During the year 1998, Steve Thompson and Steve Bruce both had spells in charge at the club. The 1998-99 season saw the Blades finish the season off in eighth place, a slight down turn in comparison to the previous season. They met Arsenal in the forth round of the FA cup, losing the tie 2-0, the Blades convincingly defeated Cardiff City earlier on in the third round 4-1.
Neil Warnock took the managerial job in the year 1999 and his first season in charge at the club witnessed a decline in the Blades league fortunes as they were poor, finishing the campaign off in 16th position, their worst finish in years. They crashed out of the FA cup in the forth round, losing against the might of Newcastle United 4-1. Michael Tonge and Michael Brown were the major pluses for Sheffield United in what was a disappointing campaign.
Sheffield United gradually improved during the 2000-2001 season as their league performances made a significant improvement as they finished the season off in 10th place. They narrowly suffered defeat against Southampton in the third round of the FA cup as they lost 1-0 against the premiership club. Paul Peschisolido signed from Fulham in the summer of 2001 and the Blades also saw the arrival of Phil Jagielka who came through the ranks at Sheffield United and was impressive for the club. United were poor in the first division as they could only manage a 13th place finish. Neil Warnock promised much better things to come for the following season.