New Ideas? Nah. Sheffield United Turn to Chris Wilder...Again.

New Ideas? Nah. Sheffield United Turn to Chris Wilder...Again.

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

Sheffield United have lost all six of their games to start the campaign, and have sacked manager Ruben Selles as a result.

There are no prizes for guessing who the Blades have turned to in this dire situation. They have flashed up the metaphorical bat signal, and only one man can save them.

That's right, Chris Wilder returns for his third stint at the club, after being sacked only three months ago for playing a terrible brand of football. What could go wrong?

Chris Wilder has returned to Bramall Lane. ⚔️

He has signed a contract until the summer of 2027 to kick-off a third spell as Sheffield United manager. 🤝

— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited) September 15, 2025

Guess Who's Back, Back Again...

We understand that Wilder is here to steady the ship after Selles's short, but turbulent stint. He is a man who knows the club inside out and should be able to get the fans back onside, at least in the short term.

Those at Brammall Lane will be praying that the situation doesn't become as toxic as their city rivals, Wednesday, who at present sit above them in the league.

Let's rewind to May, when the Blades were within touching distance of the Premier League in the play-off final against Sunderland. It wasn't to be at Wembley, but with 92 points in the regular season (two were deducted for financial breaches), nobody could have predicted the shambles they would be in by September.

It was a mutual parting of ways in the summer between Wilder and the club, with United wanting to introduce a more exciting approach to this season's push for the Premier League, which clearly hasn't gone to plan.

Hull City finished 4th bottom and sacked Ruben Selles we finished on 92 points and sacked Chris Wilder for him, I'm lost for words #sufc

— Ryan (@rmatts93) September 12, 2025

Much like the early days after a breakup, the Blades were left wondering "what if we made a mistake?" and crawled back to Wilder, asking to give it another shot.

What Has Gone Wrong?

After the heartbreak of the play-off final, it instigated a change in the tide in the red half of Sheffield. Not only was Wilder shown the exit, but the spine of the team was displaced.

Anel Ahmedozic, Vini Souza, and Kieffer Moore, who had all been crucial players last season, left the club, as did former captain Jack Robinson. It was now bordering on unrecognisable to the side that had just been pipped to the Premier League.

Including Selles, several new faces were introduced, indicating the direction the new owners wanted to take. Still, with just a solitary league goal, five league defeats and their worst start to a Championship season ever, this shake-up has gone flat.

“Go and get the Chris Wilder” pic.twitter.com/VIuEtSyDvs

— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) September 12, 2025

New signing Danny Ings has come out and said that he believes that the club has the talent and desire to turn around this sorry state of affairs. Still, the former England man has been ineffective so far, having played only 12 minutes of competitive football for the Blades.

Third Time's A Charm: Case Study

There is a very small sample size of managers who have returned for a third managerial spell at a club.

Howard Kendall is the most notable with Everton in the 1980s and 90's. His first stint at the club was hugely successful as the Toffees were one of the best clubs in England. As their situation worsened following his departure, they again turned to him, but he could not yield the same results despite an initial upturn in form.

It was a similar story with Derek Adams at Morecambe and Graham Westley with Stevenage. These loyal servants returned looking to rescue the club from precarious circumstances, but could never rediscover the successes of their first spells.

Listen, we do not want to cast judgment over the Wilder appointment; however, if history is anything to go by, results may improve in the short term, though we cannot see the Blades back in the lofty heights of the Premier League with Wilder at the helm.

Chris Wilder is like an FM manager that can’t bare to see what the AI has done to his team so keeps coming back https://t.co/hGh0nWeD5T

— Out of Context Football Manager (@nocontextfm1) September 14, 2025