Deane had three stints with Sheffield United and is convinced no one could have managed a decent season with this squad in the Premier League.
"It's easy to blame the manager and I'm not saying that he (Chris Wilder) hasn't got his flaws. I'm not saying that Paul Heckingbottom hasn't got his flaws. But you could have put Pep, Klopp or whoever you wanted in. It's just not worked. I'm not sure what's going on," Deane wonders.
Dropping down a league might offer more playing time to talents like Oliver Arblaster and William Osula, but will the Blades be able to keep them?
"The best place for Arblaster is at Sheffield United. Is he going to be better than a young player at an elite club? He's playing football and where's he going to go? Regarding Osula, I think he has some good attributes and there is a lot to work with there. I see some attributes that I had at that age.
"If they work on him and round him out, perhaps work on his positioning and his confidence, they could have a serious player in the Championship. I saw him on the pitch against West Ham and felt there were times where he could have done some serious damage to the back line if he had a little bit more understanding.
"But he's just a young lad. Hopefully, next season, he's going to get a chance to lead the line and get some consistency behind him. Then we'll know whether or not we've got a player."
- Brian Deane was talking to Tribalfootball.com on behalf of Freebets.com