Chris Wilder is an unusual Premier League manager in all sorts of ways. Not least because he lives so close to his club’s stadium that he often avoids Sheffield’s traffic jams by either running or catching a bus to work. Saturday was a jogging day but Wilder, disguised by a hoodie, bobble hat and Blades scarf, found his commute interrupted by an earnest young man clutching a clipboard who clearly did not have a clue who he was.
What did he think about the match-day experience at Bramall Lane? Could it be improved? How was it for him? It would be a great help if he contributed to the survey.
Sheffield United’s manager said nothing but, by 5pm, might possibly have replied: “Frustrating yet still wonderful.” Back in August Wilder would surely have been delighted to think his side would reach the magical 40-point mark by late February but expectations have since been heightened and there was a certain dismay in the stands at staying sixth, behind José Mourinho’s Tottenham on goal difference.
“There’s a very, very slight tinge of disappointment,” said Wilder. “We just couldn’t find a way to win. But I really enjoyed the game. People think Brighton are soft but I don’t. I’ve got huge respect for Graham Potter. He’s tactically shrewd and he changed his team round to get a result.”
Brighton’s manager, without a league win since December and too close to the relegation waters for comfort, switched to a 3-4-3 formation that be tweaked a couple of times as the match unfolded. Such rejigs were accompanied by a rather more direct, counterattacking style of the type not generally associated with Potter’s side.
As scores of blue balloons floated haphazardly across the pitch – a joke on the part of travelling fans regarding the four first-teamers disciplined for inhaling from balloons during their winter break – Wilder’s team looked formidably recharged by their own mini-holiday in Dubai, parking their tanks firmly in Brighton’s half.
Potter’s sole consolation was that his back three generally shielded Mat Ryan so well that the goalkeeper seemed to exist in a footballing oasis, detached from the attacking blitz raging around him.
Or at least, he did until Shane Duffy and co momentarily lost concentration, failed to decisively deal with Oliver Norwood’s cross following a short corner, and Enda Stevens pounced to direct an angled half-volley beyond Ryan’s grasp.
Brighton had paid the price for leaving a left wing-back as dangerous as Stevens totally unattended but they atoned three minutes later when Adam Webster flicked on Aaron Mooy’s long free‑kick and the recalled Neil Maupay reacted first, heading beyond Dean Henderson.
Although John Fleck tried his best, the icy wind was hardly conducive to measured final balls. Instead, the principal second-half drama involved John Lundstram’s relief at remaining on the pitch after a VAR red-card review of his reckless tackle on Lewis Dunk.
“We fought and battled and it’s a very good point at a hostile ground,” said Potter. “It wasn’t that we didn’t want to play good football, it was that we couldn’t. It was very tough. You have to give Sheffield United credit for that.”
