Sheffield United

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder says his side's 3-3 draw with Swansea City encapsulated their season.

From going 3-1 up after 64 minutes, the Blades contrived to let their visitors escape Bramall Lane with a point.

As a result, since returning to the club in September, Wilder has now seen his team give up 29 points from winning positions.

He believes that if they had achieved just half of that number, it would have taken their tally of 51 points and 17th place to one that would be in the top six.

"If we'd had 15 of those points, 50% of those points, we'd be sat in the play-offs," he told BBC Radio Sheffield.

"When we walked in, everyone would have been quite happy about that, but to lose almost 30 is just ridiculous."

Having finished third last season and collected 92 points on the field, Wilder knows that something has gone missing this campaign.

"Those decision-making moments that we have to deal with better, we should enjoy and be better in those moments, but we don't seem to enjoy it," he said.

"I will go on because it's relevant because it's the closest season we had - last year, personality, character, personality, character - dealing with those moments, dealing with those situations."

Image source, Getty Images

Championship clubs spent just over £69.5m on agents fees over the past 12 months according to figures released by the Football Association,, external an increase of £6m on the previous year.

The figures cover the period from February 2025 with Ipswich Town the top spenders, paying £11.7m having spent the first three months of the accounting period in the Premier League.

Southampton (£8.3m) and Leicester (£5.8m), who were relegated alongside Ipswich are the second and third-highest payers on the list.

Troubled Sheffield Wednesday were the most frugal when dealing with agents, spending £534,559.

Wrexham come in sixth on the list with an outlay of £3.6m while current Championship leaders Coventry spent just short of £1.5m.

Championship agents' fee spending, external

• Ipswich - £11,738,920

• Southampton - £8,381,358

• Leicester City - £5,866,587

• Sheffield United - £5,005,498

• Norwich - £4,020,206

• Wrexham - £3,660,584

• Swansea - £3,088,645

• Middlesbrough - £2,900,314

• Bristol City - £2,774,990

• Hull City - £2,450,431

• Stoke City - £2,088,886

• Birmingham City - £1,996,502

• Millwall - £1,982,348

• Preston North End - £1,831,233

• QPR - £1,829,036

• Watford - £1,612,833

• Coventry - £1,497,990

• Derby - £1,409,507

• West Brom - £1,346,030

• Oxford - £1,235,536

• Charlton - £904,698

• Portsmouth - £831,818

• Blackburn - £676,980

• Sheffield Wednesday - £534,559

Sheffield United and Swansea City will both be vying to end a poor streak of form when they meet at Bramall Lane on Good Friday (15:00 BST).

The Blades have not won any of their past four league matches (D2 L2), while Swansea have lost their past two successively.

• Sheffield United lost the reverse fixture against Swansea 1-0 in August, having won five in a row against the Swans before this.

• Swansea have lost eight of their last nine away league games against Sheffield United, winning the other in August 2018. These eight defeats have been by an aggregate score of 20-1.

• Sheffield United are winless in their last four league games (D2 L2), only having a longer run this season in their first six games (L6).

• Swansea have lost 2-0 against Wrexham and 3-0 against Coventry in their last two league games, last losing three in a row without scoring in March/April 2021 (4 in a row).

• Sheffield United have dropped more points from winning positions than any other side in the Championship this season (27). Indeed, in their last three home games they've lost to Coventry, drawn with West Brom and lost to Wrexham despite leading.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder says he has "lost confidence" in the standard of officiating in the Championship.

Earlier this week, the Blades failed with an appeal to overturn the red card shown to right-back Femi Seriki in the draw at Birmingham, which means he will miss Saturday's game at home to Wrexham (15:00 GMT).

Seriki has since been charged by the Football Association for his reaction to being sent off.

Asked what he thinks needs to be done to improve officiating standards, Wilder told BBC Radio Sheffield: "Just the standard needs to be better, in my opinion.

"I scratch my head at times - you can't get those decisions wrong. The decision for us was debated by three officials and a fourth, so if there's any doubt or they're not clear on it, surely they have to make the decision not to make the big decision, if that makes sense.

"There's no accountability for it - there is accountability in the Premier League.

"I get it, it's a fast-moving sport and people make mistakes, but I've lost complete confidence and it feels like something we have to put up with.

"We get criticised - which is the game we are in - as players, managers and coaches. Everything is on us, what we do, but from an officials situation there has to be a greater consistency."

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Wrexham will be aiming to reclaim their place in the top six as they make the trip to Sheffield United on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

The Red Dragons were displaced in the sixth spot by Southampton in the midweek after the Welsh side failed to guarantee their place with a 3-1 loss to Watford.

But the Blades are without a win across their past three league games (D2 L1) and will be hoping to get back to winning ways before they are cut off in the midtable.

• Sheffield United are hosting Wrexham in the league for the first time since October 1982, a 2-0 win in the third tier under Ian Porterfield.

• Wrexham average 2.8 goals per game against Sheffield United in the league (14 in 5 games), although 13 of the 14 goals they've scored against them have been at home.

• Sheffield United are winless in their last three Championship games (D2 L1) and could equal their longest winless run since Chris Wilder's return to the club last September (4 between October-November last year).

• Wrexham are unbeaten against Sheffield clubs in the Championship this season (W2 D1) and will be looking to do the league double over Sheffield United for the first time (won 5-3 in the reverse fixture on Boxing Day).

• Sheffield United have won 50% of their games and averaged 1.9 goals per game when Patrick Bamford has started for them in the Championship this season, compared to a 33% win rate and 1.1 goals per game when he hasn't been in the starting XI.