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It is rare that you catch Chris Wilder lost for words or emotion but as Tanto Olaofe rolled the ball into the Sheffield United net late on Saturday afternoon and pandemonium erupted among the Charlton staff to his left, even Wilder didn’t really know what to do with himself.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Even the most pessimistic of Blades supporters would have anticipated that the return of United’s favourite son for a third stint in the dugout would have provided even the most fractional of lifts, enough to at least pick up a first point of the season against a Charlton side without a win since the opening day.
Saturday lunchtime in S2 was fizzling with excitement and anticipation, despite the miserable weather that engulfed Bramall Lane. There were Chris Wilder scarves on sale outside, the Blades had announced tickets were selling at a rate of knots and it all seemed to point to one outcome. The problem is, nobody told Nathan Jones and his Charlton side – or, it seems, the home players.
Olaofe’s goal may have come late but even if the Blades had escaped with a draw it was difficult to argue there was a lift in mood and the fabled new manager bounce, which felt like it would be an inevitability as a giant banner was unfurled pre-match depicting Wilder and his unparalleled passion for his boyhood club.
As the rain hammered down on the returning manager’s slumped shoulders, the mood gradually descended as dark as the early-autumn Sheffield skies over the course of another miserable afternoon. You could sense the tension throughout, with the desperation to end their worst start to a season in 30 years almost palpable on occasions.
We may only still be in September, but the omens are not good, Olaofe’s goal consigning the Blades to a sixth successive defeat from the start the season. Only three Championship sides since 2004 have started a season with six defeats in a row and two of them were relegated.
Forget talk of promotion right now, after the heartbreak of May’s playoff final, in the wake of which Wilder lost his job. When you have scored one goal in six league games, that talk must be paused. This is now a discussion about whether Wilder, brought back after Rubén Sellés’s dismal start, can resurrect a team that have fallen from the verge of the Premier League to being bereft of confidence in four months.
“It’s not the homecoming everyone expected,” Wilder said. “Maybe I’ve underestimated the amount of work we need to do. There’s a bit of fragility around us and I shouldn’t have underestimated the effect of the last five or six games. It was chaos really, and I have to find a way through that chaos.”
The brutal reality is that the Blades weren’t even close to coming out on top. But the biggest worry is that the determination, grit and attitude Wilder’s sides are famous for – and which played such a role in their success – were badly lacking. What had started with a ferocious roar as Wilder emerged from the tunnel became worryingly subdued quite quickly.
Given the appalling conditions and the difficult start both sides have made, it always felt as if it would be a game of few chances. A bright start from United quickly faded and neither team were able to craft too many clear-cut openings all afternoon. As Wilder alluded to, in the critical moments his side panicked, perhaps out of sheer desperation to find a first win.
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That meant when one of those moments arrived, it was always likely to be crucial. James Bree’s composure in squaring the ball for Olaofe to stroke home brought with it not so much a sense of frustration from the home supporters, but one of exasperation for a moment they sensed was coming given their travails. Wilder could do nothing but stand and watch.
The only noise from the home fans at full-time were boos, something Wilder is not too accustomed to, having been rightfully worshipped by the supporters he calls his own. The Charlton fans, revelling in their second win of the season, were the ones making the noise and jokingly telling Wilder he was going to be sacked in the morning.
There is still a long way to go, but it is clear the notion of Wilder’s mere presence and his passion for this club are not going to be enough to drag the Blades out of this current strife.
