Alan Biggs
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Footy reporter. talkSPORT/ Sky & Sheffield Star/Telegraph columnist. Author of Confessions of a Football Reporter (& others). TV/ vid & event host. Family bloke
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Articles by Alan Biggs
The challenge facing Sheffield United after the international break
Alan Biggs on a crucial break for the Blades Too many players performing below their best and you don't win football matches. Certainly not in the Championship where the tightness of competition demands the maximum from everyone. Certainly not at Sheffield United where individual brilliance and creativity has been largely stripped away. It falls on the unit to be at its maximum effectiveness. But that can't happen if many of the components are below that level, for fitness reasons as much as form.
Let Independent Football Regulator do its job in Sheffield United owners' case
Alan Biggs on the fall-out from last week's court case incolving Sheffield United's owners Are Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy "fit and proper" to run Sheffield United? Well, nearly two years after their buy-out, I don't know anyone outside the club who's met or had a meaningful conversation with either of them. So who can tell? But they can hardly complain if, based on all the evidence, the answer I believe many would give to the question above is a resounding no.
Where Sheffield Wednesday's expectations should be for the new season
Alan Biggs on Sheffield Wednesday ahead of a season fans can look forward to again If this column undercooks what to expect from Sheffield Wednesday this season then it's for the best of reasons. Hillsborough has been on heat all summer. The sense of excitement following new ownership has been feverish. As it should be. All back to what actually should be normal at this time of year but is abnormal at S6.
Chris Wilder and his Sheffield United team now have to perform at the peak of their powers
Alan Biggs on what has been a disappointing summer ahead of the new season for Sheffield United It feels a bit like this time two years ago. Then, Chris Wilder rushed through a late assembly of practically a new team. Expectations were low, achievements were high as Sheffield United made the play-offs after a late dip on automatic promotion. This time the Blades have come through the summer with more of his building blocks intact and in a slightly better place.
Where Sheffield United could finally learn from Sheffield Wednesday
It's been very quiet at Sheffield United lately... some might say, too quiet Far be it from a Blades column to sound off on events three miles to the north. But it's an unmissable comparison And there are those at Sheffield United - correction, largely remote from Bramall Lane - who could currently learn a lesson from the club's noisy neighbours. The value of communication. Now don't get me wrong, United are still very much in the ascendancy as a football club in this city.
The tricky aspect to Sheffield Wednesday's summer transfer window strategy
Sheffield Wednesday need a lot this summer's transfer market but that doesn't necessarily mean it will hit them hard in the pocket As the transfer window opens, what do Sheffield Wednesday need? “A lot” is the obvious answer to that. A double figure influx of new players as a minimum. A lot in money terms, though? The new owners digging deep? Well, not necessarily. Transfers, certainly at League One level, are less about fees, more about contracts and wages. Loans also proliferate.
Sheffield United need to find middle ground or season will just peter out
That elusive sweet spot for Sheffield United is bang in the middle of two things Chris Wilder doesn't want - playing it safe and being loose. The latter, “turning over” possession, has been a central criticism of some recent performances. But the alternative, possession for possession's sake, is something the Blades boss will be equally desperate to avoid. The natural reflex for players if they've been wasteful with the ball is to play it safe, or safer.
Message to EFL: Sheffield Wednesday's potential owners need supporting not dismantling
All Sheffield Wednesday fans really want is a proper, well run football club, acting responsibly and worth being proud to support. And they could justifiably say the same about the people running the game generally. It's not too much to ask, is it? If the prospective new owners achieve the first part of that, as I'm inclined to believe they can, then this horrific period will have run its ruinous course. Which should be with the assistance of, and not in spite of, the English Football League.
Some cause to believe Sheffield Wednesday's vicious cycle is about to turn
Alan Biggs Alan Biggs on Sheffield Wednesday's lack of luck and how gthat might turn “Success is only a matter of luck - ask any failure.” It's a phrase I've never forgotten since having it barked at me by Howard Wilkinson and told to repeat whenever he demanded. This was during a Sheffield Wednesday training day I took part in for a national newspaper back in the mid-to-late 1980s.
Sheffield United's transfer focus on an area high on numbers but low on consistency
Alan Biggs on Sheffield United's recruitment need during the January transfer window How must it feel to have the multiple pieces of your transfer jigsaw thrown up in the air by injuries and suspensions? In other circumstances, I'd fancy Chris Wilder might want to add stiffening the back line to the mix. Whereas five strikers for one or two positions is normal and even considered ideal, five centre backs for two places doesn't quite tick the box on either count.
Sheffield Wednesday potential sales hints at waiting game over ownership
Alan Biggs Alan Biggs on the ongoing takeover and the thinking behind potential sales From the outside it's impossible to judge whether Sheffield Wednesday should or shouldn't be open to selling players this window. You'd have to be up close and personal to the club's fragile finances and only administrators Begbies Traynor are in this position. Equally, they are better placed than anyone outside the EFL to gauge the proposed takeover's chances of success and how long it might take.
Only EFL can help Sheffield Wednesday and they have moral duty to do so
Alan Biggs Alan Biggs on Sheffield Wednesday's continued fight to strangthen their squad A running critique on the way a football team performs over a season is normal. Not at Sheffield Wednesday, it isn't. Any critique has long had nowhere to go, no true measure to apply. Which is why this critic, for one, has stopped his normal habit of commenting on each and every game, unless there to report it. Because quite simply there is nothing left to say. EFL, only you can help.
Challenge set for Sheffield United with Chris Wilder meeting it head on
Alan Biggs Alan Biggs on Sheffield United's challenge for the rest of the season Can Sheffield United make a sensational run to the play-offs? Yes, with some adjustments, I truly believe they are capable of it. Is it fair to expect it? Absolutely not. Straddled between those two questions and answers is the manager, working out how to pitch it without hanging himself out to dry. There is a pattern of occasional shock cave-ins to eradicate - Preston, West Brom, Wrexham and now Mansfield in the FA Cup.
The quality Sheffield United need in new January transfer window recruits
Alan Biggs Alan Biggs on what Sheffield United need in the transfer market When it comes to specific types of player Sheffield United aren't short of very much in any area. Or shouldn't be. But there is one type that isn't defined by a position on the field or a number on the back of the shirt. It is in this area above all that sources close to Chris Wilder have been suggesting for many weeks that he will be looking to fine-tune his squad in the January window.
Sleepwalking into new ownership is not an option at Sheffield Wednesday
Alan Biggs Alan Biggs on Sheffield Wednesday's ongoing takeover The only safe prediction about what should be end-game in Sheffield Wednesday's takeover saga is that it's likely to be anything but. Certainly not quick. Might it run and run? Amid the prevailing uncertainty, you bet. Alongside this being the Wednesday way, you have to say the current prospect of an ousted owner nicknamed “Chancer” being replaced by a former professional poker player is just about the most Wednesday thing ever.
The good, the bad and the ugly as Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday hope for a brighter 2026
Alan Biggs Alan Biggs reflects on 2025 and looks ahead to 2026 for Sheffield's two main clubs Only the word “Sheffield” at the start truly unites the city's two professional clubs - except for two glaring truths as we head into 2026. 1. Every Blade or Owl would accept that the standing of both these clubs, and the city as a whole, should be much higher. 2. Every Owl or Blade knows that abject club ownership is the reason why currently this is not the case.
Why 'let them have it' means something a bit different at Sheffield United
Alan Biggs Alan Biggs on the trend that Sheffield United are currently masters of There's an old saying about legal arguments that “possession is nine-tenths of the law.” When it comes to holding ground on a football field, you can almost turn that around in the case of Sheffield United this season. Something like “out-of-possession is nine-tenths of the law.” In fact, there's an unmistakable trend developing across the game whereby winners have less of the ball.
Sheffield Wednesday fans deserve some festive cheer
Alan Biggs Alan Biggs on Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsbrough horror form Of all the agonising perversities of 2025, Sheffield Wednesday's desperate home form is galloping up on the rails. When wreckage has been clung to during a prolonged existential fight, sheer volume of support was the saving grace. And yet it has not converted in any shape or form to results at Hillsborough - despite Wednesday routinely attracting in excess of 20,000.
Sheffield Wednesday need players but biggest boost would come off the pitch
Alan Biggs Alan Biggs on the ongoing attempt to bring new ownership to Sheffield Wednesday A takeover delay won't help Henrik Pedersen but it may not be the worst thing for whoever takes control of Sheffield Wednesday. Or for the club itself if it raises the ante on the deal. Because that is a priority infinitely higher than a burst of emergency recruitment from whatever is allowable in January.
Sheffield United 'ambition' still live but doesn't allow for dips like West Brom defeat
Alan Biggs on a recent defeat for Sheffield United that they simply can't afford if they are to maintain any outside chance of shooting up the table It's been such an abnormal season at Bramall Lane it's only fitting it will take abnormal deeds to make something of it. Fundamentally, from here, Sheffield United can't afford the normality of any sort of dip in form.
Where Sheffield United's upturn in form really kicked off
Alan Biggs Alan Biggs on the true turning point in Sheffield United's season There's always a starting point for a turnaround in form. Sheffield United's is less than obvious. I'd place it in the three match losing run of late October to early November - not in the upsurge that's followed since (writing ahead of Norwich in midweek). It was the way Chris Wilder rationalised an apparent and refused to panic. When there seemed plenty to panic about.
The challenge facing Sheffield Wednesday fans, players and manager
Alan Biggs on Sheffield Wednesday's performances on the pitch and murmurs of discontent off it No-one likes losing football matches whether they are managing, playing or supporting. It's in the psyche of the business to positively hate it, regardless of any mitigating factors. And no-one dare lose football matches if they are managing. But it is part of the game, a natural cycle in a sport of winning, drawing and losing. What is unnatural is losing nearly all the time.
Why big Sheffield United win stopped 'silly talk' getting out of hand
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Sheffield Wednesday's prospective new owners should make sure this man gets a chance
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What Sheffield United need to get Bramall Lane onside
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Where would Sheffield Wednesday go in case of emergency?
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Time for Sheffield Wednesday players and staff to take a bow
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Long war of attrition just beginning at Sheffield Wednesday when Dejphon Chansiri should be on bended knee
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Sheffield Wednesday's true face of leadership and inspiration
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A Decadal Change in Shorebird Populations in Response to Temperature, Wind, and Precipitation at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, USA
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Reality check for Sheffield United but no need to lose faith
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Sheffield United v Sheffield Wednesday kick-off change a small victory but bigger in principle
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Danny Rohl has set the perfect tone after 'freakish' Sheffield Wednesday result
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Seeing Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl on our screens this summer is a win-win
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Danny Rohl is calling the tune at Sheffield Wednesday
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Get ready for another Sheffield Wednesday heart-stopper
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How wrong I was about 'exceptional' Sheffield Wednesday appointment
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Sheffield Wednesday must fire back from the unacceptable
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More evidence uncovered to strengthen Sheffield's claim as The Home of Football
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More evidence uncovered to strengethen Sheffield's claim as The Home of Football
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Hecky a victim of his own success
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Things to like about Sheffield Wednesday's summer recruitment drive
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January will be crucial for Wednesday as Monk says his players are ‘not doing enough’
It’s now 20 years since Sheffield Wednesday plunged from the Premier League — and there still appears to be no clear route back. Only Nottingham Forest, of the other half dozen or more second-tier clubs who have traditional claims to being “big”, have been estranged from the elite for longer. And the turning of another decade brought grim reality to Hillsborough in the shape of visitors Hull City, who have enjoyed recent spells in the top flight and are now level with Wednesday on 39 points.
There are five senior strikers in the squad, but Monk must covet another
It seems a strange statement to make for a squad with an abundance of strikers but if Garry Monk had one wish for the January window — not that he’s letting on — it must be for another one. Or at least one who can cure Sheffield Wednesday’s over-reliance on Steven Fletcher. Far easier said than done, of course, for a club fighting financial fair play issues that could spell a substantial points reduction.
There are five senior strikers in the squad, but Monk must covet another
It seems a strange statement to make for a squad with an abundance of strikers but if Garry Monk had one wish for the January window — not that he’s letting on — it must be for another one. Or at least one who can cure Sheffield Wednesday’s over-reliance on Steven Fletcher. Far easier said than done, of course, for a club fighting financial fair play issues that could spell a substantial points reduction.
Two saves, 72 lonely minutes, then a three-goal blitz: Manchester United give Simon Moore first taste of Premier League football
No one could have told you just how well Sheffield United played yesterday better than Simon Moore — because for all but seven minutes the stand-in goalkeeper on his Premier League debut was a virtual spectator. No one perhaps except for David De Gea, who at the other end, kept Manchester United in an extraordinary game with a series of saves that somehow earned a 3-3 draw. “Amazing” was the single but telling word of admiration for Chris Wilder’s side from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Morrison ‘magic’ is back as he makes case to face Chelsea
Ravel Morrison is 26. He has been contracted to three Premier League clubs and one of the top outfits in Italy. He is acknowledged as one of the greatest talents this country has possessed in the past decade. And yet Morrison is no further forward than when he was described by Sir Alex Ferguson, at 14, as “the best young player at his age” he’d ever seen. In fact, he’s a great deal further back. But now he has the chance to begin again.
Chris Morgan: ‘Just being ranted at is something modern players don’t stand for’
Chris Morgan was the last captain to lead Sheffield United into the Premier League. He was also very much your traditional centre half. This Captain Morgan might have willingly walked the plank blindfolded had he seen his fellow defenders buccaneering forward at every opportunity. He laughs at the joke. “Perfect — I’d have loved it!” is his ironic response. But it is in mirth from him as well.
Tree Fruit and Small Fruit Production
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The overlooked aspect of the Blades’ overlapping centre halves? They still keep it tight at the back
Chris Wilder has added to the terminology of the Premier League with his “overlapping centre backs” — hitherto an open secret in the subterranean world of the EFL. All fine and dandy for now in Sheffield United’s unbeaten return to the top flight. But does a rude awakening await? Centre backs are paid to not concede goals, aren’t they? Well, here’s the thing: these three don’t. Well, not many.
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