Football Season Review

It was another season of extreme disappointment for Sheffield United, who entered the season as one of the main favourites for direct promotion, only to end up finishing fifth and falling to a play-off semi-final defeat to Swindon. The Blades' main problem throughout the season has been their lack of a top quality striker - this is a problem that had been detected by Nigel Clough even in pre-season, but the Blades have had numerous failures in their efforts to bring in top quality strikers. The early form shown by Matt Done following his winter move from Rochdale suggested that the Blades' scoring problems could be behind them, but Done was unable to maintain his early form and ended up playing on the right wing, as another loanee, Steve Davies, became the preferred option up front. Clough's future is uncertain going into the summer break, but one thing that boosts his chance of staying at the helm is the fact that he has had a lot of success in the cups, as the Blades have had another superb FA Cup run and a brilliant League Cup run, as they were eliminated by Tottenham in the semi-final of the competition. However, the cup runs do not change the fact that they were widely expected to win promotion and that, given the resources at his disposal, Clough has underperformed. What is certain is that the Blades will be busy in the summer transfer market, and they are likely to be a force to be reckoned with next season if they manage to keep the core of their side and finally manage to bring in a top striker.

Player of the Season: Jamie Murphy