The Portsmouth manager who never was now on brink with Championship rivals

In Pompey circles he will forever be the manager who got away.

When the Blues could have ended up with Chris Wilder they got Richie Barker, as clear a sliding doors moment as there’s been when it comes to the Fratton managerial hot-seat.

Now Wilder finds himself at another crossroads in his career, with widespread reports last night he’s facing the sack at Sheffield United.

Wilder Sheffield United AI recruitment disconnect

The Blades boss was a game away from making an instant return to the Premier League following their relegation, as they eventually succumbed to a 2-1 play-off final defeat to Sunderland last month.

Wilder was handed a new three-year deal as recently as January, with a US-based consortium completing their purchase of the club at the end last year.

The landscape has shifted markedly in recent weeks, however, with the suggestion a new ‘data-driven’ approach to Sheffield United’s recruitment incorporating the use of Artificial Intelligence is at the heart of the issue.

This for a man now in his second spell at Bramall Lane after taking them from League One to the Premier League, when joining from Northampton in 2016.

The 57-year-old’s League Two title success with the Cobblers and ensuing charge up the leagues with the club he supports and played for, shone a light on the decision to go with Barker over him in what proved a nightmare Pompey appointment.

It’s a call from the executive in the club’s period of community ownership which time has not looked favourably on, but in fairness to the decision makers of that period the optics were a little different at the time.

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Back then Chris Wilder was in charge of an Oxford side labouring in League Two, before his stock in the game rose at a hurtling pace.

Meanwhile, Barker was billed as arriving as part of a managerial package with the experience of Steve Coppell to lean on.

The scenario never quite materialised in that fashion, with Coppell’s influence minimal at best and Barker’s reign a miserable 20 games with just four wins returned in League Two.

Why Pompey never appointed Wilder

Speaking in The News chief sports writer Neil Allen’s book Pompey: The Island City With A Football Club For A Heart, McInnes explained the thinking behind that controversial call.

He said: ‘Chris Wilder was among a shortlist of four, although didn’t come back with any glowing references. I spoke to his Oxford United chairman, Ian Lenagan, who was not complimentary.

‘I later ended up having a row with Lenagan because he publicly criticised us for approaching his manager, even though Wilder had applied. To be fair, he accepted the retort and was very hospitable the next time we visited the Kassam Stadium.

‘Some of the board strongly favoured Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale, particularly Ashley Brown, but most were put off by him saying that Saturday wasn’t the most important day of the week in football.

‘If I was starting a club tomorrow and wanted an architect to build me a successful model, Tisdale would be the best candidate. However, I don’t think he would have gone down well at Pompey, he was too laid back and wore that country casual attire.

‘Ash and I met Chris Wilder for the first time in a hotel and he was very tentative, not very sure of himself, while the feedback hadn’t been impressive.

‘Certainly on the day he didn't make a compelling argument, while his track record also didn’t particularly appeal, he was actually struggling at Oxford - and they accepted his resignation six weeks later.

‘Instead Richie Barker was appointed as Guy’s replacement, although it was the prospect of Steve Coppell arriving with him which weighed heavily on the decision.

‘If you think about it, we voted with our hearts in Guy’s case, the common denominator was no experience. As soon as Coppell walked through the door, he had not only been there and done it, but worn the T-shirt and wrote the book. If we were looking for some credibility within football, here was the man - and alongside him was a young coach who had taken Bury to promotion from League Two a few years earlier.’

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