For much of the second half of the season, Sheffield United looked firm favourites to join Charlton and win automatic promotion to the Championship.

Their win at the Galpharm on Valentines Day effectively ended Huddersfield’s hopes of a top two finish and cost Lee Clark his job.

The Blades reached mid-April on the back of six straight wins with just three games remaining. The main reason for their inspired form was talismanic striker, Ched Evans. As the season entered its denouement, Sheffield Wednesday striker, Gary Madine, claimed the Owls were the best equipped team to win promotion. Madine’s view was that Wednesday had a better squad than Charlton and he dismissed the Blades as a one man team.

Harsh words but United undoubtedly struggled when they lost Evans. Of those last three games, they lost at MK Dons and drew with Stevenage and Exeter. To compound their problems going into the play-offs, Richard Cresswell sustained a shoulder injury, later exacerbated by an eye infection, and James Beattie was red carded at Exeter, ruling him out of the entire play-off campaign.

Two tight games against Stevenage saw the Blades progress to Wembley thanks to a late Chris Porter goal in the second leg at Bramall Lane.

Huddersfield were hugely impressive at stadium:mk, virtually guaranteeing their Wembley place after the first leg. Possibly a little complacency set in as the Terriers lost the second leg at the Galpharm.

Sheffield United had struggled to score since losing Evans and looked desperately short of firepower at Wembley. They managed to cope with the threat of Jordan Rhodes admirably and the game ended 0-0 after exra-time.

Then followed a quite extraordinary penalty shoot-out contest, Huddersfield despite missing their first three spot kicks, went on to win 8-7 when Blades keeper, Steve Simonsen, blasted the final kick over the bar.

Surprisingly, Huddersfield’s regular penalty taker, Jordan Rhodes, did not take one of the first five kicks, a decision that could have cost his side dear.

It is hard to argue that the loss of star striker, Ched Evans, is what ultimately cost the Blades promotion. Whether they can keep the bulk of their squad together for next season remains to be seen.

From a Charlton perspective, Huddersfield are likely to prove more formidable foes next year than Sheffield United would, the Terriers have a fair bit of money behind them. If they decide to cash in on Rhodes, their coffers will be further boosted by around £5,000,000.

The curtain finally came down on the domestic season on Sunday when Crewe Alexandra beat Cheltenham 2-0. The opening goal was a sensational effort from 18-year-old wonder kid, Nick Powell. It will probably prove to be Powell’s last appearance for the Gresty Road outfit, with Old Trafford probably the most likely destination for the youngster.

His strike partner, AJ Leitch-Smith, and lively wide man,Byron Moore may be worth Chris Powell considering.