Where Sheffield Wednesday's expectations should be for the new season
Alan Biggs on Sheffield Wednesday ahead of a season fans can look forward to again
If this column undercooks what to expect from Sheffield Wednesday this season then it’s for the best of reasons.
Hillsborough has been on heat all summer. The sense of excitement following new ownership has been feverish.
As it should be. All back to what actually should be normal at this time of year but is abnormal at S6.
Only thing that can spoil it is the football - which, I hasten to add, I don’t think it will in the sense of being competitive again.
But if you mean falling short of promotion being a spoiler, let’s take that right off the disappointment scale for starters.
There is no outright expectation of that from the top of a rejuvenated club. Nor should there be and none from here either.
That’s not setting a low bar and getting excuses in for perceived failure. It’s about demanding progress and only that.
The expectation of a purposeful campaign; mid-table upwards as perhaps a reasonable early guideline.
Aside from any other consideration, history shows that big clubs struggle to escape the third tier.
Any number of examples in recallable times... Leeds United, Sunderland, Norwich, Ipswich, Sheffield United.
Ironically, Wednesday themselves beat all of them to it the last time, taking just two years to achieve the climb under Darren Moore in 2023, underlining the folly of his sacking.
This is is not a cakewalk for any “team to beat” in this division, and much as 25,000 season ticket holders will aid the Owls cause, visitors will relish the atmospheric challenge of Hillsborough.
On the one hand, you can’t deny that a club of this size will be expected to challenge; on the other, Owls fans are uniquely placed to put any shortfall into context.
They have the most precious thing back. Their club. Let not the usual hotheads on social media poison the mood if there are bumps in the road for what is mostly a new - and still under-strength - squad costing nothing in fees.
Which is why I’m hesitating to pitch this above a strong year of rehabilitation for a club that was at death’s door as recently as ten months ago.
It all makes too much sense for anyone to go losing their heads. Surely Wednesday’s ordeal has exposed the idiocy of those who sway from one result to the next.
In one sense, it will be a refreshing return to normality to have the odd moan, I accept that.
But the biggest sign of new times will be to head to a game knowing all three results are possible. And I do think Wednesday can have more with a “W” than the other two!