FourFourTwo UK – September 2019

DANNYHALL@DANNYHALL04

32 Season Preview 2019-20 FourFourTwo

SHEFFIELD UnITED

It’s the question that has been on the lips of most

Blades fans since Sheffield United pipped rivals

Leeds to a place in the Premier League. Their huge

success under Chris Wilder has been based on his

wise recruitment, his fostering of an unshakeable

team spirit, and his ability to raise a player’s ceiling

to dizzy new heights – but there’s no doubt that it’s

also attributable to an innovative, exciting and

even downright baffling 3-5-2 formation.

For the uninitiated, it’s unlike anything ever seen

before. Under Wilder, United’s wing-backs operate

like wingers – nothing too leftfield there – but then

CAn THEY STICK TO THEIR

PRInCIPLES AnD SURVIVE?

PREMIER LEAGUE

2019-20

the centre-halves are tasked with overlapping, getting

into advanced areas and creating overloads. And they

almost always are centre-halves – not full-backs who

have been moved over into a new position, as was the

case with Kyle Walker and England at the World Cup.

It’s a system that United adopted early in Wilder’s

tenure at Bramall Lane. When they first tried it, they

were bottom of League One. Two promotions in three

years suggests it’s certainly done the trick.

But can it work in the Premier League? There’s no

reason why not – Wilder’s players said as much when

asked that question after promotion. The key will be

knowing how, and when, to tweak the tactic. It might

not be a good idea to commit centre-backs forward

at Manchester City, for instance; John Egan, usually

the only ‘defender’ left behind (with the indispensable

Ollie Norwood protecting him from midfield), did well

last season, but a breaking Sergio Aguero, Leroy Sané

and Raheem Sterling may pose a bigger problem. In

home games, though, which will provide the Blades’

best opportunities, why deviate?

The same goes for Wilder’s recruitment strategy. The

£4m spent on Egan in 2018, barely even a pittance in

the Premier League, was the biggest outlay in United’s

history, and Wilder went into this summer expecting to

break that transfer record at least once – but acquiring

QPR’s Luke Freeman for around £5m was a very shrewd

way of doing that. There’ll be no mercenaries arriving.

A homecoming for Phil Jagielka, 37 this month, shows

Wilder’s commitment to signing players with the right

values; Ravel Morrison had to impress on trial to earn

a one-year deal, and he could be a cunning punt.

Wilder is very much his own man, but he’s also a big

admirer of Eddie Howe. And Bournemouth have shown

that success in the Premier League, on your own terms,

is more than a pipe dream.

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CHAMPIONSHIP 2nd

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LEAGUE CUP First Round

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