How Sheffield Wednesday's strong start in League One compares with previously relegated Championship clubs
Sheffield Wednesday have won four of their opening five League One matches this season to climb to the top of the table.
Whisper it quietly, but Sheffield Wednesday are top of the league.
Following Saturday lunchtime’s 2-1 triumph over Peterborough United at the Weston Homes Stadium, the Owls climbed to the League One summit for the first time this season, overtaking Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Notts County later in the day.
Having climbed to the top of the table, the Owls will now be determined to stay there. Promotion, although it has not publicly been declared as the aim by anyone within the Wednesday hierarchy, understood to be the goal this season.
Following the arrival of 18 new players and countless other changes that have taken place at the club over the summer, it was widely expected that Wednesday would ease their way into the season, gradually improving as the weeks and months ticked by.
However, the Owls occupy top spot after winning four of their first five matches, meaning they lead the way with 12 points. It is the first time they have had as many as 12 points on the board five games into a season since the 1996/97 campaign, meaning Wednesdayites can be forgiven for enjoying themselves.
A strong start to the season offers no guarantee that Wednesday will be in a good position come the end of it, of course, but the general feeling is that they will only get better the more time their 18 new signings have to familiarise themselves with their new teammates and surroundings.
Considering Wednesday were relegated last season in February and won just two matches all season, it put a strain on everyone associated with the club, not least manager Henrik Pedersen and his players, who refused to down tools at any stage.
Amid those circumstances, it would have been very easy for Wednesday to experience a relegation hangover and struggle to get going this season. Instead, inspired by the work of the new ownership group, the Owls have come flying out of the traps.
And Wednesday’s haul of 12 points from the first 15 on offer is not to be sniffed at. Over the last ten League One seasons, only four teams relegated from the Championship have started life in the third tier with more points than the Owls after five games.
They were Bolton Wanderers in 2016/17 (13), Sunderland in 2018/19 (13), Birmingham City in 2024/25 (13) and, most recently, Cardiff City in 2025/26 (13). Considering the number of changes that have taken place at Wednesday since the end of last season, that is impressive.
Last season, for example, Luton Town and Plymouth Argyle, who were relegated from the Championship alongside Cardiff at the end of the 2024/25 campaign, won nine and three points respectively from their opening five matches in the third tier, meaning it can he hard to hit the ground running.
Wednesday will be hoping to make it 15 points from the first 18 on offer when they face Wigan Athletic at Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon. The Latics are currently bottom of the table, meaning the Owls will be overwhelming favourites to extend their winning run to four matches.