It's like I've just woken up from a fever dream.
It all revolved around my beloved Blades. Starting with an outing to Wembley where I watched Sheffield United going down 2-1 to Sunderland in the play-off final, yet I'm certain we were 2-0 up at one stage.
Not only that but defeat led to Chris Wilder's departure. The cult hero sacked. That's despite a campaign which delivered 90 points - 92 if you consider the -2 deduction to start with.
Something about a 'creative difference' I think. Wilder, who, can I remind you, led us to promotion from both League One and then the Championship in his first spell, wanted to bring in players with menacing scowls and a bit of grit to earn that top-flight return.
The owners - the COH Sports consortium - had their eyes on a different direction. Data-led scouting and an apparent obsession with the Bulgarian leagues.
The start of the season usually brings optimism, delusional optimism for most, but I'm far more pessimistic this time around because when you actually assess the situation in S2, it is very, very dire.
It wasn't until I listened to This Week's Acca's Championship preview where it actually hit me (I was ill and missed out on the recording so there's the plug). Things are...really bad.
The downward trajectory may well begin now. Quotes of 100/1 on RELEGATION are out there. I've had a little stake on it but then perhaps that's my Blades-biased pessimism.
But I'll be getting against the Blades in the early part of the campaign. I certainly don't think they're a solid pick at the right end of the table as the odds suggest.
Sheffield United's outrights ()
- Title: 7/1
- Top two: 3/1
- To be promoted: 9/4
- Top six: 8/11
- Top half: 1/7
- Relegation: 40/1
Odds correct at 1430 BST (06/08/2025)
Where better to start than the managerial switch? The clichéd chalk and cheese.
Wilder's no nonsense, shoot from the hip approach is no more. A Blades fan with a strong connection to the club seemingly counted for little in the eyes of the new ownership.
He's replaced by Ruben Selles who brings a good reputation. It's one which is also known for developing younger players, in a system which favours the high press. A diplomatic approach to management.
The previous home dugout occupant preferred to work with experience players. He wasn't wedded to one tactical system. He did not mince his words either.
It's a fascinating change in approach. It's also a squad far suited to the former yet with some sections of the support still not fully convinced, Selles will have to make an immediate impact at the Lane. It feels like he may not be able to win in that case.
Look, I know Wilder is not to everyone's taste - or anyone barring Sheffield United fans if we're honest - yet the connection between him and the club is undeniable.
He returned to Sheffield United halfway through the 2023/24 season, inheriting a side rock bottom in the Premier League and that, unfortunately, is where they stayed.
To say he had a mammoth task on his hand the following summer would be a bit of an understatement. He had to rejuvenate a club which had only won three games and conceded 106 goals in 38 top-flight outings.
A total of 18 players left the club, some of those very good ones at that, with 16 coming in to replace. But that's because they knew they'd be playing for Wilder, a manager who boasted a serious pull at this level.
Jesurun Rak-Sakyi had lots of admirers, some of those who went onto achieve promotion, but he came to United.
Callum O’Hare signed along with Tyrese Campbell, Sam McCallum, Harry Clarke, Alfie Gilchrist, Harry Souttar, Harrison Burrows, Michael Cooper, Tom Cannon and Ben Brereton Diaz.
Wilder built a squad with depth, quality and experience - one which achieved a points tally that usually gains automatic promotion.
This summer doesn't paint a similar, positive picture. Nine players have gone, seven of which were loanees from last season, with only four in. There's very little Championship experience in the new additions.
Vini Souza has departed for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, commanding a fee of £15million - that tells you the calibre of player he was during his time in South Yorkshire. Souza was a destroyer of epic proportions. He will be a huge miss.
Anel Ahmedhodzic’s gone to Feyenoord, a colossus at the back, especially in the Championship. The fact that both him and Souza have moved up a level underpins how important they were to the Blades.
It could get worse as well. Goalkeeper Cooper and last season’s Championship Player of the Year Gustavo Hamer are attracting Premier League interest and if either of them go before the end of the window, the Blades will be a long way off the automatics.
With Souza and Ahmedhodzic’s departure and the underwhelming activity in the transfer market, United suddenly look short on quality.
The revolutionary AI-led transfer approach has found two under 20’s from the Bulgarian top-flight so far.
Louie Barry has joined on loan from Aston Villa, the highly regarded 22-year-old smashed it in League One with Stockport last season but he is unproven at this level after injury cut short his post-Christmas spell at Hull.
Tyler Bindon joins from Nottingham Forest and, like Barry, is young and full of potential but inexperienced in the Championship. The Blades have also signed Djibril Soumare from Braga.
The experience of the past is gone and replaced with, well, the unknown.
With huge change at all levels of the club, I'd be very wary of backing the Blades in the positive outright markets.
That 100/1 on relegation was a tongue in cheek quote, yet I'd certainly be more inclined to look at it than title success.
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