Football Season Guide

Much like Preston, Sheffield United completed a swift two year fall from a Championship Play-Off participant to a League One side. The difference between North End and the Blades is that no one really expected Sheffield United to have anything to do with relegation, and a lot of blame has been cast on the people running the club, who first decided to sack manager Kevin Blackwell early in the season, and then failed to react accordingly when other managers didn't deliver the expected results. As a consequence, the Blades finished 23rd in the Championship, and were relegated after changing three different managers over the course of the season. There was even drama after the season was over, as fans gathered outside the ground to protest the appointment of manager Danny Wilson, with their dissatisfaction coming from the fact that Wilson started the previous season as the manager of Blades' bitter rivals Sheffield Wednesday. Wilson's task will be to steady the boat after what was a season of real turmoil and guide the squad that is still full of talent back to the Championship at the first time of asking. Relegation forced the Blades to part ways with some of their prized assets, so striker Darius Henderson, attacking midfielder Jamie Ward and winger Mark Yeates all left, with striker Ched Evans also reportedly being on his way out. The signings so far include Derby winger Chris Porter, Falkirk midfielder Ryan Flynn and Swindon defender Jean-Francois Lescinel. Despite all these departures, Sheffield still have a very strong squad for League One level, with some of their players being of solid Championship quality, and hold a great appeal for players at this level, which will allow them to pull off good loan deals when required.