The match against Wolverhampton last April 18 confirmed the inevitable end for Sheffield United in the Premier League. Once again, they are relegated to the top flight after their comeback in 2019.
Given the awkward Premier League record set by the Blades — having the most number of successive losses to start the season — both pundits and fans believe that they have the so-called ‘second season syndrome’. It’s a premise that explains the sudden sharp downturn of a club following the promotion from its significant success and striking performance.
With these factors, they are one of the most popular clubs in leading bookies like Sportsbet, but only because of their steep relegation odds. While fans are hoping to see their impressive return in the league, referring to what they had already done in their comings and goings in the past decade, the rest of the football community will surely miss their appearance in the next season.
The Blades’ 5 key players
Find out on this page the key players that have been consistent in performing well for the team since the start of the season.
David McGoldrick
McGoldrick is the squad’s top scorer. While he made seven goals and 23 shots on target in his 32 shows, he also seems to be a favourite in the discipline record. He has seven yellow cards, 40 fouls, and 15 offsides.
The 33-year-old striker joined the club in 2018 after dazzling manager Chris Wilder over the one-week trial period. Like today, he was among the notable players who managed to secure the club’s promotion into the 2018-19 Premier League. With his 15 goals in 44 appearances, the club named him Player of the Year.
Captain Billy Sharp and Jayden Bogle follow the list with three goals and two scores,
respectively. The fourth ranking, however, is shared by Sander Berge, Kean Bryan, Oliver
Burke, Oliver McBurnie, and Ben Osborn, all of whom equally made one goal.
George Baldock
Baldock is a 28-year-old right-back player bearing an even performance for both defence and team play. Out of the squad’s total three clean sheets, two of which are his. Along with John Fleck and John Lundstram, he has the most number of assists.
Baldock has quite a committed senior career. Before Sheffield United, he was a full-time player at MK Dons (Milton Keynes Dons Football Club) for eight years. According to his signed deal with the Blades 2020, he will be at the club until 2024.
Oliver Norwood
Norwood made the highest number of passes with 1,241. Unlike McGoldrick and Baldock, he has a higher ratio between aerial battles won and lost (15:13).
The 30-year-old midfielder began his career with Manchester United. His PL appearances have been thorough here and there as he played for Brighton and Fulham before joining the Blades in 2018. After Norwood, Enda Stevens, John Egan, Fleck, and Ethan Ampadu made 1,066, 1,030, 1,024, 1,006 passes, respectively.
Billy Sharp
Captain Sharp was ruled out for the remainder of the season after sustaining a thigh injury in early April. He may not lead the squad’s stats, but he sure as well did great in steering the entire team in both the League One in 2016 and now in PL.
Phil Jagielka: Highest earner
Aside from the performance rankings, the Blades have the lowest salaries in the entire league. Its payroll total is around €22 million, and the highest earner is none other than Phil Jagielka. He comes home every week with €55,000, totalling €2,860,000 per year. It’s almost 15x more than the total earnings of 18-year-old Kyron Gordon, the lowest-paid player in the team.
Albeit being the highest earner, the 38-year-old centre back isn’t much as effective and popular online sportsbooks like Sportsbet. He often leads the odds in terms of being carded.
