There is no point using words like remarkable when you talk about Sheffield United. Not anymore. They no longer have the propensity to shock, this is what they are and what is expected of them as they made a mockery of the idea Aston Villa were once considered a safer bet to thrive in the Premier League.
Two teams who celebrated promotion together in May are heading in opposite directions in December.
The gulf between them looked huge on Saturday, yet it was Villa who spent more money in the summer, it is Villa who have the big name players with the glamorous reputations and it was Villa who tried to build a new team in order to be better equipped for the Premier League.
Sheffield United did spend a significant amount, they broke their transfer record three times in the summer, but the £10m spent on striker Lys Mousset is hardly extravagant. Far from it when you consider Aston Villa spent £22m on their centre forward Wesley.
But what makes the Blades special, is this a team built from players who began their careers in the lower leagues, joining the club on their rise from League One. They are not outcasts, or misfits. That would be unfair, they are not football’s equivalent of the Dirty Dozen.
It is just nobody thought they were good enough to play in the Premier League, they probably did not think they were either at various points, but every week another one rises to the occasion.
It is hard to remember a team like them doing so well in the Premier League era Nottingham Forest finished third in 1995 they year after promotion and Ipswich Town finished fifth in 2001 in their first season, which are probably the closest comparison.
Newcastle United (third in 1994) and Wolverhampton Wanderers, seventh last season, bought their success as well as earned it, spending heavily in both the second and first tiers to fire them up the league ladder.
The Blades are cut from a more prudent cloth. Some of these players were with them in League One, but they continue to show both the talent and aptitude to flourish in the Premier League.
Players signed by Sheff Utd before Premier League arrival
George Baldock, 26. Began his career at MK Dons, loaned to Tamworth and Oxford United. Signed for Sheffield United following their promotion to the Championship in 2017.
Enda Stevens, 29. Moved to England from Shamrock Rovers to join Aston Villa. Spent most of time on loan to League One and Two clubs before joining Portsmouth. Signed for Sheff United on a free transfer following promotion to the Championship.
Jack O’Connell, 25. Began career with Blackburn Rovers, loan spells at York and Rochdale. Sheffield United signed him from Brentford when they were in League One in 2016
Chris Basham, 31. Came through the ranks at Bolton Wanderers, loaned to Stafford and Rochdale before spending four years at Blackpool. Has been at Bramall Lane since 2014.
John Lundstram, 25. Had lots of potential as a youngster at Everton, but after loan moves to Yeovil, Leyton Orient, Blackpool and Scunthorpe, signed on a free transfer by Wilder when he was at Oxford United. Reunited with him at Sheffield United in 2017.
John Egan, 27. Failed to make it at Sunderland and made a permanent switch to Gillingham after a number of unspectacular loan moves. Picked up by Brentford, Sheffield United splashed out £4m to sign him last year.
Ollie Norwood, 28. Former Manchester United trainee, had spells with Carlisle, Scunthorpe, Coventry, Huddersfield, Reading, Fulham and Brighton before a loan move to Sheffield United became permanent in January for £2m.
David McGoldrick, 32. Four years with Southampton in the Premier League, he was considered a fine Championship striker but nothing more. First choice centre-forward this season.
This time it was John Fleck, who at 28, was has never been on a top-flight club’s shopping list. The Scot left Glasgow Rangers for first team football, spent some time on loan at Blackpool in the Championship and then dropped down to League One with Coventry City. From there, he joined Sheffield United, signed by Chris Wilder to get them out of that division, but now starring from them two leagues above.
Fleck has had a good, solid professional career. There would be no shame if that is how it ended, but that is not how things are panning out. He scored twice against Villa, taking him to four goals in his last seven appearances. The first was the sort of composed first time finish that is far harder to pull off than it looks from John Lundstram’s cross, the second clinically taken when put in on goal by David McGoldrick’s overhead pass.
Just casually scoring the goals that briefly took Sheffield United up to fifth in the table, but Fleck is not a household name. He is a no fuss, no fanfare, no frills kind of player, but Wilder has turned him into something far more than that. And that is what makes Sheffield United so special, the team is full of them.
