The Midfield

All advertisments are hidden for logged in members, why not log in/register?

Chali 2na

The Tuna fish that descended from Lake Michigan
Joined
Aug 17, 2015
Messages
4,963
Reaction score
7,958
Location
Sheffield
My earliest memories of United are from the triple assault season, in 2002/03. I had gone to games before, but this season had completely captured my heart and soul.

Looking back at that team, you might be pressed to explain why we were so dangerous: names like Rob Page and Wayne Allison don't exactly scream quality, yet we somehow made it to the semi-finals of both cups, and finished 3rd in the league.
The answer, in actual fact, lies in midfield: his name was Michael Brown. He was the complete midfielder, always a threat going forward, involved in every attack, all the while being defensively robust - little did I know, that after his sale the following season, it would be 15 years before I saw his replacement.

You may ask; 'If we never replaced Brown, how did we manage promotion to the premier league a couple of years later?'
It's a fair question, but in honesty; Phil Jagielka - though often used in central midfield - was clearly better as a centre-half. Michael Tonge on the other hand was still showing flashes of his brilliance, but never really looked the same without his midfield partner, Brown.

Our brief stint in the premier league saw us attempt to be more solid and harder to break down, players like Montgomery were often deployed in attempt to win possession back quickly. While there were some great memories from that season, few of them were born from midfield.

...​

Our return to the championship triggered a period of gradual decline - one might have expected the arrivals of Gary Speed and Lee Hendrie to drastically improve our midfield, this unfortunately wasn't the case.

After Bryan Robson's ill-fated tenure, the club turned to Kevin Blackwell to steady the ship. While Blackwell was responsible for a fantastic change in terms of results, he was guilty of crimes against midfield: players in the middle of the park were often bypassed thanks to his direct style.

In terms of personnel, United had options in the years between Robson leaving and our eventual relegation to League 1. Brian Howard, Lee Williamson, James Harper and Leon Britton had all had success at other clubs, but failed to impress at United.... a growing trend.

For brief moments, those of us missing Michael Brown got to watch Andy Reid - the exciting Irishman, who's flair and creativity was wasted, in a side seemingly determined to get relegated.

...​

Our first season in League 1 saw a football revolution, and the arrival of our first midfielder to challenge Brown's status for some time: Kevin McDonald. The Scot arrived on a free transfer, and immediately showed his class. His phenomenal vision and composure were invaluable and he quickly became the figure head of a well blended midfield of Williamson, him, Doyle and Quinn.
The football played this season was good as any I'd ever seen at The Lane, and this midfield was fast rivalling the efforts of 02/03.
Unfortunately, after just a year, the midfield was disbanded, as players like Quinn and Williamson moved on. McDonald continued to show his class, but he was sold too, just a year later.

Doyle was ever present in the midfield for the next few seasons, and while he was a good servant, he often lacked quality. Apart from a brief spell with Connor Coady in 2014, Doyle lacked a partner and attempts to link up with Stephen McGinn, James Wallace and co. were largely fruitless.

Doyle's exit coincided with the arrival of Nigel Adkins, a man tasked with finally getting the Blades promoted, at the 5th time of asking - unfortunately it wasn't to be.
While a midfield generally consists of 4 or 5 players, the midfield of Adkins' short reign can be summed up by one man, Dean Hammond. His arrival was greeted with optimism, and based on his CV and glowing reccomendations, this optimism wasnt unfounded: many thought he could be the answer.
As it turned out, Hammond may well be the most hated former player in United's recent history. A consistent midfield combination was never found, and with the possible exception of Ben Whiteman, no midfielder came out of that season with much credit - this was probably the lowest point for United's midfield in the time since Brown left, a sad indictment of how far we had fallen.

...​

Then along came Chris Wilder. Few could predict what a pivotal moment this would be, particularly for our midfield.
Wilder quickly pounced on the signings of Mark Duffy and John Fleck, and after poor start, they were paired in a midfield trio with Paul Coutts.

Coutts provided an option for defenders and dictated play from deep, quickly becoming one of the classiest playmakers in United's history - A far cry from his previous seasons, where he was much maligned.
Fleck was Brown's eventual replacement: a midfielder who can do it all: fierce without the ball, composed with it: a truly awesome player.
Duffy added the much needed creativity further up the pitch. His quick feet and awareness, blended with his dribbling made him the perfect number 10 to link the midfield and attack.

I don't have to tell you that these 3 players helped us on our way to 100 points that year, or that last season, until Coutts unfortunate injury, they were arguably amongst the best midfielders in the championship.

Frighteningly, this is all before the arrival of Ollie Norwood; a player who's technique is second to none, and who's composure on the ball has drawn comparisons with Coutts already - it's early days, but on his showings so far, he's potentially better than what we already have.

Michael Brown was my favourite midfielder, these days though, it's Fleck.
I used to think the midfield from 02/03 was the best I'd seen, but as great as they were, they've finally beem eclipsed by the combination of Paul Coutts, John Fleck, Oliver Norwood and Mark Duffy.

Savour it blades, as who knows when we'll see a combination as good? I hope we don't have to wait another 15 years.
 

I suspect we are waiting for that midfield to be announced as starting :)

It would be worth attempting to shoe-horn them all into the same team at least once- who knows what they'd be capable of as a quartet.
 
My earliest memories of United are from the triple assault season, in 2002/03. I had gone to games before, but this season had completely captured my heart and soul.

Looking back at that team, you might be pressed to explain why we were so dangerous: names like Rob Page and Wayne Allison don't exactly scream quality, yet we somehow made it to the semi-finals of both cups, and finished 3rd in the league.
The answer, in actual fact, lies in midfield: his name was Michael Brown. He was the complete midfielder, always a threat going forward, involved in every attack, all the while being defensively robust - little did I know, that after his sale the following season, it would be 15 years before I saw his replacement.

You may ask; 'If we never replaced Brown, how did we manage promotion to the premier league a couple of years later?'
It's a fair question, but in honesty; Phil Jagielka - though often used in central midfield - was clearly better as a centre-half. Michael Tonge on the other hand was still showing flashes of his brilliance, but never really looked the same without his midfield partner, Brown.

Our brief stint in the premier league saw us attempt to be more solid and harder to break down, players like Montgomery were often deployed in attempt to win possession back quickly. While there were some great memories from that season, few of them were born from midfield.

...​

Our return to the championship triggered a period of gradual decline - one might have expected the arrivals of Gary Speed and Lee Hendrie to drastically improve our midfield, this unfortunately wasn't the case.

After Bryan Robson's ill-fated tenure, the club turned to Kevin Blackwell to steady the ship. While Blackwell was responsible for a fantastic change in terms of results, he was guilty of crimes against midfield: players in the middle of the park were often bypassed thanks to his direct style.

In terms of personnel, United had options in the years between Robson leaving and our eventual relegation to League 1. Brian Howard, Lee Williamson, James Harper and Leon Britton had all had success at other clubs, but failed to impress at United.... a growing trend.

For brief moments, those of us missing Michael Brown got to watch Andy Reid - the exciting Irishman, who's flair and creativity was wasted, in a side seemingly determined to get relegated.

...​

Our first season in League 1 saw a football revolution, and the arrival of our first midfielder to challenge Brown's status for some time: Kevin McDonald. The Scot arrived on a free transfer, and immediately showed his class. His phenomenal vision and composure were invaluable and he quickly became the figure head of a well blended midfield of Williamson, him, Doyle and Quinn.
The football played this season was good as any I'd ever seen at The Lane, and this midfield was fast rivalling the efforts of 02/03.
Unfortunately, after just a year, the midfield was disbanded, as players like Quinn and Williamson moved on. McDonald continued to show his class, but he was sold too, just a year later.

Doyle was ever present in the midfield for the next few seasons, and while he was a good servant, he often lacked quality. Apart from a brief spell with Connor Coady in 2014, Doyle lacked a partner and attempts to link up with Stephen McGinn, James Wallace and co. were largely fruitless.

Doyle's exit coincided with the arrival of Nigel Adkins, a man tasked with finally getting the Blades promoted, at the 5th time of asking - unfortunately it wasn't to be.
While a midfield generally consists of 4 or 5 players, the midfield of Adkins' short reign can be summed up by one man, Dean Hammond. His arrival was greeted with optimism, and based on his CV and glowing reccomendations, this optimism wasnt unfounded: many thought he could be the answer.
As it turned out, Hammond may well be the most hated former player in United's recent history. A consistent midfield combination was never found, and with the possible exception of Ben Whiteman, no midfielder came out of that season with much credit - this was probably the lowest point for United's midfield in the time since Brown left, a sad indictment of how far we had fallen.

...​

Then along came Chris Wilder. Few could predict what a pivotal moment this would be, particularly for our midfield.
Wilder quickly pounced on the signings of Mark Duffy and John Fleck, and after poor start, they were paired in a midfield trio with Paul Coutts.

Coutts provided an option for defenders and dictated play from deep, quickly becoming one of the classiest playmakers in United's history - A far cry from his previous seasons, where he was much maligned.
Fleck was Brown's eventual replacement: a midfielder who can do it all: fierce without the ball, composed with it: a truly awesome player.
Duffy added the much needed creativity further up the pitch. His quick feet and awareness, blended with his dribbling made him the perfect number 10 to link the midfield and attack.

I don't have to tell you that these 3 players helped us on our way to 100 points that year, or that last season, until Coutts unfortunate injury, they were arguably amongst the best midfielders in the championship.

Frighteningly, this is all before the arrival of Ollie Norwood; a player who's technique is second to none, and who's composure on the ball has drawn comparisons with Coutts already - it's early days, but on his showings so far, he's potentially better than what we already have.

Michael Brown was my favourite midfielder, these days though, it's Fleck.
I used to think the midfield from 02/03 was the best I'd seen, but as great as they were, they've finally beem eclipsed by the combination of Paul Coutts, John Fleck, Oliver Norwood and Mark Duffy.

Savour it blades, as who knows when we'll see a combination as good? I hope we don't have to wait another 15 years.

Some post Chali, I'll need a quiet corner to absorb it's contents fully. But focusing on your final line, when the day arrives that we no longer have a manager like Chris Wilder, will we find his replacement quickly? Or will we have to wait a decade or two before we have a manager that's right for the Blades? We're not an ordinary club, that's why we need someone equally as different and exceptional. Come the manager, cometh the team, or something like that.

I sometimes wonder if some people recognise exactly what Wilder has done since he was appointed as manager? After 6 numbing years in Div.1 we finally escaped as Champions with a spectacular number of points and a superb brand of football. When the time comes and Wilder moves on, I just hope that we're not subjected to another round of one mediocre manager after another.....until someone appears who can turn this club on it's head we may have to endure the leaden brand of football that lowers expectations and quashes hope.
 
Some post Chali, I'll need a quiet corner to absorb it's contents fully.

Thanks Alf, means all the more coming from someone like yourself.

But focusing on your final line, when the day arrives that we no longer have a manager like Chris Wilder, will we find his replacement quickly? Or will we have to wait a decade or two before we have a manager that's right for the Blades? We're not an ordinary club, that's why we need someone equally as different and exceptional. Come the manager, cometh the team, or something like that.

I sometimes wonder if some people recognise exactly what Wilder has done since he was appointed as manager? After 6 numbing years in Div.1 we finally escaped as Champions with a spectacular number of points and a superb brand of football. When the time comes and Wilder moves on, I just hope that we're not subjected to another round of one mediocre manager after another.....until someone appears who can turn this club on it's head we may have to endure the leaden brand of football that lowers expectations and quashes hope.

A good point, and something I pondered while writing the OP - as hard as the midfield would be to replace, Wilder could be even harder - I think to the merry-go-round of dross we had before Wilder in charge and unfortunately, I have to conclude that when Wilder leaves, we will probably spend a while scrambling for a replacement.

The chances of us finding someone as capable as him, who, more importantly, cares as much as him, seem frankly impossible.

You're probably right: people take for granted the transformation that he's overseen, though it's hard to ignore, on reflection.
 
It would be worth attempting to shoe-horn them all into the same team at least once- who knows what they'd be capable of as a quartet.
5 at the back makes it very difficult. We’d have to drop a centre half and play a diamond to get the best out of everyone and still have 2 strikers.
 
5 at the back makes it very difficult. We’d have to drop a centre half and play a diamond to get the best out of everyone and still have 2 strikers.

You're right, I was considering sacrificing a striker for another midfielder and allowing Duffy and Fleck to play further forward.

Ultimately, it probably wouldn't work, but I'd love to witness it, for the spectacle, if nothing else.
 
I’m hoping that young Billy Sharp (after learning his trade in the lower leagues) can step seamlessly into Wilder’s shoes when Chris finally retires. :):rolleyes:
 
I’m hoping that young Billy Sharp (after learning his trade in the lower leagues) can step seamlessly into Wilder’s shoes when Chris finally retires. :):rolleyes:

I'll be honest, having met Billy several times, I can't see him being a good manager - I hope he proves me wrong.

I could see Mark Duffy having a go at management though; clearly obsessed with football and talks a lot of sense.
 
Was interested to see that if John Fleck remains practically ever-present for United this season, then he will be on course to match the 147 appearances Brown made for the club. This, despite Brown playing for United over 5 seasons, as opposed to Fleck, who is only in his third.
 
My earliest memories of United are from the triple assault season, in 2002/03. I had gone to games before, but this season had completely captured my heart and soul.

Looking back at that team, you might be pressed to explain why we were so dangerous: names like Rob Page and Wayne Allison don't exactly scream quality, yet we somehow made it to the semi-finals of both cups, and finished 3rd in the league.
The answer, in actual fact, lies in midfield: his name was Michael Brown. He was the complete midfielder, always a threat going forward, involved in every attack, all the while being defensively robust - little did I know, that after his sale the following season, it would be 15 years before I saw his replacement.

You may ask; 'If we never replaced Brown, how did we manage promotion to the premier league a couple of years later?'
It's a fair question, but in honesty; Phil Jagielka - though often used in central midfield - was clearly better as a centre-half. Michael Tonge on the other hand was still showing flashes of his brilliance, but never really looked the same without his midfield partner, Brown.

Our brief stint in the premier league saw us attempt to be more solid and harder to break down, players like Montgomery were often deployed in attempt to win possession back quickly. While there were some great memories from that season, few of them were born from midfield.

...​

Our return to the championship triggered a period of gradual decline - one might have expected the arrivals of Gary Speed and Lee Hendrie to drastically improve our midfield, this unfortunately wasn't the case.

After Bryan Robson's ill-fated tenure, the club turned to Kevin Blackwell to steady the ship. While Blackwell was responsible for a fantastic change in terms of results, he was guilty of crimes against midfield: players in the middle of the park were often bypassed thanks to his direct style.

In terms of personnel, United had options in the years between Robson leaving and our eventual relegation to League 1. Brian Howard, Lee Williamson, James Harper and Leon Britton had all had success at other clubs, but failed to impress at United.... a growing trend.

For brief moments, those of us missing Michael Brown got to watch Andy Reid - the exciting Irishman, who's flair and creativity was wasted, in a side seemingly determined to get relegated.

...​

Our first season in League 1 saw a football revolution, and the arrival of our first midfielder to challenge Brown's status for some time: Kevin McDonald. The Scot arrived on a free transfer, and immediately showed his class. His phenomenal vision and composure were invaluable and he quickly became the figure head of a well blended midfield of Williamson, him, Doyle and Quinn.
The football played this season was good as any I'd ever seen at The Lane, and this midfield was fast rivalling the efforts of 02/03.
Unfortunately, after just a year, the midfield was disbanded, as players like Quinn and Williamson moved on. McDonald continued to show his class, but he was sold too, just a year later.

Doyle was ever present in the midfield for the next few seasons, and while he was a good servant, he often lacked quality. Apart from a brief spell with Connor Coady in 2014, Doyle lacked a partner and attempts to link up with Stephen McGinn, James Wallace and co. were largely fruitless.

Doyle's exit coincided with the arrival of Nigel Adkins, a man tasked with finally getting the Blades promoted, at the 5th time of asking - unfortunately it wasn't to be.
While a midfield generally consists of 4 or 5 players, the midfield of Adkins' short reign can be summed up by one man, Dean Hammond. His arrival was greeted with optimism, and based on his CV and glowing reccomendations, this optimism wasnt unfounded: many thought he could be the answer.
As it turned out, Hammond may well be the most hated former player in United's recent history. A consistent midfield combination was never found, and with the possible exception of Ben Whiteman, no midfielder came out of that season with much credit - this was probably the lowest point for United's midfield in the time since Brown left, a sad indictment of how far we had fallen.

...​

Then along came Chris Wilder. Few could predict what a pivotal moment this would be, particularly for our midfield.
Wilder quickly pounced on the signings of Mark Duffy and John Fleck, and after poor start, they were paired in a midfield trio with Paul Coutts.

Coutts provided an option for defenders and dictated play from deep, quickly becoming one of the classiest playmakers in United's history - A far cry from his previous seasons, where he was much maligned.
Fleck was Brown's eventual replacement: a midfielder who can do it all: fierce without the ball, composed with it: a truly awesome player.
Duffy added the much needed creativity further up the pitch. His quick feet and awareness, blended with his dribbling made him the perfect number 10 to link the midfield and attack.

I don't have to tell you that these 3 players helped us on our way to 100 points that year, or that last season, until Coutts unfortunate injury, they were arguably amongst the best midfielders in the championship.

Frighteningly, this is all before the arrival of Ollie Norwood; a player who's technique is second to none, and who's composure on the ball has drawn comparisons with Coutts already - it's early days, but on his showings so far, he's potentially better than what we already have.

Michael Brown was my favourite midfielder, these days though, it's Fleck.
I used to think the midfield from 02/03 was the best I'd seen, but as great as they were, they've finally beem eclipsed by the combination of Paul Coutts, John Fleck, Oliver Norwood and Mark Duffy.

Savour it blades, as who knows when we'll see a combination as good? I hope we don't have to wait another 15 years.
Heartbeat of the side.

Joyous to watch in full flow.

What a shame Wednesday weren’t in town yesterday !!

UTB
 
My earliest memories of United are from the triple assault season, in 2002/03. I had gone to games before, but this season had completely captured my heart and soul.

Looking back at that team, you might be pressed to explain why we were so dangerous: names like Rob Page and Wayne Allison don't exactly scream quality, yet we somehow made it to the semi-finals of both cups, and finished 3rd in the league.
The answer, in actual fact, lies in midfield: his name was Michael Brown. He was the complete midfielder, always a threat going forward, involved in every attack, all the while being defensively robust - little did I know, that after his sale the following season, it would be 15 years before I saw his replacement.

You may ask; 'If we never replaced Brown, how did we manage promotion to the premier league a couple of years later?'
It's a fair question, but in honesty; Phil Jagielka - though often used in central midfield - was clearly better as a centre-half. Michael Tonge on the other hand was still showing flashes of his brilliance, but never really looked the same without his midfield partner, Brown.

Our brief stint in the premier league saw us attempt to be more solid and harder to break down, players like Montgomery were often deployed in attempt to win possession back quickly. While there were some great memories from that season, few of them were born from midfield.

...​

Our return to the championship triggered a period of gradual decline - one might have expected the arrivals of Gary Speed and Lee Hendrie to drastically improve our midfield, this unfortunately wasn't the case.

After Bryan Robson's ill-fated tenure, the club turned to Kevin Blackwell to steady the ship. While Blackwell was responsible for a fantastic change in terms of results, he was guilty of crimes against midfield: players in the middle of the park were often bypassed thanks to his direct style.

In terms of personnel, United had options in the years between Robson leaving and our eventual relegation to League 1. Brian Howard, Lee Williamson, James Harper and Leon Britton had all had success at other clubs, but failed to impress at United.... a growing trend.

For brief moments, those of us missing Michael Brown got to watch Andy Reid - the exciting Irishman, who's flair and creativity was wasted, in a side seemingly determined to get relegated.

...​

Our first season in League 1 saw a football revolution, and the arrival of our first midfielder to challenge Brown's status for some time: Kevin McDonald. The Scot arrived on a free transfer, and immediately showed his class. His phenomenal vision and composure were invaluable and he quickly became the figure head of a well blended midfield of Williamson, him, Doyle and Quinn.
The football played this season was good as any I'd ever seen at The Lane, and this midfield was fast rivalling the efforts of 02/03.
Unfortunately, after just a year, the midfield was disbanded, as players like Quinn and Williamson moved on. McDonald continued to show his class, but he was sold too, just a year later.

Doyle was ever present in the midfield for the next few seasons, and while he was a good servant, he often lacked quality. Apart from a brief spell with Connor Coady in 2014, Doyle lacked a partner and attempts to link up with Stephen McGinn, James Wallace and co. were largely fruitless.

Doyle's exit coincided with the arrival of Nigel Adkins, a man tasked with finally getting the Blades promoted, at the 5th time of asking - unfortunately it wasn't to be.
While a midfield generally consists of 4 or 5 players, the midfield of Adkins' short reign can be summed up by one man, Dean Hammond. His arrival was greeted with optimism, and based on his CV and glowing reccomendations, this optimism wasnt unfounded: many thought he could be the answer.
As it turned out, Hammond may well be the most hated former player in United's recent history. A consistent midfield combination was never found, and with the possible exception of Ben Whiteman, no midfielder came out of that season with much credit - this was probably the lowest point for United's midfield in the time since Brown left, a sad indictment of how far we had fallen.

...​

Then along came Chris Wilder. Few could predict what a pivotal moment this would be, particularly for our midfield.
Wilder quickly pounced on the signings of Mark Duffy and John Fleck, and after poor start, they were paired in a midfield trio with Paul Coutts.

Coutts provided an option for defenders and dictated play from deep, quickly becoming one of the classiest playmakers in United's history - A far cry from his previous seasons, where he was much maligned.
Fleck was Brown's eventual replacement: a midfielder who can do it all: fierce without the ball, composed with it: a truly awesome player.
Duffy added the much needed creativity further up the pitch. His quick feet and awareness, blended with his dribbling made him the perfect number 10 to link the midfield and attack.

I don't have to tell you that these 3 players helped us on our way to 100 points that year, or that last season, until Coutts unfortunate injury, they were arguably amongst the best midfielders in the championship.

Frighteningly, this is all before the arrival of Ollie Norwood; a player who's technique is second to none, and who's composure on the ball has drawn comparisons with Coutts already - it's early days, but on his showings so far, he's potentially better than what we already have.

Michael Brown was my favourite midfielder, these days though, it's Fleck.
I used to think the midfield from 02/03 was the best I'd seen, but as great as they were, they've finally beem eclipsed by the combination of Paul Coutts, John Fleck, Oliver Norwood and Mark Duffy.

Savour it blades, as who knows when we'll see a combination as good? I hope we don't have to wait another 15 years.
Brilliant post nd if you gave me the choice now of finishing 7th with the wonderful football like yesterday or ten points clear watching pullis recreation of the crazy gang it would be 7th and football every time
 
I'll be honest, having met Billy several times, I can't see him being a good manager - I hope he proves me wrong.

I could see Mark Duffy having a go at management though; clearly obsessed with football and talks a lot of sense.

What makes you say that mate? Never met Billy, but just interesting to know. Seems like a nice guy from what I've seen of him on social media, maybe too nice?
 
Brilliant post nd if you gave me the choice now of finishing 7th with the wonderful football like yesterday or ten points clear watching pullis recreation of the crazy gang it would be 7th and football every time

Me too mate.

My desire to get promoted stems from wanting to keep hold of players like Fleck and O'Connell anyway.
 
What makes you say that mate? Never met Billy, but just interesting to know. Seems like a nice guy from what I've seen of him on social media, maybe too nice?

I personally wouldn't describe him as a nice guy, but I must stress, I've only met him 3 times.
He wasn't nasty or anything, but certainly had an arrogance to him - I imagine that actually helps him as striker though.

The reason why I didn't think he's make a good manager was more down to his intelligence, rather than how personable he was. Not saying he's an idiot, but most good managers seem to be quite analytical and he never strikes me as such.
 

I’m hoping that young Billy Sharp (after learning his trade in the lower leagues) can step seamlessly into Wilder’s shoes when Chris finally retires. :):rolleyes:
Been thinking that myself with the exception that CW moves upstairs as the (Blade) football contingent on the board. Bit like Dooley.
UTB
 
Great op Chali and the midfield of 2002/03 was a very good one and probably the best of the last 15/16 years or so. Don't forget the contribution of Stuart McCall though as he anchored the midfield which allowed Browny to bomb forwards. Was it 24 goals he got that season. But McCall was much more than just a holding midfielder, he had great vision and passing skills.

However, I go much further back to showcase my best midfield which is back to 1970/71 and the greatest midfield quartet I've ever seen (and likely will ever see)

The legendary Tony Currie and the cult figure of Trevor Hockey in the central midfield, flanked by the wonderful and (unbelievably uncapped) Alan Woodward (RM) and the speedy and direct Geoff Salmons. This midfield was simply unplayable at times and my second season watching the Blades they got the club promoted and desevedly so back into the old Division 1which is now the Premier League.

As many will remember we went on the amazing runbeaten run in the opening 10 matches in the top tier, during which we beat the League Champions of the previous three seasons ie Leeds, Arsenal and Everton.
The run famously coming to an end at Old Trafford after THAT goal by the legendary late George Best.

That game at OT was amazing because the travelling Blades support that day was the largest ive ever seen in my time as a Blade (including Wembley etc) Rumour has it that over 25000 were locked out ie unable to get into the ground as it was full. Remember in those days there were no ticket allocations, no seating, no away end, segregation etc and clubs would literally just pack the grounds to the rafters (often dangerously so)

Everybody's aware of TCs successes and England caps and he was a world class talent. Alan Woodward was a local lad (Barnsley) and he played for the Blades for all his career, seemingly then Northern players often got overlooked for England honours, but what a player he was running at defences and with a bullet of a shot.

Google and YouTube are a great way of checking out these players.

See what you think.
 
Great op Chali and the midfield of 2002/03 was a very good one and probably the best of the last 15/16 years or so. Don't forget the contribution of Stuart McCall though as he anchored the midfield which allowed Browny to bomb forwards. Was it 24 goals he got that season. But McCall was much more than just a holding midfielder, he had great vision and passing skills.

Thanks. You're right though: failing to mention McCall was rather silly of me - I made it look like Brown was a one man midfield, which he admittedly wasn't.

However, I go much further back to showcase my best midfield which is back to 1970/71 and the greatest midfield quartet I've ever seen (and likely will ever see)

The legendary Tony Currie and the cult figure of Trevor Hockey in the central midfield, flanked by the wonderful and (unbelievably uncapped) Alan Woodward (RM) and the speedy and direct Geoff Salmons. This midfield was simply unplayable at times and my second season watching the Blades they got the club promoted and desevedly so back into the old Division 1which is now the Premier League.

As many will remember we went on the amazing runbeaten run in the opening 10 matches in the top tier, during which we beat the League Champions of the previous three seasons ie Leeds, Arsenal and Everton.
The run famously coming to an end at Old Trafford after THAT goal by the legendary late George Best.

That game at OT was amazing because the travelling Blades support that day was the largest ive ever seen in my time as a Blade (including Wembley etc) Rumour has it that over 25000 were locked out ie unable to get into the ground as it was full. Remember in those days there were no ticket allocations, no seating, no away end, segregation etc and clubs would literally just pack the grounds to the rafters (often dangerously so)

Everybody's aware of TCs successes and England caps and he was a world class talent. Alan Woodward was a local lad (Barnsley) and he played for the Blades for all his career, seemingly then Northern players often got overlooked for England honours, but what a player he was running at defences and with a bullet of a shot.

Google and YouTube are a great way of checking out these players.

See what you think.

I believe I've seen every available YouTube clip of Tony Currie, in an effort to vindicate my Dad's claims that we'll never see a better player - I think he may be right.

As someone who's only being watching football for 20 years, what's more impressive about Currie is his footwork: seemingly players these days would struggle to imitate his control and dribbling, and that's without the advantage of better pitches or better boots. I do wish I would have been able to see him in the flesh.

I would be interested to know where players like Coutts, Duffy and Fleck feature on an all-time list of great blades players, written by someone who had the pleasure of seeing Currie.
 
I think Fleck, Coutts, Duffy and especially Norwood would be quite high on the list of Blades great midfielders Chali because the wonderful 70/71 side had perhaps 4/5 quality players and the rest were lower league trier's.

The squad of that era was paper thin though and as is always the Blades way a huge opportunity was missed because investment wasn't made available (sounds familier) and injuries etc resulted in a swift decline back down the league's (just 4 years later we were relegated)

We even sold our leading goalscorer in the promotion season (the great John Tudor) but had enough talent and momentum to go up anyway.

There is a wonderful article on the net about Trevor Hockey if you've not seen it. What a player he was and what a great man to go back to his home town at the end of his career to attempt to resurrect his local football club and give something back to the community. He tragically died at the age of 43.

Check out www.keighleykicks.co.uk.
 
Thanks. You're right though: failing to mention McCall was rather silly of me - I made it look like Brown was a one man midfield, which he admittedly wasn't.



I believe I've seen every available YouTube clip of Tony Currie, in an effort to vindicate my Dad's claims that we'll never see a better player - I think he may be right.

As someone who's only being watching football for 20 years, what's more impressive about Currie is his footwork: seemingly players these days would struggle to imitate his control and dribbling, and that's without the advantage of better pitches or better boots. I do wish I would have been able to see him in the flesh.

I would be interested to know where players like Coutts, Duffy and Fleck feature on an all-time list of great blades players, written by someone who had the pleasure of seeing Currie.

There needs to be a proper compilation of Currie on Youtube. Most videos are just one goal, or a couple of clips from the same match.
 
If Norwood and Fleck are sold to Leeds in January, would that be worse than the Deane / Fjortoft transfers?
 
My earliest memories of United are from the triple assault season, in 2002/03. I had gone to games before, but this season had completely captured my heart and soul.

Looking back at that team, you might be pressed to explain why we were so dangerous: names like Rob Page and Wayne Allison don't exactly scream quality, yet we somehow made it to the semi-finals of both cups, and finished 3rd in the league.
The answer, in actual fact, lies in midfield: his name was Michael Brown. He was the complete midfielder, always a threat going forward, involved in every attack, all the while being defensively robust - little did I know, that after his sale the following season, it would be 15 years before I saw his replacement.

You may ask; 'If we never replaced Brown, how did we manage promotion to the premier league a couple of years later?'
It's a fair question, but in honesty; Phil Jagielka - though often used in central midfield - was clearly better as a centre-half. Michael Tonge on the other hand was still showing flashes of his brilliance, but never really looked the same without his midfield partner, Brown.

Our brief stint in the premier league saw us attempt to be more solid and harder to break down, players like Montgomery were often deployed in attempt to win possession back quickly. While there were some great memories from that season, few of them were born from midfield.

...​

Our return to the championship triggered a period of gradual decline - one might have expected the arrivals of Gary Speed and Lee Hendrie to drastically improve our midfield, this unfortunately wasn't the case.

After Bryan Robson's ill-fated tenure, the club turned to Kevin Blackwell to steady the ship. While Blackwell was responsible for a fantastic change in terms of results, he was guilty of crimes against midfield: players in the middle of the park were often bypassed thanks to his direct style.

In terms of personnel, United had options in the years between Robson leaving and our eventual relegation to League 1. Brian Howard, Lee Williamson, James Harper and Leon Britton had all had success at other clubs, but failed to impress at United.... a growing trend.

For brief moments, those of us missing Michael Brown got to watch Andy Reid - the exciting Irishman, who's flair and creativity was wasted, in a side seemingly determined to get relegated.

...​

Our first season in League 1 saw a football revolution, and the arrival of our first midfielder to challenge Brown's status for some time: Kevin McDonald. The Scot arrived on a free transfer, and immediately showed his class. His phenomenal vision and composure were invaluable and he quickly became the figure head of a well blended midfield of Williamson, him, Doyle and Quinn.
The football played this season was good as any I'd ever seen at The Lane, and this midfield was fast rivalling the efforts of 02/03.
Unfortunately, after just a year, the midfield was disbanded, as players like Quinn and Williamson moved on. McDonald continued to show his class, but he was sold too, just a year later.

Doyle was ever present in the midfield for the next few seasons, and while he was a good servant, he often lacked quality. Apart from a brief spell with Connor Coady in 2014, Doyle lacked a partner and attempts to link up with Stephen McGinn, James Wallace and co. were largely fruitless.

Doyle's exit coincided with the arrival of Nigel Adkins, a man tasked with finally getting the Blades promoted, at the 5th time of asking - unfortunately it wasn't to be.
While a midfield generally consists of 4 or 5 players, the midfield of Adkins' short reign can be summed up by one man, Dean Hammond. His arrival was greeted with optimism, and based on his CV and glowing reccomendations, this optimism wasnt unfounded: many thought he could be the answer.
As it turned out, Hammond may well be the most hated former player in United's recent history. A consistent midfield combination was never found, and with the possible exception of Ben Whiteman, no midfielder came out of that season with much credit - this was probably the lowest point for United's midfield in the time since Brown left, a sad indictment of how far we had fallen.

...​

Then along came Chris Wilder. Few could predict what a pivotal moment this would be, particularly for our midfield.
Wilder quickly pounced on the signings of Mark Duffy and John Fleck, and after poor start, they were paired in a midfield trio with Paul Coutts.

Coutts provided an option for defenders and dictated play from deep, quickly becoming one of the classiest playmakers in United's history - A far cry from his previous seasons, where he was much maligned.
Fleck was Brown's eventual replacement: a midfielder who can do it all: fierce without the ball, composed with it: a truly awesome player.
Duffy added the much needed creativity further up the pitch. His quick feet and awareness, blended with his dribbling made him the perfect number 10 to link the midfield and attack.

I don't have to tell you that these 3 players helped us on our way to 100 points that year, or that last season, until Coutts unfortunate injury, they were arguably amongst the best midfielders in the championship.

Frighteningly, this is all before the arrival of Ollie Norwood; a player who's technique is second to none, and who's composure on the ball has drawn comparisons with Coutts already - it's early days, but on his showings so far, he's potentially better than what we already have.

Michael Brown was my favourite midfielder, these days though, it's Fleck.
I used to think the midfield from 02/03 was the best I'd seen, but as great as they were, they've finally beem eclipsed by the combination of Paul Coutts, John Fleck, Oliver Norwood and Mark Duffy.

Savour it blades, as who knows when we'll see a combination as good? I hope we don't have to wait another 15 years.
amen bro great post lad ;)
 
If Norwood and Fleck are sold to Leeds in January, would that be worse than the Deane / Fjortoft transfers?

Yes, although selling Norwood moments after buying him would be odd even by our standards.
 
I think Fleck, Coutts, Duffy and especially Norwood would be quite high on the list of Blades great midfielders Chali because the wonderful 70/71 side had perhaps 4/5 quality players and the rest were lower league trier's.

The squad of that era was paper thin though and as is always the Blades way a huge opportunity was missed because investment wasn't made available (sounds familier) and injuries etc resulted in a swift decline back down the league's (just 4 years later we were relegated)

We even sold our leading goalscorer in the promotion season (the great John Tudor) but had enough talent and momentum to go up anyway.

There is a wonderful article on the net about Trevor Hockey if you've not seen it. What a player he was and what a great man to go back to his home town at the end of his career to attempt to resurrect his local football club and give something back to the community. He tragically died at the age of 43.

Check out www.keighleykicks.co.uk.

It comforts me to know someone who's seen players like Currie and Woodward lists the current midfielders fairly high on the same list - Not only does it say a lot about the current crop, but it says so much about how far we've come too.

I'll check that site out too, thanks :)
 
My earliest memories of United are from the triple assault season, in 2002/03. I had gone to games before, but this season had completely captured my heart and soul.

Looking back at that team, you might be pressed to explain why we were so dangerous: names like Rob Page and Wayne Allison don't exactly scream quality, yet we somehow made it to the semi-finals of both cups, and finished 3rd in the league.
The answer, in actual fact, lies in midfield: his name was Michael Brown. He was the complete midfielder, always a threat going forward, involved in every attack, all the while being defensively robust - little did I know, that after his sale the following season, it would be 15 years before I saw his replacement.

You may ask; 'If we never replaced Brown, how did we manage promotion to the premier league a couple of years later?'
It's a fair question, but in honesty; Phil Jagielka - though often used in central midfield - was clearly better as a centre-half. Michael Tonge on the other hand was still showing flashes of his brilliance, but never really looked the same without his midfield partner, Brown.

Our brief stint in the premier league saw us attempt to be more solid and harder to break down, players like Montgomery were often deployed in attempt to win possession back quickly. While there were some great memories from that season, few of them were born from midfield.

...​

Our return to the championship triggered a period of gradual decline - one might have expected the arrivals of Gary Speed and Lee Hendrie to drastically improve our midfield, this unfortunately wasn't the case.

After Bryan Robson's ill-fated tenure, the club turned to Kevin Blackwell to steady the ship. While Blackwell was responsible for a fantastic change in terms of results, he was guilty of crimes against midfield: players in the middle of the park were often bypassed thanks to his direct style.

In terms of personnel, United had options in the years between Robson leaving and our eventual relegation to League 1. Brian Howard, Lee Williamson, James Harper and Leon Britton had all had success at other clubs, but failed to impress at United.... a growing trend.

For brief moments, those of us missing Michael Brown got to watch Andy Reid - the exciting Irishman, who's flair and creativity was wasted, in a side seemingly determined to get relegated.

...​

Our first season in League 1 saw a football revolution, and the arrival of our first midfielder to challenge Brown's status for some time: Kevin McDonald. The Scot arrived on a free transfer, and immediately showed his class. His phenomenal vision and composure were invaluable and he quickly became the figure head of a well blended midfield of Williamson, him, Doyle and Quinn.
The football played this season was good as any I'd ever seen at The Lane, and this midfield was fast rivalling the efforts of 02/03.
Unfortunately, after just a year, the midfield was disbanded, as players like Quinn and Williamson moved on. McDonald continued to show his class, but he was sold too, just a year later.

Doyle was ever present in the midfield for the next few seasons, and while he was a good servant, he often lacked quality. Apart from a brief spell with Connor Coady in 2014, Doyle lacked a partner and attempts to link up with Stephen McGinn, James Wallace and co. were largely fruitless.

Doyle's exit coincided with the arrival of Nigel Adkins, a man tasked with finally getting the Blades promoted, at the 5th time of asking - unfortunately it wasn't to be.
While a midfield generally consists of 4 or 5 players, the midfield of Adkins' short reign can be summed up by one man, Dean Hammond. His arrival was greeted with optimism, and based on his CV and glowing reccomendations, this optimism wasnt unfounded: many thought he could be the answer.
As it turned out, Hammond may well be the most hated former player in United's recent history. A consistent midfield combination was never found, and with the possible exception of Ben Whiteman, no midfielder came out of that season with much credit - this was probably the lowest point for United's midfield in the time since Brown left, a sad indictment of how far we had fallen.

...​

Then along came Chris Wilder. Few could predict what a pivotal moment this would be, particularly for our midfield.
Wilder quickly pounced on the signings of Mark Duffy and John Fleck, and after poor start, they were paired in a midfield trio with Paul Coutts.

Coutts provided an option for defenders and dictated play from deep, quickly becoming one of the classiest playmakers in United's history - A far cry from his previous seasons, where he was much maligned.
Fleck was Brown's eventual replacement: a midfielder who can do it all: fierce without the ball, composed with it: a truly awesome player.
Duffy added the much needed creativity further up the pitch. His quick feet and awareness, blended with his dribbling made him the perfect number 10 to link the midfield and attack.

I don't have to tell you that these 3 players helped us on our way to 100 points that year, or that last season, until Coutts unfortunate injury, they were arguably amongst the best midfielders in the championship.

Frighteningly, this is all before the arrival of Ollie Norwood; a player who's technique is second to none, and who's composure on the ball has drawn comparisons with Coutts already - it's early days, but on his showings so far, he's potentially better than what we already have.

Michael Brown was my favourite midfielder, these days though, it's Fleck.
I used to think the midfield from 02/03 was the best I'd seen, but as great as they were, they've finally beem eclipsed by the combination of Paul Coutts, John Fleck, Oliver Norwood and Mark Duffy.

Savour it blades, as who knows when we'll see a combination as good? I hope we don't have to wait another 15 years.


Excellent player though Brown was, I always felt that McCall was the key figure in that midfield. It was his presence that allowed the other three (particularly Brown) so much freedom. McCall anchored everything and Brown had pretty much a free role to do whatever he wanted and that's was one of the things that made him so dangerous. Also, Tonge and Ndlovu would often switch sides.
 
Wilder has done a remarkable job with many of the signings he’s brought in with players either at the end of their contracts or out of contract, or for very minimal fees.

How people can keep banging on about the ones who’ve not worked is utterly baffling. His wheeling and dealing has been faultless and those not up to standard are quickly moved on often at a profit.

Amazing bloke.
 
Quality post young man, couldn’t sum it up any better, except being older I can recall midfields from the Bassett era.
 

Quality post young man, couldn’t sum it up any better, except being older I can recall midfields from the Bassett era.

Thanks.

How do you compare the quality of the Basset era to the present day?
 

All advertisments are hidden for logged in members, why not log in/register?

All advertisments are hidden for logged in members, why not log in/register?

Back
Top Bottom