AI names the best all-time Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday combined XI | OneFootball

With almost 300 years between them, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday have a lot of history, so we asked AI to put together a best combined XI.

With almost 300 years between them stretching back over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday have a lot of history to fall back upon, so we asked AI to put together a combined best-ever XI.

Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday may not have had very successful starts to their Championship seasons, but one thing that cannot ever be taken away from these two clubs is their city's place in the history of football.

Not for nothing is Sheffield known as 'The Home of Football'. The two oldest clubs in the world - Sheffield FC and Hallam FC - come from The Steel City, while the 'Sheffield Rules', the code of football devised and played in the city between 1858 and 1877, form one of the bedrocks of the game that is played today.

But these two clubs were long ago superseded by the two professional giants who dominate the game in the city today. Neither were among the original twelve founding members of the Football League, but both have been members since 1892 and have both been successful at points in the past throughout their history.

So with all of this in mind, FLW have asked ChatGPT to rate its best ever combined United and Wednesday team, and with so many players to choose from, its results are probably going to be contentious, no matter which side of this divide you happen to fall upon.

11 Goalkeeper - Alan Hodgkinson

ChatGPT kicks off its selection with a controversial choice. There is, to be fair, a lot of choice. Wednesday fans could call upon Martin Hodge, Chris Woods, Kevin Pressman or Jack Brown (over 500 appearances between 1923 and 1937), while Blades could call upon William 'Fatty' Foulke, Paddy Kenny or Alan Kelly.

AI gives its vote to the Sheffield United legend Alan Hodgkinson, who made 674 appearances for the club between 1954 and 1971, but one particular goalkeeper might be feeling a little aggrieved at having been overlooked. Ron Springett, who made well over 300 appearances for Wednesday, was England's first-choice goalkeeper from 1960 to 1963.

Ernie Blenkinsop signed for Sheffield Wednesday so long ago that the club were still called "The Wednesday" when he did so in 1923. He was a coal-miner at the time, and insisted on working out his notice period at the colliery at which he was employed until the pit manager, who feared that a work injury could disrupt his transfer, insisted he move on.

It was a good job that he did. Blenkinsop would go on to become one of their most accomplished defenders. He was in their team that won the Second Division title in 1926, and he was part of the last Wednesday team to be crowned the champions of England, in 1929 and 1930. He also remains their most-capped England outfield player, with the aforementioned Springett being their most-capped overall. He ended up staying with the club for a decade, making almost 400 appearances for them.

9 Right-Back - Roland Nilsson

Again, what's noticeable here is the strength in depth that these two clubs can provide. Wednesday could have provided Mel Sterland or Viv Anderson, while United could have provided Len Badger (541 appearances between 1962 and 1976) or Cec Coldwell, (over 600 appearances and two spells as caretaker-manager).

But Roland Nilsson was a regular for Wednesday at right-back between 1989 and 1994, a period during which they finished third in the last pre-Premier League season and won the League Cup, the last major trophy that either club has won. An accomplished defender with 116 caps for Sweden, there's little to argue with in Nilsson being selected.

Another Sheffield Wednesday player, and another solid choice. Wednesday scored a bit of a coup in landing Walker, who was part of England's three-player central defence at the 1990 World Cup, from Sampdoria in 1993. Walker had made 264 appearances for Nottingham Forest before transferring to Italy in 1992, but he had a poor season in Genoa, often played out of position and struggling for form.

Wednesday paid £2.7 million for him in the summer of 1993, and he went on to play more than 300 games for the club over the next eight years. ChatGPT describes Walker as a "Superb defender, great reading of the game, athletic, with a strong England pedigree", none of which is incorrect.

There is, of course, a lot of competition for centre-back places, but Joe Shaw is a natural fit, as Sheffield United's record appearance-holder, with 714 appearances in all competitions for the club over a period spanning more than two decades, from 1945 to 1966. There has been a statue of him outside Bramall Lane since 2010.

ChatGPT describes him as a "stalwart defender", and there's truth to that. He never played for England (though he was picked twice for a Football League Representative XI), and his career haul of silverware was limited to a Second Division title in 1953 and promotion from the same division again in 1961, but surviving more than two decades during the years when football boots were like steel toe-capped clogs and a broken neck was something you could run off is in itself no mean feat.

John Fantham was an inside-forward for Sheffield Wednesday from 1956 to 1969, running up over 400 appearances for the club. The inside forward is a forward player who operates just behind the main striker. At the time, Fantham would have been positioned between a winger and centre-forward, and there's no place for one in a 4-4-2 formation.

But never mind. Fantham was good enough to make this team regardless. He's Wednesday's post-war record goalscorer, with 167 in 437 appearances and he was part of their team that was promoted (behind Sheffield United) to the First Division in 1961 and then finished 5th in what was their first top-flight season since 1956.

5 Right Midfield/Wing: Chris Waddle

ChatGPT goes for another Sheffield Wednesday player - that's five out of seven, so far - and again it's difficult to argue with the choice. Chris Waddle won Ligue Un three times in a row with Marseille and featured (alongside Des Walker, of course) in England's 1990 World Cup semi-final against West Germany.

Costing £1 million to come back to England from France in 1992, Waddle's time with Sheffield Wednesday coincided with their last truly strong team, beaten by Arsenal in both the League Cup and the FA Cup finals in 1993. ChatGPT salutes his "skill, creativity, flair."

4 Centre Midfield: Tony Currie

To get some idea of how important Tony Currie is in the history of Sheffield United, about as much as you need to know is that he was voted their greatest player of all-time in a supporters poll held to mark the club's 125th anniversary, in 2014. He made over 300 appearances for the club over eight years from 1968 to 1976, and was their captain for his last two seasons with them before being sold to Leeds United for £250,000. He also managed three goals in 17 appearances for England, between 1972 and 1979.

By far the youngest player to make this team, Phil Jagielka joined Sheffield United as a 15-year-old in 1998, making his league debut for them two years later. He would also go on to make 40 appearances for England after his departure from Bramall Lane for Everton in 2008.

ChatGPT describes Jagielka thusly; "Solid, dependable, leadership, adds grit." And, to be fair, alongside Tony Currie - who was very much a flair player - that might be necessary. The only problem is, as the eagle-eyed among you will already have noted, that he was a centre-back and not a central midfielder, but AI is confident in its selection.

Jagielka's playing career ended without any team silverware, but he was their supporters player of the year in 2005, 2006 and 2007, which says a lot about the regard in which he was held at Bramall Lane.

From the youngest player in the team to the oldest, though at least this one's playing in the right position. Born in January 1899, Harry Johnson is Sheffield United's all-time record goal-scorer, with 201 goals in 313 league appearances between 1919 and 1930.

He became the first player to score a hat-trick in a Steel City derby, achieving this feat in just 18 minutes during an FA Cup Fifth Round replay match at Bramall Lane in February 1928 which ended in a 4-1 Blades win. Johnson is also the only player in this XI to have won a major trophy while playing for Sheffield United, having been in their team in 1925 when they beat Cardiff City 1-0 at Wembley to win the FA Cup.