It certainly would be a reward for all the work he has done.
Not just this season, but ever since he first took the job on back in 2016. Whilst the football season is currently taking a break, some pundits have been discussing who should be taking home the various awards, and Danny Higginbotham has tipped Blades boss Chris Wilder to take home the manager of the year gong.
Speaking to ESPN FC (via The Express), the former Premier League defender said that there was one reason and one reason only that he deserved the accolade, and that’s because of the work that he has done compared to where the club were last year:
“I think Chris Wilder should be Premier League manager of the year. If you look at comparisons to the previous season, you see just how well a manager has done. Yes, Jürgen Klopp has gone one step beyond in terms of winning the Premier League and winning it at a canter. But this is a Sheffield United team that has got promoted from the Championship, so many people said they were going to go straight down, he’s not changed their style of play, still have a possibility of breaking into the top five, top four on a very small budget as well.”
Whilst I love Wilder and everything that he has done for the club, taking us from League One to the Premier League, I did always feel that the award should have gone to Klopp if he completed the ‘double’ of going through the season unbeaten and amassing 100 points at the same time.
Will Wilder win Manager of the Year?
Yes
No
However, seeing as only one of those is now achievable, I think that the award is Wilder’s to lose if he can keep things on their current trajectory and keep us in a European place. It would certainly eclipse the feat that Wolves accomplished last year because we’re doing it on a much lower salary by comparison (SportRac via The Mirror).
And by association, Wilder’s accomplishment would eclipse the work that Nuno Espirito Santo has done at Molineux.