Howard’s way at Sheffield United was key attraction for Don Hutchison

You could excuse Hutchison for not looking back fondly on his time with late 1990s nearly-men Sheffield United, but he loved it.

One man in particular made his time in South Yorkshire special, and only Howard Kendall could lure him away.

Ex-Liverpool, West Ham United, Everton and Scotland player Hutchison has only good things to say about the late, great manager who dropped him for a play-off semi-final second leg, yet still had the midfielder hugging and kissing him that night.

“I knew they were a big club,” says Hutchison. “Bramall Lane’s an impressive place with loads of history, and I loved the fact it was like Liverpool and Everton, really close to Sheffield Wednesday with a very strong rivalry.

“The Premier League’s where it’s at but if you’re a real football-lover the Championship is great because you play Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday. The home, but moreso the away fans were an attraction and it was a lovely area to live in but the biggest factor was Howard Kendall. He was the only reason I left too.

“I first met him when I came for talks. My agent was in another room with the chief executive and Howard started asking about my mam and dad because he was a Gateshead lad, just like I was. Apart from that, all we talked about was football until he asked if I was going to sign. I said, ‘My agent’s trying to sort it out,’ and he said, ‘But you are going to sign, aren’t you?’

“When I said yes he got us champagne, even though the details were still being sorted.”

Sheffield United reached the play-offs in 1996-97 and 1997-98, when they were FA Cup semi-finalists, but never achieved what Hutchison thought they should.

“Howard used to say if you were in the Championship never buy Championship players or you will stay there,” he recalls. “We had Alan Kelly, Simon Tracey, Michel Vonk, Paul McGrath, Gordon Cowans, David White, John Ebbrell, Nigel Spackman, Paul Parker, Jan Aage Fjortoft, Gareth Taylor and Andy Walker. Championship games got called off if you had a certain number of international call-ups, so we were sixth or seventh for a long period but if we won our games in hand we’d be up there. Maybe it caught up with us.

“We should have won the league that season, we were the best side in the division.”

Seven points behind second-placed Barnsley, the Blades faced Ipswich Town in the play-offs.

“The first game was at Bramall Lane and we played 4-4-2 all the time,” recalls Hutchison. “We drew 1-1 then had a practice game against the reserves playing three at the back. We got smashed.

“When the match finished Howard said this was the formation we were going to play at Portman Road, had anyone got any objections? I said I did because we needed to be positive. Howard listened, then said: ‘Absolutely correct. We will play 4-4-2 and you’ll be on the bench!’

“We won the tie in front of 4,000 or 5,000 Blades fans.

“I think if we’d tonked the reserves he would have played three at the back at Ipswich but he could see we weren’t comfortable with it.

“I can’t remember too many times I got dropped and I was hugging and kissing the manager during the game because as a player you’re very selfish. He didn’t hold a grudge, so I was back for the final.”

It was not Hutchison’s day.

“We had a beautiful kit – white shirts, white shorts, white socks – we looked the part and really felt good,” he reminisces. “Early in the game one of the Palace players hit a shot right at my face so I put my right hand up and it snapped back. It was broken, so I got it strapped up.

“We were dominating, our keeper (Tracey) wasn’t making any saves but it was boiling so we couldn’t really stretch ourselves.

“About 15 minutes after that first injury I went up for a header. Gareth Taylor heard me call and bent over out of the way. I came over the top and I was going to fall onto my right hand so I twisted and ended up dislocating my left shoulder.

“When the game finished I was on the coach drugged up and drowsy. I didn’t know David Hopkin scored the only goal with virtually the last kick but I could tell we’d lost when I saw the lads getting on the coach.

“There was a party laid on at Bramall Lane with all the wives and families. All the lads had their tracksuits on but I was still in my full kit, drugged up, drowsy and looking like a right idiot.”

The injuries delayed Hutchison’s 1997-98 until November and he left after 13 more league starts.

“Howard went back to Everton in the summer and took Carl Tiler and Mitch Ward,” he explains. “I ended up going too. I’m convinced if we’d stayed together we would have gone up.

“Nigel Spackman got the job and I could imagine playing under him, he would have been good for me, but I got the chance to work with Howard again.

“He was one of the best guys in football, one of the most gifted players of his generation and a really successful manager.

“I was in awe of him. I was only with Kenny Dalglish for a season and I adored Graeme Souness because he was a man’s man but I loved playing for Howard.”

Hopkin’s goal ensured the relationship would have to continue away from Sheffield.