Your round-up of the latest stories surrounding Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday.
The first international break of the season is now well underway with supporters of Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday able to reflect on their opening fixtures. Both have shown moments of promise but it is the former who go into a weekend off unbeaten, with two wins and two draws leaving them sixth.
Wednesday came flying out the blocks with a 4-0 win against Plymouth Argyle but three defeats since provided a swift return to reality, with Danny Rohl’s side down in 20th. With all that in mind and on a relatively quiet weekend in South Yorkshire, The Star has rounded up some of the latest stories from both sides of the city.
Carlton Palmer believes United should be able to fend off January interest in Anel Ahmedhodzic if they look well-placed to fight for automatic promotion. Premier League teams are expected to remain keen on the defender going into the mid-season window but Palmer only expects Bramall Lane chiefs to sanction a sale if a ‘huge offer’ comes in.
Obviously, there was a lot of interest in the summer and I think interest will come again in January and I think Chris Wilder and the board will look at the situation again then,” Palmer told Football League World. “Should Sheffield United be in the reckoning to get promotion, I don’t think you’ll see Ahmedhodzic leave the football club, unless there’s a huge offer coming in for him.
“Wilder’s made his intentions very clear and that is to get Sheffield United back to the Premier League at the first attempt and they will be there or thereabouts, and Ahmedhodzic will be a big role in that. You need to keep your better players if you want to get promoted, but obviously, if somebody comes in with a massive offer in January, Sheffield United will have to look at that.”
Wednesday warning
Queens Park Rangers captain Steve Cook expects his side to attack a ‘massive’ week that includes a trip to Hillsborough in the hope of building on early momentum. QPR haven’t lost since the opening weekend of the season and enjoyed an excellent 2-1 win over newly-relegated Luton Town before the international break.
Marti Cifuentes’ side have looked to make the most of this early break and on Thursday held Premier League side Brentford to a 0-0 draw. It’s another step forward for the London club and the experienced Cook hopes to continue progressing against Wednesday next weekend.
“We want to attack next week strong,” Cook told QPR’s website. “It’s another massive week coming up that week, with the cup game (against Crystal Palace) too. We’re looking forward to getting in our stride and hopefully extending our current unbeaten run.”