Our fans will be Wild’ about what Tim did for Chris
CHRIS WILDER says Fulham’s Tim Ream will be welcomed with open arms today — in return for the support he showed Sheffield United stalwart Chris Basham.
The Blades face the Cottagers for the first time since Basham was sidelined by a careerthreatening injury at Craven Cottage last October.
The long-serving centre-back (35) was left in agony and required oxygen before being stretchered off the pitch with extensive damage to his leg and ankle.
American defender Ream was the first person to tend to Basham (inset) as he lay on the turf and got many plaudits for the care he showed.
Wilder compared Ream’s actions to the spirit fans displayed when Luton’s Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest at Bournemouth in December.
The Blades boss said: “It’s an incredibly competitive sport that we’re playing.
“But it takes an incredibly vicious, hostile crowd or team to go against the human nature of what happened to Bash or Tom Lockyer down at Bournemouth.
“The attitude of the Luton fans and the supporters at Bournemouth was an understanding that we’re all after three points but that there are bigger things to consider.
“There was that same consideration with the pain that Bash was going through at Fulham.
“I’ve had a couple of dealings with Tim and he’s a real solid guy and I know what their supporters think of him.
“He won’t be looking for anything, but the part Tim and their medical staff played will be very appreciated on Saturday.”
Basham, who is into his 10th season at Bramall Lane, is out of contract in the summer and recently conceded that he is unsure if he will play again.
Yet Wilder added: “Bash is in good spirits, as he always is.
“It takes a lot to get him down, so while he’s been around the place, he’s been bright and bubbly.
Family
“It’s a long road for him to getting back to doing everyday things with his family and that’s the first obstacle he needs to overcome.”
Blades’ homegrown striker Louie Marsh
(20) could make his Premier League debut today.
Meanwhile, Timothy Castagne insists Fulham will not take bottom side Sheffield United lightly this afternoon.
The Cottagers head to Bramall Lane on a high after their 3-0 victory over Tottenham earlier this month. “It’s the Premier League, so there are no easy games,” said full-back Castagne.
“We dropped points against Burnley as well, so we can’t do that here.
“We know it’s going to be tough, but we need to get the three points.”
The Londoners earned a 3-1 victory over the Blades in the reverse fixture in October thanks to goals from Bobby De-Cordova Reid, Willian and a Wes Foderingham own goal.
But Castagne knows Wilder’s men are more than capable of making life difficult for their opponents.
He added: “It was tough. They have a good system and it’s never easy against a good system. So we’ll see on Saturday.
“If we don’t bring our A game then we are not going to win.”