Sheffield United
Sheffield United (Jon Candy / Flickr.com)

Chris Wilder Returns for Third Spell as Sheffield United Manager… Despite Being Sacked Twice Before

Managers / September 23, 2025

There’s that old saying that ‘lightning strikes twice’, but Chris Wilder will be hoping that he isn’t facing an electrical storm for a third time as he returns to Sheffield United. The Blades have reappointed Wilder as their manager in September 2025, just three months after he had his previous contract terminated – a real terms gap of just five Championship games.

It’s a fascinating turn of events, given that a) Wilder has, as mentioned, already been sacked by Sheffield United twice, and b) that the club’s owners paid him a considerable compensation package when terminating his contract, before now hiring him back on a presumably higher salary than before.

Wilder, for his part, was able to pocket his compensation cheque in May, sit on the beach all summer, before returning to work in September… nice work if you can get it! It was interesting how he framed his return in an interview, claiming not to be ‘smug’ that the manager that had replaced him – Ruben Selles – had failed so markedly, with the Blades dropping from third place under Wilder into the Championship relegation zone.

Wilder stated:

I’m not smug about the situation. I’m not sitting back and saying ‘oh, it’s great they lost’ I think some managers might be but I’m not. It’s my life, it’s my family’s life and it’s my pals’ life. We want the club to succeed.

So where does Wilder’s rapid return to Bramall Lane rank amongst the quickest sacking-to-rehiring journeys in football? And, assuming there’s a possibility he will be sacked for a third time in the future, could anybody match his record of being dismissed on three or more occasions by the same club?

The Quickest Managerial Re-Hire in Football


By our math, Wilder spent just 59 days unemployed, having been sacked by Sheffield United on June 18 and reappointed on September 16.

David Moyes

In the Premier League, there are few managers that can get anywhere close to that timeframe. David Moyes was sacked – and reappointed – inside two years at West Ham between May 2018 and December 2019, where he would remain until the end of the 2023/24 season.

Brian McDermott

In the English Championship, the curious case of Brian McDermott takes some topping. He was appointed as Leeds United manager in April 2013, doing a solid if unspectacular job in the months that followed.

By January 2014, the Yorkshire club was the subject of a takeover bid by Massimo Cellini, a man for whom the word ‘stability’ would become a personal insult. On January 28, Cellini ordered that his friend – former Middlesborough defender Gianluca Festa – be allowed to sit in the dugout for a game against Ipswich.

It was expected that McDermott would be sacked and replaced by Festa, which proved to be the case on January 31. However, Cellini’s takeover had not been properly ratified, and so McDermott returned as Leeds United manager three days later on February 3. Later, Cellini claimed that his thick Italian accent was to blame for the furore. He revealed that he wanted a ‘couch’ removed, not the coach!

Davide Nicola

Beating that turnaround is Davide Nicola, the former manager of Italian side Salernitana. He was appointed in February 2022 and helped the club stave off relegation – later described as a ‘miracle’, but after a fairly torturous start to the 2022/23 season, Nicola was sacked on January 16, 2023, following a 2-8 defeat to Atalanta.

But within 48 hours, he was back in charge – following a heart-to-heart talk with the Salernitana owner. Taking to his Instagram, Nicola sensationally revealed:

I apologised, taking responsibility for a performance that was not adequate and the resulting heavy defeat. I pleaded strongly with the president to reconsider his decision; to let him know he’s dealing with a human soul that has a deep sensitivity.

I love Salerno and strongly believe in this project. I want to repay his trust with all my love.

On February 15, 2023, Nicola was sacked again… this time for good.

Football Managers That Have Been Sacked Three Times or More By the Same Club

Radomir Antic

One of the leading candidates for this honour has to be Radomir Antic, who was sacked three times by Atletico Madrid… in the space of just two years.

The Serbian had delivered the La Liga title to Atleti in 1996, but after struggling to back up that success, Antic was fired by trigger happy president Jesus Gil at the end of the 1997/98 season. But with all parties feeling a sense of unfinished business, it was no surprise when Antic returned to Atletico as manager in 1999 – replacing his own successor in charge, Arrigo Sacchi.

Initially appointed on a short-term contract, Gil decided not to extend Antic’s stay beyond the end of 1998/99. However, he would again come knocking on the door of his old mate in February 2000. By now, Atleti were in dire straits financially – Gil would later be imprisoned for his wrongdoings, with Antic unable to save them from relegation. He was, once again, sacked by the Madrid outfit at the end of the 1999/2000 campaign.

Jupp Heynckes

Jupp Heynckes had four spells in charge at Bayern Munich, although he was only sacked once – otherwise, he served as an interim manager or, as was the case of his last stint, the German retired from coaching altogether.

Julio Comesana

But taking the absolute biscuit is the Colombian, Julio Comesana, whose managerial CV includes four different stints as boss at Independiente Medellin and – this is genuinely not a typo – TEN different terms as manager of Atletico Junior, the club who gave the world Carlos Valderrama and Luis Diaz, in his native country.

Comesana first got the call in 1991, lasting just one season at the helm, before enjoying nine more stints as Atletico Junior manager – the last coming as recently as 2022. If you thought three tenures in charge at the same club was dramatic, Comesana and Atletico Junior take that to all new levels of managerial love affair.