Fans back, relegation, MGW and being scared of lions - Looking back at Sheffield United's topsy-turvy 2021

The die was cast in the first few months, when an iconic manager in Chris Wilder departed with relegation from the Premier League a virtual certainty.

There was hope for better in the second half of 2021, especially when United bit the bullet and hired promotion expert Slavisa Jokanović in a bid to get back into the big time at the first attempt.

It didn’t work, with Jokanović given his marching orders after 22 games and Paul Heckingbottom appointed as part of the club’s new “strategic vision” for the future.

There have been signs of a resurgence under Heckingbottom, an affable man and a highly-regarded coach. And, as 2021 draws to a close, our man Danny Hall cast his mind back for a review of the year…

Highlight

In a year when they were somewhat thin on the ground, a few candidates spring to mind. Daniel Jebbison scoring on his full Premier League was a brilliant moment, as the young man made history in the process, while victory at Old Trafford against Manchester United stands out – even if it ultimately didn’t help seal survival.

The only shame about that 2-1 victory at Old Trafford was that there were no fans to see it – so, considering everything that has gone on in the world since March 2020, my highlight of the year was seeing supporters back in Bramall Lane for the first time in over a year for the first game of the current season.

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Bramall Lane was buzzing in the build-up to kick-off against Birmingham City and although the result didn’t go United’s way – a 1-0 defeat setting the tone for what was to follow in the weeks and months to come – that first rendition of the Greasy Chip Butty song at kick-off sent shivers down the spine. Fingers crossed, for football’s sake, games don’t ever go behind closed doors again.

Lowlight

Another difficult one, only because there were so many. Relegation is an obvious candidate, but it was set in stone for so long that it was almost a relief when it was officially confirmed after defeat at Wolves in April.

United’s 4-0 defeat away at West Brom was a blow – a real men against boys display when United looked like lower-league minnows playing a Championship side, rather than one who were in the Premier League months earlier – as was the sale of Aaron Ramsdale to Arsenal, for a fee that now looks a (relative) pittance for an England international and the Gunners’ No.1.

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Jokanović’s sacking was a disappointment, too, especially when it was revealed that it cost more to fire him than he would have had available to spend in the January transfer window (which begs its own question of where that money came from, and if it existed why the manager wouldn’t have been offered it).

But for me, nothing trumps the 5-0 defeat at Leicester, around 24 hours after the departure of Wilder had been confirmed. A shell-shocked United were taken apart at the King Power and the reality, that this was truly the end of an era at Bramall Lane, was really hammered home.

Best signing

Only one candidate for this one… step forward, Morgan Gibbs-White. Signed on loan from Wolves at the end of the summer transfer window, his performances since beg the question of how different United’s season would have looked if he arrived towards the front of it – which, as he inadvertently let slip during his welcome interview, was a possibility.

He certainly made up for lost time since, though, dragging United to new heights with his class. His goal at Cardiff summed up his ability but there have been so many moments of magic that it would be difficult to list them all.

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It wouldn’t be a surprise at all if Wolves recalled him in January, based on his performances for the Blades, and keeping him at the Lane is imperative if United are to have any chance of getting promoted this season.

An honorable mention for Iliman Ndiaye – tying him down to a new contract was a big moment, and the Frenchman will be a big asset in the future.

Best performance

Winning away at Manchester United doesn’t happen unless you’re playing close to your maximum, but that was more of a smash-and-grab win (which doesn’t make it any less impressive at all).

In terms of a pure dismantling, it’s hard to look past the 6-2 pasting of Peterborough earlier this season. United were at their ruthless best as Billy Sharp grabbed a hat-trick of assists and Gibbs-White and Ndiaye scored their first goals for the Blades.

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But for the best on-field performance I’ve seen at a United game this season, how about the doctors, medics and teammates who attended to John Fleck after he collapsed at Reading? Thankfully he is on the mend and returned to the field at Fulham recently, but that was a horrible thing to witness up close and those who dealt with it so professionally deserve so much praise and gratitude.

Best quote

With respect to Yusuf Giansiracusa, United’s chairman, it certainly isn’t his talk about “leveraging synergies” and the admission that “I’m not a football guy so I don’t care” that Heckingbottom’s title of football manager may not prove popular with United’s supporters.

Instead, the title has to go to the man he had fired that same morning, Jokanović. The Serb was not shy of an interesting soundbite as he looked to get his message across and in one of his last press conferences as Blades boss, he was asked about his side’s chances of promotion.

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"Our target is really clear. I can guarantee I will die one day but we must guarantee we are at a better level and be more competitive,” he said.

Or my personal favourite, after a nervy 3-2 win over Barnsley at Oakwell. “You can be scared of water; you can be scared of lions. You should not be scared of football.”

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