Blog: The Trouble With United

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Punk Blade said:
Here's something I wrote about our beloved team's name. I almost didn't really have a point by the end, and I don't genuinely believe the last sentence but it's a nice idea to try and put in people's heads!

http://www.weheartfooty.com/football/the_trouble_with_united.php

Any historical corrections welcome :)
Click to expand...

"Rovers" or Bristol Rovers are my second team and as such was there on the game they got relegated sadly. But yes the problem with names is a big one. Most people will ask me how Sheffield Wednesday are doing and forget that its United.

We do the same with other places though, Bristol being a common example when we play City.
 
Sounds good to me, although the last sentence about us visiting Old Trafford and having to call Man Utd by their full name, the ignorance of Chiles and co. at ITV would probably still call Man Utd United and us Sheffield. :(
 
Punk Blade said:
Here's something I wrote about our beloved team's name. I almost didn't really have a point by the end, and I don't genuinely believe the last sentence but it's a nice idea to try and put in people's heads!

http://www.weheartfooty.com/football/the_trouble_with_united.php

Any historical corrections welcome :)
Click to expand...

Sheffield United were not actually the first ever "United" football club. Thornhill United (a precursor of Rotherham U) pre-date them and I think there are one or two others (I once read an article about it somewhere).

SUFC are merely the oldest "United" amongst league teams.
 
Darren said:
Sheffield United were not actually the first ever "United" football club. Thornhill United (a precursor of Rotherham U) pre-date them and I think there are one or two others (I once read an article about it somewhere).

SUFC are merely the oldest "United" amongst league teams.
Click to expand...

I am not sure that's true about Rotherham. Rotherham did used to be known originally as Thornhill FC and later added United to the name. Whether that was before or after we formed is a bit cloudier.
 
Punk Blade said:
Here's something I wrote about our beloved team's name. I almost didn't really have a point by the end, and I don't genuinely believe the last sentence but it's a nice idea to try and put in people's heads!

http://www.weheartfooty.com/football/the_trouble_with_united.php

Any historical corrections welcome :)
Click to expand...

Great quiz question! Good read. I think our lack of a unique name together with a unique and symbolic nickname is why we are referred to as The Blades a lot of the time,in local and national media.

Certainly we are one of a handful of clubs who have their nicknames regularly used, headed by 'Spurs' and 'Wolves' who are almost always referred to by these nicknames.
 
Darren said:
Sheffield United were not actually the first ever "United" football club. Thornhill United (a precursor of Rotherham U) pre-date them and I think there are one or two others (I once read an article about it somewhere).

SUFC are merely the oldest "United" amongst league teams.
Click to expand...
You know, I was aware of a possible older 'United' connected to Rotherham, but I couldn't find it. According to Wikipedia Thornhill FC was formed in 1870 and became Thornhill United before Rotherham County in 1905. Unfortunately there's no start date for 'United'. As you say, Rotherham United followed from a merge of R County and R Town (so them being called United certainly makes sense!).

Any more info on the history of 'United' I would certainly be interested in. I wonder why Thornhill changed to United.
 
Punk Blade said:
You know, I was aware of a possible older 'United' connected to Rotherham, but I couldn't find it. According to Wikipedia Thornhill FC was formed in 1870 and became Thornhill United before Rotherham County in 1905. Unfortunately there's no start date for 'United'. As you say, Rotherham United followed from a merge of R County and R Town (so them being called United certainly makes sense!).

Any more info on the history of 'United' I would certainly be interested in. I wonder why Thornhill changed to United.
Click to expand...

I have a hazy memory of reading somewhere it was 1887. There was an article in the Association of Football Statisticians Newsletter around 20 years ago on precisely this issue and I think that's where I got it from.

It would be surprising if there where no football "Uniteds" before 1889 given that football had been going as an organised sport for 30-40 years before then and it would be obvious to call a club "United" when two local clubs merged.
 
I'm fairly sure that the first United football team was Plymouth United, since disbanded and reformed. They were formed some time before 1886 as they provided the opposition for some of Plymouth Argyle's first games.
 
Darren said:
Sheffield United were not actually the first ever "United" football club. Thornhill United (a precursor of Rotherham U) pre-date them and I think there are one or two others (I once read an article about it somewhere).

SUFC are merely the oldest "United" amongst league teams.
Click to expand...

I think there was a Plymouth United before us but they went under. We are the oldest existing United.
 
Gavlar said:
"Rovers" or Bristol Rovers are my second team and as such was there on the game they got relegated sadly. But yes the problem with names is a big one. Most people will ask me how Sheffield Wednesday are doing and forget that its United.

We do the same with other places though, Bristol being a common example when we play City.
Click to expand...
I reckon it's something that most English fans (most teams being the only league/professional club in the town/city) don't realise can be an issue. My other favourite (and slightly related) trivia question was 'name the seven English cities with two professional clubs'. Obviously that is now only six. The name thing is only really a problem for Sheffield and Bristol, so I am interested to see how often Bristol City get referred to as just 'Bristol' next season. With the Bristol clubs and Sheffield clubs not occupying the same division you can sort of get away with just using the city name, but I maintain that it shows a lack of respect to Sheffield FC.

If FC United of Manchester ever find themselves in the Premier League it would cause a lot of confusion!

Bladepicker said:
Great quiz question! Good read. I think our lack of a unique name together with a unique and symbolic nickname is why we are referred to as The Blades a lot of the time,in local and national media.

Certainly we are one of a handful of clubs who have their nicknames regularly used, headed by 'Spurs' and 'Wolves' who are almost always referred to by these nicknames.
Click to expand...
I'm perfectly happy with this. I love our nickname and tend to refer to us as Blades more often than I do United.
 
Do we not tenuously the keep the "Original United" title, due to the Cricket Club being the first club or sports association to bear the name and then going on to spawn the football club? :)
 
Maybe I'll have a rewrite. Or maybe I'll wait to see if I get any complaints from angry Plymouth fans. Sorry, Plymouth United fans :)

This does sort of prove my point in a way. I can't imagine Man U fans (or the football media) being as clued up or interested in the origins of 'United' yet they seem to own it now.
 
Foxy said:
Do we not tenuously the keep the "Original United" title, due to the Cricket Club being the first club or sports association to bear the name and then going on to spawn the football club? :)
Click to expand...

As tenuous as the "World's Oldest Professional Sports Stadium" used to describe Bramall Lane.

We need to win something :)
 



Punk Blade said:
Here's something I wrote about our beloved team's name. I almost didn't really have a point by the end, and I don't genuinely believe the last sentence but it's a nice idea to try and put in people's heads!

http://www.weheartfooty.com/football/the_trouble_with_united.php

Any historical corrections welcome :)
Click to expand...

All subsequent Uniteds copied the name from Sheffield (directly in the case of British clubs, but probably indirectly via Manchester on an international scale).

Are there many international clubs called United?
I'm sure there will be but I'm struggling to think of any...
 
Sothall_Blade said:
All subsequent Uniteds copied the name from Sheffield (directly in the case of British clubs, but probably indirectly via Manchester on an international scale).

Are there many international clubs called United?
I'm sure there will be but I'm struggling to think of any...
Click to expand...

DC United, Minnesota United.
 
Foxy said:
Do we not tenuously the keep the "Original United" title, due to the Cricket Club being the first club or sports association to bear the name and then going on to spawn the football club? :)
Click to expand...

The Sheffield United Cricket Club was founded in 1855. It leased the newly built Bramall Lane which was run by the United Committee of Management, which was so called because it was to run the ground for the benefit of all the local clubs; Broomhall, Caxton, Milton, Sheffield and The Pigs.
 
As for the football club, when the Bramall Lane authorities were trying to set one up after the Grunters left they asked various local sides, inluding Hallam FC and Sheffield FC, if they would be interesting in 'uniting'. These clubs told the United Committee to get stuffed.
 
Darren said:
Sheffield United were not actually the first ever "United" football club. Thornhill United (a precursor of Rotherham U) pre-date them and I think there are one or two others (I once read an article about it somewhere).

SUFC are merely the oldest "United" amongst league teams.
Click to expand...


How come it's "merely"? What you are saying is that we are the oldest United in the first and best football league in the world. Seems quite a big deal to me.;)
 
The Sheffield United Cricket Club was founded in 1854 as a management committee to manage the then new Bramall Lane cricket & sports enclosure which opened to the public in 1855. The Cricket Club didn't actually field a team by the name of Sheffield United until 1892. By which time the Sheffield United Cricket Club had become the Sheffield United Cricket and Football Club by the inclusion of a football section in 1889. The Sheffield United Cricket and Football Club became Sheffield United Football Club when cricket was expelled in the early 70's.

Bramall Lane at no time was the home ground to Wednesday FC. They weren't even tenants but merely made use of the ground on a pay-per-use basis for important fixtures. They led a nomadic existence playing at many local grounds before they finally settled at Olive Grove.

Thornhill FC were formed in the 1870's and there are records of them playing as Thornhill Utd at their old Red House Ground in 1882. Of on a tangent RUFC's club history is gloriously convoluted and includes the romantically named Lunar Rovers, so-called because many of their games were played under moonlight.

The current Sheffield United Football Club is the oldest sports club in the World to bear the name 'United'. This is an honour we share with the current Sheffield United Cricket Club as both clubs share the same ancestry. Both can trace their lineage back to the original Sheffield United Cricket Club founded in 1854.

The current Sheffield United Football club are the oldest football 'United' still in continuous existence though now defunct or reconstituted football clubs bore the name 'United' prior to 1889.
 
Darren said:
Sheffield United were not actually the first ever "United" football club. Thornhill United (a precursor of Rotherham U) pre-date them and I think there are one or two others (I once read an article about it somewhere).

SUFC are merely the oldest "United" amongst league teams.
Click to expand...
Hanover United were in the FA Cup before us

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytechnic_F.C.
 
Manchester can have their "United" I'm pleased when people say "the Blades" everyone knows that they are referring to us. It's a cool sexy nickname, much better than "Owls" "Reds" "Magpies" "Tigers" (poncy nickname) "Pompey" etc.

We've even had films made about us, Blade, Blade 2
 
Talking of Brazil........
Do you know who their national teams first competitive game was against in 1914?
 
Manchester fans can go back to calling themselves Newton Heath. Their fans seem enamoured with the yellow and green scarves/kit so they can have the name they started with as well. WE are United, not them or Weeds or toytown. Waste of time telling the media though :mad:
 
cahill said:
Manchester can have their "United" I'm pleased when people say "the Blades" everyone knows that they are referring to us. It's a cool sexy nickname, much better than "Owls" "Reds" "Magpies" "Tigers" (poncy nickname) "Pompey" etc.

We've even had films made about us, Blade, Blade 2
Click to expand...

I love our nickname. I actually think Owls is a clever nickname too. As is Pompey, lots of legends as to how the town/club got that nickname.

With you on nicknames that are based on teams colours being crap. Especially when it isn't even an animal like Tigers, Canaries etc. but just 'reds' or Lillywhites.

The shortening of names like The R's or the Latics is crap as well. I like a nickname with a bit of history or linked to the town's industry. Blades, Hatters, Millers, Cobblers, Railwaymen for example.
 



As I travel with my job I often ask which team people support. If they say United I normally say "which one - Sheffield or Manchester." Usually get an answer of the latter but I tell them I support the oldest and best United.
 
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