29th December United have confirmed goalkeeper Paddy Kenny has been placed on the transfer list.The 30-year-old is believed to have fallen out with manager Kevin Blackwell after turning up late for training on Christmas Day. Blades boss Kevin Blackwell told BBC Radio Sheffield: "Paddy has always been a key member of the squad but everyone has to adhere to the rules." He has played almost 300 games for United since joining from Bury in 2002.

28th December Sheffield United 3 Charlton Athletic 1 (Attendance: 24,717)

Blades Line-up: Bennett, Naughton, Morgan, Kilgallon, Naysmith, Dyer, Howard (Sharp 63), Montgomery, Quinn, Webber, Beattie.
Subs Not Used: Halford, Cotterill, Stokes, Spring.

Booked: Howard.

Scorers: Quinn 65, Webber 72, Quinn 79.

Man of The Match: Stephen Quinn.

Charlton Line-up: Elliot, Cranie, McEveley, Hudson, Fortune, Sam (Gray 73), Basey, Holland, Bailey, Burton (Waghorn 79), Bouazza.
Subs Not Used: Weaver, Youga, Shelvey.

Booked: Burton, Bailey, Hudson, Cranie, McEveley.

Scorer: Bouazza 33.

Referee: Colin Webster (Tyne & Wear).

United turned in an improved second-half display to secure a 3-1 win over Charlton for their first Championship win in four matches. The Blades made one change from the match at Wolves with Gary Naysmith returning at left back and Matt Kilgallon moved back to a central defensive position. Ian Bennett kept his place in goal and Matthew Spring returned to the bench. The first chance of the match went to the Addicks after five minutes when Deon Burton flashed well wide and Matt Holland fired over, whilst soon after Llyod Sam half-volleyed into the arms of Bennett. Then, Grant Basey's looping header was just wide and Nicky Bailey's long-range drive had Bennett scurrying across his goal. Nathan Dyer crossed for Naysmith, and his first time effort looked goal bound but struck Jonathan Fortune and then, from a James Beattie delivery, Dyer's header was just wide of goalkeeper Robert Elliot's left upright. But in truth Unitedhad been lethargic and were punished after 33 minutes when the visitors took a shock lead. A hopeful punt forward by Fortune found Hameur Bouazza, and he controlled well before shooting low beyond Bennett's right arm before celebrating in front of the provoked Shoreham Kop, and there were boos at the interval whistle as United trudged off after what had been a wretched first half display. The lane faithful continued to be restless at the start of the second half, but United had come out a different team and started to pin the visitors back into their own half. From a corner routine, Kyle Naughton's volley struck Dyer and then Chris Morgan headed wide from Stephen Quinn's free-kick. Naughton tried his luck again from long distance, but his shot was deflected into the grateful arms of keeper Elliot. The first change of the afternoon saw Anthony Stokes replace a disappointing Brian Howard. After 65 minutes United got their equaliser. Kilgallon set Danny Webber free down the left and sent a dangerous cross across the face of goal. Beattie cleverly held the ball up for Quinn, and the Irish midfielder did the rest putting the ball beyond the left hand of Elliot. Charlton momentarily tried to hit back, and Bennett had to alert ahead of Bouazza to deny the striker, after a poor back pass from Morgan, but the Blades quickly seized the initiative again. Quinn sent in a curling free-kick which eventually dropped to Webber, who knocked into the empty net after his first effort was blocked by Mark Hudson and Elliot. United were now in total control and the third arrived after 79 minutes. It came about after Hudson fouled Quinn on the edge of the Charlton 18 yard box. Beattie and Quinn assessed the situation, and Quinn then hit a delightful left footed strike which went into the top right corner of Elliot’s net. Elliot caught a Beattie free-kick in the dying moments, but it was all over as the Blades collected maximum points from this one.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Charlton: Bennett 6, Naughton 6, Morgan 7, Kilgallon 6, Naysmith 6, Dyer 7, Howard 5,Sharp 6, Montgomery 7, Quinn 7, Webber 6, Beattie 6.

26th December Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 Sheffield United 1 (Attendance: 27,106)

Blades Line-up: Bennett, Naughton, Morgan, Ehiogu (Naysmith 46), Kilgallon, Dyer, Montgomery, Howard, Quinn, Webber (Cotterill 86), Beattie.
Subs Not Used: Halford, Stokes, Sharp.

Booked: Dyer 47.

Scorer: Beattie 22.

Man of The Match: Nick Montgomery.

Wolves Line-up: Hennessey, Foley, Stearman, Collins, Ward (Mancienne 53), Kightly, Henry, Edwards, Jarvis (Vokes 80), Ebanks-Blake (Keogh 59), Iwelumo.
Subs Not Used: Ikeme, Jones.

Booked: Edwards 25, Henry 62.

Scorer: Collins 19.

Referee: Tony Bates (Staffordshire).

Sheffield United fought back to gain a valuable draw at Championship pace setters Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 1-1 draw.
Defender Neill Collins gave Wolves a 19th-minute lead at Molineux but it was cancelled out just three minutes later by James Beattie. Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey then had to make two fantastic saves to maintain their unbeaten home record. United still slipped to eighth place despite holding the leaders and made a bright start.
Striker Danny Webber should have put the Blades into a fourth-minute lead when he broke through the centre of the static Wolves defence to find himself one-on-one with Hennessey but the Wolves keeper smothered bravely at Webber's feet.
But the home side’s first threatening move was decisive as Collins netted for the second time in two games. The towering centre-back was on hand to head home as he rose above the United defence to power home Michael Kightly's cross from close range.
But just when it seemed Mick McCarthy's men were becoming invincible, the Blades replied almost immediately to quieten the home supporters. It took a magnificent reaction save from Hennessey to deny Beattie's first turn and shot but, with the ball bobbling out of the danger area, Kyle Naughton delivered a fizzing ball across the six-yard box.
Hennessey could only palm into the path of the grateful Beattie, and the Blades striker used all his predatory instinct to tap home the equaliser from close range. United finished the first half in the same way they had started, and Wolves were again indebted to Hennessey for keeping the scores level as he was at full stretch to tip Ugo Ehiogu's ferocious volley round a post.
The centre-back was forced off at half-time with an injury and replaced by Gary Naysmith, but it did not stop the Blades momentum. Kevin Blackwell's men continued to press but the home side always looked a danger on the counter-attack and Chris Iwelumo almost capitalised only to see his close-range effort blocked by Blades keeper Ian Bennett.
Shots on goal became few and far between as both sides took a more cautious approach in the second period and United were restricted to shots from long range with midfielder Brian Howard failing to find the target from 20 yards. But the Blades were still on top and once again Hennessey came to the home side's rescue when he got down low to palm Nick Montgomery's long-range drive wide in the 72nd minute.
Blackwell ordered his team to pile forward in the closing stages and the league leaders were made to fight but a combination of stoic defending and sheer determination earned Wolves a point.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Wolves: Bennett 7, Naughton 8, Morgan 7, Ehiogu 6, Naysmith 6, Kilgallon 7, Dyer 8, Montgomery 8, Howard 7, Quinn 8, Webber 8, Cotterill 6, Beattie 7.

20th December Sheffield United 2 Crystal Palace 2 (Attendance: 23,045)

Blades Line-up: Kenny, Morgan, Kilgallon, Ehiogu, Naughton, Montgomery, Howard (Halford 90), Quinn, Dyer (Stokes 72), Beattie, Webber (Cotterill 77).
Subs Not Used: Bennett, Sharp.

Booked: Montgomery 7, Morgan 68, Kilgallon 90.

Scorers: Dyer 41, Beattie 88 (pen).

Man of The Match: Stephen Quinn.

Crystal Palace Line-up: Speroni, Clyne, Fonte, McCarthy, Hill, Oster (Butterfield 79), Derry, Carle, Ifill (Moses 56), Kuqi (Lee 46), Scannell.
Subs Not Used: Lawrence, Griffit.

Booked: Derry 14, Kuqi 31, Hill 45.

Scorers: McCarthy 47, Carle 90.

Referee: Paul Taylor (Hertfordshire).

The Blades were denied three points at home again, this time after a last minute goal gave Neil Warnock’s Crystal Palace a share of the points in a 2-2 draw.
United made a total of four changes for the visit of Palace. Ugo Ehiogu, Nick Montgomery, Nathan Dyer and Danny Webber came in at the expense of Gary Naysmith, Matthew Spring, Greg Halford and the suspended Darious Henderson. The Blades lined up in a 4-3-3 formation with Dyer on the right wing and Webber on the left. The Eagles were boosted by the news that Paddy McCarthy had made the game even though he was set to miss out due to a dislocated shoulder, whilst the only other change saw Sean Scannell come in for Leandre Griffit.

Kevin Blackwell's men went into this one without a win in their last three matches at the Lane, but had an early chance to break the deadlock. On four minutes Webber did well to get a cross in which fell to Stephen Quinn but he could only get the slightest of touches towards goal and Nathanial Clyne cleared the danger. Just before the half hour mark Palace had their best of their early opportunities as John Oster was set clear in space by Nick Carle, but the midfielder shot wide of goalkeeper Paddy Kenny's post with a shot from the right hand side of the box.

Palace striker Shefki Kuqi went into the referee’s book after a foul on Dyer and from the resulting free kick James Beattie shot from distance was held at the second attempt by goalkeeper Julian Speroni. The opening goal of the afternoon came as Quinn's header forward was put into the path of Dyer on the right, and he made no mistake as he shot low past Speroni into the corner of the net four minutes before the interval.

Palace nearly responded straight away as a shot was powerfully struck by Carle but Blades keeper Kenny turned the effort over the crossbar. Two minutes of added time did not see any further chances to each side, and that late strike separated the two sides at the break. Palace made One change after the break as Alan Lee replaced Shefki Kuqi in the front line. After 47 minutes the scores were level as an Oster corner found its way to McCarthy and he made no mistake as he beat Kenny from close range. Moments later, Mat Kilgallon's left wing cross saw Webber head just inches wide at the near post, and then Ehiogu was given space to attempt a long range effort but he was off target. At the other end, a Oster free kick came back off the wall and fell to Shaun Derry, and his strike hit the crossbar but the rebound was woefully put over by McCarthy from close range. Then Montgomery played the ball into the 18 yard box and, with the Palace backline appealing for offside, it was Ehiogu who turned and shot wide, and then Kenny kept the Blades on level terms with a save from Moses as he got on the end of a cross from Lee. With just a couple of minutes remaining the referee decided that McCarthy had unfairly challenged Beattie for the ball in the air and pointed to the spot. The Blades striker stepped up in front of the Shoreham Kop to blast the ball into the roof of the net giving Speroni no chance whatsoever. The ferocity of Beattie’s strike was amazing to watch. Not since the days of Alan Woodward and Freddy Tunstall have United has such a reliable and prolific penalty taker, if only he could get better service and score more from open play!

Blackwell sent on Halford to offer more defensive cover and four minutes of added time was announced. With time running out for the visitors, Lee worked his way through a couple of Blades defenders but could not get a shot in on goal. Then Beattie went close to adding a third for United but his lob was saved by Speroni. But with seconds remaining disaster struck when a long desperate ball was punted up field by Palace, and although Morgan got his head to the ball, it fell for Carle and he volleyed into the corner of the net to send the Palace players, management and fans into celebration. The Lane faithful imediatally left in droves contemplating that perhaps were not the automatic promotion we initially thought we were. Perhaps scraping into the play-offs now has to be considered as a more realistic target.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Palace: Kenny 7, Morgan 6, Kilgallon 7, Ehiogu 6, Naughton 6, Montgomery 7, Howard 6, Halford -, Quinn 7, Cotterill 6, Dyer 7, Stokes 6, Beattie 6, Webber 6.

13th December Swansea City 1 Sheffield United 1 (Attendance: 14,744)

Blades Line-up: Kenny, Halford (Webber 70), Naysmith (Stokes 80), Morgan, Kilgallon, Henderson, Spring, Quinn, Naughton, Beattie, Howard, Stokes (Ehiogu 89).

Subs Not Used: Cotterill, Sharp.

Sent Off: Henderson 46 - violent conduct.

Booked: Howard 31.

Scorer: Morgan 87.

Man of The Match: Paddy Kenny.

Swansea Line-up: De Vries, Williams, Monk, Rangel, O'Halloran (Tate 36), Britton, Pratley, Gomez, Allen (Brandy 90), Butler, Scotland (Pintado 75).

Subs Not Used: Konstantopoulos, Gower.

Scorer: Scotland 56 (pen).

Referee: Andre Marriner (W Midlands).

Ten-man Sheffield United earned a late point at Championship promotion rivals Swansea courtesy of defender Chris Morgan. The Swans looked to be heading to a fifth home win after taking advantage of Darius Henderson's early second-half dismissal, with Jason Scotland's penalty separating the sides. But Morgan struck at the death to earn a scarcely-deserved point and leave Swansea ruing several earlier missed opportunities. Kevin Blackwell made one change to his side. Nick Montgomery made way for Matthew Spring, who ended a stretch of three winless games with a midweek victory at Nottingham Forest. Swansea midfielder Leon Britton was deemed fit enough to start despite coming off towards the end of the midweek draw with Barnsley. Gorka Pintado took up his place on the bench despite requiring surgery on a hernia problem. Swansea have scored 21 times at the Liberty Stadium this season and they set about adding to that tally in the eighth minute. Blades goalkeeper Paddy Kenny was called into action by Joe Allen's right-foot drive which was neatly tipped over. Jordi Gomez was next to try his luck in the tight opening stages but his long-range effort flew wide of the mark. United had to wait until midway through the half for their first meaningful effort, when James Beattie flashing a shot from the edge of the area over the crossbar after bursting clear of the Swans defence. Thomas Butler then went close at the other end with a curling effort from just outside the area but watched it sail narrowly over as a tense first half began to open up. Jason Scotland tested Kenny five minutes before the break but the United stopper was able to parry to safety. United were reduced to 10 men just moments after the restart. Henderson was dismissed following a competitive challenge on Angel Rangel. And the Blades were almost made to pay immediately when Butler's drilled effort was parried by Kenny and followed up by Scotland, but Kenny again miraculously blocked. But, Swansea took the lead in the 56th minute. The referee was again at the centre of proceedings, awarding a penalty for Gary Naysmith's hearty challenge on Darren Pratley on the edge of the 18 yards box. Scotland duly stepped up to convert his eighth league goal of the campaign and leave United facing a daunting final half hour. Butler almost doubled the advantage two minutes later but was again thwarted by Kenny, and Gomez will have been disappointed to blaze over shortly afterwards. The closing stages appeared to be turning into a damage-limitation exercise for United who struggled to create any significant chances themselves. But with three minutes left, Morgan latched onto Matt Kilgallon's header to poke home from close range.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Swansea: Kenny 8, Halford 6, Naysmith 5, Morgan 7, Ehiogu 6, Kilgallon 7, Henderson 6, Spring 6, Quinn 6, Naughton 6, Beattie 6, Howard 6, Stokes 6, Webber 6.

9th December Kevin Blackwell was bullish about United's chances of catching Wolves and Birmingham after Tuesday's 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest. The hard-fought victory takes the Blades back into the Championship play-off positions and Blackwell believes that his side can reach the automatic promotion places, currently occupied by Wolves and Blues. He said: "It can be done. Ourselves, Reading, Burnley and Cardiff all have to believe that we can catch Birmingham and Wolves. "I remember three years ago when I was at Leeds, Reading and Sheffield United had run away with it, but if we had beaten Crystal Palace with four games remaining, we could have caught them. "You have to believe that we can claw it back." Indecision in the Forest defence allowed Brian Howard to volley home his first goal for the Blades from close range after 31 minutes, following Kevin Kilgallon's cross that had caused chaos in the home penalty area. The game could have been different had Nathan Tyson and Robert Earnshaw not missed gilt-edged chances to find the equaliser in the first half, but Blackwell was pleased with his side's reaction to their defeat to Burnley on Saturday. "It's important that we keep bouncing back and we did that at Charlton (last month), we have done it again here and it's important that we keep doing that. "Billy Sharp had a goal ruled out on Saturday against Burnley and that changed the nature of the game. Here we have taken the lead early on and kept our shape. "We wanted to get back into the top six and it's important to get back there before Christmas. Blackwell was also quick to praise goalscorer Howard. "He gets in the box and is always a threat," he said. "I was really pleased that he got a goal as it was an important strike for us.

9th December Nottingham Forest 0 Sheffield United 1 (Attendance: 19,541)

Blades Line-up: Kenny, Naughton, Morgan, Kilgallon, Naysmith, Halford, Montgomery, Howard (Webber 77), Quinn, Beattie (Ehiogu 90), Henderson.
Subs Not Used: Cotterill, Stokes, Sun.

Booked: Naysmith 75.

Scorer: Howard 31.

Man of The Match: Nick Montgomery.

Forest Line-up: Camp, Moloney (Thornhill 64), Morgan, Wilson, Lynch, Anderson, Perch, Cohen, Garner, Earnshaw (Davies 64), Tyson.
Subs Not Used: Smith, Chambers, McCleary.

Booked: Perch 77.

Referee: Graham Salisbury (Lancashire).

Brian Howard scored his first goal for United as Kevin Blackwell’s men ground out a useful 1-0 victory at Nottingham Forest. Blackwell made two changes from the weekend defeat, with Nick Montgomery and Darius Henderson retuning at the expense of Matthew Spring and Billy Sharp. Nottingham Forest welcomed back Nathan Tyson after suspension, and he replaced Lewis McGugan. The Blades took control from the start and had their first chance after just four minutes, when Stephen Quinn crossed and James Beattie headed down at the back post. Forest goalkeeper Lee Camp pulled off an excellent save to parry the ball away, and Greg Halford got the ball on the rebound but put it into the side netting. It was eleven minutes before Forest created a chance, and it came from a free kick. Chris Cohen's ball from the left to found Joe Garner whose header was just wide of the post. Shortly afterwards, the home side had another chance when Cohen fed the ball through to Robert Earnshaw who made a run through on goal to go one-on-one with the Blades goalkeeper Paddy Kenny, and forced a good save from the Lane shot-stopper. Paul Anderson picked up the rebound but shot over from 12 yards out. There were just fewer than 3000 Unitedites inside the City Ground and they continued to get behind the Blades throughout. But, with neither side able to stamp their authority on the game it became a scrappy affair with free-kicks and throw-ins at every turn. After 19 minutes, Gary Naysmith’s sent a deep cross and Halford beat midfielder James Perch, but his looping a header went just wide. United took the lead on the half hour after the Forest defence were unable to clear the ball after a set-piece, and after good work from Chris Morgan, the ball was crossed by Matt Kilgallon to the back post from where James Beattie headed it back. Defender Kelvin Wilson could only clear the ball as far as Howard who volleyed in his first goal for United. Forest had a chance to equalise three minutes before half time when striker Tyson made a well-timed run onto Garner's through ball in an attempt to beat the offside trap, but Tyson sliced his shot and it went wide of Kenny's left hand post. It was a midfield tussle again from the start of the second half with both sides unable to keep possession, and at times United reverted to playing the ball long to the front two. It was not pretty viewing, but who cares in away matches when the win is the sole important factor for the fans. We only want to see or team win away from home, if that means we dig in and play ugly; then so be it.

Forest created a speculative chance when Paul Anderson's cross found Earnshaw and the Welshman’s header from the centre of the penalty area was easy fair for Kenny, diving to his right to collect the ball. With the natives getting restless manager Colin Calderwood made a double substitution for Forest which saw Earnshaw and Brendan Moloney replaced by Arron Davies and Matt Thornhill. The substitutions seem to bring the home fans back to life, and Forest created a neat move which saw Anderson to get a shot on goal from 18 yards out, and then Perch's cross found Garner and his diving header went over the bar.

United suffered an embarrassing moment when Kilgallon beat Tyson to the ball, and from a long way out sent a dangerous back pass which Kenny was forced to tip over for a corner, before colliding with the post.

But, Forest were unable to mount any sort of sustained pressure and, with United defending in numbers, and as the final ten minutes approaching Blackwell made a change, with Danny Webber replacing Howard. In the final minutes, the home side resorted to long ball tactics, and came closest two minutes from time when Joel Lynch tried a backwards header which Kenny had to put over the crossbar. Blades defender Ugo Ehiogu replaced Beattie, and United saw out injury time with only one momentary concern when Anderson cut in from the right and blasted woefully the over the bar. Admittedly, it had not been not great viewing, but we should understand that away from home the performance is not the primary factor, its the victory and the three points that matter.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Forest: Kenny 7, Naughton 6, Naysmith 6, Morgan 6, Kilgallon 6, Ehiogu -, Halford 6, Montgomery 7, Howard 7, Quinn 6, Beattie 6, Henderson 7, Webber 6.

8th December Kevin Blackwell has confirmed he is currently monitoring half a dozen players ahead of the January transfer window." Blackwell, keen to strengthen his promotion-chasing squad if the right player becomes available, has been linked with Oldham's Chris Taylor and revealed there are others he is keeping tabs on.Blackwell said: "To be fair there are probably six we're looking at more than most."But I'm not going to confirm or deny anything because that way it keeps everyone on their toes."Taylor, 21, has generated plenty of interest since bursting on to the first-team scene at Boundary Park and is contracted with the Latics until 2010.Leeds were keen on signing the winger last season and Blackpool reportedly had a bid rejected, while the Blades are one of several Championship clubs linked with Taylor in recent weeks.

6th December Sheffield United 2 Burnley 3 (Attendance: 24,702)

Blades Line-up: Kenny, Naughton, Morgan, Kilgallon, Naysmith, Halford (Cotterill 46), Spring (Stokes 62), Howard, Quinn, Beattie, Sharp (Henderson 62).
Subs Not Used: Ehiogu, Webber.

Booked: Naysmith 18, Naughton 90.

Scorers: Beattie 36 (pen), Quinn 87.

Man of The Match: Stephen Quinn.

Burnley Line-up: Jensen, Elliott, Caldwell, Alexander, Thompson, Jordan, Gudjonsson, McDonald, Eagles, Blake (MacDonald 68), Paterson (Akinbiyi 85).
Subs Not Used: Penny, Mahon, Van der Schaaf.

Booked: Elliott 17, Jordan 77.

Scorers: Paterson 19, Alexander 42 (pen), Eagles 79.

Referee: Anthony Taylor (Greater Manchester).

Sheffield United lost at home again this time against a high flying Burnley side. It was the Clarets first win at Bramall Lane for 35 years!
United went into the game with an unchanged team following the draw at Ipswich Town. Burnley was forced into three changes from their League Cup win in midweek. Wade Elliott and Joey Gudjonsson were recalled to the side, whilst manager Owen Coyle was forced into a reshuffle when Michael Duff was injured in the warm-up, and Steve Thompson was promoted to the starting line-up.The visitors got a lucky break in the third minute when James Beattie found the net, only to be wrongly be flagged offside as he headed home from Billy Sharp's flick. Chris Eagles was narrowly off target for the Clarets with an eighth minute attack, and seven minutes later, Greg Halford's throw-in found Stephen Quinn and the Blades midfielder produced a half-volley which was saved by goalkeeper Brain Jensen.Then, in the 19th minute, the Clarets grabbed a shock lead. Robbie Blake's corner was flicked on by Thompson and Martin Paterson scrambled the ball home at the near post from only a few yards out. Fifteen minutes elapsed without much incident at each end before United found an equaliser. From a Matthew Spring through ball down the right channel, Sharp fell after a clumsily under a challenge from goalkeeper Jensen just inside the 18 yard box. Blades striker Beattie thumped the ball into the net from the penalty spot, to bring the scores level. But three minutes before the break the Clarets were back in front.  Gary Naysmith was adjudged to have brought down Eagles as the Blades left-back made a tackle just inside the 18 yard box and the referee gave another penalty. Graham Alexander converted from 12 yards for Burnley, despite goalkeeper Paddy Kenny going the right way. At the half-time whistle the officials walked off with boos ringing around Bramall Lane as they entered the tunnel. Eagles tested Kenny three times within a five minutes period at the start of the second half, as Burnley went straight back on the offensive. And striker Paterson was just off target with a 25-yard effort in the 56th minute as he latched onto Thompson's flick on. Blades manager Kevin Blackwell made a double substitution just after the hour to try to reinvigorate his side with David Cotterill replacing Halford, Darius Henderson for Sharp, and Anthony Stokes on for Spring. And Clarets boss Coyle responded by replacing Robbie Blake with Alex MacDonald. With just 20 minutes remaining United tried to increase the pressure, and Stokes towering back post header was incredibly headed off the line by Gudjonsson. Worst luck was to follow when Burnley added a third after 78 minutes. Eagles picked up the ball on the right, cut inside past several Blades players and unleashed an unstoppable shot that gave Kenny no chance. Stephen Quinn pulled a goal back for United in the 87th minute with a delicate free kick over the Burnley wall from 20 yards, although large numbers of the Lane faithful would not have seen it. Most were already making their way home after watching this wretched performance. All credit to Burnley they held firm despite four minutes of stoppage time to seal a shock win and condemn United to their third home defeat on the trot.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Burnley: Kenny 6, Naughton 6, Morgan 6, Kilgallon 5, Naysmith 5, Halford 5, Cotterill 6, Spring 6, Stokes 6, Howard 5, Quinn 6, Beattie 6, Sharp 5, Henderson 6.