Owls on the verge of taking a big step backwards

Last updated : 20 April 2008 By C. Morris

May 2005 was supposed to be the time that the demise of our club came to an end and we had seemingly put our lowest ebb behind us for the foreseeable future.

The feeling of elation felt at the Millennium stadium on that fine day was comparable with any I had felt previously in my life supporting the Owls.

In the not too distant past we had teams with star-studded players and had achieved successes at the highest level but the play-off win was just as crucial as it had seemingly put a stop to years of constant decline.

Up to that point the 21st Century has been one of little joy in terms of following this club, with two relegations and the 2nd lowest finish in the clubs league history in the 2003/04 season.

For the first time in years we had a winning team, the rot had been stopped and the supporters finally had something to smile about.

We knew that the 05/06 season would be a tough one, but once we had won that battle to survive in the Championship it seemed that the club was in a position to at least establish itself as a solid Championship outfit and progress was being made.

This was reaffirmed last season, a ninth-place finish on the back of a strong run-in gave supporters due cause to be optimistic that the club was not likely to be in any danger of returning to the third tier any time in the near future.

Despite the club's well publicised debts, even things off the field appeared to be turning round in our favour, for a number of years the annual losses were slowly decreasing and in the 12 months up to May 2007 the club actually recorded a profit

So where has it all gone wrong? There were signs of problems when the club sold Majid Bhougherra in the January 2007 transfer window. The defender had not been at the club for long and was showing signs of developing into a key player and had already become a favourite amongst the fans. He was not replaced at this time and a slump in form followed although results did improve towards the end of the season.

In the summer of 2007 the club chose not to renew the contract of frontline centre-forward Steven MacLean. Part of the reasoning behind this was apparently based on his fitness record. While MacLean had struggled with injury over the past couple of seasons he was still very much an instrumental part of the team. He had a good scoring record in the 06/07 campaign and his overall play made a big contribution to the Owls success that season.

More surprising was that he was replaced by Francis Jeffers, a player that had struggled badly himself due to injury in recent years and has managed just 7 league appearances this season. It is easy to say with hindsight but surely it would have been better for the team and more cost effective to retain a player who was an established member of the team and was familiar with the type of play and the players around him?

Next to leave was Chris Brunt. He joined West Brom before the end of the summer transfer window and was effectively replaced by the signing of Etienne Esajas but has been injured for much of the season, making just 5 league starts to date.

MacLean and Brunt scored a combined total of 22 league goals between them in 2006/07 and also supplied more than their fair share of assists, which serves to quantify the Owls loss on losing these two players alone.

Losing the first 6 league games of the season added to the sudden feeling of despondency amongst Owls fans and the team has floated in and around the bottom 3 in the Championship table all season. 49 points from the 38 games since then is far from being a great return in itself.

In the January transfer window Glenn Whelan, who has been a key member of the first team since the 04/05 promotion season was also sold, for a fee far less than his true value. Wednesday had been unable to get him to commit to a new contract and as he would have been a free agent at the end of the season the club chose to take what was on offer from Stoke City. Given his influence and ability when in the Owls team who is to say that Wednesday would not have secured more points at this stage had he been kept on? The value of having him contribute to the remainder of the Owls season and letting him then leave for a free at the end of the season could well have been more than what the club received from his sale.

Wednesday have had to rely on loan players for much of the season, so much so that in a recent game against Stoke the club picked more players in their match-day squad than league rules allow.

Injuries have blighted the team's campaign. Although impact injuries are often impossible to prevent some players such as Jeffers and Simek have recovered from their initial injuries only to break down again on their comebacks.

The club has also had approaches from a number of interested parties regarding a possible takeover but rumours and speculation is so far all that has arisen from this. The saga has become a very drawn out process and many fans have become sceptical about who is behind such moves and whether anything positive is likely to come to fruition in the near future.

Now, following the weekend's defeat at Blackpool, the Owls are on the verge of a return to England's third tier of league football. Other 'big' teams like Forest and Leeds have struggled to bounce back from this recently and to return to this level having seemingly left this behind only 3 years ago would be very hard to take. With two games to play the Owls destiny is still in their own hands but with no wins in eight many fans are not confident of the great escape.

To compound what has in truth been a terrible season, Wednesday fans are faced with a prospect of up to and above 12% price rises in some areas for adult season tickets next season. At a time when many clubs are reducing prices in order to get bums on seats, Wednesday have done the opposite despite the prospect of playing in a lower division next term. Attendances at Hillsborough have dwindled this season and this approach is likely to see them fall further still as the loyalty that the fans have shown has not been returned in many supporters opinions.

With a squad that has been significantly reliant on loan players of late, it is unlikely that the ones that have impressed will want to stay on if the Owls are relegated and Wednesday will be in a similar position to that of the 2003/04 season with little if anything left to show from what was achieved in Cardiff back in 2005.