# 2005–06 Sheffield United F.C. season

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.

## 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
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 | IRL | Paddy Kenny |
| 2 | DF | ENG | Leigh Bromby |
| 3 | MF | ENG | Garry Flitcroft |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Craig Short |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Chris Morgan (captain) |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Phil Jagielka (vice captain) |
| 7 | MF | BRB | Paul Ifill |
| 8 | FW | NGA | Ade Akinbiyi |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Neil Shipperley |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Danny Webber |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Steve Kabba |
| 12 | MF | IRL | Alan Quinn |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Phil Barnes |
| 14 | FW | ENG | Bruce Dyer |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Rob Kozluk |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Simon Francis |
| 17 | MF | SCO | Nick Montgomery |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Michael Tonge |
| 19 | MF | NIR | Keith Gillespie |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Chris Armstrong |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 21 | FW | ENG | Jonathan Forte |
| 22 | MF | ENG | Ian Ross |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Kevan Hurst |
| 24 | DF | ENG | David Unsworth |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Alan Wright |
| 26 | DF | IRL | Derek Geary |
| 27 | FW | ENG | Brian Deane |
| 29 | FW | ENG | Luke Beckett |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Geoff Horsfield (on loan from West Bromwich Albion) |
| 31 | DF | ENG | Nicky Law |
| 32 | DF | ENG | Kyle McFadzean |
| 34 | FW | IRL | Gary Mulligan |
| 35 | FW | ENG | Colin Marrison |
| 36 | DF | ENG | Evan Horwood |
| 37 | MF | ENG | Kyle Nix |
| 38 | MF | IRL | Stephen Quinn |
| 39 | FW | CHN | Hao Haidong |
| 40 | GK | ENG | Jamie Annerson |
| 44 | DF | 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 | ENG | Jon Harley (to Burnley) |
| 8 | FW | SCO | Andy Gray (to Sunderland)} |
| 8 | FW | FRA | Vincent Péricard (on loan from Portsmouth) |
| 14 | MF | FRA | Lilian Nalis (to Plymouth Argyle) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 28 | FW | ENG | Billy Sharp (to Scunthorpe United) |
| 28 | DF | SCO | Neill Collins (on loan from Sunderland) |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Paul Shaw (to Rotherham United) |
| — | FW | 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 | CAN | Ryan Gyaki |

## Transfers
### In
#### Summer

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

#### Winter

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

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | 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 | Promotion to the FA Premier League |
| 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 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |
| 5 | Leeds United | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 57 | 38 | +19 | 78 | Qualification for Championship play-offs |

## Results

Sheffield United's score comes first

### 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

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 7 January 2006 | Colchester United | H | 1–2 | 11,820 | Kabba |

### 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 | |