Sheffield United: The Life of a Blade

Sheffield United: The Life of a Blade

It was a summer’s day in 1975 when it all started. The Anglo-Scottish Cup, a long-forgotten pre-season format. Blackburn Rovers the team of opposition. The brother-in-law, my little personal chaperone.

I was just seven. An excited little kid attending his very first football match. I had no previous affinity with Sheffield United. My chaperone was a Blade. Within a few seconds of that first visit to Bramall Lane, so was I. We won 3-1, and a crowd of just under 10,000 witnessed one of the rare wins of that truly miserable season.

The fans in that new South Stand that crippled the club financially for many a year didn’t have much to cheer about. The previous season, we nearly got into Europe. My first full season saw us relegated from the top flight. An incredible depressing turnaround in fortunes. It would be fourteen years before I saw top-flight football again.

Despite only catching him towards the end of his career, my first hero was Alan Woodward. That slow decline of my football club didn’t allow me too many more. Alex Sabella came over from Argentina with much fanfare. But he often flattered to deceive. We dropped further down the leagues. Before we couldn’t drop much further. We ended up in Division Four. An almighty fall from grace.

Ian Porterfield briefly offered us hope. A mini Blades revival before Dave Bassett brought his Crazy Gang mentality to Sheffield in 1988. Bassett brought his own brand of football. The club found its identity again. Bassett went shopping for bargains. He found them. The likes of Brian Deane, Tony Agana, Bob Booker, and many others became cult heroes.

There was that unforgettable day in 1990 when thousands of Blades fans took over Filbert Street in Leicester. A sea of bright yellow shirts. Five goals that saw Sheffield United finally promoted back to the highest league in the land.

That Bassett team was my team. Somehow, despite having to shop in the bargain basement, Bassett kept us in the top division for four seasons. That first season was special. Coming into the Christmas period, we hadn’t won a single game. We looked doomed. Relegation seemed certain. But a famous win against Nottingham Forest got us going. Glyn Hodges and his magic left foot came on loan from Crystal Palace. That incredible team spirit was a big part of our survival that season.

Bassett even gave us a little trip to Wembley during his time. The first visit since 1936. That one still hurts. Our big rivals from across the city beat us. But we had a couple of memorable victories over the dreaded enemy before that. Sadly, the Bassett era was coming to an end. The big talisman Brian Deane was sold to Leeds. Relegation soon followed. Bassett eventually left in 1995. He tried to rekindle past glories, but his departure always seemed inevitable once the Blades were relegated after four seasons, and the board limped along, giving Bassett an almost impossible task. Even he had run out of miracles.

Neil Warnock walked into his beloved Bramall Lane in 1999 after several managers tried and failed to emulate what Bassett had achieved. Warnock lasted eight years. He got us in the top flight in 2006. But it was a one-season wonder. A missed opportunity, and when Wigan beat us on the final day of the season to save their skins and relegate us, Warnock was gone soon after.

The club again lost its way. We found ourselves in League One. Third-tier football once again. The former Sheffield Wednesday stalwart Danny Wilson was controversially appointed in 2011. Wilson got the Blades playing a brand of football that was easy on the eye and he eventually won over his critics. Ched Evans found his scoring boots after struggling for so long since his big-money move from Manchester City. But when Evans was lost near the end of the season, promotion was lost with it.

The following season saw Wilson sacked. The club struggled to get out of the third tier. But when Chris Wilder was given the reigns in 2016, the Blades again had one of its own at the helm. Wilder worked miracles, two promotions in three years saw the Blades back in the Premier League. After one season where we defied expectations, Wilder was replaced when we struggled to find anything like the form of the previous season. Paul Heckingbottom eventually got the job. He got us promoted, but when the board yet again failed to invest in the squad, relegation was always likely. A desperate sorry season saw the inevitable happen. Wilder was brought back, but the damage was already done.

It was a truly horrible season. Wins were incredibly rare. The defence leaked goals. Fans were leaving earlier and earlier. The end of the season couldn’t come quick enough. It brought back memories of that first season back in 1975.

But there is hope Wilder can get us going again. The long-drawn-out takeover now looks imminent. A new wave of exciting talent is in the building. More will surely follow. History tells us we need to manage our expectations. But it looks distinctly promising. The club has life again.

There is something special about this football club. My club. There are many times when we wonder why we bother. But we keep coming back for more. Season after season, we live in the hope that this season will be different. It is like a family. I don’t know the names of the people who have sat near me in the Family Stand for years. We always speak. We always have a moan. But whatever the result, we know we will see each other at the next match. Die-hard Blades that often get taken for granted.

It’s often a hard watch. The highs have been incredibly rare. The lows are a constant theme, certainly in my time. But we can’t let go. A new season brings renewed hope. Sometimes, hope is all we have. But Sheffield United is an addiction that no amount of time in rehab would ever kick.

There is something magical about that old ground. The famous anthem is belted out with some passion. It is a unique atmosphere that only we get. Even after that awful first season in 1975, I knew that was where I belonged. When that ground is rocking there is no place like it. We cherish the good times. Memories that will never fade. A special place that just feels like home. And as we know, that is where the heart is.