Sheffield Wednesday F.C.

A cricket match at Darnall in the 1820s, a ground laid out for The Wednesday Cricket Club.

Although no contemporary evidence has been found to support the claim, it is commonly believed that "The Wednesday Cricket Club" was formed in 1820.[5] Nevertheless, an 1842 article in Bell's Life magazine states the club was founded as far back as 1816.[5]

The club was so named because it was on Wednesdays that the founding members had a half-day off work. They were initially based at the New Ground in Darnall, and often went by the name of Darnall Wednesday, but also played at Hyde Park. In 1855 they were one of six clubs that helped build Bramall Lane, and held a wicket there for many years.[5]

Famous players to have represented the cricket club include Harry Sampson, who scored 162 on ice in 1841, Tom Marsden, who scored 227 for Sheffield & Leicester vs Nottingham in 1826, and George Ulyett, who represented the club in the first ever international test match before becoming one of only a select band of players who played for both sections of The Wednesday Club.

On the evening of Wednesday 4 September 1867, a meeting was held at the Adelphi Hotel to establish whether there was interest among the club's members to form a football club to keep the team together and fit during the winter months. The proposal proved very popular, with over 60 members signing up for the new team on the first night. They played their first match against The Mechanics on 19 October the same year, winning by three goals and four 'rouges' to nil.[6]

It soon became apparent that football would come to eclipse the cricketing side of the club in terms of popularity—the two sections went their separate ways in 1882 after a dispute over finances and the cricket club ceased to exist in 1925. On 1 February 1868, Wednesday played their first competitive football match as they entered the Cromwell Cup, a one-off four-team competition for newly formed clubs. A week after their semi-final, they went on to win the cup, beating the Garrick club in the final after extra time, the only goal being scored in diminishing light at Bramall Lane. This was one of the first recorded instances of a match being settled by a "golden goal" although the term was not in use at the time.[7]

A key figure during the formative years of the football club was Charles Clegg, who joined the Wednesday in 1867. His relationship with the club lasted for the rest of his life and eventually led to his becoming the club's chairman. He also became president and chairman of the Football Association, and was known as the "Napoleon of Football".[8] Clegg played for England in the first-ever international match, against Scotland in November 1872. This completed a unique double for the club, who could lay claim to having a player in the first international games of both cricket and football.

The Wednesday team in 1878

In 1876 Wednesday acquired Scot James Lang. Although he was not employed by the club, he was given a job by a member of the Sheffield Wednesday board that had no formal duties. He is now acknowledged as the first professional football player in England.[9] With Lang in their team the football club became one of the strongest in the region, a reputation that was cemented when they won the inaugural Sheffield FA Challenge Cup in 1877.

In 1880 the club entered the FA Cup for the first time, and they soon became one of the most respected sides in the country. But although they had had Lang on their books a decade earlier, the club officially remained staunchly amateur, and this stance almost cost the club its very existence.[5] By the middle of the decade, Wednesday's best players were leaving in their droves to join clubs who would pay them, and in January 1887 they lost 0–16 against Halliwell with just 10 players in their team. An emergency meeting was held, and the board members finally agreed to pay its players.[10]

Sheffield Wednesday players posing with the FA Cup won in 1896

The move to professionalism took the club from Bramall Lane, which had taken a share of the ticket revenue, to the new Olive Grove.[11] In 1889 the club became founder members of the Football Alliance, of which they were the first champions in a season where they also reached the 1890 FA Cup final, losing 6–1 to Blackburn Rovers at Kennington Oval, London. Despite finishing the following season bottom of the Alliance, they were eventually elected to the expanded Football League in 1892. They won the FA Cup for the first time in 1896, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1 at Crystal Palace.

Owing to an expansion of the local railway lines, the club was told that they would have to find a new ground for the 1899–1900 season.[10] After a difficult search the club finally bought some land in the village of Owlerton, which at the time was several miles outside the Sheffield city boundaries. Construction of a new stadium (now known as Hillsborough Stadium) was completed within months and the club was secured for the next century. In a strong decade, Wednesday won the League in the 1902–03 and 1903–04 seasons and the FA Cup again in 1907, beating Everton 2–1, again at Crystal Palace. When competitive football was suspended in 1915 because of the outbreak of World War I, the club participated in several regionalised war leagues, until 1919, when competitive football resumed.

They were relegated from the top flight for the first time in 1920, and did not return until 1926, and in the 1927–28 season they looked like going down again before securing a haul of 17 points from their last 10 matches to secure safety. Wednesday went on to win the League title the following season (1928–29), which started a run that saw the team finishing lower than third only once until 1936.[11] The period was topped off with the team winning the FA Cup for the third time in the club's history in 1935. When World War II began, the club entered non-competitive war leagues, returning to competitive football in 1946.

Chart of Sheffield Wednesday's Performances

The 1950s saw Wednesday unable to consistently hold on to a position in the top flight and this period became known as the yo-yo years.[12] After being promoted in 1950 they were relegated three times, although each time they returned to the top flight by winning the Second Division the following season. The decade ended on a high note with the team finishing in the top half of the First Division for the first time since World War II.

In 1961, the club ran toe-to-toe with Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the table for the majority of the season – Wednesday became the first team to beat Spurs all season – before finally finishing in second place, which still (as of 2023) remains the club's highest post-war league finish. In 1966 the club reached its fifth FA Cup final, but they were beaten 3–2 by Everton, having led 2–0.

Off the field the club was embroiled in the British betting scandal of 1964 in which three of its players, Peter Swan, David Layne and Tony Kay, were accused of match fixing and betting against their own team in an away game at Ipswich Town. The three were subsequently convicted and, on release from prison, banned from football for life.[13] The three were reprieved in the early 1970s, with Swan and Layne returning to Hillsborough, and, though their careers were virtually over, Swan at least played some league games for The Owls.

The coin toss before the away game in Turin versus Juventus for the 1970 Anglo-Italian Cup

Wednesday were relegated at the end of the 1969–70 season; this began the darkest period in the club's history, eventually culminating in the club dropping to the Third Division for the first time in its history, and in 1976 it almost fell into the Fourth Division. It was not until the appointment of Jack Charlton as manager in 1977 that the club started to climb back up the league pyramid. Charlton led the Owls back to the Second Division in 1980 before handing the reins to Howard Wilkinson, who took the club back into the top flight in 1984, after an absence of 14 years.

Wednesday enjoyed success in its return to the top flight, finishing 8th in their first season back and then 5th the season later, qualifying for European football only to be disqualified due to England's ban in Europe due to the Heysel Stadium disaster.

On 15 April 1989 the club's stadium was the scene of one of the worst sporting tragedies ever, at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, at which 97 Liverpool fans were fatally crushed in the Leppings Lane end of the stadium.[14] The tragedy resulted in many changes at Hillsborough and all other leading stadiums in England; it was required that terracing would be replaced with seats in stands,[15] and that perimeter fencing should be removed.[16]

In Ron Atkinson's first full season as manager, 1989–90, Sheffield Wednesday finished 18th in the First Division and were relegated on goal difference, despite the acquisition of the talented John Sheridan and the fact they had pulled towards mid-table at one stage of the season. They regained promotion at the first attempt but the real highlight of the season was a League Cup final victory over Atkinson's old club Manchester United. Midfielder Sheridan scored the only goal of the game, which delivered the club's first major trophy since their FA Cup success in 1935. Atkinson moved to Aston Villa shortly after promotion was achieved, and handed over the reins to 37-year-old striker Trevor Francis.

Wednesday finished third in the First Division at the end of the 1991–92 season, booking their place in the following season's UEFA Cup and becoming a founding member of the new FA Premier League.

1992–93 was one of the most eventful seasons in the history of Sheffield Wednesday football club. They finished seventh in the Premier League and reached the finals of both the FA Cup and the League Cup, but were on the losing side to Arsenal in both games, the FA Cup final going to a replay and only settled in the last minute of extra time. This prevented the Owls from making another appearance in European competition. Still, the 1992–93 season established Sheffield Wednesday as a top club. Midfielder Chris Waddle was voted Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year, and the strike partnership of David Hirst and Mark Bright was one of the most feared in the country. Francis was unable to achieve any more success at the club, and two seasons later he was sacked. His successor was former Luton, Leicester and Tottenham manager David Pleat.

David Pleat's first season as Sheffield Wednesday manager was frustrating, as they finished 15th in the Premiership despite an expensively-assembled line-up which included the likes of Marc Degryse, Dejan Stefanovic and Darko Kovacevic – who all had disappointing and short-lived tenures at the club. An excellent start to the 1996–97 season saw the Owls top the Premiership after winning their first four games, and David Pleat was credited Manager of the Month for August 1996. But the club failed to mount a serious title challenge and they faded away to finish seventh in the final table. Pleat was sacked the following November with the club struggling at the wrong end of the Premiership, and Ron Atkinson briefly returned to steer the Owls clear of relegation.

At the end of the 1997–98 season, Ron Atkinson's short-term contract was not renewed and Sheffield Wednesday turned to the Barnsley boss Danny Wilson as their new manager, after being rejected by both Gerard Houllier and Walter Smith who joined Liverpool and Everton respectively. Wilson's first season at the helm brought a slight improvement as they finished 12th in the Premiership.

An expensively assembled squad including Paolo Di Canio, Benito Carbone and Wim Jonk failed to live up to the massive wage bill the club was paying and things eventually came to a head when Italian firebrand Di Canio was sent off in a match against Arsenal and proceeded to push the referee on his way off.[17] Danny Wilson was sacked the following March with relegation looking a certainty for the Hillsborough club,[18] following a disastrous 1999–2000 season where they had been hammered 8–0 by Newcastle United as early as September.[19] His assistant Peter Shreeves took temporary charge but was unable to stave off relegation, with a 3–3 draw at Arsenal in May 2000 being enough to see the Owls tumble into the First Division.[20]

The Owls playing in their final away match of the 1999–2000 Premier League season, at Arsenal in May 2000

Having spent large sums building squads that were ultimately ineffective, the club's finances took a turn for the worse, and in 2003 they were relegated for a second time in four years, to the Second Division.[21]

The club spent two years in the third tier before returning the Championship, Paul Sturrock's side won the 2005 play-off final by defeating Hartlepool United 4–2 after extra time at the Millennium Stadium.[22] Ultimately however, the club's perilous financial position ensured another drop to League One was not too far away – five years after the play-off win of 2005, the Owls were again relegated to League One.[23]

Between July and November 2010, Sheffield Wednesday faced a series of winding up orders for unpaid tax and VAT bills, with the club's existence under severe threat.[24][25][26] It was not until 29 November 2010, when businessman Milan Mandarić agreed to buy out the old owners, that the club could move forward.

Wednesday supporters celebrating on the pitch, following promotion to The Championship, on 5 May 2012

Mandarić appointed former Wednesday player Gary Megson as manager partway through the 2010–11 season, and while Megson only stayed in the job for a year, what was mostly his side won promotion back to the Championship in May 2012, under the stewardship of new manager Dave Jones.[27]

In 2014 the club was again taken over by a new owner, Thai businessman Dejphon Chansiri, purchasing the club from Milan Mandarić for £37.5m.[28] Chansiri stated his intention to win Premier League promotion for the 2017–18 season – the football club's 150th anniversary – and came close to achieving that goal a year head of schedule, with new coach Carlos Carvalhal leading the club into the end of season play-offs at the end of the 2015–16 season.[29] Wednesday were beaten in the final by Hull City at Wembley.[30] They made the play-offs again the following season, but lost on penalties to the eventually promoted Huddersfield Town in the semi-final.[31]

The club were favourites to be promoted in the 2017–18 season, but injuries and poor results saw them drop to the lower half of the table. Carvalhal left by mutual consent in December 2017, and was replaced by Dutch manager Jos Luhukay a month later.[32][33] The team finished in an uneventful 15th place at the end of the season. Luhukay was sacked in December 2018 after a run of only one win in 10, which left the team 18th in the table.[34] He was replaced by former Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce who saw an upturn in form to finish 12th.[35][36] However, Bruce controversially resigned in July 2019 to manage Newcastle United.[37]

On 6 September 2019, the club appointed former Birmingham City manager Garry Monk as the new manager, who achieved a 16th-place finish in a season that was interrupted from March to June by the COVID-19 pandemic.[38][39][40] On 31 July 2020, Sheffield Wednesday was found guilty of breaking EFL spending rules and began the 2020–21 season on -12 points, though the deficit was later reduced to -6 upon appeal.[41][42] Football finance analysis site Off the Pitch named the club the worst financial performer of 185 European clubs based on its own analysis combining numerous metrics.[43] On 9 November 2020, Monk was sacked after a poor start to the season and was replaced by Tony Pulis.[44] However, Pulis was also dismissed after only 45 days in charge on 28 December 2020.[45] After a few months with Neil Thompson as caretaker manager, Darren Moore was appointed as the club's third permanent manager of the season in March 2021.[46] Despite taking the fight to the final day, Moore could not prevent relegation to League One come the end of the season, bringing Wednesday's nine-year spell in the Championship to an end.[47] In 2022–23, Wednesday won promotion back to the Championship by defeating Barnsley in the 2023 play-off final.[48]

On 29 September 2023, following fan protests, owner Dejphon Chansiri said he would put no more money into the club, unhappy with fans' treatment towards him and his family. While the club, sitting bottom of the Championship, was not technically up for sale, he said he would be open to offers.[49]

In their early years, the club was nicknamed The Blades, a term used for any sporting team from the city of Sheffield, famous the world over for its cutlery and knives. That nickname has been retained by Wednesday's crosstown rivals, Sheffield United.

Although it is widely assumed that the club's nickname changed to The Owls in 1899 after the club's move to Owlerton, it was not until 1912, when Wednesday player George Robertson presented the club with an owl mascot, that the name took hold. A monkey mascot introduced some years earlier had not brought much luck.[50]

The Wednesday's home shirt of 1871. It is assumed that these were the original colours used by the team.

Since its founding the club has played their home games in blue and white shirts, traditionally in vertical stripes. However, this has not always been the case and there have been variations upon the theme. A monochrome photograph from 1874 to 1875 shows the Wednesday team in plain dark shirts,[51] while the 1871 "Rules of the Sheffield Football Association" listed the Wednesday club colours as blue and white hoops.[11] A quartered blue and white design was used in 1887 and a blue shirt with white sleeves between 1965 and 1973.[52] Wednesday's socks have been predominantly black, blue or white throughout their history.

The club's away strip has changed regularly over the years. Traditionally, white was the second choice for many teams, including Wednesday, although the club has used a multitude of colours for its change strip over the years, including yellow, black, silver, green and orange.

Since 1912, the owl has become a theme that has run throughout the club. The original club crest was introduced in 1956[53] and consisted of a shield showing a traditionally drawn owl perched on a branch. The White Rose of York[54] was depicted below the branch alluding to the home county of Yorkshire and the sheaves of Sheffield (Sheaf field) were shown at either side of the owl's head. The club's Latin motto, Consilio et Animis, was displayed beneath the shield.[53] This translates into English as "By Wisdom and Courage".[55]

The crest was changed in 1970 to a minimalist version designed by a local art student, and this logo was used by the club, with variations, until 1995, when it was replaced by a similar design to the original crest. It again featured a traditionally drawn owl perched on a branch although the design of both had changed. The sheaves were replaced by a stylised SWFC logo that had been in use on club merchandise for several years prior to the introduction of the new crest. The Yorkshire Rose was moved to above the owl's head to make way for the words Sheffield Wednesday. The word Hillsborough was also curved around the top of the design. The club motto was absent on the new design. The crest was encased in a new shape of shield. This crest remained in use for only a few years, during which several versions were used with different colours, including a white crest with blue stripes down either side and the colouring of the detail inverted.[56]

In 1999, the minimalist version was brought back, albeit inside a crest, and with the addition of a copyright symbol in 2002.[53] In 2016, new owner Dejphon Chansiri again changed the club crest, opting for a similar design to the 1956 badge.

• 
  1956–1973
• 
  1973–1995
• 
  1995–1999
• 
  1999–2016
• 
  2016–present

Ozzie Owl, the primary club mascot

Over the years Sheffield Wednesday have had several Owl themed matchday mascots. Originally it was Ozzie the Owl and later two further Owls, Baz & Ollie were added. All three were replaced in 2006 by Barney Owl, a similar looking owl but with more defined eyes to make it look cuter. Ozzie Owl was reintroduced as Wednesday's main mascot during the home game with Charlton Athletic on 17 January 2009. The current mascots are Ozzie and Barney Owl. In 2012, Ollie Owl also made his return to the scene, as the club announced him Mascot for the Owls work with children in the local community.

Originally, Wednesday played matches at Highfield, but moved several times before adopting a permanent ground. Other locations included Myrtle Road, Heeley and Hunter's Bar. Major matches were played at Sheaf House or Bramall Lane, before Sheffield United made it their home ground.[10] Sheffield Wednesday's first permanent home ground was at Olive Grove, a site near Queen's Road originally leased from the Duke of Norfolk. The first game at Olive Grove was a 4–4 draw with Blackburn Rovers on 12 September 1887. Extensions to the adjacent railway forced the club to move to their current ground in 1899.

Since 1899 Wednesday have played their home games at Hillsborough Stadium in the Owlerton district of Sheffield. The stadium was originally named Owlerton Stadium but in 1914 Owlerton became part of the parliamentary constituency of Hillsborough and the ground took on its current name.[57] With 39,732 seats, Hillsborough has the 12th highest capacity in England. The club had intended to increase Hillsborough's capacity to 44,825 by 2012 and 50,000 by 2016 and make several other improvements in the process, but due to England's failed World Cup bid, this is now not the case.[58]

The stadium has hosted World Cup football in 1966, the 1996 European Championships and 27 FA Cup semi-finals. The Kop at Hillsborough was re-opened in 1986 by Queen Elizabeth II and was once the largest covered stand of any football stadium in Europe.[59]

On 15 April 1989, at an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, 94 Liverpool fans (later increasing to 97) were crushed to death after the terraces at the Leppings Lane end of the ground became overcrowded, in what became known as the Hillsborough disaster. The following report concluded that the root cause of the disaster was the failure of local police to adequately manage the crowds.[60][61] A memorial to the victims of the disaster stands outside Hillsborough's South Stand, near the main entrance on Parkside Road. After many years of dispute about the facts, in June 2017 six men responsible for safety were charged with criminal offences including manslaughter and misconduct in public office.[62]

Panorama of Hillsborough Stadium in 2009

A list of former players can be found at List of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. players.

Only managers with over 200 games in charge are included. For the complete list see List of Sheffield Wednesday F.C. managers.

Name	Nat	From	To	Record
				P	W	L	D	Win%
Arthur Dickinson		1 August 1891	31 May 1920	919	393	338	188	42.27%
Robert Brown		1 June 1920	1 December 1933	600	266	199	135	44.33%
Eric Taylor		1 April 1942	31 July 1958	539	196	215	128	36.36%
Jack Charlton		8 October 1977	27 May 1983	269	105	77	87	39.03%
Howard Wilkinson		24 June 1983	10 October 1988	255	114	73	68	44.70%
Trevor Francis		7 June 1991	20 May 1995	214	88	58	68	41.12%

Dickinson, who was in charge for 29 years, is Wednesday's longest-serving manager, and helped establish the club during the first two decades of the 20th century.

Brown succeeded Dickinson and remained in charge for 13 years; in 1930 he secured their most recent top division league title to date.

Taylor took over during the Second World War and remained in charge until 1958, but failed to win a major trophy, even though Wednesday were in the top flight for most of his reign.

Charlton took Wednesday out of the Third Division in 1980 and in his final season (1982–83) he took them to the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Wilkinson succeeded Charlton in the summer of 1983 and was in charge for more than five years before he moved to Leeds United. His first season saw Wednesday gain promotion to the First Division after a 14-year exile. He guided them to a fifth-place finish in 1986, but Wednesday were unable to compete in the 1986–87 UEFA Cup due to the ban on English teams in European competitions due to the Heysel Disaster of 1985.

Under Ron Atkinson, Wednesday won the League Cup and promotion to the First Division before departing for Aston Villa in July 1991.[71] Trevor Francis was appointed as player-manager and guided them to third place in the league in 1992, and earned them a UEFA Cup place.[72][73][74] They finished seventh in the inaugural Premier League season and were runners-up of the FA Cup and League Cup that year.[73] He was sacked in 1995 after Wednesday finished 13th – their lowest standing in four years since winning promotion.[73]

As of 16 September 2023[75]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ENG Cameron Dawson 2 DF  SCO Liam Palmer 4 MF  WAL Will Vaulks 5 DF  SEN Bambo Diaby 6 DF  ENG Dominic Iorfa 7 FW  ENG Mallik Wilks 8 MF  SCO George Byers 9 FW  ENG Lee Gregory 10 MF  SCO Barry Bannan (captain) 11 FW  ENG Josh Windass 13 FW  SCO Callum Paterson 14 DF  ESP Pol Valentín 15 DF  CHI Juan Delgado 17 DF  JAM Di'Shon Bernard 18 MF  ENG Marvin Johnson

No. Pos. Nation Player 19 MF  ENG Tyreeq Bakinson 20 DF  ENG Michael Ihiekwe 21 MF  ENG John Buckley (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) 22 MF  IRL Jeff Hendrick (on loan from Newcastle United) 23 DF  ENG Akin Famewo 24 FW  ENG Michael Smith 27 FW  ENG Ashley Fletcher (on loan from Watford) 33 DF  ENG Reece James 36 GK  COL Devis Vásquez (on loan from AC Milan) 41 FW  FRA Djeidi Gassama 44 MF  FRA Momo Diaby (on loan from Portimonense) 45 FW  NED Anthony Musaba 47 GK  NIR Pierce Charles — DF  IRL Ciaran Brennan