As good as Sheffield United were in trouncing their Steel City neighbours 4-2, Sheffield Wednesday’s tendency to disappear in big games is a concernWith a few minutes remaining of the first Sheffield derby in five years, Chris Wilder congratulated and high-fived everyone on the United bench. By that point the job was done, the scoreline at 4-2 and Wednesday’s spirit crushed: this was United’s most comprehensive derby win in 25 years and the first time they have scored four at Hillsborough.Unsurprisingly Wilder, a Blades fan who watched his first derby from the terraces 37 years ago, described it as the proudest moment of his career. Related: Football League: Alfred N’Diaye winner sees Wolves keep pace at summit There's a delay...
Thirty-seven years after going to his first Sheffield derby, the lifelong Blade is relishing locking horns with the enemy for the first time from the dugoutChris Wilder’s first Sheffield derby was in April 1980. He was at Bramall Lane as a 12-year-old to see his United draw 1-1 with Wednesday, Terry Curran curling a brilliant shot into the corner of the net after John MacPhail gave the Blades the lead. He didn’t go to the game earlier in the season at Hillsborough, which was probably just as well as Wednesday won that one 4-0.On Sunday, 37 years on and the day after his 50th birthday, Wilder takes charge of his boyhood club in a derby for the first time. A...
Recent events suggest promotion may not happen any time soon and if Sunderland are to exit the Championship this season their trajectory is more likely to be downwardIn an English league with no shortage of dysfunctional football clubs, few match Sunderland in terms of consistency when it comes to blasting themselves repeatedly in the foot. After a decade in the Premier League during which they survived assorted unsavoury scandals and brushes with the drop, they finally sleepwalked out of the top flight last season under the disastrous stewardship of David Moyes. Related: Sunderland appoint Simon Grayson as manager after shelving takeover talks Continue reading...
Middlesbrough have spent heavily in the chase for an immediate return to the Premier League while Aston Villa lead the Midlands challenge with John TerryOver a long summer it has been difficult to get away from the usual faces at the same select few clubs – none more so than that of the Middlesbrough chief executive, Neil Bausor, who has been pictured with a beaming smile time and again alongside new arrivals at the Riverside. Related: Gary Rowett: ‘We’re trying to take away feeling we’ve a right to be up there because we’re Derby’ Related: League One 2017-18 season preview | Lawrence Ostlere Continue reading...
From John Terry at Villa to vegan pies and Harry Kewell the manager there are fresh stories aplenty when the English Football League kicks off on FridayHaving brought down the curtain on 22 glorious years at Chelsea with that 26th-minute substitution, John Terry decided to prolong his career by dropping down a level. The former England captain was not short of offers but eventually he was lured to Aston Villa by a series of flattering texts from Steve Bruce, who hopes the centre-back’s class will allow him to deal with nippy Championship forwards. Related: Sunderland continue to pay the price for more than 10 years of mismanagement | Louise Taylor Related: Championship, League One and League Two: how will your club...