Sheffield United are currently lingering in League One and sit five points off the play off positions as they seek to find their way back to at least Championship.

Part of the big reason they sit where they are is down to the fact that they have brought in numerous players of insufficient quality during a period of over 10-20 years, leading to a couple of relegations, the latest one which they have not yet recovered from.

Although the Blades have brought in decent players, especially during the year they won promotion to the Premier League, there can be no denying there has been some signings at the Lane who fans have simply thought "what is the point in this player?".

There are plenty of players to make the argument for as to who has been a pointless signing, and every fan will no doubt have their own opinion on who should make such a selection.

We here at FLW though, have put together FIVE of the most pointless Sheffield United signings ever........

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PRESS THE IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE FIVE PLAYERS!

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John Ebbrell

Ebbrell was signed by then Blades manager Howard Kendall in a deal worth over £1m in 1997. Blades fans were very keen to see Ebbrell in action due to his reputation at Everton, but they were to be left disappointed.

The midfielder made his debut against Reading, and impressed during his 45 minutes on the field. However, that 45 minutes would turn out to be it for Ebbrell and his Blades career, and he would not set foot on a football pitch again before announcing his retirement.

Many see it as a waste of talent, but there were rumours that the Blades already were aware of his injury, and signed him anyway, meaning he surely has to be the most pointless signing in the clubs history.

Ebbrell always crops up in conversation with United fans when they think back to the 90s, with his signing becoming a bit of an on running joke about how typical it was of the club to waste such a fee on nothing.

Danny Cullip

The former Brighton defender made over 200 appearances for the Seagulls, before sealing a move to Bramall Lane under Neil Warnock.

However, from day one, it was clear he and Warnock were not going to get on, and he was promptly shifted out of the squad and moved on to Watford less than 3 months after joining.

Warnock spent £250,000 on the centre half, which at the time for the Blades was a decent fee, and many expected him to shore up a leaky defence and help lead the Blades to promotion. It was however, not to be for Cullip.

The one shining light for Blades fans with Cullip is that he was sent to Watford as part of a deal which saw Danny Webber arrive at the club.

Webber would later go on to score the winning goal at Cardiff City to secure Sheffield United's return to the Premier League.

Geoff Horsfield

What a waste of a signing and money this player was for the Blades.

After initially signing on a loan spell, he fell out with Neil Warnock and made only 3 appearances. Warnock at the time reportedly wanted to send Horsfield back to West Brom early, however, the Baggies refused to budge on a prior agreement to sell the player for £1.2m, and the striker was officially unveiled as a permanent Blades player in February 2006.

Horsfield did not make another appearance for the Blades, and in August the same year, he was farmed out on loan to Leeds United, before similar spells with Leicester and Scunthorpe followed.

The signing of Horsfield is surely one of the most stupid bits of business by the club in recent years, and is another blotch on Warnocks otherwise impressive reign as manager of the Blades.

Li Tie

The Chinese player joined the Blades in 2006, and made only a single appearance in the League Cup during his year long stay with the club.

Many fans saw the signing of Tie as more of a marketing ploy due to United's involvement with the Chinese market and ownership of the Chengdu Blades football club.

The midfielder had been pretty decent for Everton previously, but simply failed to make any mark at Bramall Lane and is a name many fans forget even donned the famous red and white shirt.

It is these sort of signings and drains on resources at the club which are a prime example of money wasted by the club on more than one occasion.

Andy Butler

One of the strangest signings in the past few years, has to be Andy Butler.

The defender was signed by Nigel Clough from Walsall, with many expecting Butler to even captain the club following a successful spell skippering the Saddlers the season before.

However, Butler didn't make a single league appearance for United, and was not even included in most match day squads under Clough. He played and scored on his debut in the League Cup, but was never to be seen in the league, and was quickly loaned back to Walsall in search of first team football.

Butler now plays for Doncaster Rovers after securing a move to the Keepmoat, and has become a first team regular for Rovers. He will though forever go down as one of the oddest and most pointless signings of the last 5 years for United, and to this day still baffles some fans as to what was the point in signing him up in the first place!

Blades fans, who else do you remember signing and thinking what is the point? Would any of the current team make this list? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!