Blades' success is underscored as they emulate Leeds legends of 1973-74

Such dominance from one county club in a divisional line-up is both rare and full testament to the outstanding renaissance campaign that manager Chris Wilder’s all-conquering line-up are enjoying – in a season when a plethora of club records have tumbled.

Few in League One circles would disagree with the inclusion of Blades players Simon Moore, Keiron Freeman, Mark Duffy, John Fleck and Billy Sharp.

You have to go way back to the inaugural year of 1973-74 for the last time that a Tyke side boasted a five-strong representation in a league XI.

Then, the club was Leeds United, as Paul Madeley, Norman Hunter, Billy Bremner, Johnny Giles and Allan Clarke were chosen by their top-flight peers, with Hunter winning the overall players’ player vote.

On the Blades’ strong representation, goalkeeper Moore – who has kept 16 clean sheets – said: “It is a great honour to be voted by your fellow professionals and it also shows how good we have been as a team this season to have five lads nominated in it.

“It really has been a special season.”

In a year of reawakening for several other White Rose clubs, there was also welcome and overdue representation for Huddersfield Town, Leeds, Bradford City and Doncaster Rovers in the yearly awards – although the passing over of several players raised a few eyebrows too.

In a Championship season in which Town, Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday have been riding high, just two representatives – compared with five in 2016-17 –made their way into the PFA line-up.

Few could surely argue with the inclusion of outstanding Huddersfield midfielder Aaron Mooy and divisional top-scorer Chris Wood, who were shoo-ins.

But others, most notably Tommy Smith and Pontus Jansson, were conspicuous by their absence.

Brighton’s Bruno took the right-back berth ahead of Smith and Newcastle United’s Jamaal Lascelles was named alongside Albion’s Lewis Dunk in the heart of the back four and not Jansson or his team-mate Kyle Bartley.

Mooy’s thoroughly deserved inclusion was the first for a Town player at second-tier level since their return at the end of 2011-12, with their last nominees in a league line-up being Jack Hunt and Jordan Rhodes back in that promotion campaign.

Preferring to praise Mooy for his acknowledgement rather than perhaps rail about the lack of representatives elsewhere, Huddersfield’s head coach David Wagner said: “First of all, Aaron must be proud. The whole team can be proud that he is part of our team.

“He totally deserved it, as he is one of the most consistent players. If Aaron plays well, usually the team plays well. If he is very good, the team is very good. He is a player who influences our game a lot.

“The miles he travelled during the international break makes how consistently he performs even more impressive. “

Meanwhile, Wood’s inclusion afforded Leeds their first Championship representation since Ross McCormack was named in the 2013-14 line-up.

Alongside the Blades’ five representatives, James Meredith also earned a place in the League One line-up after another ultra-consistent campaign; the Bantams’ first nominee since Gary Jones in 2012-13.

The Blades may have dominated their divisional line-up, but Doncaster – currently three points clear at the summit – saw just two players in John Marquis and James Coppinger named in the League Two XI, despite being in the top three since late September and top of the table since early January.

Second-placed Plymouth had three players named, with Andy Butler and Tommy Rowe being notable omissions. Admitting that he felt that his side deserved more representatives, Rovers manager Darren Ferguson said: “A manager is always biased and I felt we should have had more than two players in the team.

“But I am delighted for both James and John. To be recognised by your peers is probably the most rewarding thing as a player.

“They both fully deserve to be in there.”