Sheff Utd fan explains why he wants his side to lose playoff final to Sunderland
A Sheffield United fan has bizarrely admitted he wants his side to lose Saturday's play-off final to Sunderland. The Blades will face the Black Cats at Wembley for the chance to be promoted to the Premier League.
The Yorkshire side were last in the top flight in the 2023/2024 campaign, but it proved to be a miserable season. The Blades picked up just 16 points, winning only three times and conceding a record number of goals for a Premier League side.
They missed out on automatic promotion this year by 10 points, though comfortably finished third in the Championship table. They will face Sunderland on Saturday, with Régis Le Bris' side having finished fourth.
Chris Wilder's Blades smashed Bristol City in their play-off semi-final, while Sunderland edged past Coventry with a last-gasp extra-time winner. But one Sheffield United fan will be hedging against his side this weekend.
Dan Atkin, of Four Blades In The Pub podcast, has made it clear he does not want to see Wilder's side promoted. Atkin is concerned that should they get promoted, a season back in the Premier League would be hard to watch.
"The last two Premier League campaigns of ours have pretty much broken me to be honest. Just the fact we've not been competitive. We've been borderline embarrassing at times," Atkin told BBC Sheffield.
"We've been close to setting record low points totals. We've set records for the number goals conceded and I've just not got the stomach to go down and spend a day in London. A couple of hundred pounds in a game I've got no real interest in the outcome.
"And I know that sounds strange. I've been a Blade for 40 odd years, I've seen us be rubbish more than I've seen us be good. But I've just got to the stage where the Premier League just doesn't do it for me in the slightest.
"The prospect of a season with a points total in the mid-teens. It's not there for me anymore. I've been a season ticket holder for 40 odd years. I've already renewed my season ticket for next season.
"And if we're there then we're there and I'll support them as I always have done. But, realistically, whichever team loses on Saturday, their fans hare going to have a more enjoyable season next year."
It is fair to say that Blades manager Wilder does not share Atkin's view. He said this week: "We're a winning football team. We're going for wins. We know how to win, and that has got to be our focus. On Saturday, we're going to go for a win and we back ourselves.
'They [the players] are ultra positive, they're focused, and they're excited as well, and they're really looking forward to the challenge of going to Wembley. And then after that it's about getting that win.
'To lead the club out at Wembley Stadium, in front of over 80,000 supporters, one of the biggest games in world football, it's a great honour and privilege and responsibility, but we've got to do the job right. That's the first and foremost, and we're ready to win.'
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