30th November Sheffield United owner Kevin McCabe has spoken about the recent loss of former Blades player and manager Gary Speed. Speed, who was found dead at his home in Cheshire on Sunday morning, joined United as a player on New Year's Day 2008 and spent a brief spell as manager in 2010 before leaving to take on the Wales job. McCabe commented: "Gary made a significant impact both on and off the pitch. He was respected throughout Sheffield United football club, as he was throughout football. His impact as a player was immediate, his quality shone on the field, he led by example in everything he did as a player.

"His progression into coaching seemed a natural one for a player who carried so much respect from his fellow professionals. It seemed, therefore, very appropriate for us at Bramall Lane to offer him the managerial position when the opportunity arose. "With football matters his skill, expertise and attention to detail were exemplary. With matters off the field he gave of his time very generously and was available to talk with and spend time with supporters. "After leaving Bramall Lane, he had began to make his mark at international level as manager of Wales and his passing is both very untimely and distressing to all. Our deepest sympathy and condolences go to [wife] Louise, the children and immediate family."

27th November Wales manager Gary Speed was found dead at his family home in Chester on Sunday morning.

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of the 42-year-old former Leeds, Everton, Newcastle, Bolton and Sheffield United midfielder. Speed, who was awarded the MBE in the 2010 Birthday Honours for his services to football, leaves a wife and two children.

A spokeswoman for Cheshire Police said: "At 7.08am today, Cheshire Police was informed of a sudden death at an address in Huntington, Chester. "Officers went to the scene where a 42-year-old man was found dead. The next of kin have been informed and have confirmed the identity of the man as Gary Speed. "There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death. The family have requested that they are left in peace to grieve at this difficult time. A family tribute will be released at a later date but not today."

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) earlier broke the news in a statement.

"The Football Association of Wales are sad to announce the death of the national team manager Gary Speed," read an FAW statement. "We extend our sympathies and condolences to the family."

The Football Associations of England and Wales also paid their own tributes to Speed, whose death was announced shortly before Swansea's Barclays Premier League clash with Aston Villa at the Liberty Stadium this afternoon. With a number of players from both sides closely connected to Speed, there was speculation the match might be called off - but in the event it went ahead as planned.

A minute's silence was announced as two sides lined up on the field, which quickly gave way to a spontaneous round of applause and chants of "there's only one Gary Speed" inside the Liberty Stadium.

Four members of the national squad were set to feature in the starting line-ups, with Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor and Joe Allen named in Brendan Rodgers' Swansea side, while James Collins started for the visitors.

Villa manager Alex McLeish said that he would have had no complaints if the match had been called off, with members of his squad among the hardest hit by the news. "There's three of them - James Collins is a Wales international, Shay Given is very close to Gary, and Jermaine Jenas played with Gary for a while at Newcastle, so these boys are very upset about this," McLeish told Sky Sports. "We would have fully understood if Swansea had wanted to call the game off, absolutely. We'd have backed that if they wanted it off, but I think the proximity of it - TV cameras, policing, all that stuff - makes it difficult. That's what I'm hearing anyway."

Speed had been in charge of Wales since December 2010, and had recently presided over a run of four wins in five internationals to climb to 50th in the world rankings. He made his international debut in 1990 and went on to win 85 caps for his country - a record for an outfield player. He was captain of the national side prior to his international retirement in 2004.

Robbie Savage, who played alongside Speed for Wales, said on his Twitter account: "The world has lost a great man in Gary Speed. I'm devastated spoke to him yesterday morning why! Why. Why. "He come to watch strictly 3/4 weeks ago. I high fived him in the front row he loved the show, he loved life he loved his family. Devastated. "He was upbeat on phone yesterday we were laughing together, talking football and dancing. He was a great teammate and a great friend RIP."

Speed's greatest moment at club level came in 1992 when he won the championship with Leeds, while he was twice an FA Cup runner-up with Newcastle. Speed enjoyed a 22-year professional career which saw him make nearly 700 league appearances. He also held the record of most Premier League appearances with 535 until 2009 when goalkeeper David James overtook him.

He retired from playing in 2010 before embarking on his first managerial role with Sheffield United.

Former Leeds boss Howard Wilkinson, who managed the 1992 title-winning side, hailed Speed as a "star in the true sense".

Wilkinson told Five Live: "The players I worked with represented all colours of the rainbow in terms of character but in Gary's case he was a star in the true sense. For him - at 42 - to leave us is such a tragic loss. "He had a life of success to look forward to I'm sure. "It's unbelievable, I'm still struggling to get my head around it. I've known Gary since 1988 when I joined Leeds and I've rarely come across a better balanced, lovely, genuine person."

26th November Chesterfield 0 Sheffield United 1 (Attendance: 9,259)

Blades Line-up: Simonsen, Lowton, Williams, Collins, Maguire, Doyle, Williamson (Flynn 74), McAllister, Quinn, Porter (Ertl 89), Evans.

Subs Not Used: Long, Jean-Francois, McDonald.

Scorer: Evans 82.

Man of The Match:. Ched Evans.

Chesterfield Line-up: Fleming, Trotman, Ford, Allott, Mendy, Johnson (Westcarr 86), Bowery, Talbot, Clarke (Lester 86), Griffiths, Obadeyi (Morgan 86).

Subs Not Used: Whitaker, Mattis.

Booked: Trotman 13.

Referee: Darren Sheldrake (Surrey).

A superb goal from Ched Evans broke League One bottom club Chesterfield's resistance to earn Sheffield United a hard-fought 1-0 win. Nick Montgomery and Richard Cresswell both missed the local derby. Michael Doyle was named captain, and David McAllister and Chris Porter were brought into the starting line-up. The formation remained 4-4-2 with McAllister and Porter slotting into the positions vacated by Montgomery and Cresswell. Scott Griffiths came into the Chesterfield starting line-up on his loan return to the Spireites. Greg Fleming returned in goal, and up front, Jordan Bowery was restored alongside Leon Clarke.
The Blades had sold all the allocation with 2,001 fans that had made the short journey to the B2Net stadium. It was an eventful start with both sides battling against a blustery wind. Chesterfield were the first to show, winning a corner after two minutes when Mark Allott's pass towards Tope Obadeyi was deflected off Matt Lowton. Lee Johnson put the kick into the 18 yard box but United goalkeeper Steve Simonsen claimed it well.
Chesterfield defender  Neal Trotman was the first to be booked, for a high kick on Porter, who was forced to leave the field for stitches and he returned with his head bandaged. Obadeyi shot over after 19 minutes when pressure from Scott Griffith had forced the ball through for the hosts. United's best chance of the early stages was a move which heavily involved Stephen Quinn but his cross was taken off Porter by the alert Trotman, whilst it was quickly followed by a hammered half-volley from Ched Evans, which stung the palms of Chesterfield keeper Fleming. An almighty scramble in the goal mouth from a Lee Williamson corner ensued, with goalkeeper Fleming making saves from a Neill Collins header and Porter shot with the ball hitting the post, before Allott launched a desperate clearance into the United half to relieve the pressure. An Evans shot was also blocked after a driving run from Lowton.
Chesterfield broke just before the break when Bowery burst through midfield and forced a corner. And then soon after, Bowery and Clarke linked up for the Spireites to set up Johnson, and his a shot at Simonsen was pushed away for a corner. As the half ended, a Lowton cross invited Porter to slide in, but he arrived too late at the back post.
The home side started brightest in the second half and won a corner off Obadeyi's deflected cross which Stephen Quinn cleared at the second attempt. Simonsen claimed another Obadeyi cross that flew across the box and five minutes later and Simon Ford tested the United keeper when he got a foot to a Alex Mendy cross to turn it towards the corner of the net, and at the other end after 56 minutes, Evans saw his 25-yard shot pushed away by Fleming.
Obadeyi's pace left McAllister and Marcus Williams standing as he stormed two thirds of the park down the right wing , he then cut inside and greedily fired a tame shot at Simonsen’s near post when a cross to the supporting Clarke might have been a better option for the Bolton loanee. Defender Griffiths found Clarke and his overhead kick hit the Blades crossbar. Then, a Bowery cross flashed in front of the diving Obadeyi as Chesterfield pushed for a goal. With 15 minutes to go, Williamson limped off to be replaced by lively winger Ryan Flynn, and he quickly forced a save out of Fleming, diving low to his right. McAllister was the next to try his luck but his 30-yarder was too high.
United were starting to take control and their pressure paid dividends as they grabbed a goal after 82 minutes. Simonsen threw the ball out to Quinn, who held possession well before finding Evans. The Welshman neatly turned away from Trotman and progressed to the box before firing wide of Fleming and into the net. Chesterfield in desperation made a triple-substitution from when Danny Westcarr, Jack Lester and Dean Morgan came on for Johnson, Clarke, Obadeyi. With a minute of normal time left Johnny Ertl was brought on, greeted by cheers from the travelling United faithful, and it was Porter who he replaced. Late on. Fleming made a good save to deny Quinn from adding a second.

24th November United have brought striker James Beattie back to the club on a short-term deal. Beattie, a free agent since leaving Rangers in the summer, will stay at Bramall Lane until mid-January. The 33-year-old, who scored 34 goals during his season-and-a-half stay at Bramall Lane before being sold to Stoke for £3.5 million in January 2009, commented: "I'm delighted to be back. Sheffield United is a club that is very close to my heart. "I was at the [Carlisle] game on Saturday and the fans were singing my name, which was nice and this was always one of the clubs I wanted to return to. "I've signed a deal until January, which is good for me, but more importantly the club, given I haven't played much at all in the last 18 months to two years." Blades boss Danny Wilson added: "After speaking to him a couple of times, we both felt relaxed about the situation, but, despite other interest, he was determined to return here, which is fantastic."

20th November Danny Wilson felt United could have won by a bigger margin following their 1-0 victory at home to Carlisle. Ched Evans' goal midway through the first-half was enough to give Wilson's men all three points even though Richard Cresswell missed a great chance to add a second goal in the second half when his weak penalty was saved. Wilson said: "It was a very hard-earned win, so it was a fantastic three points from our point of view. "We always knew it was going to be difficult because they're very well organised. We still created lots of chances and possibly the scoreline could have been more emphatic. "At 1-0 there's always a chance that they could get back in it but at the back end of the game, I thought we defended very well. "We got some terrific headers out and there was some good counter-attacking football."

19th November Sheffield United 1 Carlisle United 0 (Attendance: 4,996)

Blades Line-up: Simonsen, Lowton, Williams, Collins, Maguire, Doyle, Montgomery, Quinn, Williamson (Flynn 52), Cresswell, Evans (Porter 82).

Subs Not Used: Long, Jean-Francois, McAllister.

Booked: Collins 33, Williamson 37, Quinn 89.

Scorer: Evans 21.

Man of The Match:. Ched Evans.

Carlsile Line-up: Collin, Robson, McGovern, Livesey (Murphy 45), Loy (Curran 77), Thirlwell (Zoko 63), Miller, Noble, Ribeiro, Berrett, Michalik.

Subs Not Used: Taiwo, Gillespie.

Booked: Berrett 18.

Referee: Phil Gibbs (West Midlands).

Ched Evans hit the only goal as Sheffield United stretched their unbeaten home record to six games with a 1-0 win against Carlisle United.

Both sides named unchanged sides from their FA Cup exploits last weekend. The first chance of the game came with just two minutes on the clock when Lubomír Michalík stopped a dangerous attack down the left from the Blades. The resulting corner was half cleared as far as Lee Williamson and his 22-yard volley flew high over the bar. The visitors were let off the hook on six minutes when Williamson was allowed to run the ball to the edge of the box from his own half. He unleashed a blistering shot which the full stretch goalkeeper Adam Collin tipped onto the bar. Richard Cresswell was in acres of space to meet the rebound but he somehow volleyed over from close quarters when it looked easier to score. The Cumbrians had two 35-yard free kicks in quick succession as they enjoyed a spell of possession but Matt Robson sent his first effort into the wall and dragged the second well wide. Then Christian Ribeiro was released down the right flank and his first time cross invited a touch. The Blades defence coped well and it was eventually guided behind for a corner.
But the Blades broke the deadlock when Ribeiro was dispossessed and they exploited the gap left by the right-back to win themselves a corner. Williamsons' corner was flicked on at the near post and cleared off the line, but Evans was there to crash the loose ball into the roof of the net from about three yards out.
Michalik went close with a glancing header as Carlisle tried to reply quickly, and Lee Miller drilled a shot from a tight angle into the side netting as they kept pushing on. Both sides kept battling and it needed another magnificent save from Carlisle keeper Collin in time added on when a Paul Thirlwell tackle broke for Stephen Quinn inside the area. With time to choose his option the midfielder went for the bottom corner only to be thwarted by the diving hand of the Cumbrian keeper.
Williamson was withdrawn as the second half progressed and was replaced by Ryan Flynn, who was quickly causing problems for visiting left-back Matty Robson, whilst United's next opportunity was a long-range shot from Nick Montgomery, which flew over the crossbar.
The Blades had the chance to double their lead on 70 minutes when Ribeiro barged into Flynn inside the box. The referee pointed to the spot and Cresswell was foiled as keeper Collins dived the right way. Rory Loy headed wide as he stretched to meet a deep cross as Carlisle responded, and a lobbed Jon-Paul McGovern delivery needed a touch as Liam Noble arrived late hoping to finish it off. The Blades continued to back pedal and frustrate the Lane faithful by constantly loosing possession. Although their work rate could notbe faulted, they sometimes played thoughtless passes straight to opposing players. It looked like the visitors were going to get their equaliser, Craig Curran used his strength to create an opening as the clock ticked down, but he was off balance and he dragged his shot wide. Slovakian defender Michalik then had a header from a James Berrett corner blocked, and Carlisle upped the pace as they went in search of a goal. But their afternoon was summed up when Miller fired after a sustained period of pressure, only to see his shot fly inches over the crossbar. The Blades could have put the game beyond doubt in added time when they broke three against two from their own half. Quinn crossed for Cresswell in the area but the striker somehow missed from close range with the goal at his mercy.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Carlisle: Simonsen 6, Lowton 6, Williams 7, Collins 7, Maguire 6, Doyle 6, Montgomery 6, Quinn 6, Williamson 7, Flynn 7, Cresswell 6, Evans 8, Porter 6.

12th November Ched Evans netted a double as United ran out comfortable 3-0 winners over Oxford in the FA Cup first round at Bramall Lane. The Blades striker put his side in the ascendancy with two goals inside the opening 19 minutes before substitute Ryan Flynn wrapped up the win. Stephen Quinn's cross from the left was missed by Richard Creswell but Welshman Evans was in the right place to tuck home the loose ball. After Lee Williamson saw his shot well saved by goalkeeper Ryan Clarke, the Blades doubled their advantage when Evans rifled in a superb free kick. Oxford boss Chris Wilder, a former fans' favourite as a player at Bramall Lane, brought on top-scorer James Constable at half-time and his header almost put the U's back in it, but United goalkeeper Steve Simonsen denied him. The killer goal came when Clarke flapped at a long ball and Flynn drilled in his first goal for the club after 71 minutes.

9th November Danny Wilson is annoyed with his side after their Football League Trophy penalty shoot-out defeat to Bradford at Bramall Lane. Chris Mitchell scored the decisive spot-kick for the Bantams on Tuesday night after Erik Tonne's effort was saved by Jon McLaughlin. The tie finished 1-1 at full-time. Matt Phillips put the home side ahead in the 27th minute before Bradford captain Michael Flynn equalised five minutes before half-time. "It's one that got away, quite honestly," Wilson said. "We should have had enough in the team there to get through the tie. In key areas we haven't worked as hard as them. They've let themselves down in too many areas. "It was a great opportunity to get through to the next round, which is one off a final, and that's the thing that annoys me more than anything. "We've let it go too easy. It doesn't matter what it is, whether it's a JPT (Football League Trophy) or whatever it may be, it shouldn't matter. If you go out, you go out kicking and scratching and biting and we haven't done that."

8th November Bradford progressed to the Football League Trophy northern quarter-finals with a 6-5 shoot-out win over United at Bramall Lane. Chris Mitchell scored the decisive spot-kick after Erik Tonne missed for the Blades and the tie had finished 1-1 in normal time. Matt Phillips put United ahead just before the half hour mark but Bradford skipper Michael Flynn levelled five minutes before half time. The Bantams should have taken a 12th-minute lead but Ross Hannah headed over when unmarked from six yards after being picked out by Jack Compton's cross from the left. Craig Fagan wasted another golden chance for the visitors five minutes later, heading Hannah's centre straight at Steve Simonsen with the goal gaping. Phillips then punished Bradford's profligacy by putting the home side ahead after 27 minutes. The Blackpool loanee cut inside from the left-wing before drilling a right-foot effort in off the left-hand post from 25-yards. Flynn levelled the contest after 40 minutes, rifling a 30-yard effort across Simonsen and into the bottom left-hand corner. Centre-half Luke Oliver tested Simonsen with a header on the hour mark before the United keeper denied Marcel Seip's follow-up effort, while Phillips stung the palms of Jon McLaughlin midway through the second period and the City stopper somehow denied Billy Clarke in the final moments.

5th November Stevenage 2 Sheffield United 1 (Attendance: 4,996)

Blades Line-up: Simonsen, Lowton, Williams (Jean-Francois 70), Maguire, Collins, Montgomery, Doyle, Quinn, Phillips, Clarke (Evans 54), Cresswell (Porter 82).

Subs Not Used: Long, McDonald.

Booked: Lescinel 76, Porter 87.

Scorer: Evans 69.

Man of The Match:. Steve Simonsen.

Stevenage Line-up: Day, Wilson, Laird, Ashton, S. Long (Shroot 77), Reid (Harrison 77), Roberts, Beardsley (Edwards 82), Mousinho, Bostwick, Henry.

Subs Not Used: Julian, Cowan.

Booked: Beardsley 76.
Scorers: Roberts 42, Laird (pen) 82.

Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire).

Sheffield United threw away more points after a late penalty secured  Stevenage the points. United brought back goalkeeper Steve Simonsen in to the starting eleven along with Michael Doyle in a 4-4-2 formation. This was the Blades first ever visit to Broadhall Way and Danny Wilson’s men knew what they could expect on the field. Stevenage have gained a reputation for a physical play and the long ball approach.
The opening ten minutes of the match only produced one chance for each side, with neither particularly threatening either goalkeeper. In fact the first chance was more of a threat to the away fans behind the goal, as a corner found its way to Stephen Quinn at the back post and he struck it on the volley, but it flew high and wide of Stevenage goalkeeper Chris Day's goal.
The hosts returned with an effort minutes Later, a tame shot from Craig Reid after Chris Beardsley had gained the ball in the middle of the field. After applying pressure to the United back line he deflected a clearance over the defence and into the striker's path, Reid opted to take a touch and when he eventually got his shot away it did not have the power required to beat Simonsen in the Blades goal.
Then, Billy Clarke struck a free-kick, but Day never seemed worried as it flew wide of the post. Minutes later, the action was in front of the travelling Unitedites again when a corner was won, it coincided with the turn of the 24th minute when the Blades support erupted into applause and a chorus of 'Billy Sharp' a tribute to their former number 24 whose son died last week.

Right-back Matthew Lowton came close after a commanding run from the back helped him latch onto a through ball but his low shot was wide of the bottom corner. The home side won a corner and it was headed back out to the edge of the box, but was put straight back into the area by a header from Jon Ashton which took a deflection before finding Mark Roberts, the Stevenage captain blasted it across goal and into the top corner of the net to give his side a 1-0 half time lead.

The home side almost doubled their lead just a minute into the second half, Stacy Long chested the ball down inside the area before hitting a half volley which had Simonsen beaten but struck the crossbar.
United were trying to contend with the hosts long ball bombardment, but eventually began to settle back into the game with successive corners and a dangerous free kick nervously dealt with in the penalty area. With the clock on 54 minutes Ched Evans replaced Clarke in the Blades side. The game had opened up and both sides were having their chances, a break on the left hand side resulted in Scott Laird playing the ball across the face of goal, it fell to a surprised Beardsley at the back post who only had to poke it home, but the striker got it all wrong and missed the ball.

Quinn had the next opportunity of the game when Marcus Williams found Matt Phillips on the left hand side, Phillips cut in and put the ball into the back post where Quinn met it with his head but Day was equal to his effort.

United then deservedly equalised when Evans took a free kick and drilled it under the wall and into the bottom corner expertly to draw the Blades level in the game. A substitution followed for United when Williams was replaced by Lecsinal Jean-Francis at left-back. With eight minutes remaining Lawrie Wilson collected the ball on the right wing and dribbled through three United players, he eventually progressed into the area before Jean-Francis fouled him and the referee pointed to the spot. Laird struck it to the keepers left, with Simonsen diving to the right to give the home side the victory.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Stevenage: Simonsen 7, Lowton 6, Williams 6, Jean-Francois 5, Maguire 6, Collins 7, Montgomery 6, Doyle 6, Quinn 5, Phillips 6, Clarke 6, Evans 7, Cresswell 6, Porter 6.