Financial turmoil and relegation to League One twice have blighted the club as a succession of managers have tried and failed to bring back top flight football to Hillsborough.
But which Owls boss can claim to be the club’s most ‘successful’ this century? We take a look at the records of the 15 men – including Garry Monk, sacked on Monday evening – who have been in the Wednesday hotseat since Peter Shreeves failed to save the club from relegation in the 1999/2000 season.
5. Chris Turner, November 2002 to September 2004
Turner took charge at Sheffield Wednesday 26 years after first making his debut for the club, but was unable to save the club from relegation to the third tier at the end of the 2002/03 season. He was sacked in September 2004 after a slow start to the League One campaign. During his time in charge at Hillsborough, Turner won 29 out of 96 games with a 30.21 win percentage. He also lost 36 games and drew 31. Photo: Dean Atkins
6. Paul Sturrock, September 2004 to October 2006
Sturrock guided the club to promotion to the Championship after beating Hartlepool United 4–2 in the play-off final in 2005. He was sacked in October 2006 just five weeks after putting pen to paper on a new four-year contract with the Hillsborough outfit. His record at S6 saw him win 35 of his 104 matches at the helm with a 33.65 win percentage. He also lost 40 games and drew 29. Photo: Matthew Lewis
7. Brian Laws, November 2006 to December 2009
Laws was appointed Owls boss in November 2006 and became the first Wednesday boss for 95 years to do the league double over Sheffield United. He left S6 in December 2009 by mutual consent after a run of bad results. The Owls were relegated the following May. Laws had a win record of 33.77 per cent having won 52 out of 154 games. He also lost 60 matches and drew 42 Photo: Alex Livesey
8. Alan Irvine, January 2010 to February 2011
Irvine was in charge when Wednesday faced a Hillsborough relegation showdown against Crystal Palace , which ended 2–2 draw and relegated Wednesday to League One. During his time at S6, the Owls faced severe financial issues which ultimately led to Milan Mandarić buying the club at the end of 2010. Irvine was sacked in February with the Owls in 12th place in League One. In total, Irvine won 24 of his 59 games at Hillsborough with a 40.68 win percentage. He also lost 22 games and drew 13. Photo: Jan Kruger