# 1998–99 Sheffield United F.C. season

During the 1998–99 English football season, Sheffield United competed in the Football League First Division.

## Season summary

The 1998–99 season saw more managerial change, with Steve Bruce taking over first team affairs. The Blades challenged once again for a play-off place but eventually finished eighth. However, there was drama in the FA Cup where the Blades were controversially beaten by Arsenal when Bruce attempted to take his team off the pitch, claiming that Arsenal had broken an unwritten rule of sportsmanship by failing to return the ball to the Blades, who had intentionally kicked it out of play to allow an injured player to be attended to. Although the game eventually continued to a finish, it was later declared void and replayed; United lost. In May, Bruce resigned after just one season in charge, citing turmoil in the club's boardroom and a shortage of funds for transfers.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 6 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 78 | 59 | +19 | 76 | Qualification for the First Division play-offs |
| 7 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 19 | 16 | 11 | 64 | 43 | +21 | 73 | |
| 8 | Sheffield United | 46 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 71 | 66 | +5 | 67 | |
| 9 | Norwich City | 46 | 15 | 17 | 14 | 62 | 61 | +1 | 62 | |
| 10 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 62 | 71 | −9 | 61 | |

## Results

Sheffield United's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 8 August 1998 | Swindon Town | H | 2–1 | 15,977 | Stuart, Borbokis |
| 15 August 1998 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–4 | 16,901 | Saunders |
| 22 August 1998 | Birmingham City | H | 0–2 | 17,528 | |
| 29 August 1998 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 2–2 | 18,263 | Saunders, Taylor |
| 31 August 1998 | Crewe Alexandra | H | 3–1 | 15,922 | Hunt, I Hamilton, Woodhouse |
| 5 September 1998 | Huddersfield Town | A | 0–1 | 12,192 | |
| 8 September 1998 | Grimsby Town | H | 3–2 | 12,293 | Marker (2), McDermott (own goal) |
| 12 September 1998 | Bradford City | A | 2–2 | 13,169 | Saunders, Stuart |
| 19 September 1998 | Norwich City | H | 2–1 | 16,155 | Marcelo (2) |
| 27 September 1998 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–1 | 20,370 | |
| 29 September 1998 | Watford | A | 1–1 | 9,090 | Marker |
| 3 October 1998 | Portsmouth | H | 2–1 | 15,386 | Saunders, Dellas |
| 17 October 1998 | Barnsley | H | 1–1 | 23,180 | Quinn |
| 20 October 1998 | Stockport County | H | 1–1 | 12,657 | Marcelo |
| 24 October 1998 | Oxford United | A | 2–0 | 6,586 | Saunders, Kachura |
| 31 October 1998 | Port Vale | A | 3–2 | 6,737 | Stuart, Kachura, Saunders |
| 7 November 1998 | Tranmere Rovers | H | 2–2 | 15,844 | Saunders, Borbokis |
| 10 November 1998 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1–2 | 20,804 | Stuart |
| 14 November 1998 | Bury | H | 3–1 | 14,164 | Kachura (3) |
| 21 November 1998 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 2–1 | 12,558 | Stuart, Kachura |
| 28 November 1998 | Sunderland | H | 0–4 | 25,612 | |
| 5 December 1998 | Bristol City | A | 0–2 | 11,134 | |
| 11 December 1998 | Bury | A | 3–3 | 5,002 | Woodhouse, Marcelo (2) |
| 20 December 1998 | Ipswich Town | H | 1–2 | 12,944 | Devlin |
| 26 December 1998 | Birmingham City | A | 0–1 | 22,005 | |
| 28 December 1998 | Huddersfield Town | H | 2–1 | 17,359 | Gray (own goal), Twiss |
| 9 January 1999 | Swindon Town | A | 2–2 | 7,583 | Stuart, Holdsworth |
| 16 January 1999 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 1–2 | 15,787 | Campbell |
| 30 January 1999 | Crewe Alexandra | A | 2–1 | 5,243 | Marcelo, Devlin |
| 6 February 1999 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 3–0 | 16,566 | Morris, Marcelo (2) |
| 19 February 1999 | Bradford City | H | 2–2 | 14,675 | Woodhouse, Marcelo |
| 27 February 1999 | Norwich City | A | 1–1 | 14,224 | Devlin |
| 2 March 1999 | Crystal Palace | H | 1–1 | 12,896 | Morris |
| 6 March 1999 | Watford | H | 3–0 | 15,943 | Devlin, Morris, I Hamilton |
| 9 March 1999 | Portsmouth | A | 0–1 | 10,287 | |
| 13 March 1999 | Tranmere Rovers | A | 3–2 | 6,588 | Morris, Dellas (2) |
| 20 March 1999 | Port Vale | H | 3–0 | 15,515 | Devlin, Marcelo, Hunt |
| 26 March 1999 | Oxford United | H | 1–2 | 14,115 | Marcelo |
| 3 April 1999 | Barnsley | A | 1–2 | 17,566 | Marcelo |
| 5 April 1999 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | H | 1–1 | 21,761 | Marcelo |
| 10 April 1999 | Stockport County | A | 0–1 | 7,551 | |
| 17 April 1999 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 2–0 | 14,341 | Marcelo (2, 1 pen) |
| 20 April 1999 | Grimsby Town | A | 2–1 | 5,109 | Campbell (2) |
| 24 April 1999 | Sunderland | A | 0–0 | 41,179 | |
| 1 May 1999 | Bristol City | H | 3–1 | 17,310 | Marcelo, Morris (2) |
| 9 May 1999 | Ipswich Town | A | 1–4 | 21,689 | Donis |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 2 January 1999 | Notts County | H | 1–1 | 12,264 | Marcelo |
| R3R | 23 January 1999 | Notts County | A | 4–3 | 7,489 | Borbokis, Holdsworth, Marcelo (2) |
| R4 | 27 January 1999 | Cardiff City | H | 4–1 | 13,296 | Devlin, Holdsworth, Morris, Stuart |
| R5 | 23 February 1999 | Arsenal | A | 1–2 | 37,161 | Morris |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R1 1st Leg | 11 August 1998 | Darlington | H | 3–1 | 5,035 | Borbokis, Saunders, Taylor |
| R1 2nd Leg | 18 August 1998 | Darlington | A | 2–2 (won 5–3 on agg) | 3,756 | Saunders (2) |
| R2 1st Leg | 15 September 1998 | Grimsby Town | H | 2–1 | 4,689 | I Hamilton, Ford |
| R2 2nd Leg | 22 September 1998 | Grimsby Town | A | 0–2 (lost 2–3 on agg) | 4,287 | |

## 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 |
| — | GK | ENG | Simon Tracey |
| — | GK | ENG | Leigh Walker |
| — | GK | SCO | Andy Goram |
| — | GK | IRL | Alan Kelly |
| — | DF | ENG | Steve Bruce (player-manager) |
| — | DF | ENG | David Holdsworth |
| — | DF | ENG | Rob Kozluk |
| — | DF | ENG | Nicky Marker |
| — | DF | ENG | Jon O'Connor |
| — | DF | ENG | Wayne Quinn |
| — | DF | ENG | Lee Sandford |
| — | DF | ENG | Chris Wilder |
| — | DF | GRE | Vasilios Borbokis |
| — | DF | GRE | Traianos Dellas |
| — | DF | NOR | Anders Jacobsen |
| — | DF | NOR | Roger Nilsen |
| — | DF | CIV | Olivier Tébily |
| — | MF | ENG | Jon Cullen |
| — | MF | ENG | Kevin Davies |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Shaun Derry |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Devlin |
| — | MF | ENG | Des Hamilton (on loan from Newcastle United) |
| — | MF | ENG | Ian Hamilton |
| — | MF | ENG | Nick Henry |
| — | MF | ENG | Bobby Ford |
| — | MF | ENG | Graham Stuart |
| — | MF | ENG | Michael Twiss (on loan from Manchester United) |
| — | MF | ENG | Curtis Woodhouse |
| — | MF | GRE | Giorgos Donis |
| — | FW | ENG | Andy Campbell (on loan from Middlesbrough) |
| — | FW | ENG | Jonathan Hunt (on loan from Derby County) |
| — | FW | ENG | Lee Morris |
| — | FW | WAL | Dean Saunders |
| — | FW | WAL | Gareth Taylor |
| — | FW | BLR | Pyotr Kachura |
| — | FW | BRA | Marcelo |