Time to replace Selles with Wilder? Aaron McLean’s EFL takeaways

This weekend’s EFL action provided the usual drama and excitement we know and love.

Friday’s night’s 5-0 hammering for Sheffield United at Ipswich Town sent shockwaves around the Championship.

Last season’s beaten play-off finalists – a side still getting Premier League parachute money – have lost all five of their matches and sit bottom of the league, having scored just one goal and conceded 12.

Is it time for new man Ruben Selles to be replaced by Chris Wilder – who he took over from in the summer?

McLean: “It’s not only the results, but it’s the performance as well.

“They were so well beaten by Ipswich and they just look like a team devoid of confidence – it was such a feeble attempt at a performance that I can’t see anything other than a change of manager.

“I can totally understand why the rumour of Chris Wilder coming back is going around because he’s been there and done it, and obviously got them to the play-offs last season.

“Yes, they just fell short, but a lot of those players are his players and maybe he’s the one who can get a tune out of them.

“It just hasn’t worked out with Ruben Selles. That’s not to say he’s a bad manager, it’s just to say that he, the club and those players aren’t the right fit.

“Sometimes you have to part ways sooner rather than later before it gets to the point where there is no chance of of them reviving the situation.

A 1-0 home win over Birmingham City moved Stoke up to second place in the Championship with four wins from five matches.

The Potters have gone through seven permanent managers in the seven years since they were relegated from the top flight and finished no higher than 14th since.

But they’re flying now, so can they mount a title challenge?

McLean: “They’ve promised so much for so many years and always disappointed.

“But I think in Mark Robins they’ve got a manager who can go that next step.

“He has the record of being able to go in and get a promotion.

“The job he did at Coventry was incredible, and I really think he’s the man to take Stoke to the next step.

Barnsley went third in League One with a 3-2 win over Reading – and are within a point of top spot.

In his first full season in charge, Conor Hourihane is leading a side who play attacking football – only Huddersfield have scored more than their 14 goals in seven matches this season.

McLean: “I don’t think many people were talking about Barnsley at the start of the season.

“But because of the job that the Conor Hourihane’s doing, all of a sudden now people are looking at them not just as play-off contenders, but in terms of winning the division.

“Conor Hourihane is inexperienced as a manager, but in terms of footballing knowledge is vastly experienced.

“He’s played at the top level, he’s played international football and even though he’s only just starting his coaching journey, has had an eye on it for a number of years.

There were worried faces in Plymouth after they lost five of their first six League One games of the season.

But new manager Tom Cleverley – who inherited a new-look squad following relegation from the Championship – has started to turn results around.

Is Saturday’s 3-2 win at Luton Town – despite having 10 men for most of the second half – a sign that the Pilgrims are sailing into calmer waters?

McLean: “From the conversations I had with Tom when he was managing at Watford, and people that I’ve spoken to about how he works, he is relentless in his preparation and in his detail.

“So I’m not surprised to see him going in and turning it around because I can guarantee that he would’ve been working tirelessly day and night to find solutions.

“What’s so impressive about the victory at Luton is that they were down to 10 men and they got the winner. They conceded two penalties and managed to find a way against a club who were in the Premier League not too long ago.

“Tom’s got a really difficult job on his hands, and he’s had to blood a lot of young players.

McLean’s former club Peterborough United have had a dreadful start to the season – going into Saturday’s home game with Wycombe Wanderers, they had taken just one point from seven games.

But two first half goals helped Posh to a 2-1 victory – and while they remain bottom of the table, they are level on points with the sides immediately above them.

McLean: “They’ve lost so many big players over the past couple of seasons – players that are so difficult to replace.

“They conceded a ridiculous amount of goals last season, but they scored a lot of goals – now you’d say 90% of those have gone: Malik Mothersille, Ricky Jade Jones, Kwame Poku, Hector Kyprianou, who was the captain.

“To lose a couple would’ve hampered them, but to lose all of them was always going to be difficult. So it’s a work in progress for Darren Ferguson.

“Their model is to bring young hungry players to the club, improve them and then sell them on. That’s been their model since I joined all those years ago, and for years it’s worked.

“They don’t want to find themselves dropping into League Two. They have to try to find a way sooner of getting themselves back up the table.