Chris Wilder

This article is about the footballer and manager. For the serial killer, see Christopher Wilder.

Chris Wilder

Wilder in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Christopher John Wilder
Date of birth	(1967-09-23) 23 September 1967 (age 56)
Place of birth	Stocksbridge, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [1]
Position(s)	Right-back [2]
Team information
Current team	Sheffield United (manager)
Youth career
1982–1986	Southampton
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1986–1992	Sheffield United	93	(1)
1989	→ Walsall (loan)	4	(0)
1990	→ Charlton Athletic (loan)	1	(0)
1991	→ Charlton Athletic (loan)	2	(0)
1992	→ Leyton Orient (loan)	16	(1)
1992–1996	Rotherham United	132	(11)
1996–1997	Notts County	46	(0)
1997–1998	Bradford City	42	(0)
1998–1999	Sheffield United	12	(0)
1998	→ Northampton Town (loan)	1	(0)
1999	→ Lincoln City (loan)	3	(0)
1999	Brighton & Hove Albion	11	(0)
1999–2001	Halifax Town	51	(1)
Total		414	(14)
Managerial career
2001–2002	Alfreton Town
2002–2008	Halifax Town
2008–2014	Oxford United
2014–2016	Northampton Town
2016–2021	Sheffield United
2021–2022	Middlesbrough
2023	Watford
2023–	Sheffield United
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Christopher John Wilder (born 23 September 1967) is an English professional football manager who formerly played as a right-back. He is the manager of EFL Championship club Sheffield United.

Wilder's extensive professional playing career saw spells at Sheffield United (twice), Rotherham United, Notts County, Bradford City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Halifax Town. He also had loan spells at five clubs.

After retiring, he became a manager and was in charge of Alfreton Town, Halifax Town (their last manager before liquidation), Oxford United, Northampton Town, Sheffield United, Middlesbrough and Watford. He won promotion from the Conference Premier with Oxford via the play-offs in 2010, from League Two as champions with Northampton in 2016, from League One with Sheffield United as champions in 2017, and from the Championship with the same club two years later. He is currently manager, for the second time, of Sheffield United.

Early life

Christopher John Wilder was born on 23 September 1967 in Stocksbridge, West Riding of Yorkshire. ^[2]

Playing career

Wilder started his football career as a trainee at Southampton and was released without making it into the first team. ^[3]

He moved on to Sheffield United in August 1986. In December 1987, defender Wilder was sent off for a crude tackle on Millwall's Jimmy Carter in a season which saw the Sheffield club relegated to the third division. ^[4] The following season Wilder was on the receiving end, being elbowed in the face. Swansea's Bryan Wade received a three match ban for violent conduct as a result. ^[5] Wilder was a regular in the team that finished second and therefore clinched promotion back to the second division at the first attempt in the 1988–89 season, and was also part of the squad that gained a further promotion the season after, this time back to the first division, after an absence of fourteen years. Wilder was a regular during the following season back in the first division, but thereafter found appearances harder to come by, hence Wilder left for nearby Rotherham United in 1992, staying for a further four years and amassing his largest number of games and goals for one club. ^[6]

In 1998, Wilder returned to Sheffield United, and a year later he was brought to Brighton & Hove Albion by Micky Adams before joining Halifax Town that same year. ^[7]

Managerial career

Alfreton Town

Wilder began his career in management at Alfreton Town. He took over at the club in late October 2001 and in the 27 weeks he was in charge won four trophies: the Northern Counties (East) League Premier Division, the League Cup, the President's Cup and the Derbyshire Senior Cup.

Halifax Town

Wilder returned to Halifax Town as manager on 2 July 2002. ^{[8] [9]} He replaced caretaker manager Neil Redfearn, who had in turn replaced Alan Little (who left on 8 April after falling ill with appendicitis in March). Halifax had been relegated to the Conference at the end of the season.

Wilder was in charge at Halifax for more than 300 games until the club went into liquidation on 30 June 2008, and he decided to join former Halifax defender Alan Knill, as the assistant manager of Bury. ^[10]

Oxford United

After fewer than six months at Gigg Lane, Wilder was appointed as the manager of Conference National club Oxford United on 21 December 2008 ^[11] (replacing Jim Smith who had been caretaker manager in the wake of Darren Patterson's dismissal), where he only just missed out on a play-off place in his first season. Wilder's first full season in charge of Oxford began successfully and by mid-season they were top of the Conference table by five points with a game in hand. However, Oxford were overtaken by Stevenage, who would go on to win the title and take the automatic promotion place, consigning the Us to the playoffs with Luton Town, Rushden & Diamonds and York City. They defeated Rushden & Diamonds to reach the play-off final, and gained promotion to the Football League by beating York City 3–1. ^[12]

In their first season back in the Football League in four years, Wilder guided Oxford to mid-table safety. The team finished 12th, in the top half of the table, their highest finish in seven years. ^[13] The next season Oxford finished ninth, after poor form late in the season led to the team dropping out of the play-off position they had occupied for most of the year. ^[14] Oxford's chairman Kelvin Thomas gave Wilder his backing, meaning he would remain manager for the 2012–13 season. ^[15] Despite failing to achieve a play-off place again in Oxford's third season back in the League, and intense speculation about his future at the club, Wilder was offered and accepted a further one-year contract for the 2013–14 season. ^[16]

On 26 January 2014 he resigned as Oxford manager with the intention of joining League Two rivals Northampton Town as their manager. ^[17]

Northampton Town

On 27 January 2014, Wilder was appointed manager of Northampton Town, signing a three-and-a-half year contract. Wilder successfully battled against relegation to the Conference, after taking over the club in the relegation zone in League 2. ^[18] He led the side to a mid-table finish in the 2014–15 season, and then to the League Two title the following season with 99 points, ^[19] despite significant financial difficulties at the club resulting in players and staff not being paid during October and November 2015. ^[20]

Sheffield United

On 12 May 2016, Wilder joined his boyhood club Sheffield United as their new manager on a three-year contract, following the parting of company with Nigel Adkins. ^{[21] [22]} In the pre-season, despite little financial backing, he was able to bring some new players in, many of which were free transfers. He then made Sheffield born Billy Sharp club captain. However, Wilder's League One managerial debut got off to a poor start, only gaining a single point from the first four games, which left Sheffield United at the bottom of League One. ^[23] Despite this, the club pushed on and went on to become League One Champions, securing 100 points in the process, a club record. ^[24]

His second season was full of highs and few lows. His managerial Championship debut against Brentford ended in a 1–0 win for Sheffield United. ^[25] Then in September 2017, United beat city rivals Sheffield Wednesday 4–2 at Hillsborough, ^[26] a record for goals scored by United against Wednesday at Hillsborough. By the end of October, after beating local rivals Leeds United 2–1 at Elland Road, Sheffield United were top of the Championship. ^[27]

On 28 April 2019, it was confirmed that Wilder had led the Blades to the Premier League following nearest rival Leeds' 1–1 draw at home. ^[28] This ensured his second promotion in just three years at the club. This achievement earned him the LMA Manager of the Year award. ^[29]

In July 2019, Wilder signed a new three-year contract with the club. ^[30] On 10 January 2020, Wilder signed a four-year contract extension with the club. ^[31] Sheffield United went on to finish ninth in their first season back in the top flight, their best since 1991–92.

On 13 March 2021, Wilder left the club by mutual consent, with the club bottom of the Premier League, with 14 points from 28 games. ^[32]

Middlesbrough

On 7 November 2021, Wilder was appointed manager of Middlesbrough after the club parted ways with Neil Warnock. ^[33] After an unbeaten month which saw Boro win four out of their five matches, Wilder was awarded the EFL Championship Manager of the Month award for December 2021 with his wing-back Isaiah Jones winning the Player of the Month award. ^[34] Wilder was dismissed on 3 October 2022 with the club in the bottom three of the Championship. They had won only two of 11 league games played in the 2022–23 season. ^[35]

Watford

On 7 March 2023, Wilder was appointed manager of Watford on a contract until the end of the season after parting company with Slaven Bilic. ^[36] On 10 May 2023, Wilder was replaced as head coach by Valérien Ismaël, after Wilder's short-term contract came to an end after the final match of the season. ^[37]

Return to Sheffield United

On 5 December 2023, Paul Heckingbottom was dismissed by Sheffield United after a 5–0 loss to Burnley that left the club sat at the bottom of Premier League. Wilder was brought in to replace him. ^[38] Despite Wilder's return to Bramall Lane, Sheffield United were relegated on 27 April 2024, following their 5–1 defeat by Newcastle United. ^[39]

Career statistics

Source: ^[7]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Sheffield United	1986–87	Second Division	11	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	14	0
	1987–88	Second Division	25	0	0	0	2	0	1 [lower-alpha 1]	0	28	0
	1988–89	Third Division	29	1	3	0	5	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	38	1
	1989–90	Second Division	8	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	0
	1990–91	First Division	16	0	1	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 3]	0	19	0
	1991–92	First Division	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
	Total		93	1	7	0	9	0	3	0	112	1
Walsall (loan)	1989–90	Third Division	4	0	1	0	0	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	7	0
Charlton Athletic (loan)	1990–91	Second Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Charlton Athletic (loan)	1991–92	Second Division	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Leyton Orient (loan)	1991–92	Third Division	16	1	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	17	1
Rotherham United	1992–93	Second Division	32	8	3	0	2	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	38	8
	1993–94	Second Division	37	2	1	1	3	0	2 [lower-alpha 2]	0	43	3
	1994–95	Second Division	45	1	3	0	2	0	3 [lower-alpha 2]	0	53	1
	1995–96	Second Division	18	0	1	0	4	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	24	0
	Total		132	11	8	1	11	0	7	0	158	12
Notts County	1995–96	Second Division	9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
	1996–97	Second Division	37	0	4	0	2	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	44	0
	Total		46	0	4	0	2	0	1	0	53	0
Bradford City	1996–97	First Division	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	1997–98	First Division	35	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	38	0
	Total		42	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	45	0
Sheffield United	1997–98	First Division	8	0	0	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 4]	0	9	0
	1998–99	First Division	4	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
	Total		12	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	14	0
Northampton Town (loan)	1998–99	Second Division	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Lincoln City (loan)	1998–99	Second Division	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Brighton & Hove Albion	1999–2000	Third Division	11	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	13	0
Halifax Town	1999–2000	Third Division	31	1	3	0	0	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	35	1
	2000–01	Third Division	20	0	1	0	1	0	1 [lower-alpha 2]	0	23	0
	Total		51	1	4	0	1	0	2	0	58	1
Career total			414	14	25	1	28	0	17	0	484	15

1. Appearance in Third Division play-offs
2. Appearances in Football League Trophy
3. Appearances in Full Members' Cup
4. Appearance in First Division play-offs

Managerial statistics

As of match played 19 May 2024 ^{[37] [40]}

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record
			P	W	D	L	Win %
Halifax Town	2 July 2002	30 June 2008	312	120	77	115	038.46
Oxford United	21 December 2008	26 January 2014	269	121	70	78	044.98
Northampton Town	27 January 2014	12 May 2016	126	61	28	37	048.41
Sheffield United	12 May 2016	13 March 2021	227	106	47	74	046.70
Middlesbrough	7 November 2021	3 October 2022	45	18	11	16	040.00
Watford	7 March 2023	10 May 2023	11	3	3	5	027.27
Sheffield United	5 December 2023	Present	26	3	5	18	011.54
Total			1,016	432	241	343	042.52

Honours

Player

Individual

• PFA Team of the Year: 1995–96 Second Division ^[41]

Manager

Alfreton Town ^[42]

• Northern Counties East Football League Premier Division: 2001–02 ^[43]
• Northern Counties East Football League League Cup: 2001–02 ^[43]
• Northern Counties East Football League President's Cup: 2001–02 ^[43]
• Derbyshire Senior Cup: 2001–02 ^[43]

Halifax Town

• West Riding County Cup: 2003–04 ^[44]

Oxford United

• Conference Premier play-offs: 2010 ^{[ citation needed ]}

Northampton Town

• Football League Two: 2015–16 ^[45]

Sheffield United

• EFL League One: 2016–17 ^{[46] [45]}
• EFL Championship runner-up: 2018–19 ^{[ citation needed ]}

Individual

• Football Conference Manager of the Month: January 2003 ^[47]
• The Football League / EFL Manager of the Season: 2015–16, ^[48] 2018–19 ^[49]
• LMA League Two Manager of the Year: 2015–16 ^[50]
• LMA League One Manager of the Year: 2016–17 ^[50]
• LMA Special Achievement Award: 2016–17 ^[51]
• LMA Championship Manager of the Year: 2018–19 ^[29]
• LMA Manager of the Year: 2018–19 ^[29]
• EFL Championship Manager of the Month: February 2019, ^[52] April 2019, ^[53] December 2021 ^[54]
• EFL League One Manager of the Month: April 2017 ^[55]
• Football League Two Manager of the Month: January 2015, ^[56] November 2015, ^[57] January 2016, ^[58] February 2016 ^[59]

References

1. "Chris Wilder". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
2. "Chris Wilder". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
3. Holley, Duncan; Chalk, Gary (2003). In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC. Hagiology Publishing. p. 615. ISBN   978-0-9534474-3-5.
4. Millwall advance their Christmas goal rush, The Times, 29 December 1987
5. Taylor, Louise. Clubs face fines for sending weakened sides to tournament, The Times, 13 December 1988
6. "Chris Wilder | Football Stats | No Club | Age 54 | 1985-2001 | Soccer Base".
7. Chris Wilder at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)
8. "Wilder quits for Halifax". Derbyshire Times. 4 July 2002. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
9. "Alfreton Town Football Club History". Alfreton Town F.C. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
10. "Wilder leaves Halifax for Shakers". BBC Sport. 30 June 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
11. "Wilder is new Oxford United boss". BBC Sport. 21 December 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
12. "Oxford United 3–1 York City". BBC Sport. 16 May 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
13. "Shrewsbury 3–0 Oxford Utd". BBC Sport. 8 May 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2011.
14. "Port Vale 3–0 Oxford Utd". BBC Sport. 5 May 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
15. "Thomas pinning faith in Oxford United boss Wilder". Oxford Mail. 12 May 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
16. "Chris Wilder signs new Oxford United deal". BBC Sport. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
17. "Oxford United accept manager Chris Wilder's resignation". BBC Sport. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
18. "Chris Wilder appointed new manager". Northampton Town F.C. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
19. "Northampton Town FC History". Northampton Town F.C. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
20. "Northampton Town players and staff paid after Thomas takeover". BBC Sport. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
21. "Blades appoint Wilder as new manager". Sheffield United F.C. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
22. "Chris Wilder: Sheffield United appoint Northampton boss to replace Nigel Adkins". BBC Sport. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
23. "Millwall 2 v Sheffield Utd. 1 : Match Report". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
24. Kirkham, Andrew (30 April 2017). "Up the Champions". The Official Matchday Programme of Sheffield United F.C. Souvenir Special. v Chesterfield.
25. "Sheffield Utd. 1 v Brentford 0 : Match Report". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
26. "Sheffield Wednesday 2 v. Sheffield Utd. 4 : Match Report". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
27. "Leeds Utd. 1 v Sheffield Utd. 2 : Match Report". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
28. "Sheffield United promoted to the Premier League". Sky Sports. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
29. "Boss scoops double". Sheffield United FC. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
30. "Sheffield United: Chris Wilder signs new three-year deal as manager". BBC Sport. 9 July 2019.
31. "Sheffield United: Chris Wilder: Sheffield United boss extends his contract until 2024". BBC Sport. 10 January 2020.
32. "Sheffield United confirm manager Chris Wilder's departure". BBC Spott. 13 March 2021. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
33. "Chris Wilder named Middlesbrough boss and Neil Warnock replacement with immediate effect". Sky Sports. 7 November 2021. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 7 November 2021.
34. "Wilder And Jones Win Championship December Awards". www.mfc.co.uk. 7 January 2022.
35. "Middlesbrough sack manager Wilder". BBC Sport. 3 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
36. Media, P. A. (7 March 2023). "Watford sack Slaven Bilic and appoint Chris Wilder as new manager". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 7 March 2023.
37. "Valerien Ismael: Watford name ex-Barnsley and West Brom boss as new head coach". BBC Sport. 10 May 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
38. Poole, Harry (5 December 2023). "Sheff Utd sack Heckingbottom and appoint Wilder". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
39. Howarth, Matthew (27 April 2024). "Newcastle 5–1 Sheffield United". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
40. "Managers: Chris Wilder". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
41. Hugman, Barry J., ed. (1996). The 1996–97 Official PFA Footballers Factfile. Harpenden: Queen Anne Press. p. 285. ISBN   978-1-85291-571-1.
42. "Club Honours". Alfretontownfc.com. Alfreton Town FC. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
43. "Club Honours". Non League Paper. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
44. "Storton in need of morale booster". Telegraph & Argus . 18 February 2004. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
45. "League Managers Association - Chris Wilder". League Managers Association. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
46. Shield, James (15 April 2017). "Breaking: Sheffield United confirmed champions of League One". The Star. Sheffield. Retrieved 17 April 2017.
47. "Conference end of season awards". ConfGuide.com. 14 June 2003. Archived from the original on 2 July 2003. Retrieved 14 March 2023.
48. "The Football League Awards 2016: Winners". EFL.com. 17 April 2016. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
49. "EFL Official Website - 2019 Winners". EFL.com . Retrieved 26 April 2022.
50. "More honours for boss Wilder". Sheffield United FC. 23 May 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
51. "LMA Annual Awards: Chris Hughton, Chris Wilder and Paul Cook recognised". English Football League. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
52. "Sky Bet Championship: February Manager of the Month winner". Efl.com.
53. "Sky Bet Championship: April Manager of the Month winner". Efl.com.
54. "Sky Bet Championship: December Manager of the Month winner". Efl.com.
55. "Chris Wilder named Sky Bet League One Manager of the Month". Efl.com.
56. "Chris Wilder named Sky Bet League 2 Manager of the Month". Efl.com. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
57. "Chris Wilder named Sky Bet League 2 Manager of the Month". Efl.com. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
58. "Chris Wilder named Sky Bet League 2 Manager of the Month". Efl.com. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
59. "Chris Wilder named Sky Bet League 2 Manager of the Month". Efl.com. Retrieved 29 March 2019.

External links

• Chris Wilder at Soccerbase
• Lincoln City F.C. Official Archive Profile