We travelled to Hungary to watch Sheffield Wednesday train from behind a fence on a hill
Sheffield Wednesday supporters went to hell and back with the club last season - and stood on a hill on the outskirts of Budapest came another example of their commitment to the cause. Alex Miller reports.
Watching from the mercy of a shaded area as Sheffield Wednesday went about their drills at the MLSZ Technical Centre on the outskirts of Budapest, the views were something to behold.
Their training base for the week is in Telki, a quiet village half an hour or so from the vibrancy of Hungary’s capital, so quiet that in a downtime hour Owls players are later heard in conversation discussing whether or not to make another trip to the same coffee shop down the road. The focus for this trip is on football, improvement and preparation. Outside distractions are not a danger.
From our viewpoint rolling farmland provides the backdrop, a steep hill watching over Wednesday’s sweaty training session with a large wire fence patrolling the parameter. A few minutes into the session, eyes can’t help but be drawn to the trio stood watching intently from the adjacent field. One of them is adorned in what appears to be a blue and white football shirt.
Now this happens as a matter of routine. Such is the fandom the club holds in its grip, when Wednesday head abroad, there’s always a cohort that make the voyage from South Yorkshire desperate to catch a glimpse of their heroes. But those trips were in pool holiday favourites such as Albufeira or Alicante and came with the promise of a match at their end. In Telki? These are new levels of Wednesdayism.
A wander around the ground and up the hill sees The Star meet the Smith-Murphins, a family of three made up of mum Sharon Smith, dad Warren Murphin and son Thomas. They’re watching from 80 yards away. From behind a fence. In a field. On a hill. In Telki. It’s dad wearing his retro Wednesday top, but the obsession is an even triple-threat.
It’s been an all-action few days to reach that spot on their Telki hill. Setting off from Meadowhall at 6am, they traversed the Eurostar to Brussels for an overnight stay, made their way to Munich for the evening and then finally arrived in Budapest on Monday. They’ll be back to watch training later in the week - and will be nipping over to Vienna on the off-chance of another peek as the Owls take on Stoke City behind closed doors on Saturday.
Though they’ve not tackled one for many years, pre-season tours are nothing new to the couple, whose love story started following Wednesday nearly 25 years ago.
“We met on a pre-season trip to Sweden in 2002,” Sharon said. “I’ve always followed Wednesday, my parents supported them and I started going mid-80s. We’d go to all the reserve matches and everything. I was going across to Sweden with a friend and to make it easier we ended up travelling in a group, friends of friends and what have you. And that’s how I met Warren.
“The last pre-season trip I did was 2008. Warren did Austria in 2009 but I was eight months pregnant at the time so I didn’t go! I’ve got a season ticket this year for the first time since 2012, Thomas was little and he started when I stopped going, but all three of us are sorted for this year.”
Warren offers a knowing glance and remembers ‘catching her at a good moment’ when recalling how he got permission to go on that Austrian trip with a fit-to-burst partner at home. But even that is a shining example of the lengths folk will go to to support this historically bereft football club. And it’s an example of the spirit that kept the heart of the dear old thing beating through its year of hell last time out. The focus now is on healing.
Warren said: “Without the fans, from September onwards, who knows where this club would have been? The loyalty that was shown, turning up to games, putting money in after Chansiri had gone, it kept us afloat long enough for the Storchs to come in and hopefully move us on upwards.
“The players they’ve bought, it’s not just those towards the end of their careers anymore. There’s players coming in with promise. I’m excited to see Louie Barry and players like that. Even if Wednesday is a stepping stone, you use that to fund more players coming in, it’s about becoming a proper club.”
This correspondent has never done a football interview on a farmland hill before. You’d have to wonder how many football journalists have stumbled across football fans watching from behind a fence in Telki in the sport’s history. Via London, Brussels, Munich and Budapest; that’s barmy army Wednesdayism.
The last word goes to teenager Thomas, a man of few words but great passion. “It’s a feeling of relief,” he said. “We can be optimistic that whenever we go up, we can be optimistic about surviving more than a few seasons in the Championship and having that foundation.”
Asked how he felt about his parents dragging him into a world of Wednesday where other pals might have chosen Man City, Chelsea or Arsenal, he smiled: “I’m very happy about it. There’s nothing quite like supporting Wednesday.”
So it seems, Thomas. So it seems.