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| Blades Down the Years - A brief history of my years following The Blades The years of following United has probably brought more bad times than good, which perhaps makes the good times all the more enjoyable. During the period from 1968 to the present day I have seen the club triumph in a memorable promotion to the old First Division in 1971 followed by a gradual decline in fortunes when in 1981 United was relegated to Division Four. Through the 1980's the club has had it's ups and downs eventually gaining promotion to the top flight in the 1989-90 season where the club stayed for four seasons until being relegated in May 1994. The Nineties saw United play in a Wembley F.A. Cup semi-final against Wednesday and a promotion play-off final in 1997 and more recently the club have made appearances in two Old Trafford F.A. Cup semi-finals, a League Cup semi-final and a play-off final at Cardiff. Like the majority of clubs up and down the country, United have not won anything in recent times. However, having a good cup run or even being in the chase for promotion for much of the season can be considered as relative success. At the end of the 2005-06 season, after a twelve year absence, the club finally achieved the ultimate ambition of a place back in the Premiership. I remember going to my first Sheffield United game on a warm August Saturday in 1968. It was the first match of the season and the Blades having been relegated from the old First Division at the end of the previous season were starting the new campaign in the Second Division at home to Aston Villa. I can remember United winning the match comfortably 3-1 with Villa scoring a late consolation goal from a penalty. In my early years of watching United good cup runs were very few, however I have very early memories of the Blades as a division two side beating the then League Champions Everton 2-1 at home in the 3rd round of the F.A. Cup in 1970. United lost to Derby away in the next round. United gained promotion to the First Division in 1971 and today, in an age of rotation systems and players being rested, how times have changed as the '71 promotion side seemed to picked itself week in week out: Hope, Badger, Hemsley, Flynn, Colquhoun, Hockey, Woodward, Salmons, Deardon, Currie, Reece. As the '71 season drew to a climax the Blades faced fellow promotion rivals Cardiff City at home. A victory for United would deny Cardiff's chances and mean we would only need a draw from our last home game against Watford on the final Saturday of the season. On a wet Tuesday night in April in front of a crowd just short of 43,000, the Blades beat their Welsh rivals 5-1 with goals from Deardon (2), Flynn, Currie and Reece. United also went on to beat Watford 3-0 on the last day of the season and gained promotion to Division One. The following season got off to an unbelievable start for the newly promoted side as they went on an unbeaten run of eleven games that included nine victories until a defeat at Old Trafford at the beginning of October. A crowd of fifty odd thousand and a Match of The Day audience of millions saw George Best score one his best ever goals. A goal that is often repeated today and reminds me a little of the goal the Maradona scored in the '86 World Cup against England (Not the hand of God goal - the other one). George picks up the ball just beyond the halfway line beats about five defenders with his pace and tricks. Best is driven wide but still managers to beat United's keeper from close in.
During the early to mid seventies United enjoyed very respectable mid table finishes, plus just missing out on a European spot in season '74-'75 with a 6th place, only for the following season to go into decline. United ended it's links with the Yorkshire Cricket Club during this period and had ambitions of building a new south stand on the site of the old cricket pitch. Improving the ground and investing money heavily into the new stand gave the club financial problems and money to spend on the players was in short supply. United ended the '75-'76 bottom of the division with just six wins and twenty-two points and were relegated to Division Two. United's decline continued during the following seasons. In the summer of 1978 new manager Harry Haslam returned from a scouting trip from the World Cup in Argentina. It is said the Haslam had eyed a young 17-year-old by the name of Maradona and had thoughts of signing the youngster. The story goes that Haslam failed to sign Maradona as the Sheffield United board were not prepared to sanction a transfer with a reported six figure price tag on a untried youngster. Eventually Haslam returned to Sheffield having signed Alex Sebella from River Plate. Though Sebella was a gifted midfield player he was unable to do enough to stop United being relegated again this time to Division Three at the end on the '78-'79 season. Sebella eventually joined Leeds United. With the decade starting so well for the Blades it ended in the worst possible way on Boxing Day 1979 when they lost 4-0 to Wednesday at Hillsborough. United had begun the season well and were around the top of Division Three by Christmas. But this seemed to be a turning point of the season for both Sheffield clubs as Wednesday went on to get promotion and United finished only 12th. Things came to an all time low on the last game of the season in 1981 when United had to take just a point at home against fellow strugglers Walsall to avoid a further relegation to Division Four. Walsall were winning 1-0 but late in the game United seemed to be handed a lifeline as they were awarded a penalty. Don Givens stepped up to take it only to hit a weak shot that the Walsall keeper saved. Walsall stayed up and Sheffield United were relegated to Division Four. In the summer of 1981, Ian Porterfield replaced Martin Peters as manager. Porterfield was best known to me at the time as the player who scored the winning goal in the 1973 F.A. Cup final when second division Sunderland beat Leeds.
Porterfield had gained success as a young manager with neighbouring Rotherham, steering them to promotion to Division Two. He gained immediate success as United's new manager in 1981-82 season by winning the Fourth Division Championship and achieving promotion in his first year. The signings that season of winger Colin Morris and the resigning of striker Keith Edwards was significant.United had sold Edwards to Hull a couple of years previous. The two went on to be create prolific partnership for the club in the eighties with Edwards scoring a total of 143 goals for the club.
After two seasons in Division Three, United were promoted again in the '83-'84. The away victory on a hot Easter Saturday in mid April helped United on their way, a late winner from Bob Atkins from the edge of the box kept the Blades in the promotion frame. The season culminated with a strange finale as United having completed all their games had to wait on the outcome of fellow promotion rivals Hull who travelled to Burnley knowing that a 3-0 victory would give them promotion and knock United out of the frame. Some Blades fans went to the game and many like myself listened to the live radio commentary. It was a tense affair as Hull led by a 2-0 margin for much of the game but they were unable to get that elusive third goal, so United were promoted on goal difference. United's first season back in the Second Division was less than inspiring as the finished a lowly 18th but the following '85-'86 season they improved to finish 7th, a season that saw the sacking of Ian Porterfield. Having guided Sheffield United from Division Four to the top half of Division Two I think he was poorly treated. At a time when rivals across the city had seen Wednesday return to the top flight a section of United fans had lost patients following a bad 5-2 defeat at home to Norwich. I felt that a weak United board gave into pressure from the fans and giving reserve team coach, Billy McEwen, the manager's job wasn't the answer. McEwen did a reasonable job and to his credit in the '86-'87 season guided United to 9th place finish but within less than two years of Porterfield being shown the door, McEwen went the same way following three defeats over the Christmas and New Year period of '87-'88. A 5-0 drubbing at home to Oldham was followed by McEwen's resignation.
Bassett was well used to working with little or no money and building teams based on team spirit, passion, work-rate and commitment . His style of football was often criticised being labelled as long ball football but he had gained remarkable success working with players from the lower leagues. In the summer of 1987 Bassett was lured away from Wimbledon by Elton John to join Watford. At the time Watford were an established First Division club and the move for Bassett seemed a good one, moving to club with greater potential with a chairman who could, if necessary, find funds to invest in the playing staff. However, Watford made a poor start to the season and "Harry" was out of a job by Christmas. Dave Bassett was appointed manager of Sheffield United in late January 1988 and did his best to turn around the Blades poor run of form in the last four months of the season. Signings included Tony Agana in March who scored on his debut in a win over local rivals Barnsley. But this was followed by heavy defeats away at Leeds (5-0), Middlesborough (6-0) and United finished 21st in the table and had to play a two legged play-off tie with the third place side from Division Three Bristol City. United lost 2-1 on aggregate and were relegated again to Division Three. Watford were also relegated from the First Division that same season and Bassett was unfairly labelled with the tag of "the only manager take two clubs down in one season".
The '89-'90 season was something of a rollercoaster ride for fans and everyone involved in the club. By Christmas United were in second spot and looking for promotion in consecutive seasons. The club was featured in a BBC TV series simply called "United". This was a fly on the wall documentary that followed the club in the second half of the season including their journey to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup where they were beaten by Manchester United. The programme makers could not have picked a better subject matter for this type of documentary as it showed in graphic detail the internal goings on in the dressing room and boardroom including a possible take-over bid from a foreign investor, Sam Hashimi. The deal fell through to the embarrassment of the Chairman, Reg Brealey. Going into the last day of the season any two from three clubs (Leeds United, Sheffield United or Newcastle United) could have gained automatic promotion. The Blades knew that if they won their last game away at Leicester that would be enough for them, regardless of how other results went on the day. In a high scoring first half United got off to the worst possible start conceding an early goal but quickly got back into the game going in at the break leading 4-2. One more goal settled the game in the second half as United won 5-2 and were promoted in second place behind Leeds United. Dave Bassett had been manager for just over two years and had turned the club around. We were back in the First Division having been away for fourteen years. On the first Saturday of the new 1990 -91 season back in the top flight, United were given a home fixture against Liverpool. The Liverpool side managed by Kenny Dalglish featured other household names such as Bruce Grobbelaar, Ian Rush, John Barnes and Peter Beardsley. At the time this was a great reminder to me of just what we had been missing all these years away from the top division. However circumstances went against us early on in the game when Blades goalkeeper Simon Tracey was carried off with a broken cheekbone sustained in a challenge with Ian Rush. Full-back John Pemberton was called upon to go in goal as a stand-in keeper and for periods of the game did quite well considering his limited experience between the sticks. Liverpool however went on to win the game 3-1. The Liverpool game was one of Paul Stancliffe's last games for United. In the early eighties the big centre-back was signed by manager Ian Porterfield from Rotherham and over the years had become a great favourite at the Lane. Stancliffe was something of a long throw specialist and if United were awarded a throw-in in an advanced position chants of "Stan, Stan, Stan" would accompany the centre-back as he made his way forward to take the throw. Stancliffe was an old fashioned centre-half who played with a big heart and helped steer United back to the top flight. However his lack of pace in the Liverpool game was greatly exposed particularly against the likes of Ian Rush and John Barnes, he was clearly out of his depth at this level. Following the Liverpool game "Stan" played in the following away games against Derby and Palace but never played another game for United. He was sold to Wolves in December 1990. The first four games back in the top flight saw United make not too bad a start, loosing against the mighty Liverpool albeit in unusual circumstances with Tracey being injured early on in the game. This was followed by a creditable draw away at Derby, a narrow 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace followed by a 1-1 draw at home to Manchester City. Not a great start but we always knew that it might take a few games to adjust to the higher standard of football. But the period between September up to the start of the Christmas programme must go down as United's worst run ever. At the beginning of September manager Dave Bassett ventured into the transfer market signing former Owls' favourite Brian Marwood for a fee in excess on £300,000 from Arsenal. Marwood played just a handful of games for the Blades following a long term injury and must rank among United's most expensive signings based on the number of appearances. Also in September Bassett signed the controversial midfielder Vinnie Jones from Leeds for £700,000. Jones had played under Bassett during his days at Wimbledon and originally signed the former hod carrier from non-league obscurity. Jones was a central figure with the Wimbledon "Crazy Gang" as they were known and helped the Dons to a famous victory in the 1988 F.A. Cup Final. Jones enjoyed his hard man image and would use every tactic he could to intimidate his opponents. Bassett must have signed Vinnie feeling that he was a great player to have in his dressing room, but for me, the problems with Jones would start once he had crossed the white line and went on to the pitch. I remember in one particular game, away at Manchester City, he was booked for a bad tackle in the centre circle following the kick-off within a few seconds of the game starting. Despite the September signings United went on an appalling run while setting a record of sixteen games without a win - Played: 16, Points: 4. By the middle of the December following a 2-0 defeat at Anfield, United were bottom of the league and adrift from the teams above. I remember commenting at time that it had taken us fourteen years to get back into the First Division and just four months to get relegated. With almost half the season completed and only four points, nobody could see the Blades surviving. On the last Saturday before Christmas, Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest side came to the Lane. The Forest side with Stuart "Psycho" Pearce and a young Roy Keane was a closely fought 3-2 victory for United and was a major turning point in the season. A ban on all away supporters at Kennelworth Road meant that Blades fans missed out on their first away win of the season, a 1-0 victory over Luton on Boxing Day. Although United lost 4-1 to eventual champions that season Arsenal on the 29th of December they bounced back on New Years Day with a 1-0 home victory over Q.P.R. Three wins out of four over the Christmas and the New Year programme gave United something to build on. But in early January United lost four games in a row in the league and cups. At the end of January Bassett signed Glyn Hodges from Watford a player who had also been with "Harry" at Wimbledon. Hodges scored on his debut, a home 1-0 victory over Derby. This sparked an incredible turn around as United went on a great run. Between the end of January and the end of March they won seven games in a row, victories that included home wins over Manchester United and Chelsea. I think that the signing of Hodges was crucial, he had a sweet left foot and on his day was capable creating opportunities for the likes of Deane. By early April United had climbed to place 14th place and went on to comfortably avoid relegation against all the odds. At
the start of the '91-'92 season United looked to consolidate their place in The
First Division. The previous season had seem them almost relegated by Christmas
only to mount an incredible turn around in form in the second half of the season,
so they were keen to make sure their second season back in the top flight got
off a go start. Passion in the city was raise by the fact the Wednesday were back
in the top division and Blades and Owls fans alike looked forward to the return
of the Sheffield derby matches. In March, United
completed a famous double over the old enemy beating Wednesday 3-1 in their own
backyard with two goals from Booby Davison. This was shortly followed by a memorable
2-0 home victory against Liverpool. Brian Deane scored twice in a game that saw
Bruce Grobbelaar make a howling error. Grobbelaar's unorthodox approach to the
art of goalkeeping was well renowned and in this particular game he ran from his
area to intercept a ball that was played down United's right wing. Brian Deane
and Grobbelaar both raced for the ball but it quickly became apparent that the
keeper was very much second favourite to get to the ball first. Deane quickly
took control and chipped the ball from thirty yards over head of the advancing
Grobbelaar into the unguarded Liverpool goal. The victories against Wednesday
and Liverpool were part of a run of games in the Spring of '92 that saw the Blades
take six wins in eight games and help them to a creditable ninth place finish
in the league.
By the middle of February '93 Manchester United, Norwich and Aston Villa were involved in a tight championship race. The League title was becoming something of a holy grail for the Manchester club as they hadn't won it since 1967. Since becoming manager in 1986 Alex Ferguson had steered the club to an F. A. Cup win in 1990 and victory in the final of European Cup-Winners Cup the following season, but the demand for league success was becoming greater with the each season. Villa had edged ahead in the title race on the Saturday as Man. U. faced the Blades in a fifth round tie of the FA Cup on a grey Sunday in February at Bramall Lane. United had lost to the club from Old Trafford three seasons earlier in the Sixth round of the competition and they were keen to avenge that defeat. In the league the Blades had beaten Man. U. 2-1 on the opening day of the inaugural F.A. Premier League season with two goals by Brain Deane, In fact Deane's first goal is in the record books as being the first goal scored in the new Premier League following the radical changes in the structure of the leagues in the summer of 1992. In the return league match Man. U. beat the Blades 2-1 at Old Trafford just a week before this encounter in the cup. With the exception of Eric Cantona who was away on international duty with France this was a strong and experienced Manchester side with likes of Mark Hughes, Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Paul Ince and co. On the half-hour Brian McClair played a through ball for Ryan Giggs who made a run to the edge of the box. The twenty-year old Giggs who was playing up front in the absence of Cantona hit the ball early while evading a tackle from Paul Beesley, the ball beat the dive of Alan Kelly and nestled into the corner of the net. Within minutes the Blades were level when Glyn Hodges delivered a left foot curling free kick from the left aimed towards Deane. The ball seemed to miss everyone including Deane and the Man. U. defence only for Jamie Hoyland to steel in, toe ending the ball towards goal. Peter Schmichael managed to save with his legs but the ball rebounded back to Hoyland who knew little about it as his forward movement continued towards the goal. The ball hit Hoyland's forearm and rebounded over the diving keeper's head into the goal to level the scores. In the closing stages of the first half the Blades went ahead when Glyn Hodges found himself in the box. The former Watford and Wimbledon midfielder produced and exquisite lob to beat Schmichael. In the second half both sides could have scored as the game developed with the cut and thrust of a traditional cup-tie. Hodges's played one his best games for the Blades and Giggs and Hughes looked dangerous. With just five minutes left on the clock, Mitch Ward pulled Paul Ince over in the box and the visitors were awarded a penalty. As Steve Bruce stepped up quickly to take the spot kick the prospect of a replay at Old Trafford looked on the cards. The Man. U. captain's penalty hit the outside of Kelly's right-hand post and the Blades held for the last few minutes for a memorable victory. United had struggled for much of the season in the new Premier League by the time they faced Wednesday in the F.A. Cup semi-final they were in the bottom four and fighting to stay up. With Tottenham and Arsenal facing each other in the other semi-final, the F.A. decided that the all-London tie should be played at Wembley. Both Sheffield clubs protested to the F.A. believing that the winner of a Wembley semi-final would have an unfair advantage in the final with their players being accustomed to the Wembley atmosphere and the famous hallowed turf. Reluctantly the F.A. agreed that both semi-finals should be played at Wembley although many in the game and media criticised the decision suggesting that having both semi's at Wembley devalued the final itself and also making 75,000 fans from Sheffield take a 300 mile plus round trip made no sense at all when a venue such as Old Trafford in near by Manchester was available. The week building up to the match was fantastic. Sheffield derby games are always special and the rivalry between the two clubs and sets of fans can compare to anywhere including Liverpool, Manchester or Glasgow. With so much at stake the atmosphere in the city was electric. It made a change for the regional news programmes such as Calendar and Look North (sometimes described as Look Leeds by people from Sheffield) to focus their attentions on the two Sheffield clubs as they prepared to fight it out for a place in the F.A. Cup Final. Wembley's capacity of over 75,000 ensured that most, if not all, regular supporters got a ticket for the big day and the stadium came alight with a sea of red and white and blue and white balloons and flags as the players made their way into the arena from the far end (as I looked) of the stadium. United made the worst possible start as Chris Waddle gave Wednesday the lead with a free kick from 30 yards that flew passed a token gesture of a defensive wall and a diving Alan Kelly. On 20 minutes Paul Warhurst almost doubled the Wednesday lead when he lifted a shot against the crossbar and again on 44 minutes Warhurst outpaced John Pembleton and powered another shot against the bar. Just before the interval United equalised when Waddle played Alan Cork onside, as the move continued Cork linked with Franz Carr and Carr returned the ball to Cork who beat an advancing Chris Woods. In the second half United were thankful to Alan Kelly in goal as he produced a series of saves from from Warhurst, substitute David Hirst and John Sheridan. After 90 minutes the match was still tied at 1-1 and went into extra-time. Kelly produced two more saves from Hirst and Mark Bright. But in the 107th minute a John Harkes corner was headered home by Bright to give Wednesday the win and a place in the F.A. Cup final. On a personal note I was very disappointed by the defeat and to make matters worse I missed United's goal. Having enjoyed the hospitality of a couple of pubs before the game I decided that I would take a trip to the toilet just before half time. Although Wembley was improved prior to Euro '96 the facilities of the ageing stadium at this time were particularly poor, so to avoid the half time rush I thought it would be wise to pay my visit just before the break. As I made my way back to my seat along the concourse I heard the noise inside the stadium increase in volume this was shortly followed by a load roar from United's end of the stadium. The Blades had scored and I had missed the goal. I felt like I had found a penny but lost a pound, delighted that my team had equalised but disappointed that I had miss the moment. The journey home was long, almost as long as the faces of the Blades fans on the train. When I arrived home to try to take my mind off the events of the day I put the video on to watch the Grand National that had taken place that same day. Not knowing the outcome of the race I watched the coverage "as live" including the build-up. This was the race that never was. Because of a bungled start, many of the horses were caught up in the starting tape and the Aintree official aborted the start. However, half the field continued and many completed the course but the result did not stand. As so many horses had effectively run the race there was no possibility of the race being re-started. As I watched the disappointed race goers on the TV this seemed to mirror my feelings of anti-climax. Would I ever see my team play in a F.A. Cup Final. During the course of the '92-'93 United found themselves in danger of relegation but the good cup run seemed to give the team confidence and eventually they comfortably avoided the drop by finishing in 14th place.
In the summer prior to the new season '93-'94 Brian Deane was sold to Yorkshire rivals Leeds United. Despite the additional revenue that the club had received from the previous seasons' cup run and the new money coming into game through Sky TV pressures continued to mount on the United board and Dave Bassett came home from his summer holiday to find the his main striker had been sold without his consultation. One can only speculate on the implications of the effect that this must have had on the relationship between Bassett and the board's chairman Reg Brearley. Despite the signing of Norwegian Jostein Flo to replace Deane, Blades fans were again angry at the selling of another key player and it became clear that this was going to be a difficult season for United. A New Years day victory against fellow strugglers' gave the club hope but it would be take eleven games before their next victory at the end of March. In the Spring Bassett was allowed to venture into the transfer market signing Nathan Blake from Cardiff. The young striker made an immediate impact scoring twice in four games and helped United to go on a run of eight games unbeaten that included six draws and a home victory against West Ham and 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield. A vital home victory against Newcastle at the end of April gave United a great boost as they seemed to eased they worries of relegation. But by the last day of the season two from four, either United, Southampton, Everton or Oldham would be relegated along with Swindon who were already down. United had what seemed a difficult away trip to Chelsea but by half past four United were winning 2-1 and other scores were going their way elsewhere as well. Wimbledon were beating Everton 2-0 at Goodison Park and the famous club from the city of Liverpool were in series danger of going down. Everton made an incredible fight back to win 3-2. Meanwhile at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea equalised and then with the virtually the last kick of the game Mark Stein got the winner and United were beaten 3-2 and were relegated. As another new season began for the Blades now in Division One, they seemed to take a while to get over their relegation hangover and by the end of October '94 they were in a lowly 19th position but three consecutive home wins against Bristol City, Derby and Southend followed by a 6-3 victory at Luton saw them climb into sixth place by the beginning of December. Following the conclusions of the Taylor Report that looked into the Hillsborough disaster, Bramall Lane again became a three-sided ground. The old John Street stand with the terracing in front was demolished as this part of the ground was deemed to be out of date. Things at boardroom level had not changed and although Reg Brearley clearly wanted to sell his interests in the club, it seemed that he was reluctant to go while holding out for an offer that suited him. The John Street stand was pulled down but no new building work was going ahead. This seem to reflect the general state of the club, no new money or investors coming into the club, a club at a standstill and every other week when we turned up for a match the fans, players and staff at the club were all reminded of the fact by the empty waste ground at one side of the ground. By mid-March United had managed to reach 3rd place in Division One and still had a chance of automatic promotion or the very leased a place in the play-offs, but by mid-April a series of games that had seen them go seven matches without a win left them in eighth spot. United had hoped and possibly expected to go straight back up following relegation from the Premier Division the previous season but in the end had to settle for a position outside the play-offs in eighth place. Dave Bassett knew the expectations of the United board and fans and wrote in his programme notes in the penultimate game of the '94 -'95 season saying "….after a disappointing home draw against Swindon, I felt it necessary to speak out and warn of the consequences of failure. This is the nature of the profession we are in; high rewards for success, and high risks for failure……Who knows what next season will bring….". In December '95 after a poor start to the season Dave Bassett left the club "by mutual consent". Things had finally started to move in the boardroom and Reg Brearley sold his shares in the club to Mike McDonald. Bassett said that with things changing in the boardroom it would also be a good time for him to move to pasture new and perhaps allow the club to try to make a fresh start with a new management team. Perhaps Dave had gone a little stale and felt that he had taken the team as far as he could, but a great era for the club had come to an end. Bassett did sometimes have his critics for the style of the football but there is no doubt the he was a one of the most popular managers the club has had guiding the team to two promotions and generating great spirit which kept them in the top division for four seasons sometimes against the odds. As one era came to a close another one started and Howard Kendall was appointed as the new manager following Bassett's departure. The club appeared to be in a downward spiral having been relegated from the Premier League 18 months earlier, they now seemed to have a fight on their hands to avoid the drop into Division Two. Kendall, who had guided Everton to Cup successes and the League title in the eighties would need to draw on all his experience to turn the club around. Kendall was keen to build his own team and Nathan Blake was quickly sold to raise revenue and a number of experience players such as Gordon Cowens were brought in. United enjoyed the distraction of the F.A. Cup and a memorable home victory over Arsenal in the early rounds gave them belief and hope that things were on the upturn. Kendall signed Don Hutchinson from West Ham in a record purchase for the club at 1.2 million pounds and United's form improved and eventually finished the season in ninth place. In the summer of '96 as the country enjoyed the Euro '96 tournament, things off the field looked to be getting better at Bramall Lane. The new John Street Stand was taking shape and construction was being overseen by the clubs new Chief Executive Charles Green. Kendall added to the squad by bringing in Belarus international striker Petr Katchouro along with more experienced players such as Andy Walker, Mark Patterson and Nigel Spackman. United made an average start to the season that included a high scoring 4-4 draw at home to Birmingham in August. In October for the visit of Tranmere Rovers the new John Street stand was finally open to the public. By May '97 United had finished in 5th place in a play-off position and played in a tight two-legged play-off semi final with Ipswich. The first leg at Bramall Lane ended 1-1 and although the second leg was also tied at 2-2 after extra time, United went through to the play-off final on away goals. So for the second time in four years, we made our way to Wembley this time to face Crystal Palace in a play-off final. It was a warm May Spring Bank Holiday Monday and both sets of fans were in good mood as we enjoyed the late spring sunshine and we were filled with expectation of a good result that would give the winner a place back in the Premiership.
The game itself was a tense affair and chances were at a premium. Palace just shaded the first half but in the second it was United who seemed to take the ascendancy. The game was tied at 0-0 as extra-time loomed, when Palace produced a killer goal in the 90th minute when David Hopkin found space to shoot and score from 25 yards. United restarted the game following the goal and almost immediately the referee blew for full-time. One minute we were preparing for an extra 30 minutes of play and then in an instant the day was over and we were flooding out through the exits. A day that had started with so much expectation was over and left us feeling like we had been relegated again. During the summer of '97 Howard Kendall left to rejoin Everton. Kendall enjoyed great success during the mid eighties at the Merseyside club only to leave to manager abroad. Things did not work out for him during his brief spell on the continent and Kendall returned to Goodison Park for a second spell at the club in the early nineties. This time he was not so successful and Kendall quickly found himself out of a job and in the managerial wilderness. Following a brief spell where he gained modest success at Notts. County he found himself at Sheffield United with a great opportunity to resurrect his career. Having done a good job at turning the Blades' fortunes around and leading the club to a play-off final he was poached by Everton. It did leave a bit of a bad taste in the mouth that United gave Kendall an opportunity to put himself in the shop window and the first chance he got he was on his bike. Still as the saying goes, "there's no loyalty in football". Player coach Nigel Spackman took over as manager following Kendall's resignation and United managed to re-sign former Blades favourite Brian Deane. United got off a good start on the first day of the new season with an impressive 2-0 win over Sunderland with goals from Vassilis Borbokis and Jan Aage Fjortoft. The good form continued and United were still unbeaten by the end of September, mainly because they were able to field a settled side: Simon Tacey in goal, (Tracey had managed to oust Alan Kelly for the number one jersey), Paul McGrath, Carl Tiler and David Holdsworth playing three at the back, Greek international Borbokis and Wayne Quinn playing as wing-backs, a solid three in midfield of Mark Patterson, Nicky Marker and Dane Whitehouse and with Deane and Fjortoft up front. This was a good side, Tracey made some outstanding performances, Borbokis and Quinn's attacking qualities gave support to Deane, Fjortoft and Whitehouse. McGrath at the back and Marker in midfield both had great defensive qualities and an ability to read the game. Patterson would put himself, terrier like in the middle of the park and Holdsworth and Tiler were solid. By the begin of December '97 the team had only lost at Middlesbrough and at West Brom but already the side was starting to break up. Tiler and Mitch Ward had been sold to Everton. Paul McGrath's old knees were beginning to cause him problems. Quinn lost his place through injury and Dane Whitehouse suffered an horrendous knee injury at Port Vale that eventually finished his career.
Despite Spackman's frustration he continued, but things came to ahead in early March when United sold both Brian Deane to Benfica and Jan Aage Fjortoft to Barnsley on the same day. To lose one of your main strikers was careless but to sell both on the same day was unforgivable. This was the final straw for Nigel Spackman who tendered his resignation after only a matter of months in charge, feeling that Green was undermining his role in the club and believing that his position was now untenable. Fans made their opinions known before, during and after the next home game against Ipswich. It was said that a supporter had spat in the face of Chairman Mike MacDonald as he left the ground. Such ugly scenes were not what anyone wanted but showed the absolute frustration of fans, who believed the board were to be hitting the self-destruct button. Following the departure of Nigel Spackman in March 1998 Steve Thompson was promoted from the coaching staff to take over as Caretaker Manager. Thompson had a brief period as a player with United during the early Dave Bassett era during the late 1980's playing as a no-nonsense centre half and had returned to the club in recent times on the coaching staff. When he took the manager's role it was made clear by the club that this was always going to be a temporary appointment until the end of the season and things would be reviewed again during the summer. However, Thompson appeared to have other ideas as he led United through a great F.A. Cup run that included a draw against the Premiership side Coventry at Highfield Road in the quarterfinals of the completion. The replay played in front of a packed Bramall Lane and Sky TV cameras went to extra-time and penalties with the Blades going through courtesy of Wayne Quinn who converted the final spot kick to put United through to the semi-finals. A trip to Old Trafford was United's reward to face a Newcastle United side then managed by Kenny Dalglish. Man. United's "Theatre of Dreams" had been newly extended with a new tier on one side of the ground and Newcastle fans were allocated the one large stand while Blades fans were given the other three smaller stands. Every Newcastle fan seemed to be wearing a Newcastle shirt and the block of black and white stripes seem to respond as one with the events of the game giving a great atmosphere to the occasion. Geordie fans have a great passion for their football and is respected throughout the game and in recent times under the managership of Kevin Keegan the club had risen from third division obscurity to coming close to winning the Premiership title in 1996. It must have been heartbreaking for this great set of supporters who saw the team give away a twelve point advantage in Premiership only to see them lose out to Manchester United who eventually went on to take the title that year. The semi-final was a close affair settled by a single Alan Shearer goal in the second half. Shearer converted the goal from close range following a corner and the England striker wheeled away with his usual one-armed raised celebration as he ran towards the Newcastle fans. For United it was their second F. A. Cup semi-final defeat in five years. Steve Thompson left the club despite his efforts as predicted at the end of the season and during the summer of 1998 Steve Bruce was appointed United's new manager. It had been speculated the previous summer following Kendall's departure that Bruce had been offered the job as he was said to be friend of Chairman Mike MacDonald but Spackman was eventually installed and Bruce spent another season as a player at Birmingham. Bruce took over in the summer of 1998 as player/manager and played in a handful of games particularly early on in the season. Bruce was a great centre back and possibly the best defender that the Premiership had seen who didn't gain international recognition. Bruce won silverware at Manchester United including the Premiership title and his demeanour as a player and now as a manager was one of a great disciplinarian. Bruce cut his teeth in management at Sheffield United but perhaps there was always a feeling that this was just a stepping-stone to greater things in his career. Even this early, it had been said that Bruce was Alex Ferguson's natural successor. Things in the boardroom were changing again at United. MacDonald had appeared to have become disillusioned by life as a football chairman and by the resentment caused by Spackman's departure. MacDonald retained his shares in the plc but had little involvement with the football side of things. Charles Green, United's Chief Executive also departed for similar reasons while the club set up a new plc board chaired by Kevin McCabe and a new football board chaired by Derek Dooley who came out of retirement to steer the club through difficult times.
Despite new beginnings with Steve Bruce as Team Manager things financial had not changed as Bruce had little funds to invest in new players. Bruce steered the club to a mid table position in Division 1 but United's involvement in the F.A. Cup was notable if not infamous. United had a tie against Arsenal at Highbury which had to be replayed due to unprecedented events. This was my first visit to Arsenal, the journey by coach took the usual two to three hours from Sheffield to the start of the M1 just north of London then what seemed almost as long a journey as we fought our way through the Saturday morning north London traffic to Highbury. The Arsenal ground struck me as a very tight arena that had tried to expand over the last century but due the closeness of the surrounding houses the ground had reached, if not overreached, it's limit of growth. As we walked along close to the ground looking for the appropriate turnstile, I remember thinking "…no this can't be the entrance, it's somebody's house, hang on a minute it is the entrance..". The ground had grown over the years engulfing the houses until some of the homes were virtually part of the stadium. The game was a close affair and United, a team from Division 1, held their own against Premiership opposition. With things tied up at one goal each, one of United's players went down injured in the Arsenal penalty area. United while in possession, kicked the ball to touch allowing the player to receive attention. As the player returned to his feet the game restarted with a throw-in to Arsenal and everyone expected the ball to be given back to United. Arsenal had other ideas as they took the throw-in giving the ball to Kanu. United stood still expecting the Arsenal forward to give the ball to Alan Kelly in United's goal. Instead Kanu took the ball up the Arsenal right wing while Overmaas made a run from midfield completely unmarked before United's players could react. Mark Overmass received Kanu's cross and scored to the outrage of United's players and fans. The game was held up for the best part of ten minutes as the players and officials argued. Steve Bruce was so incensed by what had happened he gestured to his players to leave the field. Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger was clearly embarrassed by what had taken place and eventually the goal was given and the game was restarted. Arsenal went on to win the game courtesy of the controversial second goal but as we made our way back to the coaches rumours began to spread that the game would be replayed. As we listened to the coach radio as we prepared for our long journey back to Sheffield, the Arsenal manager announced that the he would be willing to have the game replayed. The F.A. agreed and the game was replayed days later at Highbury. Although this was said to have been a great gesture by the North London club, I still remember feeling cheated and angry and that if a replay should take place it should be played at Bramall Lane as without the controversial second goal the game would have been drawn. However, the game was replayed at Highbury and Arsenal won the game comfortably.
Adrian Heath took over as manager at the start of the 1999-2000 season. Heath had been on the coaching staff when Howard Kendall was manager so he had some experience at Bramall Lane and looked at this as a great opportunity to get into management. Sadly for Heath it turned into a disaster as United found themselves in the bottom two of the league by the end of November and following a Tuesday night home defeat to Port Vale, Heath tended his resignation.
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