It’s that time of year where all the clubs reveal their retained list for new season. Today was the turn of League One Sheffield United. We take a look at who has been released by the Blades.
Ben Davies
33 year old Davies was probably a player that Blades fans could’ve predicted was going to leave. Since his arrival from Derby in July last year, Davies has only featured 39 times with a lot of these coming from the substitute’s bench. However, Davies will probably be best remembered for his set piece specialities. In his short tenure with the Blades, Davies managed to squeeze 7 goals and contribute 4 assists (Source: TransferMarkt). Davies has not featured since the end of March when he came on as a substitute against Crewe.
Iain Turner
Goalkeeper Turner was brought in by Nigel Clough as a 2nd choice keeper in case No. 1 Mark Howard picked up a suspension or injury. The 31 year experienced stopper only played 13 games in a United shirt after joining the Blades on a free in August last year with most of them coming as Mark Howard picked up an injury earlier in the season. During those games, Turner conceded 14 goals and only managed to keep 2 clean sheets in 1170 minutes of football (Source: TransferMarkt). In his more recent games, fans blamed Turner’s goalkeeping frailties and as a result, Howard was restored to the No. 1 spot as soon as he was fit. Turner last played on March 24th against Scunthorpe at Glanford Park and has not even been in the squad since April 14th.
Michael Doyle
It was revealed earlier this week that Club Captain Michael Doyle would be leaving the club after joining the Blades in 2011. During his tenure as the club’s resident Irishman, Doyle racked up 229 appearances and popped in a respectable 10 goals for a midfielder that was never renowned for going forward. Doyle’s place in the team has not only been as the leader but more recently the calming influence that sometimes a team need after coming on from the subs bench.
News of Doyle’s departure was met with disappointment from the Blades faithful but news of his possible impending departure weeks before took the surprise factor away. Doyle will be missed by the fans, not only in the middle of the park but his little comedic spells too. A great man. A great captain.
Academy players released: Jason Paling, Sam Berry and Kyle Scarisbrick.
New contracts offered: Jay McEveley, George Long, George Willis, Kieran Wallace, Ben Whiteman, Jamie McDonagh, Otis Khan, CJ Hamilton, Connor Dimaio, Joel Coustrain and Julian Banton. Diego de Girolamo has been offered a new contract.
