Football in Sheffield

The campaign that followed the Great War ended in Wednesday being relegated to the second tier winning only seven games from a possible forty two.

                Relegation in 1920 prompted Wednesday (with a £5,000 deficit on transfers and an overall loss of £1,677 5s 3d in the season) to take drastic action; and 20 players were either released or listed[1].

Wednesday eventually gained promotion in the 1925-26 season finishing as champions, this was a remarkable contrast from the previous season in which they were very nearly relegated from the football league. The first couple of seasons back in the first division Wednesday struggled very nearly being relegated back into the second division in the 1927-28 season however they won the league title the following season 1928-29, the following three seasons after this success they finished third. The Wednesday (now known as Sheffield Wednesday due to a name change in 1929) won the F.A Cup in 1935 defeating West Brom 4-2.

The start of the 1960’s was a successful period for Wednesday which culminated in them finishing second in the league 1960-61, and gracing Europe for the first time in 1962 in the Inter Cities Fairs Cup losing to Barcelona 4-3 over two legs. The 1960’s also brought scandal to Hillsborough with three players involved in betting against Wednesday at an away game against Ipswich, the players involved were subsequently jailed and banned from football. Following this, Wednesday made another F.A Cup final in 1966 which extraordinarily Wednesday played all the games away from home. They lost the final against Everton 3-2.

The end of the 1960’s signalled an end to Wednesday’s success. At the end of the 1969-70 season Sheffield Wednesday were relegated to the second division and would be playing third division football by 1975, this was the lowest standard Wednesday had played since turning professional. The arrival of Jack Charlton in 1977 was to have a profound effect on Sheffield Wednesday’s fortunes. Under Charlton’s guidance Wednesday were promoted to the second division in the 1979-80 season and were to consolidate their position within the league up until his resignation in 1983. Much of the team that was put together by Charlton were part of the team that achieved promotion to the first division under Howard Wilkinson in 1983-84, ‘the 1981-82 season Wednesday missed promotion by a point, finishing in fourth place behind Norwich’[2]. Charlton left as a fans favourite and left on good terms, ‘The Geordie giant had always said five years was long enough for any manager to stay at one club, and when he made his mind up there was no sense in attempting to change his decision’[3].

The Wilkinson era of the eighties was associated with attractive and attacking brand football at Hillsborough which brought success and consolidation in the top tier of English football. In his time as manager he led Sheffield Wednesday to one promotion, five cup quarter finals and a semi final appearance.

The eighties also marked one of the lowest points in English football as well as Sheffield Wednesday’s, The Hillsborough disaster. Below is a short clip which shows the horrific scenes 15th April, 1989.

Under Ron Atkinson Wednesday were relegated in 1988-89 season ‘he knew it was a matter of professional pride to hold on for another year’[4], this was to prove successful and the following Wednesday were promoted back to the first division.  Alongside the redevelopment of the ground (after the Hillsborough disaster) the team were playing attractive football under Atkinson. Stars such as Carlton Palmer, David Hirst and John Sheridan flourished whilst playing for Wednesday,this culminated in them winning the League Cup in 1991 against Atkinson’s former employers, Manchester United.  This was the last time that a club outside the top flight has won a domestic cup.

The early nineties saw Wednesday maintain their good form with four Wembley appearances in the 1992-93 season.  One of these appearances was an F.A Cup Semi Final against neighbours, Sheffield United. Wednesday won the game however they were defeated in the final by Arsenal. By this point Trevor Francis had succeeded Ron Atkinson, the football style didn’t change and Wednesday continued to be resilient as well as entertaining.

The first signs of decline were evident in the 1994-95 in which Wednesday finished far below expectations in twelfth and were knocked out of the F.A Cup in the fourth round by Wolverhampton Wanderers from the league below. The fans were voicing their discontent long before the end of the season and it was confirmed Francis’s contract had been terminated 6 days after the season had ended.

A succession of managers couldn’t halt Wednesday’s decline which subsequently resulted in Wednesday’s relegation from the Premier League in May 2000 after a 3-3 draw with Arsenal. This was the last season in which Sheffield Wednesday graced the English top flight, the following decade can be named as the second ‘yoyo period’ after the 1950’s. During this period Sheffield Wednesday were relegated to the English second division (now known as League One) from the first division (now known as the Championship) three times, the last time being 2009-2010 season. The noughties will be remembered as the period in which Sheffield Wednesday faced near extinction due to a number of VAT bills and tax issues not being between July 2010 and November 2010. Milan Mandaric agreed to buy the club 29th November 2010 which is due to be confirmed 14th December 2010, hopefully this will sustain Wednesday’s future and future developments can be carried on Hillsborough stadium and the area, which has remained unchanged since the relegation from the Premiership ten years ago.

[1] Farnsworth, Keith. Sheffield Football: A History volume 1 1857-1961 pg 162

[2]  Farnsworth, Keith. Sheffield Football: A History volume 2 1961-1995pg 144

[3] Farnsworth, Keith. Sheffield Football: A History volume 2 1961-1995pg 146

[4] Farnsworth, Keith. Sheffield Football: A History volume 2 1961-1995pg 194