Pre-season Pre-season began with 11 players being released, including former Player of the Year
James Beattie, defenders
Andy Taylor and
Johnny Ertl, The Blades returned to pre-season training having arranged the now annual pre-season tour of
Malta, followed by a string of low key friendlies. With manager Danny Wilson seeking to improve the squad, on 13 July he signed 19-year-old striker
John Cofie from
Manchester United on a season-long loan. A day later the Blades made their first permanent signing of the transfer window with 21-year-old right back
Darryl Westlake signing a two-year deal with the option of a third year, with a fee to be agreed with his former club
Walsall via a tribunal due to his age. As the training camp continued
Chris Morgan announced during a question and answer session with the fans in attendance that he had decided to retire from playing due to a recurrent injury, and that he would now focus solely on his role as reserve-team coach. The following day United confirmed that Kevin McDonald had signed a new two-year contract, Back in the UK, and with July almost over, United made a triple signing, handing two-year deals to defenders
Tony McMahon who had been released by
Middlesbrough, and former loanee
Matt Hill who had left
Blackpool, along with signing striker
Shaun Miller for an undisclosed fee from
Crewe Alexandra. As August began a United XI travelled the short distance to
Hallam where two goals each from
Ironside and
Philliskirk were enough to secure a comfortable 4–0 victory. Joe Ironside was on target again a few days later as both he and new signing
Tony McMahon scored to give United a 2–0 victory at
Morecambe. With pre-season coming to an end reserve coach
Chris Morgan took a young United XI side to
Matlock Town where they recorded a 1–0 victory thanks to a goal from
Erik Tønne. Then, the day before the season opener against
Burton Albion, United announced the signing of
Blackburn Rovers striker
Nick Blackman on a two-year deal for an undisclosed fee. became a player-coach.|alt=Richard Cresswell on the pitch
August and September: Too many draws , winning 1–0 thanks to a goal from former Shrewsbury loanee
David McAllister. A trip to
Coventry City followed a few days later with United snatching a late goal for a 1–1 draw, with the same result being repeated the following Saturday as the Blades were held to another draw by
Colchester United. With the transfer window closing at the end of August, United continued to reshape their squad in an effort to reduce the wage bill, agreeing a new contract with
Richard Cresswell for him to become player coach. Flynn was also a central figure in the following game as both he and fellow midfielder
Michael Doyle were shown red cards against
Scunthorpe United before the Blades came from behind to grab a 1–1 draw. Off the field, the following week the club parted company with Chief Executive
Julian Winter and Director of Academy Coaching
John Pemberton, citing ongoing restructuring. With the red cards for both Doyle and Flynn being upheld on appeal, whilst a 0–0 draw was the result when
Doncaster Rovers visited Sheffield a couple of days later. A third goal of the season from
Neill Collins was enough to continue the Blades' unbeaten start with a 1–0 victory over
Yeovil Town at
Huish Park. Despite the return of Michael Doyle and Ryan Flynn from suspension and a first goal from Dave Kitson, United were forced to settle for yet another 1–1 draw in their last game of September, versus
Notts County at Bramall Lane.
October and November: Long live King George October started more positively for the Blades as a late goal from
Paul Gallagher, his first for the club, snatched a victory in an away fixture against
Hartlepool United. United then made it two wins in a row on their travels as they defeated
Leyton Orient 1–0 thanks to
Nick Blackman's fifth goal of the campaign. During the match
Mark Howard suffered a thigh injury in the 11th minute, being replaced in goal by
George Long, and was later ruled out for up to 12 weeks. The following week, and despite attempts to retain his services,
Paul Gallagher's loan period expired and he returned to his parent club. The Blades also announced changes to the Football Club board, with chairman Chris Steer stepping down to be replaced by Dave Green, and Nigerian financier Jacob Esan being added as a director. Despite George Long having made some impressive performances, Danny Wilson still looked to bring in another goalkeeper as cover and confirmed that former
Wales international and free agent
Danny Coyne had been invited to train with the Blades; but insisted that Long would continue to be first choice for the time being. The Blades then entertained
Oldham Athletic at Bramall Lane, a bad tempered match which saw Oldham score in the seventh minute of injury time to snatch a 1–1 draw, and Lactics striker
Lee Croft subsequently accused of racially abusing a ball boy. Having received a bye for the first round, United began their
Football League Trophy campaign with a 4–1 victory over
Notts County at
Meadow Lane.
Lecsinel Jean-François played for the first time in over six months after a knee injury, appearing for the last 15 minutes as a substitute, however he injured his other knee and was ruled out for a further two months. Back in the league and a trip to
Preston North End culminated in a 1–0 win thanks to a Dave Kitson goal, before a Nick Blackman penalty was enough to claim the same result in a home game against
Walsall. With the month almost over the Blades beat the likes of
Manchester United,
Manchester City,
Chelsea and
Arsnenal by handing a three-year deal to 17-year-old Academy player
Diego De Girolamo, signed as goalkeeping cover in November. Back in
League One an away trip to
Swindon Town ended in a 0–0 stalemate, but it was a result that allowed United to climb into the automatic promotion places for the first time in the season. A few days later vice-captain Neill Collins extended his current contract by a further two years until Summer 2015 with the option of another year, The following week
Matthew Harriott was allowed to join
Alfreton Town on loan, initially until 9 December, A few days later it was announced that
Danny Wilson had been named League One Manager of the Month and that
George Long had won League One Player of the Month for October. A mid-week home fixture against
Crewe Alexandra followed which ended in a 3–3 draw, despite United having taken a two-goal lead in the first half. The following day Jordan Chapell extended his loan with Burton Albion for a further month,
December and January: (Briefly) Top of the league joined United in January on a free transfer from
Stoke City. With the Blades beginning to struggle with injuries
Jordan Chapell was recalled early from his loan spell at
Burton Albion, and returned to the United first-team later that day as the Blades crashed out of the
Football League Trophy on penalties to
Coventry City. Meanwhile, Matthew Harriott extended his loan deal with Alfreton Town until 6 January but were held to a 0–0 draw by table-topping
Tranmere Rovers the following week. After Danny Coyne extended his short-term contract to keep him with the club until the end of January, before a comfortable 3–0 home win over
Scunthorpe United on
Boxing Day consolidated their place as league leaders. With injuries and suspensions starting to weaken the first-team United finished the year by slipping to a surprising 2–3 home defeat to bottom club
Hartlepool United, a result which saw them drop to second in the table. On 28 December it was announced that due to injuries sustained against Scunthorpe United, Shaun Miller would be out for the remainder of the season and out up to nine months in total with a cruciate knee ligament injury; whilst Neill Collins would be out for around two months with a fractured cheekbone. was signed from
Motherwell during the transfer window. On 3 January Danny Wilson continued to revamp the squad by signing winger
Jamie Murphy from
Motherwell on a three-and-a-half-year contract for an undisclosed fee, whilst
John Cofie's loan deal was terminated and he returned to his parent club Manchester United, despite claiming that he wanted to see out the season with the Blades. earning United a trip to the
Madejski Stadium against
Premier League strugglers
Reading. United continued to struggle with injuries as defender
Matt Hill was ruled out for six weeks with a fractured cheek bone following the game at Oxford. United's transfer dealings continued with midfielder
David McAllister leaving the Blades for former loan club
Shrewsbury Town for an undisclosed fee, and allowed
Notts County to score a late equaliser to draw 1–1 despite being reduced to ten men for much of the game. With the transfer window close to completion United allowed young striker
Danny Philliskirk to leave after cancelling his contract. With the Blades game at
Bury postponed due to weather conditions, their next match was the
FA Cup fourth round tie at
Reading, a match which saw United crash out of the competition following a 4–0 defeat. With a day of the transfer window remaining Reading agreed a deal to sign
Nick Blackman, only six months after he had arrived at
Bramall Lane, and after he had rejected a move to
Crystal Palace. On deadline day itself former United youth player
Jonathan Forte returned to the Blades on loan for the rest of the season from
Southampton and
Scottish international Barry Robson signed a short-term deal until the end of the season. signed from
Leeds United on loan. With United's home fixture against
Crawley Town postponed due to a waterlogged pitch, the first time in ten years United had had to postpone a match for such a reason, their next fixture was an away trip to
Shrewsbury Town where goals from
Michael Doyle and
Dave Kitson helped them to a 2–1 victory and their first league win of 2013. United registered back-to-back victories with a 2–0 away win over
Bury, before signing young striker
Dominic Poleon from
Leeds United on loan until the end of the season, On 18 February Coyne once again extended his stay with United keeping him at the Lane until late March. A fourth straight victory saw United return to the top of the table, leapfrogging their hosts
Bournemouth after a 1–0 victory. Teenager
Harry Maguire made his 100th start for the Blades in their next game, but United slipped back to second place following a 0–0 home draw with
Leyton Orient. at
Prenton Park on 29 March 2013. March started with a 2–0 victory over
Oldham Athletic, before the Blades managed to hold onto second place in the league, despite being held to a second consecutive 0–0 home draw, this time against
Milton Keynes Dons. After United's scheduled trip to
Crewe Alexandra was postponed due to a frozen pitch,
Jordan Chapell was loaned out to
Torquay United until the end of the season. before United's away run was brought to a halt as
Stevenage beat them 4–0 at
The Lamex Stadium. United signed young striker
Joe Ironside to a two-and-a-half-year deal, before allowing
Richard Cresswell to re-join his first ever club,
York City, on a one-month loan deal. Later the same day former United player
Jamie Hoyland resigned his post as
Academy manager. Due to a lack of first team opportunities
Erik Tønne was allowed to return to his native Norway for a trial with
HamKam ahead of a potential loan move. A busy week off the field concluded with young keeper
George Long being named Young Player of the Month for February 2013 by
The Football League. meaning that their first game for two weeks came against promotion rivals
Tranmere Rovers, with an own goal from Tranmere's
Ash Taylor being enough to secure the points for United. was sacked as United manager in April. Two days later on-loan forward
Dominic Poleon was recalled by his parent club,
Leeds United, while
Erik Tønne was allowed to join Norwegian side
HamKam on loan until November 2013. An away trip to
Walsall provided yet another draw for United, with a second half goal from
Chris Porter rescuing a point for the Blades. United continued their disappointing home form into the following game when
Crawley Town were 2–0 victors, a result that saw
Danny Wilson sacked the following day, and being replaced by reserve team coach
Chris Morgan for the remainder of the season. The following day the club announced former player and Academy coach,
David Unsworth as assistant to Morgan for the duration of his tenure. The new management team's first action was to recall
Jordan Chapell from his loan spell at
Torquay United. Chris Morgan's first game in charge saw
Swindon Town visit Bramall Lane, with United running out as 2–0 winners, thanks to goals from
Porter and
Kitson. Following an injury to one of his
Achilles tendons,
Richard Cresswell returned early from his loan at
York City, the day before a dramatic game home against
Brentford saw three players sent off and four penalties awarded as the teams played out a 2–2 draw. On the penultimate weekend of the season United, saw their hopes of automatic promotion extinguished as they were beaten 3–0 by already relegated
Portsmouth, although results elsewhere confirmed their place in the play-offs. Their poor form continued with a 1−0 away loss
Crewe Alexandra, followed by yet another 0–0 home draw against
Preston North End in the final game of the regular season. Meanwhile,
Academy prospects Conor Dimaio and Jamie McDonagh were called up to the
Ireland under–18s and the
Northern Ireland under–19s respectively, The second leg was another tight affair but United created few chances on goal and were beaten 2–0 by their hosts to record a seventh successive failure in play-off competitions. ==Squad==