'My favourite spell' - Jamie Murphy reflects on Sheffield United career and memorable FA Cup run
Jamie Murphy made 122 appearances for Sheffield United across a two-and-a-half-year spell at Bramall Lane.
Former Sheffield United attacker Jamie Murphy has said his second and third seasons of his spell at Bramall Lane marked arguably the best period of his career.
The Scot joined the Blades from Motherwell in January 2013 for a six-figure undisclosed fee after scoring ten goals in 22 appearances in the first half of the 2012/13 Scottish Premiership campaign.
Signing a three-and-a-half-year contract at Bramall Lane, Murphy was drafted in to assist with the Blades’ quest to return to the Championship at the second attempt after relegation in 2011. He made 19 appearances between his arrival and the end of the campaign, chipping in with two goals, as United missed out on promotion in the play-offs, losing 2-1 to Yeovil Town on aggregate at the semi-final stage.
His first full season in S2 saw him contribute four goals and register four assists in 32 League One outings as United missed out on a top six finish, finishing seven points behind seventh-placed Peterborough. However, the 2013/14 season will always be remembered for United reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup, and Murphy played a starring role in that fairytale run that was eventually ended by Hull City at Wembley.
The Scot, who is now 36 and playing for Ayr United, scored three goals and registered three assists in seven FA Cup appearances, including a goal and an assist at Wembley in the 5-3 defeat to the Tigers.
Murphy kicked on again 2014/15, scoring 12 goals and registering 12 assists in all competitions. United reached the semi-finals of the League Cup that term.
Ultimately, United’s failure to climb out of League One saw them unable to keep hold of Murphy the following season, losing him to Brighton & Hove Albion in August 2015 for an undisclosed fee. He made 83 appearances for the Seagulls, scoring ten goals, before moving back to Scotland in January 2018 to join Rangers.
Despite earning promotion to the Premier League with Brighton, it was his spell at Bramall Lane that Murphy looks back on most fondly.
“Apart from the first four, five, six months, where I struggled a little bit with injuries and I didn’t enjoy it, I’d never really been away from home, I wasn’t quite myself,” Murphy told BBC Radio Sheffield. “For the following two years, I loved it.
“It’s probably my favourite spell in my career. Playing there, under Nigel Clough, going out and being able to express myself, and really enjoy moments with the fans, and my teammates as well.
“We were a very close team. Obviously, Sheffield’s nice for a night out or going out for dinner with the boys. I loved my couple of years down here.”
Reflecting on United’s run to the FA Cup semi-finals 12 years ago, Murphy continued: “I think the game at Wembley against Hull, particularly for that squad, that was the first year Nigel came in and it was pretty clear we were struggling to make the play-offs that year. He came in, we were low down in the table. Everything kind of went into that cup run.
“I think we beat Fulham, Aston Villa, both Premier League teams at the time, Charlton, the league above. To then get Hull at Wembley, and at half-time to be 2-1 up, it was like ‘we’ve got a real chance of making the FA Cup final at Wembley here’. And then it kind of, not fell apart in the second half, but they came out with a couple of quickfire goals and managed to get a goal later on.
“Stephen Quinn obviously scored to make it 4-3. That’s the one that really sticks out in my head.”