Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WALLY MEETS
THERE hasn’t been as much excitement across one of English football’s great divides since Robert Carlyle wore a Sheffield United shirt in The Full Monty.
Don’t blame the wind if your windows rattle on September 24 – that’ll be Blades and Owls airing their differences in the Steel City derby at Hillsborough.
United boss Chris Wilder checked the pulse of an old rivalry’s capacity for shock and ore and he has no doubts: Sheffield is back as a powerhouse of football.
Wilder is on a hat-trick of title-winning promotions after leading Northampton out of League Two and the Blades back into the Championship in successive seasons.
Like Carlyle’s strip down memory lane, Wilder’s teams soon learn to shed their inhibitions – and he can’t wait to lock horns with his Wednesday counterpart Carlos Carvalhal and the plethora of derbies which will turn the Championship into the Yorkshire Premier League. “As a city, we know our place in history – Sheffield is the cradle of football,” said Wilder, whose side kick off the new season at Bramall Lane against Brentford.
“I went to the ‘other’ derby, between Sheffield FC and Hallam, last weekend because that was the birthplace of competitive football 157 years ago. It’s the oldest fixture on the calendar and we lose touch with the game’s roots at our peril.
“There’s an awful lot of history around the place, and when you get among United and Wednesday fans you soon find out there is as much pride in our rivalry as in any part of the country.
“It might be a Yorkshire thing that we don’t always shout it from the rooftops, but as a boyhood Blades fan back in the day, and living in the city now, I know how much it means to the people here.”
Wilder has spent modestly in the summer, bringing in the likes of Oxford captain John Lundstram and Fulham defender Richard Stearman, while controversial striker Ched Evans’ return from a turbulent hiatus will be a challenge of management in itself.
But he warned: “Whatever this season holds in store, we won’t settle for consolidation and we aren’t back in the Championship just to make up the numbers, although I’m under no illusions about how competitive the League is going to be.
“The teams who come out on top will usually be the ones who have spent the most money, if they have spent it in the right way.
“And even in the Championship there have been some absolutely mind-boggling numbers in the transfer market this summer.
“We are not going to spend £15million on one striker and we are not going to smash what we have got or take the club to the edge of the cliff financially.
“As far as I’m concerned, Sheffield United are back where we belong – with our stadium, our facilities and our fan base, this is a Championship club at the very least – and this season will be a wonderful opportunity for us to show what we’re about.
“Of course, for the supporters it’s fantastic that we are back in the same division as Wednesday, and the two derby games will show that our rivalry is as passionate and deep-rooted as any in the country.
“We will go into those two derby games as the big underdogs of course.
“Wednesday have been knocking on the door of the Premier League for the last two years, while we spent six years just trying to get back into the Championship.
“But for everyone in the city, it will be the talk of the pubs on Saturday night and the talk of the shop floor on Monday morning.” Ben Reeves will make his Charlton debut after joining from MK Dons. Former Peterborough striker Tom Nichols will be one of three debutants for Rovers. Town boss Uwe Rosler could give debuts to six new signings. Former Fleetwood hitman David Ball makes a quick return with new club Rotherham. Oldham are looking for a keeper after a further loan of Boro’s Connor Ripley fell through. Charlie Raglan (ankle) misses out for Oxford but Jack Payne could debut. Pompey are without Matt Clarke and Nathan Thompson in defence. Kgosi Ntlhe, Matt Done and Brendan Moore hope to make their Dale debuts. Shrews boss Paul Hurst has 11 new faces to fit in, while Cobblers’ Justin Edinburgh has 21 to pick from even with five injured, including Sam Foley and Sam Hoskins.