2. Sheffield United
Sheffield United have had it tough over the last four years or so. This is their third season in League One and it doesn’t seem to be getting any easier for the South Yorkshire side. Arguably it was United’s early days that were their best. Winning what is now the Premier League in the 1897-98 season and then winning the FA Cup four times in 1899, 1902, 1915 and 1925.
However, times were getting tougher for the Blades and they just didn’t seem to have the cutting edge any more. In the season of 1975-76, the Sheffield side were relegated from the top flight. And, to make matters even worse, the following season they were relegated again. The fourth tier beckoned, and in 1981, the worst happened.
However, after settling back up in the third tier, new manager Dave Bassett helped them to successive promotions and found themselves sitting back among the elite in 1990. But, all good things must come to an end, and after a four season stint in the top flight, the Blades were relegated yet again. In December 1999, Neil Warnock stepped in and tried to get the struggling side back in the Premiership. And he did. Only for a season though. The controversy surrounding Sheffield United and West Ham’s Carlos Tevez overshadowed the fact that the Blades had been relegated once more.
Warnock then left the South Yorkshire side and they employed Kevin Blackwell. Blackwell took the Blades to the 2009 Championship play off final, but they lost 1-0 to Burnley. Decline followed and with a stint of three managers in a season, Sheffield United got relegated into the third tier of English football. And that is where they have stayed until the present day. The current FA Cup semi-finalists sit nine points outside the League One play offs and promotion seems rather unlikely.
