| Full name | Sheffield United Football Club. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Blades, Red & White Wizards[1] | ||
| Founded | 1889 | ||
| Ground | Bramall Lane Sheffield (Capacity: 32,702) |
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| Owner | Kevin McCabe | ||
| Chairman | Christopher Steer | ||
| Manager | Danny Wilson | ||
| League | League One | ||
| 2010–11 | The Championship, 23rd (relegated) |
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| Current season | |||
Sheffield United Football Club ( /ˈʃɛfiːld juːˈnaɪtɪd/) is a professional English football club based in the city of Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
They were the first sporting team to use the name 'United' and are nicknamed 'The Blades', thanks to Sheffield's worldwide reputation for steel production.[1] The Club play their home games at Bramall Lane, the oldest major stadium in the world still hosting football matches.
Sheffield United enjoyed possibly their most successful period between 1897 and 1902, winning the League in 1898 and the FA Cup in 1899 and 1902, with further wins following in 1915 and 1925. They were beaten finalists in the FA Cup in 1901 and 1936, and reached the semi-finals in 1961, 1993, 1998 and 2003. Their best performance in the League Cup was reaching the semi finals in 2003.
More recent times saw The Blades promoted to the Premier League in 2006, which shortly ended amidst controversy after just one season. Despite reaching the Championship play-off final in 2009, further decline followed, where an over reliance on loan players and the sale of the club's star players saw The Blades relegated to the third tier of English football for the first time in 23 years.
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Sheffield United formed on 22 March 1889 at the Adelphi Hotel, Sheffield (now the site of the Crucible Theatre) by the President of the Cricket Club Sir Charles Clegg. Sheffield Wednesday had moved from Bramall Lane to their own ground at Olive Grove, and the tenants of Bramall Lane needed to create a new team to generate income. Sir Charles Clegg was incidentally also the president of Sheffield Wednesday FC.
Undoubtedly United's heyday was the 40-year period from 1895–1925, when they were champions of England in 1897–98 and runners up in 1896–97 and 1899–1900, and FA Cup winners in 1899, 1902, 1915 and 1925, finishing runners up in 1901, and also eleven years after their cup final win in 1936. United have not won a trophy since 1925, bar those associated with promotion from lower-leagues, though they did reach both domestic cup semi-finals and the First Division play-off final in the 2002–03 season, ultimately losing all three matches.
Their darkest days came between 1975 and 1981. After finishing sixth in the First Division at the end of the 1974–75 season, they were relegated to the Second Division the following season and three years after that setback they fell into the Third Division. They reached an absolute low in 1981 when they were relegated to the Fourth Division, but were champions in their first season in the league's basement division and two years afterwards they won promotion to the Second Division.
They did fall back into the Third Division in 1988, but new manager Dave Bassett masterminded a quick revival which launched the Blades towards one of the most successful eras in their history. Successive promotions in the aftermath of the 1988 relegation saw them return to the First Division in 1990 after a 14-year exile. They survived at this level for four seasons (being founder members of the new FA Premier League in 1992) and reached an FA Cup semi-final in the 1992–93 season before being relegated in 1994.
They would remain outside the top flight for the next 12 years, although they did qualify for the play-offs under Bassett's successor Howard Kendall in 1997 and caretaker manager Steve Thompson in 1998. They were struggling at the wrong end of Division One when Neil Warnock was appointed manager in December 1999, and a financial crisis was preventing the club from being able to boost their squad, but in 2002–03 they enjoyed their most successful season for a decade, reaching the semi-finals of both domestic cups and also reaching the Division One play-off final, where they were beaten 3–0 by Wolverhampton Wanderers. Three years later, however, Warnock delivered a Premier League return as the Blades finished runners-up in the rebranded Football League Championship. They lasted just one season back amongst the elite, before being relegated from the Premier League amidst the controversy surrounding Carlos Tevez, with Warnock resigning shortly afterwards.
The club struggled to come to terms with life back in the Championship, with a spiralling wage bill not being matched by the quality of the players brought in, and a succession of managers within a short period of time. Despite a brief flirtation with success as the team reached the 2009 play-off final under Kevin Blackwell, the club entered a period of decline. The 2010–11 season was a disaster, with the club employing three different managers in the space of a season, which ultimately ended in relegation to League One under Micky Adams, meaning they would play in the third tier of English football for the first time in 23 years, and only five years after gaining promotion to the Premiership.
Sheffield United play at Bramall Lane, near the centre of Sheffield. Bramall Lane is the oldest major league ground anywhere in the world, having hosted its first game in 1862,[2] a match between Hallam and Sheffield Club. Bramall Lane also hosted the world's first ever floodlit football match on 14 October 1878 with two teams picked from the Sheffield Football Association. The power for the lights was provided by two generators. The crowd was 20,000 and the score 2–0. It was originally a cricket ground and the first important match played here was between Yorkshire and Sussex in 1855. A cricket club was formed in 1854 named Sheffield United Cricket Club and Bramall Lane was leased to the club by the Duke of Norfolk. The ground was opened with a cricket match on 30 April 1855. Yorkshire County Cricket Club also formed here, and played most of their games in Sheffield at Bramall Lane until the last match on 7 August 1973 against their old rivals, Lancashire. The ground has seen expansion in recent years, and by 2006, on completion of a 3,000 seat corner stand,[3] was an all-seater stadium holding 32,609.[4] In March 2009 the club were officially granted permission to expand the stadium once again, over two phases. The first phase would have seen the Kop being extended to increase the grounds capacity up to approximately 37,000. It would also have seen the removal of the main supporting pillars and a giant screen installed as part of the stands roof. The second phase would have seen the Valad Stand (formerly Arnold Laver Stand) also extended, bringing the total capacity to a 40,000 all seater. The expansion would also have had a secondary focus of being available for selection for FIFA World Cup matches in 2018 or 2022, if England's bid were to be successful. However on the 16 December 2009 the Football Association announced that should England's 2018/2022 World Cup bid be successful then any games played in Sheffield would be staged at Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough Stadium. Following this Sheffield United's Chief Executive, Trevor Birch, made it known that all planned ground redevelopment had been put on hold until the club was able to regain and maintain Premiership status. With the clubs relegation to League One in May 2011 any ground redevelopment would look unlikely in the near future.
Sheffield United have played in red and white stripes for most of their history, but began playing in white shirts and blue shorts. They briefly played in narrow red stripes for the 1890–91 season, before returning to all white the following year. The stripes returned in the 1892–93 season, with black shorts replacing the blue in 1904. The shirts remained largely unchanged until collars were first removed in 1955, replaced by V-necks until the 1966–67 season (when white socks were also used), and from here on the neck style varied.
The traditional red and white striped remained until the 1974–75 season, when elements of black were added, until the 1979–81 and 82 season kit. This was white with a red breast, and with thin stripes down either side, and was created to accommodate the logo of the club's principal sponsor, Cantor's, a local furniture shop. This was to be replaced by a striped kit, with the sponsor Bentley's (1981–82) and Renault (1982–83) written vertically down a white stripe over the left-hand side. Stripes continued while the 1995–96 season, albeit with various aids to accommodate the sponsors, including a yellow square for Laver from 1988–92 (the 1990–92 shirt also featured narrow black stripes through each white stripe) and a black hoop, also for Laver in the 1994–95 season. Then came the diamond kit, which was so badly received that the club reverted to stripes the following season. Since then, red and white stripes and black socks with varying trim have been the order of the day, with black shorts for all but the 2002–05 seasons, when white and then red were tried.[5] The club also every few seasons opt to put thin black stripes between the red and white stripes. Sheffield United's home colours have been the inspiration for the kit of Irish club, Derry City. In 1934, Derry City adopted the stripes, while Billy Gillespie was manager of the club, in recognition of Gillespie's achievements at Sheffield United.[6]
The first time a crest appeared on the shirt was in the 1891–92 season, when a red crest appeared on the white shirt, but this disappeared the following season. United used the city of Sheffield's coat of arms from 1965–77, when a new crest was used, introduced by former manager Jimmy Sirrel, but designed apparently over 20 years previously by former player Jimmy Hagan. This consisted of two white crossed swords, or blades, the club's nickname, with a Yorkshire Rose above, on a black background. This is surrounded by a red ring with "Sheffield United F.C." written around the top and "1889", the year the club was founded, underneath. This had been altered very slightly a few times, with a simple black embroidered crest appearing on shirts from 1987–90, and an all-white crest on a red-edged black shield for the 1992–99 seasons, but reverted to its original form in 2000.
| Year | Kit Manufacturer | Main Shirt Sponsor | Secondary Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973–75 | Umbro | None | None |
| 1975–79 | Admiral | ||
| 1979–81 | Hobott | Cantor's | |
| 1981–82 | Bentleys | ||
| 1982–83 | Renault | ||
| 1983–85 | Umbro | Simonds | |
| 1985–95 | Arnold Laver | ||
| 1995–97 | Avec | Wards | |
| 1997–99 | Le Coq Sportif | ||
| 1999–00 | Blades | ||
| 2000–02 | Patrick | Midas Games | |
| 2002–04 | Le Coq Sportif | Desun | |
| 2004–06 | HFS Loans | ||
| 2006–07 | Capital One | ||
| 2007–08 | Valad | ||
| 2008–09 | VisitMalta.com | ||
| 2009–11 | Macron | Capita | |
| 2011–present | Westfield Health (Home) Gilder Group/Volkswagen (Away) |
Nexis Holdings PLC |
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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In January 2006, Sheffield United became the first foreign club to take over a Chinese team[8] when they purchased the football club Chengdu Wuniu, based in the city of Chengdu, China.[9] The club was re-named the Chengdu Blades, after their new owners. Sheffield United shirts are now sold in China, and Chengdu shirts are now sold in Sheffield, increasing revenue streams for both clubs.
In February 2008, Kevin McCabe, the club's chairman, finalised an agreement with Budapest-based Ferencváros to buy its football team, and also negotiated with the Hungarian government to purchase and develop the ground around Stadion Albert Flórián.[10] The development of a new all-seater football stadium with a capacity of 25,000 has been started. A match was played in Budapest to celebrate the link-up.[11]
As Group Executive Director, Michael Farnan is responsible for the commercial development of the Sheffield United International Group. Sheffield United’s unique international football model began with the club purchasing high profile foreign teams in China and Hungary as well as becoming a major stakeholder with a leading Australian A-League side.
The Blades also have operating/business and exchange of ideas links with Central Coast Mariners[12] of Australia and White Star Woluwé[13] of Belgium.
The Australian Valad Property Group were sponsors of the South Stand at Bramall Lane. From the 2009–10 season, the South Stand sponsors are GACWorld
Affiliated clubs
Sheffield United have numerous rivalries. The most notable rivalry is with their city neighbours Sheffield Wednesday, with whom they contest the Steel City derby. Sheffield United's other rivals are mainly other teams from Yorkshire, such as Leeds United, Barnsley, Rotherham United and Doncaster Rovers. West Ham United are also fierce rivals due to the 'Tevez saga' and the following lawsuit charges.
Sheffield United also have, along with many other sports teams across Yorkshire, a strong rivalry with Nottingham Forest. This can be attributed to the miners' strikes of the 1980s, where workers in the pits of Nottinghamshire did not join the strike (known locally as scabbing) while miners from Yorkshire did.
Sheffield United derives support from a broad cross-section of the community. The majority of football fans in the S2 postcode of the city (where the ground is located) are Sheffield United fans, particularly the Sharrow, Heeley, Highfield, Manor and Park Hill areas of the city. There are also a lot of supporters in the S3 areas, close to the city centre, S8 and around the Gleadless area, a strong contingent from the Dearne Valley, with a large supporters club from Swinton[15] in particular. The club usually run two or three special student deals each season, and so also have a small student following, based in the suburbs of Crookes and Broomhall.
Supporters of note include former managers Micky Adams,[16] and Neil Warnock,[17] actor Sean Bean,[18] former Sports Minister Richard Caborn, MP,[19] the singer Paul Heaton,[20] musicians Joe Elliott, Antony Genn and Toddla T, television presenter Anna Walker,[21] author G. P. Taylor,[22] Olympic Laser Class Sailing gold medalist Paul Goodison has followed Sheffield United since he was a youngster[23] Alex Hammond (Sky Sports News presenter), athlete Jessica Ennis and boxer Kell Brook. Former player and current Oxford United manager Chris Wilder and Alan Hodgkinson former Blades goalkeeper and the current goalkeeping coach at Oxford United.[24]
Kevin Davies, a Premier League and England striker, is also an avid Sheffield United fan. As a boy Argentinian legend Juan Sebastian Veron dreamed of playing for the Blades.[25] Sky Sports presenter Charlie Webster is also a Blades supporter.[26] Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Michael "Flea" Balzary is also known to a Blades supporter, after he confessed his love for the club at the Reading festival in 2007.[27]
Sheffield United's predominant nickname is "The Blades", a reference to Sheffield's status as the major producer of cutlery in the United Kingdom. Because of this, the nickname would also be used in reference to rivals Sheffield Wednesday. Another nickname used was "The Cutlers", but this failed to catch on. In the early days, the two teams would be differentiated by the grounds they played at, with United being referred to as "Laneites" (in reference to Bramall Lane), while Wednesday would be called "Groveites", as they played at Olive Grove. In 1907, Wednesday came to be referred to as "The Owls", in reference to their new ground in Owlerton, meaning that United could claim the "Blades" nickname for themselves.
When Sheffield United purchased Chinese club Chengdu Wuniu in 2006, they redesigned the club crest in the style of the Sheffield United badge and renamed the team "Chengdu Blades".
Like many English clubs, Sheffield United supporters have a wide variety of chants and songs, the most famous of which is The Greasy Chip Butty Song. Many others are intended to berate Sheffield Wednesday, the most famous of which are (to the tune of "Singing the Blues): "Never felt more like Swinging a pig/from Hyde Park Flats to Wadsley Bridge/United! You've got me swinging a pig/As you do, as you do, as you do!" and "No pigs fans in town/No Hillsborough to sadden my eyes/Jack Charlton is dead/and the pig's fans have fled/and the year is 1889!". They can also be heard to sing "Are you Wednesday in disguise" to poorly-playing teams—an attempt to undermine both the opposition and Sheffield Wednesday.[28] A popular chant at the moment is "Oh when the Blades go marching in!" this is usually sung for a long period of time whilst playing away from home. Songs played before kick off at Bramall Lane include 'Meet Her At The Love Parade' by Da Hool, 'We took Pelham' by Deadly Avenger and 'United' by Judas Priest and. These songs are known to fans as the 'Countdown To Kick-Off'. . Another popular chant is (sung to the tune of "I am sailing"): We are Bladesmen, we are Bladesmen, super Bladesmen, from the Lane. We are Bladesmen, super Bladesmen, we are Bladesmen, from the Lane".
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| Season | League | Pos | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
| 2001–02 | Division One | 13 | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 53 | 54 | 60 |
| 2002–03 | Division One | 3 | 46 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 72 | 52 | 80 |
| 2003–04 | Division One | 8 | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 65 | 56 | 71 |
| 2004–05 | Championship | 8 | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 57 | 56 | 67 |
| 2005–06 | Championship | 2 | 46 | 26 | 12 | 8 | 76 | 46 | 90 |
| 2006–07 | Premier League | 18 | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 32 | 55 | 38 |
| 2007–08 | Championship | 9 | 46 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 56 | 51 | 66 |
| 2008–09 | Championship | 3 | 46 | 22 | 14 | 10 | 64 | 39 | 80 |
| 2009–10 | Championship | 8 | 46 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 62 | 55 | 65 |
| 2010–11 | Championship | 23 | 46 | 11 | 9 | 26 | 44 | 79 | 42 |
Pos = Position; P = Played; W = Won; D = Drawn; L = Lost; F = Goals For; A = Goals Against; Pts = Points
| Name | Nat | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | L | D | Win% | ||||
| John Wostinholm[29] (secretary) | 1 August 1889 | 1 May 1899 | 233 | 103 | 76 | 54 | 44.21% | |
| John Nicholson[30] (secretary) | 1 May 1899 | 1 April 1932 | 1216 | 486 | 449 | 281 | 39.97% | |
| Teddy Davison[31] | 1 June 1932 | 1 August 1952 | 592 | 248 | 205 | 139 | 41.89% | |
| Reg Freeman[32] | 1 August 1952 | 1 August 1955 | 132 | 54 | 48 | 30 | 40.91% | |
| Joe Mercer[33] | 1 August 1955 | 1 December 1958 | 156 | 64 | 57 | 35 | 41.03% | |
| Archie Clark (acting) | 1 December 1958 | 1 April 1959 | ||||||
| John Harris[34] | 1 April 1959 | 1 July 1968 | 424 | 174 | 148 | 102 | 41.04% | |
| Arthur Rowley[35] | 1 July 1968 | 1 August 1969 | 43 | 16 | 16 | 11 | 37.21% | |
| John Harris[34] | 1 August 1969 | 5 December 1973 | 188 | 84 | 59 | 45 | 44.68% | |
| Ken Furphy[36] | 5 December 1973 | 6 October 1975 | 80 | 27 | 31 | 22 | 33.75% | |
| Cec Coldwell (acting) | 6 October 1975 | 15 October 1975 | ||||||
| Jimmy Sirrel[37] | 15 October 1975 | 27 September 1977 | 81 | 20 | 38 | 23 | 24.69% | |
| Cec Coldwell (acting) | 27 September 1977 | 23 January 1978 | ||||||
| Harry Haslam[38] | 23 January 1978 | 31 May 1981 | 158 | 50 | 68 | 40 | 31.65% | |
| Martin Peters[39] | 31 May 1981 | 1 September 1981 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% | |
| Ian Porterfield[40] | 1 September 1981 | 27 March 1986 | 226 | 98 | 70 | 58 | 43.36% | |
| Billy McEwan[41] | 27 March 1986 | 2 January 1988 | 86 | 27 | 34 | 25 | 31.4% | |
| Dave Bassett[42] | 2 January 1988 | 12 December 1995 | 393 | 150 | 142 | 101 | 38.17% | |
| Howard Kendall[43] | 12 December 1995 | 27 June 1997 | 82 | 34 | 21 | 27 | 41.46% | |
| Nigel Spackman[44] | 27 June 1997 | 2 March 1998 | 43 | 20 | 6 | 17 | 46.51% | |
| Russell Slade[45] (acting) | 2 March 1998 | 9 March 1998 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0% | |
| Steve Thompson[46] (acting) | 9 March 1998 | 2 July 1998 | 17 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 29.41% | |
| Steve Bruce[47] | 2 July 1998 | 17 May 1999 | 55 | 22 | 18 | 15 | 40% | |
| Adrian Heath[48] | 15 June 1999 | 23 November 1999 | 22 | 7 | 10 | 5 | 31.82% | |
| Russell Slade[45] (acting) | 23 November 1999 | 2 December 1999 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0% | |
| Neil Warnock[49] | 2 December 1999 | 16 May 2007 | 388 | 165 | 123 | 100 | 42.53% | |
| Bryan Robson[50] | 22 May 2007 | 14 February 2008 | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 36.84% | |
| Kevin Blackwell[51] | 14 February 2008 | 14 August 2010 | 90 | 39 | 25 | 28 | 43.33% | |
| Gary Speed[52] | 17 August 2010 | 14 December 2010 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 33.33% | |
| John Carver[53] (acting) | 14 December 2010 | 30 December 2010 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33.33% | |
| Micky Adams[54] | 30 December 2010 | 10 May 2011 | 23 | 4 | 5 | 14 | 17.39% | |
| Danny Wilson[55] | 27 May 2011 | 30 | 18 | 6 | 7 | 58.06% | ||
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