We Are Proud Of You

Sheffield United 3
Hull City 5

Wembley Stadium
Attendance 71,820

Away Blades 33,000

Away Hull Fans 26,000

It is now three days after the Semi Final was left in the history books, I would like to apologize for being so late with this match report, I have to be honest, it has taken me three days to get over the raw emotion coursing through every fiber in my body since Jose Baxter put us ahead, and I got to hear that almighty roar of a goal celebration for the first time at the New Wembley.

It was a memorable day and one I will look back on my entire life, it was a strange day, the usual pressures, the expectation the nerves, they were all replaced by a strange calming sensation, and I don't mean the beer. We were heavy underdogs, we had nothing to lose, the eyes of the word were not watching, judging lashing expectation upon us to progress to the final, we were here to win it yes but we knew that we had the freedom to go out and play without having to please anyone else but ourselves.  

Fans left Sheffield in their thousands, coachloads, carloads, I am pretty sure I even witnessed a few limo's haul past us on the motorway with red and white flags from the windows dancing in the wind, all of us together on our way to watch the team we love finally give us what we deserve, a day at Wembley that wont hurt every time we reminisce. And as the fans filled pubs surrounding the National Stadium, singing songs, having a red and white party the players made their way into the famous stadium. Not in suits like Hull, but in their team training gear, after all we are a football team, not celebrities dressing to impress in front of the worlds media.

As I climbed the stairs from the concourse to the stand my eyes took time to adjust, what I came to see was a sight to behold, the teams were walking onto the pitch, the grand stadium on one half was packed to the rafters, the full half, the red half stood in unison welcoming their heroes onto the field, family's, friends young and old filled the London air with noise, emotion, pride and loyalty for our team it was all on show today. 

As spontaneous minutes applause payed tribute to the ninety six Liverpool fans who never made it home on that dreadful day twenty five years ago. Whilst it was planned to be a minutes silence the round of applause ensured that no blemish was left on the moment, and also showed that we applaud the life's of those innocent men, woman and children who should still be here today.

The roar as the referee's whistle ended the minute shook the foundations of Wembley, it was time to put the occasion behind us and let the football take centre stage. A more familiar team took occupied the starting eleven than in the last game against Rotherham, Captain Michael Doyle along with Mark Howard, Neil Collins, John Brayford, Conor Coady, Stefan Scougall, Ryan Flynn and Jamie Murphy all being recalled after taking a well deserved rest midweek. The opening few moments couldn't prepare us for the ninety minutes of drama that awaited us as both teams looked slow to settle or get into any kind of rhythm. In the nervy opening the Blades tested the waters of the defense pushing forward's, this lead to Meyler picking up the first yellow card of the game after a fowl on Scougall. Just before the twenty minute mark The Blades ended the Wembley goal drought and rewarded the thirty three thousand with a goal that will last long in the hearts a mind's of us all, a Coady throw in landed at the feet of John Brayford, he took the ball forward and hit a delightful cross into the Hull danger zone, and in front of the opposition support Jose Baxter managed to force himself onto the ball, it hit the back of the net in what felt like slow motion, the Hull fans sat in silence as the West end of the stadium erupted, people were stunned. I myself opened my mouth to cheer but I

remained almost silent, it felt as though I had no breath in my body, the tips of my fingers and toes ran cold and numb, my legs felt lost beneath me as though I was learning to walk, I hugged anyone one who came within a yard of me, people embraced each other in euphoria, scenes like this usually accompany a last minute winner, but this, this was what a goal at Wembley meant to every single Blade here, two previous visits of pain with no goal, we had seen that goal now, and it felt better than any drink, drug or thrill seeking experience anyone anywhere could possibly offer me, but not just me. Sisters nearly in tears held each other, men hugged their sons and daughters close, and my dear old dad raised the picture of his fallen brother high in the air with pride, his brother dreamed of seeing us play at Wembley but passed away whilst watching the Blades before his dream could come true, for my Uncle and his family that misses him, that was the goal that would honor his memory. And as Baxter, born in Liverpool, a son of the City that lost so much those twenty five years ago it was the goal he dedicated to them, kissing the memorial armband before raising it to the heavens. As we all came to terms with finally witnessing a big game goal, the reality was League One Sheffield United One Premiership Hull City Nil.

It could have been two moment's later as Scougall came close, but his effort was to high on this occasion and drifted over the bar. It took twenty five minutes for Hull to register their first shot at us, and it was from Huddlestone, the only Hull player who looked of any real worth so far for Hull, his shot deflected wide on this occasion. United dominated from here, passing the ball between ourselves, closing the door on our opponents, and the fans cheered every pass, five passes felt like a hundred, when it surpassed twenty five we felt as though we were just passing for fun with no competition. But before the break of half time the frustrated Tigers lashed out at us, after finally managing to disposes us (which at times felt like it would never happen) Elmohamady played a clever ball into the path of Sagbo who slid in to bludgeon the ball into the back of Mark Howard's goal and equalize, he celebrated by shushing the Blades fans who had been in full

voice since the first whistle, but his arrogant behavior didn't have the desired effect, we grew louder, we heaped encouragement on our lads, and it payed off, as just two minutes later the lead was ours again. The urgency of Jamie Murphy saw him dart down the wing and out muscle his opponent, he then slid in a ball to

the waiting Stefan Scougall, the young Scottsman thumping the ball into the net before dancing with his team mates in celebration, and as Sagbo looked back all he could see was a sea of red and white, again surging to the soundtrack of a emotional roar. Shortly after the referee blew his whistle and called and to a fantastic half of football, we had to pinch ourselves and check that this was really happening, The Blades marched down the tunnel a goal to the good at Wembley. 

Now I hate cliches, but to say that football is a game of two halves is the most understated way of describing the rest of the game. Stern words and tactical changes saw Steve Bruce make a brave double substitution at half time, strikers Fryatt and Aluko replacing Boyed and Figueroa, and unfortunately for us it payed off for them. A corner took a few touches before luckily dropping directly into the path of Fryatt, he took his chance and fired Hull level. It was a sign of things to come, Fryatt then having one disallowed before Hull got their third leaving our hearts to sink, a neat bit of football saw Huddlestone and Meyler link up well with a sublime one two, a faint touch allowed Huddlestone to get the better of our defense and he calmly slotted the ball into the net giving Hull the lead, and as much as it pains us all with the way things were going in this second half it was now a deserved lead just as ours was int he first. United never gave up and neither did the fans, we never stopped backing our heroes and they never stopped fighting. Coady almost set up Ryan Flynn, but he was closed down and crowded out of the game denying him a chance to produce a dangerous effort. Substitute Stephen Quinn was brought onto the pitch by Bruce, and the ex Blade cult hero was unfortunately the one to break the hearts of those that still love him. A good ball into the box by Livemore was met by the compact Irishman who had timed his run superbly, he headed home and put Hull two goals into the lead, he held his head in his hands as his team mates celebrated around him, a class act to the end, a quality goal by a quality player, but one we wish he hadn't. The fans and the players still didn't know how to say die and we continued to try and get ourselves back into the game, it was frustrating as things had now gotten frantic, but we all still believed. Murphy tried to hit in a overhead kick from a set piece but Harper was relieved to see hit drift over the crossbar. Goal scorers Scougall and Murphy were substituted, Davies and Porter their replacements as Clough tried to reshape. We had a glimmer of hope tantalizingly dangled in front of us as Murphy pulled a goal back in the last minute of regulation time. Harris played like a man with nothing to lose skinning two players before chipping in a delicate but world class ball to the unmarked Flynn, the winger attempted to head the ball low into the goal but it was deflected, the deflection fell for Murphy who kept his composure to hit the ball hard into the ground forcing itself into the goal. The fans went bezerk and we urged our team to carry on this fight, and they did, they threw everything at Hull. Centre half Harry went on one of his mazy runs forward as United threw nine of their eleven men forward, no one was able to stop the talented youngster of disposes him, he found himself at the edge of the Hull box, cry's of shoot, and Harry was happy to oblige, but sadly, it wasn't meant to be. His shot was desperately blocked (I think I

counted four Hull players panic and dive for the ball) before it got a chance to test the keeper, and with so many forward we were hit on the break. Meyler scored Hulls fifth and booked their return for the final, five three to Hull. But we did not swarm for the exits, we didn't boo, we did not sit in silence, we stood and we applauded, we applauded our warriors in red and white, we applauded them for taking the fight to Hull, we applauded them because we were proud of them. We applauded our players until the final whistle a few seconds later, we only stopped applauding so we could sing, and sing we did. We may not have won the day, we may not have gotten to the final, but we did ourselves no injustice, we came here to do ourselves proud, and despite the scoreline we can finally say we left Wembley with our heads held high.

-Jonathan Gascoigne

The Kids Are Going To Be Alright

Sheffield United 1
Leyton Orient 1
Bramall Lane
Attendance 16,809

Jamie Murphy grabbed Sheffield United's seven thousandth league goal to gain a hard earned point against one of the seasons success stories Leyton Orient. In the clubs fiftieth competitive fixture of the season United were boosted by the return of Harry Maguire. Porter was also in the starting line up as Paynter dropped to the bench. Matt Hill and Bob Harris also returned to the bench after both picking up injuries away at Preston. The opening fifteen minutes was more a game of chess than a game of football, each side unwilling to take many risks or look to try anything out of the ordinary, instead they both attempted to retain possession whilst searching for a potential weakness to exploit.

Odubajo was the first to try and spark the game into life, but his low cross into the box couldn't find a team mate. Brayford's cross at the other end forced the Orient keeper to parry the ball clear of danger, both teams had now begun to test the waters and were ready to try and take the required risks to gain an advantage in the fixture. The deadlock was broken as Odubajo used a cheeky little turn to give himself some room, his shot deflected off of Brayford before being looped into the box, Cox used some sublime ball control and skill to flick it over hos marker, as Howard rushed to close down the danger but Cox slid to roll the ball under the Keeper and into the back off the net, one nil to Orient and as Cox ran in front of the Kop with a rather arrogant celebration it became clear we would have to show a vast improvement to salvage the game. 

The second half was a wake up call and The Blades changed their strategy and fought hard to gain control. A Brayford corner caused danger in the box but the ball wouldn't fall into the goal, Murphy's free kick looked goal bound but unfortunately the ball kept rising and went over the bar. A change from gaffer Clough saw United replace McGinn and Porter with Davies and Scougall, Jamie Murphy switched form the wing to being the sole striker. It was this tactical change that would lead to the equalizer. Goal number seven thousand was one that radiated quality, Davies played a high through ball that beat Baudry in the O's defense, Murphy used great pace to stay onside and rush onto the ball, he used intelligent footwork to round the keeper and slide the ball into the opposite side of the goal from an acute angle to beat the defender who was rushing back, he celebrated his goal in front of a jubilant Kop. United could have nicked all three points, Harry Maguire made an amazing run from his own half, skinning more than one opponent, but once he was at the edge of the Orient box his legs buckled and he resembled Bambi on ice, screams of shoot rang out but Maguire became indecisive and opted to play the ball wide and nothing came of the attack. A draw was a fair result in the end and both teams shared the spoils.

Sheffield United 1
Rotherham United 0
Bramall Lane
Attendance 21,529

Sheffield United have a trip to Wembley just five days after this fixture, so as one would expect it was a very different looking starting eleven that faced the confident Millers. Rotherham were on a sixteen game unbeaten run and confident of gaining their first victory at The Lane since the eighties, all week we had heard from confident Millers how we were going to be defeated, how many they would score, how badly they would humiliate us in our own back yard. But as other fans of other clubs have discovered this season, the best thing to do is ensure your words remain soft and sweet, because you may end up eating them.

George Long replaced Howard in the Blades goal, a back three of Harry Maguire, Matt Hill and youngster Terry Kennedy all had the duty of protecting Long from Rotherham's strikers. Kieran Freeman and Bob Harris took the wing back roles in this altered formation. Clough has selected a midfield three of McGinn, Davies and the eightteen year old Conor Dimaio, the young Irish midfielder making his first senior start. Baxter and loanee Billy Paynter made up the front two. The away fans had made a lot of early noise but soon fell silent and remained that way for a lot of the game, the cause of this silence, United having the early dominance despite an altered line up, with Baxter and McGinn both testing the away side with long range efforts. Rotherham did create a good chance but Tavernier's long range effort was strongly pushed away from danger by Long. The Rotherham total football we had heard so much about was non existent, the away team was content with long ultra direct balls up field that were dealt with easily by the Blades defense. And apart from a few chances late on for the away side the first half ended without incident. 

The second half got underway, Rotherham looked more determined in this half and built a strong momentum, but after having a penalty appeal for handball turned down it seemed they lost their composure, they began appealing for fouls and handballs at every opportunity, believing they were owed one, nothing could have been further from the truth. Two more youth players made their debuts in senior football as eighteen year old Otis Kahn replaced Bob Harris. After driving a hard long range shot that just went wide of target Baxter was also replaced by Louis Reed, a sixteen year old, also the youngest player to ever represent The Blades at league level. Kahn saw a lot of the ball, he looked energetic, pacey, composed and great with the ball at his feet, he was an instant danger, and he sent the Millers into a panic. United began forcing chances, McGinn fired just over. The talking point of the game came in the last minute, the kids had been bossing the game for United, we had taken control, and after forcing a corner tall centre half harry Maguire made his way into the box, before the corner could be taken referee Mike Dean had to blow his whistle twice and

warn The Rotherham defenders that they had to release their grip of harry's shirt and stop dragging at him. The corner was taken and ignoring the official's warnings Morgan dragged down Harry and conceded a last minute penalty. The Rotherham players were outraged, Steve Evans was outraged (his outrage lead to him giving a scathing blast blaming the referee on the radio in a bit of a temper tantrum) but their outrage couldn't save them from their own mistake. Davies stepped up, Bramall Lane erupted and the sixteen game unbeaten run was ended by a makeshift Blades squad, the South Yorkshire derby was won by The Blades.

-Jonathan Gascoigne

Precious Point and Common Sense

Sheffield United 0
Brentford 0
Bramall lane
Attendance 15,730

A single moment can leave you speechless, a rare and surprising decision can restore your faith in common sense, and yes it has finally been proven that a referee CAN change his decision. Sheffield United took on one of the seasons front runner for promotion Brentford, all be it without the suspended Harry Maguire, Brayford switching from his native right back position to centre half. Baxter and Scougall were put on the bench after picking up minor injury concerns at the weekend. Paynter and McGinn took their places in the starting eleven. In a game many were thinking we would struggle we played relatively well and had brief chances to steal all three points, but in the end a share of the spoils was a fair result.

As the game got underway the back four had to put in a tremendous amount of effort to keep Brentford out. The team in second place came out all guns blazing and controlled the opening quarter of an hour in search of the opener. The most nervy moment for The Blades came within the opening minute, Donaldson hit a weak shot, in the aftermath a Brayford passback was sliced by Howard straight into the path of Trotta, his deflected low driving effort was hacked off the line by Kieran Freeman. Donaldson had a few chances on goal but nothing to threatening. The Blades had a penalty appeal turned down (and rightly so as it was a weak appeal) when Murphy went to ground under McCormack's challenge. United started to string passes together and break against Brentfords dominance in possession, and The Blades almost took an unlikely lead, a low placed cross into the math of Coady needed an excellent block to prevent a clear goal scoring chance. Brentford again took control and a string of half chances and scuff shots kept the scores at deadlock, but as always United looked dangerous on the counter attack. Flynn made a darting run down the wing, and after a pass into the box Murphy had a golden opportunity taken away by a last ditch strong sliding challenge. It was then the defining moment of the game presented itself to us, it came around thirty minutes in, Trotta bore down on goal and an excellent tackle from a stretched Freeman won the ball and played it away from the path of Trotta, just as the Kop was applauding the tackle the evening air filled with the screech of the referees whistle, disbelief and anger engulfed Bramall Lane as the man in black pointed to the spot and sent off Freeman showing him a straight red, disappointingly Brentfords players were applauding the referee and already walking the ball to the spot, happy that they had conned a penalty and gained a man advantage, but that happiness was short lived, the protesting Blades players, the shocked Freeman and thousands of livid supporters poured their opinions in his direction and pleaded with him to go and discuss this instance with his linesman, the referee, well he obliged. Much to the panic of Brentfords players who began angrily crowding the official and his assistant before being sent away, after a few moments discusion common sense prevailed, the red card was rescinded, the penalty withdrawn,a drop ball and a stroppy kick out of play by a childish Brentford who were acting like a spoilt five year old who had just had their favorite toy taken away. The half fizzled out after a prolonged amount of a added time as a result of all the drama, and as the Brentford players continued to protest United left the pitch happy knowing they had coped well with not only the pressure put on them but by showing we can make breaks of our own.

As the second half began Freeman again made an important block to prevent an opener for the visitors.
United spent the opening twenty minutes on the back foot but coped well and looked comfortable mopping up the pressure. Newly appointed cult hero and super sub Chris Porter came on, replacing a disappointing Billy Paynter who had picked up a knock. The fresh legged Porter used his energy to cause problems with the visitors back four and looked to make a real nuisance of himself, especially when going for ariel challenges against the Brentford goalkeeper. Porter also mishit a header towards goal, but the ball looped and seemed to be falling on target forcing the keeper to tip it over the bar. Brentford tightened up their lines and again looked to take advantage of their ability to effectively keep possession, Douglas hit a long shot towards Howard but it was plucked from mid air, it seems due to Donaldson and Trotta struggling to get onto the passes from midfield (thanks to intelligent defending from United) that Brentford were limited to long range shots, non of which troubled us. But it was a long shot that nearly won the game, for United, a clever ball wide to Flynn saw him fire a curling shot towards the goal, the kop almost erupted but after minimal deflection it bounced a hairs width wide of goal scratching the paint of the post as it went out. In the final moments Trotta beat two defenders but hit a low shot straight to Howard as it became clear no team was going to break the deadlock. Full Time and a very well fought, well earned and well deserved point, as stated before the Play Offs were always a pipe dream but its nice to see that we can mix it up with the supposed best in the division, two more of The Sky Bet League One's top six, Leyton Orient and Rotherham United will visit Bramall Lane before our day at Wembley, and at this stage I say bring them on.

On a side note, to add to my already growing opinion that Brentford are like spoilt brat children who spit out their dummy when they don't get their own way take a look at this tweet and the picture they used to try and drum up people thinking they were hard done by.

Well in the interest in fairness here is a better and more impartial picture of the incident showing the ball was won.

-Jonathan Gascoigne

Taking Chances and Highway Robbery

Crawley Town 0
Sheffield United 2
Checkatrade.com Stadium
Attendance 3,622
Away Blades 795

Two goals from loanee Conor Coady condemned the home side to their first home league defeat of 2014 and kept the play of fantasy alive mathematically. In a tight game on a dark Tuesday evening it was crucial to take every chance presented to you. And Crawley had their chances with Mark Howard making good saves from ex-Blade Kyle McFadzean and Andy Drury twice, but there was no way through a well-organised Blades defense. The Blades cut through to open the scoring on 18 minutes, showing a more clinical touch than the home side, Mark Connolly and Mike Jones both fell trying to stop Jamie Murphy down the left and although McFadzean managed to block Murphy's cross the ball fell to Conor Coady, from twelve yards out he powered it home past Paul Jones.

United began the second half on the front foot but the home side should have leveled on fifty four minutes. Mike Jones’ shot ricocheted into the path of Drury who went for goal from a tight angle. Howard blocked his shot with an outstretched leg and Tubbs could only force the rebound over the bar. The Blades doubled the lead and put the game to bed in the sixty second minute, Murphy's trickery saw him ease past Connolly down the left and his cross found its way to Coady, he hot a power effort and watched his drive fly past a helpless Jones. Crawley had no way back into this and three valuable points were on the board.

Swindon Town 2
Sheffield United 1
The County Ground
Attendance 8,441
Away Blades 982

The Blades were robbed of three points and suffered defeat thanks to the man in charge deciding he was going to pick this game to show how much he loved Swindon Town. Flynn, Scougall and Baxter all returned after being rested at Crawley. Maguire missed out due to suspension, an accumulation of yellow cards, whilst Porter and McGinn dropped to the bench. The game started late, a victim of a delayed kick-off due to an accident close to the County Ground, After a quiet opening quarter of an hour, the home side took the lead in the eighteenth minute, Ben Gladwin picked out the run of Storey with an excellent throughball and the young striker scored for the second match in a row with a clinical finish, high to Mark Howard’s right. The Blades had failed to get going in the first half but failed to take advantage of two glorious chances to level the tie towards the end of the half. Firstly, Wes Foderingham saved well from Connor Coady low to his left and then got up high to his right to keep out John Brayford’s header when the bearded one was left unmarked at the subsequent corner.

After the break Sheffield United improved and as Swindon sat further and further back we looked in control. Finally after knocking at the door time and time again The Blades equalized on the hour mark. Stefan Scougall and Kieron Freeman combined excellently down the right to set up Doyle for a simple tap-in at the back post. Porter headed over a Davies corner as the final fifteen minutes approached, the Blades looking the more dangerous and there was an appeal for a penalty turned away when Freeman went down under a Archibald-Henville challenge. A half-volley from Doyle on eighty two minutes, which could not have been far wide of the top corner, emphasized the fact that United were on top and Porter almost got on the end of a McGinn pass but Foderingham was quickly off his line. It was at this point the great County Ground robbery of 2014 took place, firstly we set the scene. United had been the dominant force of the second half, and after the equalizer were committing men forward, pushing on hard to win the game, Flynn was fouled on the edge of the box the ball came to Coady who slotted it into the back of the net, now if Flynn had kept going and passed it Coady would have been offside, but from his last touch before being fouled Coady was onside, play was brought back for the free kick the goal disallowed and the resulting counter attack (after an excellent save from Foderingham) saw Swindon take the lead, raced-up the other end of the pitch and scored when substitute Thompson's shot squirmed away from Howard and the spin saw it bounce across the line, not only did United not get the win but they were denied any points despite deserving so much more.

- Jonathan Gascoigne

It's Our Party And We Will Cry If We Want To

Sheffield United 0
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2
Bramall lane
Attendance 21,659

A day of celebration was dampened by our unbeaten run being extinguished at the hands of the Division leaders. As the heavens opened up to rain on our proverbial parade we got a harsh reminder that we are not unbeatable.

Ex United midfielder Kevin McDonald and his side of table toppers had suffered a defeat to Crawly recently and were desperate to avoid another defeat. United made one change from the team that started against Preston, John Brayford returned to his starting position at right back whilst Luke Freeman switched to the left, covering for the injured Harris and Hill. The bench featured two unknown quantities in Kahn and Dimaio, starlets from The Blades Academy, although they would not feature in any of the action it was encouraging to see players progressing up the ranks. Baxter started up on his own up front again, the attacking midfielder given the task of trying to break down the Wolves defence. 

As the two teams walked onto the pitch through a gathering of Blades Legends from the past and Annies song was sang loudly from three sides of the pitch things started brightly for us, a good ball from Jamie Murphy met Baxter who played into the path of Scougall, he forced a top draw save from Ikeme to prevent us getting an early lead. Wolves then took control of the game, they chased every ball and gave us no time or space to build up any kind of attack. The boos and jeers, along with many a negative chant (the consensus of such that he was only interested in money and disloyal) failed to have an effect on Kevin McDonald and despite the odd stray pass he ran the game for Wolves. Just before the fifteen minute mark Wolves took the lead, a cross from Henry should have been claimed by Howard but instead it was left unattended, and Edwards flicked the ball into the corner of the net. The Blades tried to hit back and applied a good spell of pressure but couldn't make any of their chances count. Baxters free kick nearly crept in but Ikame managed to prevent an equaliser, the Wolves stopper was called into action again and made a world class save from Baxter. Referee Kevin Friend had a woeful game and failed to award two stone wall penalties for United, firstly Batth braught down Coady and Collins was dragged down. Wolves came close to making it two, only the post saved The Blades from Henry. Stearman also cleared off the line as United pushed for an equaliser, and as the half time whistle sounded United were still in the game.

The second half began and United again went straight on the attack, Brayford played in a cross that was controlled excellently by Murphy, he played the ball into Scougall who watched his shot go over the crossbar. After this effort United seemed to lose their fight and Wolves took one hundred percent control of the match. After winning a corner and floating in a high ball Wolves doubled their lead, a deflection saw the ball fall perfectly to Edwards who struck the ball hard into the back of the net. We never recovered and the game was lost. Brayford didn't look his usual self, still obviously not one hundred percent, Baxter again was struggling to lead the line on his own and despite Harry Maguire trying desperately to get us back in the game with his rampaging runs we had nothing left to give on this day. The best chance of any kind of recovery came as Baxters free kick hit the side netting. The referee continued to have a disaster getting decisions for both sides wrong and not even making the most basic of decisions correctly, awarding a throw in to Wolves after their player had hit it out. Leon Clarke let a golden chance to make it three go begging, one on one with Howard after finding space, he attempted to chip our keeper but hit it over the bar. Chris Porter came on for Baxter but as the game was already lost failed to make any kind of impact. Freind sounded his whistle and we were left deflated as our amazing run came to an end.

It is important now to not let this defeat destroy moral, yes we were beaten by a bigger, stronger and more clinical team, but a team that is top of the division. Yes we have slayed two Premier League Teams and two from The Championship and I stand by my statement that we should fear no one but lets all face it, a few weeks back we were in teh relegation zone and now we are in the top half. We have nothing to be ashamed of and next up is Crawly on Tuesday, and an opportunity to get back on track.

-Jonathan Gascoigne

125 Years Of Memories Part One

Saturdays fixture against Wolves will commemorate the One Hundred and Twenty Fifth birthday of Sheffield United Football Club, the worlds first United, through a series or articles we will turn back the clock and look at some of the special memories of Blades fans time following their team. This first article will cover one of my most fond memories as a Blade, my first Promotion to The Premier League.

On a warm April afternoon the Red side of the city came out in numbers to join in the celebration of United's promotion to the country's top division, a Danny Webber goal away at Cardiff in a previous fixture had already secured our promotion but a final home game against Crystal palace was set to host the real party. My day started differently to most Blades Fans, pulling on fishnet tights and putting on a wig was not my usual morning ritual, but since it was a day to party it seemed fancy dress was indeed in order, my dad worryingly suggested ladies, after a bit of hesitation we jumped on board and myself and two friends agreed to also trade trousers for skirts. What the rotten sod's didn't inform me was that they intended to go as old ladies, so I looked a tad out of place in a black dress, high heel boots, fishnets and a blonde wig, but it seemed to get a cheap laugh so no harm done. After a few early pints in the Albion on London Road places started to get busier, so members of the public were not impressed to see my friend Jordan (brown wig, old lady dress, slippers and a walking stick) take an entire six minutes to cross the road as he acted feeble and unable to walk faster than the common tortoise, for The Blades in attendance however it was one of many funny moments, especially as he waved his walking stick in the direction of anyone foolish enough to sound their car horn, "DON'T YOU BLOW YOUR HOOTER AT ME YOUNG MAN!". We drank our drinks, talked football, casually sang "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me" as we waved around our dresses, and enjoyed ourselves, I myself seeing a young lady dressed similarly to me began claiming this was my patch and she was trying to steal my business, she took it all in good humour. We eventually moved down to our more familiar surroundings The RnR (now the Scholar formally the Hermitage) and it began to dawn on us, today we were to see our beloved team be promoted, after twelve years in The Championship, after becoming its longest serving team, today we leave it all behind, today was the day that would see us join the footballing elite, so discussions soon became very tactically orientated, how many players would we need to bring in, who needs shipping out, how should Warnock line up the team, how much is a pint near Stamford Bridge, all the important stuff. We knew today may be a good indication of future intent, after all we still had a game to play, would the hysteria of celebration make the team over confident, would the celebrations take a set back if we get battered by a team who are now fighting to finish as high as possible in the play off's, but after all was said and done discussions took a turn back to the more jovial, and after leaving far to many lipstick stained pint glasses in the immediate past we made our move to The Lane.

The game wasn't a classic, but in all truth the game was an after thought, we had done our job today was no pressure go out there and enjoy it.We passed the ball around nicely but never really showed any urgency, because there was no need, keep palace at bay and enjoy thousands of fans singing their hearts out, we delivered our part and so did they. Palace never caused any danger and we controlled from the off, the party atmosphere saw Mexican waves, flags, confetti, balloons, when dressed as woman doing a conga up and down the stands, it was an incredible party. Magic nearly struck as Blades Legend Brain Deane who had been signed earlier on in the season came on for ten minutes at the end and came within a whisker of getting himself a goal that would have no doubt blown the roof off The Kop, even when he had missed all you could here from the fields of Mosborough to The Rusty Sheds in South Barnsley were the echoes of "DEANO DEANO DEANO!". When Captain Chris Morgan gave us our one and only goal of the game we just went crazy, it was something I had never felt before as a Blade, there was no pressure, no expectation, it was like being at a carnival, the scenes of men and their sons, woman and children, everyone together just going bezerk, it was special. Some of these people had never seen their club do anything worth shouting about because they weren't there to see us go up in the past, all they had seen was heartache and us letting glory pass us by, play off final losses, semi final losses, relegations, it was all they had known, and today our emotional investment, our love for our club was rewarded, we finally got a small taste of what glory felt like,

it was beyond exhilarating, it was as good as any drug that could possibly exists, it was better than any thrill seeking bungee jump or sky dive, it was a perfect moment. As I began waving my bra (I cant believe I have just had to type that) around my head others began swinging red and white scarves, red and white shirts, a

wall of noise stopped Sheffield in its tracks. We won the game 1-0, and we watched in awe as Chris Morgan raised up the shield, the pyro, the display, the emotion it was something that will give me goosebumps and make my hair stand on edge every time I remember it, even now as I type this I can hear the noise and I get shivers, it is something that will be hard to top in my mind. We have had great days and night before and after then, but this moment, there were no underlying factors, that's what made it so perfect, so magical and so iconic. 

-Jonathan Gascoigne

It Wasn't Pretty

Preston North End 0
Sheffield United 0
Deepdale
Attendance 8,892
Away Blades 658

After winning ten on the bounce we all knew something had to give at some point, and many feared in form Preston would hand us our first defeat in ten, but despite being second best most of the night and our area becoming the proverbial last stand we came away with a point and a clean sheet, still undefeated and a strong statement that we will lay down for no team. 

Luke Freeman made his first team debut playing at right back, in the only change from the Carlisle win, Ben Davies dropping to the bench. PNE started as they meant to go on nearly taking the lead in the opening minute of the game, a Volley from Davies was pushed away by Howard who had to bravely pounce on the ball before tenacious striker Garner could strike in a rebound. United had to soak up a tremendous amount of pressure, Garner and Gallagher both having chances that were just of target, it became obvious today was going to be a tough test of character. Jamie Murphy and Ryan Flynn were unable to make much of an impact, both being double marked and with only one striker their options for overlaps or passing and moving were limited, a full back marked them tightly and in the gap behind lay a strong centre back, so any time a full back was beaten by our wingers the pressure was mopped up and disposed of before a chance could be created, I personally would have like to have seen more attacking options utilized in this game to take the reliance off of our wingers. Baxter look a terrible fall and landed on his neck, he seemed winded but carried on, he never made much of an impact from that moment onwards. It seemed every time the ball went into our box PNE and their fans were screaming for a handball, whilst it became stale and predictable they maybe did have a case when Michael Doyle made what can only be described as a tremendous save from a long range effort. On the half an hour mark Conor Coady had his goal ruled out for offside, we can have no complaints as the loanee was clearly past his marker and in an offside position. Preston just kept their feet on our throats and we had no choice but to deal with everything they threw at us, Garner had two clear cut chances miss the target and Davies used his strength to cause endless problems. Harris made a heroic tackle blocking the shot of Garner who was clear on goal, Harris unfortunately picked up a knock soon after and was replaced by Hill, matt Hill picked up an injury after only a minute on the field. On the break of half time after having a tame effort picked up comfortably by The Preston keeper Baxter was was flattened by a challenge and had to receive treatment as the whistle blew for the break.

Whilst Baxter made it back out for the restart Matt Hill was not so lucky, his injury (one must believe he did not have a chance to properly warm up) forced him off the pitch and he was replaced by Davies who took up the right back roll, Freeman switching to the left. Preston continued to take the game to us but in this half we seemed a little braver going forward, unfortunately Grayson's trademark physical edge tactics prevented us from making any moves that could be considered dangerous. Preston came agonizingly close to taking the lead when their young starlet Brownhill hit an effort into the ground before it rebounded of the post, a look of relief from Howard who along with the defence was having a busy evening. United did manage to force a few corners, and had a clear penalty turned down when the PNE centre back had Harry Maguire by the shirt and dragged him back in the box, both teams now had a right to feel aggrieved, but as referees have this tenancy to even up previous mistakes we had to just get on with it. Porter replaced Baxter who had a disapointing game and had a clear headed chance go wide and over, but with two substitutes wasted on injurys it was unfair to rely on Porter to make an impact all by himself. Preston again forced us back and the final third of the game was uncomfortable as they tested our defence again and again, but we held strong and even after a very tough four minutes added time we held our resolve to claim a vital point. The winning run may be over but that's now eight clean sheets on the bounce and and eight game league unbeaten run. With Wolves no doubt analysing every second of the game on their televisions I believe that we will have to be prepared for another tough test come Saturday, but if we can continue to hold teams out as we did here we will remain hard to beat and the only way will be forwards. 

-Jonathan Gascoigne