Sheffield United had no right to win at Blackburn Rovers this week. But they did. They found a way.
The Blades were second best on all the key statistics – possession, shots, shots on target, touches in the opposition box – apart from the one stat that really matters, the result.
It has been a feature of United’s season so far, collecting points when the data and the naked eye suggest they were fortunate to do so.
But amidst a backdrop of frustration in the dugout and in the stands, the Blades sit two points off the automatic promotion places in the Championship table after six games.
Has it been pretty or convincing? Certainly not, but United goalkeeper Michael Cooper has been in top form, they have made tackles, blocks and headers, and have taken their chances.
Much-criticised striker Tom Cannon already has three goals, when he only managed six during the entirety of the last campaign.
This is a far cry from the situation they faced at the same stage last season, sitting bottom of the standings with no points, when Chris Wilder was temporarily, and disastrously, replaced by Ruben Selles.
A lot has happened since Wilder returned for a third spell in charge just shy of a year ago, and notably over the past few months.
There is the ongoing threat of a points deduction, as the EFL and the Independent Football Regulator look into the transfer of the club’s ownership to a new parent company, with an outstanding debt of £35m to former owners United World from COH Sports Bidco Ltd, the company used to buy United in December 2024, which has now been wound up by the High Court.
The team’s best three creative talents and assets, Andre Brooks, Gustavo Hamer and Callum O’Hare, have all been sold and not adequately replaced with signings limited to free agents and loans.
Wilder’s long-time assistant Alan Knill has also departed this summer in an unexpected raft of staff changes that saw Mickey Collins promoted to the number two role and former Manchester United defender and aspiring coach Phil Jones brought in.
The players, the manager and the owners have all faced criticism from United’s seemingly divided fanbase in the opening weeks of the season and, to varying extents, understandably so.
Serious questions remain unanswered by co-chairmen Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy, while Chris Wilder admits all options are being considered as he searches for a system, style and formation to get the best out of his squad.
The Blades are though showing some of the characteristics of the team that made the Championship play-off final in 2025.
They have lost several big names since that season in Vini Souza, Anel Ahmedhodzic and Gus Hamer and missed out on key transfer targets this summer, but still possess good players in all areas of the pitch.
Where the squad may now lack depth and quality in some areas, the signs are they are together, willing to graft and do what is necessary and prove their critics wrong.
Promotion may well be a stretch but with Championship results all over the place in these early stages, United could have the right characters in their dressing room to secure a play-off place.
