Ex-Sheffield Wednesday favourite Luke Varney on big Owls regret and the club’s ‘working class’ feel

“At teams like Sheffield Wednesday, you get found out,” so says former Owl Luke Varney. “The fans won’t have it. Giving it everything is the minimum you should be asked and I tried to do that.”
By Alex Miller
Published 15th Nov 2022, 14:00 GMT
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The now-retired forward, who had the rare distinction of spending three consecutive loan stints at S6 from Derby County without making a permanent move, has been reflecting on his career on popular podcast Under The Cosh.

Varney scored 11 goals in 43 games for the Owls and described a natural connection with the clubs’ supporters he felt got the best out of him.

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“There’s that sense of working class, it’s that sort of club, everyone mucks in and that’s my sort of environment, I love that,” he said.

“Wednesday fans will say I worked my balls off and that’s all you can ask, really, isn’t it? I’m honest about my level of ability but I got on well with them because I really chucked my lot in every single game.”

The Leicester-born journeyman, who went on to play for the likes of Blackpool, Leeds and Blackburn before retirement last year, played his part in Wednesday’s heart-breaking relegation season in 2009/10.

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Former Sheffield Wednesday man Luke Varney has spoken about his time at the club.Former Sheffield Wednesday man Luke Varney has spoken about his time at the club.
Former Sheffield Wednesday man Luke Varney has spoken about his time at the club.

Having led 1-0 at half-time, Wednesday drew with city rivals Sheffield United three games out from the end of the season before drawing with Crystal Palace in a final day shootout that saw the Eagles stay up at the Owls’ expense.

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“Even though I was on loan, I felt like one of their players,” Varney continued. “I was on my haunches after the game and Chris Morgan came up to me, grabbed me and said ‘Get up you, you’re only on loan’. That’s what people might think, but it hurt me quite a lot.

“That Palace game was massive, I’ll never forget it. I missed a one-on-one and we went down.

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“It really affected me, that game, going into the summer. I spoke to a lot of Wednesday fans and that’s one of the summers I really regretted. I wanted to keep them up because I knew that was probably the end of my time there.”

Related topics:Sheffield UnitedDerby CountyBlackpoolBlackburn