2005-06 record
League Promoted, Championship runners-up
FA Cup 3rd round
Carling Cup 3rd round
EXPECT FIREWORKS OFF THE PITCH, IF NOT necessarily on it. Neil Warnock realised a dream when Sheffield United won promotion and the Premiership should be all the more exciting with him in it.
Warnock is intensely passionate, outspoken and almost always entertaining and those are the traits supporters up and down the country will hope to see week in, week out. There is, however, another side to Warnock that is seldom seen — the caring, loyal, hugely likeable family man — and he should not be too readily dismissed as the blinkered, raving madman some would like to present him as. Indeed, while the reality is that they will end up back in the Coca-Cola Championship next season, United may spring a few surprises and are certain to get up the noses of some teams.
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Warnock claims he has “five or six” players that would walk into any team in the Premiership, which is something of an exaggeration, but watch out for Phil Jagielka and Michael Tonge, the midfield players.
Manager Warnock has a habit of rubbing people up the wrong way and could quickly find himself under pressure. His funds are limited, but as Mick McCarthy discovered at Sunderland last season, a manager is judged only on results
Player to watch Widely regarded as the best player outside the Premiership, Phil Jagielka must also prove himself this season. The midfielder came through the ranks at Sheffield United and is forever the subject of transfer speculation
In an ideal world In typically eccentric fashion, Warnock has declared his ambition not just to survive in the Premiership, but to finish in the top half. Then his aim is to secure European football for the first time in the club’s 117-year history. In truth, with almost no Premiership experience in his side, a mid-table finish would be the stuff of dreams
INJURIES AND SUSPENSIONS
Claude Davis (knee, one month)
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PRE-SEASON
Quite quiet, amazingly. One can only assume Neil Warnock is saving the fireworks for the season. Results have meant little
TICKET SALES
Season-ticket sales are up by 50 per cent to 21,000. Who says the Premiership is not an attractive proposition?
If they were a historical figure they would be... Noah
There’s a flood a-comin’. They should drown, but with Neil Warnock leading their ark, they may survive