PROFILE: Why James Hanson's signing could equip Sheffield United to seal a long-overdue promotion to the Championship

Now, following yesterday's confirmation that Hanson has completed his move to Bramall Lane from Yorkshire neighbours Bradford City, they are together - and looking only to the Championship.

Reaction, it is fair to say, to Hanson's arrival has been mixed amongst Blades fans - perhaps unfairly, for a man with a one-in-three goal ratio with the Bantams since making a £7,500 move from Guiseley, where he combined playing with a part-time job at Co-op's Thorpe Garth store. He is largely feted in West Yorkshire, and an excellent piece by Simon Parker, the Telegraph and Argus' chief sports writer who has covered Bradford since the turn of the Millennium, draws some comparisons between him and club legend Bobby Campbell.

The 6ft 4in striker was one of the heroes of Bradford's run to the 2013 League Cup final and will be remembered for scoring a memorable - and perhaps typical - goal in the semi-final second leg away at Aston Villa, a towering header which gave Shay Given no chance.

More often forgotten is his goal which started that run, in the slightly less glamorous surroundings of Notts County's Meadow Lane home when he curled home the extra-time winner from the edge of the box. He also netted the first in City's League Two play-off final victory over Northampton that same season and, as Parker writes, he is clearly the man for the big occasion.

And Chris Wilder's United will come across several of them in the second half of the season as they look to finally escape the clutches of League One.

Almost as importantly, he seems to have always had his fair share of critics and from dealing with them, has developed a thick skin which will undoubtedly serve him well at Bramall Lane, where it's probably fair to say he'll encounter a fair few fans with their glasses half empty.