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’s Sheffield United lead the Championship.
They possess a lot of talent, and their tactics are developing under the 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’s new tactics and key players in possession to complete Sheffield United’s goal—promotion.
Chris Wilder’s 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/underlaps in advanced zones.
A central defender and two box-to-box midfielders protected the rest of the defence.
In the 2019/20, Jack O’Connell (left centre-back) and Chris Basham (right centre-back) became household names in this role.
Chris Basham & Jack O’Connell’s 2019/20 Heatmaps
As Figure 2 shows, Sheffield United’s centre-backs were extremely offensive; it was an innovative tactical idea at the time.
Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United Build-Up Tactics & Formation
In the current season, Chris Wilder's formation uses a different type of structure and fresh ideas.
Now, Sheffield United tend to play with a back four.
We can say that they use a 4-2-3-1 shape, but it frequently changes.
The back four usually comprises Anel Ahmedhodžić /Jack Robinson and Harry Souttar as centre-backs, Alfie Gilchrist / Femi Seriki as the right-back, and Harrison Burrows as the left-back.
During the build-up, they usually play with a symmetrical backline and a double pivot, while Gustavo Hamer’s role constantly changes.
Hamer, a player for inner channels, starts as a left-winger and is free to drop in to build a temporary 4-3-3 when the play is being built on his flank.
Once this happens, Callum O’Hare (attacking midfielder) or Tyrese Campbell (striker) can move to Hamer’s original space and progress from wide.
Tyrese Campbell & Callum O’Hare Heatmaps 2024/25
Figure 4 shows how Tyrese Campbell and Callum O’Hare, starting from central positions, tend to drift to the flanks so much during the game.
On the other hand, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi is always pinning width as the right-winger.
He is also a pure winger with fantastic dribbling to complete take-ons and attack the penalty box with carries.
According to FBref, the Crystal Palace loanee is in the 88th percentile rank in successful take-ons compared with all the attacking midfielders/wingers across the tournament.
Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United Positional Attacks
We have spoken about central and wide overloads in the Championship this season.
Régis Le Bris’ Sunderland is the most obvious case of wide overloads, while Daniel Farke’s Leeds United are in the other corner with central overloads.
What Chris Wilder applies in the final third is a central overloads-tendency.
In the final third, Gustavo Hamer and Rak-Sakyi tend to move to the centre, and Chris Wilder’s full-back attacks depth, looking for crossing/finishing zones.
Harrison Burrows from the left frequently finds goal opportunities in this way.
Figure 5 also illustrates that Rak Sakyi usually attacks the opposition's defensive line into the box while Hamer becomes the last passer from the top of the penalty area.
Tyrese Campbell Attacking The Box
In that sense, having a centre-forward like Tyrese Campbell is crucial for Chris Wilder's tactics.
With six goals scored and 4.82 xG according to Wyscout’s xG model, Campbell is overperforming in front of the goalkeeper.
Tyrese Campbell Shots Map
He is left-footed but not uncomfortable shooting with his right foot in the type of shots he typically deploys.
And these are shots attacking crosses.
With the penalty box crowded with defenders, he thrives on spotting potential passing lanes from the flank and aggressively anticipating the incoming ball.
Now, he is a specialist in receiving the ball from the flank and turning fast to prepare the shot, as in Figure 7 below.
In Figure 7, he does not see the goal from the front.
After the cross, he stays strong with his right foot and prepares the shot quickly with his left.
He is an expert in shooting in those types of actions, and the Blades give him many in-swinging crosses and cutbacks to create goalscoring opportunities.
He can exploit this topic in both positional attacks and transitions.
Sheffield United play with a high tempo; they do not always try to establish themselves in the opponent's half.
They can attack quickly, and Campbell has very interesting instructions regarding position.
Figure 8 and Figure 9 show various essential details about Campbell’s role.
As seen in Figure 4, Campbell is not necessarily pinning between the centre-backs.
In Figure 8, he is attacking the right centre-back’s blind side.
Then, Rak-Sakyi finds a crossing threat, and Campbell wins the position thanks to his low body and previous positioning.
The centre-back, without seeing him while running back, lost his man.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi’s Flexible Role
One of the most talented players in Chris Wilder’s current squad is his right-winger, Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.
As mentioned, in the build-up play, he pins maximum width.
He can usually use his top speed to create potential crosses in counterattacks.
However, in positional attacks, his role is flexible.
Rak-Sakyi's dribbling in tight spaces allows him to be in the box and exploit his 1v1 there or his remarkable left-footed shots.
If the cross is impossible, he can attack the space behind, even during transitions.
Rak-Sakyi possesses a special instinct in the final third.
However, more than this natural ‘killer instinct', his 1v1 ability mixed with his ball-carrying are highly desirable qualities.
Jesurun Rak-Rakyi Ball Progression Map
Those dribbles at the edge of the box range are valuable.
Rak Sakyi is accurate and brave—a weapon to progress in difficult zones.
Vinícius Souza Progressing From The First Passes
Without being the most technical player in possession, Sheffield United's holding midfielder Vinicius Souza is leading the Championship in participation and accuracy metrics.
He is in the 95th percentile rank in pass completion, according to FBref.
Vinícius Souza Pass Map
He is a rock for this team in rest defence and doing the ‘dirty’ work with aerial play and a high volume of tackles.
Indeed, this in-possession awareness and clean first passes cannot be explained without his capacity to recover and deliver quickly.
Vinícius Souza Souza Defensive Territory Map
His physique is absolutely imposing, and this offensive ecosystem wouldn’t work without him.
If Sheffield United want to maintain this attacking style of play and continue their push for Premier League promotion, Vinícius Souza is crucial.
Conclusion
The talented names and the new Chris Wilder system are far away from what we think about him when we remember his previous work with the club in the Premier League.
Still, he has found a sustainable style of play to lead the EFL Championship.
Sheffield United must maintain insane consistency, and their talents must maintain good dynamics to stay as champion candidates, considering the competitiveness of this league.
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