Sheffield United essential information

[benn5712]

Scored the first ever PL goal.

Can someone post him a link to that Spanish piece from a few weeks ago. It summed things up briefly.

☹ Hi guys. FFS

 

[Sheffsteel]

Sheffield United are contenders of since the war, being one of the most under achieving clubs with the most loyal fans in Europe.

Last won the league in 1898.
Last won the cup in 1925
Last appeared in a cup final in 1936.
Never been in Europe
Since the 2nd world war our fortunes have totally slumped.

Don’t think there’s any other club in Europe with such a poor post war record regards major honours
But still has a big fanbase of regularly pulling in over 30,000 for big matches.
Even recently we spent SIX years in the 3rd tier playing the worse football in our history, yet we still averaged 19 to 20,000 every home match.

We are true supporters and not glory hunters. The fanbase deserves better.

 

[Addison]

Hi guys,

I could use some help. I'm writing an club profile for my own Dutch website and probably an other Dutch football outlet. Because we promoted to the Premier League, people in the Netherlands are getting more interested about Sheffield United, so I got the request to draft a club profile. I have got a limit of around 2,000 words so I should give everyone a fine taste of our club.

However, I only started to follow Sheffield United intensively 2 years ago, before that I just checked scores and that was basically it. So I probably don't have all the information a real life-long supporter has.

I'm gonna cover the club history, the way to the premier league, maybe a little bit of the ownership battle that's going on, the club philosophy and what to expect off the upcoming season.

So my question to you guys is, do you have any information about our club that I probably not know, considering my background. Maybe something special that happened about Wilder's first year? A certain code that supporters have?

Any information is much appreciated!

History of Sheffield United

Read the essential details about the history of Sheffield United: Football was a very popular sport in Sheffield and in 1857 a group of men established the Sheffield Football Club at Bramall Lane. It is believed to be the first football club in the world.

spartacus-educational.com

Attached is some history on the Club if that helps.

Don't rely on Wiki as its inaccurate. For example it was Charles Stokes Sheffield United Cricket Club Secretary who was the architect in forming SUFC, not Charles Clegg. He had seen the money a football game could generate when an international match was held at Bramall Lane. The Cricket club needed additional revenue because the Wednesday had decided they didn't like having to give a share of the gate receipts to the Cricket Club when they played their bigger games at Bramall Lane.

Charles Clegg was President of Wednesday but also the Football Associations representative and was told to encourage the formation of another team in Sheffield as the FA were keen to form a second league. Clegg was unsure about another team in Sheffield as it would rival his Wednesday team. How right he was.

Our original nickname was the Cutlers, the same name as the Wednesday because of our Citys Steel Industry heritage. We decided we would use the name the Blades that both clubs had been called in away games so that our rivals could use the Cutlers name exclusively. The Wednesday objected saying they preferred the name Blades and they should be called this because they were the older and bigger club so for a period both Clubs were known as the Blades. This obsession on the part of the Wednesday that they are the bigger and better Club continues to this present day.

The article details three of our most famous players. Ernest Needham, our greatest ever player captaining the Club to our only league title and two FA Cup wins. Fatty Foulkes was 20 stone an England International and had a tendency to jump into the crowd and fight with opposition fans. Rab Howell was the only full blooded Romany to play in English professional football. He went onto play for Liverpool and captain them to their first ever league title. We also had Arthur Wharton as back up goalkeeper to Fatty Foulke. When he made his debut in 1894 he became the first black player to play in the English professional game.

In 1915 we won the only FA Cup final played in wartime, known as the Khaki final because so many soldiers in uniform attended the game.

We won the FA Cup again in 1925 and our last appearance as losing finalists was in 1936.

In 1978 we became the first English club to sign a player from Argentina Alex Sabella. We decided against paying a higher fee for a young 16 year old called Maradona!

On 5th August 1992 Brian Deane scored the first ever English Premiership League goal in a 2-1 win over Manchester United.

We are the original United throughout the professional football world. We play in red and white stripes and black shorts same as PSV.

Former SUFC players from the Netherlands include Len De Goey, Gus Ulhenbeek, Laurens Ten Heuvel, Dries Boussatta, Marcel Cas, Wilko de Vogt, Hans Segers, Marcel Seip and Michael Vonk.

 

[Tynemouth Blade]

Google is your friend

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

We are half of the least inventive rivalry in World Football. Both sides refer to the other as The Pigs. Because of that, both sides have to argue as to who called the other a Pig first. When that proves to be inconclusive, both sides argue about who has a Pork Product Production Facility nearer to their ground. If that is fruitless, then they argue about which playing kit & colours have the most significance in Pork Products. The traditional dialogue is....
You are a Pig
No, you are
No, you are

Because of this, when the two Sheffield teams play each other, throughout the World, the game is known as the - No You Are Derby.
To outsiders, that just looks comical & ridiculous. But, they're all wrong. Sheffielderists know the rivalry is intense. If you don't think so - you must be a Pig.
You'll soon get the hang of it mate....

 

[Dutch Blade]

Genuinely, no. I don't think it will. MOTD highlights, big names

Have you ever been to Bramall Lane ?

I'm sure much of what you need is on Wikipedia but I think the ground is a big part of being the blades.

It's a famous old stadium that can be raucous, especially when we are the underdogs in a game. I think pochetino at spurs said it was the loudest game he'd been to in England.

loads more to come I' sure

Yeah I have lived in Sheffield for 5 months last year as part of my exchange programme, I have visited Bramall Lane a couple times

Beginning in 1968, every 13 years if we win the last game of the season, we avoid relegation; every 13 years we fail to win that game, and therefore get relegated. This last happened in 2007. If Chris Wilder prevents relegation in 2020, he will confirm his status as a god.

That's a really fun fact.

een Greasy Chip Butty is een boterham gevuld met friet, het overtollige vet dat wordt gebruikt om de friet te bereiden maakt de boterham 'vettig', de vette friet sandwich wordt vergezeld door een gallon van magneet / maden en een grote snuif tabaksnuif.

I called our song "considered by many one of the best footballsongs ever", I guess that does the job

Renowned as one of the best away days for other fans due to the sheer number of boozers near the ground.

Bramall Lane one of the few grounds (along with Elland Road, St Andrews, The Den, Portsmouth) left in the UK capable of generating that raucous, old school atmosphere.

You’ll be aware we also held cricket matches at BDTBL until the 1970s?

In footballing terms, Sheffield is one of the most insular in the UK. Most of the younger generations shun Man U, Chelsea and Liverpool and follow either United or Wednesday. You’ll be aware the rivalry is intense (apparently the last derby match had the highest policing cost of any football match in the UK).

I did knew about the cricket relationship, but I did not know they actually played it at BDTBL until the 70's, thanks!

 

[Dutch Blade]

Historical

Not strictly United, but Sheffield's role in the invention of the modern game. See the Sheffield rules, Sheffield FC, Hallam etc. Without Sheffield football would either not exist, or not be the game that is loved today. There are a huge number of football firsts that were derived from Sheffield.

The fact that United are the first United.

Brian Deane scoring the first Premier League goal.

Bramall Lane:
the oldest professional stadium in the world.
The stage for a myriad of sports including Test Cricket cricket and an FA Cup Final: https://www.sufc.co.uk/news/2018/july/history-of-bramall-lane/
The fact Bramall Lane hosted the first floodlit game.
United were also involved in the first ever radio commentary away at Arsenal.


Fans view of the ground
We take pride in the city centre location, and refer to Sheffield Wednesday - a club on the outskirts of the city - as "South Barnsley".
There are many great pubs in the vicinity of Bramall Lane, and Sheffield and United fans are rather fond of this fact. This isn't the trend in English football with most new stadiums being built out of town. Our ground regularly comes top or close to top in polls of visitting fans, for the same reasons.

Fanbase
Largely working class, with an unpretentious working class mentality. The city is famed for it's steelmaking past which is emphasised by the club badge. This reputation goes back centuries but is now largely seen as vital to the industrial revolution: http://www.softmachines.org/wordpress/?p=2057
Harry Brealey - who later invented stainless steel - had his works across the road from the John Street side of the ground; so Sheffield's steel making past lies right at the heart of the club's identity. http://www.museums-sheffield.org.uk/project-archive/burngreave-voices/BrearleyH.html
https://www.sufc.co.uk/news/2018/october/forged-in-steel/





Sheffield, and the surrounding areas, also have a long connection with mining- particularly coal mining.


Wilder and the current team:
The manager and current captain (Sharp) are both boyhood Blades. In Wilder's case he went from ballboy, to player to manager.
Our promotion squads were made up of players solely from British and Irish backgrounds. We've been labelled parochial or a 'Brexit' team, but this inaccurate due to the pioneering style of play and the reasons we have for purchasing these players which have little to do with nationality.
Our pioneering playing style: 3-5-2 with overlapping centre backs.
The small budgets that saw us rise up the leagues. Biggest signings: Egan 3.5 million; Norwood 1.2million; Lundstram 700k. All signings offset by player sales to higher divisions, or in Evans and Leonar's case substantialprofits (mostly premier league teams) : Che Adams, Dominic Calvert Lewin, Aaron Ramsdale, David Brooks, Lee Evans, Ryan Leonard. Also, the Maguire and Walker sell on clauses in 17/18 totalled more than 8 million alone. Our promotions have not been achieved based on huge owner led investment, but via selling big assets and reinvesting prudently.
Wilder's managerial record speaks for itself: three automatic promotions in four years amidst boardroom wrangling and tight finances at both clubs. He's never been sacked in 20 years and has been successfull where ever he's been. He also started in the Meadowhall league and climbed the divisions organically; a rarity in the modern game.

United's Shirecliffe based academy system

Key to everything we've done. Players created: Phil Jagielka, Matt Lowton, Harry Maguire, Kyle Walker, Kyle Naughton, Dominic Calvert Lewin, Stephen Quinn, Aaron Ramsdale, David Brooks amongst many others that have secured transfers to higher tiers.

Club anthem:
You fill up my senses,
Like a gallon of Magnet,
Like a packet of Woodbines,
Like a good pinch of snuff,
Like a night out in Sheffield,
Like a greasy chip butty,
My Sheffield United,
Come thrill me again
Na na na na na...Ooooohh!

Annie's song (John Denver)


More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greasy_Chip_Butty_Song

Very helpful post with some new information about the fanbase, thank you!

 

[Dutch Blade]

A topical point for today, Sheffield United was originally a Cricket club and Bramall Lane used to host England Cricket matches and was home to Yorkshire county cricket club. There is still a Sheffield United cricket club, but sadly they built a new stand in the 70s where the cricket pitch was and Bramall Lane can no longer host cricket matches.

Yorkshire now play in Leeds. If you are from Sheffield, you know that Leeds is a dark place forever taking the best things from Sheffield.

Oh and the Germans dropped bombs on Bramall Lane during the war :-( . There's a picture of it somewhere.

Half of the iconic Archibald Leitch John Street stand missing after a visit from the Luftwaffe in December 1940.

I did not know that, definitely worth a mention, thanks for the info and the picture!

 

[Dutch Blade]

History of Sheffield United

Read the essential details about the history of Sheffield United: Football was a very popular sport in Sheffield and in 1857 a group of men established the Sheffield Football Club at Bramall Lane. It is believed to be the first football club in the world.

spartacus-educational.com

Attached is some history on the Club if that helps.

Don't rely on Wiki as its inaccurate. For example it was Charles Stokes Sheffield United Cricket Club Secretary who was the architect in forming SUFC, not Charles Clegg. He had seen the money a football game could generate when an international match was held at Bramall Lane. The Cricket club needed additional revenue because the Wednesday had decided they didn't like having to give a share of the gate receipts to the Cricket Club when they played their bigger games at Bramall Lane.

Charles Clegg was President of Wednesday but also the Football Associations representative and was told to encourage the formation of another team in Sheffield as the FA were keen to form a second league. Clegg was unsure about another team in Sheffield as it would rival his Wednesday team. How right he was.

Our original nickname was the Cutlers, the same name as the Wednesday because of our Citys Steel Industry heritage. We decided we would use the name the Blades that both clubs had been called in away games so that our rivals could use the Cutlers name exclusively. The Wednesday objected saying they preferred the name Blades and they should be called this because they were the older and bigger club so for a period both Clubs were known as the Blades. This obsession on the part of the Wednesday that they are the bigger and better Club continues to this present day.

The article details three of our most famous players. Ernest Needham, our greatest ever player captaining the Club to our only league title and two FA Cup wins. Fatty Foulkes was 20 stone an England International and had a tendency to jump into the crowd and fight with opposition fans. Rab Howell was the only full blooded Romany to play in English professional football. He went onto play for Liverpool and captain them to their first ever league title. We also had Arthur Wharton as back up goalkeeper to Fatty Foulke. When he made his debut in 1894 he became the first black player to play in the English professional game.

In 1915 we won the only FA Cup final played in wartime, known as the Khaki final because so many soldiers in uniform attended the game.

We won the FA Cup again in 1925 and our last appearance as losing finalists was in 1936.

In 1978 we became the first English club to sign a player from Argentina Alex Sabella. We decided against paying a higher fee for a young 16 year old called Maradona!

On 5th August 1992 Brian Deane scored the first ever English Premiership League goal in a 2-1 win over Manchester United.

We are the original United throughout the professional football world. We play in red and white stripes and black shorts same as PSV.

Former SUFC players from the Netherlands include Len De Goey, Gus Ulhenbeek, Laurens Ten Heuvel, Dries Boussatta, Marcel Cas, Wilko de Vogt, Hans Segers, Marcel Seip and Michael Vonk.

Some very interesting facts I would definitely not have found on the internet, much appreciated! I actually already knew about the cutlers / Blades nickname story

 

[Dutch Blade]

For those I forgot to quote, thanks for all your replies!

 

[Tunstall Fred]

I did not know that, definitely worth a mention, thanks for the info and the picture!

My pleasure Dutch, here is another, awful to look at

 

[Blade for Sale]

In the early 2000s we went so Dutch that we played in a bright orange away kit and signed, in Danny Cullip, they player who's name was closest to tulip that we could find. We also signed Dries Bousatta and Laurens ten Heuvel by mistake when we were collectively stoned in one of your famous coffee shops.

 

[PokerBlade]

Historians disagree on the precise origins of the club, but it's generally accepted that it grew from Sheffield's links to the steel industry. Sheffield Croquet club (whose needlessly oversized playing area was once attached to the football pitch) were exceptional for wearing all steel clothing, as is the fashion of the locals. When they took up football this led to difficulties as they couldn't fasten the metal boot laces, and so became known as Sheffield Untied. Owing to a misprint in the once great sporting almanac The Green'un (the only place to see league tables rather than listen to long and boring classified results on the radio, it had an exclusivity over spurious transfer rumours - it was later replaced by Teletext, which in turn was replaced by phones with wi-fi) this was accidentally bastardised as "Sheffield United" and the name stuck. It was the first time ever that any sporting team had considered calling themselves United.

 

[DronnieBlade]

And we will have none of that European mayonnaise Shyte an all

Salt, vinegar and maybe ketchup if you fancy.

Brexit means Brexit

UTB

 

[Sheffsteel]

We are half of the least inventive rivalry in World Football. Both sides refer to the other as The Pigs. Because of that, both sides have to argue as to who called the other a Pig first. When that proves to be inconclusive, both sides argue about who has a Pork Product Production Facility nearer to their ground. If that is fruitless, then they argue about which playing kit & colours have the most significance in Pork Products. The traditional dialogue is....
You are a Pig
No, you are
No, you are

Because of this, when the two Sheffield teams play each other, throughout the World, the game is known as the - No You Are Derby.
To outsiders, that just looks comical & ridiculous. But, they're all wrong. Sheffielderists know the rivalry is intense. If you don't think so - you must be a Pig.
You'll soon get the hang of it mate....

I’ve heard many Owls saying they started calling us thr pigs in the early 80’s and we followed suit in the mid 80’s.
Sometimes people will say that no one ever knows for sure what happens in history, it’s all tit for tat rumour and heresay.

But I was a young boy in the 1970’s and can 100% guarantee that from 75 to 77 we used to draw the new Owls badge on a bit of paper at school.
Show it to a Wednesday fan, then like a Rolf Harris magic art trick, we’d quickly draw in the snout, pigs ears, curly tail and trotters
And say “it was an Owl but is now a Pig” and we’d laugh thinking we were clever. This is FACT, not rumour or heresay.

I can also say for a FACT, that the first time I heard a Wednesday fan call it us was in the mid 80’s.
I reckon the origin of therm calling it us was, they heard us calling it them (which originated from their badge)
And one of them lot will have said “don’t know why they call us the pigs, they are more like pigs as their shirts look like streaky bacon”.

 

[Paisley Blade]

I’ve heard many Owls saying they started calling us thr pigs in the early 80’s and we followed suit in the mid 80’s.
Sometimes people will say that no one ever knows for sure what happens in history, it’s all tit for tat rumour and heresay.

But I was a young boy in the 1970’s and can 100% guarantee that from 75 to 77 we used to draw the new Owls badge on a bit of paper at school.
Show it to a Wednesday fan, then like a Rolf Harris magic art trick, we’d quickly draw in the snout, pigs ears, curly tail and trotters
And say “it was an Owl but is now a Pig” and we’d laugh thinking we were clever. This is FACT, not rumour or heresay.

I can also say for a FACT, that the first time I heard a Wednesday fan call it us was in the mid 80’s.

I was regularly called pig , or more commonly pigfan , at my school 1977 onwards...

 

[I should coco]

Len De Goey!

Supposedly an upgrade on Woody!

You Dutch lads really owe us one.

 

[Sheffsteel]

I was regularly called pig , or more commonly pigfan , at my school 1977 onwards...

Interesting....you can only relate your own experiences. Which school did you go to?
Wonder why a random Wednesday fan would think of a pig?

I just remember seeing loads of grafitti when I was younger in the late 70’s especially in outside toilets in parks.
Remember seeing Owls badges and `Blade would draw the pig features over it.
Also remember seeing “Owls” written on a wall then a Blade would come along and stick an F in front of Owls making it Fowls.
There used to be Owls grafitti written on the wall on John Street, grafitti used to be really common in the early 80’s.

 

[Paisley Blade]

St Peter's - Parson Cross . Absolutely rammed full of Porkers . The 'pig' jibes were in full swing by my second year in 1978 , I can even remember the little scrote who used to shout it at me whilst running in the opposite direction.

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

OK. I see the You're A Pig, No You Are debate has moved on apace. Some fans realised that each side calling the other A Pig was only contributing to the least inventive (and most stagnant) rivalry in World Football. So, imaginative derivatives became the norm. Snortbeasts, Truffle Hunters, Oinkers. Of course, this name calling became ever more complex. In the hope it would be hours, not minutes before the other side simply copied the name calling.
I once deliberately went into a main Wednesday pub.
"You're a Porcine Snuffle Hunting Oinking Grunter" said a Main Face at the bar
A grin crossed my Fizzog
No, You Are
He'll not recover from that lyrical blow to the jaw in a hurry. While other football rivalries - say Ajax/Feyenoord moved towards at least using different playground names for each other. Sheffield, the Home of Football, has stayed true to it's Pig v Pig roots.

 

[tincan]

For those I forgot to quote, thanks for all your replies!

Dont forget we have a singer songwriter in our defence :

 

[Ball_Sup (Phil)]

I’ve heard many Owls saying they started calling us thr pigs in the early 80’s and we followed suit in the mid 80’s.
Sometimes people will say that no one ever knows for sure what happens in history, it’s all tit for tat rumour and heresay.

But I was a young boy in the 1970’s and can 100% guarantee that from 75 to 77 we used to draw the new Owls badge on a bit of paper at school.
Show it to a Wednesday fan, then like a Rolf Harris magic art trick, we’d quickly draw in the snout, pigs ears, curly tail and trotters
And say “it was an Owl but is now a Pig” and we’d laugh thinking we were clever. This is FACT, not rumour or heresay.

I can also say for a FACT, that the first time I heard a Wednesday fan call it us was in the mid 80’s.
I reckon the origin of therm calling it us was, they heard us calling it them (which originated from their badge)
And one of them lot will have said “don’t know why they call us the pigs, they are more like pigs as their shirts look like streaky bacon”.

Thanks for those FACTS. Maybe I'm not explaining myself properly. I am not remotely interested in who called who A Pig first. The burning question I need answering before I submit my thesis is.....

Who first said - No, You Are
Someone come at me with some FACTS. Please

 

[Original United]

For all the Dutch followers of Newton Heath, please shout loud we are the Original United.

I am

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

I am

You look it

 

[Original United]

South Essex that was taken 30 years ago, can barely recognise myself from that picture. Judging by your avatar you are only a few years behind me

 

[CarlMcBlade]

I always remember in the mid 70s graffiti in one of the subways, of a large perfectly drawn owl crest with a pigs head on it.

 

[Barney]

The sacking of Adkins and obviously the subsequent appointment of Wilder was the turning point in our fortunes.

If we stayed with Adkins we'd probably be lingering in L2 somewhere.

 

[Blade58]

Buy one of these, hang it from the front of your house.

View attachment 57507

Is that a massive flag, or a hankerchief?

 

[Blade58]

Sheffield Utd scored the first goal of the Premier League (Brian Deane)

 

[Corazon]

Beginning in 1968, every 13 years if we win the last game of the season, we avoid relegation; every 13 years we fail to win that game, and therefore get relegated. This last happened in 2007. If Chris Wilder prevents relegation in 2020, he will confirm his status as a god.

The curse is broken HBT. All those defeats

on the last day of the season h​

ave been either to Chelsea or a team beginning with W . Imagine my joy when the fixtures came out that we are not playing Chelsea, Watford, West Ham or Wolves.