The best ever?

[Grecian2000]

There was little to suggest that would be turned around by thye time we played Arsenal (5 draws in Kendal's first 5 games) before the cup tie in question. At the time there was nothing to suggest 'form was temporary', we were thoroughly crap and had been for 20 odd games. It was only a dramatic turn around that saw us stay up and that was down to the manager.

I disagree with the first half of the paragraph above. In my view, there was plenty to suggest an upturn in form from the moment Kendall walked through the door. The previous 5 draws, as you mention, were all vast improvements on what had gone previously in the season and it looked a "matter of time" before we took off (as we did with the game against Arse).

The last sentence is 100% spot on. The upturn was down to Kendall, I just believe it was already well underway by the time this game came around (performance wise if not exactly results wise).

For what it's worth the game also makes my top 25 of all time.

 

[SouthEssexBlade]

In terms of league spaces between the teams, the 1981 League Cup win against Arsenal probably eclipses this Villa game.

But looking at form, expectation and the fact that we were away from home, Saturday probably just shades it.

However, if we forget league positions and look at the gulf in class, quality and skill, that Liverpool team of 1978 was the equivalent to the current Barcelona team. We were a division lower and struggling a bit and at the time most people thought we'd get hammered.

Hard to define which was the biggest giant-killing, but it will definitely be one of the three.

 

[judge]

What about the 0-0 draw with gillingham ? Real madrid wouldn't have beaten them that day ?

 

[United Aren't Back.]

Having been around the Blades for several decades, and after much consideration, was this the 'best' United win ever?

I'm basing this on the gap between us and our opponents. In other words, the 'unlikeliness quotient'* This gap obviously reflects the gulf in skill levels, resources etc.

The Forest game in 2003 will be unsurpassed in sheer excitement. Leicester away in 1990 was unbelievable but we were very close in the League. Norwich away in 1989 (?) was close in the UL*, but we lost. Everton in the FAC in 1969 was commendable. Everton were, I think, Champions but with players like Woodward, we were no pushovers.

In 1971, in our 10-game unbeaten start, we won at Arsenal. Again, massively impressive but against a team in the same division. Ditto our 5-1 home win v. Cardiff in the 70-71 promotion campaign and our many victories over Wendy in the early 90s.

Thoughts?

Maybe Jan 96 at the Lane v Arsenal, a Carl Veart header sealing a replay win after Heath`s goal got us a draw at Highbury. We were in 2nd tier, under Kendall.

 

[United Aren't Back.]

My favourite would be the win over Liverpool in the late 70's (78?) at Bramall Lane in the League cup. In terms of league placings it would have been closer than yesterday. However we were on a spiral downwards and they were the best team in Europe with Clemence, Souness, Dalglish, Hughes etc some of the best players to ever play in England.....and a 25 yard volley in the kop end to win it as well!

I dont think it was a 25 yarder by Hamson..i recall it being inside the penalty area..i think...

 

[Grecian2000]

Good call!

 

[GRUMPY BLADE]

All of which is quite true OB, however, first leg wins have a habit of going tits up next time around (as this one did, albeit not by much).

I would say this easily makes my 20 best games. No expectation, a "proper" ground where I'd seen us lose more than enough times and a support we simply haven't deserved and I thought might be beyond us. A day to remember for sure.

We were robbed of us reaching double points in the league with a draw against Brentford had we kept Weir.

Now that would have been worth celebrating.

Clough out.

 

[scrap]

In the 50s away at Goodison, beating them 4=1, Hagen running the Match.

 

[SwissBlade]

Hmmm, don't think it is as clear cut as that. We were on the slide in 96 and heading for the 3rd tier until Kendal turned us around. Had it not been for excellent manegerial skills then we would have almost certainly gone down (imo). It was our 2nd season in the 2nd tier, making us 'established' at that level. However when Bassett left in December we were firmly headed for the drop. There was little to suggest that would be turned around by thye time we played Arsenal (5 draws in Kendal's first 5 games) before the cup tie in question. At the time there was nothing to suggest 'form was temporary', we were thoroughly crap and had been for 20 odd games. It was only a dramatic turn around that saw us stay up and that was down to the manager.

Dramatic turn around or not, we were not established as a div 1 side, we'd just come down from the premier league. Right now were an established 3rd tier side. If we get relegated to div 4 we'd be an established div 3 side on the slide. If we get promoted from here then it's a dramatic turn around but by an established div 3 side. You dig me?

 

[Hodgyman]

The win against Villa was more than just a 2-1 win away from home against a a Premier league team. It was also about how well we outplayed them too, coupled by 6000 of our fans out-singing,out-cheering and out-celebrating too. Truly a great, great day.

We've got Chris Porter Benteke is ..... Those who were there will remember that day until Alzheimer's kicks in

 

[judge]

Lets hope this result is historically significant , the turning point so to speak and the beginning of nigels era and lets hope it's as enjoyable as dinosaur dave and ol big nose

 

[Pittsburg Blade]

I would agree that result has to be our biggest ever giant-killing due to the quality of the opposition.
Talk about "putting a strong team out"!:-

Clemence, Neal, A.Kennedy, Hughes, Thompson, R.Kennedy, Case, Souness, Dalglish, McDermott, Heighway. Sub:-Fairclough

Is that 12 Internationals or only 11? European Champions and one of the best English club sides ever.
All before they ruined football too. Surely this was our finest hour?

http://www.lfchistory.net/SeasonArchive/Game/1045

Quite amazing. All those players are still "household names" if not close to legendary.

 

[Pittsburg Blade]

Lets hope this result is historically significant , the turning point so to speak and the beginning of nigels era and lets hope it's as enjoyable as dinosaur dave and ol big nose

I think we're all looking forward to the 2020 Oscar-winning movie about one of the Clough family taking a struggling North Midlands football club to European glory...

 

[dublin 10 blade]

My favourite would be the win over Liverpool in the late 70's (78?) at Bramall Lane in the League cup. In terms of league placings it would have been closer than yesterday. However we were on a spiral downwards and they were the best team in Europe with Clemence, Souness, Dalglish, Hughes etc some of the best players to ever play in England.....and a 25 yard volley in the kop end to win it as well!

Hope you didn't go in the next round , that was more like the Blades we all know and love .

 

[dublin 10 blade]

This was a great result considering our present league position , but come on fella's you'd think we are accrington Stanley or a non league team the way some are banging on about being one of our best results , it was a great game listened on 5live extra , but during sir Dave's era , or mr Warnocks time we had bigger and better results a couple of times a season , a good result , a good team performance , playing a team low on confidence who were there for the taking , use this result as a boost to the whole squad , and build on it for our league campaign , but lets not go to OTT , on the result of 1 game , don't want to pee on anybody's parade but if we get beat on satdi , Villa result will mean fook all . UTB .

 

[Hodgyman]

This was a great result considering our present league position , but come on fella's you'd think we are accrington Stanley or a non league team the way some are banging on about being one of our best results , it was a great game listened on 5live extra , but during sir Dave's era , or mr Warnocks time we had bigger and better results a couple of times a season , a good result , a good team performance , playing a team low on confidence who were there for the taking , use this result as a boost to the whole squad , and build on it for our league campaign , but lets not go to OTT , on the result of 1 game , don't want to pee on anybody's parade but if we get beat on satdi , Villa result will mean fook all . UTB .

With all due respect you had to be there to witness it. Neither Radio or TV coverage (what there was) could not represent the tremendous way our team outplayed them in terms of spirit, determination and quality of passing football or the whole match atmosphere with the supporters showing Villa fans the way to support their team.
Do any of the other 6000 fans who were there agree or is it just me?

 

[blade too long]

best win everwas really beating cardiff 5-1 that clinched promotion , Cardiff were hot rivals and we put them to the sword, closely followed by Leicester away , under pressure to win and we slap in 4 before half time, , in front of 11000 blades ,epic

 

[Selly]

With all due respect you had to be there to witness it. Neither Radio or TV coverage (what there was) could not represent the tremendous way our team outplayed them in terms of spirit, determination and quality of passing football or the whole match atmosphere with the supporters showing Villa fans the way to support their team.
Do any of the other 6000 fans who were there agree or is it just me?

I was there.

It wasn`t our best result ever, but it was certainly the most surprising when looking at the gap between the sides.

Any result has two factors, importance of game and level of expectation.

"Best ever" results have to be in extremely important games (promotion deciders, cup semi finals etc) by their definition. If you are also the underdog this increases the liklihood of it being the "Best Ever".

This is why I would place the Liverpool LC Semi win as a better result (in terms of "best ever") than Saturday.

 

[Darren]

I was there.

It wasn`t our best result ever, but it was certainly the most surprising when looking at the gap between the sides.

Any result has two factors, importance of game and level of expectation.

"Best ever" results have to be in extremely important games (promotion deciders, cup semi finals etc) by their definition. If you are also the underdog this increases the liklihood of it being the "Best Ever".

This is why I would place the Liverpool LC Semi win as a better result (in terms of "best ever") than Saturday.

I think we can agree it is our best ever giant killing feat in that we have never previously beaten a team two divisions above us away from home in any cup competition.

 

[dublin 10 blade]

With all due respect you had to be there to witness it. Neither Radio or TV coverage (what there was) could not represent the tremendous way our team outplayed them in terms of spirit, determination and quality of passing football or the whole match atmosphere with the supporters showing Villa fans the way to support their team.
Do any of the other 6000 fans who were there agree or is it just me?

Not disagreeing with anything that you say , but I was at Leicester , monkey hangers , Burnley , etc,etc,beating manu , chelsea, everton in the 7 in a row , and my point is while the performance , fans , and team were all outstanding , we should be aiming for more than every once in a while beating a premier team and accepting that as fans of Sheffield United being called giant killers , well thats it , don't think thats what the prince has bought into , certainly not what I accept as a fan of this club , our fans , our mates deserve more , and judging by whats posted on this board we are all demanding more , not in a pig delusional way , but seeing our club , the ground , players coming from the youth set up , knowing we can be better than we're we are now , meaning no disrespect to the teams I've mentioned ( leave that to the pigs ) but being called a giant killing side is not what 100% of Blades fans want to be called for a club our size .
Fully accept that it must have been a great time for every Blade there , but we should be demanding it every week , and with mr Clough at the helm we may have found our man .
Or are we just to accept third div crap as the norm , and enjoy a vist to a premier league ground once a year in the cup . Then bitch and complain on here as to why we're not better .
I want more for every fan on this site who takes the time and effort to post good , bad or indifferent , and like me and you spends there hard earned cash on our team , loved the result at the weekend but want it every week thats all .UTB.

 

[Hodgyman]

I think that I must clarify my views:
I have seen lots of memorable matches in my time following the Blades. They include most (if not all) of the other matches mentioned by others previously such as Liverpool, Man U, Leicester, Forest at home in the play off semi, knocking 5 past Spurs , even beating Villa at home in the Cup in 2005. I enjoyed them all wholeheartedly.

Last Saturday was special for me personally as I had my grandson with me. It was the best display by the team and fans that he had witnessed despite him having a season ticket for 6 years. My own joy of the United display on Saturday added to by the joy of seeing your grandson have his greatest day as a Unitedite will not be beaten.

Everyone else is entitled to their views and opinion.
If only this type of display could be repeated going forward

 

[itsinyerblood]

Not disagreeing with anything that you say , but I was at Leicester , monkey hangers , Burnley , etc,etc,beating manu , chelsea, everton in the 7 in a row , and my point is while the performance , fans , and team were all outstanding , we should be aiming for more than every once in a while beating a premier team and accepting that as fans of Sheffield United being called giant killers , well thats it , don't think thats what the prince has bought into , certainly not what I accept as a fan of this club , our fans , our mates deserve more , and judging by whats posted on this board we are all demanding more , not in a pig delusional way , but seeing our club , the ground , players coming from the youth set up , knowing we can be better than we're we are now , meaning no disrespect to the teams I've mentioned ( leave that to the pigs ) but being called a giant killing side is not what 100% of Blades fans want to be called for a club our size .
Fully accept that it must have been a great time for every Blade there , but we should be demanding it every week , and with mr Clough at the helm we may have found our man .
Or are we just to accept third div crap as the norm , and enjoy a vist to a premier league ground once a year in the cup . Then bitch and complain on here as to why we're not better .
I want more for every fan on this site who takes the time and effort to post good , bad or indifferent , and like me and you spends there hard earned cash on our team , loved the result at the weekend but want it every week thats all .UTB.

Agree with dublin 10 blade, don't want to get into a Wendy diatribe about our entitlement. We're where we deserve to be. We might have a good stadium, be well located as opposed to being on the outskirts of town, but we're a Division 1 team fair and square. The difference now is that McCabe has drawn a line in the sand with his game changing comment. Both he and the Prince has made very definite verbal commitments to overseeing SUFC's drive through the divisions until we arrive back in the Premiership.

It'll be hard to gather the momentum necessary to make this kind of push, but if the desire's there then who knows? I hope the Prince delivers on his promise, I just wonder if he's aware of the type of sums it'll take to get us to where he says he wants us to be. Getting there is one thing, but given what it'll take to secure this, can you imagine the amounts needed to consolidate a position in the Premiership? It really would be the worst sort of joke if SUFC didn't apply themselves to the finances required to make us a fixture in the Prem?

As dublin 10 blade mentioned, I want to see United compete at the highest level. Each week I want the prospect of seeing a level of football that reflect's my team's position in the footballing hierarchy. It's some way off I know, but I'm not deluding myself about what it'll take. A mention to Hodgyman, agree with your comments on the day mate. Superb all-round performance, from supporters to players, what's not to enjoy? But the bread and butter stuff is what will determine our present and future, and this team need to show that what we saw on Saturday was not a flash in the pan. I'm no different to anyone else on this board, we all have great memories, and they're valuable moments in our history. But I'd swap many of these memories for a place at the top table. We may never be able to compete with the serious big spenders, but as the likes of Swansea, Southampton, and West Brom have shown, it's possible to survive and occasionally flourish in the Prem.

Elsewhere on here I've made it clear what I think about Clough. It's early days I know, but my gut feeling is that we did well to secure his services. What Nigel knows is that we're still not out of the woods, and that there's a lot of work to do to offer us safety from relegation. Anyone who thinks it's job done is crazy. Just imagine, a great cup run, a few memorable results, and Division two here we come. What price those great results then? So guaranteeing safety is Nigel's first job, then he'll set about creating a team that he thinks is capable of competing at a higher level.

Here's to the next three or four years, it'll certainly be interesting to see what we achieve during that period.
UTB

 

[dublin 10 blade]

I think that I must clarify my views:
I have seen lots of memorable matches in my time following the Blades. They include most (if not all) of the other matches mentioned by others previously such as Liverpool, Man U, Leicester, Forest at home in the play off semi, knocking 5 past Spurs , even beating Villa at home in the Cup in 2005. I enjoyed them all wholeheartedly.

Last Saturday was special for me personally as I had my grandson with me. It was the best display by the team and fans that he had witnessed despite him having a season ticket for 6 years. My own joy of the United display on Saturday added to by the joy of seeing your grandson have his greatest day as a Unitedite will not be beaten.

Everyone else is entitled to their views and opinion.
If only this type of display could be repeated going forward

Agree , with you brother , matches are special for me as my son comes to the games (although he bleeds me dry doing it ), just like my dad used to take me, (although a pig )took me , enjoy the time with your kids , grandkids Hodgy thats we're your real memorys are brother , no offence intend BTW , as always UTB.

 

[Ollessendro]

Dramatic turn around or not, we were not established as a div 1 side, we'd just come down from the premier league. Right now were an established 3rd tier side. If we get relegated to div 4 we'd be an established div 3 side on the slide. If we get promoted from here then it's a dramatic turn around but by an established div 3 side. You dig me?

How long does it take to be established in a division? This is our 3rd season in the 3rd tier and thaty season was our 2nd season. Not much of a difference in my book. Judging that we had spent the last 20odd years at 2nd division or above (before relegation under Adams) then I think it is highly debatable to say we're an established League One side. In both of our 2 seasons in this league we have finsihed top 6 and the first season we reallly should have gone up. So no, I don't dig you at all.