The promising omen Sheffield United will hope to repeat v Sheffield Wednesday when derby days return

The return of the Steel City derby after a few years of the two Sheffield clubs being in different divisions, with Sheffield United at home in November and then travelling to their big rivals Wednesday in March?

To Blades fans of a certain vintage yesterday morning’s fixture announcements may have seemed a little familiar, with the first meeting between the Blades and Owls since 2019 set to take place at Bramall Lane on November 9 ahead of the Hillsborough return on March 15. Both games could yet be moved from those dates - for either TV coverage or police advice, or a combination of both.

But the unveiling of the prospective dates has only heightened anticipation - or nerves, depending on your viewpoint - for one of the most hotly-anticipated fixtures on the Championship calendar. This time around, too, there will be even more added spice after Max Lowe’s decision to cross the Sheffield divide and sign for Wednesday after being deemed surplus to requirements at Bramall Lane.

Why United made unusual fixture request ahead of important Lane date

When he heard yesterday’s fixture announcement, Dane Whitehouse would be forgiven for letting out a little smirk of recognition. The last time United faced Wednesday in November and March was in the 1991/92, the first derbies in 11 years, and the boyhood Blade was on the scoresheet in both as his side completed a memorable derby double.

"Even speaking as a United fan, they had a quality side back then,” Whitehouse said. "We had some good players, but their squad was packed with quality. For a couple of weeks before the game it was all anyone wanted to speak about, and we all read it in the papers - how Wednesday were going to put five past us, that they were going to do this and that to us.

"It's probably a good job we didn't have social media back then, because we'd have heard even more. But we were so confident going into that game. In fact, for me, we won it before we even stepped out on to the pitch. We made the decision in the dressing room that we would eyeball them in the tunnel. Stare into their eyes, every one of their players, and see if they were up for it.

"Not one of them looked back at us. We wanted to see if they wanted it as much as we did. We said afterwards that we knew they didn't. On paper, with the team they had and the team we had, they should have beaten us all day long. But they didn't."

Whitehouse scored the opener in the Blades’ 2-0 November victory at Bramall Lane, Brian Deane doubling United’s lead, and Whitehouse then repeated the feat at Hillsborough later that season before Bobby Davison marked surely the most iconic debut in Blades history with two goals in a 3-1 away victory that went down in folklore.

In the away end that night was current Blades boss Chris Wilder, who had not long since left his boyhood club in pursuit of more first-team football. For him, and the rest of the red and white half of Sheffield, a repeat of those memorable derbies next season will do just nicely...