Danny Hall – författare

In April 2016, as they slumped to their lowest finish since 1983 and anger turned to apathy, Sheffield United was a club on the floor. A year later, they were reborn; champions of the division, history-makers on the rise again. And the man who dragged out of the doldrums was boyhood fan, former ballboy and player and now manager, Chris Wilder. His story is probably as close to a fairytale as modern football allows. Fifteen years after managing in a Sheffield Sunday League, Wilder has established a reputation as one of English football's brightest talents after tasting success, often against a destabilising backdrop of financial difficulty, at every club he has worked at; including one which had no footballs. Featuring contributions from players, friends and acquaintances who know him well, this book explores that apprenticeship and then how Wilder turned around a sleeping giant, transformed their fortunes on and off the field and reconnected club and supporters. Fans hail him as 'one of their own' and under Wilder, United are united again.

He is the larger-than-life figure who bounced back from rejection at 16 and graduated from parks pitches to become a Premier League goalkeeper, and later represent his country. Paddy Kenny's career was certainly not straightforward... just like his life. In his autobiography, Kenny lifts the lid on his time on and off the football field - including dressing-room rucks, being beaten for the Premier League's most famous goal and having his eyebrow bitten off in a curry house, just days before he faced Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Manchester United. This is Kenny's story... and the gloves are well and truly off.

By the time Dave 'Harry' Bassett swept through the doors in 1988 as the new manager, Sheffield United was a club going nowhere. Crowds were low, money was lower and any optimism amongst the fanbase had long since been spent up. Things got worse before they got better, with the Blades relegated in Bassett's first season in charge before he really put his stamp on the club. What followed was a rollercoaster ride of back-to-back promotions, against-the-odds survivals and a remarkable era of success that means its main protagonists are still fondly remembered at Bramall Lane to this day. For the first time, using exclusive interviews and extensive research, Bassett's Blades charts the inside story of that era through the games, characters and stories that define a generation.