Ron Atkinson crowned greatest Sheffield Wednesday manager of all time

"Big" Ron Atkinson has been crowned the greatest Sheffield Wednesday manager of all-time by fans in an online poll.
Ron Atkinson.Ron Atkinson.
Ron Atkinson.

Atkinson clocked up nearly 400 votes in our poll after we asked you to rank every single one of the Hillsborough bosses from best to worst in an online countdown.

Big Ron, who enjoyed two separate spells at Wednesday, finished well clear of runner-up, current boss Carlos Carvalhal, who secured more than 290 votes.

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Third spot went to Jack Charlton, who was in charge of the Owls between 1977 and 1983 with Trevor Francis and Howard Wilkinson taking the two other places in the top five.

Atkinson, 77, guided Wednesday to promotion from Division Two and also won the League Cup, beating Manchester United 1-0 at Wembley, during his first spell in the Hillsborough hotseat.

His first tenure ended in controversial circumstances, joining Aston Villa as boss, just days after publicly announcing his intention to stop with Wednesday.

After a spell at Villa Park and then Coventry, Atkinson returned to Hillsborough in November 1997 following the sacking of David Pleat.

He saved the Owls from relegation during the 1997-98 season after turning around the club's fortunes but was not rewarded with a permanent contract.