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'Merger talk needs explaining - one way or the other'published at 20:29 GMT 26 November
Rob Staton
BBC Radio Sheffield
Image source,Getty ImagesIt's been a difficult past few months for Sheffield United fans butwinning the Steel City derby was something to enjoy. A big win in their bitter rivals' backyard.
Supporters had about 48 hours to properly soak it in.
Then a controversial report emerged. United's owners, COH, had supposedly contacted Sheffield Wednesday's administrators to make an enquiry.
It's an explosive story, leaving everyone to wonder if COH were checking in on a potential merger plan. Some form of comment was necessary from a group who have not done a single press conference since taking over.
A club address emerged a day later.
The co-owners Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy spoke about the disappointing start to the season. They declared they still aimed to one day get back in the Premier League.
There was a clichéd platitude - "this journey is a marathon, not a sprint" - and a call to "focus all of our energy on supporting Chris (Wilder) and the team".
There was, of course, one glaring omission. There was no denial of the story. Nothing to say the report on contacting Wednesday's administrators was untrue.
I've done a bit of digging and my understanding is there's truth to the original report of contact being made, although it's unclear precisely what the motivations were.
It begs the question, what on earth were they thinking?
What possible logical reason would there be to make contact? Did they think a merger was possible? Anyone in this city will tell you that if you think a merger is an option, you have absolutely no grasp of Sheffield football.
Let's reflect on the last few months of COH's first year of ownership.
They moved Wilder out of the club, appointed Ruben Selles and watched a promotion favourite drop into the Championship's bottom three.
Red faced, they hastily brought Wilder back to rescue things and, now, this story.
COH inherited a healthy club that has enjoyed plenty of success in recent years. They had/have a serial winner in charge of the football side of things in Wilder. There are highly competent people working behind the scenes.
All they needed to do was offer support and leadership. They've done the opposite and created a situation where fans are rightly wondering if they 'get' their club or English football in general.
If there was no enquiry and the reports and chatter are incorrect - say so. If not, and it's all true, it needs to be explained.
And after that explanation, any thought of a merger - if that was the reason for the enquiry - should be consigned to the rubbish bin of bad ideas forever.
'Players will definitely want to come to us' - Wilder on January planspublished at 17:06 GMT 25 November
Media caption, Wilder: 'We don't have to justify anything'
Sheffield United are already working hard on what business they want to do in the January transfer window, boss Chris Wilder has said.
The Blades are third-bottom in the Championship after a disastrous start to the season which resulted in Wilderreturning to the club in September in place of Ruben Selles.
The Blades have four wins from their 11 games since Wilder was put back in charge.
"There's still an unbelievable amount of work to do, we're still talking about January and we need to move players on and make some difficult decisions," he told BBC Radio Sheffield.
"If we can get to January and pick up some points, I'm really excited at what we can achieve in the new year. Players will definitely want to come to us in January and we're working hard from that point of view."
Midfielder Ollie Arblaster is back in training after a year out with a serious knee injury but Wilder has ruled out bringing him straight into the squad for Wednesday's home match with Portsmouth.
Wilder said: "He needs to play - if you finish a season in early May you have five weeks off and then your pre-season is about getting your minutes into yourself. He's gone over a year without playing any minutes. We'll try to drip feed him in."
Pick of the stats: Sheffield United v Portsmouthpublished at 18:44 GMT 24 November
It is 70 years since Portsmouth last won at Bramall Lane and head into Wednesday's game (19:45 GMT) having ended a six-game winless run by beatingMillwall 3-1 on Saturday.
The Blades ended their own four-match sequence without a victory by winning the Steel City derby against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday.
Sheffield United won their last league game against Portsmouth in March, last winning consecutive meetings with Pompey in August 2000.
Portsmouth are winless in their past 24 away league games against Sheffield United (D4 L20), since a 3-1 win in November 1955. It's both the Blades' longest unbeaten home run against a side and Pompey's longest winless away run in their league histories.
Sheffield United have won just one of their past eight home league games (D2 L5), while they've also failed to score more than once in any of these games.
Having won their first away league game of the season against Oxford, Portsmouth are now winless in their past six on the road (D3 L3).
Sheffield United have had just two different players score for them at Bramall Lane this season, with Tyrese Campbell netting their first two home goals and Callum O'Hare the last two.
Blades must seize moment after Campbell's star turnpublished at 14:30 GMT 24 November
Adam Oxley
BBC Radio Sheffield journalist
Image source,ShutterstockTo score one goal in a Steel City derby is always notable. To score a winning goal cements your name in folklore, just ask BBC Radio Sheffield pundit Carl Asaba from the Blades class of 2001.
To score three goals, all in winning derbies, is unprecedented in recent decades and it means Tyrese Campbell won't need to buy a beer ever again in the red and white half of Sheffield.
The 25-year-old is only the fourth player to score three times in Steel City derbies in (at least) the last 45 years, after Sheffield Wednesday's Marcus Tudgay and Sheffield United's Dane Whitehouse and Brian Deane.
And he's only the fourth player to score a brace in this fixture, during the same timeframe.
An early goal was always going to be key between the two sides who remain the lowest scorers in the Championship, and there was more than a hint of deja vu in Campbell's opener inthe 3-0 win at Hillsborough.
Last November he scored the only goal as the Blades beat Wednesday 1-0 at Bramall Lane. Dutch midfielder Gus Hamer found Callum O'Hare who slipped in Campbell to score on the left corner of the six-yard box.
This time it was Dutch midfielder Jairo Riedewald who squared the ball to O'Hare and he once again played in Campbell to finish from the left, around six yards out.
History may have repeated itself with that goal, but new ground was broken when Campbell completed his brace after the break and then misfiring striker Tom Cannon finally got his season up and running with the third in added time.
It was the biggest away win – for either side – in Steel City derby history, and it was much needed and timely for both Campbell and Sheffield United.
Such is the Blades dire season so far, three points against their bitter rivals was not enough to lift them out of the Championship relegation zone, with the club still reeling from a string of disastrous decisions by the club's owners COH Sports, including the failed appointment of short-term boss Ruben Selles.
Campbell is one of several players who excelled in last season's promotion push who has subsequently struggled for goals, form and confidence during this campaign's turmoil.
The 25-year-old was the club's top scorer last term, firing in 11 goals, many in key games, after signing for the Blades on a free transfer from Stoke City.
Now the Blades history-making win at Hillsborough has to be the catalyst for more, from Campbell and his team-mates, as Chris Wilder seeks to rebuild from the summer's chaos.
Sheffield United will face much tougher challenges than their beleaguered neighbours, who didn't show up for the 134th Steel City derby.
Wednesday night's home match against fellow strugglers Portsmouth must see Wilder's men capitalise on their derby win, both with another improved performance and another three points.
Victory against Pompey could also see the Blades move out of the relegation zone for the first time this season, if Oxford don't win at Norwich on Tuesday.
Blades looking up after 'perfect' derby winpublished at 11:08 GMT 24 November
Image source,Getty ImagesImage caption, Tyrese Campbell scored twice in Sheffield United's convincing derby win
Sheffield United's derby hero Tyrese Campbell believesSunday's 3-0 win over neighbours Sheffield Wednesday can kickstart their stuttering season.
Campbell scored his fourth and fifth goals of the campaign, sending Chris Wilder's side to just their fourth Championship victory of the season.
The 25-year-old has history in the fixture, scoring the winner at Bramall Lane in November last year and was disappointed not to make it a hat-trick this time around.
"Obviously I scored the winner last year and that gave me confidence and belief," he told BBC Radio Sheffield.
"I had a couple more chances that I back myself to score. It could have been a lot more than 3-0, but we take it.
"We handled the pressure perfectly, our gameplan worked to perfection."
United have flattered to deceive this season after last term's play-off final defeat at Wembley. They are 22nd in the table, 15 points off the play-off spots but only a point adrift of safety.
"The start [to this season] caught us off guard," Campbell said. "We're just focused on going back up the table and picking up points game by game.
"We worked hard throughout the international break to put things right. We should be a lot higher in the league than we are and we've got to take accountability for that."
Fellow striker Tom Cannon wrapped up the win at Hillsborough in second-half injury time with his first goal of the season in his 14th appearance.
"It's been tough for him, but I'm so delighted he scored," Campbell added. "Hopefully it does the world of good for him. Everyone's been through tough times, but he deserved that."
Blades job more difficult than I expected - Wilderpublished at 18:46 GMT 19 November
Image source,ShutterstockImage caption, Chris Wilder has won three, and lost six, of 10 games since returning to Sheffield United for a third spell as manager in September
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder has admitted he has found the job of turning the club's fortunes around harder than he had expected.
Wilder returned to the club in September, three months after being sacked and replaced by Ruben Selles.
Selles lost all six of his competitive games in charge and Wilder, who takes his side to Steel City rivals Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday, has lost six of 10 since coming back in.
"It's been a tough period for everyone, most importantly the supporters,"he told BBC Radio Sheffield.
"I've been disappointed in the results. The performances, from a data point of view, have been pretty good.
"It's a mixed group, there are players that I have inherited and there are ones I had last season who have not produced good enough performances.
"Getting it right has been difficult. I thought it would be easier than it has been but we are working away and we will get to where we want to."
The Blades, beaten in last season's play-off final, will head to Hillsborough on Sunday in the Championship relegation zone.
Wednesday are bottom of the table on minus four points after entering administration last month.
Wilder praised the job that Owls counterpart Henrik Pedersen has done in difficult circumstances.
"The hand that Henrik was dealt was a really tough one - I've been there before at Northampton and at Halifax and I think he has got absolutely everything out of a committed group of players," he said.
"We know how dangerous this game is for us. We're not in the best league position ourselves and we'd like to be in a better one.
"We always know that everything goes out of the window with this game."
