31st January Preston North End 0 Sheffield United 0 (Attendance: 14,889)

Blades Line-up: Kenny, Halford, Morgan (Bromby 29), Kilgallon, Naysmith, Howard, Montgomery, Naughton, Quinn, Henderson, Webber.

Subs Not Used: Ward, Hendrie, Sun, Sharp.

Booked: Henderson 61.

Man of The Match: Matt Kilgallon.

Preston Line-up: Lonergan, Jones, Mawene, St. Ledger, Nolan, Sedgwick, McKenna, Chaplow (Carter 68), Nicholson, Elliott (Brown 81), Parkin.

Subs Not Used: Chris Neal, Hawley, Whaley.

Booked: Parkin 56.

Referee: Scott Mathieson (Cheshire).

Sheffield United and Preston played out an uninspiring 0-0 draw in a Championship clash at Deepdale. The Blades extended their unbeaten away record to ten games, but should have won this one against a poor quality Preston side.
Kevin Blackwell made just only change to his side recalling Brian Howard at the expense of Billy Sharp. Jaime Ward and Leigh Bromby were among the substitutes. Preston manager Alan Irvine was without winger Ross Wallace and Callum Davidson after both players failed late fitness tests, allowing Chris Sedgwick and Eddie Nolan to take their places.
The game began in a cagey fashion with both sides happy to retain possession and build from the back. United were playing a cautious 4-5-1 with Danny Webber and Greg Halford supporting Darious Henderson from the flanks. It was not until the 13th minute that the spectators witnessed the first shot on goal as Lilywhites midfielder Richard Chaplow made some space for himself before testing goalkeeper Paddy Kenny from 20 yards.
However, it was United who enjoyed the majority of possession although they lacking the creative spark to make any openings of note. But they did have a good chance when Halford got away from Chaplow, and his shot was blocked by defender Sean St Ledger, and Stephen Quinn's half-volley, on 28 minutes, was on target but comfortable for Preston goalkeeper Andy Lonergan.
After 30 minutes, Chris Morgan was replaced with a hamstring injury. The replacement was Bromby, and the captain's armband was given to Nick Montgomery.
Preston centre-half Jones fired into the side-netting, and Henderson met Gary Naysmith's cross as half-chances came and went. Lillywhites captain Paul McKenna and John ‘the beast’ Parkin played in Barry Nicholson but his shot was saved by Kenny.
Preston were poor and their sporadic attacks were snuffed out by the defensive-minded Blades as Sedgwick's drive was bravely blocked by defender Bromby.
The best chance of the first half fell to midfielder Howard who unleashed a ferocious drive from the edge of the area which had goalkeeper Andy Lonergan at full stretch in the 43rd minute.
The second period began with a flurry as a re-juvenated United pressed for the opener, and just a minute into the half, Howard's rasping effort on the turn was cleared the crossbar by inches
The Blades began to gain confidence and started to press forward, and a hurried clearance from Youl Mawene was sliced over his own cross bar, and keeper Lonergan had to take evasive action to palm Bromby's header over from the resulting corner.
Despite being overwhelmed in the possession stakes, the Lillywhites still threatened on the counter attack, and should have taken the lead in the 67th minute when Stephen Elliott's in-swinging cross found strike partner Parkin, but his improvised back heel rolled inches wide.
The Blades always looked the most likely side to snatch the lead and came close when Danny Webber's dribbled the ball, and forced in a shot which Lonergan acrobatic saved.
The Blades did finally find the back of the net in the 76th minute, but were frustrated by the linesman's flag as Webber was penalised for being offside after Quinn's effort from the edge of the box had Lonergan beaten.
But just as both sides seemed resigned to sharing the spoils, substitute striker Chris Brown should have sealed maximum points for the Lillywhites but he clipped a gilt-edged chance over from six yards out with the goal gaping.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Preston: Kenny 6, Halford 6, Morgan 6, Bromby 7, Kilgallon 8, Naysmith 6, Howard 7, Montgomery 7, Naughton 6, Quinn 7, Henderson 6, Webber 6.

30th January Italian forward Arturo Lupoli has joined United on loan after ending his stay at Championship rivals Norwich. The move comes after the striker's season-long loan at Norwich from Serie A side Fiorentina was terminated early on the agreement of all parties. Lupoli made nine starts and 11 substitute appearances for the Canaries, scoring five goals. United will take the 21-year-old until the end of the season. His move comes after he became frustrated with his lack of opportunities at Norwich, where he had been signed by previous boss Glenn Roeder.

30th January United have released midfielder Keith Gillespie from his contract at Bramall Lane. The Northern Ireland international has struggled for first team football this season and made it clear he wanted to leave the club. Gillespie made over 100 appearances for the Blades in his three-and-a-half years at the club. The 33-year-old is now a free agent and can join any club between now and the end of the campaign

27th January Sheffield United 0 Doncaster Rovers 1 (Attendance: 26,555)

Blades Line-up: Kenny, Naughton, Morgan, Kilgallon, Naysmith, Halford (Hendrie 84), Montgomery, Quinn (Howard 77), Webber, Henderson, Sharp (Ward 59).

Subs Not Used: Sun, Bromby.

Booked: Quinn 27, Henderson 86.

Man of The Match: Matt Kilgallon.

Doncaster Line-up: Sullivan, O'Connor, Van Nieuwstadt, Mills, Lockwood, Chambers, Spicer (Roberts 90), Wellens, Stock (Wilson 89), Woods, Price (Byfield 76).

Subs Not Used: Taylor, Heffernan.

Booked: Woods 73.

Scorer: O'Connor 50.

Referee: Tony Bates (Staffordshire).

Doncaster Rovers recorded their first ever league success at Bramall Lane to end United's nine match unbeaten run. Blades manager Kevin Blackwell made just two changes to the side that progressed in the FA Cup at the weekend. Goalkeeper Paddy Kenny and midfelder Stephen Quinn, back after suspension, returned at the expense of Ian Bennett and Sun Jihai, who dropped to the bench, where he was joined by new signing Jamie Ward. Doncaster included captain Brian Stock, who was an injury doubt, and recalled full-back James Chambers, whilst Garath Taylor was amongst the substitutes. Billy Sharp had the first decent chance for the Blades, sending his shot just wide in the 12th minute. Left-back Gary Naysmith created United's next effort, breaking well before finding Greg Halford six yards from goal. Halford connected with the cross but remarkably failed to force a save as his header flew harmlessly over the crossbar in the 20th minute. Two minutes later, Halford tried his luck again but he was no more successful from 20 yards than he had been from six. Danny Webber tested Sullivan's hands after 25 minutes and the Scottish keeper reacted nervily, fumbling his save. But somehow Rovers held on, with Martin Woods offering a solitary effort on the United goal with a hopeful strike on the half-hour mark. With five minutes to go before the whistle, Sullivan again saved sloppily from a 20-yard hit from Webber but the keeper did better when reacting smartly to punch a curling Quinn corner away from the danger area as the half came to a close. Doncaster seemed to be spurred on by their good fortune in surviving the first period unscathed and were one goal up within five minutes of the restart.

First Jason Price and then O'Connor pressed forward for Sean O'Driscoll's revitalised side before John Spicer found space on the left side of the penalty area. Spicer's cross found O'Connor at the far post and the defender converted left-footed from close range to give Rovers the lead. Kyle Naughton returned fire for United soon after but his shot from the edge of the box did not force Sullivan into action. Blackwell sent on Ward for his debut just before an hour's play, removing Sharp, but the game soon descended into a series of scrappy fouls. A below par Quinn had several chances to create an equaliser from the corner flag but an organised Rovers defence were holding up well. On the one occasion centre-half Chris Morgan did evade his marker to get on the end of Quinn's inswinging delivery, he headed wide from 12 yards. Doncaster had created little after the opener and Richie Wellens was hopeful to think his effort, from at least 35 yards, would test Kenny. Nick Montgomery teed up Darius Henderson, who wasted a good chance when heading over with 20 minutes left, then Ward earned a corner when his strongly-hit shot from inside the area was palmed over by Sullivan. But United could not find the final ball and there were few further chances of note as Doncaster held on to the points, and on the final whistle United were booed off after this wretched display.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Doncaster: Kenny 6, Naughton 7, Morgan 6, Kilgallon 7, Naysmith 6, Halford 5, Hendrie 6, Montgomery 6, Quinn 5, Howard 6, Webber 6, Henderson 6, Sharp 5, Ward 6.

24th January United boss Kevin Blackwell criticised his side's "one dimensional" display after they slumped to a 1-0 loss to struggling Doncaster. James O'Connor's strike at the start of the second half proved to be decisive and Blackwell was disappointed that his side could not find an equaliser. "I couldn't see them scoring in any other way and we have thrown a good opportunity away, but it was our own fault. "Two or three lads were off the pace but they are all so desperate to do well here that they tried to force things and we weren't bright enough. "Although Doncaster sat back we dominated in every area apart from making things happen in the final third. "But that's football - if it was predictable then nobody would come. I hate losing and am bitterly disappointed but congratulations to Doncaster, they had a gameplan and it worked for them."

24th January Sheffield United 2 Charlton Athletic 1 (Attendance: 15,957)

Blades Line-up: Bennett, Sun (Howard 83), Morgan, Kilgallon, Naysmith, Halford, Naughton, Montgomery, Webber (Hendrie 56), Sharp, Henderson.
Subs Not Used: Haber, Cotterill, Carney, Walker.

Scorers: Webber 26, Hendrie 62.

Man of The Match: Darius Henderson.

Charlton Line-up: Elliot, Moutaouakil, Fortune, Hudson, Youga, Shelvey (Dickson 58), Bailey, Ambrose, Holland (Racon 78), Sam, Burton (Gray 59).
Subs Not Used: Randolph, Wagstaff, Basey, Clark.

Booked: Dickson 75.

Scorer: Dickson 69.

Referee: Tony Bates (Staffordshire).

A Lee Hendrie second half strike against Charlton Athletic booked United's place in the fifth round courtesy of a 2-1 win at Bramall Lane.

Kevin Blackwell made two changes to his side with goalkeeper Ian Bennett and Sun Jihai returning at the expense of Paddy Kenny and the suspended Stephen Quinn, Greg Halford was on the right of midfield, and Billy Sharp was joined up front by Darius Henderson. Charlton made six changes for the clash. Yassin Moutaouakil and Matt Holland came in to the side and there was a return at left-back for Kelly Youga. Deon Burton was the lone man up front for the Addicks, with attacking midfielder Jonjo Shelvey playing just behind Burton. United were kicking towards the Shoreham Kop in the first half and open chance of the game went to Charlton after six minutes. Shelvey had advanced in from the right to pick out Lloyd Sam on the left and when his cross was half cleared and Burton's placed header was tipped over by the back-tracking goalkeeper Bennett. Moments later at the other end, Sharp wriggled in to space on the left and Mark Hudson got a flick header on his cross, with Henderson heading over from under the crossbar. After 12 minutes, Bennett was called into action again taking the ball from the feet of Darren Ambrose after Burton had sent the midfielder storming in to the box and Ambrose forced his way past Mat Kilgallon only for Bennett to dash out and block. The Blades keeper was by far the busier in the early stages, and Ambrose found space in the 19th minute but saw his 20 yard drive saved. Four minutes later, Sharp got past defender Youga on the right, and put in an cross which confused goalkeeper Elliot and Webber could not direct the difficult header with the goal at his mercy.

But Webber made amends after 26 minutes had elapsed. Nick Montgomery made a cross field pass which was cleared by Moutakouakil to Gary Naysmith, there seemed little on when Webber received the ball way out on the left flank. Elliot had strayed off his line, however, and that proved critical as the winger's cross shot sailed over the back-tracking keeper and dropped in to the back of the net. Elliot was called into action again shortly after and had to dive at the feet of Sharp after the striker rushed on to a clever nod down. Sam cut inside and saw his low shot from the edge of the area blocked at his near post by Bennett on 28 minutes, and just past the half hour mark Sharp had the ball in the back of the net only to be denied by an offside flag. Referee Bates had played an advantage after a foul on the right but when the ball broke loose, Sharp was eventually fed in an offside position. Hudson got up well to head a Shelvey free-kick wide of the left post while Sharp's cross spun off Hudson and Webber turned sharply to shoot wide as the sides traded chances nine minutes before the break. Charlton had half-hearted appeals for a penalty turned down on seconds before the half-time whistle, with Sun using all his experience to nudge aside Shelvey as he strove to connect with a Moutaouakil centre. The over worked Elliott was almost caught out four minutes into the second half, when his poor touch and clearance, under pressure from Halford, landed at the feet of Henderson. The big Lane marksman attempted to fire the ball straight back in, but keeper went sprawling to his right to fall on the ball. At the other end, Burton latched on to a through pass from Holland but the striker's curving shot from the edge of area flew high and off target.

Blades manager Blackwell replaced goalscorer Webber with Lee Hendrie in the 57th minute, and Addicks manager Phil Parkinson swiftly made his first changes, as Chris Dickson and Andy Gray replaced Shelvey and woefully ineffective Burton. It was the opening change that proved dividends for the Blades , as the Blades doubled their lead on 61 minutes. Hudson felled Sharp on the edge of the area and Hendrie, with virtually his first touch, curled in the subsequent free-kick into the goal to make it 2-0. Hudson required treatment after a late challenge from Sharp, but the Addicks were back in it through a substitute of their own. Blades defender Kilgallon misjudged a straightforward long ball from Jonathan Fortune, and Dickinson chasing a ball down the right channel he beat Naysmith and lobbed the ball over Bennett amid some confusion in the Blades penalty box. Charlton threw on their last substitute when Therry Racon replaced Holland. Sun hooked the ball to safety after Bennett flapped at a Moutaouakil cross and Dickson went close to adding a second on 81 minutes when he tested his luck with an overhead kick from an Ambrose cross. It was getting a bit nervy for the Lane faithful as the visitors pressed forward. French midfielder Racon had proved a nuisance since his arrival, and now Hudson was adding to the Charlton forward line it, appear that the visitors were throwing everything at United in the closing moments. The Blades then survived a penalty scare in the dying embers as Sam toppled in the box amid a manic scramble in the six yard box, with the ball bouncing all over the place amidst the bedlam inside the ground. Charlton desperately claimed the ball hit an arm, but the referee was having none of it and shook his head, and the Blades saw out the closing seconds to take their place in into the 5th Round.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Charlton: Bennett 6, Sun 6, Howard -, Morgan 6, Kilgallon 6, Naysmith 6, Halford 7, Naughton 6, Montgomery 6, Webber 7, Hendrie 7, Sharp 7, Henderson 7.

19th January United have completed the signing of Chesterfield striker Jamie Ward for a £333,000 fee. The 22-year-old has caught the eye this season at Saltergate and his 16 league and cup goals has now secured a switch to the Lane. Earlier in the month it had looked as though Ward would make a move to Barnsley but the player failed to agree personal terms after discussions with the Tykes. Ward has spoken of his delight at making the step-up and is determined to quickly adjust to life in English football's second tier. "I'm delighted with the move, it is another step for me. Hopefully I can prove myself and I'm confident that I can". "Reading the papers, I knew there was interest from Sheffield United and I was waiting for the right club to come along."

17th January Kevin Blackwell hailed his old Watford double act after watching Sheffield United beat the Hornets 2-0 to solidify their play-off position. Webber and Henderson, who scored more than 50 goals in approaching 200 combined appearances for the Vicarage Road club, were on target in the second half and both impressed. The Blades are in fourth spot in the Championship and manager Blackwell believes it presents a great opening to the likes of Henderson and Webber.Blackwell said: "What a great opportunity. We're fourth, we're in the FA Cup, Sheffield United play in front of 26, 27, 28,000 every week. "Anybody would want to grab the opportunity, I would have thought and I know they're good players. "Darius I took from Watford. "I knew he was a Watford favourite, and always kept my eyes focused on him. "Darius is a great striker in this division in his own right and I'm very pleased that we've got him, and we all know what Webbs can do and I'm sure Watford fans know what he can do."

17th January Watford 0 Sheffield United 2 (Attendance: 14,555)

Blades Line-up: Kenny, Halford (Bromby 88), Morgan, Kilgallon, Naysmith, Montgomery, Howard, Quinn, Naughton, Henderson, Webber (Stokes 86).
Subs Not Used: Hendrie, Sun, Sharp.

Booked: Quinn 90.

Scorers: Webber 52, Henderson 67.

Man of The Match: Matthew Kilgallon.

Watford Line-up: Loach, Hoyte, DeMerit, Mariappa, Harley, Cork, Williamson (Hoskins 69), Jenkins, Rasiak, McAnuff, Smith.
Subs Not Used: Lee, Bridcutt, Priskin, Doyley.

Booked: Harley 82.

Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire).

Two second half goals from Danny Webber and Darius Henderson helped United complete a league double over Watford in a 2-0 win at Vicarage Road.
Kevin Blackwell made five changes to his side which beat Leyton Orient in the FA Cup in midweek. Goalkeeper Paddy Kenny returned. Greg Halford and Brian Howard were back, and striker Darius Henderson led the line against his former club. Billy Sharp and Leigh Bromby were amongst the substitutes. Watford boss Brendan Rodgers made one change, bringing in Grzegorz Rasiak for fellow striker Tamas Priskin. The Blades had the better of the early chances as Danny Webber and Howard combined well on the edge of the 18 yard box, Webber eventually hitting a stinging shot that hit Jay DeMerit. There was an early scare for the Hornets as goalkeeper Scott Loach failed to hold on to a routine corner kick, luckily he escaped without punishment as Watford eventually cleared their lines. After 20 minutes, from a  Lee  Williamson corner, Watford striker Rasiak got his head on the ball and directed it towards goal but Howard was there to clear the danger on the line. Jack Cork's effort was blocked by Matt Kilgallon after a defensive mix-up almost handed the home side the lead. United were still causing problems of their own as Webber and Henderson occupied Watford's back four.  Halford put a ball across the box the Hornets managed to clear their lines. Just before the half four mark, the home side had a superb opportunity to open the scoring. Rasiak wriggled free in the 18 yard box and pulled the ball back from the by-line. It looked as if Jobi McAnuff was going to take advantage and pull the trigger. However the winger couldn't quite get there and instead Cork poked a shot at goal, but United defender Kilgallon was in the right place at the right time and he cleared to deny the home side. Webber and Halford switched wings as the Blades looked to stem the flow of Watford's attacks but Tommy Smith went close just before the break, although he was unable to trouble Kenny with a shot on the turn. From a diagonal Halford delivery, Webber's first touch gave him a great shooting chance but he fired over from 10 yards out, and it turned out to be the final opportunity of the first half. United were on the attack at the start of the second half,  a combination of Adrian Mariappa and Jon Harley had to be at their best to deny Webber as he burst clear, and between both Watford defenders they conceded a corner. From the resulting corner, the Blades went ahead. Following some head-tennis, Webber deflected the ball past Loach before setting off to celebrate in front of the 1400 Unitedites. Halford was injured in the build up and had to leave the field fro treatment. Watford responded by putting more pressure on Blackwell’s men while United were briefly playing with 10 men with Halford still off the field receiving treatment. Smith rushed past his marker but stuck his 25 yard effort over the bar. In the 60th minute, Killgallon produced a perfectly timed challenge to stop McAnuff as the midfielder was about to smash the ball at goal from about six yard outs. With 67 minutes elapsed, the Blades doubled their lead and it was another former Watford player who found the back of the net for United. Halford flicked on from the right and Henderson hooked the ball past Loach from inside the penalty area. The Blades fans went into celebration and Hendersons name was chanted from the terraces. Halford was soon again causing more problems on the right as he unleashed another cross into the box, this time Henderson was at the far post but between DeMerit and Gavin Hoyte, the besieged Watford defenders did enough to put him off as Loach held on to the ball. Kilgallon was in top form for the Blades as he thwarted another Watford attack, this time stopping Smith after an excellent ball downfield from Ross Jenkins. Leigh Bromby entered the action late on, as United saw out the final few minutes and came away victorious with three more precious points.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Watford: Kenny 6, Halford 7, Bromby -, Morgan 6, Kilgallon 8, Naysmith 6, Montgomery 7, Howard 6, Quinn 7, Naughton 6, Henderson 8, Webber 7, Stokes -.

13th January Leyton Orient 1 Sheffield United 4 (Attendance: 4,527)

Blades Line-up: Bennett, Walker, Morgan, Kilgallon, Sun, Halford, Montgomery, Naughton, Cotterill, Henderson (Hendrie 87), Sharp.
Subs Not Used: Kenny, Naysmith, Webber, Gillespie, Howard, Quinn.

Booked: Sharp, Morgan 73.

Scorers: Halford 59, Sharp 62, Naughton 69, Halford 78.

Man of The Match: Sun Jihai.

Leyton Orient Line-up: Morris, Purches, Mkandawire, Saah, Cave-Brown, Melligan, Chambers, Thornton, Demetriou, Boyd, Parkin.
Subs Not Used: Jones, Thelwell, Morgan, Terry, Pires, Jarvis, Baker.

Booked: Thornton 28, Parkin 52.

Scorer: Melligan 38 (pen).

Referee: Iain Williamson (Berkshire).

United booked an FA Cup fourth-round clash at home to Charlton after coming from behind to see off a spirited Leyton Orient side 4-1. The League One strugglers had gone in ahead at the break after JJ Melligan held his nerve to score from the penalty spot at Brisbane Road. But the tie swung the Blades way after the break as three goals in a 10-minute spell from Greg Halford, Billy Sharp and Kyle Naughton knocked the wind out of the home side. Halford added his second of the game with 12 minutes left to add some gloss to the scoreline. Blades manager Kevin Blackwell made four changes to his starting line-up, teenage defender Kyle Walker making his senior debut, and Ian Bennett coming in for Paddy Kenny in goal. Sun Jihai and Halford were also handed starts, Gary Naysmith, Stephen Quinn and Danny Webber dropping to the bench. Leyton Orient had three changes to the side beaten 3-0 at Leicester at the weekend, negotiated the early stages well, although top scorer Adam Boyd did not really convince anyone after going down easily in the 18 yard box. United striker Darius Henderson, who hit the winner against Norwich on Saturday, forced a good stop out of Orient keeper Glenn Morris. After 26 minutes, Orient had an appeal for a spot kick dismissed when Sam Parkin got in behind Chris Morgan from Andrew Cave-Brown's centre ands the pair fell in a heap but referee Iain Williamson waved play on. Henderson headed over the top from Halford's free-kick but the home side gave as good as they got, even if the fans were directing their vitriol at Williamson as another decision went against their team. Their wrath did not last long as, after Sean Thornton's shot struck Matt Kilgallon on the arm, Melligan stepped up to convert to Bennett's left for the deserved advantage at the halfway mark. United looked more focused after the break as they began to force the pace a little, but the hosts were resolute at the back and defended in numbers when needed. But disaster struck for the home side just before the hour mark when Morris came for but failed to deal with David Cotterill's corner. The ball dropped kindly for Halford who looped the ball into the net.The tie was turned on its head four minutes later when Henderson and Sharp linked up well and the former swept the ball home with his left foot for his first goal in 15 games. It got worse for the home side in the 69th minute when United broke from an over-elaborate Orient corner which ended in Cotterill forcing the parry from Morris and Naughton was on hand to sweep the ball home from close range. Halford netted the fourth after finding space at the far post to head in Walker's cross, after more good work from the lively Cotterill. Halford almost capped his night by netting a hat-trick late on but his effort went narrowly wide.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Leyton Orient: Bennett 6, Walker 6, Morgan 6, Kilgallon 6, Sun 7, Halford 7, Montgomery 6, Naughton 6, Cotterill 5, Henderson 6, Sharp 6, Hendrie -

13th January United have re-signed defender Leigh Bromby from Watford, initially on loan. The 28-year-old was sold by Bryan Robson 12 months ago because the then-manager said he could not guarantee Bromby first-team football. And Bromby's first game back in Blades colours could be against the Hornets on Saturday. An undisclosed fee for a permanent transfer has already been agreed.

13th January Stoke have completed the signing of James Beattie from United for a fee which could rise to £3.5million. The 30-year-old striker has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Potters, bringing to an end a productive 18-month spell at Bramall Lane. Beattie, who has been capped five times by England, has scored 34 goals during his two seasons in the Championship. Commenting on the transfer, Kevin Blackwell said: "It is a tremendous opportunity that has come along for James and we are sure he will be an outstanding player for Stoke City. "It has been terrific working with him and everyone at Bramall Lane wishes him all the best.

10th January Sheffield United 1 Norwich City 0 (Attendance: 27,267)

Blades Line-up: Kenny, Naughton, Morgan, Kilgallon, Naysmith, Sharp (Howard 80), Montgomery, Cotterill (Stokes 65), Quinn, Webber (Halford 72), Henderson.
Subs Not Used: Hendrie, Sun.

Scorer: Henderson 17.

Man of The Match: Darius Henderson.

Norwich Line-up: Marshall, Otsemobor, Doherty, Grounds, Bertrand, Croft, Clingan, Fotheringham, Hoolahan, Lupoli, Sibierski (Bell 60).
Subs Not Used: Nelson, Drury, Omozusi, Cort.

Referee: Mark Halsey (Lancashire).

Darius Henderson proved the ideal replacement for the Stoke bound James Beattie as his goal earned United a 1-0 home win over Norwich. The Blades striker headed home a Danny Webber centre at the back stick in an open but tense match. Despite an open start to the game, the first shot of the match didn't arrive until 12 minutes in when Stephen Quinn stung David Marshall's fingertips with a left-foot volley from just outside the 18 yard box. He came closer minutes later, this time rattling the woodwork in almost identical fashion. The Blades increasing pressure told though in the 17th minute when Henderson was on hand to head in Webber's far post cross from the left. Midway through the first half United came close to doubling their lead when Henderson latched on to Billy Sharp's flick-on but Marshall was equal to his effort from the edge of the box tipping it wide. Norwich came within a whisker of equalising from a Sammy Clingan corner. The Northern Ireland midfielder's delivery was met by Gary Doherty, who had two efforts blocked before Lee Croft slid inches wide at the far post. The Canaries had two good chances before half-time to draw level, firstly Wes Hoolahan headed against the recalled Paddy Kenny's crossbar. With Chris Morgan having misjudged Mark Fotheringham's deep cross from the right, the winger nipped in round the back but could only steer his header on to the bar and just before the break, Arturo Lupoli was sent clear down the left channel but fired his effort straight at Kenny. Sharp tested Marshall's reflexes at the start of the second half fizzing an effort at the Scotsman and on the hour mark Norwich striker Antoine Sibierski was stretched off, replaced by David Bell. Minutes later, Marshall pulled off a double save to deny Henderson. The big Blades strikers initial header was beaten away by the keeper, but the rebound fell straight back to Henderson who could only guide his volley back in to the arms of Marshall. City pushed for an equaliser and twice went close. Clingan played a neat one-two with Fotheringham on the edge of the United box and fired in a shot that deflected wide for a corner with Kenny scrambling. Croft then had a goalbound shot blocked after Hoolahan had engineered space for himself down the left to deliver a cross that the Blades failed to clear properly. Lupoli headed Bell's left-wing cross against the outside of woodwork inside the last five minutes. In stoppage time Doherty forced Kenny into a smart save low down to his right having toe-poked Bell's goalwards and the sub himself then brought a save out of Kenny with a low drive it was the Blades that took all three points at a freezing Bramall Lane.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Norwich: Kenny 6, Naughton 6, Morgan 6, Kilgallon 7, Naysmith 7, Sharp 6, Howard 6, Montgomery 6, Cotterill 5, Quinn 7, Webber 6, Halford 6, Henderson 8.

5th January Kevin Blackwell has called for the January transfer window to be scrapped claiming it causes managers to make mistakes. The Blades manager is expected to make at least one new signing during the one-month window and could also encourage the sale of some of his fringe players.
However, he thinks that managers are rushed into making miscalculated decisions over new signings as they prepare for the second half of the season. He told The Sheffield Star: "This isn't always the best time to do business. If it was up to me then I'd get rid of the whole thing, I'm not a fan of it whatsoever.
"Because everything is done in such a rush you often see people make rash decisions about wages and then realise they've made a massive mistake later on. They act in haste and repent at leisure.