2005–06 Sheffield United F.C. season

Sheffield United
2005–06 season
ChairmanKevin McCabe
ManagerNeil Warnock
StadiumBramall Lane
Championship2nd (promoted)
FA CupThird round
League CupThird round
Top goalscorerLeague: Shipperley (11)
All: Shipperley (11)[1]
Average home league attendance23,650

During the 2005–06 English football season, Sheffield United competed in the Football League Championship.

Season summary

The 2005–06 season was Sheffield United's twelfth straight season at the second level of the English football pyramid – a period longer than any other team currently in the Championship, and their longest spell in any Division since 1934.

After beating Cardiff City 1–0 on Good Friday and never being outside of the top two places all season, the Blades required only one point from their final three games to secure their promotion. A day later, however, Leeds United failed to beat Reading at Elland Road, which saw Sheffield United promoted back to the Premiership after many disappointments in the previous few seasons.[2]

Kit

United's kit was manufactured by French company Le Coq Sportif and sponsored by HFS Loans.

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season[3]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Republic of Ireland IRL Paddy Kenny[notes 1]
2 DF England ENG Leigh Bromby
3 MF England ENG Garry Flitcroft
4 DF England ENG Craig Short
5 DF England ENG Chris Morgan (captain)
6 MF England ENG Phil Jagielka (vice captain)
7 MF Barbados BRB Paul Ifill[notes 2]
8 FW Nigeria NGA Ade Akinbiyi[notes 3]
9 FW England ENG Neil Shipperley
10 FW England ENG Danny Webber
11 FW England ENG Steve Kabba
12 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Alan Quinn
13 GK England ENG Phil Barnes
14 FW England ENG Bruce Dyer[notes 4]
15 DF England ENG Rob Kozluk
16 DF England ENG Simon Francis
17 MF Scotland SCO Nick Montgomery[notes 5]
18 MF England ENG Michael Tonge
19 MF Northern Ireland NIR Keith Gillespie
20 DF England ENG Chris Armstrong
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 FW England ENG Jonathan Forte[notes 6]
22 MF England ENG Ian Ross
23 MF England ENG Kevan Hurst
24 DF England ENG David Unsworth
25 DF England ENG Alan Wright
26 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Derek Geary
27 FW England ENG Brian Deane
29 FW England ENG Luke Beckett
30 FW England ENG Geoff Horsfield (on loan from West Bromwich Albion)
31 DF England ENG Nicky Law
32 DF England ENG Kyle McFadzean
34 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Gary Mulligan
35 FW England ENG Colin Marrison
36 DF England ENG Evan Horwood
37 MF England ENG Kyle Nix[notes 7]
38 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Stephen Quinn
39 FW China CHN Hao Haidong
40 GK England ENG Jamie Annerson
44 DF England ENG Chris Lucketti

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
3 DF England ENG Jon Harley (to Burnley)
8 FW Scotland SCO Andy Gray[notes 8] (to Sunderland)}
8 FW France FRA Vincent Péricard[notes 9] (on loan from Portsmouth)
14 MF France FRA Lilian Nalis (to Plymouth Argyle)
No. Pos. Nation Player
28 FW England ENG Billy Sharp (to Scunthorpe United)
28 DF Scotland SCO Neill Collins (on loan from Sunderland)
30 FW England ENG Paul Shaw (to Rotherham United)
— FW England ENG Jake Speight (to Scarborough)

Reserve squad

The following players did not appear for the first-team this season.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF Canada CAN Ryan Gyaki

Transfers

In

Summer

Squad # Position Player Transferred from Fee Date Source
4 DF England Craig Short England Blackburn Rovers Free 29 June 2005
34 FW Republic of Ireland Gary Mulligan England Wolverhampton Wanderers Free 3 July 2005
37 MF England Kyle Nix England Aston Villa Free 5 July 2005
9 FW England Neil Shipperley England Crystal Palace Free 20 July 2005
19 MF Northern Ireland Keith Gillespie England Leicester City Free 5 August 2005
24 DF England David Unsworth England Portsmouth Free 22 August 2005

Winter

Squad # Position Player Transferred from Fee Date Source
27 FW England Brian Deane Australia Perth Glory Free 23 December 2005
3 DF England Gary Flitcroft England Blackburn Rovers Free 12 January 2006
8 FW Nigeria Ade Akinbyi England Burnley £1.75m 26 January 2006
14 FW England Bruce Dyer England Stoke City Free 26 January 2006

Final league table

Main article: 2005–06 Football League Championship
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
1 Reading (C, P) 46 31 13 2 99 32 +67 106 Promotion to the FA Premier League
2 Sheffield United (P) 46 26 12 8 76 46 +30 90
3 Watford (O, P) 46 22 15 9 77 53 +24 81 Qualification for Championship play-offs
4 Preston North End 46 20 20 6 59 30 +29 80
5 Leeds United 46 21 15 10 57 38 +19 78
Updated to match(es) played on 2 December 2011. Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted

Results

Sheffield United's score comes first[4]

Legend

Win Draw Loss

Football League Championship

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
6 August 2005 Leicester City H 4–1 18,224 Gray (pen), Kabba (pen), Ifill, Bromby
9 August 2005 Burnley A 2–1 11,802 Shipperley, Morgan
13 August 2005 Queens Park Rangers A 1–2 13,497 Kabba
20 August 2005 Preston North End H 2–1 20,519 Shipperley, Webber
27 August 2005 Coventry City H 2–1 17,739 Kabba, Unsworth (pen)
29 August 2005 Crewe Alexandra A 3–1 7,501 Shipperley, Quinn, Kabba
10 September 2005 Ipswich Town H 2–0 21,059 Kabba (2)
13 September 2005 Brighton & Hove Albion A 1–0 6,553 Jagielka
17 September 2005 Watford A 3–2 15,399 Jagielka, Ifill, Carlisle (own goal)
24 September 2005 Derby County H 2–1 22,192 Unsworth, Ifill
27 September 2005 Plymouth Argyle H 2–0 20,111 Shipperley, Quinn
1 October 2005 Reading A 1–2 22,068 Kabba
15 October 2005 Wolverhampton Wanderers H 1–0 25,533 Shipperley
18 October 2005 Millwall A 4–0 9,148 Webber (2), Péricard, Quinn
21 October 2005 Leeds United A 1–1 23,600 Kabba
29 October 2005 Cardiff City H 0–0 25,311
1 November 2005 Luton Town H 4–0 22,554 Jagielka (2), Morgan, Péricard
5 November 2005 Crystal Palace A 3–2 20,344 Jagielka, Ifill, Shipperley
19 November 2005 Millwall H 2–2 22,292 Unsworth, Webber
22 November 2005 Wolverhampton Wanderers A 0–0 24,240
26 November 2005 Leicester City A 2–4 22,382 Kabba, Webber
3 December 2005 Sheffield Wednesday H 1–0 30,558 Quinn
10 December 2005 Burnley H 3–0 23,118 Shipperley (2), Webber
16 December 2005 Preston North End A 0–0 14,378
26 December 2005 Norwich City H 1–3 26,505 Jagielka
28 December 2005 Southampton A 1–0 27,443 Shipperley
31 December 2005 Stoke City H 2–1 21,279 Montgomery, Morgan
3 January 2006 Hull City A 3–1 21,929 Ifill, Webber, Armstrong
14 January 2006 Ipswich Town A 1–1 23,794 Webber
21 January 2006 Brighton & Hove Albion H 3–1 27,514 Jagielka, Ifill, Tonge
1 February 2006 Derby County A 1–0 26,275 Akinbiyi
6 February 2006 Watford H 1–4 20,791 Ifill
11 February 2006 Plymouth Argyle A 0–0 15,017
14 February 2006 Reading H 1–1 25,011 Dyer
18 February 2006 Sheffield Wednesday A 2–1 33,439 Tonge, Akinbiyi
25 February 2006 Queens Park Rangers H 2–3 25,360 Akinbiyi, Bircham (own goal)
3 March 2006 Crewe Alexandra H 0–0 22,691
11 March 2006 Coventry City A 0–2 23,506
18 March 2006 Norwich City A 1–2 25,346 Armstrong
25 March 2006 Southampton H 3–0 22,824 Jagielka, Ifill, Shipperley
1 April 2006 Stoke City A 1–1 17,544 Webber
8 April 2006 Hull City H 3–2 26,324 Shipperley, Ifill, Unsworth
14 April 2006 Cardiff City A 1–0 11,006 Webber
18 April 2006 Leeds United H 1–1 29,329 Bakke (own goal)
22 April 2006 Luton Town A 1–1 10,248 Tonge
30 April 2006 Crystal Palace H 1–0 27,120 Morgan

FA Cup

Main article: 2005–06 FA Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 7 January 2006 Colchester United H 1–2 11,820 Kabba

League Cup

Main article: 2005–06 Football League Cup
Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R1 23 August 2005 Boston United H 1–0 6,014 Ross
R2 20 September 2005 Shrewsbury Town A 0–0 (won 4–3 on pens) 4,250
R3 25 October 2005 Reading A 0–2 11,607

References

  1. ^ "All Sheffield United players: 2006". www.11v11.com.
  2. ^ "Blades promoted after Leeds draw". BBC Sport. 15 April 2006. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  3. ^ "FootballSquads - Sheffield United - 2005/06". www.footballsquads.co.uk.
  4. ^ "Sheffield United 2005-2006 Home". statto.com. Archived from the original on 13 November 2009.

Notes

  1. ^ Kenny was born in Halifax, England, but also qualified to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally through his parents and made his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in June 2004.
  2. ^ Ifill was born in Brighton, England, but also qualified to represent Barbados internationally through his parents and made his international debut for Barbados in June 2004.
  3. ^ Akinbiyi was born in Hackney, England, but also qualified to represent Nigeria internationally through his parents and made his international debut for Nigeria in 1999.
  4. ^ Dyer was born in Redbridge, England, and represented them at U-21 level, but played a friendly game against Ashford Town in September 2007 for Montserrat.
  5. ^ Montgomery was born in Leeds, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and represented them at U-21 level.
  6. ^ Forte was born in Sheffield, England, and represented them at U-16, U-17, and U-18 level, but also qualified to represent Barbados internationally through his father and would make his international debut for Barbados in March 2010.
  7. ^ Nix was born in Sydney, Australia, but was raised in England and represented them at U-16, U-18, U-20, and C level.
  8. ^ Gray was born in Harrogate, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally through his father and made his international debut for Scotland in April 2003.
  9. ^ Péricard was born in Efok, Cameroon, but also qualified to represent France internationally and has represented them at U-21 level.