Sheffield Wednesday were the original Blades - not Sheffield United | OneFootball

The Steel City derby has been described as one of the most expensive fixtures to police in English football.

Everybody knows how fierce the Steel City derby is, but it has also been described as one of the most expensive fixtures to police in English football.

As per a report from The Star, over the past two seasons - 24/25 and 25/26 - an extra £300k in policing costs was used to cover the fixture.

Back in July 2018, a BBC investigation found that the Sheffield derby at Hillsborough the previous September was the most expensive policing operation in England, costing £203,000.

This was apparently far higher than the Glasgow derby between Celtic and Rangers in Scotland, which cost £64k over the same period.

Sheffield Wednesday were the first 'Blades' and not Sheffield United

If you're a fan of either Sheffield team, you'll probably already know that the term "Blades" was not actually exclusive to any single football club.

In fact, it was formerly used as a nickname for all sporting teams across Sheffield - particularly when playing away, according to the city-based GoalSoul.

Think of it in the same way that people from Newcastle are called Geordies and people from Liverpool are called Scousers.

Being a Blade, in 19th century Sheffield, was simply a way of describing where you came from. This was because the city produced an estimated 85% of Great Britain's steel by 1850.

So Sheffield Wednesday, who were founded on 4 September 1867, were the first club in the Steel City to formally adopt 'The Blades' as their football nickname.

Again, from GoalSoul, The club had grown out of a cricket team whose members took their half-day off work on Wednesdays, and they played for many years at Bramall Lane itself.

Why Sheffield Wednesday adopted 'The Owls' nickname instead

In truth, Wednesday's identity as ‘The Blades’ came to an end because they moved grounds.

During the 1898/99 season, the club were informed that their Olive Grove ground, which had served as their home since 1887, was required for railway expansion.

They were forced to relocate and eventually settled in the district of Owlerton, moving into what became known as Owlerton Stadium.

an Alder tree, and Owlerton itself translates roughly as 'farm in the Alder wood'.

When United were formed on 22 March 1889, more than two decades after Wednesday's foundation, they did not immediately take on the Blades name at all.

Their original nickname was, in fact, ‘The Cutlers,’ which they carried from their formation right through until 1912.

It was only after Wednesday had definitively moved on from the Blades identity, having embraced the Owls branding following their earlier mentioned relocation, that United began to transition toward the nickname they are synonymous with.

None of this history takes away what "The Blades" means to Sheffield United supporters today, though. The nickname has been a part of the club's identity for well over a century now.