Sheffield Wednesday thought they hit transfer jackpot – Sheffield United shared same issues | OneFootball

Gary Madine failed to be at his absolute best at either Sheffield Wednesday or Sheffield United.

During his career, Gary Madine enjoyed some very impressive moments and put in some extremely impressive performances but a lack of consistency and, often, technical limitations held him back from fulfilling his promise.

That was especially the case in the Steel City, where both Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United were left with regret over Madine’s time with either club, and a sense of ‘what could have been’.

Having begun his career at Carlisle United, Gateshead-born Madine showed real flashes of quality with the Cumbrians, scoring eight goals in 21 appearances during the 2010/11 League One season.

While at Brunton Park. Madine headed out on three separate loans with stints in League Two, at Rochdale and Chesterfield, bizarrely sandwiching a loan move to Championship outfit Coventry City.

His time at Carlisle wasn’t without controversy, though, having picked up his first criminal conviction in November 2010, during his best campaign for the club, being found guilty of assault and being sentenced to community service and ordered to pay a fine.

That sort of thing would follow him to Sheffield Wednesday, too, and the classic case of ‘what if’ certainly applies to Madine, who failed to hit the heights at either Hillsborough or Bramall Lane.

Gary Madine showed glimpses of quality at Sheffield Wednesday

In January 2011, a couple of months after that conviction, Sheffield Wednesday signed Madine, and he moved to South Yorkshire on a four-and-a-half-year contract in League One, a statement of intent.

A chaotic Wednesday side that sacked Alan Irvine just a couple of weeks after the outlay on Madine eventually finished 15th that season under Gary Megson, with Madine poaching a respectable five goals in 22 appearances.

His first full campaign was a magnificent one, though, as Madine finished as Wednesday’s top scorer with 18 goals in League One, helping the Owls gain automatic promotion back to the second division under Megson for the vast majority of the campaign and then with Dave Jones at the helm.

Madine had only scored one in his previous 13 matches before that managerial change before firing Wednesday to promotion under Jones, scoring six in his next eight appearances.

His step-up to the Championship was an unhappy one, though, with just three goals in 30 appearances as Wednesday managed to scramble themselves clear of danger.

In the 2013/14 campaign, Madine started horribly and then, in October 2013, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison as a result of being found guilty of causing actual bodily harm in one attack, as well as grievous bodily harm in another.

Madine was released from prison in February 2014, serving five months in jail, and ended up returning to former club Carlisle at the back end of that season, putting in some good performances.

His last year at Wednesday was as miserable as the previous couple, with ten goalless appearances for the Owls, albeit reasonably impressive loan stints with Coventry in League One and then at Blackpool.

Overall, his four-and-a-half year deal saw Madine spend half of a year, more or less, in jail and, aside from 18 goals in 38 League One games in the 2011/12 campaign, score just ten in 75 appearances outside of that.

Gary Madine rediscovered his form before flopping at Sheffield United

That impressive stint at Blackpool, when back in the Championship, prompted soon-to-be crisis club Bolton Wanderers into signing him on a free transfer in the summer of 2015.

Madine became a fans’ favourite in Lancashire, with excellent performances in another League One promotion-winning campaign before scoring ten goals in just 28 games by January 2018 for a struggling Wanderers side, prompting a £6 million move to Cardiff City.

Madine would help the Bluebirds gain promotion that season under Neil Warnock, albeit his only action of note was to miss a crucial last-gasp penalty in a goalless draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers before five forgettable appearances in the Premier League.

The second-half of the 2018/19 season, Madine left the top-flight for Sheffield United and did earn a second Premier League promotion, albeit very much as a bit-part player for Chris Wilder’s side, scoring three times in 16 appearances.

Madine had his run-ins with Blades' supporters, and was starting from behind in terms of winning over supporters. He did at least contribute to a famous promotion-winning campaign, but he was brought in to have much more of an impact.

With Sheffield Wednesday, Madine’s career could have been so much better if not for off-field issues. With Sheffield United, his on-pitch limitations perhaps showed up to deny him a more successful swansong in the Steel City.