31st August United have signed Dave Kitson on a short-term contract. The 32-year-old striker was a free agent following his release from cash-strapped Portsmouth and has penned a deal until December 31. "It is not very often you come across a quality and experienced player like Dave in these circumstances," Blades boss Danny Wilson commented. "It is fantastic that he wants to come to us, which has come about thanks to a connection with the McCabe family, without whom we wouldn't have been introduced. "Dave has been to a few of our games recently and our performances have convinced him to join us...he feels he can contribute."

30th August Striker Richard Cresswell has agreed a new role with the Blades. The Lane striker, who has not featured competitively this season, held talks with the club about a player-coach role.

Manager Danny Wilson said: "Richard's contractual circumstances have changed and he is in contention to play at the weekend.

"The lad is a fantastic professional who is desperate to play football, no disrespect to modern footballers, but Cressy is a throw back, he is an old school footballer.

"He offers the younger lads like John (Cofie), Nick (Blackman) and Shaun (Miller) plenty of experience and advice and in terms of coaching he will work primarily with Chris Morgan and John Pemberton."

25th August Colchester United 1 Sheffield United 1 (Attendance: 4,017)

Blades Line-up: Howard, Maguire, Hill, Collins, McMahon, Doyle, McDonald, McAllister, Quinn, Blackman, Cofie (Miller 64).

Subs Not Used: Long, Williams, Flynn, Harriott, Philliskirk, Ironside, Miller.

Booked: Quinn 83, Blackman 90.

Scorer: Cofie 17.

Man Of The Match: Stephen Quinn.

Colchester Line-up: Cousins, Rose, Okuonghae, Heath, O'Toole (Bond 47), Morrison, Sears (Massey 88), Bean, Henderson, Wilson, Wordsworth.

Subs Not Used: Pentney, Duguid, Izzet, Eastman, White.

Booked: Bean 78, Wordsworth 90.

Scorer: Morrison 72.

Referee: Gary Sutton (Lincolnshire).

Danny Wilson’s side dominated for long periods and Matt Heath cleared Stephen Quinn's effort from underneath his own crossbar early on, but the Blades went ahead in the 17th minute through Cofie, who collected possession more than 25 yards out before firing in a looping shot over goalkeeper Mark Cousins.
Cofie inexplicably blasted over from five yards and Cousins was forced to save striker Nick Blackman's low shot early in the second half.
But Colchester equalised with 17 minutes remaining  when Clinton Morrison converted from close-range after Magnus Okuonghae had helped on Anthony Wordsworth's corner in the penalty area.  The former Owls player ran more than half the length of the pitch to celebrate in front of the travelling Blades fans, a childish moment the United fans will not forget.
Colchester substitute Andy Bond struck the inside of the far post late on and Cousins tipped Blades defender Tony McMahon's header over as the spoils were shared. Overall though this has to be two points dropped, caused by a slackness in defensive areas and two forwards who do not appear to be able to play together, both wanting the limelight and wanting to be the glory man.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Colchester: Howard 6, Maguire 6, Hill 6, Collins 7, McMahon 7, Doyle 6, McDonald 7, McAllister 5, Quinn 7, Blackman 5, Cofie 6, Miller 6.

21st August Coventry City 1 Sheffield United 1 (Attendance: 12,621)

Blades Line-up: Howard, McMahon, Collins, Hill, Maguire, Doyle, Quinn, McDonald, McAllister, Cofie (Miller 61), Blackman.

Subs Not Used: Ironside, Williams, Harriott, Long, Philliskirk, Flynn.

Booked: Hill 6, Blackman 88.

Scorer: Blackman 84.

Man Of The Match: Kevin McDonald.

Coventry Line-up: Murphy, Hussey, Malaga, Wood, Brown, Baker (McSheffrey 88), Kilbane, Barton, Jennings, C. McDonald, Elliott (Ball 85).

Subs Not Used: Dunn, Edjenguele, Daniels, Willis, O'Donovan.

Booked: Elliott 17, Barton 52.

Scorer: Elliott 62.

Referee: Paul Tierney (Lancashire).

The Blades grabbed late equiliser 1-1 draw against Coventry at the Ricoh Arena in League One. The summer signing from Neick Blackburn struck a deserved leveller with six minutes

remaining to cancel out a 62nd-minute strike from Stephen Elliott. United enjoyed the better territory in the first half but failed to turn it into clear-cut chances, with a notable goalline clearance from former Sheffield Wednesday defender Richard Wood keeping the sides on level terms.

And United were made to pay after the interval as Coventry, who have seen nine players go and as many arrive following relegation from the Championship, got into their rhythm. The Sky Blues appeared to have taken the lead on the hour mark when French recruit Kevin Malaga headed down a corner, the ball bobbling perilously close to the line before visiting goalkeeper Mark Howard grabbed it. Yet the home side only had to wait two minutes to forge ahead. A long ball from 'keeper Joe Murphy was flicked on to Elliott, who found the net with a fine left-footed finish. But United kept plugging away and Blackman earned a point when he turned home a Shaun Miller cross late on.

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Coventry: Howard 6, McMahon 7, Collins 6, Hill 6, Maguire 6, Doyle 6, Quinn 7, McDonald 7, McAllister 6, Cofie 5, Miller 7, Blackman 6.

19th August Manager Danny Wilson was just pleased to see his side open their League One campaign with a 1-0 win at home to Shrewsbury.

David McAllister, who spent time on loan with Shrews last term, scored the game's only goal with a fourth-minute volley from Marcus Williams' cross to give the Blades all three points.

Shrewsbury had a number of chances to score and will feel they should have secured at least a point, but that did not concern Wilson.

He said: "Overall it's a great three points at this stage of the season. Whether we deserved the three points is irrelevant because we're just delighted to come out with a win. You just want your season to get some momentum.

"It was a typical first game of the season. I thought Shrewsbury did brilliantly at times and put us on the back foot. We knew we were in for a tough game because they're a strong side who're very difficult to play against.

"There are some good teams in our division with some very effective players. We saw the work ethic we're going to need to take us through the season. We had some very clear-cut chances to put the game to bed but we defended well. There are loads of things to work on but at this stage I can't say that I'm disappointed with anything."

18th August Sheffield United 1 Shrewsbury Town 0 (Attendance: 18,286)

Blades Line-up: Howard, Maguire, Doyle, Blackman, McDonald, Collins, McAllister, Cofie (Miller 65), Quinn, McMahon, Williams.

Subs Not Used: Harriott, Chapell, Philliskirk, Ironside, Long, McFadzean.

Man Of The Match: Stephen Quinn.

Shrewsbury Line-up: Weale, Grandison, Summerfield (Hall 68), Jones, Purdie, Wright, Richards (Wildig 81), Morgan, Parry, Hector, Gornell (Bradshaw 73).

Subs Not Used: Jacobson, Taylor, Hazell, Anyon.

Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire).

David McAllister's fourth-minute goal was enough to earn United a winning start as they beat Shrewsbury 1-0 at the Lane.

McAllister, who spent time on loan with Shrews last season, got on the end of a Marcus Williams cross to volley past goalkeeper Chris Weale from the edge of the six-yard box.

Shrewsbury had several chances to equalise in the first half. Marvin Morgan failed to direct a header on target and Mark Howard saved Paul Parry's 20-yard effort, while Parry also fired narrowly wide following a free-kick.

Mark Wright threatened from close range but was forced wide and failed to get in a shot.

United's Nick Blackman fired beyond the far post after breaking into the area and then

tested Weale with a shot which was beaten away by the Town 'keeper.

Tony McMahon and Shaun Miller both had efforts saved for United by Weale in the second half. At the opposite end, Mark Howard kept out shots from Terry Gornell and Parry while a Wright effort was deflected wide

Blades Player Performance Ratings v. Shrewsbury: Howard 6, Maguire 8, Doyle 7, Blackman 6, McDonald 6, Collins 7, McAllister 6, Cofie 6, Miller 5, Quinn 8, McMahon 7, Williams 5.

11th August Sheffield United 2 Burton Albion 2 (4-5 pens) (Attendance: 52,100)

Cleveland Taylor struck the winning penalty as Burton defeated United 5-4 on penalties in the League Cup after drawing 2-2 AET.

Adi Yussuf and striker Taylor twice put Gary Rowett's side ahead at Bramall Lane on Saturday, only for debutant Nick Blackman and Neill Collins to bring the Blades back level and force spot-kicks.

The visitors opened the scoring just after the half-hour mark when midfielder Yussuf finished Robbie Weir's pass from the edge of the box. Former Blackburn man Blackman was introduced at half-time and headed home Shaun Miller's cross from six yards to restore parity six minutes later.

Blades full-back Tony McMahon fired over the crossbar before the game edged into extra time, during which Taylor slotted in another Weir pass to restore the League Two side's advantage.

Defender Collins wasted a penalty in the 103rd minute as his kick was saved by Ross Atkins, but the Scot redeemed himself two minutes later to take it to penalties, with Albion's Marcus Holness dismissed in the ensuing melee. And, after the shootout had gone into sudden death, Taylor proved to be the hero as he struck the decisive kick following Michael Doyle's failure.