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The Sheffield-United-got-it-done edition for April & May

Point of order:

We don’t care about Elon (******)

He don’t care about me.

All we care about is… that for some reason he’s prevented Substack from embedding tweets in all posts, so in some place within this article you have to click links and in others there are screenshots, and for that we’re sorry, but blame Musk… James McAtee!

Words: Andrew Hague

Not much happened really….

Norwich

United began the busy month of April in second place in the table but only four points in front of Middlesborough in third. We restarted the league programme, after an international break, with a tough-looking trip to Carrow Road to face play-off contenders Norwich City. United struggled to break down the home side, going in at halftime goalless. And then, the news!

The news came through that Boro were winning 1-0 in their game against Neil Warnock’s Huddersfield. At 4 pm, United’s lead was down to just two points as the race for promotion swung in favour of the Teesiders. By 4:15 pm, however, everything had changed. First, Huddersfield came storming back, going into a 2-1 lead early in the second half. Second, James McAtee put United in front with a goal that the Norwich fans took with good grace:

United defended superbly following the goal and restricted Norwich to just one shot on target. That was enough. Three points won. Meanwhile, Boro were seemingly losing not only their bottle but a game of football too. It ended 4-2 to Huddersfield, whose manager masterminded a comeback that totally changed the promotion picture:

United were now seven points clear of third place with a home game against bottom club Wigan coming up next. 

Wigan

With Middlesbrough playing in the late kick-off against league leaders Burnley, United had a fantastic chance to put even more distance between themselves and their nearest challenger. On our plate: Wigan. On what day? Good Friday. Was it good? Well… good enough.

When Iliman Ndiaye tapped in McAtee’s cross after just eight minutes, it seemed like the floodgates would open. But after plenty of missed chances, United had to settle for a 1-0 victory. It was no more than the Blades deserved, and the result piled the pressure on Boro to get something from their game. Burnley needed a win to clinch promotion themselves, and they achieved this with ease and a 2-1 at The Riverside.

After being just two points off United less than a week before, Boro found themselves in fourth, and it was Luton who had stepped up to become the greatest threat among the chasing pack. Could they catch us? With seven games remaining, United were eight points clear of third. Good Friday? Great Friday, more like.

Burnley

Next up for the Blades was an Easter Monday trip to Turf Moor to take on the newly promoted Burnley—tough.

For ten minutes or so United more than held their own against the runaway leaders. Then came a lack of communication at the back between goalkeeper Wes Foderingham and centre-half Jack Robinson, which led to Foderingham bringing down Nathan Tella and receiving a straight red card. It was a big blow for United as, not only would we have to play the remaining 75 minutes with ten men, but we would also lose their first-choice goalie for two matches. Blades fans in the crowd began looking for alternatives:

United held out until the hour mark when Gudmusson pounced on a Jayden Bogle mistake to put The Clarets one up. The home side sealed the game 10 minutes later when Gudmusson grabbed his second to put the game beyond The Blades. Still, it wasn’t all bad news.

The loss was frustrating, but United were still five clear of Luton with a game in hand. And - defeat or now defeat - the hardest remaining fixture was out of the way.

Cardiff City

An early afternoon kick-off at Bramall Lane against struggling Cardiff gave United the opportunity to momentarily restore the eight-point gap over third. And the Blades started nervously. And Cardiff deservedly took the lead from a penalty. And the relegation-threatened Bluebirds were looking comfortable. And… and… and then James McAtee took the bluebirds by the wings and flew past their backline, scoring a great solo effort. At halftime, we went in at 1-1.

In the second half, United ran away with it. Robinson, Ndiaye, and substitute Ciaran Clark all netted to give us a somewhat flattering 4-1 victory. It was a big win. Albeit confusing for those watching the game with YouTube subtitles, who must’ve wondered why Heckingbottom had changed the team so much:

Later, Luton won again and, like a fly at a picnic, just wouldn't go away. United still had business to attend to.

Bristol City

Although the performance against Bristol City won’t live long in the memories of many, the importance of the win will. For seventy-five minutes, the Blades looked lacklustre, short of ideas on how to break down the stoic and unadventurous Robins. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Ndiaye slid in substitute McAtee, who coolly slotted home from just inside the area.

It was enough to clinch the three points, and it meant United now just needed one more win to guarantee promotion back to the Premier League. Paul Heckinbottom was on the verge of the greatest achievement of his managerial career. His second greatest achievement was probably overseeing Jack Robinson doing two Cruyff turns on his own half.

United were so close now, but before any opportunity to confirm promotion, there was the small matter of an FA Cup Semi-Final.

Man City

All Blades fans knew there was little to no chance of us getting past Manchester City. So instead, we competed in a “Who Can Get The Most Drunk” competition in London.

Vlogger Travelling Blade gave it a good go, but the award has to go to Ben for appearing on the Shoreham View Vlog. In fact, Johnny from the Shoreham View summed up the whole day perfectly: 

United put up a brave fight but succumbed to a 3-0 defeat against arguably the best side in the world right now. The City fans were ecstatic (LIMBS ALERT).

The Blades Cup dream was over, but in just a few day’s time, they would have the chance to join City in the Premier League…..

West Brom

Let’s cut to the chase. United won 2-0. Berge and Ahmedhodžić scored. It was magnificent:

Promotion was secured, and everybody had played their part, even those who had been unable to contribute all that much on the pitch:

There were so many highlights from the night that I could take up an entire article on just this game. One of my personal favourite bits, though, was when our Senegalese Starboy evoked the spirit of another African entertainer who went by the name of Freddie Mercury:

There were even cameos for people we hadn’t seen in Sheffield for a long, long time: cue The Prince to the God Father theme tune.

The party slowly trundled out of Bramall Lane, but it continued elsewhere long into the early hours:

• Exhibit A

• Exhibit B

The Blades were up with three games remaining, and our final home game was to be a celebration of everything the club had achieved this season.

Preston

The Preston game may have now been immaterial for United, but the team still wanted to bow out of Bramall Lane in style. And that’s exactly what they did. Going a goal up in the first half via an Ahmedhodžić header. Then the script took an unwanted turn: United were pegged back in the second half. Only for normal serive to resume, as first John Fleck, then Ndiaye, and finally Oli McBurnie blew Preston away. A 4-1 victory. 

Now it was time for the fans to celebrate, and what better place to do that than outside the local Aldi. Just across the road at The Clubhouse, United fans created scenes that wouldn’t look out of place at a Chemical Brothers gig:

An FA Cup semi-final, a promotion and a carnival—all within one week. An unforgettable time for United fans and players. Well, maybe unforgettable is the wrong word, actually:

Still, there were two away games left to play. And no matter what happened, nothing could dampen the mood amongst United fans……..

Huddersfield

……..including losing at relegation-threatened Huddersfield in our next game.

With The Terriers needing a point to stay up, they faced a somewhat apathetic United team and ran out 1-0 winners. Huddersfield were safe, and their boss Neil Warnock, never one to miss out on a financial opportunity, was quick to toast himself:

In fairness to Neil, he had earned this from us after masterminding Huddersfield's 4-2 win against our then-promotion rivals Middlesborough. As we went into the final game, United were fourteen points clear of Boro and nine clear of Luton. Round our way, we call that a breeze.

Birmingham

The Blades rounded off the season with a trip to St Andrew’s to face Birmingham. It was another party atmosphere, and United seemed determined rack up a cricket score. So many chances. So many hitting the woodwork. In the end, we had to settle for just the two (1-2). McBurnie and McAtee scoring the final goals to an end the season on a high in front of the largest crowd in EFL history:

So that was it. United were promoted at a canter. Fans can sit back, look back, and look forward to another top-flight season. It’ll be hard to top this one—a year of wins, a year of Ndiaye, and a lifetime of memories. There’s 46 beautiful seconds from 46 games here (👇) - worth watching the full shebang.

And that’s all from me…

I’d just like to say thanks to everybody who has contributed to these articles over the last nine months. Social media gets an awful lot of, often warranted, criticism. But United fans online have really added to my enjoyment of this tremendous season. Next season might not be as fun on the pitch but I’m sure there will be just as many laughs off it.  

So, all I really have left to say now is…..

WE ARE PREMIER LEAGUE!!!

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Andrew Hague is a friend first, podcaster second, probably entertainer third. He runs Roy’s View From and you can find him arguing with opposition fans on Twitter @Panchero.