Sheffield United F.C.

Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. They formed in 1889, as an offshoot of Sheffield United Cricket Club, and are nicknamed The Blades due to Sheffield's history of steel production. They have played home games at Bramall Lane since their formation.

Sheffield United won the original Football League in 1898 and the FA Cup in 1899, 1902, 1915 and 1925. They were beaten finalists in the FA Cup in 1901 and 1936, and reached the semi-finals in 1961, 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2014. They reached the semi-finals of the League Cup in 2003 and 2015.

Sheffield United were the first club in English football to achieve promotion from the newly formed Second Division to the First Division in 1892–93. The club was also a founder member of the Premier League in the 1992–93 season, during which they scored the first ever goal of the Premier League era. Brian Deane was the scorer of the first goal in a 2–1 win at Bramall Lane, against the eventual champions, Manchester United.

Since the club's formation, they have played in tiers 1 through to 4 of the football league. They are one of only four clubs to have finished as champions of each of the top four tiers of the football league. Most of the club's history however has been spent in tier 1.

For most of the club's history they have played in red and white striped shirts with black shorts. Their closest rivals are Sheffield Wednesday, with whom they contest the Steel City derby.

Formation and glory years (1888–1975)
The club was formed by members of the Sheffield United Cricket Club, formed in 1854 and the first English sports club to use 'United' in its name. Sheffield United's predominant nickname is "The Blades", a reference to Sheffield's status as the major producer of cutlery in the United Kingdom. United's original nickname was in fact "The Cutlers" from 1889–1912. City rivals Wednesday held the nickname "The Blades" in their early years, however in 1907 Wednesday officially became "The Owls", in reference to their new ground in Owlerton, and United would later claim "The Blades" nickname for themselves.

Sheffield United officially formed on 22 March 1889 at the Adelphi Hotel, Sheffield by the President of the Cricket Club, Sir Charles Clegg. The Wednesday had moved from Bramall Lane to their own ground at Olive Grove after a dispute over gate receipts and the tenants of Bramall Lane needed to create a new team to generate income. Sir Charles Clegg was incidentally also the president of The Wednesday.

Undoubtedly United's heyday was the 30-year period from 1895–1925, when they were champions of England in 1897–98 and runners-up in 1896–97 and 1899–1900, and FA Cup winners in 1899, 1902, 1915 and 1925. United have not won a trophy since 1925, bar those associated with promotion from lower leagues, their best performances in the cup competitions being several semi-final appearances in the FA Cup and League Cup.

Fall from grace and brief revival (1975–1994)
The club’s darkest days came between 1975 and 1981. After finishing sixth in the First Division at the end of the 1974–75 season, they were relegated to the Second Division the following season, and three years after that setback they fell into the Third Division. They reached an absolute low in 1981 when they were relegated to the Fourth Division, but were champions in their first season in the league's basement division and two years afterwards they won promotion to the Second Division.

They fell back into the Third Division in 1988, but new manager Dave Bassett masterminded a quick revival which launched the Blades towards one of the most successful eras in their history. Successive promotions in the aftermath of the 1988 relegation saw them return to the First Division in 1990 after a 14-year exile. They survived at this level for four seasons (being founder members of the new Premier League in 1992 after peaking with a ninth-place finish in the last season of the old First Division) and reached an FA Cup semi-final in the 1992–93 before being relegated in 1994.

Financial difficulties and fall to League One (1994–2013)
They remained outside the top flight for the next 12 years, although they qualified for the play-offs under Bassett's successor Howard Kendall in 1997 and caretaker manager Steve Thompson in 1998. They were struggling at the wrong end of Division One when Neil Warnock was appointed manager in December 1999, and a financial crisis was preventing the club from being able to boost their squad, but in 2002–03 they enjoyed their most successful season for a decade, reaching the semi-finals of both domestic cups and also reaching the Division One play-off final, where they were beaten 3–0 by Wolverhampton Wanderers. Three years later, however, Warnock delivered a Premier League return as the Blades finished runners-up in the re-branded Championship. They lasted just one season back amongst the elite, before being relegated from the Premier League amidst the controversy surrounding Carlos Tevez, the player who was controversially signed by West Ham United and whose performances played a big part in their remarkable escape from relegation. Neil Warnock resigned as manager after the Blades went down. The team also purchased Chinese club Chengdu Wuniu in 2006, and redesigned the club crest in the style of the Sheffield United badge and renamed the team "Chengdu Blades".The team were dissolved in 2015.

The club struggled to come to terms with life back in the Championship, with a spiralling wage bill not being matched by the quality of the players brought in, and a succession of managers within a short period of time. The Blades reached the Championship playoff final in 2009 under Kevin Blackwell, but a period of decline then set in. The 2010–11 season proved disastrous, with the club employing three different managers in the span of a season, which ultimately ended in relegation to League One under Micky Adams, meaning they would play in the third tier of English football for the first time since 1989, only five years after gaining promotion to the Premiership. In the 2011–12 season, the club finished third in League One, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion to rivals Sheffield Wednesday, and entered the playoffs. With victory over Stevenage in the semi-final, United missed out on an immediate return to the Championship after suffering a penalty shootout defeat to Huddersfield Town. The Blades again made it to the League One playoffs in 2012–13 after a fifth-place finish, but were knocked out by eventual promotion winners Yeovil Town on an 85th-minute goal in the second leg of the semi-finals.

Saudi takeover and return to the top flight (2013–2019)
On 3 September 2013 it was confirmed that H.R.H. Prince Abdullah bin Mosa'ad bin Abdulaziz Al Sa'ud of the royal House of Saud had bought a 50% stake in United's parent company 'Blades Leisure Ltd' with the promise of providing "substantial new capital" with the aim of returning the Blades to the Premier League as "quickly as possible" and hopefully within 5 years. Both parties, at that time, agreed to include a "roulette notice" mechanism to end their arrangement when they no longer wished to work together.

In 2014, the Blades began to be described by areas of the media as "giant-killers", having reached the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley, losing 5–3 to Hull City. In 2014–15 the team reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and semi-finals of the Football League Cup, and despite being eliminated they remained in contention for promotion to the Championship.

United secured promotion back to the second tier of English football in the 2016–17 season under the management of lifelong fan and former Blades player Chris Wilder, winning the League One title with 100 points.

The Blades finished 10th in their first season back in the Championship, having spent much of it in and around the play-off positions. During that season, in late 2017, co-owner Kevin McCabe served a roulette notice on Prince Abdullah, giving him the option to sell his 50 per cent at £5m or buy McCabe's 50 per cent for the same price. Prince Abdullah chose to buy but McCabe refused to sell, a decision that ended up before the High Court of Justice, Business and Property Courts of England and Wales.

In the 2018–19 season, the team enjoyed a highly successful campaign in achieving automatic promotion to the Premier League, with United having spent almost all of the season in the top six of the Championship, fighting for automatic promotion until clinching second place over Leeds United with a game to spare, by beating already relegated Ipswich Town 2–0 at Bramall Lane on 27 April 2019. Leeds' 1–1 home draw with Aston Villa the next day ensured top flight football for The Blades for the first time in 12 years.

Back in the top flight (2019–present)
Sheffield United's first season back in the Premier League after 12 years (2019–20), despite being tipped by many for relegation, produced a 9th-place finish. Despite this, ownership disputes between Prince Abdullah and McCabe continued. In September 2019, after 20 months of litigation, the High Court issued its judgment, requiring McCabe's company to sell its shares in Blades. McCabe sought permission to appeal from the High Court and Court of Appeal but both appeals were rejected. As a result, Prince Abdullah became the sole beneficial owner of the club.

In the 2020–21 season, the Blades acquired just 2 points from 14 matches, with those points coming from 1–1 draws with Fulham and Brighton respectively. They are currently sitting at the 20th place in the league table.