Tony Currie cements Sheffield United legacy on and off pitch amid Leeds United prediction — Sheffield Star 23/2/25

By Danny Hall

Tony Currie cements Sheffield United legacy on and off pitch amid Leeds United prediction

As a man who represented both Yorkshire clubs with real distinction, Monday evening’s clash between Sheffield United and Leeds United holds obvious appeal for Tony Currie. The former forward made his name at Bramall Lane, later receiving the accolade of being named the Blades’ greatest-ever player, before a switch up the M1 in 1976 saw him represent the Elland Road side more than 100 times.

Currie will watch the latest instalment of a great county rivalry between the two sides with particular interest, given their respective positions in the Premier League promotion race. Second hosts top at Bramall Lane, with the Blades knowing that three points will see them leapfrog Daniel Farke’s side and to the summit of the Championship table.

“I'm chuffed to bits that both teams are doing well this season,” Currie told The Star. “They’re both Yorkshire sides, so for a Londoner to say that says a lot. Am I a Londoner? I've been up here that long, I'm not sure! It'd be great for both to go up automatically. That would mean a lot to me. We've got a nice gap between Burnley and Sunderland. Obviously, I want a United win - Sheffield United, that is - but a draw wouldn't be too bad at all. I think we'll win 2-1.”

Currie is rightly proud of a playing career that saw him become a household name in English football and also win 17 caps for the national team during an era that could - and, many believe, should - have seen him earn many more. But he looks back on his ‘second life’ in the game with equal fondness, playing a key role in capturing a generation of Blades fans via his work in a Football in the Community role.

Poetically he began the role in February 1988, exactly 20 years after he first arrived in Sheffield as a player after being bought from Watford, and the scheme offered employment training and personal development opportunities to countless participants who went on to secure meaningful work and contribute positively to their communities. It was a far cry from a career of adulation on the field, with Currie paid £105 a week and learning accountancy skills and scrubbing tables after countless kids’ birthday parties at Bramall Lane.

“For the first four years we were paid under the umbrella of the PFA, doing soccer schools and coaching,” Currie, who turned 75 on New Year’s Day, said. “Then, after four years, we had to find our own money. We recruited people off the dole and there were some goodies and some baddies. We ran birthday parties and started a Saturday club up at Gleadless School, taking kids down to Bramall Lane for games.

“We’d have 20 or 25 kids every week. I did all the games for them through the week, with geography and history and football stuff as well, and the parties were always really popular. We could have done two every night if we had the room, although we had to clear up afterwards and sweep floors and scrub the tables! I had to learn bookkeeping, do appraisals of the staff and do monthly reports.

“I did that for 20 years, we had some really good staff and it was fantastic. We put a lot of bums on seats, made kids who were four, five or six years old into United supporters if they weren’t already. I get people coming up to me all the time who are about 40 and telling me that they loved the holiday camps and soccer schools, or they had a birthday party.

It was just a fantastic time. It helped me back to life, if you like, because I was living back home with my mum and didn't have a job.

“Paul Beesley used to bring his son every year for his birthday and so did Brian Gayle, whose son now works at United. It was just a fantastic time. It helped me back to life, if you like, because I was living back home with my mum and didn't have a job. I finished in 2008 after 20 years and I felt I learned a lot and did a great job for Sheffield United. It's been a fantastic ride, as they say. And I'm still here.”

With a Bramall Lane legacy sealed; both on and off the pitch.