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  1. We would like to start off by saying thank you, to our volunteers, who yet again gave up their time to distribute flyers, to fans who thanked us for our efforts. And to those who respectfully declined a flyer. Whilst we expected this protest wouldn’t be as successful as the one against Birmingham due to recent results, it was still pleasing to see so many in agreement, that change is very much needed. Sadly, given our constant requests that debate remains civil and respectful, it’s a shame some fellow Wednesdayites couldn’t afford us that respect. We always knew we’d be open to criticism. It comes with being a protest group on such a divisive issue. People don’t want unrest at the club, neither do we. What we didn’t sign up to is threats of violence, being spat at, our support questioned, flyers knocked out of our distributors hands or the disgusting remarks based on our appearance. We didn’t expect this from fans of our own club. What happened to WAWAW? Everything we’ve done and will continue to do is because we love Sheffield Wednesday. We believe in its untapped potential. Contrary to the belief of some we don’t hate Mr. Chansiri. We don’t want him to fail. But the past 9 years have proven that he either doesn’t have the resources to change - or he simply doesn’t want to. We don’t feel we can reason with the chairman. Whilst Danny Röhl and his coaching staff are doing a fantastic job and results have picked up, the situation off the pitch is still very much unknown. Will the chairman adequately fund the club in the future? What is our financial situation? Are taxes and players going to be paid on time? Will the club adequately address supporters concerns regarding season ticket, match day and merchandise pricing? Will the club address the mysterious reasoning behind the lack of card payment option on season tickets? What was the reason for such short early bird season ticket periods? Are there cash flow issues? We aren’t a consortium. We aren’t trying to buy the club. We’re a group of fans from all different walks of life that are respectfully asking Mr. Chansiri to put the club up for sale. He has himself admitted that there has been interest in the past. This is why we won’t stop. We’ll keep protesting in a peaceful way. Dejphon Chansiri, enough is enough. Please put our club up for sale. #swfc
    115 points
  2. Throwing stuff at the linesmen is not clever. No one is laughing Throwing bottles at the opposition keeper is not clever. No one is laughing. Being racist is unacceptable on any level and just shows your ignorance. Throwing pool balls at opposition fans is potentially life threatening and you must be brain dead to do something like that. My advice - keep off the booze because you obviously can’t handle it - keep off the powder because it is rotting your brain and STOP dragging my club into the gutter! If you can’t do any of the above just stay away.
    113 points
  3. ROTHERHAM UNITED v SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY Saturday 2nd March – KO 3pm Two years ago I bought a car from Emlyn Hughes. Here he is on This Is Your Life. Younger fans – “Great story….who’s Emlyn Hughes?” Older fans – “You been at the shoe polish again Holmy? Emlyn Hughes died in 2004.” To answer the young’uns, Emlyn Hughes played 665 times for Liverpool, many times as captain, winning 3 league titles, an FA Cup and the European Cup. He also played 62 times for England, winning……well fek all, naturally. Two years ago, I went over to Bolton to pick up a car I’d bought on-line from the dealer. The salesman shook my hand. Salesman “ Hello, I’m Emlyn Hughes.” Me “Was your dad a Liverpool fan?” Salesman “No, my dad was Emlyn Hughes”. It’s true, the Emlyn Hughes I bought the car from was the one on the right of the photo. Son of the England legend. And the relevance is….? Well, the footballing Emlyn Hughes was player-manager of Rotherham United for my first ever away match supporting Wednesday. The old Second Division, chasing a promotion slot, May 4th 1982 near the end of the season. I think we were in 4th, and Rotherham weren’t without a squeak of promotion in 6th or 7th, having at one stage looking relegation candidates before going on a long winning run. One of my mates had a very old and not very well Robin Reliant van. Reliant by name, but not by nature. Two in the front, and me and a pal being thrown about in the back. Full of ale, empty of seatbelts; if one of my kids did that now I’d have kittens. What a night! Two goals from Garry Bannister and a VERY dubious penalty for Rotherham, after which Emlyn Hughes incited a near riot by taunting us Wednesday fans. Hundreds of fans spilled onto the pitch, and I recall the game going on with fans still perilously close to the touchline. 2-2 it finished, and sadly our attempt at promotion just came up short. Final table: 1. Luton 88 2. Watford 80 3. Norwich 71 -------------------------------- 4. Wednesday 70 5. QPR 69 6. Barnsley 67 7. Rotherham 67 9. Newcastle 62 12. Chelsea 57 We made up for it next season, going up in second place under Wilko, behind Chelsea, just ahead of Newcastle. The years since have not been kind to us. I’ve picked out two very different sons of Rotherham. The first is the obvious one (or pair), our friends, The Chuckle Brothers. I have a real soft spot for them. My kids loved watching Chuckle Vision growing up, though that’s not where my huge respect came from. About 12 years ago me and the lovely Mrs H took the kids to a live Chuckle Brothers Show. IT WAS BRILLIANT. You know how pantos work on both levels, appealing to kids but also to adults? Well, the Chuckle Brothers took that to a totally different level. How on God’s green Earth did they get away with this? The other son of Rotherham I found surprised me. Step forward none other than ex Tory leader, William Hague. I had no idea this guy was from Wath on Dearne. Did you know that? Maggie Thatcher called him “the next William Pitt”. Hague believed it was because of his youth. I suspect it was just rhyming slang. If you’ve heard Hague speak with his soft, posh, plummy tones, you’d never guess he attended Wath Comprehensive. His full name was William Jefferson Hague, and his childhood hobbies are listed as Dire Straits and Churchill speeches. If young Jefferson didn’t get his head flushed down the bogs at Wath Comp at least once a week then I’m Michelle Obama. So, how will we do at the Chuckledome? On the face of it, it’s just soooo winnable. Pick a stat, any stat: Last 22 games – W1 D7 L14 Last 10 games – W0 D3 L7 Last 5 home games – W0 D1 L4 Easy? Fraid not. It will be an absolute slog. In their 17 home games they’ve only lost by more than a single goal twice, against Southampton and West Brom, both 2-0. They might not have the quality to beat teams, but they do have enough about them to make you earn every single point. And no doubt, against their closest rivals, they’ll work all the harder. But, we have become a very good side. We’ve seen many threads this week showing where we’d be sitting in the table were it not for Moronic Munoz and his Maddeningly Mishandled Months. Furthermore, Danny seems to have settled on a set-up and side that has significantly improved us. Against Millwall and Bristol City we looked far more solid, with young Beaders having barely a shot to save in anger. I hope he sticks with this more solid approach. Four goals and plenty of missed chances show that it is also giving us a very secure base from which to attack. We look superbly balanced now. Johnson and Musaba/ Gassama up the left, Palmer and Pol up the right, with a terrific trio of Vaulks, Bannan and the scarily impressive Poveda across the middle. Topped off by the on-fire Ugbo destroying defences. Danny has put together a terrific team. Back to those stats. I always refer to our form since the Leicester home game. In my opinion everything before that was basically Danny’s pre-season. Since Leicester, we’d be 9th, 3 points off 6th!!!!! Tragic that we turned down Danny for Xisco. I know it sounds daft, 24th v 23rd, but this is an absolutely massive game. If we can grab the 3 points, following on from back-to-back wins, we’ll be in dreamland. Not 11 points off safety as we once were, but right slap-bang in there, as one of six or seven teams battling not to be joining Rotherham in League One in August. Revenge for that outrageous penalty decision in 1982. Revenge for Emlyn’s taunting. Not that I hold a grudge. COYO Danny, Danny Röhl
    92 points
  4. So we had a neanderthal throwing racist slurs at the referee tonight sat behind us on the other side of the aisle. I was going to confront him but knew if he answered back it would kick off anf I would have been chucked out. So I did the decent thing, I took his row number and seat number and a crafty photo to one of the stewards where I was to.d he would speak to a supervisor. Absolutely nothing was done, so I informed another steward who was a lottle more understanding, but he took me to the supervisor who took my details and the info I had. Now he didn’t seem to bothered by this who;e thing so I sked him, “What is the point of the club, press and football in general raising the issue of race of nothing is done when it is reported. if the arsewipe who racially abused the referee is on here then please give your head a wobble, the stuff he was saying was explicit in the 70’s and was pretty disgusting. I would put his picture on but don’t want to get the mods in trouble but Kop, row 39, seat 32, you are a moron and next time I will take matters into my own hands.
    91 points
  5. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY V PLYMOUTH ARGYLE TUESDAY 5th MARCH, Kick Off 19:45 You’ve got to be pretty committed to follow Plymouth Argyle home and away. Last three away trips:- Sunderland 806 miles round trip Middlesbro 752 miles Wednesday 588 miles I’m forever clutching at straws this stressful season. I try to imagine every last drop of advantage we might eke out of a fixture. So when I saw that the infamous fixture computer had given Plymouth trips to Sunderland then Middlesbrough ahead of visiting Hillsborough, I tried to persuade myself that this was a ridiculously arduous itinerary which would see their players crawl off a decrepit, cramped and unreliable old team bus, bent double and aching from the journey, fit for nothing, let alone a football match. Sadly, in reality, these three fixtures were spread over a 3-week period, and no doubt they probably flew to the matches, or took the train, or at least travelled in a luxury coach with ice-baths, saunas and an army of nubile sports-science physios rubbing them down every 50 miles. Come to think of it, perhaps some of their players might just stay on the bus and we get an easy night? Wishful thinking. Yet another evening of anguish and biting of nails awaits us Owls fans. There won’t be too many Argyle fans make this midweek trek, but be very very careful which one of them you choose to argue with in the pub on the way to the game. If you find yourself in an increasingly heated discussion with a bloke who looks like this…. …think twice! Yes, it is claimed that ex-World Heavyweight Champion, Evander Holyfield, is a Plymouth fan. If he looks you in the eye and insists Paul Mariner was better than David Hirst, personally I’d advise taking a time-out. Go to the bar and remind yourself that the fella you are arguing with fought Mike Tyson twice….and won. “My round again Evander lad”. A slightly less intimidating Plymouth fan is comedian Josh Widdecombe. I don’t find him particularly funny (soz Josh), but I do like something he did about real ale drinkers acting all superior over their choice of tipple. He says that if real ale is so cool, why does James Bond not drink it? He describes 007 sat at a black-jack table in Monte Carlo, being approached by a sultry cocktail waitress: Waitress “What can I get you to drink?” Bond “I’ll have a pint of Otter’s Cockk please”. Waitress “Shaken or stirred?” Bond “Neither. Flat and room temperature please”. I really really like that. He’s quite good in this short clip too. Plus, it’s footie related, plus it has Rachel Riley, plus it has Ray Winstone, plus it has one of England’s second best managers ever. The ex England manager has aged a bit but you’ll still recognise him, sat on the far right next to Lee Mack. Wonder why they put Rachel Riley in the thumbnail. Odd that. If Wednesday have had a lean few decades, spare a thought for @Green Army and his fellow Pilgrim fans. See if you know the answer to this quiz question: Which is the largest City in England whose football team has never made it to the top division or won a major trophy? I won’t give you the answer but I’ll offer a tiny clue. Might help: I sympathise rather than mock. We are in no position to take the piddle are we? We are odds-on to be playing in a lower division than them next season. On Saturday we won the biggest match of our season so far. On Tuesday we will play our biggest match of the season so far etc etc etc…all massive games now. By 9:45pm on Tuesday we will either be 2 points behind Plymouth, 5 points behind, or 8 points behind, with 10 games to go. I feel the term “a six-pointer” is a pretty fair cliché to use. Plymouth changed their manager on 5th Jan, after Steven Schumacher was poached by Stoke. They appointed England U20 coach, Ian Foster. He got the usual new manager bounce, with two wins and a draw. However, since then, the bounce has turned into a plop. sunderland 3-1 loss COVENTRY 2-2 draw LEEDS 2-0 loss WEST BROM 3-0 loss middlesbro 2-0 win IPSWICH 2-0 loss Until recently their home form has been strong and their away form utterly dire, but that has turned around. Their away form is much better under Foster. Typical bad timing. Another piece of impeccably poor timing is the return from injury of super-keeper Michael Cooper. He’s missed all but 9 games this season, but has been on the bench in the last two. I suspect Foster will decide the time is right for Cooper to start, given the importance of this match. It’s understandable in these Matchday threads that we look at our opponents, but really it’s all about us isn’t it? What a team we’ve become under Danny. We’ve gone from record-breakingly bad to a side who would be competing for a play-off place had we not had the Xisco Inferno. I always thought we had a squad capable of staying up, but not for one moment did I think they could play as well as we’ve been doing for the past 3 months. He’s a flippin’ marvel. Pure gold. One of the MANY things I love about Danny is his in-match changes. Hands-up who thought Smith, Iorfa and Gassama for Vaulks, Pol and Poveda was the right call? (My hand has stayed down). 3 minutes later we are 1-0 up with Smith and Iorfa involved in the build-up. Post-match Danny said he brought Smith on to give Ugbo more space and to utilise Dom’s pace on the overlap….hey presto. It was no one-off fluke or lucky punt. How many times has he brought on the unfashionable and unloved (Fletcher, Smith, Buckley, even Hendrick ffs ) and we’ve got an equaliser, winner or both? Honestly, we are blessed with this fella. What a career he’s going to have. And I truly believe that glorious career starts with keeping us up. In 3 months we’ve gone from being the fat bloke at the back, riding a 1975 Chopper bike, mending a puncture, hungover from a night on the tiles and a dodgy Vindaloo, to being right in the slipstream of the peloton, lean, mean, pasta-fuelled, Evian water-drinking, lycra-clad, super-toned Adonis waiting to pounce and cruise past the field to safety and cult-status. Keep it going Danny. Keep it going Baz. Keep it going Iké. Keep it going all of you. You are all part of something that would go down as one of the most amazing chapters in the history of this wonderful club. And to our fans, remember….short ginger curly haired guy telling jokes - fill yer boots. Big mean-looking dude with the “Tyson is a cat” tattoo - smile, bite your lip, and buy him a pint of Otter’s cockk and a packet of Pork Scratchings. COYO Danny, Danny Röhl
    84 points
  6. 80 points
  7. Danny Röhl on the situation he's in at SWFC: 'As an example we have two grass pitches, but then we have to react to night frost and a failing undersoil heating" "Sheffield Wednesday has a very slim structure: It's the chairman, who is also the owner of the club, and then there's me. All decisions are made between the two of us. I'm involved in all transfers, all contract extensions, booking hotels. I have to sign off on it all. This short chain of command is, on the one hand, good to get things done quickly; but it's a lot of work" That's just a small tiny fraction of the conditions Röhl is forced to work under at our club Honestly if you STILL back the current custodian of this football club then I can no explain your approach to it other than you've been misled by other fans, you've not seen the truth, or you are just unwilling to even after being presented with the facts. It doesn't have to be this way Chansiri OUT (and the sooner the better)
    77 points
  8. We are all delighted to see the upturn in form and undoubtedly has given the fanbase a sense of belief the club can stay in the division, following the circus that was created in the summer and the coming months after. Now, as we look at the on field performances, the fans, the manager, the players, are all together. However, off the field are where the concerns remain for the future of the club. As evidenced with the accounts yesterday Dejphon Chansiri since taking owneship of the club, has amassed nearly £140m in losses, with a £72m debt, this is unsustainable. We as fans have been asked to put money in to sustain the club, which again proven by the figures, we have done, time and time again. This at some of the highest prices in the division. This Friday vs Leeds, we will be distributing flyers prior to the fixture, from 6:30pm in positions around the stadium, with the same notion as against Birmingham - back the team, not the regime. We urge fans to remember this and again are grateful for the support we have received thus far. As the players enter the field of play until kick off, we show the flyers around the stadium and to the Sky cameras, with a clear message to Dejphon Chansiri from his own words “If you want me to sell, i’ll sell” Stick to your word, Dejphon Chansiri From kick off, we back the team full on, hoping for another win in the quest for survival in the division. Enough is enough Back the team. Not the regime #swfc
    75 points
  9. He's averaging a goal every 90 minutes so far, and looking every inch the all-round centre forward and goal poacher we've needed all season. What a great acquisition he's been.
    74 points
  10. Conference owner Premier League manager League one squad Champions League fans
    73 points
  11. IPSWICH TOWN v SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY Sat 16th March – 3pm kick-off My first trip to Portman Road was an FA Cup 5th Round tie under Wilko in March 1985. That season @nevthelodgemoorowl and I were hitch-hiking to away matches on the basis that we had a slight liquidity issue, in that we didn’t have a pot to pee in. We’d already managed to hitch-hike down to Craven Cottage in the 3rd round. Fulham were a very tasty side, yet we went down completely confident of a win, and sure enough we proceeded through to the next round with a 3-2 win that didn’t do justice to our dominance. The 4th Round draw was much kinder – home to Oldham. We murdered them, 5-1. Boy were had a fine team that season. Licking our lips for a juicy home tie in the 5th Round, whoever pulled the numbers out of the FA ball sack was pure evil………..Ipswich………..away. Ouch! What a thought. Trying to hitch-hike from Sheffield to flippin’ Ipswich. Nev and I discussed it, weighed up our chances of success, and being keen and stupid, we thought we’d give it a go. Nowadays I forget small things, like putting the bins out, appointments, what I had for lunch, my childrens’ names, etc… but my memory for all-things Sheffield Wednesday is still pretty decent, so I remember the hitch-hike and the match rally clearly, though for the life of me I can’t remember why it was a Monday game. Anyone recall? Nev and I set off, and the first half of the trek went really well. With about 3 hours to ko we’d got down as far as Peterborough, but then got beached. We waited an age, thumbs out, sometimes wearing our blue & white scarves, and other times hiding them in case it put drivers off, but no lift. Looking anxiously at our watches we were at the point of giving up, crossing the road and trudging miserably and deflated back to Sheffield. We tried one last go, this time wearing our colours. Yet another car passed, a Mini, but 50 yards up the road it slowed, then, hallelujah, it stopped. We approached the Mini. It was our last hope. The driver wound his window down. “Going to the match lads? So are we. Jump in.” Brilliant – Wednesday fans! So let me describe this Mini to you. It wasn’t like today’s “Minis”, which are the size of a small continent. This was a proper 1980s mini Mini – absolutely tiny. And here lies the problem; it wasn’t one fan, it was 3 fans, and dare I say it, the lad with whom we were going to share the back seat for the next 2 hours was, how can I put it…..he liked pies. Added to that, neither Nev nor I were skin & bones. It was going to be intimate. Two hours in the back of a tiny mini, shoe-horned in like satdines, the car manfully trying to deal with its now heavy load, Ipswich-bound at a struggling 50mph. But we got there, and if you are still out there fellas, thank you. You were great fun. Fantastic day. The match itself – Here it is. ALERT – look out for THAT GOAL! If you remember this game, and like me, 39 years later you are still bitter and twisted, look away now, put away any sharp objects, walk the dog, do not click Play. You were warned;- They say that elephants never forget. In that case, call me Jumbo. That was NEVER onside. We were stood enjoying a brilliant match that we never looked like losing. Ipswich were good, but we were better. Just like at Fulham, it seemed only a matter of time until we scored the winner, or at least secured a draw for a home replay. And then, the ref allowed THAT goal. OK, we were behind the goal, but we all knew it was a blatant offside. I’m pleased I’ve found the video to reignite the painful memories and nightmares I had for weeks afterwards back in 85. Sleep is overrated. Apparently, football decisions come in swings and roundabouts. Well, if that was a swing, we are due the mother of all roundabouts this weekend at Portman Rd. Ugbo, scoring with his outstretched fist, 10 yards offside, while Poveda stands on the keeper’s fingers. Hopefully, it’s the same ref, though I suspect his eyesight has improved over the last 39 years. Wilko said he knew it was going to be an interesting game when the ref insisted he handover the team-sheet in Braille. And so, 39 years on, to our match this weekend. 3rd v 23rd Listening to the excellent podcast The Wednesday Week, they chatted with an Ipswich fan, Joe, who said he sees the game more as 3rd v 10th, referring to our form under Danny. I agree with Tractor Joe; that’s exactly how to view this match. They are 3rd on merit, but we are 23rd only because of Munõz the Magnificent. Danny’s team is far far better than 23rd. For me, this weekend is all about damage limitation. Of course we could draw, or even nick a win – its football after all. But, in reality, Ipswich are 2/1 on with the bookies for good reason. I’ll be watching with my fingers crossed that we get something, and my toes crossed that Swansea, Birmingham, Blackburn, Plymouth, Huddersfield, Stoke, QPR and Millwall collectively have a poor harvest. By 5pm on Sunday, after the Leeds v Millwall game, we can look at the table, eight games to go, and we will know the size of our task. We could be 2 points clear of the drop, or we could be 4 points behind 21st. If the worst comes to the worst, and we are 4 points off safety, with our “new” team, our manager, our home form, our fans and our fixture-list, I totally back us to escape. Who will Danny pick? I wonder if the aerial threat of Keefer Moore will mean Palmer is omitted so he can play three tall CBs. Famewo didn’t have his best game against Leeds, so it would not surprise me to see a back 3 of Iorfa-Iky-Bernard, or perhaps Bambo if Dom isn’t quite ready for 90. Vaulks must have been in the red-zone. He’s been way too good to drop. He’ll be back surely. Poveda walks back into the side. Gassama worked harder and more effectively than Musaba. So:- Beadle Pol Iorfa Ihiekwe Bernard Johnson Poveda Vaulks Bannan Gassama Ugbo To state the bleedin’ obvious, it’s really important that we don’t go behind. Until Bamford’s very avoidable goal in the 116th minute of the first half last week, we were every bit their equals. Unfortunately, once we had to chase the game against a team of such quality we were doomed. Similarly with Ipswich – if we can compete and frustrate, the scars of Ipswich’s last-minute defeat at Cardiff might just begin to show. Football is a stupid game, which twists and turns on the finest of margins. Please let it twist and turn in our favour for once this time. We deserve it. I’ll leave you with a lovely story by an ex-journeyman footballer, Fred Eyre. Fred never quite made it, and played for the likes of Wigan, Stockport, Crewe, Rochdale, Oswestry etc…In one of his excellent books, he tells this tale about the time in the early 80s when he was assistant manager of Wigan, who had just come into Division 4 from non-league. On their way to a distant away match, Wigan’s knackered old team bus stopped off at a pre-arranged hotel for their usual shoestring-budget pre-match meal. He and his raggyarsed Wigan players were shown into a dining room, where instead of their usual tea and toast, they were served with the finest lean steaks and beautifully cooked fresh vegetables. The players were gobsmacked. He said they could only assume their chairman wanted to give them a one-off treat, but whatever the motive, the players loved it. As they were getting back on their rickety old bus for the final leg of the journey, refuelled, refreshed and feeling a million dollars, a gleaming executive coach pulled up outside the hotel, and out climbed Bobby Robson and his crack First Division Ipswich team, bursting with shiny, athletic, posh track-suited, international players. They were shown into the hotel, led to a different dining room, where they expected to be served with their usual pre-match finest steaks and fresh vegetables, only to be served with……..yes, tea and toast. Fingers crossed Ipswich have used the same hotel manager this week, and instead of the modern-day pre-match pasta and protein shakes, its been pasties and Pepsi all week for Keefer and the tractor boys. COYO Danny, Danny Röhl
    70 points
  12. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY v LEEDS UNITED Friday 8th March - Kick-off 8:00pm There aren’t many better things in life than watching a Wednesday player score a goal. Oh, except a Wednesday player scoring a goal against Leeds. Nothing tops that. Oh, and except a Wednesday player scoring a goal against Leeds, which is an injury-time winner, at Elland Road, directly in front of the home fans, followed by a knee-slide in the snow. Hang on. There is something even better than that - Leeds scoring a come-back goal in front of their fans at Hillsborough, only to see the goal chalked off by the ref because Forestieri was walking off the pitch like a one legged millipede with a limp, and Steve Evans only learning about it after arriving back from the dressing-room after nipping off for a quick dump. Sit back, press play, and enjoy. DO NOT stop watching until you’ve watched Steve Evans’ reaction: Sincere apologies if I’ve planted the image of Steve Evans on the bog in your head. If you’ve been affected by this or any of the issues on tonight’s thread, help is available from all reputable branches of Wetherspoons. There’s so many similar incidents to enjoy. Adam Reach’s outrageous goal at ours, Matias’ outrageous goal at theirs, and Gordon Watson’s audition for the 1992 UK Olympics Diving Team are a few of the many examples. An endless supply of us annoying Leeds fans. But the best, by far, is this one: Championship Table March 18th 2017 4. LEEDS UNITED 69 5. Reading 67 6. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY 62 ------------------------------------------- 7. Fulham 61 Leeds certs for the Play-Offs? Championship Table 29th April 2017 4. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY 81 5. Huddersfield 81 6. Fulham 77 ------------------------------------------- 7. LEEDS UNITED 74 Leeds falling apart again, like only Leeds can fall apart. Needing simply to hold their nerve, they managed just one win, 2 draws and 3 defeats from their next six games. Worse still for their fans, was the sight of us creeping up in their rear-view mirror, indicating to overtake, cruising past at a steady 70mph, then putting the clog down leaving them in our slipstream. Here’s our results while Leeds were falling apart: Barnsley A 1-1 draw Rotherham A 2-0 WIN Newcastle H 2-1 WIN Cardiff H 1-0 WIN QPR A 2-1 WIN Derby H 2-1 WIN Ipswich A 1-0 WIN That run looks remarkably familiar to our current run doesn’t it? Danny’s boys are on a brilliant run, doing just enough in each game to beat Birmingham, Millwall, Bristol City, Rotherham and now Plymouth. No four-nils, no five-ones…just enough to bag all those juicy 3 points each game. It’s wonderful. We are now one of EIGHT teams within two points of each other. I’m not very good with words so instead, here’s a BBC pundit giving his educated, articulate, polished and considered view of the current Championship relegation battle: Danny and the boys have dragged themselves right, slap bang into the tightest relegation battle in years. It’s already been one hell of a roller-coaster but we ain’t seen nothing yet! Endless ups, downs, twists and turns between now and May 4th. Starting with Leeds. What our unbelievable 15 points from six matches has done is to move us into the thick of it ahead of schedule. Nobody dreamed we’d be here so soon. I’d written off Leeds as a match in which we’d get nothing. But now I’m not so sure. The odds were totally against us, but less so now. Yes, Leeds are top of the form table, but we are 3rd. Yes, Leeds have 31 points from 33, but we’ve 15 from 18. And let’s not forget one monumental advantage - we are at Hillsborough. My words can’t do justice to the way we’ve played recently. To a man we give everything, and because of Danny, the team is so much greater than the sum of the individual parts. We’ve some electrifying talents: Pol, Gassama, Musaba, Ugbo, Johnson, Poveda, Bannan…But what about the less glamourous players, the muck & nettle players: Ihiekwe, Palmer, Bernard and Vaulks. How important have they been? And what about young Beadle? 19 years old and in a scrap the like of which he may never experience again. He must be absolutely loving it. I know this isn’t for purists, but I really love how much he sheithouses for us to protect a lead. You expect it from old warhorses like Stockdale or Begovic, but not from a fresh-faced, wet behind the ears, innocent 19 year-old like young James. How on Earth has he not picked-up a few yellow cards for time-wasting over recent games? I reckon the refs can’t bring themselves to book him because it’d be like punching a puppy. Credit must go to Danny and, in particular, to goalkeeping coach Sal Bibbo for maturing young James so quickly. To me he looks less of a boy and more of an adult as each game goes by. Here he is only six weeks ago in one of his earliest training sessions. Listen out for the great confidence-building support he gets from Sal towards the end. Harder to know who will start this one. Fitness levels are bound to feature in Danny’s thinking. Perhaps Palmer starting instead of Dom, and Musaba starting for the sadly missing Poveda? Beadle Pol Palmer Ihiekwe Bernard Johnson Musaba Vaulks Bannan Gassama Ugbo And another quick shout out to Ugbo – six goals and an assist in his last six games. What a signing! Before I end, I’ve got to say this last bit….Don’t panic. Despite our vast improvement, we are still huge underdogs in this match. We are 4/1 to win, at home! That’s the measure of 3rd v 23rd and of how strong Leeds have been since December. But all we really care about is being 21st or higher by 5pm on 4th May, and I for one think Danny and the boys have that firmly in their grasp, irrespective of what we do against Leeds. If we lose this one, we move on. But, against my better judgement, unlikely as it seems, flying in the face of all footballing logic, in spite of what the bookies think, I really do see us getting a result. And if we do, what an incredible achievement for Danny and the boys: Draw - up to 21st. Win - up to 16th. 16th. Sixteenth. S I X T E E N T H ! COME ON!!! COYO Danny, Danny Röhl
    69 points
  13. Demonstrating against the ownership of Wednesday prior to important games is childish and stupid. All it does is unsettle the players and is bound to have an effect on their concentration. Yes we all want to see the back of this person for wrecking the oldest club in the league and the epitome of all that is football in the UK. Why not just lend your full support to survival in the championship first, it can be done, and then mount a campaign against the ownership during the off season. There is more chance of ownership change after a miraculous comeback than disruption now. Don’t keep slagging me off for choosing to live in Australia, sometimes a longer view of a situation is an advantage. Nobody is a stauncher Wednesdayite than me. As a youngster I was privileged on many occasions to stand on the Kop with my grandfather watching the great Derek Dooley, Jackie Sewell, Albert Quicksall and company play week in and week out. I will only take criticism for my point of few from my contemporaries. Good luck to the boys for the remainder of the season and their wonderful new manager and his team, the last thing they need at the moment is silly protests.
    68 points
  14. SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY v BRISTOL CITY Saturday 24th Feb – KO 3pm We welcome Bristol City to our magnificent stadium. I love Bristol and in particular the Bristolian accent. Always have. I looked for some short video examples of the rich, warming accent, from the likes of Stephen Merchant or Ian Holloway, but instead, YouTube led me to something I never ever knew. Apparently, when speaking, the good folk of Bristol add an L onto the end of most words that end in a vowel. Bingo becomes Bingol, potato becomes potatol etc etc… I never knew that. Here’s a BBC interviewer asking Bristolians about it: One of Bristol City’s most loved and most successful managers was a fella by the name of Alan Dix (not spelt with an x but if I spell it the correct way the swear filter isn’t going to play). He even took them to the Prem, or 1st Division in old money. There’s a lovely story about the latter days of his reign at City, early 80s, when they’d begun to decline, and the fans were falling out of love with him. Supposedly, City fans took banners to a home game, proclaiming “Dix Out”. Good eh? But wait, it gets better. Apparently, it was a game against Derby County, managed by Arthur Cox….you’ve guessed it; Cox was just as unpopular with the Derby fans (nothing changes there) so the Derby fans brought banners calling for “Cox Out”. “Dix Out” and “Cox Out” at the same match – brilliant! Accrington Stanley have a new Goalkeeping coach called Neil Tietz. If ever he gets the Manager’s job, I’m getting a season ticket. Let’s look at how City’s current manager, Liam Manning, is doing. My sincere thanks to City fan @Jerseybean who kindly sent me the following. Really appreciate that mate . Hope you lose of course, but please give Swansea, Plymouth, Huddersfield and Stoke a good spanking for us, if you’d be so kind: “Liam Manning is settling as our new Head Coach after the hierarchy made the surprise decision, back in the autumn, to dispense with popular Nigel Pearson after defeat at Cardiff. How's the season gone so far? A right mixed bag. Beaten the teams below us, fared less well against the teams above us. Injuries haven’t helped. On our day we’ve looked good, and even when losing by the odd goal away at both Leeds and Leicester we gave a reasonable account of ourselves, but there was an undoubted quality gap. That’s parachute payments for you. We are pretty solid defensively, but goals have been hard to come by at the other end. That is reflected by 38 goals for and 36 against from 32 matches. We are about as mid-table as you can be - apart from being very slightly above average in the league table where we are 11th. I know most fans will say this, but we’ve probably left a few points out there on the pitch too. We are a tough team to play against when our better players are fit and available.” Thanks Jerseybean. Quality. Always welcome on here. “Mid-table”. Sounds amazing, doesn’t it? What we’d give to be mid-table. And yet, daft as it sounds, this is a game between two evenly matched teams. Here’s our respective form since we drew at home to Leicester: Wednesday P16 W7 D2 L7 Pts 23 Bristol City P16 W5 D4 L7 Pts 19 Whatever timeframe you look at over recent months, say the last 8 games, last 12 games etc…the two teams would be close. Our match would be a care-free game between two mid-table teams, had we not been handed a 15-point penalty by our very own kryptonite, Munõz the Magnificent. Absolutely nothing to choose between the two sides. Maybe we go in with more desire, as surely City don’t really think they can overhaul the six teams they’d need to pass to make the play-offs. Nine games ago they were one point off 6th place but since then they’ve hit the buffers with only 9 points and two wins from nine games (we’ve 13 points and 4 wins – we don’t do draws do we?). But they do have pretty decent recent away form: Boro 2-1 W Coventry 2-2 D Preston 0-2 L Birmingham 0-0 D They also enjoyed a totally unexpected home beating of Southampton, but hopefully last Saturday’s defeat at home to QPR will have burst their balloon. Seemingly City were awful. And let’s not forget how tight the return fixture was. An undeserved 1-0 defeat, despite Bannan’s unjust red card in the 30th minute. That came from some suicidal playing out from the back. There were clear signs at Millwall that Danny might have tempered our use of playing out. I’m hoping we continue to see a bit less of it from now on. City are largely injury-free. Scott Twine is back this weekend. (Is it just me or does he seem to be in every team we play?) They did lose a midfielder to injury this week, Sam Bell. It looks a potential season-ending one. If the Bristol Evening Post doesn’t run with the headline “Bell End?” the journo should be drummed out of the National Union of Journalists. The bookies can barely call it. They’ve Wednesday as very slight favourites. I think that’s spot on at Hillsborough. If we go behind, chill. Who can forget this come-back, courtesy of Kieran Lee? I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my son for persuading me to leave at 2-2. I’ll never forget the third goal cheer……..as we were walking down Leppings Lane towards the car. Thanks son. Who will Danny pick? I wouldn’t change a thing. We’ve had a full week to recover from mauling the Lions, and if it ain’t broken… Beadle Pol Palmer Ihiekwel Bernard Marvel Povedal Vaulks Bannan Musabal Ugbol By the way, that’s 8 (eight!) changes from the side which started at Ashton Gate on 4th November. The bench could look a lot stronger too, with Iorfa back available according to Danny. After that superb win at Millwall, and with Rotherham and Plymouth to follow, 3 points against City would put us in unbelievable shape to pass a few rivals over the next 10 days. We can do this!! I can’t wait for 3pm, and yet I’m expecting to sit there hating every single minute of it. I can’t see there being more than one goal in it, so I’m guaranteed 95 minutes of anguish, stress and pain. Extra statins and alcohol on stand-by. Who’d be a football fan, eh? COYOL Danny, Danny Röhl
    67 points
  15. Regardless of what you think about the reasoning, I think that ultimately saying "the West Stand should be knocked down" is right. I know people don't like hearing it from people outside the club, maybe especially not from anyone with a scouse accent, but it's still true. It should have been pulled down in 89, or when money was last spent on the ground ahead of Euro 96. I don't know why people leap to defend it. It's by a distance the worst part of the ground, can't serve its purpose to us anymore capacity wise and is attached to an appalling loss of life. And even if you think the Newcastle thing was a load of absolute b*llocks (as I do), then it's still an example of how easily that stand still - and always will - so easily attract negative attention to the club.
    61 points
  16. Bannan, free transfer. Over 350 appearances. Rarely injured, captain. Fantastic ambassador for the club in the community. A quite brilliant signing.
    60 points
  17. The Leeds United supporter who fell from the upper tier of Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night is a football hooligan who was jailed for punching a former England goalkeeper in 2012, Mail Sport can reveal. Aaron Cawley, 33, was jailed for four months and given a six-year ban from football after running on the pitch and attacking then-Sheffield Wednesday keeper Chris Kirkland during a televised match in 2012. Mail Sport understands Cawley is recovering in hospital after the fall, which happened as Leeds fans celebrated Mateo Joseph’s opening goal. Leeds United have confirmed that Cawley remains banned from matches by the club following the incident, but could not confirm the name of the supporter who fell due to patient confidentiality.
    59 points
  18. As the title says just got back from the game. Was forced to go around Meadowhall after the game. My daughter’s first match today. She absolutely loved it. Couldn’t have asked for a better day. She got to see us score and get the 3 points and topped off with having her picture taken with some of the players, including Bannan. She suffers with anxiety so I was unsure how today would pan out but I’ve never seen her smile as much. It’s a day I will never forget and I hope neither will she. As for the game itself, thought Poveda and Ugbo were different class. Would love to sign them both permanently. Vaulks excellent also. Really thought the missed chances would come back to haunt us. Smiths 1on1 especially. Terrible finish from him. My God it scares the crap out of me the way we play it out from the back, we over did things quite a few times when there was no need. Really strange sending off, no one seemed to know what was going on. All in all a brilliant day. Hopefully the first of many for me and my daughter and this amazing club.
    58 points
  19. Really like Tony - honest manager, who gets his teams playing really good football. Sunderland shafted him and he’s turned Birmingham from a sh1tshow into a half decent outfit now - bit like what we’ve gone through. Rather see the likes of him do well in the game than Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney everyday. Hope he gets better soon.
    58 points
  20. This makes me so angry bury now Torquay Rochdale on the brink yet the morons that run football give God knows how many hundred million to the 3 relegated pl teams how can they let such unfairness continue ? absolute disgrace
    57 points
  21. For god sake please buy us - someone, just throw some money and get DC away That second half - the team, the fans, Danny, the determination to hang on at the end and the celebrations at the end - we are absolutely ready to back an owner that gives a poo about us Please - anybody
    53 points
  22. I really like Röhl but that all smells of excuses. Awful team selection, awful performance. Take your medicine, learn from it and move on. Re the infrastructure; presume he did his due diligence before taking the job.
    51 points
  23. I hope the deal that the regulator imposes is MUCH worse for EPL clubs than the one they turned down here. I want a complete reform of football funding that makes professional football in this country a real competition again.
    51 points
  24. I’ve still got all the info on my phone and his picture, I’m going to email the club tomorrow when I’ve calmed down.
    51 points
  25. Wow,,,,drink driving is just stupidity is it?……tell that to the many people who’s loved ones have been killed by them
    51 points
  26. What a debacle today. Soon as they scored the heads went down. Ipswich have gone on in leaps and bounds in their quest to get to the top flight. They deserve to be where they are. us meanwhile …. Stagnating. No investment on or off the pitch. whilst ever that chump Chansiri is in charge we will only ever be a mediocre lower/mid championship team. Fighting relegation every few seasons. well done to all those that traipsed over to Suffolk today. The best thing about this club is the fans.
    49 points
  27. And the award for missing the point of the thread goes to…..
    49 points
  28. You and I know exactly what’s going to happen and an absolutely cert
    49 points
  29. Jay Bothroyd criticising Erling Haaland's play is like the Krankies telling Robert De Niro how to improve his acting.
    48 points
  30. Questioning his tactics or disagreeing with his team selection is not “turning against him” Its really is quite normal behaviour for football fans. For the record, I think he’s doing a great job despite meagre resources.
    47 points
  31. At the Leeds keeper! What the actual flip is wrong with some of our fans?!
    47 points
  32. Nothing PC about not wanting a player recently charged with domestic assault, with photographic evidence. Also a big difference between having charges dropped and being acquitted. If he signs I don’t support the signing and many others wouldn’t either.
    47 points
  33. I want to experience the joy of reaching the premier league. But I’m really not fussed about actually playing there.
    45 points
  34. Shame on us if true.
    45 points
  35. The club has lost control of matchdays hasn't it Come to Sheffield Wednesday matches, where you can be outwardly racist or misogynist, throw whatever you like onto the pitch, do drugs with your mates in the toilets, fight fellow fans and all the while know that you will have zero repercussions on you and you'll just get away with it The idiots rule now. The Chairman doesn't seem to want to fix any of these problems
    44 points
  36. I don't wish Beadle any ill will, but it's the only chance we have...
    43 points
  37. Credit where credits due, I thought the ref and liners had a very strong day today. Stamped out their diving early on, let the game flow, offsides awarded promptly, advantage used well, no notable howlers or decisions given the wrong way, didn’t let themselves be intimidated, no pedantry about unimportant free kicks being taken from the wrong spot but made sure the key ones were, and generally not too many soft free kicks. If today’s refs were the standard every week there’d be far fewer complaints. The game flowed and you barely noticed them.
    42 points
  38. I can't believe that I've just whitnesssed pictures of Marvin Johnson doing the "Leeds salute" after the match last night. Still in his Wednesday gear looking smug. His heart is obviously not with Wednesday therefore hopefully we'll get rid of him at the earliest opportunity and hopefully the club will fine him and come down hard on him. Utter disgrace!!!
    40 points
  39. Thank you mate - on behalf of all decent Wednesday fans who appreciate it
    40 points
  40. I really don’t think we should have sent Byers out on loan.
    39 points
  41. Well done for reporting and trying mate. We need more people like you.
    39 points
  42. “So Mr Kirkland, can you tell us your whereabouts on the evening of 28th February…?”
    39 points
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