Matt Anson - Sheffield United Greatest Games: The Blades Fifty Finest Matches

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2019

Pitch Publishing

A2 Yeoman Gate

Yeoman Way

Durrington

BN13 3QZ

www.pitchpublishing.co.uk

Matt Anson, 2019

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A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library

Print ISBN 978-1-78531-550-3

eBook ISBN 978-1-78531-605-0

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To my wife, Derve, for constant

belief and encouragement, and

our wonderful kids Amy & Harry.

UTB

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While this book was a lot of fun to write, there were times when hunting down specific information, or match reports of any real use, became an arduous task. There are a number of people, publications and organisations that I couldnt have done this without, even if it was just for pointing me in the right direction in some cases.

Starting with the people I had direct contact with during the writing of the book: Firstly, the fellow Blades fans Robin Wiltshire at Sheffield Archives ( www.sheffield.gov.uk/archives ) who was a huge help, as was Phil Parker, who dug out his scrapbook for match reports on 1970s and 80s games. Also, John Garrett, SUFC Club Engagement Manager, Christian Nade for the impromptu interview over LinkedIn and everyone at the #WeAreUnited Facebook group who provided me with their lists of favourite games. Thanks too to Gareth Davis, co-author of Greatest Games: Derby County for the early advice and Rob Grillo, a Bradford Park Avenue fan who was able to provide me with a piece of missing information.

Writing a book like this is a lot easier when much groundwork has been laid, and the work that Denis Clarebrough and Andrew Kirkham have done over the years is immense, as is the work that must go into setting up and maintaining the English National Football Archive ( www.enfa.co.uk ) and the British Newspaper Archive ( https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ ).

Thanks also to Paul and Jane Camillin and Duncan Olner at Pitch Publishing for making this all possible.

Finally, this book would never have happened had my parents not brought me up as a Blades fan, so thanks to them, and also to Andy Mills for the many lifts to away games and ticket dig-outs over the years, especially QPR after Id had a curry the night before, and getting him lost in Stockport.

This book began as another idea, namely, to choose the best game of each season of Uniteds history, but Paul at Pitch Publishing didnt think the idea would work. In fairness, he was right. How do you pick a highlight from 1980/81 or 2010/11, for instance?

Paul pointed me in the direction of the Greatest Games series, which is a much better format than the one I had in mind, so then it was a matter of selecting the games. One difficulty was that the heyday of both Sheffield clubs was before the Second World War. They won 12 major trophies between them before 1939, one since (and that was just a League Cup), and Uniteds golden period was at the turn of the last century, and this was also part of a 41-year unbroken spell in the top flight. It would be wrong not to include the trophy wins, and some key matches from that era, and I know I found a lot of the stories fascinating. I hope I conveyed them well here, and that readers find the balance right between nostalgia and history.

League championships and FA Cups apart, success is relative. To help me pick the more recent games, I posted on a large Blades social media group to list their favourites and Darlington away in the Fourth Division was a consistent choice with Blades of a certain age. Many neutrals may also be surprised at the inclusion of a defeat, against Hull in the 2014 FA Cup semi, but, again, context is everything and the goals and performance in that game meant so much to Blades fans.

I was also pleased that the 6-3 win against Orient in 1984 kept coming up on peoples lists, as I had procrastinated on its inclusion in case it was just a case of self-indulgence, as I was fortunate enough that this was my first Blades match.

Probably the biggest internal debate I had was around the 2002/03 season, which is represented by four games here, when no other season had more than two games included. It was an incredible season, but that is tempered by the fact that it finished empty-handed, but which game of the four included here could I leave out?

Of course, being a book about Sheffield United, our neighbours from South Barnsley (sorry, Sheffield 6) loom large, and nine of the games are against our city rivals. I questioned whether to include each one, not least to avoid any accusation of the Blades support being obsessed by them. But both Sheffield clubs ARE defined by the other, like it or not. Your city rivals are your yardstick for success, and the balance of power in Sheffield has shifted so many times, that it is impossible not to measure yourself against the other team. Any Wednesdayite (or Blade for that matter) who says they do not is not being honest with you or themselves, and deep down were all thankful that we are a two-club city and not, say, Leeds, as being able to put one over our friends, colleagues and family who support the other lot adds that bit more spice to matchdays.

I have to say the process of writing this book has been hugely enjoyable, if at times a bit of a slog (the completist in me just had to know who managed Bradford PA in 1946, that one-line gap in the book would have haunted me forever), and I hope it is both informative as well as bringing back great memories, and reminds us all why we are Blades in the first place.

Matt Anson, March 2019

v The Wednesday 3-2 Friendly Match 12 January 1891 Bramall Lane Attendance: 14,000

If a Sheffielder responds to a question of where they are from, more often than not the next question will be United or Wednesday? This happens to people from the city wherever they travel in the world. It is hard to imagine a time in Sheffield without the two clubs, but people have lived in or around the area for 12 millennia, and the existence of the two clubs is a small fraction of this time. But football is part of the citys DNA now, arguably these days more synonymous with Sheffield than steel or cutlery.