The question of who is the longest serving Sheffield United manager of all-time can be traced right back to the club’s roots in 1889.
A number of Blades bosses have enjoyed long periods in charge at Bramall Lane. Some more successful than others. But then again, the ones who tend to stay longest, have generally enjoyed the most success.
Modern times have made it harder for managers to stick around in a job. And that’s regardless of how well they do or have done. Case and point being Chris Wilder, who didn’t quite make it to five years despite his enormous success.
Coaches like Micky Adams, Adrian Heath, David Weir, and Martin Peters are fine examples of things going wrong. All those four barely lasted half a season if that, and were soon moved on.
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But when things go well, a manager can end up being in the United job for a long time and, usually, captures a place in Blades fans’ hearts.
So just who is the longest serving manager in the history of Sheffield United? We’ve listed them below for if you ever need that information.
Who is the longest serving Sheffield United manager?
- John Nicholson – 32 years, 11 months (1899-1932)
- Teddy Davison – 20 years (1932-1952)
- J.B Wostinholm – 10 years, 2 months (1889-1899)
- John Harris – 9 years, 3 months (1959-1968)
- Dave Basset – 7 years, 11 months (1988-1995)
- Neil Warnock – 7 years, 6 months (1999-2007)
- Chris Wilder – 4 years, 11 months (2016-2021)
- Ian Porterfield – 4 years, 9 months (1981-1986)
Interestingly, despite sitting third in terms of longest reign, J.B. Wostinholm only actually managed 233 games. That leaves him sixth, if you were ranking in terms of games played.
Chris Wilder has the best win percentage of those managers, with over 46% of his games won. John Harris is the closest challenger to Wilder, with just over 44%.
Of those managers, it is Dave Bassett who oversaw the highest ever Premier League win for United. A 6-0 triumph over Spurs still standing strong.
