A win against Preston North End tomorrow wouldn’t amount to much. Fans had hoped that this would either be a crunch match or a game of celebration with promotion to the Championship but after poor form – mostly at home this season the Blades have a second bite of the cherry via the play-offs next week.
Our opponents have yet to be finalised and it will be the results of this weekend’s fixtures which decide all this, but following a 1-0 defeat at Crewe Alexandra last Tuesday night the highest United can now finish is fourth, assuming that all three points are collected at home to Preston.
Caretaker boss Chris Morgan fielded an experimental side at Gresty Road knowing that automatic promotion was out of the equation – making five changes from the side which lost 3-0 at Portsmouth last weekend and may well again give fringe players the opportunity to show there worth this time round and rest key players ahead of the play-offs.
The Blades are without striker Shaun Miller (cruciate knee ligament); meanwhile keeper Mark Howard (thigh) and defender Lescinel Jean-Francois (knee) have returned to training but are unlikely to see first team action soon. He is also without Diego DeGirolamo (knee) through injury.
Defender Harry Maguire will return to squad selection after sitting out a one match suspension following the two bookings he picked-up in last Tuesday’s 2-2 thriller against Brentford.
It has been a long tradition that former players come back to haunt you, well Preston had better be wary of that tradition as United have four former players on their books; Richard Cresswell (injured), Neill Collins, Matt Hill and Jonathan Forte.
Cresswell was signed by the Lilywhites in March 2001 - initially on loan until the end of the season before making a permanent deal. Cresswell scored on his debut in a 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers and added a further goal at Barnsley (4-0) before the season’s end. He stayed at Deepdale until August 2005 when he signed for Leeds United. North End made the play-off final in May 2005; beating Derby County in the semis before losing 1-0 at the Millennium Stadium to West Ham United, they were 90 minutes away from the top flight and failed. Along the way he netted hat-tricks at Leicester City in the League Cup and also against Sunderland on New Year’s Day, making a total of 172 (+20) appearances and scored 57 goals for the Deepdale club.
Collins too joined the Lilywhites after a successful loan spell; initially signing in September 2009 (from Wolverhampton Wanderers) and made his deal permanent in January. However he made too few appearances before joining Leeds United on loan in February 2010. He had made his debut at home to Coventry City in a 3-2 win. He scored his only goal for North End against Ipswich Town (2-0) and made his final appearance at Derby County (lost 3-5) on 16 February before moving to Elland Road and signed permanent in the summer. He made a total of 20 (+2) appearances for the Lancashire side and scored just once.
Matt Hill is also a former custodian of the Lancashire side; he signed for £100,000 from Bristol City in January 2005, ending a seven year spell at Ashton Gate. He made his debut in a 1-1 draw with Leicester City and he too was on the losing side (along with Cresswell) in the Play-Off Final against the Hammers. In September 2008 he ended his association with Preston, signing for Wolverhampton Wanderers after making 107 (+12) appearances without scoring.
Forte joined Preston North End in a month’s loan spell (from Southampton) in November 2011; he made his debut in a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy fixture at Rochdale and left Deepdale after making three (+1) appearances without scoring.
Last Saturday was Preston’s last home fixture of the season as they entertained Tranmere Rovers before travelling to Crawley Town on Tuesday night in their final re-arranged game of the 2012/13 campaign and like United lost 1-0.
Lilywhites boss Simon Grayson welcomed back top scorer Nicky Wroe from suspension against the Red Devils, but returned with a starting place on the substitute’s bench and may well be offered that place again for their trip to Bramall Lane.
The Lilywhites are likely to field Chris Robertson to face his former club. He was on the books at Bramall Lane between July 2005 and March 2007 where he failed to break into the first team. Chester City handed him is Football League debut in a 5-0 drumming at Carlisle United whilst on a month’s loan in January 2006. In March 2007 he made a free transfer to Plainmoor, scoring on his debut in a 3-0 home win over Wycombe Wanderers.
Meanwhile former keeper Steve Simonsen is currently on loan with Scottish outfit Dundee and won’t face the Blades this weekend. Simmo initially signed for United on loan (from Stoke City) in March 2010; making his debut in a 1-1 draw at Doncaster Rovers and in the summer made a full (free transfer) to the Blades, he was part of the squad which were relegated from the Championship and he missed the vital spot kick at Wembley last season which could have seen us back there. During his time with the Blades he made 106 (+2) appearances.
Blades-Mad Prediction: Sheffield United 1-0 Preston North End