The Class of 18/19

If you go to a pub in Ireland, you have to have a song. And if you don’t have a song, you might as well not go to the pub at all. Wise words of warning from John Egan: but at the time he said this, there was no risk of silence in S2. Sheffield United’s 2018/19 season was music to our ears.

Part two of our trilogy of podcasts on the Chris Wilder 1.0 era sees the club established back in the Championship with a strong previous season. A wobble at the start (the usual) was rectified pretty quickly. Results went our way. Then a few more. And a few more. The odd loss here and there meant it was a race for second and a barely believable return to the top flight with our bunch of frees, outcasts and misfits. We were introduced to Zinedave Zigoldrick. We got Stearmaned. Billy Sharp scored goals. Basham arrived. We forgot the maths: the Premier League beckoned for Sheffield United.

Joining us for this episode is Output Editor at Sky Sports and former deputy news editor at The Athletic, Kate Burlaga, who brings her usual poetry and prose to a fairytale period in the club’s history.

Welcome to the Wildest Ride, a three-part podcast on Sheffield United from 2016-2021: a magical time that saw the Blades drag themselves from the middle of League One to the top half of the Premier League.

Part one focuses on that first season, when Chris Wilder and Alan Knill arrived at a club on its knees, ripped up the rulebook and concocted a team of centurions. Join us to chart a course from the lap of dishonour to Billy Sharp atop the shoulders of fans on a sunny day in Northampton.

Listen now | Sam and Riley talk Swans and take stock of four summer recruits: Harry Souttar, Harrison Burrows, Callum O'Hare and Kieffer Moore.

Listen now | Would it lie to you? The Championship league table that is. In this episode of the Formline, we analyse the truths and lies of the league table as it stands, including a deep-dive into the good, bad and ugly of the season so far, Gustavo Hamer’s form, plus a Pompey preview…

Listen now | Game-state, chance creation, Oliver Arblaster and the 'problem' of left-hand side – David Taylor and Sam Parry analyse Sheffield United's Championship start

State of Play 1.01 | Sam, David, and guest, Craig Bradley, dive deep into the career and prospects of new goalkeeper, Mike Cooper.

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"Rak Sak and three smoking barrels..." – Sheffield United's four latest signings - Alfie Gilchrist, Harry Souttar, Tyrese Campbell and Jesurun Rak-Sakyi

Formline 1.04 | George Elek from the Not The Top 20 Podcast joins David and Sam talk Harrison Burrows, summer business, Chris Wilder and the Blades' opening fixtures against Preston North End.

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Formline 1.03 | David Taylor, Sam Parry and Riley Roberts cover 4 reasons to be cheerful, a Preston preview, and some quick-fire questions ahead of the curtain raiser.

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United Voices 1.02 | Originally published on The Pinch last year, David Beeden discusses the Green'Un and his dad.

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