Sheffield United handed damning verdict compared to Burnley and Leeds United, they’re missing ‘key foundation’

Add as preferred source on Google

After missing out on automatic promotion, Sheffield United have to secure access to the Premier League via the play-offs, but did they even deserve to finish in the top two anyway?

A long and fascinating season saw a three-horse race for the Championship title eventually narrow down to just two riders, with Sheffield United falling away at the last.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LeedsLeeds	46	29	13	4	95	30	65	100
2	BurnleyBurnley	46	28	16	2	69	16	53	100
3	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	46	28	8	10	63	36	27	90
4	SunderlandSunderland	46	21	13	12	58	44	14	76
5	CoventryCoventry	46	20	9	17	64	58	6	69
6	Bristol CityBristol City	46	17	17	12	59	55	4	68

Burnley and Leeds broke records with their 100-point hauls, but it was the latter who managed to clinch the top prize thanks to their impressive goal difference.

For the Blades, the Championship play-offs have brought great success so far, with a massive win over Bristol City securing their place at the Wembley final later this month where they’ll face Sunderland.

Some may have been surprised or disappointed to see United fail to finish in the top two, but third place may actually have been exactly what they were always destined for.

• READ MORE: Sheffield United will have one EFL club cheering them on at Wembley, Dan Ballard’s winner already cost them £1m

Ali Maxwell believes Sheffield United were way off Burnley and Leeds’ levels

Discussing the way the Championship season played out on the Square Ball podcast, with a particular focus on the top three and the differences between the teams, Ali Maxwell explained how Sheffield United were not really close to the levels of Leeds United and Burnley in the end.

He said: “I’m surprised at the level of the drop off but it wasn’t a huge surprise in terms of — they’d had so many games earlier in the season where, if you were to watch every weekend just Leeds’ games, Burnley’s games, and Sheffield United’s games, and no other games in the Championship.

“If you become an expert on the promotion battle, I’m pretty confident that throughout — and particularly once Burnley started to get the goals flowing a little bit more — you’d be feeling, just visually, that Sheffield United were the worst of the three sides.

“There’d been loads of games, particularly on their travels but at home as well, where they’d been tough to watch — maybe they’d nicked it in the second half and showed good character, good personality, and all that stuff that you think forms the basis of a good promotion campaign.

“It does, of course; but actually, you need the performance as the key foundation. But they didn’t necessarily have that to the same extent as Leeds and Burnley. 92 points is a hell of a points return, though.”

In the end, United finished ten points adrift of the top two, and while they were way ahead of the other play-off contenders, it counts for nothing unless they can get over the line at Wembley now.

• READ MORE: Play-off format defended amid criticism of gulf between Sheffield United and Bristol City, ‘allergic to fun’ claims made

Sheffield United will be feeling confident ahead of Championship play-off final

On the one hand, Sheffield United’s play-off record is rotten, with eight failed attempts at promotion over the years.

However, Chris Wilder could be the key to changing that this year, and the Blades boss has certainly got his side firing at the right time.

They’ll fancy their chances against a Sunderland side who were on a run of five straight defeats heading into the play-offs. But, the Black Cats have shown the passion and drive required to go all the way in the two-leg victory over Coventry City.

Championship fans believe Sunderland can win, while our team backed Sheffield United from the start. It will be an intriguing battle, that’s for sure.