Tony Cascarino has leapt to the defence of Sheffield United after fellow talkSPORT host Adrian Durham tipped them for relegation from the Premier League this season.
In a scathing attack on the club, Durham claimed the Blades will be worse than Huddersfield and labelled captain Billy Sharp a ‘League One striker’.
Manager Chris Wilder has guided Sheffield United from the foot of League One to the Premier League in three seasons with minimal spending.
And following a summer which has seen them spend little over £20million so far, Durham accused them of ill-preparation.
“Sheffield United are going down,” Durham said. “They’re not even taking the Premier League seriously.
“They’re still bigging up Billy Sharp, and as much as I love Billy Sharp – great record, absolute legend, local boy came good, third spell at the club – he is League One.”
Cascarino, who is close friends with Wilder, pointed towards the manager’s record and Sharp’s stats to explain why Durham’s comments were wide of the mark.
“They were ahead of schedule; they didn’t think they were going to get promoted next year,” he told the Weekend Sports Breakfast.
“He [Wilder] has overachieved for his entire career. If we get to the end of next season and Sheffield United have stayed up, and they’ve done it being entertaining, it wouldn’t surprise me.
“Billy Sharp has been a journeyman striker, who has scored goals at loads of different levels. Is it unfair calling him a League One striker? Absolutely, Adrian’s totally wrong there. He got 24 goals in the Championship last season!
“One thing that Chris Wilder has always done is overachieved with the players he has had.
“He’s always had plenty of forwards to choose from – David McGoldrick was a free transfer last year. He’s done it with Leon Clarke as well.”
