Chris Wilder captivated Premier League fans a few years ago with his tactics at Sheffield United.
However, he left the Blades in 2021 before spending some time at Middlesbrough (2021-2022) and Watford (2023).
Then came his Sheffield United comeback after the club had endured a bad first half of the Premier League 2023/24.
During those final months in the Premier League, the English coach tried to employ a similar tactical model as he had used the first time around.
Nevertheless, relegation was inevitable.
In 2019/20 and 2020/21, Sheffield had a recognisable direct playing style within a recognisable structure for building advantages.
At the time of writing, Chris Wilder Sheffield United lead the Championship.
They possess a great deal of talent, and their tactics are being developed under the guidance of a well-known strategist.
They feature young players with high potential for a future in the top flight, and we will discuss their talent here.
In this tactical analysis, we will examine Chris Wilder tactics and key players in possession to complete Sheffield United’s goal of promotion.
Chris Wilder Tactics At Sheffield United 2019-2021
The most well-known detail of Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United when they were in the Premier League was how they used their centre-backs, as shown in Figure 1.

In possession, the right and left centre-backs provided the maximum width, even making overlaps and underlaps in advanced zones.
A central defender and two box-to-box midfielders protected the rest of the defence.



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