Forget talk of previous play-off pain - Sheffield United's class of 2025 here to make history v Sunderland
Sheffield United’s class of 2025 out to make history ahead of Sunderland play-off final at Wembley
As tens of thousands of Sheffield United fans making their way down to Wembley this weekend, memories of play-off campaigns previous will no doubt come flooding back.
Hopkin in ‘97 at the old Twin Towers. A trip over the border to Cardiff in ‘03 as a season that promised so much ultimately delivered nothing tangible. Burnley ‘09 under the Wembley arch; Steve Simonsen’s penalty three years later almost hitting it.
The United class of '25 will walk out at Wembley completely free of that weight, though. What happened in the past is of no consequence to them. Some were toddling around in nappies.
Instead, the mood is very much on focused on the present. Where some see disappointment, United's players sense opportunity. They have ahead of them a remarkable chance to write themselves into this club's history, and that can be a powerful tool.
No-one alive, remember, can say they witnessed the Blades win at Wembley. Criminally, for a club of United's stature in English football, that hasn't happened for exactly 100 years now. Chris Wilder's place in United folklore has long since been assured; delivering play-off glory would surely end any conversation about the greatest manager in Bramall Lane history.
"It would be a proud moment for anyone in my position," admitted boss Wilder before travelling down south. "With my history and connection to the football club, to lead the club out at Wembley Stadium.
"People talk about it being one of the biggest games in world football and it's a great, great honour, privelege and responsibility. But I’ve got to do my job right, first and foremost. We’re here to win.
"We talked about it at length, the reset after the Burnley game. I should imagine the narrative was a negative one [after missing out on automatic promotion.] And then you have to pile on all the stuff that everybody locally and possibly nationally talks about, with our play-off record.
"But that’s not touched as one bit. Not one single ounce of that has not gone into my thinking or the players' thinking. They’re ultra positive. They’re focused. They’re excited as well. And they’re really looking forward to the challenge of going to Wembley and hopefully getting that win that we’re all after."
This United group will walk out at Wembley with the opportunity to deliver something that two or three generation of United fans have not experienced. That prospect may seem daunting to us mere mortals, but footballers are built differently.
They grew up and kicked a ball around the playground, dreaming of occasions like this - performing at Wembley Stadium in front of a huge crowd, with a huge prize in their grasp. It's the stuff dreams are made of, at the place where legends are made. Back them all the way, Blades fans; this could just be the time.