CHRIS WILDER IS the man who brought John Egan and George Baldock together at Sheffield United.
The former Blades boss now speaks with a sense of pride and happiness that the two men who became cornerstones of the success and revival at Bramall Lane have also emerged on the international scene.
They are polar opposites who have a shared passion and desire for the game, not to mention experiencing two promotions to the Premier League and one relegation.
Egan is the one those close to him describe as the more calculated and level-headed; Baldock a somewhat more brash character who needs to play on the edge with his aggression as close to the surface as possible.
Tomorrow, they do battle when Greece host the Republic of Ireland in their Euro 2024 qualifier. A professional relationship that blossomed into a close friendship over the last five years will be suspended in Athens.
The hurling lessons, song-writing, basketball games and regular coffees together on Ecclesall Road in Sheffield will all be forgotten come kick-off.
“They are different personality types but have a very similar attitude,” Wilder tells The 42. “That is what has got them to this stage in their careers, they have both had setbacks in their life and their careers but they have the ability to persevere and fight through to succeed.
“They were never boy wonders. They are two warriors who you can rely on as a manager because they are leaders. They would show it in training every day. It was always full tilt, no-holds-barred with the two of them. It was the environment that was created, intense with a will to win.”
Wilder might just raise a glass to them both in The Grapes when kick-off nears. An Irish pub in Sheffield city centre, it has been run by Ann Flynn and her family for more than 20 years.
Egan is a regular for a decent pint and the trad sessions, Baldock has joined him on occasion too, but Wilder is eager to clear something up.
“Don’t listen to any of that b****x about them discovering it, I was the one who brought them there, I told them all about The Grapes,” he laughs, confirming that the upstairs room was indeed where The Arctic Monkeys played their first gig in 2003.
“I’ve been going in there for years, my wife’s family are all relations of Ann Flynn and her family,” Wilder explains. “John and the lads might have had some sneaky visits, but we had some brilliant nights in there.”
None more so than when Wilder led them to Premier League promotion at the end of the 2018/19 campaign. He made Egan a club record £3 million signing at the start of that season and was repaid with the kind of consistency and commitment that has become his trademark.
Baldock, a right wing-back who operated so effectively on the opposite flank to Enda Stevens, arrived with Wilder a year previously having emerged at MK Dons following loan spells in the National League, League Two, and with IBV in Iceland.
The duo clicked pretty quickly. When Baldock spotted Egan’s car boot was full of hurleys, he was eager to learn how to play, and Egan was a willing teacher. Puck-abouts at the training ground became commonplace, while away from it, the pair would meet for pick-up games of basketball at a public court alongside Norwegian teammate Sander Berge.
That helped pass time when Covid-19 restrictions were eased, and while Baldock may be the more naturally outgoing character, it was Egan who represented the club playing Fifa when the ePremier League was set up during lockdown.
It was originally Baldock, another keen gamer, who the club wanted to play but he was too TV-shy, so the Cork native stepped up instead. He lost in the final to Leicester City’s James Maddison.
Egan’s ability to take the limelight extended to those promotion celebrations in 2019, although it was the support of Baldock which led to him penning the Sheffield United version of the ‘Allez, Allez, Allez’ song which would go viral (above).
Egan had planned the song with his girlfriend months in advance before tweaking lyrics with the help of Baldock. Once promotion was secured he then took centre stage, with Baldock a willing back-up singer.
“For me, it was never case of having to reinvent either of them,” Wilder continues. “The way they have handled every challenge and dealt with each step up tells you everything about them.
“With John, whether it was [Roberto] Firmino, [Sergio] Aguero or Ashley Barnes, he took the challenge head on. The same for George; one minute it would be Wilfried Zaha or Sadio Mane. He wanted that battle.
“When it cropped up about playing for Greece (through his grandmother) he asked me what I thought and I told him to go for it because it’s another new opportunity and environment to test yourself in.”
Tomorrow, Egan and Baldock will have another new challenge to overcome when friends becomes foes for 90 minutes.