Chris Wilder has been speaking about his fiery feud with Leeds United over the years ahead of Sheffield United’s trip to Elland Road.
The Blades make the short trip across Yorkshire full of confidence as they are the only side across the entire EFL yet to lose a single league match this season.
It is likely to be a feisty affair under the Elland Road lights based on what has happened between the two clubs over the last few years, and as recently as this summer.
Wilder was left disappointed at Jayden Bogle’s decision to join Leeds back in July, but it was later on in the window fuel was really added to the fire.
Leeds made an offer of £13 million to sign Blades star Gustavo Hamer, a bid Wilder publicly condemned as a half-hearted attempt to unsettle one of, if not his best player.
Wilder on his past feud with Leeds at Sheffield United
Despite all that happened in the summer, it is actually several years back that Wilder‘s rivalry with Leeds really started.
Alongside Daniel Farke‘s Norwich City, Leeds and Sheffield United were among three sides competing for the Championship’s top two in 2018/19.
Of course, Wilder’s send ended up pipping Leeds to second place and in the celebrations, the Blades boss was not afraid to fire some shots at some of the players.
He referred to both Adam Forshaw and Patrick Bamford as ‘muppets‘, something which he has reflected on in his press conference ahead of his first trip back to Elland Road in front of a crowd since that season.
He said: “I know there’s a bit of pantomime in terms of what I said over [the 18/19 promotion] period. Maybe not the wisest words when you’ve just got promoted and you’re four hours in to the celebrations.
“They’ll hold that against me personally but it’s not an issue for me, I respect and know what a huge club that is and what a massive challenge we’ve got on our hands Friday night.”
- READ MORE: What Daniel Farke has done to impress Patrick Bamford recently after unique Leeds United incident
Farke ‘disappointed’ by Leeds vs Sheffield United clash
Amid the recent rivalry between Leeds and Wilder, this certainly has the potential to be one of the best games of the Championship season so far.
However, the Friday night scheduling of the match means preparation has been far from ideal for Leeds, with several internationals not having returned to Thorp Arch until the last 24 hours.
Speaking in his press conference, Farke says the scheduling is something that has ‘disappointed’ him, and feels the game could’ve been even better if Leeds had more time to prepare.
He said: “It’s always tricky during the international break for a team with so many players away. I also spoke about my attitude, I’m struggling to understand the fixture list to play on Friday night after the international break.
“We have players who arrive late today. We’ll have them late back today. Once we play on Saturday you have at least one training session with the team. It’s only possible for some players to have a recovery session tomorrow.
“It is a bit disappointing and sad because it’s a great game. Normally both teams want to be at their best, Friday evening is a bit disappointing, we know about the schedule list and for that no complaints. Tricky without team training to prepare but we want to find good solutions.”
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
