Some of their signings have played regularly, such as Auston Trusty, Vinícius Souza, Gustavo Hamer and Cameron Archer, but the number of Premier League starts for others like Anis Slimane (4), Bénie Traoré (3) and Tom Davies (2) reveal their standing in Wilder’s squad heading into next season.
Having started with a weaker team than in the Championship, there were decent enough performances under Paul Heckingbottom, despite failing to get a first win until November. They were beset by bad luck, such as Chris Basham’s horror injury against Fulham which ruled him out for the season and left him fighting to save his career.
While competitive in many matches, they were prone to collapse and shipped eight goals against Newcastle, then five against Arsenal and Burnley. When Wilder took over, they started a run of matches at Bramall Lane where they lost 5-2, 5-0, 5-0 and 6-0. No team in English football had conceded five or more across four consecutive home games. By the time relegation was confirmed, they had set the record of goals conceded in a 38-game season.
Along the way they have, at times, been the laughing stock of the Premier League. On the pitch they have been fighting between themselves, with Vini Souza and Jack Robinson shoving and swiping at each other when they faced Wolves.