If Nottingham Forest are looking for a coach with a proven track record when it comes to dragging an underachieving side off the seat of their pants, who better than the straight-talking success-magnet that is Chris Wilder?
Sheffield United had finished 11th in the third tier of English football when Wilder, a boyhood Blades fanatic, replaced Nigel Adkins at Bramall Lane in May 2016.
Three years later, they were battering a Chelsea side containing Reece James, Christian Pulisic and Jorginho 3-0, moving into the Premier League’s top six and within touching distance of Manchester United.
It was a turnaround the likes of which we haven’t seen since Michael Keaton won a Golden Globe.
Yes, things may have gone sour for Wilder during a disastrous final season but it’s telling that even the most feeble of relegations failed to taint the memories of a man who picked that proud old club off rock bottom and made fans dream of European football.
Can Chris Wilder save Nottingham Forest?
So, with Nottingham Forest nailed to the bottom of the Championship table, a sixth defeat in seven games coming at the hands of Middlesbrough last night, who better than Wilder to turn around a sinking ship and plug the gaps in a leaking hull?
Boasting Lewis Grabban, Lyle Taylor, Joe Worrall, Joao Carvalho, Philip Zinckernagel, Alex Mighten, Brice Samba and Brennan Johnson, it’s not as though this Forest side are short of talent.
Wilder is the master when it comes to building a side greater than the sum of its parts and Forest certainly have the ‘parts’ to become, at the very least, a competitive Championship outfit.
Here’s what some Sheffield United supporters on Twitter had to say about the situation:
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