A mere five months after that fairytale night at Bramall Lane against West Brom that sent the Shoreham faithful back to the big time, the glory days of the team celebrating on West Street are over.
The key unexpected departures of Sander Berge and Iliman Ndiaye see Hecky’s Red and White Wizards facing an uphill battle.
Poetically spurred on by the team’s 2023 mantra ‘Out Run. Out Fight. Out Play’, the Blades were forced to revamp the top end of the pitch in a matter of weeks before the start of a new season in England’s top flight.
The off-season, exacerbated by anxieties regarding the imminent sale of the club and the previous transfer embargo which lasted from January to April, has been tumultuous to say the least for the red half of the Steel City.
In fact, it is somewhat of a miracle that Paul Heckingbottom, Stuart McCall, and Jack Lester have weathered the off-the-field storm and not walked away.
It rapidly became clear that the new look Sheffield United team unequivocally missed its top scorer (Ndiaye) and midfield maestro (Berge).
What should have been a very winnable home opener against Crystal Palace, and a revenge game (hinged on the Blades’ previous penalties playoff heartbreak last year) at the City Ground against Nottingham Forest, ended in two disappointing losses.
As a result, the club that was primed to start on the back foot of an exciting campaign back in the big time instead feared the worse with the imminent arrival of the treble winners Manchester City at the Lane.
However, a defensively stout masterclass will give fellow United fans a glimmer of hope.
Bright sparks from the promising new boys add to the optimism, most notably in Gus Hamer, Vini Souza and Cameron Archer.
Hamer’s cracking goal against Forest opened the team’s goal tally in a spectacular fashion that nearly sent travelling Blades fans into the River Trent, whilst Souza patrolled the defensive midfield in a ‘Rodri-esque’ manner.
Lastly, Villa academy producer Archer fired home an incredible team goal against Everton at the start of the month.
Narrowly missing out on a well-deserved point against the current champions by a defensive lapse in concentration in the 88th minute, this newly forged team has invariably shown the staff and the fans that Premier League survival is more than capable of being accomplished.
The fresh arrivals paired with the popular loan signing of James McAtee and the established veterans led by fan favourite Oli McBurnie, will be fundamentally integral to survival.
Despite the bleak external noise from the football world regarding United’s chances, if there’s one thing that Heckingbottom’s staff have instilled in this club’s ethos since taking over, it’s that this team is not afraid to give it a go and will prove to outrun, outfight, and (maybe a handful of times) outplay you.
