The highs and lows of Sheffield Wednesday’s 2020 – A year to forget at Hillsborough

Wednesday were battling it out amongst the Play-Off contenders a year ago, but what transpired in the 12 months that follows has seen the club fall drastically down the table to where they find themselves now.

We took a look back at the year what was…

Highs

A smiling O

It was way back in the first week of 2020, but Osaze Urhoghide’s heart-warming post-match interview after his Wednesday debut has to go down as one of the best moments of the year.

His words were so genuine, so wholesome, and they came on the back of a good away win in the FA Cup over Premier League opposition in Brighton & Hove Albion. Wednesday were riding high.

Leeds away

It feels a long time ago, but beating Leeds United at Elland Road certainly sticks out as a highlight for last season and for the year as a whole.

It came on the back of three straight defeats in the Championship and felt like they were getting back on track. It was also when there were fans in the stadiums, and the away end was rocking.

Job done at Birmingham

It had felt like a turning point for Wednesday under Garry Monk. Wednesday had held on to a 1-0 lead after having given away so many points from winning positions, and had done so on the back of a four-game winless run.

There was a massive cheer that went up at the final whistle after a performance full of spirit and heart, and the Owls had taken a big step towards getting out of the minus points at the time.

That was back in October though, and SWFC haven’t won away since then.

Shawy’s goal

Another memory that involves an academy lad. Liam Shaw has been on the rise at Hillsborough since Monk’s decision to hand him his senior debut last season, and under Tony Pulis he started to get more games under his belt.

This week, in the final game of the year, ‘Shawy’ popped up in the box to score what would prove to be the match-winner for Wednesday as they ended a miserable year on a high with victory over Neil Warnock’s Middlesbrough.

For a Wednesdayite, and a kid who’s been in the academy for so many years, to get the goal made it that bit more special.

Lows

The firing of two managers

The firing of any manager is a low by default, really. Because it tends to mean that results haven’t been where they should be.

With Wednesday, they fired Monk and Pulis in the space of less than two months and finished the year with Neil Thompson on the sidelines – meaning they had almost as many managers in 2020 as home victories (4).

Defeat at Rotherham

It was in the middle of a grim spell that effectively saw Monk lose his job. Wednesday lost four on the bounce, including games against Luton Town, Rotherham United and Wycombe Wanderers, when they were expected to climb off the bottom of the table.

In the midst of it was a demoralising 3-0 defeat at the hands of local rivals, Rotherham United, who will have revelled in their biggest ever victory over Wednesday.

All the games without fans

You can’t talk about the lows of 2020 without mentioning the lack of supporters… Not having fans in stadiums has taken so much away from football, and as Pulis said at one stage, it’s become a bit soulless.

Obviously people’s health has to come first, and fans should only be allowed back when it’s safe to, but that doesn’t make it any easier to swallow. The sooner fans are back supporting the team, the better.

Two 5-0s

2020 had its fair share of poor results for Wednesday, but getting thumped 5-0 – once at home and once away – by Blackburn Rovers and Brentford probably takes the cake.

Both games came within two months of each other, and while they were not the only times that Wednesday were put to the sword, they were occasions when it felt like the team just didn’t show up at all.

That Fletch injury

It’s absolutely no coincidence that Wednesday’s downturn in fortunes started when Steven Fletcher became unavailable…

He’d had a knock towards the end of 2019 but was back to face Hull City on New Year’s Day – then he got injured against Brighton and went on to play only five Championship games after that.

In total, Wednesday won just four of the 19 league games that he missed in 2019/20, and the fact that he missed so much of 2020 played a massive role in the chain of events that was triggered by the Owls’ lack of goals.

Points deduction

The battle with the EFL was something that raged on for months and months, and even when it looked like it’d come to an end, it hadn’t.

But while there was a victory of sorts when Wednesday had the 12-point deduction halved, the fact of the matter is that the Owls are still six points short of where they should be.

With those six points they’d be 19th currently and have some breathing space between themselves and the relegation zone. It’s an off the field aspect of 2020 that has contributed towards it being such a tough year.

More Owls news

Thompson on whether he wants the Wednesday job on a permanent basis

A virus, rinse/repeat and a rollercoaster - SWFC fans' take on a disastrous 2020

Morais to Wednesday? Latest on links with Mourinho’s former assistant

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