Lee Williamson (undisclosed, Watford),
It was a case of so near yet so
far last season for Kevin Blackwell's Sheffield United. They started the season pretty
well with three wins in the first four games and the only defeat
coming via a last minute Kevin Phillips strike at Birmingham, a
goal which would eventually cost them dear. They were a little inconsistent
early on as they struggled to find the right balance in a strong
squad but as the clocks changes they began to find form and pushed
up the table to challenge for the playoffs. The loss of James Beattie in January looked a big blow for them but they didn't seem to mind and with Darius Henderson up front scoring goals along with the experience of Speed and Brian Howard in midfield they had a strong second half of the season. A ten match unbeaten run saw them move to within touching distance of automatic promotion but defeat at Burnley was possible the one to cost them a top two place. They still had a chance on the final day to
claim automatic promotion but a 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace combined
with Birmingham's win at Reading meant they finished 3rd just three
points behind Birmingham, see that Phillips goal back in August
was quite important. The won the playoff semi final 2-1 against
Preston and were favourites at Wembley to claim a place in the Premiership
but on the day they never really performed and although they will
point to a good penalty appeal which was turned down in the end
they were just not quite good enough to return to the Premiership.
After losing in the playoff final Kevin
Blackwell offered to resign as manager at Sheffield United but after
that was turned down he went about putting together a team to win
promotion this season and he's not done a bad job this summer. They lost the two exciting defenders Walker and Naughton to Spurs but Blackwell was able to get Walker back on loan for the season. Hey have also snapped up quality in midfield with Glen Little Ryan France and Lee Williamson all good players at this level. Up front he has added Ched Evans which
is a hell of a signing and even at £3million looks a bargain
if he can score goals as freely as he did at Norwich a year or so
ago. They look to have a good strong squad and with plenty of experience they look a very good bet for promotion this time around. They'll need to find the right balance
to the team quicker than they did last year but for two years now
they have ended the season as the divisions form team and have not
been far away from promotion, I think this time they'll clinch that
return with a top two finish. PREDICTION: 2nd in the Championship
I asked Sheffield United fans on an unofficial message board for their thoughts on the new season and here is what they had to say. How do you think Sheffield United will fare this season? Automatic promotion, anything less will be a failure Who are your players to watch out for? Kyle Walker is a quality defender, he's back on loan from Spurs and will be huge for us. Is your Manager the right man for the job? I think so, he's done well with the money he has to spend and was very unlucky not to take us up last season Which three teams will be promoted this season? Sheffield United, Middlesbrough and Notts Forest Which teams will be relegated? Wednesday, Plymouth and Newcastle How do you think QPR will fare this season? i expect the same as last year, you have a good squad on paper but I think you'll struggle to make the playoffs.
In the current Sheffield United squad back up goalkeeper Ian Bennett is a former QPR player. Bennett began his career at QPR but never made it with us so moved down the divisions for forge a decent career fir himself. His best years came at Birmingham where he helped them to win promotion to the Championship. Over the last few years he has been back to being a number two at Birmingham and now at Sheffield United where he provides good back up to Paddy Kenny. Ian is unlikely to start in the match on August 16th but one man who will be hoping to face his former club is Mikele Leigtwerwood. Leigterwood was suspended for the trip to Bramall Lane last season and joined QPR from Sheffield United in 2007. He spent just over a year in Sheffield making just over twenty appearances during the sides stay in the Premiership. There are also two legends who have played for both clubs. Tony Currie is perhaps the most famous of them. Currie was a fantastic midfield player a real creative ball player who had skill vision and a great eye for goal. He played in an era where shirts outside your shorts and a mullet usually meant you were the creative player and that was Currie all over. He was a cheeky player who liked a laugh and really entertained at both clubs. He came to QPR towards the end of his career and did really well for us helping the club reach the FA Cup final in 1982 where he came so close to lifting the trophy. Another legend for perhaps different reasons is Georges Santos. Big Georges was a strange player, he would play like Bobby Moore one minute reading the game and cutting out danger before spraying a 50 yard pass forward onto the forwards foot. The next he would miss control a simple ball forward and fall on his arse. In his last game at Loftus Road he managed to score an own goal from a header by his own corner flag. Santos had a good spell at Sheffield United and is probably best remembered for allegedly being sent on with the instructions to get sent off by Neil Warnock and get a match abandoned, a claim both deny of course but still makes for a good story. The highlight of his time at QPR was probably when he came on a sub against Norwich and was booed by the home fans, he then proceeded to run the game from midfield and smash a great volley into the top corner leaving those who booed feeling a bit silly. Georges played in every position for QPR expect goalkeeper during his time at QPR and an injury crisis ahead of Ian Holloways last game in charge meant Santos was actually on standby to go in goal if we couldn’t sign a keeper in time.
QPR have had plenty of encounters with Sheffield United since this web site was created. In the 1998/99 season we lost 2-1 at Loftus Road when Steve Bruce was in charge at the Sheffield club. Bruce's men did the double over us that season with a 2-0 win later in the season and on the way home I met legendary manager Malcolm Allison on the train who described QPR as "Fucking Rubbish" which was a fair assessment at the time. The following season a much improved Rangers did far better in the two games. We thrashed them 3-1 at home with Stuart Wardley among the goal scorers. Mikkel Beck scored in the away game as we drew 1-1 live on Sky. Our relegation season gave us a point at Bramall Lane, something of a miracle considering our away form that year Sammy Koejoe scored for us and Lee Harper saved a twice taken penalty to send us home with a point. The game at Loftus Road was Ian Holloway's first in charge and saw a pitiful display which ended several QPR players careers. Georges Santos was among the goalscorers in a 3-1 win for Sheffield United. During our promotion season we travelled North with more hope than expectation in the Carling Cup. Rangers turned it on big time though producing our best performance of the season. We played a strong Sheffield United side off the pitch winning 2-0. The 2004/05 saw Sheffield United do the double over Rangers. The game at Loftus Road was not a good night for Rangers. Injuries to Forbes and Furlong meant that we were well under strength and needed to ply Richard Edghill as a central defender. Edghill's lack of height was exposed when Andy Gray headed the Blades ahead in the first half. Despite an improved second half display Rangers never looked like scoring without Paul Furlong and went home with nothing. The away game saw Rangers without several players again through injury. Furlong was again missing along with Matthew Rose meaning Georges Santos started up front. Rangers did well in the first half and took the lead through Martin Rowlands. Rowlands then picked up a knock and was replaced by debutant Stefan Bailey who had an impressive debut. Before half time Sheffield United drew level through Danny Webber and the on loan man made it 2-1 after half time. Kevin Gallen smashed in a deserved equaliser and as the game was heading for a draw the referee had a breakdown and gave an unbelievable penalty in the dying minutes. Andy Gray made no mistake and to make matters worse Andrew Davies was then sent off. Gallen was within inches of getting a very late equaliser but it wasn't to be and the home side ran out 3-2 winners. The 2005/06 season was better for Rangers. A screamer from Marc Bircham helped us go top of the league in August 2005. The return game was possibly Gary Waddock's best day in charge as we shocked the promotion chasers 3-2 at Brammel Lane. in 2007/08 Rangers new look side lost 2-1 to Bryan Robsons side. Patrick Agyemang scored his first goal for the club in a 2-1 defeat. The return game saw a new manager for United with Kevin Blackwell in charge and he helped his side to a 1-1 draw as Angelo Balanta scored his first goal for QPR. Last season Sheffield United thrashed us 3-0 in our first away league game as Billy Sharp scored a hat trick. The game at Loftus Road was one of many 0-0 draws which Rangers really should have won with Blackstock and Gorkss both missing great chances to win it for Rangers. Click on the match for a report of the game from this web site.
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