SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 27: Chris Basham of Sheffield United is challenged by Ezgjan Alioski and Stuart Dallas of Leeds United during the Premier League match between Sheffield United and Leeds United at Bramall Lane on September 27, 2020 in Sheffield, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Oli Scarff - Pool/Getty Images)
Sheffield United are doing pretty woefully right now. While they will probably not beat Derby County’s record of lowest points in a single Premier League season, which they achieved in 2008/09 with 11 points, the Blades still look like favourites to be relegated after just 11 points in 24 league games.
They have just 1 clean sheet this season and have seen their net bulge 41 times in 25 games. Rooted at the bottom of the table, Sheffield United are in deep trouble. And if you want to blame someone, it is their defence more than attack.
Sheffield United won promotion to the Premier League and returned to top-flight football for the first time in 12 years. No team conceded fewer goals than them in the Championship during their promotion season.
They conceded just 41 goals in 46 league games then, at an average of 0.89 goals per game. Surely this would be a tough figure to match in the Premier League next season? But that was not the case. They let in just 39 goals in 38 Premier League matches in their first season back in the top flight.
This average of conceding just 1.02 goals per league game was a massive factor in why they finished 9th, despite them being tipped to struggle before the start of the season. And we know it was largely because of their defence because they scored the least goals out of the top 12 teams in the league.
Manager Chris Wilder played a 3-5-2 formation with three centre-backs. Their wing-backs also contributed defensively a lot. Take the heatmap of left-back Enda Stevens that season, and you can see how active he is in his own half.
Wilder plays the same 3-5-2 formation this season that he played during the last campaign. Apart from Ethan Ampadu recently slotting in defence for Jack O’Connell, the back 5 is the same. Even the trio of John Lundstram, Oliver Norwood, and John Fleck continues to be Wilder’s preferred choice in central midfield.
So if the formation is same, and the line-up is also more or less same, then what exactly explains Sheffield United conceding more goals in 24 games this season than they did in the whole of last season?
It seems to be their approach to games. Sheffield United kept 44.4% possession on average in the league last season, which has dropped to 43.3% after 24 league games now. 44.4% isn’t good to begin with, but going even below that is a cause for concern.
Yes, teams can succeed and win games by keeping less than 50% in a game, but doing it consistently means that you are giving more time to the opposition on the ball. More time on the ball means more chances you can create, and the more the defending team will be on the backfoot.
Last season, Sheffield United conceded the 13th lowest amount of goals from open play, and no team conceded fewer goals than them on set pieces.
Compared to that, they have conceded the 3rd most goals from open play during this league campaign, and no other team has conceded more goals than Sheffield United from set pieces.
So, while their attack can be blamed for scoring just 19 times in 24 league games, their defence would be under more scrutiny. After all, they scored 39 league goals last season but their defence led them to a 9th-placed finish.
This time, their paltry tally of 19 goals is highly overshadowed by conceding 40 goals in 24 matches. And as the article shows above, it is not largely down to the formation or personnel as it has not changed a lot from last season. So Wilder would know that it could down to a need for a fresh approach, or his players dropping off in form.
It seems like their only shot at survival would be trying to match their defensive numbers last season, and with the transfer window now shut, Chris Wilder would have to find solutions within.
