Sheffield United have no business being this close to the automatic promotion places, and that, in an odd way, is precisely the point. Six games into the Championship season, the Blades sit two points off the top two, having collected results that the underlying numbers suggest they barely deserved. The question is whether that resilience is a foundation or just a run of fortune waiting to unravel.

Winning ugly, but winning

The Blades were second best in virtually every meaningful statistic in their win at Ewood Park earlier this week: possession, shots, shots on target, touches in the opposition box. They won anyway. BBC Radio Sheffield commentator Adam Oxley argues that is no coincidence, pointing to a dressing room with the character and collective will to grind out results even when the team is not at its best.

Goalkeeper Michael Cooper has been outstanding, and the defensive unit has been disciplined in making tackles, blocks and headers when needed. Up front, Tom Cannon, widely criticised before a ball was kicked this season, already has three goals in six games. He managed just six across the whole of the previous campaign. That is an early-season caveat worth repeating: it is six games. A good run of four or five results in August and September has flattered many a Championship side before the division sorts itself out.

The serious problems have not gone away

The backdrop to this modest optimism is genuinely difficult. Sheffield United face the ongoing threat of a points deduction as the EFL and the Independent Football Regulator examine the transfer of the club's ownership. The concern centres on an outstanding debt of £35m owed to former owners United World from COH Sports Bidco Ltd, the vehicle used to complete the December 2024 takeover, which has since been wound up by the High Court. Co-chairmen Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy have left significant questions unanswered.

The playing squad has also been reshaped at some cost. Andre Brooks, Gustavo Hamer and Callum O'Hare, arguably the three most creative players on the books last season, have all been sold. Their replacements have been drawn exclusively from the free-agent and loan markets. Vini Souza and Anel Ahmedhodzic have also departed since the side that reached the Championship play-off final in 2025. Long-serving assistant Alan Knill left in a summer clear-out that brought Mickey Collins up to the number-two role and former Manchester United defender Phil Jones into the coaching setup.

Chris Wilder, now into his third spell in charge, has been candid about still searching for a settled system, style and formation. That is not the language of a manager who feels his squad is close to clicking. It is the language of one who is managing uncertainty week to week.

What does a play-off push actually require?

With six games played, the table is compressed and almost any position is recoverable or losable. The top six places in the Championship are typically decided across 46 games, and the clubs that sustain a challenge through November and December are rarely the ones riding early-season variance. Sheffield United, on current form, look capable of competing for a top-six finish. Whether they can sustain it over a full campaign, with squad depth already a concern, is a different and harder question.

The points deduction threat is the wildcard that makes any projection unreliable. A deduction of even five or six points could be decisive in the tightest top-six race. Supporters and the management team alike are being asked to invest emotionally in a table position that may yet be adjusted by a regulatory decision.

What Wilder does have, according to those watching closely, is a group of players willing to graft, defend their shape and take their chances when they arrive. That is not nothing in this division. But in the Championship, character alone has never been enough over 46 games, and the Blades will need considerably more than that before anyone should be planning a Wembley trip.

Frequently asked

Where are Sheffield United in the Championship table?
After six games of the Championship season, Sheffield United sit two points off the automatic promotion places.
Could Sheffield United face a points deduction this season?
Yes, that threat remains live. The EFL and the Independent Football Regulator are investigating the transfer of the club's ownership, with a £35m debt to former owners United World at the centre of the inquiry.
Are Sheffield United genuine play-off contenders this season?
Early signs are encouraging, but the squad has lost several key players without like-for-like replacements, depth is a concern, and the points deduction threat adds significant uncertainty to any top-six push.