| Although Sheffield
United is the younger of the two Sheffield football clubs
it does have a few things in common with Sheffield Wednesday,
as well as its own share of unique achievements.
Depending on how you look at the history of the club,
you could say that it was formed to fill the void left
when Sheffield Wednesday branched out as a football club
in its own right.
When the team were part of the Wednesday Cricket Club they played their football at Bramall Lane [map] , on
land owned by the Duke of Norfolk. When Sheffield
Wednesday moved to their own ground the sporting enclosure
at Bramall Lane was already being used by Sheffield
United Cricket Club and for the occasional Sheffield
Wednesday football match. But the management realised
they were missing an opportunity and in 1889 decided to
form their own football team to play regularly at the
venue.
The team shared their name with the cricket club and became
Sheffield United Football Club, the first football
club to use “united” in their name. At
first they struggled to find players but almost as soon
as they were up and running they became a professional
football team and joined the Football League in 1892.
In their first season they were promoted to the top division
and in the subsequent 100 years they have yo-yoed around
the Football League. Their first major spell in the
top flight began with their initial promotion and
ended in 1934. They would then have to wait until the
1970s before having another significant spell at the top,
although they did catch several moments in Division One.
This spell ended in 1976 and they entered a time of serial
decline.
They were unable to reach the height of the top division
again until 1989. They stayed there until the formation
of the Premiership in 1992 and became one of its founding
members. In fact they were the first team to score
a goal in the newly formed Premier League.
For over a decade Sheffield United found themselves as the firm fixture in the second division of Football League, known today as the Coca-Cola Football League Championship. But the end of 2005/06 season marked the start of a new era after the club won promotion to the top flight.
The team still play at their Bramall Lane ground
south of the city centre, which until 1975 only had three
sides.
Other Sheffield United facts you may find interesting...
the club are nicknamed “The Blades”,
however this was originally Sheffield Wednesday’s
nickname. The team play in red and while stripped shirts and famous fans include actor Sean Bean, boxer Prince Naseem Hamed and former Monty Python star Michael Palin.
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