Sheffield United - A decade of change

It’s been a tumultuous ten years for Sheffield United. They’re a poor club by Premier League standards, but they have a rich history - Bramall Lane is the oldest major league ground anywhere in the world, having hosted its first game in 1862. Still, they’re seventh in the table - a dwarf level on points with footballing giants Manchester United. From relegation to League One in 2011, to the Ched Evans controversy, and finally the sky rocketing of form under lifelong Blades fan Chris Wilder, the club has had quite a journey.

April 30th. 2011. It's a beautiful day in Sheffield, but that’s little reconciliation to anyone at Bramall Lane. The final whistle sounds, and with it comes the stark realisation that Sheffield United would be playing in the third tier of English football for the first time since 1989. 

A draw with Barnsley on the day was irrelevant - relegation rivals had done enough earlier in the day to ensure survival. The Blades were down before they had even kicked off. The mood around the ground was sombre, but nobody was shocked.

“It was inevitable by that point”, Blades fan Iain Waller, 63, explains: “The match against Barnsley doesn’t stand out, because you could feel it all season. 

“Things just would not go our way. We’d play teams off the pitch and end up losing 1-0.”

There was belief from both the club and the fans that the Blades would bounce straight back up. This didn’t happen. They stayed down for five seasons, making the play-offs in all but one of their four unsuccessful bids for promotion.

The club seemed unable to catch a break, and matters off the pitch received national attention for all the wrong reasons.

Ched Evans was the Blades’ top scorer in their first season back in League One with 35 goals. He was named in the League One team of the season. He’s also Sheffield United’s most controversial player of all time.

“The worst day supporting the club was away against MK Dons in April 2012.”  Peter Hornsby, 25, said: “It was the day after Ched Evans was convicted of rape. All fans had the same two thoughts on their mind - either an innocent man has gone to jail, or our best player is a rapist.”

Two and a half years after Evans' imprisonment the club announced that Evans would resume training with Sheffield United once he was released. The backlash was brutal. 170,000 people signed a petition demanding the club not re-sign him. The Blades had no choice but to backtrack, and on November 20th the club withdrew their offer to allow Evans to use the clubs training facilities.

To this day it is still a deeply divisive issue around the club. Following the national uproar, Co-chairman Jim Phipps said: “The influence of mob-like behaviour made it difficult to take the simple step of allowing Ched to train… The issue was tearing at the fabric of our community. We had our people at each other's throats. Things weren't going to get better."

Alf Billingham, 67, has supported the club his entire life. He said: “Wilder is central to everything about us. He’s turned average players into great players.

“He’s been the key to it all. I hope he stays for a long time.”

Fast forward to now and the Blades are flying high. They have already drawn away 1-1 to Spurs, and they took all three points in a 1-0 victory against Arsenal, but it was the recent 3-3 draw against Manchester United that really turned heads. 

Speaking to Sky Sports after that game, Graeme Souness said: “They are a really good team and will be hard to play against because they mix their game up. 

“They have some real technicians in midfield who can get them out of tight areas and deliver cute passes.

“There were times against United when they were like Barcelona in tight areas. 

“They have got great qualities, they really have. I want a season ticket."

Sheffield United owner Prince Abdullah recently told a fans’ forum that he wants Wilder to manage the club for "10, 15 years; Sheffield United's Sir Alex Ferguson". Other managers are taking note too. Steve Bruce's first job in management was at Sheffield United in 1998, and whilst he was there he managed Chris Wilder. He’s now the Newcastle manager, and speaking to Sky Sports he said: "Over the summer he [Wilder] was seeking my advice over one or two things, and before I knew it I'm seeking advice off him!"

Sheffield United were favourites to be relegated at the start of the season. Following their incredible start ten clubs are now seen as more likely to be relegated. Hardly anything has changed from the system that was used so effectively last season, the infamous overlapping centre backs are still utilised, and the only noticeable change has been a slightly more defensive midfield. So why are they doing so well when everyone thought they would do so badly?

Danny Higginbotham, writing for The Sun, said: “They play what I like to call ‘organised chaos’ — and it’s the biggest compliment I can give them.

“You see the right centre-back of the back three in the right-wing position and you think ‘How does that work?’ but it does. By doing this they outnumber the opposition in the wide areas, and are somehow able to remain solid when defending on the counter.

“It’s unbelievable. And the most intriguing thing is no one has figured out how to contain it”

It isn’t only the playing style that’s stumping other teams, but also the fact that Wilder has managed to get his team outplaying footballing behemoths while on such a low budget.  Manchester United’s Alexis Sanchez is paid more in wages than the entire Sheffield United squad combined. He’s out on loan for the season.

In attempting to buy the Princes’ share for £5m, the Princes’ company was given the opportunity to buy McCabe's share for the same amount, and so a counter offer was made by the Prince.

A High Court case ensued, and on September 16th earlier this year Mr Justice Fancourt ruled that McCabe must sell his stake to Prince Abdullah for £5m. As a result, the Prince must buy all of the clubs assets from McCabe on top of his shares, which includes Bramall Lane and the Sheffield United hotel.

Mr Waller said: “I feel sorry for McCabe because he’s a lifelong supporter, he’s put a lot of money into the club. But he’s always been a chairman that’s let players go.

“I’m hoping that the new regime will turn things around a bit and keep our better players.”