On the anniversary of his Owls signing we ask the question: Sheffield Wednesday’s David Hirst or Sheffield United’s Brian Deane?

It’s the age old debate that straddles the city; David Hirst or Brian Deane?
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The two forwards are icons of their respectively clubs and played in iconic times; both earned three England caps apiece, both topped their side’s goalscoring charts and lead the line with class, belting 209 league goals for their Sheffield clubs between them.

Hirst belted 106 league goals in 294 appearances in a glittering Owls career, Deane 93 goals in 223 games across three spells.

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Hirst was the only man to score for England, ironically having replaced Deane at half-time of the Blades man’s full international debut against New Zealand in June 1991, and though both counted promotions on their CV, the Owls icon held silverware during his time in the Steel City in the form of the 1991 Rumbelows Cup.

Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United fans have long been split on the debate over who was better; David Hirst or Brian Deane?Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United fans have long been split on the debate over who was better; David Hirst or Brian Deane?
Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United fans have long been split on the debate over who was better; David Hirst or Brian Deane?

On the 34th anniversary of Hirst’s bargain £200k signing from Barnsley, Alex Miller, one half of The Star’s Sheffield Wednesday writing team, spoke to a trio of people who knew the pair best and asked the question; Hirst or Deane?

(Disclaimer: We know this one can ignite passions a touch – it’s only a bit of fun!)

Chris Turner – Sheffield Wednesday (1976-79, 88-91)

I can't sit here and say that David Hirst is a much better player than Brian Deane - Brian is a good friend of mine, they both are!

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But his all-round character made him the incredible player that he was, he was a very confident boy. He obviously had his pace and his power, but to be a top class striker you've got to be mentally strong, and David was really mentally strong.

If he went a game or two without scoring, he'd know another was round the corner as long as he kept his head down and kept working, kept working, kept working. He was a great signing for the club at £200,000. Gosh, what would he be worth today?

In his early days he was quiet but as he gained his confidence and ability and his game improved from that raw boy at Barnsley, his personality took over and he was a big, big personality in the dressing room. In terms of what you want from a striker, he had it all and he was such a big part of the teams that had all that success at Wednesday.

He should have played more for England. If you were playing for a Manchester United, a Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, your opportunities in those days were heightened. You think of the strikers around then and there was a fair array of strikers that made it difficult for someone to break through, but he should have more caps for England.

Phil King (Wednesday 1989-94)

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Brian was a good player, there's no question. But I was a teammate of David's, I'm going to side with him aren't I!

When I signed he was still a bit raw, but as the team grew and better players signed it catapulted him into a better player himself. Aside from injury, he could have gone on to be even better.

On his day he was in the top two or three in the country. He had pace, power, good in the air, direct. Whenever you saw him turn on the halfway line and open those legs up and go through on goal, you thought 'wow'.

He was explosive and had it all. Brian Deane was a top player, there's no mistake about it, he was a top target man, they'd hit it to him and they'd be able to play around him.

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One of the biggest accolades you can pay Hirsty is that Manchester United tried to sign him. Sir Alex Ferguson loved him. I'm not sure if he tried to sign Brian Deane. That for me speaks volumes about what you think of Hirsty as a player.

And in the Red Corner.. Kevin Gage (Sheffield United 1991-96)

I’m sure there will have been a rivalry between them individually at the time, but I can’t say I was really too aware of it to be honest.

I can't speak on Hirsty, his record stands for itself. I played against him a few times but not directly, he was a very good player and he was always a threat.

But I obviously know Brian Deane well, saw him up close and saw him in training and what have you. When I first joined Sheffield United in 1991, Dave Bassett told me that Brian was a player who didn't know how good he was.

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He had all the attributes to be a top, top player and probably do better than he actually did. He got a couple of England caps and played for some great clubs, but he could have been a complete and utter superstar.

People talk about him being this big target man but Brian was a technician, he brought players in around him and he had such great feet for such a tall, rangey player. He was a good finisher, quick, strong, all the attributes you need to be a top striker. He just got on with his job and did it brilliantly well.

He had a bit of everything, he was a big handful in the air and on his day was unplayable, really. That goal he scored against Grobbelaar shows what technical ability he had.

We were in a team that spent a lot of the time in the bottom half of the table. The season he left for Leeds we went down, so that tells its own story really. He was a proper player for us, top class.

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