Sheffield Wednesday need to lean on League One strength again next season as season ticket sales soar
Sheffield Wednesday will be hoping to put a nightmare 2025/26 campaign behind them next season - and a strong home record will be crucial in trying to achieve that.
Less than a week after going on sale, Sheffield Wednesday announced on Thursday that season ticket sales for the 2026/27 campaign had already reached 15,000.
For a fan base that has suffered so much in recent years, not least in the last 12 months, it is a fantastic effort. And with payday still a week away for many, that figure is only expected to continue rising.
Chief executive David Bruce, who banked an enormous amount of credit for his appearance at Tuesday night’s Supporters Trust AGM, has set the target of selling north of 21,000 season tickets for next season, meaning the fact 15,000 have already been shifted provides encouragement that figure will be reached and possibly exceeded as well.
Following the events of the last 12 months, Arise Capital Partners, who took control of the Owls three weeks ago, are determined to rebuild trust with a fan base that was divided for so long during the Dejphon Chansiri years. They have already made it crystal clear that Wednesdayites will be at the heart of their plans to take the club forward, and their response to season tickets going on sale provides enough evidence to suggest they are enjoying what they are hearing so far.
With the club keen to get as many season tickets sold as possible and get Hillsborough as full as possible week-in, week-out next season, the onus will eventually be on manager Henrik Pedersen and his players to give the fans something to shout about.
With an anticipated 15-point deduction having been avoided, Wednesday will start next season on a level playing field, offering some supporters the belief and confidence that a promotion push for an immediate return to the Championship might be possible.
However, with a major squad rebuild required, a number of Owls fans have admitted they would be content with a season of stability and security after such a turbulent ride recently. Wednesday have got to get back into the habit of winning games again and familiarise themselves with life under a new regime.
Nevertheless, supporters will turn up at Hillsborough next season expecting victories. Wednesday will be widely viewed as a big fish in the League One pond next season and the positivity that has been generated on the back of the takeover going through will be expected to filter down onto the pitch.
The Owls won just once at Hillsborough in 2025/26, marking Arise’s takeover with a 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion on the final day of the season. That was Wednesday’s first triumph on home soil in over a year.
Next season home wins will be expected to be a regular theme. The Owls need to turn Hillsborough back into a place the opposition fear visiting, and that is something they have successfully done during their most recent League One stints.
In two of the last three seasons Wednesday have competed in the third tier, they have boasted the best home record in the division, winning 55 points in 2011/12 and 53 points in 2021/22. Their most recent League One campaign - 2022/23 - saw them amass 54 points alongside Ipswich Town, but Plymouth Argyle, who won the league title that season, collected a very impressive 61.
In 2021/22, for example, Wednesday won more points at home than any other club in England’s top four tiers. Although that was not enough to see them earn promotion, falling short at the hands of Sunderland in the League One play-off semi-finals, it was still an impressive achievement that made a top six finish, just 12 months on from relegation, possible.
Wednesdayites, over the years, have proven they can make a difference when Hillsborough is loud and proud. They are capable of generating an atmosphere that can spur the players on. The victories over Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion in 2015/16 and the famous comeback against Peterborough United in May 2023 are just some of the examples that spring to mind.
It would be naive to suggest atmospheres of that calibre are going to be replicated week after week, but Wednesdayites have demonstrated they can make a difference, and they will be needed next season as the Owls adjust to life under a new regime and a whole host of new signings try to adjust to one another and life at Hillsborough.
But having demonstrated in the past that a strong home record can be the bedrock to a promotion push, it already feels imperative Wednesday make Hillsborough a fortress again.
Whether it is enough to launch a promotion assault, only time will tell.