Blades of Glory: Chris Wilder and the Rise of Sheffield United
The rotations of centre-backs, midfielders and forwards are part of the reason why Sheffield have spread the goals out amongst their squad.
Lys Mousset and John Fleck leading the way with a paltry 5 apiece. Though, the Blades are also guilty of missing 39 big chances, the 4th most in the league.
This indicates that Sheffield United’s results could be even better with more reliable finishers. The only teams to miss more big chances than them are Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea, three teams with more possession and therefore more assumed capacity to create said chances.
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In fact, Sheffield rank second in the league in touches per big chance missed, indicating that they are getting chances, but they just can’t put them away.
The constant positional rotation might work against them in this regard, as chances may not always fall to their main strikers, which has led to the Blades being the 6th lowest-scoring team in the league.
The application in front of goal aside, Wilder’s team have been a breath of fresh air, stinging opposing defences with quick, incisive moves, and falling back into an organised defensive 5-3-2 without the ball, reflected in their 3rd highest number of clearances in the league.
They are also not afraid to stop opposing team’s forward progress by any means necessary, as they are 10th in the league in tackles made, but 4th in terms of yellow cards and in the top half for fouls conceded, showing that there is an aggressive streak there when they lose the ball, allowing the out-of-position defenders to recover via the concession of free-kicks.