When Chris Wilder was growing up, he wanted to play for Sheffield United in the old First Division — and he managed to make it happen. It didn’t last that long, though.
Despite being technically good enough and possessing the right attitude, he wasn’t quick enough for the top level. ‘I kept fighting off the next replacement the manager brought in,’ Wilder said earlier this year. ‘There were about 23 of them and eventually one of them got me. I had to leave, drop down and build a career somewhere else. It was hard but it happens.