Sheffield United

Although Sheffield United were founder members of the Premier League their stay lasted 
just two seasons and for most of that time they struggled. In fact the club never once 
featured in the top ten, spending the majority of the two years in the lower half of the 
table. But Sheffield United have two entries in the record books. Not only did they inflict 
the first Premiership defeat on the most successful club in the League’s history, Manchester 
United, on the opening day, but Brian Deane, who scored both The Blades goals in that win 
netted the first goal in Premiership history, after five minutes. Deane went on to score 15 
goals that inaugural season.

Unfortunately after such a great start United went into immediate decline and losing five of 
their next six games dumped them down to 21st place but they recovered to take eight 
points from the following four games and improved to 16th. Four games without losing was 
to prove as good a run as The Blades were to have in that first campaign and it was 
something they managed three times and it was the second and third such sequence that 
staved off relegation.

By 6 February United were bottom of the table but within weeks three wins from five games 
took them out of the bottom three before successive defeats dumped them back into the 
relegation zone. Then a four game unbeaten run yielded eight points and The Blades 
elevated the team to 19th before they lost to Blackburn Rovers. But the side bounced back 
with 10 points from 12, a season’s best return, to finish 14th, four points above the last 
relegated club.

Although the team ended August 1993 in 11th place that was to be their highest placing of 
the campaign. A disastrous run of 12 games without a win saw United slide to 18th before a 
Steve Clarke own goal earned victory over Chelsea but another six games without a win saw 
The Blades slide even further down and by the year’s end they were 21st.

United opened the year with victory over fellow strugglers Oldham Athletic but couldn’t build 
on those three points. It wasn’t that The Blades lost a lot of games they didn’t, just five in 
the 19 games until the end of the campaign, but nine draws did the damage.

With four games left the team gave them selves hope with wins over Norwich and 
Newcastle, with Nathan Blake getting all three goals, that took them to one place short of 
safety. That optimism suffered when a draw at Oldham left The Blades needing a victory at 
Chelsea on the final day of the season and hope that other results, involving the 
relegation-threatened clubs, went in their favour.

There were just 15 minutes left at Stamford Bridge and Sheffield United led 2–1 but they 
conceded two goals, to Mark Stein, and results elsewhere went against them and The 
Blades, who would have escaped by three points and four places, were relegated by a 
single point.

Managers

Dave Bassett          1988–1995