Sheffield United: Inside 113 days of madness as Ruben Selles leaves

Wilder exited in June, nearly a month after the play-off final. Selles was announced less than an hour later, after impressing at Reading and Hull previously. But on the pitch it went wrong from the very start.

Bristol City, the side Sheffield United beat so comprehensively in the play-offs, thumped them 4-1 at Bramall Lane. Selles gave his players a very public dressing down on the pitch in front of fans after the game.

The Blades then lost at Birmingham in the League Cup, before narrow defeats against Swansea, Millwall and league leaders Middlesbrough. The thrashing at Ipswich proved the final straw.

The chaos at Sheffield United extends beyond the pitch too. Selles’ comments upon taking the Bramall Lane role hinted that rumours of Wilder being uncomfortable with AI-led recruitment models may not have been far off the mark.

Selles was the choice of new owners, US-based consortium COH Sports, who completed a long-awaited takeover in December 2024. Wilder signed a new deal soon after, but it does not seem like he was the board’s man – although it is hard to know for sure, because they have not yet given any interviews.

Last summer, United’s spine was ripped out as three key players all left – defender Anel Ahmedhodzic, midfielder Vini Souza and striker Kieffer Moore.

Coming in the other way were two unknown players from the Bulgarian league, plus young loanees Tyler Bindon and Louie Barry. These were the only men signed before the loss to Bristol City on the opening day.

In contrast, the final days of the window were a flurry of action. Experienced striker Danny Ings, Atlanta midfielder Ben Godfrey and Millwall defender Japhet Tanganga all arrived.

Then on deadline day, four more players were signed including veteran defenders Mark McGuinness and Ben Mee – but former club captain Jack Robinson was allowed to leave for Birmingham.

“There definitely was a plan to use AI and analytics,” Staton told BBC Sport. “The argument would be that teams like Brentford have used this for a long time, so it was not that out there.

“But none of the players they have signed have had an impact, and before the window closed they seemed to revert to a conventional policy – signings you would attribute to recruitment staff at the club already.

“I don’t know if they have abandoned the AI model, but there has been a shift, and the club have signed players who would appeal to Wilder.”