record by conceding five or more goals in four consecutive home games. The first half against Arsenal in March when they conceded five times was really painful to watch.

It all started last summer when Ilman Ndiaye changed his mind to stay and then Sander Berge followed him out the door. Sheffield United have received decent fees for both players given their contract situations, but reinvestment has been woeful apart from the arrival of Gustavo Hamer. Theirs was a weaker team than the one that got promoted.

Heckingbottom got things wrong but was a lame duck and deserved much better after getting automatic promotion. At that point, with an overwhelming probability of relegation, they had the option of reaching a new era. Instead, they appointed Chris Wilder and then watched the team perform exactly as they did during his last top-flight campaign in charge.

What more can you say? Sheffield United had the fewest shots from distance, the fewest shots on target from distance, allowed the most shots from distance and faced the most shots from distance. They were by far the worst team this season and any season in the Premier League for the last 15 years, because the standards of the other promoted clubs were also lower. Oh, and they also start next season with a two-point deduction.

Player of the season

Gustavo Hamer, by far. Not only did he start more games and play more minutes than any other player, but he was the only Sheffield United attacking player who looked capable of holding his own in the top flight (Cameron Archer started well, but in soon left).

Hamer scored four times and assisted a further six goals, while also providing bite (and occasional bursting tackles) in midfield. He had more shots than anyone else, and the chance creation stats are stupid: with 70, Hamer was 42 more than anyone else on the team. He deserves a move to the Premier League this summer and Sheffield United may have to sell.

Revolutionary player

Oliver Arblaster spent the first half of the season on loan at Port Vale in League One, but with little money to spend in January and glowing reports trickling in, he started 11 league games from mid-March until Wilder took sacrificed what he perceived them to be. don’t fight for the cause.

At just 20 years old and already captaining the team, Arblaster is already attracting interest from other Premier League sides. He’s technically competent, not afraid to ask for the ball and has shown his intent to get this team through despite everyone around him looking lost. That counts for something.

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Best team performance

There were wins, but they were relatively meaningless given the awful start to the season. But their best performance of the season came against Chelsea last month as they drew 2-2 at home, but limited Chelsea to six shots in total and were a constant threat on the counter-attack. Besides, it’s fitting that their best performance wasn’t even a win, given the state of the past nine months.

League position: 20th

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