2nd June – Leigh Bromby

Leigh Bromby is one of the few players that has featured both for Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United and was well liked by both fans.

The central defender seemed to be Yorkshire through and through as he also turned out for Leeds United and is currently a coach at Huddersfield Town. Bromby came through the youth academy at Hillsborough but made his professional debut whilst on loan at Mansfield Town on the 12^th December 1999 in a 0-0 draw with Barnet. During the loan spell he would also go on to score his first career goal in a 3-1 win over Southend United.

In the following season, Bromby made his debut for Wednesday as a substitute and would go on to make 20 appearances in the second half of the season. Over the next three seasons he became a regular for the team but he did also spend a five game spell on loan at Norwich City during the 2002-03 campaign.

At the end of the 2003-04 season with Wednesday in Division Two, he made the surprising move to neighbours Sheffield United. He was an instant success at Bramall Lane, playing in every single league game and contributing five goals. In the following season he helped the team gain promotion to the top flight and would feature in 17 Premier League games but unfortunately he could not help them secure their place in the league.

Injuries then caught up with the defender and he could not get a good run in the side and this led to him leaving for Watford on the 31^st January 2008. United manager at the time Bryan Robson did not want to sell Bromby but the player wanted regular football and reluctantly allowed him to leave. After just one year at Watford, he returned to Sheffield United, initially on loan and then permanently.

This move didn’t last long as just a few weeks after signing permanently, and not making an appearance in the new season under manager Kevin Blackwell, he signed for boyhood club Leeds United. In his first season he played a key role in their promotion back to the Championship but he will have been disappointed that he was suspended for their historic FA Cup win over Manchester United. This turned out to be his last season as first choice and became a bit part player and a ruptured patella knee tendon effectively ended his career on the 3^rd May 2012. He retired after playign 380 games.

Since retiring, Bromby has took his coaching badges and was part of Leeds United’s academy until he was made redundant by controversial owner Massimo Cellino. Since August 2014, he has been a part of Huddersfield Town’s coaching setup.

The final word can go to Norwich City manager, Nigel Worthington who signed him on loan. “Leigh has made a very promising start to his career at Wednesday. This move is about him having a chance to get some games under his belt. He’s a very good defender.”

16th October – David Unsworth

It is an unwritten rule in football that when a player goes back to their old club they either score or have a fantastic game but David Unsworth took this to a whole new level in 2007.

The defender is now 41 and had a good career and was always a very consistent player. Although he played left back or centre back he wasn’t afraid of going forward and did have a decent goalscoring record, scoring over 50 times in his career. In 1995 he got one England cap which must have been a great moment for him and he would have been disappointed that he didn’t add to this tally.

Unsworth started his career at the club he is probably best known for, Everton, and made his debut in the 1991-92 season. But he had to wait until the 1994-95 season to become a regular and he had instant success as a first choice player as he helped his side win the FA Cup. While at Everton he was impressive and was definitely a fan favourite which is why it was surprising that after 133 games for the club he was transferred to West Ham in the 1997-98 season.

On the 23rd August 1997 he made his debut against his former club Everton and received a warm welcome from the fans, however his new team were defeated 2-1. Although his performances were very good, after just one season and 41 games he decided to leave because he and his family failed to settle in London and wanted to move back to the North West.

This is why it was surprising that he joined Aston Villa for £3 million but he decided he could make the commute, however after just one month he realised that this was a bad decision and could not continue. Fortunately Everton came to his rescue and also signed him for £3 million. He was just as consistent as he was in his first spell and made the left back position his own for the next six seasons. This time around though he became more of a goalscorer and chipped in with some vital goals from set pieces, particularly from the penalty spot. After a further 216 games for the club he once again left at the end of the 2003-04 season.

Portsmouth signed him on the 12th July 2004 and scored on his debut from the penalty spot in a draw with Birmingham City. Later in the season he scored a penalty against Manchester United in a famous 2-0 win but after Harry Redknapp resigned, he lost his place and spent the second half of the season on loan at Ipswich Town, where he played 16 times and scored against Sheffield United on his debut.

At the start of the next season he signed for Sheffield United and was part of the team that were promoted to the Premier League. But he fell out of favour in the Premier League and Neil Warnock placed him on the transfer list.On the 5th January 2007 Unsworth signed for Wigan Athletic to help them battle against relegation and on the last day of the season, in a twist of fate, Wigan faced Sheffield United at Bramall Lane and Unsworth would go onto score the penalty that sent his former employers back to the Championship. This would be one of his last kicks for Wigan as he was released at the end of the season.

He would sign for Burnley but after just one season he also left them and had a short spell at Huddersfield Town in the following campaign but this only lasted four games and he decided to retire.

The final word can go to Neil Warnock. “I’m delighted to have David as part of my squad. His experience will be invaluable to the squad, as will the fact that he can play in a number of different positions.”