Sheffield Wednesday F.C. seasons

This is a list of seasons played by Sheffield Wednesday Football Club in English and European football, from 1877 (when The Wednesday first entered the Sheffield Challenge Cup) to the present day. It details the club's achievements in major competitions, the top scorers, and the average home league attendance for each season.

eason reviews since 1982/83

1982/83: Sixth place in the Second Division was not enough to earn promotion, but a run to the semi-finals of the FA Cup gave fans hope that a return to the First Division would occur sooner rather than later.

1983/84: Promotion to the First Division was finally achieved after a 14-year exile thanks to a runners-up finish in the Second Division. Wednesday also reached the quarter-finals of both cup competitions.

1984/85: Wednesday finished eighth in their first top flight campaign for 15 years, reached the Fifth Round of the FA Cup and the quarter-final of the League Cup.

1985/86: Another strong season secured a fifth place finish, but the recently imposed on ban on English clubs in European competitions arising from the Heysel Disaster led to a UEFA Cup place being missed out on.

1986/87: Wednesday's form dipped slightly and they finished 11th, but they were never anywhere near the relegation zone and were at least a match for most other First Division sides.

1987/88: 13th place was another slight dip in form, but still not drastic enough to plunge them into the relegation battle.

1988/89: Howard Wilkinson sent shockwaves around Hillsborough in November by moving down a division to Leeds United, and his successor Peter Eustace lasted just three months before making way for Ron Atkinson, but the change in management was not enough to prevent a 16th place finish - the club's lowest since their top flight comeback in 1984.

1989/90: Wednesday gained 42 points in the First Division but this was not enough to save them from being relegated on goal difference after six years back among the elite.

1990/91: Atkinson steered Wednesday to their best season in years with a shock League Cup final triumph over Manchester United as well as gaining automatic promotion back to the First Division at the first time of asking. He then left to take over at Aston Villa, leaving veteran striker Trevor Francis to become player-manager.

1991/92: Trevor Francis made a dream start to his Wednesday managerial career by securing a third place finish, a place in the UEFA Cup (the club's first European campaign for nearly 30 years) and a place in the new Premier League.

1992/93: Another thrilling season saw the Owls finish seventh in the Premier League, as well as being on the losing side to Arsenal in both cup finals, but they were unable to claim another European place.

1993/94: Another seventh place finish for Wednesday, but their best chance of success ended in the League Cup semi-finals where they were beaten by Manchester United.

1994/95: A disappointing season for the Owls saw them finish 13th and Trevor Francis lose his job to be replaced by David Pleat.

1995/96: Wednesday's first campaign under David Pleat was a disappointing one, with a 15th place finish meaning that safety was not ensured till the final day of the season.

1996/97: A great start to the season suggested that the Owls could contend for the Premier League title, but a slight dip in form saw them finish seventh at the end of the season and they couldn't even claim a UEFA Cup place.

1997/98: A dismal start to the season saw Pleat sacked and Ron Atkinson re-appointed on a temporary contract. 16th place in the final table was just enough to secure safety, but Atkinson's contract was not renewed and he was replaced by Danny Wilson.

1998/99: Wilson's first season at the helm brought something of an improvement as Wednesday finished 12th and were one of only three teams to beat treble winners Manchester United in the Premiership, but financial problems were taking their toll on the club and many bookies were selecting Wednesday as favourites for relegation the next season.

1999/2000: A season of total disaster for the Owls was highlighted by an 8-0 hammering at the hands of Newcastle United and the dismissal of Danny Wilson as manager just weeks before the end of the season. Caretaker Peter Shreeves was unable to achieve survival, and he was replaced by Paul Jewell.

2000/01: Paul Jewell's short reign came to an end in February when he was sacked as the Owls were in real danger of a second successive relegation. Peter Shreeves returned to the manager's seat and achieved safety.

2001/02: A run to the League Cup semi-finals brought some much-awaited success to the club, but their league form was dismal and they only narrowly achieved Division One survival. Shreeves quit before Christmas and was replaced by Terry Yorath.

2002/03: An appalling start to the season saw Yorath dismissed in early November to make way for Chris Turner. The Owls began to move forward under Turner's management, but in the end they couldn't beat the drop, and found themselves in the third tier of the English league for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century.

2003/04: Wednesday were many people's favourites for the Division Two title, but they ended up finishing 16th and with a mere 48 goals they were the lowest scoring team in the division.

2004/05: A slow start to the season saw Turner replaced by Paul Sturrock, and they progressed well to qualify for the playoffs and beat Hartlepool United in the final to achieve promotion and perhaps their first successful season in over a decade.

2005/06: Wednesday's steady progress continued as they achieved Championship survival by finishing 19th - three places but 10 points clear of the drop zone.

2006/07: The Owls started the season slowly and this cost Paul Sturrock his job, but successor Brian Laws took them on a strong run of form which saw them finish an impressive ninth in the final table, giving fans the hope of promotion next season.

Footnotes

# Average attendances include home league matches only.
# League football in England was established in 1888, while Wednesday were admitted to the Football League in 1892.
# In the 1886-87 season, The Wednesday failed to submit their application for the FA Cup on time, an error which ultimately led to the club turning professional later in the season.
# The Wednesday became founder members of the Football Alliance in 1889 following their application to join the Football League being turned down.
# The Wednesday were unanimously elected to the First Division of the Football League in 1892.
# The 1939-40 season was abandoned in early September after only three rounds; Sheffield Wednesday were 17th in the table at the time.
# The FA Cup was contested in 1945-46, but the Football League did not resume until the following season.

References

*cite web
url=http://www.btinternet.com/~a.drake/owls/early/1889.htm
title=Early Owls Records
accessdate=May 18
accessyear=2006
*cite web
url=http://www.fchd.info/
title=Football Club History Database
accessdate=May 18
accessyear=2006
*cite web
url=http://www.adrianbullock.com/swfc/stats/swfcarch.htm
title=The Sheffield Wednesday Archive
accessdate=July 27
accessyear=2006
*cite web
url=http://www.swfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Statistics/0,,10304,00.html
title=Sheffield Wednesday Official Website
accessdate=July 13
accessyear=2008
*cite web
url=http://www.soccerbase.com/
title=SoccerBase
accessdate=July 30
accessyear=2006
*cite web
url=http://itv.stats.football365.com/
title=ITV Football Statistics
accessdate=August 2
accessyear=2006
*cite book
author=Jason Dickinson | title=Wednesday - Official Programme of SWFC
publisher=Dunwoody Sports Marketing
year=2005/06
id=