Although Sheffield United have nostalgia and historic names to look back on, as well as the best moniker this side of South Yorkshire, we list the 10 best players to play for the red, black and yellow uniform.
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The club competes in the Championship, the second tier of English football. Bramall Lane is the home ground of The Blades play.
This 131-year- old institution has had some notable rivalries in their hometown neighbours Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United from West Yorkshire. Some of the trophies Sheffield United have won include First Division / Premier League (1897–98), Second Division / Championship (1952–53), Third Division /League One (2016–17),
Fourth Division / League Two (1981–82), Football League North Winners (1945–46), and FA Cup (1898–99, 1901–02, 1914–15, 1924–25).
Now let’s have a look at the top 10 players of this great club.
10. Alan Woodward (1964-1978)
Alan Woodward started his professional football career when he joined Sheffield United in 1964 his official FA League debut was against Liverpool on 7 October, 1964. He scored his first goal for Sheffield United on 31 October against Leeds United. He played on the outside right and his wonderful shots are still remembered by the Sheffield United faithful.
He stayed with The Blades for 16 memorable years, and eventually left the club to join Tulsa Roughnecks in 1978. He is still considered the leading post-war scorer for Sheffield. Woodward made 538 appearances and scored 158 goals for The Blades.
9. Tony Currie (1968-1976)
Anthony William Currie started his professional football career with Watford in 1967. He started his football as a midfielder, and he made his league debut in May of the same year. In 1968, he joined Sheffield United on a contract worth £26,500 and made his debut against Tottenham Hotspur. He soon became a popular figure in the dressing room and with the fans, who nicknamed him the TC’ or ‘Top Cat’. He spent 8 years with The Blades and later on he joined other famous clubs such as Leeds United and Queens Park Rangers.
During his 8-year spell, Currie made 313 appearances and scored 54 goals. Besides being known as one of the best Sheffield United players of all time, in September 2014, as part of the club’s 125th anniversary celebrations, he was named Sheffield United’s Greatest Ever Player.
8. Dane Whitehouse (1987-2000)
Dane Whithouse was a one-club man. The midfielder only served The Blades. A Sheffield man himself, Whitehouse started his football at his hometown club. In July 1987, he signed his professional contract, and made his debut against Blackpool the next year when he turned 18.
Shortly after his debut, he began to establish himself as a first-team regular.
During his time with Sheffield, Whitehouse had suffered from different injuries and some of them were severe. At one point, he broke his leg and missed the majority of the 1992–93 season. After spending 11 years at the club, Whitehouse suffered a serious knee injury after a horrific tackle by Port Vale’s Gareth Ainsworth in 2000. Whitehouse never fully recovered after the incident, and was forced to retire. Dane Whitehouse is one of Sheffield United’s best footballers of all time, having made 275 appearances and scoring 50 goals.
7. Keith Edwards (1975-1978, 1981-1988)
Keith Edwards is one of Sheffield’s highest scorers. He started his football career as a novice striker in Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1974, and joined The Blades a year later. Edwards made his FA debut against Leicester City on 3 January, 1976 and his League debut was on 28 February, 1976 in a Division 1 game against Queens Park Rangers. In his first season with Sheffield, he did not score any goals.
After 3 years, he left Sheffield United to join Hull City. In 1981 he re-joined The Blades and this time spent seven wonderful years with the Club. Between 1981 and 1986 he made an impressive contribution to a Sheffield United team that ended with 19 games without defeat to win the Fourth Division Championship. His 35 goals during that golden period, is considered a post-war record. His last match for Sheffield was on 1 August 1986 in a friendly match against Spanish club Sevilla FC. He made 293 appearances and scored 171 goals for Sheffield United.
6. Nick Montgomery (2000-2012)
Nick Montgomery played for The Blades for more than a decade. Being born in Leeds, he grew up as a Leeds fan and even played there for six years. In 2000, Sheffield United offered him a two-year scholarship and that was the beginning of his successful 12-year stay in Sheffield. He made his first-team debut for the Blades at Carrow Road against Norwich City on 21 October, 2000.
On 31 August, 2012, he left Sheffield United and moved to Australia to join Central Coast Mariners. He made 349 appearances for Sheffield United, scoring 11 goals, and providing 10 assists. Some of his honors as one of the greatest players in the history of Sheffield United include Sheffield United F.C. Player of the Year (2009–10) and A-League All-Star (2014).
5. Colin Morris (1981-1988)
Colin Morris was a talented right-winger and also played as an attacking midfielder. He started his professional football career in 1974 when he joined Burnley, and made his debut in their home FA Cup defeat to non-league Wimbledon in January 1975. In February, 1981, Sheffield United signed him on a contract worth £100,000. His son Lee Morris followed in his father’s footsteps and played Sheffield as well. Between 1981–1988, Colin Morris made 240 appearances and scored 67 goals.
4. Brian Deane (1988- 1993, 1997-1998, 2005-2007)
Brain Deane started his professional football career with Doncaster Rovers and made his debut in the 1985–86 season. 3 years later, he left Doncaster Rovers to join Sheffield United. He made his debut for The Blades in a friendly match against Skegness Town, which ended in an 8–1 victory.
After a successful time with The Blades, Deane left the club and joined Leeds United for £2.9million in 1993. At the time, he was one of the most expensively signed players in English football. He played for Leeds United for four years and returned to Sheffield United for £1.5 million.
A year later, he once again left The Blades and joined Benfica. Deane re-signed for Sheffield United for a third time, making him one of the only players Sheffield United have signed three times. He officiated his retirement after two substitute appearances in the 2006–07 season. A Sheffield United legend, Deane made 275 appearances and scored 119 goals.
3. Paul Stancliffe (1983-1990)
Despite being born in Sheffield, Paul Stancliffe, started his football career at Rotherham United. He made his league debut for Rotherham at Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening day of the 1975–76 season.
The central defender spent 7 years at Rotherham and made 285 league appearances for the club. He joined his hometown club Sheffield United in 1983. Stancliffe played at Bramall Lane for almost seven years. He made 287 appearances and scored 12 goals for The Blades.
2. Phil Jagielka (2000-2007, 2020-2021)
Philip Nikodem Jagielka started his football career as a teenager in the Holy Family Football team. He first played as a right-winger. Before joining The Blades at the age of 15, he had gone through trials at clubs like Stoke City and Manchester City, but in the end, joined Sheffield United in 1998.
In two years, he broke into the first team and made his debut on 5 May, 2000 against Swindon Town in the final First Division match of the 1999–2000 season. He then went on to sign a 3-year professional contract with the Yorkshire club. After 7 successful years, he left the club to join Everton on a five-year contract worth £4 million – a deal which made him the most expensive Sheffield United player.
After spending 12 years at Goodison Park and having made 386 appearances for Everton, Jagielka re-signed for Sheffield United on a one-year contract on 23 August, 2020. In total, he made 264 appearances, scored 20 goals, and provided 5 assists as a Sheffield United player. Some of his honors as a Sheffield United player include Sheffield United Football League Championship runner-up (2005–06), Football League Championship Player of the Year (2005–06), Premier League Player of the Month (February 2009), PFA Team of the Year (2003–04) First Division, (2005–06) Championship and Sheffield United Player of the Year (2004–05), (2005–06), (2006–07).
1. Billy Sharp (2004-2005, 2007-2010, 2015-current)
Billy Louis Sharp was born on 5 February, 1986, in Sheffield, England. He started his football career at a very young age with Middlewood Rovers Junior Football Club. He later moved to Rotherham United, and then to Sheffield United and made his first-team debut for Sheffield United in 2004.
During his career, Billy Sharp played for several teams including Scunthorpe United, Doncaster Rovers, Southampton, and Leeds United. However, he re-joined his hometown team every few years. Sharp returned to Sheffield United for the last time on 25 July, 2015, for an undisclosed fee. The following season, he scored a goal almost every two matches for The Blades, ending the season with 21 goals in 39 games.
On 1 January, 2019, Sharp scored his 220th goal and became the leading English-born goalscorer in English professional football during the 21st century, reaching the record set by Rickie Lambert. In total, he made 277 appearances, scored 107 goals and provided 35 assists. He currently captains Sheffield United Football Club. Some of his honors as a Sheffield United great include Sheffield United EFL League One winner (2016–17), EFL Championship runner-up (2018–19), PFA Team of the Year (2005–06) League One, (2006–07) League One, (2016–17) League One, (2018–19) Championship, Football League One Player of the Year (2006–07), (2016–17), Football League Championship Player of the Month (November 2011), EFL League One Player of the Month (February 2017).
Football is a team sport—the ultimate team sport, in fact—but its fantasy version celebrates only the individual. Fantasy football is fun. It’s amusing.
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