If our next 3 games pan out as most would expect them to, we’ll be sat with the same record that we had in the 1975/76 season - P8 W0 D1 L7.
That was, of course, the season after one in which we had been in contention for Europe, that ended in abject relegation.
Unfortunately, in 75/76 a number of great Blades servants ‘hit the wall’/passed their peak all at the same time. We were also hit early in the season by injuries to several crucial players and the understudies, recruited from lower divisions, proved to be inadequate.
Although, we suffered occasional hidings, there were many games that we were actually competitive in. 10 or so games were lost by the odd goal and there were multiple 0-0 and 1-1 draws. Goal-scoring was a big problem, though, and we just couldn’t produce the wins. Only 6 games were won all season and 3 of those came after relegation had been confirmed. In truth, we were all but done and dusted before Christmas.
I don’t want to draw the parallels. If we do, however, in 75/76 we did at least win our 9th fixture (Burnley at the Lane) so perhaps we can look forward to the West Ham game...