The Curious Cases of Three Blades Goalkeepers

Matthew Bell investigates three keepers from Blades folklore, known by many, but only truly understood by those who were there.

Words: Matthew Bell

It must take something of a singular type of personality to be a goalkeeper at a professional football club. Any error you make often results in a goal, you can also be a match-winner with, for example, a vital penalty save. And it’s not as if the goalkeeper can fill in somewhere else on the pitch: there are usually a couple of strikers, three or four midfielders and two or three central defenders who are sometimes rotated in and out of the team and can fulfil different roles if necessary. A good right back (George Baldock) can even play left back if he has to. But a goalkeeper? There’s just one of him, and if you’re the number-two No.1 you’ll rarely get a game, even from the bench. That will only happen if the first choice gets injured or sent off. Does the substitute goalkeeper actually secretly hope this will be the case?

United’s Adam Davies is a prime example of the vicissitudes of life between the sticks. He joined the club in January 2022 as a replacement for the underwhelming on-loan Robin Olsen. He possibly believed he could displace Wes Foderingham, but Wes was performing so well that Davies never got a look-in. Last season Wes got himself sent off so Davies got his chance against Norwich City. Just three minutes in Davies was slow to clear a backpass, Teemu Pukki blocked the kick and the ball rebounded into the empty net. Pukki scored again but United got back to 2-2. With two minutes left John Egan fouled Pukki in the 18-yard area, but Davies saved the penalty to deny Pukki his hat-trick and Norwich the victory. From zero to hero, as they say, but that’s how it is for a goalkeeper. Davies was then out again as soon as Wes finished his ban.

At least Davies managed to play a few games and did OK, but there have been some Sheffield United goalkeepers in the last 30 years whose appearances were even more fleeting, for a variety of reasons. Here we will look at three such goalkeepers, each one of them experienced in their own right, but whose time at Bramall Lane was unusual to say the least. First we’ll go back to 2003 and a goalkeeper who had played in the Champions League, no less.

United entered the 2003/04 season amongst the favourites to win promotion following the glorious triple failure of 2002/03 – play-off final defeat, FA Cup semi-final defeat, League Cup semi-final defeat. The important players – Michael Brown, Michael Tonge, Phil Jagielka, Paddy Kenny, Robert Page – had all been retained and the squad was apparently strengthened by the arrival of Chris Morgan, Chris Armstrong, Ashley Ward and Jack Lester. However, Brown was in the final year of his contract and talks about a new one had stalled. United were in the top five after ten games but one of the wins, 2-1 at Selhurst Park, was to have lasting consequences for two reasons: Brown was sent off, and Kenny suffered a knee injury. Jagielka performed heroics in goal to preserve the three points, but a new goalkeeper was needed.

He arrived in the shape of the battle-hardened Paul Gerrard from Everton, but when his three-month loan ended another keeper had to be found. Neil Warnock agreed to sign Ian Bennett on loan from Birmingham City, but at the last moment Blues manager Steve Bruce changed his mind. Left in the lurch the day before an away match at Burnley, a desperate Warnock signed both the veteran Alan Fettis, on loan from Hull City, and Lee Baxter, an obscure 27-year-old who had been playing in Sweden, including spells at AIK Stockholm and Malmö FF. He once played for AIK against Arsenal in the Champions League. Baxter, born in Sweden when his father Stuart was playing there, had dual Swedish/British nationality. He started his career at Blackburn Rovers and had also played in Japan. With no opportunity of seeing either Fettis or Baxter train, never mind play, Warnock was torn over which one to pick. He opted for Baxter, the man who had played in European competition, rather than going for the lower-league knowledge of Fettis. So unsure was Warnock about his decision that he picked Fettis as a substitute, something he never usually did in the days of fewer replacements on the bench.

Baxter was a disaster. He allowed a soft Robbie Blake shot to slip through his grasp, and although United came back to take a 2-1 lead, Baxter then let a header from Ian Moore bounce over his dive and into the net. He could do nothing about Blake’s penalty that made it 3-2, but the damage was already done. Baxter did not reappear for the second half, replaced by Fettis. There were no further goals, Brown was sent off again then a few weeks later was sold to Spurs. United’s season was irreparably damaged, and not even the return of Paddy Kenny could change things.

After the match Warnock said:

“I told Lee not to worry. You’ve only got to turn the television on and watch the news to see there are far worse things going on in the world than what’s happened out there. The two goals from open play knocked his confidence a bit and he is distraught. I took him off to calm things down a bit.”

Kind words, but Baxter, who had not signed a contract, was never seen again. There was no announcement about his departure; he just disappeared. Disappeared from Blades fans’ consciences perhaps, but Baxter returned to where he knew well – Sweden, where he played for IFK Göteborg, Bodens BK, Malmö FF again, Landskrona and AIK again. After retirement he worked around the world as a goalkeeping coach.