grafikhaus
Kraft durch Freude
Right, let's 'move on', 'go again', 'flocks of geese' etc. and get back on track this Saturday.
Memries v Hull
Dating back to 6th November, 1915 we have met 65 times in the League. My earliest recollection was a Titanic home defeat on 9th March, 1971. The Blades were strong contenders for promotion from the second tier (Division Two) to the top tier (Division One). To bolster our ambitions, the Blades bought three players on the same day in January 1971 – John Hope, David Ford and Trevor Hockey. 40,227 gathered on a floodlight Bramall Lane evening for this match and it was soon obvious that Hull’s sole tactic was to kick United off the park. 1-0 up at half-time with a goal from Gil Reece, this game was memorable for the fact that it threatened to boil over and the referee called both teams together in the centre circle and told them to ‘cool it.’ Fat chance. Hull’s chief culprit was Ken Knighton (later to manage Wednesday) and Hull scored twice to win 1-2. I remember trudging off the kop to the sound of many Hull fans who had ‘infiltrated’ shouting ‘Waggy, Waggy, Waggy! Oi! Oi! Oi!’ (Ken Wagstaff had scored Hull’s winner). It seemed that our promotion dream was in ashes but – as is often the case – it’s ‘always darkest before the dawn’ and United went on to finish in second place and take their place in the top flight. Some of ‘Waggy’s goals:
I always enjoyed travelling to Hull’s Boothferry Park. The ‘Football Special’ literally stopped a few yards behind the ‘away’ section – a long, partly-covered terrace down the side of the pitch.
On 31st December, 1977 we descended in our hordes to see the Blades triumph with a goal from Keith Edwards and a brace from Simon Stainrod – now a FIFA-licensed football agent.
For a taste of how utterly grim stadia (and pitches) were back then, this gives a taste (the away fans stood on the far side):
United finished that season in Division Two in a solid but unspectacular mid-table position. However, at the end of this season, we sold leading-scorer Keith Edwards…to Hull…for £50,000 where he scored 57 goals in 132 appearances. His first season's tally of goals at Hull – 25 - was the nearest anyone had come to threaten Ken Wagstaff’s record haul of 31 in 1965/66. A new hero was emerging. Sheffield United, realising their mistake in letting such a talent leave, were forced to pay £95,000 - a figure set by an independent tribunal - to secure his return to Bramall Lane. It was ‘daylight robbery’ according to Hull fans. Edwards scored prolifically in our one-and-only season in Division Four and United ended the season with 19 games without defeat to win the Fourth Division Championship, his 35 goals being a post-war record.
While at Hull, Edwards scored in the 1-3 defeat for United on 19th September, 1981. The Blades fans were not best pleased…
On 8th April 2006 the Blades were closing in on promotion to the Premier League and met Hull at Bramall Lane.
The Blades led 1-0 at half-time with a goal from Neil Shipperley and made it 2-0 when Paul Ifill scored. Then nerves took hold of United with incredible scenes centred around goalkeeper Paddy Kenny. Hull fought back to level at 2-2 but then – in the 93rd minute – David Unsworth scored in the kop end as the Blades won 3-2. A few days later, on Good Friday at Cardiff, promotion to the PL was secured (and a year later, David Unsworth scored again at Bramall Lane – for Wigan – as United’s short stay in the PL ended…)
On Boxing Day, 2010 Hull won at Bramall Lane 2-3:
The last time we met Hull in a competitive game was in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on 13th April, 2014. Hull were in the Premier League and United – under Nigel Clough – would fail to reach the Division One play-offs, finishing seventh. Nevertheless, the Blades put up a heroic display, eventually succumbing 3-5. The crowd was 71,820 - the highest crowd to watch United since meeting Burnley in the Play-Off Final at Wembley on 25th May 2009 (Crowd: 80,518).
Dating back to 6th November, 1915 we have met 65 times in the League. My earliest recollection was a Titanic home defeat on 9th March, 1971. The Blades were strong contenders for promotion from the second tier (Division Two) to the top tier (Division One). To bolster our ambitions, the Blades bought three players on the same day in January 1971 – John Hope, David Ford and Trevor Hockey. 40,227 gathered on a floodlight Bramall Lane evening for this match and it was soon obvious that Hull’s sole tactic was to kick United off the park. 1-0 up at half-time with a goal from Gil Reece, this game was memorable for the fact that it threatened to boil over and the referee called both teams together in the centre circle and told them to ‘cool it.’ Fat chance. Hull’s chief culprit was Ken Knighton (later to manage Wednesday) and Hull scored twice to win 1-2. I remember trudging off the kop to the sound of many Hull fans who had ‘infiltrated’ shouting ‘Waggy, Waggy, Waggy! Oi! Oi! Oi!’ (Ken Wagstaff had scored Hull’s winner). It seemed that our promotion dream was in ashes but – as is often the case – it’s ‘always darkest before the dawn’ and United went on to finish in second place and take their place in the top flight. Some of ‘Waggy’s goals:
I always enjoyed travelling to Hull’s Boothferry Park. The ‘Football Special’ literally stopped a few yards behind the ‘away’ section – a long, partly-covered terrace down the side of the pitch.
(Away fans stood on the right-hand ‘stand’ Not the ‘Best Stand’.)
On 31st December, 1977 we descended in our hordes to see the Blades triumph with a goal from Keith Edwards and a brace from Simon Stainrod – now a FIFA-licensed football agent.
For a taste of how utterly grim stadia (and pitches) were back then, this gives a taste (the away fans stood on the far side):
United finished that season in Division Two in a solid but unspectacular mid-table position. However, at the end of this season, we sold leading-scorer Keith Edwards…to Hull…for £50,000 where he scored 57 goals in 132 appearances. His first season's tally of goals at Hull – 25 - was the nearest anyone had come to threaten Ken Wagstaff’s record haul of 31 in 1965/66. A new hero was emerging. Sheffield United, realising their mistake in letting such a talent leave, were forced to pay £95,000 - a figure set by an independent tribunal - to secure his return to Bramall Lane. It was ‘daylight robbery’ according to Hull fans. Edwards scored prolifically in our one-and-only season in Division Four and United ended the season with 19 games without defeat to win the Fourth Division Championship, his 35 goals being a post-war record.
While at Hull, Edwards scored in the 1-3 defeat for United on 19th September, 1981. The Blades fans were not best pleased…
On 8th April 2006 the Blades were closing in on promotion to the Premier League and met Hull at Bramall Lane.
The Blades led 1-0 at half-time with a goal from Neil Shipperley and made it 2-0 when Paul Ifill scored. Then nerves took hold of United with incredible scenes centred around goalkeeper Paddy Kenny. Hull fought back to level at 2-2 but then – in the 93rd minute – David Unsworth scored in the kop end as the Blades won 3-2. A few days later, on Good Friday at Cardiff, promotion to the PL was secured (and a year later, David Unsworth scored again at Bramall Lane – for Wigan – as United’s short stay in the PL ended…)
On Boxing Day, 2010 Hull won at Bramall Lane 2-3:
The last time we met Hull in a competitive game was in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on 13th April, 2014. Hull were in the Premier League and United – under Nigel Clough – would fail to reach the Division One play-offs, finishing seventh. Nevertheless, the Blades put up a heroic display, eventually succumbing 3-5. The crowd was 71,820 - the highest crowd to watch United since meeting Burnley in the Play-Off Final at Wembley on 25th May 2009 (Crowd: 80,518).
they lost a lot of the atmosphere with building a shop on one end. I've probably been to most games at Hull since the 80s, apart from the aggro it was a great away day at the old ground.
