Balham
S24SU Seer
Where are they now? Sheffield United 0-3 West Bromwich Albion 16 March 2002
The Battle of Bramall Lane. United were down to 10 men after 9 minutes after one of Tracey's trademark hare-brained charges out of his area saw him handle the ball to prevent a tap in. West Brom went 1-0 up after 18 minutes and dominated the game but weren't able to increase their lead until the 62nd minute. In the aftermath of that goal, Warnock made a double change, bringing on Santos and Suffo for Tonge and Uhlenbeek. This would be the first time that Santos had been on the pitch with Andy Johnson since the Welshman's premeditated elbow had fractured the Frenchman's cheekbone and eye socket and retribution swiftly followed. A knee-high lunge on Johnson saw Santos sent off a minute after coming on - the only thing Santos did wrong in that was not aiming for Johnson's standing leg - while in the ensuing melée Suffo headbutted Albion captain Derek McInnes, earning him a red card and reducing United to 8. All discipline had left United and the already booked Brown and Curle were given the benefit of some incredibly lenient decisions by referee Eddie Wolstenholme, the latter even appearing the throw a punch at McInnes. Injuries to Brown and then Ullathorne reduced United to 6 men and Baggies manager Gary Megson to a jibbering wreck, with the game becoming the first in English professional football to be abandoned under Law 3 as United had too few players to continue. The fallout continued for a while with Megson adamant that Warnock was trying to get the game abandoned (some would argue he was successful) but the score in the 82nd minute was taken as the final score and United were fined £10,000.
GK: 1 Simon Tracey: brought in by Dave Bassett who knew him from his Wimbledon days for the princely sum of £7,500, Tracey went on to play over 330 games for United in a 15-year stay at the Lane. Battled with Alan Kelly for a couple of year in the early 1990s but saw off the Irishman to retain his #1 status. Tracey was injured in the summer of 2002 and never regained his place as Paddy Kenny had taken over. Since retiring he's had spells coaching at Barnsley, Rotherham and Chesterfield before moving into scouting, first at Northampton Town and now at Brentford where he is Lead Germany scout.
RB: 24 Gus Uhlenbeek: Cult hero Guuuuuus joined United from Ipswich in the summer of 2000. He is another who left in the summer of 2002, joining Bradford City before spending time at Chesterfield, Wycombe, Mansfield and finally Halifax Town. Has seemingly disappeared from public view, his X profile suggests he's in Amsterdam but he's not posted since 2016.
CB: 32 Rob Page: joined United in the summer of 2001 for £350k from first club Watford. He made club captain for the 2002/03 Triple Assault season and his overall spell at Bramall Lane was relatively successful, making 104 appearances but left for Cardiff on a free at the end of his contract. That didn’t work out and he moved on to Coventry and Huddersfield before finishing his playing career at Chesterfield. A number of his spells ended after bust-ups with management which makes it surprising that he chose to pursue a career as a manager and while his club management career was at best unspectacular (spells at Port Vale and Northampton) he was appointed as Wales manager in the aftermath of Ryan Giggs' fall from grace. Initial optimism and results, including qualifying for Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup faded and he was sacked in June 2024.
CB: 6 Keith Curle: a one-time most expensive defender in British football, Curle joined United at 36 and was 38 by the time we played West Brom. Left United in the summer of 2002 to join Barnsley briefly before spending three years at Mansfield, finally retiring from playing at the age of 41. Moved into management with relatively unsuccessful spells at 8 different lower- and non-league clubs but is now more often a pundit on Sky.
LB: 23 Rob Ullathorne. Signed in December 2000 as a free agent having left Leicester City at the end of the previous season. Released by United at the end of 2000/01 but resigned in November for what was ultimately an injury-plagued second spell at the Lane. Forced off injured in the 82nd minute against West Brom, taking United down to 6 players and forcing the abandonment of the match. Left United in the summer of 2003 for a year at Northampton before finishing his career at Notts County. Has dabbled with a number of careers after retiring from playing: licenced player agent, sports management, lifestyle management and a job in Mercedes' VIP department.
RM: 16 Peter Ndlovu. Nuddy started out at Coventry and was somewhat bizarrely picked by the creators of Premier Manager 2 (Sheffield’s own Gremlin Interactive) as one of the best prospects in English football. In the history books as the first African Premier League player (yes, football really did begin in 1992), we signed him in one of our better deals when Birmingham were convinced to part with Ndlovu and £1m for Curtis Woodhouse. Became another terrace hero over his three-and-a-half years at the Lane, scoring a memorable winner at home to Leeds in the League Cup and a hattrick against Cardiff in the ridiculous 5-3 win in 2004. He left United for South African side Mamelodi Sundowns in the summer of 2004. Had a spell as the assistant manager of Zimbabwe’s national team, suffered a horror car crash which left him with multiple broken bones and his brother and another passenger dead. Disappeared off the radar after a 2013 acquittal of culpable homicide following that accident. Sacrificed by Warnock in the 9th minute of the West Brom game after Tracey's red card.
CM: 17 Phil Jagielka. Phil Jagielka – covered repeatedly in these reports. Over 760 career appearances at United (287), Everton (384), United (22), Derby (21) and now Stoke (45). 40 England caps. Finally retired at the age of 41 to spend more time on the golf course.
CM: 7 Michael Brown. Brought in as an unpolished prospect, left for Spurs 6 months after compiling his own goal of the season competition in an astonishing 2002/03 campaign. Stayed for the final year of his contract believing we’d challenge for promotion again in 2003/04 but Neil Warnock’s natural habitat of 8th place started to become reality and Brown’s performances didn’t reach the highs of the previous season. Spurs came knocking with £500k in January 2004 and Brown departed for the capital. Made 50 appearances over two seasons with Spurs and a series of spells neither short nor long followed: 18 months at Craven Cottage, two seasons at Wigan (2007-09), two seasons at then-financially stricken Portsmouth (2009-11) – it’s worth noting that he made 24 appearances in his final Portsmouth season; a 25th would have seen him receive a new contract on £25k per week so he was unused from Boxing Day until his contract expired. Moved to Leeds on a free after his release by Pompey before finishing his career at Port Vale. Can now be found as an opinion for hire, mainly on Sky after an unhappy four month spell as Port Vale’s manager. Forced off injured against West Brom and a diagnosis of a hernia saw him miss the rest of the 2001/02 season.
LM: 26 Michael Tonge. Burst onto the scene in 2002 with a brace against Liverpool in the League Cup semi-final and seemed to have the world at his feet. We turned down a rumoured £6m from the Scousers in the summer of 2003 and he ended up staying for a further five years before leaving for Stoke in 2008. Falling foul of Tony Pulis’s dislike of any form of technique he only made 12 appearances in the next five years, spending the majority of his time there on loan (Preston, Derby, Preston, Barnsley, Leeds). Joined up with Warnock again at Leeds in 2013 before finishing his career in League Two with Stevenage and Port Vale. Now a coach at Huddersfield’s academy.
CF: 12 Laurent D'Jaffo. The Lion of Hillsborough. Joined from Stockport County in the summer of 2000 having worked with Warnock previously at Bury. Would go on to score 11 goals in 69 United appearances before leaving for Aberdeen in the summer of 2002. Became an agent after retiring and did some scouting for United but has disappeared off the radar since then.
CF: 8 Paul Peschisolido. Journeyman who wrote himself into legend with a single mazy run. Now taking a low profile having had an unsuccessful managerial stint in charge of Burton, he presumably takes a backseat as his high-flying wife screws Newham Council over and chases his errant daughter around.
Subs
13 Wilko de Vogt (GK, on 9' for Ndlovu) Bit of a joke figure at United, making only 6 appearances in his 2 year spell, the Dutch keeper would go on to play over 230 times for homeland second tier TOP Oss. I have absolutely no idea what he is doing now.
14 Georges Santos (on 64' for Tonge, sent off 65'). Joined United from, ironically, West Brom in the summer of 2000. Left United having not played for the club after the 3-0 defeat to the Baggies, he went on to have spells at Grimsby, Ipswich, QPR, Brighton, Chesterfield, Alfreton, Farsley and Fleetwood. Still resident in South Yorkshire, he has held scouting roles for Manchester City, Mallorca, Marseille and now West Ham.
19 Patrick Suffo: one of very few Sheffield United players to make a World Cup appearance, Suffo was a disciplinary nightmare; he joined us while serving an 8 month ban for attacking a referee at Nantes, his last act for United was headbutting Derek McInnes. Became a bit of a journeyman after leaving United, playing at Numancia, Al-Hilal, Coventry, Dubai, Odd Grenland, Maccabi Petah Tikva, Ashdod, Puertollano and Triggered Wrexham. Difficult to pin down exactly what he's up to now.
20 Jean-Philippe Javery: joined United as a Warnock gamble, his early promise (French caps at U16 to U19 level) fizzling out. Left United in 2003 for unsuccessful spells at Hamilton and Excelsior (Réunion). Seemingly now a Sport Director living in Norway if Facebook is to be believed.
22 Nick Montgomery: “every second touch is a tackle” summed up Monty’s career but he would always make the tackle. Played for United in three divisions, making nearly 350 appearances before heading to Australia and Central Coast Mariners for the twilight of his career. A successful switch into management at CCM was followed by an average spell and the sack at Hibernian. Now part of Ange Postecoglu's backroom team at Spurs.
The Battle of Bramall Lane. United were down to 10 men after 9 minutes after one of Tracey's trademark hare-brained charges out of his area saw him handle the ball to prevent a tap in. West Brom went 1-0 up after 18 minutes and dominated the game but weren't able to increase their lead until the 62nd minute. In the aftermath of that goal, Warnock made a double change, bringing on Santos and Suffo for Tonge and Uhlenbeek. This would be the first time that Santos had been on the pitch with Andy Johnson since the Welshman's premeditated elbow had fractured the Frenchman's cheekbone and eye socket and retribution swiftly followed. A knee-high lunge on Johnson saw Santos sent off a minute after coming on - the only thing Santos did wrong in that was not aiming for Johnson's standing leg - while in the ensuing melée Suffo headbutted Albion captain Derek McInnes, earning him a red card and reducing United to 8. All discipline had left United and the already booked Brown and Curle were given the benefit of some incredibly lenient decisions by referee Eddie Wolstenholme, the latter even appearing the throw a punch at McInnes. Injuries to Brown and then Ullathorne reduced United to 6 men and Baggies manager Gary Megson to a jibbering wreck, with the game becoming the first in English professional football to be abandoned under Law 3 as United had too few players to continue. The fallout continued for a while with Megson adamant that Warnock was trying to get the game abandoned (some would argue he was successful) but the score in the 82nd minute was taken as the final score and United were fined £10,000.
GK: 1 Simon Tracey: brought in by Dave Bassett who knew him from his Wimbledon days for the princely sum of £7,500, Tracey went on to play over 330 games for United in a 15-year stay at the Lane. Battled with Alan Kelly for a couple of year in the early 1990s but saw off the Irishman to retain his #1 status. Tracey was injured in the summer of 2002 and never regained his place as Paddy Kenny had taken over. Since retiring he's had spells coaching at Barnsley, Rotherham and Chesterfield before moving into scouting, first at Northampton Town and now at Brentford where he is Lead Germany scout.
RB: 24 Gus Uhlenbeek: Cult hero Guuuuuus joined United from Ipswich in the summer of 2000. He is another who left in the summer of 2002, joining Bradford City before spending time at Chesterfield, Wycombe, Mansfield and finally Halifax Town. Has seemingly disappeared from public view, his X profile suggests he's in Amsterdam but he's not posted since 2016.
CB: 32 Rob Page: joined United in the summer of 2001 for £350k from first club Watford. He made club captain for the 2002/03 Triple Assault season and his overall spell at Bramall Lane was relatively successful, making 104 appearances but left for Cardiff on a free at the end of his contract. That didn’t work out and he moved on to Coventry and Huddersfield before finishing his playing career at Chesterfield. A number of his spells ended after bust-ups with management which makes it surprising that he chose to pursue a career as a manager and while his club management career was at best unspectacular (spells at Port Vale and Northampton) he was appointed as Wales manager in the aftermath of Ryan Giggs' fall from grace. Initial optimism and results, including qualifying for Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup faded and he was sacked in June 2024.
CB: 6 Keith Curle: a one-time most expensive defender in British football, Curle joined United at 36 and was 38 by the time we played West Brom. Left United in the summer of 2002 to join Barnsley briefly before spending three years at Mansfield, finally retiring from playing at the age of 41. Moved into management with relatively unsuccessful spells at 8 different lower- and non-league clubs but is now more often a pundit on Sky.
LB: 23 Rob Ullathorne. Signed in December 2000 as a free agent having left Leicester City at the end of the previous season. Released by United at the end of 2000/01 but resigned in November for what was ultimately an injury-plagued second spell at the Lane. Forced off injured in the 82nd minute against West Brom, taking United down to 6 players and forcing the abandonment of the match. Left United in the summer of 2003 for a year at Northampton before finishing his career at Notts County. Has dabbled with a number of careers after retiring from playing: licenced player agent, sports management, lifestyle management and a job in Mercedes' VIP department.
RM: 16 Peter Ndlovu. Nuddy started out at Coventry and was somewhat bizarrely picked by the creators of Premier Manager 2 (Sheffield’s own Gremlin Interactive) as one of the best prospects in English football. In the history books as the first African Premier League player (yes, football really did begin in 1992), we signed him in one of our better deals when Birmingham were convinced to part with Ndlovu and £1m for Curtis Woodhouse. Became another terrace hero over his three-and-a-half years at the Lane, scoring a memorable winner at home to Leeds in the League Cup and a hattrick against Cardiff in the ridiculous 5-3 win in 2004. He left United for South African side Mamelodi Sundowns in the summer of 2004. Had a spell as the assistant manager of Zimbabwe’s national team, suffered a horror car crash which left him with multiple broken bones and his brother and another passenger dead. Disappeared off the radar after a 2013 acquittal of culpable homicide following that accident. Sacrificed by Warnock in the 9th minute of the West Brom game after Tracey's red card.
CM: 17 Phil Jagielka. Phil Jagielka – covered repeatedly in these reports. Over 760 career appearances at United (287), Everton (384), United (22), Derby (21) and now Stoke (45). 40 England caps. Finally retired at the age of 41 to spend more time on the golf course.
CM: 7 Michael Brown. Brought in as an unpolished prospect, left for Spurs 6 months after compiling his own goal of the season competition in an astonishing 2002/03 campaign. Stayed for the final year of his contract believing we’d challenge for promotion again in 2003/04 but Neil Warnock’s natural habitat of 8th place started to become reality and Brown’s performances didn’t reach the highs of the previous season. Spurs came knocking with £500k in January 2004 and Brown departed for the capital. Made 50 appearances over two seasons with Spurs and a series of spells neither short nor long followed: 18 months at Craven Cottage, two seasons at Wigan (2007-09), two seasons at then-financially stricken Portsmouth (2009-11) – it’s worth noting that he made 24 appearances in his final Portsmouth season; a 25th would have seen him receive a new contract on £25k per week so he was unused from Boxing Day until his contract expired. Moved to Leeds on a free after his release by Pompey before finishing his career at Port Vale. Can now be found as an opinion for hire, mainly on Sky after an unhappy four month spell as Port Vale’s manager. Forced off injured against West Brom and a diagnosis of a hernia saw him miss the rest of the 2001/02 season.
LM: 26 Michael Tonge. Burst onto the scene in 2002 with a brace against Liverpool in the League Cup semi-final and seemed to have the world at his feet. We turned down a rumoured £6m from the Scousers in the summer of 2003 and he ended up staying for a further five years before leaving for Stoke in 2008. Falling foul of Tony Pulis’s dislike of any form of technique he only made 12 appearances in the next five years, spending the majority of his time there on loan (Preston, Derby, Preston, Barnsley, Leeds). Joined up with Warnock again at Leeds in 2013 before finishing his career in League Two with Stevenage and Port Vale. Now a coach at Huddersfield’s academy.
CF: 12 Laurent D'Jaffo. The Lion of Hillsborough. Joined from Stockport County in the summer of 2000 having worked with Warnock previously at Bury. Would go on to score 11 goals in 69 United appearances before leaving for Aberdeen in the summer of 2002. Became an agent after retiring and did some scouting for United but has disappeared off the radar since then.
CF: 8 Paul Peschisolido. Journeyman who wrote himself into legend with a single mazy run. Now taking a low profile having had an unsuccessful managerial stint in charge of Burton, he presumably takes a backseat as his high-flying wife screws Newham Council over and chases his errant daughter around.
Subs
13 Wilko de Vogt (GK, on 9' for Ndlovu) Bit of a joke figure at United, making only 6 appearances in his 2 year spell, the Dutch keeper would go on to play over 230 times for homeland second tier TOP Oss. I have absolutely no idea what he is doing now.
14 Georges Santos (on 64' for Tonge, sent off 65'). Joined United from, ironically, West Brom in the summer of 2000. Left United having not played for the club after the 3-0 defeat to the Baggies, he went on to have spells at Grimsby, Ipswich, QPR, Brighton, Chesterfield, Alfreton, Farsley and Fleetwood. Still resident in South Yorkshire, he has held scouting roles for Manchester City, Mallorca, Marseille and now West Ham.
19 Patrick Suffo: one of very few Sheffield United players to make a World Cup appearance, Suffo was a disciplinary nightmare; he joined us while serving an 8 month ban for attacking a referee at Nantes, his last act for United was headbutting Derek McInnes. Became a bit of a journeyman after leaving United, playing at Numancia, Al-Hilal, Coventry, Dubai, Odd Grenland, Maccabi Petah Tikva, Ashdod, Puertollano and Triggered Wrexham. Difficult to pin down exactly what he's up to now.
20 Jean-Philippe Javery: joined United as a Warnock gamble, his early promise (French caps at U16 to U19 level) fizzling out. Left United in 2003 for unsuccessful spells at Hamilton and Excelsior (Réunion). Seemingly now a Sport Director living in Norway if Facebook is to be believed.
22 Nick Montgomery: “every second touch is a tackle” summed up Monty’s career but he would always make the tackle. Played for United in three divisions, making nearly 350 appearances before heading to Australia and Central Coast Mariners for the twilight of his career. A successful switch into management at CCM was followed by an average spell and the sack at Hibernian. Now part of Ange Postecoglu's backroom team at Spurs.
