2017–18 Sheffield United F.C. season explained

Club:	Sheffield United
Season:	2017–18
Manager:	Chris Wilder
Chairman:	Kevin McCabe
Stadium:	Bramall Lane
League:	Championship
League Result:	10th
Cup1:	FA Cup
Cup1 Result:	Fifth round (vs. Leicester City)
Cup2:	EFL Cup
Cup2 Result:	Second round (vs. Leicester City)
League Topscorer:	Leon Clarke (19)
Season Topscorer:	Leon Clarke (19)
Prevseason:	2016–17
Nextseason:	2018–19
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The 2017–18 season was Sheffield United's 129th season in their history and marked their return to the Championship, following a six-year stay in the third tier. Along with the Championship, the club also competed in the FA Cup and EFL Cup.

Before the season, many EFL fans, Sheffield Wednesday fans amongst them, tipped the Blades for a season of struggles in and around the bottom 3. United defied this by finishing 10th, and chasing the play-offs all season long.

The season covered the period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018.

Squad

No.	Name	Pos.	Nat.	Place of Birth	Age	Apps	Goals	Signed from	Date signed	Fee	Contract End
Goalkeepers
1	Simon Moore	GK		Sandown		55	0	Cardiff City	19 August 2016	Undisclosed	2019
27	Jamal Blackman	GK		Croydon		24	0	Chelsea	27 July 2017	Loan	2018
31	Jake Eastwood	GK		Sheffield		3	0	Youth Academy	1 July 2015	Trainee	2018
Defenders
2	George Baldock	RB		Buckingham		24	1	Milton Keynes Dons	1 July 2017	Undisclosed	2020
3	Enda Stevens	LB		Dublin		33	1	Portsmouth	1 July 2017	Free	2020
5	Jack O'Connell	CB		Liverpool		81	6	Brentford	8 July 2016	Undisclosed	2022
13	Jake Wright	CB		Keighley		49	0	Oxford United	9 July 2016	Free	2019
18	Kieron Freeman	RB		Arnold		108	13	Derby County	23 January 2015	Free	2020
19	Richard Stearman	CB		Wolverhampton		17	1	Fulham	6 July 2017	Undisclosed	2020
23	Ben Heneghan	CB		Manchester		1	0	Motherwell	31 August 2017	Undisclosed	2020
24	Daniel Lafferty	LB		Derry		45	4	Burnley	13 January 2017	Undisclosed	2019
Midfielders
4	John Fleck	CM		Glasgow		79	6	Coventry City	11 July 2016	Free	2021
6	Chris Basham	DM/CB		Hebburn		172	8	Blackpool	1 July 2014	Free	2019
7	John Lundstram	CM		Liverpool		29	2	Oxford United	25 July 2017	Undisclosed	2020
14	Ryan Leonard	CM/CB		Plympton		3	0	Southend United	9 January 2018	Undisclosed	2021
15	Paul Coutts	CM		Aberdeen		120	5	Derby County	23 January 2015	Undisclosed	2019
20	Lee Evans	CM		Newport		5	0	Wolverhampton Wanderers	10 January 2018	£750,000	2021
21	Mark Duffy	RM		Liverpool		73	8	Birmingham City	1 July 2016	Free	2018
26	Ricky Holmes	LM		Rochford		2	0	Charlton Athletic	Undisclosed	2020
36	David Brooks	LW/AM		Warrington		26	3	Youth Academy	1 July 2015	Trainee	2021
44	Samir Carruthers	CM		Islington		28	1	Milton Keynes Dons	3 January 2017	Undisclosed	2020
Forwards
9	Leon Clarke	CF		Birmingham		53	24	Bury	27 July 2016	Undisclosed	2019
10	Billy Sharp	CF		Sheffield		223	75	Leeds United	25 July 2015	Undisclosed	2019
11	Clayton Donaldson	CF		Bradford		18	5	Birmingham City	31 August 2017	Nominal	2018
12	James Wilson	CF		Biddulph		4	1	Manchester United	10 January 2018	Loan	2018
22	Caolan Lavery	CF		Red Deer		36	5	Sheffield Wednesday	30 August 2016	Free	2019
32	Ched Evans	CF		Rhyl		123	48	Chesterfield	1 July 2017	Undisclosed	2020
Out on Loan
8	Nathan Thomas	LW		Ingleby Barwick		3	2	Hartlepool United	1 July 2017	Undisclosed	2020
17	James Hanson	CF		Bradford		14	1	Bradford City	24 January 2017	Undisclosed	2020
	George Long	GK		Sheffield		123	0	Youth Academy	1 July 2011	Trainee	2018
	Chris Hussey	LB		London		11	0	Bury	1 July 2016	Undisclosed	Undisclosed
	James Wilson	CB		Chepstow		10	1	Oldham Athletic	5 July 2016	Free	2018
	Louis Reed	CM		Barnsley		59	0	Youth Academy	1 July 2013	Trainee	2018

• All appearances and goals up to date as of 10 February 2018.

Statistics

|-!colspan=14|Player(s) out on loan:|-!colspan=14|Player(s) who left the club:|}

Goals

Rank	No.	Nat.	Po.	Name				Total
1	9		CF	Leon Clarke	19	0	0	19
2	10		CF	Billy Sharp	13	0	1	14
3	11		CF	Clayton Donaldson	5	0	0	5
4	7		CM	John Lundstram	3	0	0	3
	21		AM	Mark Duffy	3	0	0	3
	36		AM	David Brooks	3	0	0	3
7	4		CM	John Fleck	2	0	0	2
	6		DM	Chris Basham	2	0	0	2
	8		LW		0	1	1	2
	19		CB	Richard Stearman	2	0	0	2
	20		CM	Lee Evans	2	0	0	2
12	2		RB	George Baldock	1	0	0	1
	3		LB	Enda Stevens	1	0	0	1
	12		CF		1	0	0	1
	15		CM	Paul Coutts	1	0	0	1
	18		RB	Kieron Freeman	1	0	0	1
	22		CF	Caolan Lavery	0	1	0	1
	24		LB	Daniel Lafferty	0	1	0	1
	44		CM	Samir Carruthers	1	0	0	1
			CB	Cameron Carter-Vickers	1	0	0	1
Total					58	3	2	63

Disciplinary record

Rank	No.	Nat.	Po.	Name										Total
1	4		CM	John Fleck	14	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	14	0	1
2	3		LB	Enda Stevens	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	0	0
3	6		DM	Chris Basham	8	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	9	0	0
4	5		CB		6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	0
	15		CM	Paul Coutts	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	0
	20		CM	Lee Evans	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	0
7	7		CM	John Lundstram	3	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	5	0	0
	9		CF	Leon Clarke	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	1
	36		AM		5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
11	2		RB	George Baldock	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
	10		CF	Billy Sharp	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
	19		CB	Richard Stearman	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
14	21		AM	Mark Duffy	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
15	11		CF	Clayton Donaldson	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	24		LB	Daniel Lafferty	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0
	27		GK	Jamal Blackman	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1
			CB	Cameron Carter-Vickers	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0
19	1		GK	Simon Moore	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
	12		CF		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	13		CB	Jake Wright	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0
Total					78	0	3	2	0	0	5	0	0	85	0	3

Contracts

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	Status	Contract Length	Expiry Date	Ref.
18 July 2017				Signed	2 years	June 2019	^[1]
18 July 2017				Signed	2 years	June 2019
18 July 2017				Signed	3 years	June 2020
18 July 2017				Signed	2 years	June 2019
22 September 2017				Signed	4 years	June 2021	^[2]
15 November 2017				Signed	4.5 years	June 2022	^[3]

Transfers

Transfers in

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2017					Undisclosed	^[4]
1 July 2017					Undisclosed	^[5]
1 July 2017					Free	^[6]
1 July 2017					Undisclosed	^[7]
6 July 2017					Undisclosed	^[8]
25 July 2017					Undisclosed	^[9]
31 August 2017					Undisclosed	^[10]
31 August 2017					Undisclosed	^[11]
9 January 2018					Undisclosed	^[12]
10 January 2018					£750,000	^[13]
15 January 2018					Undisclosed	^[14]

Transfers out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
1 July 2017					Free	^[15]
1 July 2017					Free
1 July 2017					Free	^[16]
1 July 2017					Free	^[17]
3 August 2017					Mutual consent	^[18]
16 August 2017					Mutual consent	^[19]
31 August 2017					Mutual consent	^[20]
11 January 2018					Undisclosed	^[21]

Loans in

Start date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	End date	Ref.
27 July 2017					30 June 2018	^[22]
25 August 2017					30 June 2018	^[23]
10 January 2018					30 June 2018

Loans out

Start date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	End date	Ref.
1 July 2017					January 2018	^[24]
4 July 2017					30 June 2018	^[25]
7 July 2017					30 June 2018	^[26]
11 July 2017					30 June 2018	^[27]
17 July 2017					30 June 2018	^[28]
26 October 2017					23 November 2017	^[29]
3 January 2018					30 June 2018	^[30]

Pre-season

Friendlies

As of 16 June 2017, Sheffield United have six pre-season friendlies against Stoke City,^[31] Stocksbridge Park Steels, Chesterfield, Rotherham United, Eastleigh^[32] and Málaga.^[33]

Competitions

EFL Championship

See main article: 2017–18 EFL Championship.

Matches

On 21 June 2017, the EFL Championship league fixtures were announced.^{[34] [35]}

FA Cup

In the FA Cup, Sheffield United entered the competition in the third round and were drawn away to Ipswich Town.^[36]

EFL Cup

On 16 June 2017, Sheffield United were drawn at home to Walsall in the first round.^[37] A home tie was to follow in the second round, with Leicester City the visitors.^[38]

Notes and References

1. News: Sheffield United: Sharp, Coutts, Basham & Freeman sign new contracts after promotion . BBC Sport . 18 July 2017 . 20 July 2017.
2. News: John Fleck: Sheffield United midfielder signs new four-year contract . BBC Sport . 22 September 2017 . 23 September 2017.
3. News: Jack O'Connell: Sheffield United defender signs contract extension . BBC Sport . 15 November 2017 . 16 November 2017.
4. News: George Baldock: Sheffield United sign MK Dons defender for undisclosed fee . BBC Sport . 13 June 2017 . 13 June 2017.
5. News: Ched returns to the Blades . Sheffield United Official Site . 8 May 2017 . 8 May 2017.
6. News: Stevens joins the Blades . Sheffield United Official Site . 22 May 2017 . 22 May 2017.
7. News: Thomas signs . Sheffield United Official Site . 15 May 2017 . 15 May 2017.
8. News: Stearman signs. 6 July 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 6 July 2017.
9. News: Lundstram signs. 26 July 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 25 July 2017.
10. News: Striker signs. 1 September 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 31 August 2017.
11. News: Deadline Day defender signs. 31 August 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 31 August 2017.
12. News: Ryan Leonard: Sheffield United sign Southend United midfielder . BBC Sport . 9 January 2018 . 9 January 2018.
13. News: Lee Evans and James Wilson: Sheffield United sign midfielder and striker . BBC Sport . 10 January 2018 . 10 January 2018.
14. News: Ricky Holmes: Sheffield United sign midfielder from Charlton for undisclosed fee . BBC Sport . 15 January 2018 . 15 January 2018.
15. News: Graham Kelly: Port Vale sign Sheffield United defender on one-year contract. 23 June 2017. BBC. 22 June 2017.
16. News: O'Shea exits . Sheffield United Official Site . 15 May 2017 . 15 May 2017.
17. News: Duo released, trio listed . Sheffield United Official Site . 5 May 2017 . 5 May 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170505222813/http://www.sufc.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/sheffield-united-retained-list-3706565.aspx . 5 May 2017 . dead .
18. News: Done leaves. 3 August 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 3 August 2017.
19. News: Wallace departs. 16 August 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 16 August 2017.
20. News: Brayford departs. 31 August 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 31 August 2017.
21. News: Ben Whiteman: Doncaster Rovers sign Sheffield United midfielder . BBC Sport . 11 January 2018 . 11 January 2018.
22. News: Blades loan giant goalkeeper. 27 July 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 27 July 2017.
23. News: Loan defender signs in. 25 August 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 25 August 2017.
24. News: Whiteman loaned out. 23 June 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 22 June 2017.
25. News: Long loaned. 4 July 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 4 July 2017.
26. News: Hussey loaned. 7 July 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 7 July 2017.
27. News: Reed loaned. 12 July 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 11 July 2017.
28. News: Defender loaned. 17 July 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 17 July 2017.
29. News: Hallam joins Southport. 27 October 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 26 October 2017.
30. News: Bury sign striker James Hanson and defender Peter Clarke on loan deals . BBC Sport . 3 January 2018 . 5 January 2018.
31. News: Potters set for Lane friendly . Sheffield United Official Site . 9 May 2017 . 9 May 2017.
32. News: Friendlies confirmed . Sheffield United Official Site . 12 May 2017 . 12 May 2017.
33. News: Blades to face Málaga. 16 June 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 16 June 2017.
34. News: 2017/18 fixtures released. 28 June 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 21 June 2017.
35. News: Fixture List. 28 June 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. June 2017.
36. News: Away draw for Blades. 7 December 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 5 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171208122404/https://www.sufc.co.uk/news/2017/december/fa-cup-draw/. 8 December 2017. dead.
37. News: Home draw in Carabao Cup. 16 June 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 16 June 2017.
38. News: Leicester at home. 13 August 2017. Sheffield United Official Site. 10 August 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170813184641/https://www.sufc.co.uk/news/2017/august/carabao-cup-draw/. 13 August 2017. dead.