Blades v Owls: Top cop reveals how force will approach policing of first Steel City derby in five years

The often explosive Steel City derby is renowned as one of the most historic and hotly contested fixtures in English football, dating back over 100 years.

For Owls and Blades there is no fixture to rival their local derby.

And for the first time for five-and-a-half years, the stage is set for Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday to go head-to-head at Bramall Lane on Sunday, November 10, following United’s relegation to the Championship last season.

Sheffield’s District Commander, Chief Superintendent Jamie Henderson says policing derbies always presents a ‘challenge’ for the force.

 “They do pose some significant challenges to policing. We will undoubtedly have to put lots more resources on,” Chf Supt Henderson previously told The Star.

“Tensions will be high but we hope that people just treat it as a football match and not anything more than that.”

He added: “It's about working with the clubs, working with the individuals, working with the football officers to identify that intelligence, working with the local licensees.

“Hopefully we will not will not see any of these issues that we had in years gone by on previous derby days, where we've had violence and disorder.

“So, it's about making sure we've got the right presence to prevent that at the beginning.”

Chf Supt Henderson said he ‘very much suspects’ South Yorkshire Police will be using colleagues from other police forces to support them during the derbies.

“There's lots of local rivalry within the Yorkshire area, so they’re the key days for us in the city within the football calendar,” added Chf Supt Henderson.

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Sheffield is renowned as the ‘home of football’ because the world’s oldest football club, Sheffield FC, was formed in the city in 1857 and the rules of the game were drawn up here ... and it has staged some Steel City derbies to be proud of over the years.

One of the most talked about is what became known as the ‘Boxing Day Massacre’ – the 100th city derby on Boxing Day 1979.

The old Third Division fixture attracted a massive crowd of 49,309 at Hillsboroughbecause it was the first league meeting of the clubs since 1971, and it was United who went into the match as favourites, with Harry Haslam’s side well placed for promotion while the Owls were six points adrift with two wins in seven games.

But the match did not go the way many thought it would and it has gone down in Sheffield folklore, with Wednesday gloriously revelling in their 4-0 win.

Fast forward to 2017 and what famously became known as the ‘Bouncing Day Massacre,’ which gave United the bragging rights after they went to Hillsborough and came away with a 4-2 victory.

Wednesday fans stopped bouncing on the terraces after a goal was scored by United’s Mark Duffy just seconds after the Owls had equalised.

Another huge Steel City derby took place at Wembley rather than Sheffield when both teams made it through to the FA Cup semi-final in April 1993.

Tens of thousands of passionate Blades and Owls travelled to the capital for the much-anticipated fixture, with the blue and white half of the city leaving triumphant after a 2-1 win.

- Sunday, November 10, 2024: Sheffield United v Sheffield Wednesday

- Saturday, March 15, 2024: Sheffield Wednesday v Sheffield United