'Unacceptable' Sheffield Wednesday moment serves as a League One warning for next season
As Sheffield Wednesday gear up for another stint in League One, it is important to remember just how many surprises England’s third tier can produce.
If there is anything Sheffield Wednesday supporters can agree on, it is that this club never does things the easy way.
After a 1-1 draw with Bolton Wanderers in March 2023 extended the Owls’ unbeaten league run to 23 matches, opening up a four-point lead at the League One summit in the process, it felt inevitable they were on their way to a first league title since 1959.
However, a 4-2 defeat to Barnsley at Oakwell was followed by a 1-0 defeat to Forest Green Rovers. It was at that moment Wednesdayites started to fear Wednesday were going to do a Wednesday.
The Owls, of course, went on to miss out on automatic promotion, falling short by two points. Forced to settle for the play-offs, Wednesday lost the first leg of their semi-final 4-0 to Peterborough United before completing an unthinkable turnaround at Hillsborough six nights later, winning 5-1 on the night before progressing to the play-off final at Wembley on penalties.
It was the sort of script only Wednesday, who never do things the easy way, could have written. They then won promotion with a 123rd minute winner at Wembley before completing an unconventional survival mission 12 months later by coming back from the dead to preserve their Championship status by the skin of their teeth.
Wednesday did not go about clinching promotion from League One in 2011/12 without drama and jeopardy, either. As Charlton Athletic, under the stewardship of former Owls coach Chris Powell, ran away with the title, Wednesday fought tooth and nail with Sheffield United for second spot.
A 2-0 win over Wycombe Wanderers on the final day of the season in front of more than 38,000 fans at Hillsborough saw Wednesday creep over the line ahead of their rivals, meaning they escaped League One’s clutches at just the second attempt after relegation at the hands of Crystal Palace in May 2010.
The 2011/12 season, for a magnitude of reasons, is one that sticks out in the minds of Wednesdayites, not least because they pipped their arch rivals to automatic promotion after winning ten of their final 12 games of the season under Dave Jones, who replaced Gary Megson in March. However, despite racking up 93 points, it was not always plain sailing - and one defeat in particular highlighted that.
Following an indifferent start to the season, Wednesday, it seemed, had found some form, securing a third win in four games with a 3-1 home triumph over MK Dons in their seventh league outing of the campaign.
It moved them up to eighth in the standings, leaving them just four points off the top two with seven games played. They had four wins on the board and confidence was steadily increasing.
However, the Owls, just three days later, did something most supporters would describe as ‘typical Wednesday’. Making the long trip to Hertfordshire on a Tuesday evening, Wednesday travelled to Broadhall Way for their very first meeting with Stevenage, who had climbed their way into League One the previous season for the very first time in their history.
It was a new ground for the travelling Wednesdayites to tick off, and most of them arrived that evening confident Megson’s men would get the better of a side that was only competing in its second Football League season. How wrong they were.
By the time Lawrie Wilson’s miscued effort found its way past Richard O’Donnell with just 38 minutes on the clock, Wednesday found themselves 4-0 down. Full-time, let alone half-time, could not come soon enough.
Although Megson made three changes at half-time, Wednesday’s woes worsened when Darius Charles made it 5-0 after 67 minutes. It ranks as one of the most embarrassing nights in Wednesday’s history.
Despite pulling a goal back through Gary Madine, Wednesday, who also had Jermaine Johnson sent off in the closing stages, could not wait to escape Broadhall Way. First, though, boss Megson had to conduct his post-match media obligations, and there was no way he could sugarcoat what he had just seen.
He told BBC Radio Sheffield: “It was poor from minute one, right the way through to the last minute. Managers come and try and put a positive spin on it, and I will try and do the same, but it will be really difficult.
“It was a really bad night for us. That is the worst I have felt as a manager - and I have been doing it for a long time.”
He added: “I said at half-time that people were coming off, but we could have changed the whole team because it was really, really unacceptable. Our start to the game was shocking.”
The defeat to Stevenage, although Wednesday bounced back from it with four consecutive victories and eventually went on to secure promotion, left scars. It was a harrowing night that Wednesdayites are never likely to forget, similarly to the 1-0 defeat to Forest Green 12 years later.
Next season, of course, Wednesday and Stevenage, who also won 1-0 at Hillsborough in 2011/12, will meet again, meaning the trip to Broadhall Way will trigger unwanted flashbacks. Any mention of Stevenage to a Wednesday supporter immediately brings back unwanted memories of that September evening.
Next season, Bromley, with respect, will be considered as the minnows Wednesday will be going up against having only climbed into the Football League as recently as two years ago. Like Stevenage in 2011/12, they will be another first-time opponent for Wednesday.
When the time comes to visit Hayes Lane, Owls supporters, regardless of when it is or what vein of form Wednesday are in at that juncture, are bound to be twitchy. After all, it is never meant to be easy being a Wednesdayite, is it?
League One has proven that.