Waddle? Hirst? Shez? The random Sheffield Wednesday defender who started my Owls journey
The Star’s new Sheffield Wednesday writer, Liam Norcliffe, tells the story of how he came to support The Owls.
I didn’t really want to go. It was Saturday, October 28, 2000, and Wednesday were at home to high-flying, big-spending Fulham, who had the likes of Louis Saha and Luis Boa Morte. It was a cold, miserable and wet day, and to be honest, I wanted to stay indoors and play LMA Manager. I had been to Hillsborough before in 1996 for a win against Leicester City but I was so young I can’t really remember it. So the Fulham match is when I caught the Wednesday bug. I remember climbing the steps to the top of The Kop and seeing the hallowed turf and how special it was. Remember the viral video of a dad showing Hillsborough to his daughter for the first time? How mesmerised she was? That’s how I imagine I reacted. That was certainly how I felt.
The announcement for five added minutes came over the tannoy when Steve Harkness swung in a free-kick with his left foot. It was a poor, short delivery. But it skimmed off the head of a Fulham man and there was Ashley Westwood. Time seemed to stand still as his high, looping header took an age to drift through the air. For most of those seconds it looked like it was flying over. And then it spun and dipped and dropped in. Bedlam. Ten-man Wednesday had rescued a 3-3 draw against a team who were on their way to the Premier League.
In many ways, it was the perfect introduction to being a Wednesdayite. One-nil up at half-time. Two-one down 10 minutes into the second-half. Alan Quinn sent off. Back to 2-2, that man Westwood with the assist. Fulham scored again for 2-3 to seemingly dash any hopes. And then came THAT header from Westwood, who wheeled away in the iconic Chupa Chups shirt with the rain pouring off his drenched bonce. Looking back, it would have probably been more fitting had we conceded at the death because that would have represented the last 26 years more accurately. But anyway, I was hooked. When was the next match? I asked.
I went on to have a season ticket on The Kop. I was at the Millennium Stadium in 2005 and Wembley in 2016 and 2023. I was in the away end at Bramall Lane in 2009 for our first derby double in 95 years. I’ve done the horrible trips, too. I’ve seen us get embarrassed 6-0 at Reading on a Tuesday night. Spanked 4-0 at Plymouth. Hammered 5-1 at Exeter City in the snow, leaving at 6am and getting back at 3am. We’ve got all our stories, haven’t we?
Now to The Star. We always had a copy in our house. And I read all the Wednesday news before posting it through doors when I delivered them as a teenager. I used the money from my paper round to pay to go to away matches. Not forgetting the Green ‘Un. Every last drop of ink was read. So Wednesday and The Star have been very much interlinked in my life and now that is going to continue with a new chapter. This is a bit of a dream for me. I’m looking forward to working with Alex, who has done a tremendous job in such a difficult and challenging time. And good luck to my predecessor, Joe, who has also done terrific work. I’ve got some big shoes to fill.
That’s enough about me. A journalist should never be the story. And if you take nothing else away from this, just remember that I support Sheffield Wednesday because of Ashley Westwood. Not Hirsty. Not Waddle. Not Shez. Up the Owls!