# 2006–07 Sheffield United F.C. season

During the 2006–07 English football season, Sheffield United competed in the FA Premier League, after being promoted from the Football League Championship the previous season.

## Kit

The kit was manufactured by French company Le Coq Sportif and sponsored by American bank Capital One.

## Season summary

Several good results, including a home draw against Liverpool on the first day of the season and wins over Arsenal and Newcastle United saw Sheffield United keep ahead of the relegation zone for much of the season. However, West Ham United's late run of good form, combined with a broken leg suffered by top scorer Rob Hulse against Chelsea that left the Blades lacking firepower up front, saw Sheffield United sucked into the relegation battle and they were relegated on the final day of the season on goal difference after losing at home to Wigan Athletic; a draw would have been good enough to keep United up. Wigan Athletic's win kept them up at United's expense and in a twist of fate, David Unsworth, who had started the season at Sheffield United and had been let go in January 2007 on a free transfer, scored the goal that sent down former club Sheffield United, whilst simultaneously saving Wigan Athletic from relegation, 3 minutes after arriving on the pitch as substitute.

## 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 |
| 4 | DF | JAM | Claude Davis |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Chris Morgan (captain) |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Phil Jagielka (vice captain) |
| 7 | FW | JAM | Luton Shelton |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Jon Stead |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Rob Hulse |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Danny Webber |
| 12 | MF | IRL | Alan Quinn |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Ian Bennett |
| 14 | DF | GLP | David Sommeil |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Rob Kozluk |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Matthew Kilgallon |
| 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 | MF | ATG | Mikele Leigertwood |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Chris Lucketti |
| 23 | MF | EGY | Ahmed Fathy |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Craig Short |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Alan Wright |
| 26 | DF | IRL | Derek Geary |
| 27 | FW | FRA | Christian Nadé |
| 28 | MF | IRL | Stephen Quinn |
| 29 | GK | ENG | Paul Gerrard |
| 30 | MF | CHN | Li Tie |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Nicky Law |
| 32 | FW | TUR | Colin Kazim-Richards |
| 33 | GK | ENG | Jamie Annerson |
| 34 | MF | ENG | James Ashmore |
| 37 | FW | ENG | Colin Marrison |
| 38 | MF | ENG | Kevan Hurst |
| 39 | DF | SEN | Mamadou Seck |
| 44 | MF | IRN | Sharu Naraji |

### 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 | David Unsworth (to Wigan Athletic) |
| 7 | MF | BRB | Paul Ifill (to Crystal Palace) |
| 8 | FW | NGA | Ade Akinbiyi (to Burnley) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Steve Kabba (to Watford) |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Neil Shipperley (to Brentford) |

### 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 |
| 44 | MF | CAN | Ryan Gyaki |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | ENG | Travis Binnion |

## Transfers
### In

* David Sommeil - Manchester City, free transfer, 24 May 2006
* Claude Davis - Preston North End, £3,000,000, 14 June 2006
* Christian Nadé - Troyes, 27 June 2006
* Mikele Leigertwood - Crystal Palace, £600,000 (compensation), 4 July 2006
* Li Tie - Everton, free transfer, 6 July 2006
* Rob Hulse - Leeds United, £2,200,000 rising to £3,000,000, 24 July 2006
* Ian Bennett - Leeds United, undisclosed, 27 July 2006
* Colin Kazim-Richards - Brighton & Hove Albion, £150,000, 31 August 2006
* Paul Gerrard - Nottingham Forest, free transfer, 27 September 2006
* Matthew Kilgallon - Leeds United, £1,750,000 rising to £2,000,000, 8 January 2007
* Jon Stead - Sunderland, £750,000 rising to £1,250,000, 11 January 2007
* Mamadou Seck - Le Havre, free, 15 January 2007
* Luton Shelton - Helsingborg, £2,000,000, 15 January 2007
* Ahmed Fathy - Ismaily SC, £700,000, 24 January 2007

### Out

* Brian Deane - retired, 2006
* Garry Flitcroft - retired, 2006
* Kyle Nix - released
* Gary Mulligan - Gillingham, 12 May 2006
* Bruce Dyer - released (later joined Doncaster Rovers on 2 June 2006)
* Simon Francis - Southend United, undisclosed, 13 June 2006
* Phil Barnes - Grimsby Town, undisclosed, 29 June 2006
* Luke Beckett - Huddersfield Town, £85,000, 3 July 2006
* David Unsworth - Wigan Athletic, free transfer, 5 January 2007
* Neil Shipperley - released (later joined Brentford), 15 January 2007
* Paul Ifill - Crystal Palace, £800,000, January 2007
* Steve Kabba - Watford, £500,000, 26 January 2007
* Ade Akinbiyi - Burnley, £650,000 rising to £750,000, January 2007

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 16 | Fulham | 38 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 38 | 60 | −22 | 39 | |
| 17 | Wigan Athletic | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 37 | 59 | −22 | 38 | |
| 18 | Sheffield United (R) | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 32 | 55 | −23 | 38 | Relegation to Football League Championship |
| 19 | Charlton Athletic (R) | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 34 | 60 | −26 | 34 | Relegation to Football League Championship |
| 20 | Watford (R) | 38 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 29 | 59 | −30 | 28 | Relegation to Football League Championship |

## Results

Sheffield United's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### FA Premier League
#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 25 January 2019. Source: 11v11

#### Results per matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | L | L | D | L | L | W | D | L | L | W | D | L | L | W | W | D | W | L | L | W | L | D | L | W | L | W | L | D | L | L | L | W | L | D | W | L | L |
| Position | 10 | 14 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 17 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 18 |
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 19 August 2006 | Liverpool | H | 1–1 | 31,726 | Hulse |
| 22 August 2006 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–2 | 35,287 | |
| 26 August 2006 | Fulham | A | 0–1 | 18,362 | |
| 9 September 2006 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 0–0 | 29,876 | |
| 16 September 2006 | Reading | H | 1–2 | 28,288 | Hulse |
| 23 September 2006 | Arsenal | A | 0–3 | 59,912 | |
| 30 September 2006 | Middlesbrough | H | 2–1 | 27,483 | Hulse, Jagielka |
| 14 October 2006 | Manchester City | A | 0–0 | 42,192 | |
| 21 October 2006 | Everton | A | 0–2 | 37,900 | |
| 28 October 2006 | Chelsea | H | 0–2 | 32,321 | |
| 4 November 2006 | Newcastle United | A | 1–0 | 50,188 | Webber |
| 11 November 2006 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–2 | 28,294 | Hulse, Kazim-Richards |
| 18 November 2006 | Manchester United | H | 1–2 | 32,584 | Gillespie |
| 25 November 2006 | West Ham United | A | 0–1 | 34,454 | |
| 28 November 2006 | Watford | A | 1–0 | 18,887 | Webber |
| 2 December 2006 | Charlton Athletic | H | 2–1 | 27,368 | Morgan, Gillespie |
| 11 December 2006 | Aston Villa | H | 2–2 | 30,957 | Quinn, Webber |
| 16 December 2006 | Wigan Athletic | A | 1–0 | 16,322 | Hulse |
| 23 December 2006 | Portsmouth | A | 1–3 | 20,164 | Hulse |
| 26 December 2006 | Manchester City | H | 0–1 | 32,591 | |
| 30 December 2006 | Arsenal | H | 1–0 | 32,086 | Nadé |
| 1 January 2007 | Middlesbrough | A | 1–3 | 27,963 | Jagielka (pen) |
| 13 January 2007 | Portsmouth | H | 1–1 | 30,269 | Quinn |
| 20 January 2007 | Reading | A | 1–3 | 23,956 | Nadé |
| 30 January 2007 | Fulham | H | 2–0 | 27,540 | Stead, Tonge |
| 3 February 2007 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 1–2 | 20,917 | Stead |
| 10 February 2007 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 2–1 | 32,144 | Hulse, Jagielka (pen) |
| 24 February 2007 | Liverpool | A | 0–4 | 44,198 | |
| 3 March 2007 | Everton | H | 1–1 | 32,019 | Hulse |
| 17 March 2007 | Chelsea | A | 0–3 | 41,897 | |
| 31 March 2007 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–1 | 24,312 | |
| 7 April 2007 | Newcastle United | H | 1–2 | 32,572 | Nadé |
| 14 April 2007 | West Ham United | H | 3–0 | 31,593 | Tonge, Jagielka, Stead |
| 17 April 2007 | Manchester United | A | 0–2 | 75,540 | |
| 21 April 2007 | Charlton Athletic | A | 1–1 | 27,111 | Stead |
| 28 April 2007 | Watford | H | 1–0 | 30,690 | Powell (own goal) |
| 5 May 2007 | Aston Villa | A | 0–3 | 42,551 | |
| 13 May 2007 | Wigan Athletic | H | 1–2 | 32,604 | Stead |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 6 January 2007 | Swansea City | H | 0–3 | 15,896 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 | 19 September 2006 | Bury | H | 1–0 | 6,273 | Nadé |
| R3 | 24 October 2006 | Birmingham City | H | 2–4 | 10,584 | Akinbiyi, Montgomery |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | IRL | Paddy Kenny | 34 | 0 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Ian Bennett | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | GK | ENG | Paul Gerrard | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | ENG | Leigh Bromby | 20 | 0 | 12+5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | JAM | Claude Davis | 22 | 0 | 18+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | ENG | Chris Morgan | 25 | 1 | 21+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | ENG | Phil Jagielka | 38 | 4 | 38 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | FRA | David Sommeil | 7 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Rob Kozluk | 20 | 0 | 17+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | ENG | Matthew Kilgallon | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | DF | ENG | Chris Armstrong | 28 | 0 | 24+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Chris Lucketti | 9 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | ENG | Craig Short | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Alan Wright | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | ENG | Derek Geary | 28 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 12 | MF | IRL | Alan Quinn | 21 | 0 | 11+8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | SCO | Nick Montgomery | 28 | 1 | 22+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | MF | ENG | Michael Tonge | 28 | 3 | 23+4 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | NIR | Keith Gillespie | 31 | 3 | 27+4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Mikele Leigertwood | 19 | 0 | 16+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | EGY | Ahmed Fathy | 3 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Kevan Hurst | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | MF | IRL | Stephen Quinn | 17 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 30 | MF | CHN | Li Tie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | ENG | Nicky Law | 7 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 7 | FW | JAM | Luton Shelton | 4 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | ENG | Jon Stead | 14 | 4 | 12+2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Rob Hulse | 29 | 8 | 28+1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Danny Webber | 24 | 3 | 13+9 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | FRA | Christian Nadé | 28 | 4 | 7+18 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 32 | FW | TUR | Colin Kazim-Richards | 29 | 1 | 15+12 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 37 | FW | ENG | Colin Marrison | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||
| 3 | DF | ENG | David Unsworth | 6 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Paul Ifill | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | NGA | Ade Akinbiyi | 5 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 11 | FW | ENG | Steve Kabba | 8 | 0 | 0+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Last updated: 19 May 2007 Source: Competitions