Clever Chris Makes Blades Razor Sharp

WHEN Leeds lost 2-1 to Sheffield United at the end of October, I said that anyone who finished above the Blades would win promotion.

Nothing I’ve seen since has changed my mind. They are the best side I’ve seen at Elland Road and the best side I’ve seen in the Championship.

Forget all this stuff about confidence and momentum. They’re adventurous. There’s no fear in how they play. Their energy levels are out of this world.

I watch Leeds regularly and, for me, that’s what makes them an inferior team. When they haven’t got the ball, they haven’t got enough players who want it back.

Brains At Blades, they all think like that and I mean right from the front. For Leon Clarke and Billy Sharp, there’s no such thing as a bad ball. They chase absolutely everything. But it’s not just energy – they do it with brains. They pen back fours down one side, then cut off the out ball.

Sheffield United actually remind me very much of the Barnsley side I played in that won promotion under Danny Wilson in 1997. If you came to play, we’d pass it around and out football you. But if you came to scrap, we’d scrap with you. We had the lot – and so do United.