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Owls shed six

Wednesday released six members of the first team squad today as they look to make changes following promotion back to the Championship, although none of the players released were unexpected it's still a sad say when certain players depart the club.

Two dyed in the wool Owls are amongst the casualties, Richard O'Donnell and Chris Sedgwick join Clinton Morrison, Jon Otsemobor, Sean Cuff and Vadaine Oliver.

For O'Donnell it ends a decade long plus relationship with the club, the young goalkeeper is looking to get himself guaranteed first team football and with the likes of Nicky Weaver and Stephen Bywater ahead of him at S6 a move away will suit the Walkley lad.

Sedgwick, Morrison and Otsemobor have been at the club for two years and were brought in by Alan Irvine but didn't feature in Dave Jones plans for moving forward.

Youngsters Sean Cuff and Vadaine Oliver came through the ranks at S6 but neither made a single first team appearance and will be looking to establish themselves at a lower level.

The Owls have offered contracts to Mark Beevers, Jermaine Johnson and Stephen Bywater.

From the academy set up Aussie Jarrod Kyle was given a professional contract, the Academy player of the year joins Mitch Husbands who has got a second year.

Matt Tumilty, Lee Wall, Scott Canham and Tom Rowbotham have all been release at the end of their second year.

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Wednesday are Championship bound.

Wednesday will be a Championship side after they saw off the challenge of League One and Wycombe Wanderers at the weekend after yet another home win. Backed by the voices of almost 38,000 Wednesday fans the home side needed three points to see off the neighbours from across the city to confirm automatic promotion and thanks to goals from Michail Antonio and Nile Ranger either side of half time were enough to hoist the Owls into the second tier of English football for the 2012/13 season.

Wednesday started the game with the same side which defeated Brentford on the penultimate weekend of the season, and thanks to the vociferous support behind them they were to start the game on the front foot and eager to please the loyal fans who made the occasion all the more special. The first threat on the visitors goal came from the head of Mark Beevers who met Chris Lines' corner just over the goal from close range and moments later Wednesday arguably should have gone ahead, as Michail Antonio burst past his man on the right flank after a neat link with Gary Madine, to cut inside and play the ball into Jose Semedo but the midfielder hit his shot off target and into the bank of Wednesday fans in the Leppings Lane end.

Wycombe were determined to not be outdone as they tried to play their way out of trouble but it was an onslaught in the opening twenty minutes which wan't to be quelled easily with Antonio in scintillating early form creating havoc and forcing a corner which was swung over from the right and it fell to Miguel Llera who fired goalwards, but somehow Wanderers' goalkeeper Nikki Bull, threw out a hand to deflect the ball for another flag kick. Again Llera was there to meet it but he had found a worthy adversary in the shape of Bull who once again denied the Spaniard by tipping over a close range header.

Then came the announcement that Exeter were winning, the crowd went crazy like the Owls had scored and moments later Wednesday weren't to be denied, Nile Ranger managed to link up with Antonio who burst past the defence and clip the ball past Bull and saw it roll into the unguarded net. The ground erupted again as nerves were eased and the players confidence grew although Wycombe did briefly burst forward with Gareth Ainsworth having a go from distance but it didn't trouble Stephen Bywater.

Play returned to the opposing half and Wednesday had the ball in the net again, Antonio firing a great shot in which Bull managed to turn onto the post only for Ranger to stoop and head home, but the assistant referee adjudged the Owls man to be in an offside position which was debatable and later replays were to show the Newcastle United loanee to have been onside.

News was coming through that the team from Sheffield 2 had equalised, but this didn't dampen the spirits of the hordes of Owls who continued to bounce in what was an inspiring image for anyone, let alone the 11 players on the field who went in at the break in front and firmly in second place.

Half Time
Wednesday 1 Wycombe 0

The second half began as the first ended, with Wednesday in the ascendency and it took less than ten minutes for the lead to be doubled. A fortuitous free kick awarded to the Owls after a foul on Ranger out on the left flank was swung over perfectly by Chris Lines and Ranger did the rest, heading home unmarked, powerfully into the net and again the ground simply went ballistic.
Over the next ten minutes or so saw arguably the best atmosphere that Hillsborough has seen or heard in years, grown men crying, kids in awe at what was going on around them and people just simply beaming with delight at what was to come in around 25 minutes time.

Nile Ranger was denied by an excellent block by Gary Doherty as Wednesday really ramped up the pressure and weren't prepared to simply sit on the two goal lead. But Wycombe again weren't overawed by the atmosphere or their opponents and pressed forward, Matt Bloomfield fired in a low shot after doing well to get the ball out from under his feet, fired low and hard past Bywater but it also flew inches by the wrong side of the post.

Wednesday again returned fire, with a sweeping move started by Lines ending with the ball finding Madine at the far post to nod back over the 'keeper and just as it appeared to be dropping into the net, Wanderers' Louis Lang, managed to hook the ball clear under considerable pressure from the onrushing Danny Batth.

News came through that the red half of the city were winning, but that was irrelevant with the Wednesday winning and but for the brilliance of Bull in the visitors goal the Owls could have been three goals to the good. The 'keeper was on the spot again to deny Llera for a third time with arguably the save of the match, diving low to his left and somehow getting a strong hand to a powerful downward header to the bemusement of the Wednesday man.

But the damage was done and Wednesday had won, the referee called time on the game and Wednesday's time in League One. The fans flocked onto the field in thousands to hoist aloft their heroes who had done what a couple of months earlier had seemed the almost impossible to some. The Blades lead cut and beaten, leaving them to look for a way into the Championship via the playoffs against Stevenage while the Wednesday take a well earned, well deserved break before returning as participants in the Championship.

A season of many high's, a few lows, and in that ninety minutes on May 5th there was absolute ecstasy, elation and emotion. A day that many will never forget. Thank you Milan Mandaric, Gary Megson, Dave Jones, all the staff and all the players who have pulled on the famous blue and white shirt this season. You have given us a season to remember forever.

Full Time
Wednesday 2 Wycombe 0

Wednesday: Bywater, Buxton, Batth, Llera, Beevers, Antonio, Semedo, Lines, Treacy (J Johnson 79), Madine, Ranger (Lowe 88)

Unused substitutes: Weaver, R Jones, Prutton

Wycombe: Bull, Lang, Eastmond, Ainsworth, Bloomfield, Basey (Dunne 13), Lewis, McCoy, Beavon, McClure, Doherty

Unused substitutes: Ingram, Kewley-Graham, Scowen, McNamee

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Wycombe stand in Owls way

Nerves, tension, an almost full Hillsborough, potential promotion on the horizon, at the expense of our dear neighbours at S2, it could be perfect, almost too perfect, it just isn’t Wednesday way, Wycombe stand in the way of perfection tomorrow.

Owls News

Wednesday remain with Reda Johnson and Julian Bennett for the visit of Wycombe which means that Mark Beevers will battle it out with Daniel Jones for the left back berth, Jones returned to action as a substitute for Beevers down at Griffin Park.

Dave Jones will assess his squad in training before deciding on the team that he sends out with promotion just 90 minutes and 3 points away.

Keith Treacy will be hoping to keep his spot on the wing, the on loan Burnley started at Brentford and was involved in both goals, scoring the first and his corner created the second, Jermaine Johnson waits in the wings to replace him should Jones rely on pace rather than craft to overcome Wycombe.

Up front the Owls boss must ponder over recalling Ryan Lowe for Nile Ranger, the on loan Newcastle striker hasn’t set the world alight during his spell at S6 but has provided pace up front and a good foil for Gary Madine which should see him get the nod over the wily veteran Lowe.

Line Up

Team: (Possible 4-4-2) : Bywater; Buxton, Llera, Batth, Beevers; Antonio, Lines, Semedo, Treacy; Ranger, Madine;

Subs from: Sedgwick, R Jones, D Jones, Jameson, Palmer, Weaver, O’Donnell, Prutton, J Johnson, O’Grady, Lowe, M Jones;

Wycombe Wanderers

And what do we know about Wycombe Wanderers?

The club was founded in 1887.

They are nicknamed the Chairboys.

They play in quartets of dark blue and light blue at home and Red is their kit change.

The club currently play at Adams Park which has been their home for just 20 years.

From 1896 to 1908 the club played in the 2nd tier of the Southern League but elected to drop out in order to remain amateur.

From 1921 to 1985 the club played in the Isthmian League, winning it on 8 separate occasions.

In 1985 they applied to join the Alliance Premier League (Now the Conference) but were relegated in their first season, they rejoined in 1988 and in 1992 missed out on promotion on goal difference.

In 1993 Martin O’Neil guided the club into the Football League, they won the Conference title and the FA Trophy.

The following season they won the 4th tier play-offs beating Preston in the final to secure back to back promotions, they would spend 10 years in the 3rd tier.

In the last four seasons they have won promotion twice and been relegated twice, a true “yo-yo” club.

The Gaffer

Gary Waddock took charge at Adams Park over 2 years ago, he replaced Peter Taylor with Wanderers in a relegation scrap in this division, sadly he couldn’t prevent the Chairboys from being relegated but did win promotion at the first attempt with Wycombe finishing 3rd in League Two last season.

Waddock began his managerial career with his first club QPR back in February 2006 when he replaced Ian Holloway who was placed on gardening leave, the R’s finished 21st that season and after a poor start to the 2006/07 season Waddock was removed from his role as manager.

In May 2007 he was appointed as manager at Aldershot and in his first season won the Conference League Cup and they won the Conference title to return to League football for the first time since 1992.

Waddock guided The Shots to 15th in their first season back in the Football League.

As a player Gary served QPR for over 8 years and made nearly 250 appearances for the club, he then had a 2 year spell with Charleroi in Belgium before returning to England to join Milwall in 1989.

Gary spent two years at The Den before returning to QPR but he failed to make an appearance, after a loan spell at Swindon he had two years with Bristol Rovers and four years with Luton before retiring in 1998.

The Squad

Veteran midfielder and club captain Gareth Ainsworth is in his 39th year of age but shows no signs of giving up the game as yet, the Blackburn born winger has been at the club for over 2year in a full time capacity.

Ainsworth began his career with home town club Blackburn but failed to make a single appearance and joined Northwich Victoria, he impressed scouts from Preston during his time with ‘Vic’ and moved to the 3rd division club in January 1992 although he was released just 5 months later.

Cambridge offered him a trial in the summer of 1992 who signed him, he made 4 appearances for the club before being loaned back to Northwich, manager John Beck was dismissed at Cambridge in December 1992 and after taking the Preston job he signed Gareth once again for the Lilywhites.

Gareth spent nearly 3 years back at Deepdale in his second spell and he clocked up 100 appearances for the club, he helped them twice reach the 4th tier play offs but North End failed to win promotion. In October 1995 he was reunited with boss John Beck at Lincoln City.

His spell with the Imps was a massive personal success as he netted an impressive 41 goals from 93 games for the club more than repaying his £25k fee; it was that form earned him a move to Port Vale for a club record £500k fee. That fee was once again money well spent as within 14 months his form had seen Premier League scouts become interested and in November 1998 he moved to Wimbledon for £2m.

The move to the Dons sadly was a disaster for Gareth he spent 4 and a half years at the club but made just 45 appearances for the club due to various injuries. He also spent time out on loan to regain fitness with both Preston and Walsall, in March 2003 he joined Cardiff until the end of that season, he helped the Bluebirds to the play-offs but didn’t feature in the end of season games but Cardiff won promotion.

In the summer of 2003 he joined QPR on a free transfer and n his first season helped the R’s to promotion, injuries would once again dog Gareth’s career but in 6 and a half years at Loftus Road he would notch up 152 appearances. He also served the club as player coach and as caretaker manager.

After two games on loan in late 2009 at Wycombe he joined the club permanently to help them try and avoid relegation during the 2009/10 season but he couldn’t keep the club in the 3rd tier however he was instrumental in their promotion last season, to date he’s made 89 appearances and scored 15 times.

Striker Stuart Beavon could be Wycombes most prized asset in the summer, the striker has netted 25 times in all competitions and will be subject to much transfer talk over the summer following the clubs relegation.

Stuart, who turns 28 on the day of the game, began his rise to the football league by playing in the Hellenic league with Ardley before moving on to Combined Counties side Wallingford in 2004 he spent just a few months at Wallingford before joining Didcot Town for the 2004/05 season.

Didcot Town helped Stuart make a name for himself in the goalscoring charts and in just over two and a half years there he netted well over 100 goals in less than 150 games to help the club to win the FA Vase, the Hellenic Premier Division and continued to net in the next level up, The Southern League South and West Division.

In January 2007 he moved onto Weymouth then of the Conference, he netted 24 in 86 for the club which secured a move to Wycombe in February 2009 but he failed to net in his first 8 appearances but were Wanderers promoted from League Two.

In his first full season with the club he managed to score just 3 times in 28 games, he scored his first football league goal away at Hartlepool sadly Wanderers were relegated at the end of the 2009/10 campaign.

Last season he scored just 5 times in 42 games for the club but it was enough to help them back up to the 3rd tier of English football, his form this season though has been tremendous with 25 goals in 44 games including 8 in his last nine games.

Gary Waddock has also used the loan system to great effect to bring in the likes of Grant Basey from Peterborough, Louis Laing from Sunderland, Craig Eastmond from Wycombe and Scott Donnelly from Swansea.

Squad

GK : Bull, Ingram;

DEF : Foster, Laing, Eastmond, Winfield, Johnson, Basey, Stewart, McCoy, Dunne;

MID : Ainsworth, Bloomfield, Harper, Grant, Lewis, Halls, Donnelly, Hackett, Kewley-Graham, McNamee, Scowen;

FOR : Beavon, Strevens, McClure;

Previous Clashes

This will be only the 2nd ever meeting between the sides at Hillsborough.

The two clubs last clashed at S6 over 8 years ago in a League One fixture, the visitors came into the game propping up the rest of the division whilst the Owls sat in 15th place.

The game had been chosen for Sky and the hosts were behind inside 2 minutes when Ian Simpemba reacted quickest to a mistake by David Lucas to bundle home, the joy was short lived for the 20 year old who was injured in the melee and he was taken to hospital.

Terry Cooke inspired the Owls fight back and Adam Proudlock levelled 9 minutes after the break when he converted a Cooke cross, the Owls pressed for a second goal but the game ended all square.

Recent Form Guide

Wednesday
Last five : WWDWW
Last five home: 3-0, 2-2, 2-0, 3-0, 2-1

Wycombe Wanderers
Last five : DLDLL
Last five away : 4-1, 3-1, 1-1, 0-4, 1-2

Stat Attack

* Players to have played for both include Stephen Bywater, Guy Branston, Iain Turner, Guy Whittingham and Tony Cunningham.

* Of the Wednesday players in the squad the last time we played at Wycombe only Richard Wood, Paul Smith and Graeme Lee were around the following season when we won promotion.

Final Thoughts?

This is it, the big one, we’ve battled the Blades all season for this chance and promotion is 90 minutes and 3 points away but this is far from a foregone conclusion, Wycombe are a wounded animal and won’t be at Hillsborough just to make up the numbers, they will come to prove a point.

We have 37,000 home fans packed inside Hillsborough for the first time since the 1980s and for the first time I can remember we have the four main stands, let’s make this something to remember for the right reasons.

Up the Owls

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NSM Reports from the Q&A

So my thoughts on Paul Aldridge?
I liked him, I thought he was as open as he could be given his role and what he knows, and I thought he just about managed to keep the right side of being a “southerner."
All heads of staff report to him and he reports directly to Milan.

I made some notes during the meeting, I certainly missed some stuff and there was a lull while someone repeatedly complained about supporters standing in the South during the derby game when I drifted off, but here’s the notes I made for what it’s worth! They are not in a strict timeline.

There will be another Funday on July 14 at Hillsborough Park.

Confirmed there will be a new home and away kit next season, neither Paul nor Trevor would say what colour the away kit would be. It appears that the Puma deal was not a good one commercially, and the change of strip allows us to get out of the agreement a year early, freeing us up in 2013. No word yet on sponsorship for next season.

The Academy is seen as important, we have a EPP Grade 2 academy application in. Sean Macauley is highly thought of here and n football in general.

The club has had some criticism about the late announcement about additional tickets for the Wycombe game, but tickets had been on sale for 6 weeks. It has taken time to negotiate with Wycombe and Police, etc, re us sitting fans in the West Stand but very few seats will not be available, and the club is expecting a 38,000 gate.

Paul said that their intention is to keep the pitch clear after the game on Saturday so the players can go round the ground with their families on a lap of honour. This won’t happen if the pitch isn’t clear. There won’t be any pre match celebrations on Saturday, the club wants to keep the same routine for the players.

The club did approach Brentford about an additional allocation of seats, but their league position meant they didn’t want to do this until the week before, when it was too late to arrange policing, etc.

The club wanted to send Liam Palmer out on loan to play games, but we didn’t have enough cover to allow this. We have approached Reading about Antonio, but not discussed Batth with Wolves because they don’t have a permanent manager in place.

The club is still loss making now, around £4.5million lost in the last period. Lindsey catering is contributing towards income and profits. The plan is to drive revenue forward.

Unsurprisingly, we have 2 budgets and lists of targets depending on which League we are in. Players who have played for DJ before want to play for him again.

Paul did 3 months preparatory “undercover” work for Milan before Milan went public. MM was concerned about how badly the Board were viewed by the fans and didn't want to be viewed in the same way.

In terms of crowds, it is the Corporate block who will be difficult to entice back. The club’s view is that better quality football will bring crowds back.

Re TV money, the Premier League clubs receive a big initial chunk then £600k per live game and £500k per League position. We currently only receive £10k per live game, which increases to £100k per live game in the Championship. Moving game kick off time has a detrimental effect on attendance.

In the play offs, the match revenue is split for the semi’s 50% to league who also impose an additional 3% levy, then the money is split. I didn’t catch the split for play off final, sorry! This means that we don’t make that much from play offs. In terms of League 1 attendances, the current top 3 have contributed 37% of attendances this season.

The Court case took a lot out of MM, he felt let down, and it did knock his enthusiasm .He was very upset that the decision to prosecute was taken, especially as the first thing he did at Hillsborough was clear the tax bill. He felt that 2 years of his life ha been ruined, and the good work he had done previously, especially at Portsmouth where he was given the freedom of the city, was ignored. Our support was important to him at the time and in moving on, and he feels an enormous amount of goodwill to us because of the support we gave him. MM was brokering a transfer while waiting for the verdict!

MM feels he didn’t connect as much at Leicester as he did at Portsmouth, but has a similar connection to us as Portsmouth. He wants to put in long term investment in club and community, and it is important to him how he leaves the team, club and community when he goes. MM is not patient but he won't walk if we don't go up this season.

There is a Play off meeting at Wembley on Wednesday for all clubs likely to be involved in the play offs. We are still going!

Re Megson, MM felt that he wasn't trusted because of the reaction of some of the fans.
The concerns were the style of play and the management style. The club spoke to a couple of managers after Meggo went, I didn’t ask who because we wouldn’t have been told.

We discussed Norwich and Southampton’s back to back promotions. Paul’s view is that it is all about the right manager and players, and momentum! The problem is seen as being that after 2-3 years in the Championship a club will get bloated and pulled down with players wages, and it is all about bringing in the right players in that first year.

In terms of revenue, we get an additional £6m by going up but it is more about getting a ticket to the big table, and being one step closer to the Premier League. The club will not have a problem with new Championship financial proposals.

The meeting started at 19:00 hours. The first use of the word “massive” was by me at 20:27.

Paul showed a short 3D CAD animation of the Penistone Road Community development, this will cost £7million and is totally funded from outside the club.

NSM
1 May 2011
A win away from the Championship

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Within three points of promotion

Wednesday moved a massive step closer to automatic promotion this weekend with a battling away victory at Brentford which hoisted them above the red and white half of the city by two points and following Stevenage gaining a very creditable point at Bramall Lane later in the day it left the Owls in second place, one point in front of our rivals going into the final game of the season and leaving the home side with no chance of making into the League One playoff spots.

Keith Treacy scored in the first half before Clayton Donaldson equalised from the penalty spot, rather than rest on their laurels Wednesday went for it and just four minutes later, Miguel Llera nodded home the winner.

Dave Jones introduced Keith Treacy to the starting eleven for the first time with Jermaine Johnson swapping places and taking a spot on the substitutes bench in the only change to the side which defeated Carlisle United at Hillsborough seven days earlier.

It was clear from the off that the visitors were keen to push the issue as three points was clearly the order of the day, Miguel Llera the first to test Simon Moore in the Bees goal before Keith Treacy hammered over the bar from a decent position. Harry Forrester impressed for the home side and he found space deep into the Owls half before pinging the ball into Jonathan Douglas who was able to get his shot away, but thankfully for the visitors his effort was off the mark. Clayton Donaldson was denied by Stephen Bywater before Karleigh Osbourne wasn't able to capitalise on a fantastic opportunity from four yards, as he couldn't get the ball under control before the Wednesday 'keeper was able to pounce and gain possession.

Brentford were showing signs of getting back into winning ways after their defeat last weekend to Stevenage which brought to an end an unbeaten seven game run and with Jake Bidwell, Harry Forrester and Sam Saunders in midfield they looked an attacking force at times as Wednesday struggled from wide positions and were put under considerable pressure. Forrester had an effort which Bywater did well with before then setting up Douglas for the chance of the half, the ball swung in from the right found the former Swindon midfielder who inexplicably struck the bar from around five yards and Wednesday were to punish the Bees inability to find the net moments later.

Michail Antonio was brought down out on the Owls right alongside the edge of the penalty area and when all in the ground were expecting a cross, Treacy spotted the gap inside Moore and the upright to curl a delicious effort just inside the near post.

The home side immediately pressed again as Douglas was keen to redeem his earlier miss but he had a shot blocked, Bywater was in the right place to save from Donaldson and as the half came to a close Pim Balkestein shot wide as Wednesday went into the break with the valuable one goal lead.

Half Time
Brentford 0 Wednesday 1

Brentford came out for the second period as they had left the first, with Saunders the first to fire an effort on goal before Bywater made a wonderful save from Donaldson to keep Wednesday in front. The Owls almost had Bees Karleigh Osbourne to thank for a second when he headed a corner towards his own goal but his 'keeper Moore was in the right place to save, and Wednesday's next meaningful attack came from the next flag kick with Mark Beevers dangerously heading back across the six yard box only to have the ball cleared by Shaleum Logan.

Just as the hour mark passed Beevers was to be involved again but at the wrong end, he was adjudged by referee Chris Sarginson to have brought down Donaldson which resulted in a spot kick for the home side which the striker duly converted.

It was a rough few minutes for the Owls academy product as he brought down the impressive Forrester out wide on the flank and it seemed he may have been losing his head, thankfully the referee elected not to award Beevers a second yellow card and just gave him a final warning. Almost immediately Dave Jones brought on Daniel Jones in place of the cautioned Beevers and it didn't take long for the Owls to gain the initiative again after a ten minute or so spell of home pressure.

A corner was forced by Wednesday on their right which was curled in by Treacy and Llera ghosted in to flick a header across goal and in at the far post to give the Owls a priceless lead.

Brentford again were back on the front foot as they knew they had to get something out of the game to preserve any chance of sneaking into the playoff picture, Saunders fired a free kick within yards of the goal before Bywater was in the right place to deny big midfielder Toumani Diagouraga after he was put through by Douglas. But for all the huffing and puffing the hosts just couldn't get that elusive second goal, leaving Wednesday dangerous on the break and after Gary Madine's header appeared to have been handled by a Brentford defender it seemed as though they would rue the missed opportunities but Mr Sarginson decided it was more ball to hand than the opposite.

The Bees made a final attempt to salvage a point but more resiliant defending from the Owls saw out the final moments of the game leaving the almost 2,000 Wednesday fans who made the trip to Griffin Park with a very happy journey home. The final task now is to win next weekend at a packed out Hillsborough against already relegated Wycombe Wanderers and a Championship return will be secured.

Final Score
Brentford 1 Wednesday 2

Brentford: Moore; Logan (sub Norris 81 mins), Osborne, Dean, Balkestein (sub Bean 81 mins); Forrester (sub McGinn 75 mins), Douglas, Diagouraga, Bidwell; Saunders; Donaldson

Subs (not used): Thompson, Legge

Bookings: Douglas (33 mins)

Wednesday: Bywater; Buxton, Batth, Llera, Beevers (sub Jones 65 mins); Antonio (sub Johnson 68 mins), Semedo, Lines, Treacy (sub O'Grady 83 mins); Ranger, Madine

Subs (not used): Weaver, Lowe

Bookings: Beevers (28 mins), Llera (58 mins), Buxton (90 mins)

Attendance: 7,381 (1,800 away fans)

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Bees look to sting Owls

The Owls head to the capital hoping to keep up their recent unbeaten form and in turn end the Bees slim hopes of the play-offs whilst maintaining a push for the top two.

Owls News

The Owls remain without Reda Johnson and Julian Bennett for the trip to Griffin Park, both Owls left backs are sidelined but could be available for the home game with Wycombe the following week, Mark Beevers looks set to continue in their absence.

Michail Antonio has been passed fit for the clash with the Bees, the on loan Reading winger suffered a shoulder problem when hacked down during the win over Carlisle, he battled through the pain barrier to net a memorable injury time winner, although the celebrations did aggravate the injury.

Dave Jones will ponder over naming an unchanged side, the Owls gaffer isn’t afraid to make changes but when you’re winning games it makes it more difficult, he will assess Keith Treacy for possibly inclusion, the Irishman has been sub in all his Wednesday appearances but offers trickery and good delivery and may take a place on the wing from the pacy but erratic Jermaine Johnson.

Line Up

Team: (Possible 4-4-2) : Bywater, Buxton, Batth, Llera, Beevers; Antonio, Lines, Semedo, J Johnson; Madine, Ranger;

Subs from: Sedgwick, Weaver, Jameson, Palmer, Treacy, Lowe, O’Grady, O’Donnell, Prutton, M Jones, R Jones;

Brentford

Brentford, what is there to know?

The club were founded in 1889 as an off shoot of the Brentford Rowing club.

They are nicknamed the Bees.

They play in Red and White stripes at home.

They were founder members of the Third Division South in 1920 and in 1935 won the 2nd division title to secure 1st division football, they would spend 4 seasons prior to the war where they finished 7th, 6th, 6th and 18th, however in the first season after the war they were relegated and haven’t returned since.

The club have spent just one season back in the 2nd tier since relegation in 1954, the rest have been spent fluctuating between the bottom two divisions.

The Stadium

Griffin Park has been home to the Bees for well over 100 years, the club first moved to the stadium in 1904, and has a capacity of 12, 763 at present.

The ground is unique in itself as it’s the only ground in the country that has a pub on each corner, and for most connoisseurs of the ale like myself it’s a welcome bonus after a long journey south.

The main home terrace is now the Ealing Road end, upto 2007 this was an uncovered stand and many Wednesdayites will recall getting drenched in the play-off semi final of 2005 but now roofed it is allocated to home supporters.

The two main stands running down the sides of the pitch are also home fans only whilst the away fans are housed in the Brook Road Stand which holds around 1,600, the small two tiered stand which was opened in the mid 80’s has space for 600 seats on the upper tier and 1,000 terrace places (see below).

Wednesday have sold out their full allocation and fans are advised not to travel without tickets.

The Gaffer

Uwe Rosler took over as manager last summer after 8 months out of the game following his release from Molde in November 2010.

Rosler replaced Andy Scott as full time manager at Griffin Park, Scott had been ousted in February and replaced on an interim basis by Nicky Forster.

Roslers managerial career began in Norway with Lillestrom in 2005, he guided the side to back top back 4th place finishes and reached the Norwegian cup final but the results didn’t satisfy the board who sacked him November 2006.

Just nine days after being sacked from Lillestrom he was appointed the new manager at Viking Stavanger, he led the club to 3rd place in his first season but that was as good as it got as the club finished 6th then 10th in subsequent seasons, the latter which led to Uwe leaving the club in November 2009.

In August 2010 he was given a short term contract with struggling Molde who were battling relegation, in the final eight games of the season he helped them double their points tally to stay in the top flight but was replaced by Ole Solskjaer.

As a player Uwe is best remembered for his time with Manchester City, he spent four years at the Maine Road in the mid to late 90s and scored 65 goals in 181 appearances for them. Uwe began his career in the late 80s in East Germany and played for Lokomotiv Leipzig, FC Magdeburg and Dynamo Dresden before he moved “West” to join FC Nuremburg in 1992. After leaving Germany in 1994 he would spend 4 years in England before returning to play FC Kaiserslautern and Tennis Borussia Berlin.

Uwe had an 18 month spell at Southampton from June 2000 and a loan stint at West Brom before another stint in Germany, in 2003 he joined Lillestrom as a player but had to retire after one season due to being diagnosed with cancer.

He was capped six times by East Germany.

The Squad

Striker Clayton Donaldson made the switch from Crewe Alexandra in summer on a free transfer.

Clayton began his career with Hull City and scored on his debut for the Tigers in the Football League Trophy in late 2002, he was loaned out to Harrogate Town shortly after for three months. At the start of the 2003/04 season he was loaned to Scarborough where he made 2 appearances and he later had a spell at Halifax.

Clayton was struggling to break into the Hull side after they began to turn around their fortunes with promotion from League 2, he had a brief return to Harrogate on loan before being released by Hull in the summer of 2005 after they made it back to back promotions.

York City snapped up his services on a free transfer and he repaid Billy McEwans faith in him by notching 18 goals in 45 games for the Minstermen, he also agreed an extension to his contract for another year. In his second season he was even prolific for the club as he notched 26 goals in 48 games and attracted scouts from across the country, in January of that season he signed a pre contract agreement with Hibernian, because he moved to another country York weren’t entitled to any compensation.

Donaldson spent just one season at Easter Road, he scored 6 times in 21 games for Hibs but fell out of favour following a change of manager mid season.

Crewe Alexandra agreed a six figure sum to bring back south of the border, they used some of the fee they received for Nicky Maynard. Clayton initially struggled at Alex and after a few niggles he began to find his feet, he scored 7 goals in 43 during his first season at Gresty Road.

In his second season he managed to net 13 in 39 for the club, he also suffered a broken leg early in the season that saw him sidelined for 8 weeks. Last season he was the League Two stop scorer with 29 goals in 48 appearances which alerted several sides to his scoring prowess.

He has scored 9 in 49 for the Bees this term.

Marcus Bean is in his fourth season with the Bees after joining from Blackpool on a free transfer in the summer of 2008.

Midfielder Marcus began his career in his native London with Queens Park Rangers and made his debut in August 2002, sadly he was sent off in the 4-1 defeat at Wycombe, he made a further seven appearances that term for Rangers.

In his second season he played 36 times for the club, scoring once as the Rangers regained Championship status by finishing runners up to Brighton. With Rangers in the Championship Marcus made 22 appearances for the club in the 2004/05 scoring once, he also had a 2 month stint at Swansea City on loan where he made 8 appearances.

Marcus started the 2005/06 in the R’s side but barely a month into the season he re-joined Swansea on loan for another couple of months, he made 9 appearances and scored once before returning to the R’s. After six more for the Loftus Road club he left to join Blackpool for whom he made 17 appearances in the second half of the season and he netted once in a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest.

The following campaign Marcus made just ten appearances for Blackpool who secured promotion from the 3rd tier via the play offs and early in the 2007/08 season he joined Rotherham on a three month loan, he made 14 appearances for the Millers scoring once, he never made an appearance for the Tangerines and was released in May 2008.

In his first season at Griffin Park he notched 9 goals from midfield to help the Bees win promotion from League Two, he made 48 appearances that season. He played 36 times the following year but failed to net as the Bees consolidated in League One. Last season he got on the scoresheet 4 times and helped the Bees reached the JPT final.

He is played over 150 times for the Bees and has scored 15 times.

Looking at the squad they have a few recognisable names with the likes of Sam Saunders who is the top scorer left at the club, the midfielder has 12 goals, 2 behind the departed Gary Alexander, Myles Weston was linked with a move to S6 under Alan Irvine.

The Bees have utilised the loan market to bring in Niall McGinn from Celtic and of course Clinton Morrison from the Owls but the latter is out of contention for tomorrow’s game under the terms of the loan agreement.

Squad

GK : Lee, Gounet, Moore;

DEF : Woodman, Eger, Balkestein, Logan, Osborne, Thompson, Bidwell, Dean, Legge;

MID : Bean, O’Connor, Saunders, Douglas, Forshaw, Weston, McGinn, Diagouraga, Reeves;

FOR : Donaldson, German, Forrester;

Previous Clashes

A solitary strike by Charlie MacDonald gave the hosts all three points when the two sides clashed back in September, the Owls lost their unbeaten start to the league in front of the Sky cameras.

Before that you have to go back to May 2005 in the Play-off semi final second leg, the Owls held a 1-0 lead from the 1st game and it was should have been doubled at least in the opening ten minutes with Peacock, Whelan and Wood all spurning chances, the host hit back and Deon Burton was a tad unlucky to see his effort saved before Wednesday doubled their when Lee Peacock powered home a header from a Paul Heckingbottom cross. In the second half substitute Chris Brunt saw his deflected free kick nestle home to guarantee the Owls at trip to the Millennium Stadium before Andy Frampton scored a late consolation.

The league game three months early had been dramatic, the Owls had flown into a two goal lead thanks to Lee Peacock’s brace before a Deon Burton volley from outside the box had reduced the arrears, the Owls went 3-1 up through Lee Bullen on 49 minutes but conceded twice in the final ten minutes to drop two points.

A Grant Holt double and a Lloyd Owusu goal won it for Wednesday back in October 2003.

The two sides first met way back in 1935 as FA Cup holders Wednesday took on newly promoted Brentford, Neil Dewar and Wilf Sharp scored for the Owls in a 2-2 draw in front of over 25k at Griffin Park.

This will be the 15th meeting between the two sides in West London with the hosts edging the head to head by 5 games to 4, the other 5 have ended up stalemate.

Recent Form Guide

Wednesday
Last five : WWWDW
Last five away: 0-0, 2-1, 1-0, 2-0, 1-1

Brentford
Last five : WWDDL
Last five home : 0-2, 2-0, 2-0, 3-0, 0-0

Stat Attack

* The Owls beat Brentford on their way to the League Cup glory of 1991.

* Lloyd Owusu is in the top ten goalscorers of all time for the Bees.

* Former Owls striker Garry Thompson was caretaker boss of Brentford in 2004.

* Players to have played for both include Jack Allen, Deon Burton, Lloyd Owusu, Paul Williams, Efan Ekoku, Wilf Rostron, Andy Sinton and Miguel Llera

Final Thoughts?

So the penultimate weekend of the season, so much still to play for, thousands of Owls swarming on London, why does it seem like May 1992 all over again? Lets just hope the players continue in their pursuit of second and whatever happens they get our full backing for what they’ve put in during the last two months.

Up the Owls

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Treacy allowed to stay a while longer.

It has been announced this afternoon that Wednesday have been given the green light to extend the loan of Keith Treacy from Burnley.

The Irish winger has featured five times as a substitute since joining from the Clarets towards the end of the loan window, and his temporary spell with the club was due to end following the victory over Carlisle at the weekend.

Treacy has featured in a winning side in each of his appearances for the Wednesday and now should the bid for automatic promotion falter over the next 10 days, his parent club have given the Owls the permission to use the services of the former Blackburn Rovers player through the playoff campaign.

This means that we could see Treacy start this weekend away at Brentford as Dave Jones' men look to secure another win and keep the pressure on the cross city rivals who take on Stevenage at S2 on Saturday after the Owls will have finished their game at Griffin Park.

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The heat is truly on.

Wednesday stepped up the pressure on the neighbours from across the city with a dramatic late win over Carlisle at Hillsborough this weekend. Despite the Owls dominating the game they just couldn't break down a rugged Carlisle defence and almost dropped two points after taking a first half lead through Chris Lines, James Berrett equalised for the Cumbrians with just nine minutes remaining before Michail Antonio was on hand to slot in the winner in the fifth minute of injury time to hoist Dave Jones' men to within one point of their rivals with two games to play.

The Wednesday manager selected an unchanged eleven from the one which drew at Colchester United last weekend, but the substitutes bench saw a return for the fit again pair of Keith Treacy and Ryan Lowe.

It was the home side who came out of the blocks flying, determined to take the lead and force the issue on the visitors who were after three points to get them back into the playoff picture but they hadn't accounted for the pace and skill of Antonio who tortured Peter Murphy in the opening five minutes or so and if Danny Livesey hadn't been alert, Gary Madine would have swept home from close range.

Carlisle though quickly swept down the other end of the field and forced an early corner which thankfully came to nothing but it was clear they weren't happy to come and play a game of damage limitation and park the bus. But it may have helped them minutes later as Antonio was tormentor in chief once again, skipping past his marker to cross for Mark Beevers who connected with the ball but it just went over the top of the goal. It was one way traffic after this and it seemed only a matter of time before The Wednesday would open the scoring, Miguel Llera fired a free kick round the wall but Carlisle 'keeper Adam Collin was equal to it, diving low to his right and claiming possession.

United then broke clear and broke down the right, and former Owls full back Frankie Simek swung the ball over for Francois Zoko who in turn found Jordan Cook who tried to catch Stephen Bywater off guard but his effort crept wide of the mark. Moments later Zoko did well to break clear of the attentions of two Owls defenders before firing at goal but Bywater was in the right spot to grasp the ball.

It was a very open game and certainly never for a moment seemed that it would end goalless, in fact the Owls haven't failed to hit the net since the draw with Rochdale back on the 3rd March. Antonio again created the next chance for the hosts, this time though it was from a long throw out wide on the left which he hurled in and Danny Batth met it perfectly to head at goal but Collin was there to get a strong hand to the ball and deflect it over for a corner.

Within minutes though the Owls did get the lead they more than deserved but Collin almost denied them again, he was in the right spot to deny a snap shot from Jermaine Johnson but the rebound fell kindly for Chris Lines who scuffed his effort but with the Cumbrian's 'keeper on the floor the ball rolled into the unguarded net. Wednesday ramped up the pressure again and Nile Ranger was denied by Collin before he was in the right spot again to deny Beevers netting the second of the game with a fine diving save.

After a breakway chance for Carlisle which resulted in Zoko scuffing a chance wide of the mark after a brief scramble in the box, the home side really should have punished the visitors. Jermaine Johnson burst forward past two defenders on the halfway line and bore down on goal with Gary Madine in support, out came Collin to close him down and the Jamaican elected to shoot instead of feeding ex United striker, Madine, and the 'keeper saved. The Owls striker was keen to point out that he was in the better position and only Johnson clearly thought otherwise as the home supporters were venting their frustration as the half time whistle went.

Half Time
Wednesday 1 Carlisle 0

The second half began as the first had ended with Wednesday clearly in the ascendency, and this time the Owls did beat Collin when Antonio met a deep cross from Buxton but Lubomir Michelik was there to hook clear.

Keith Treacy was introduced for Jermaine Johnson and within moments of his arrival he played the ball through for Antonio to chase, the Reading loanee burst forward getting himself between his marker and the ball but as he looked to collect possession he was crudely brought down by Livesey. Antonio was left in a heap but the referee who in truth had put in a decent performance up to this point decided it wasn't a foul much to the disbelief of the home supporters, Antonio needed lengthy treatment on what looked like a shoulder injury following the challenge but he was able to rejoin the action almost immediately he clipped a ball into the area for Ranger to nod at goal, his effort was blocked and it fell to the impressive Madine but his touch eluded him as the sidefooted shot flew high and wide of the target.

Carlisle sensed they may get something out of the game as Wednesday just couldn't seem to kill them off and when Zoko fired just over from outside the box they visibly grew in confidence. With 81 minutes on the scoreboard they were to get a controversial free kick on the edge of the Owls area, a shot was adjudged to have struck the hand of Danny Batth who in truth couldn't get out of the way and Matt Robson stepped up to take the kick. The initial effort was blocked but the rebound fell to James Berrett and the former Huddersfield Town player smashed in the rebound with a sweet strike from outside the area. It was cruel on the Owls but testament to the visitors endeavour who continued to press under some considerable pressure.

The game went into the final moments before the fourth official announced there would be six minutes of injury time, this seemed to up the ante for Wednesday who threw men forward looking for the vital winner and initially it seemed the Cumbrians would stand firm as the ball just wouldn't drop for them. But with five of the six injury time minutes gone the home side would get the goal they needed and deserved.

The ball was swung over from the right and it fell kindly for [b}Antonio out on the left of the box around 8 yards out and as he shaped to cross he played the ball at the far post AND IN!!! The roof was almost lifted off the ground, with all three sides of Owls supporters bouncing at the thought of being within touching distance of second place, the whistle brought the game to a close and leaving Wednesday going to Brentford next week needing another win to keep up the pressure on the team from Sheffield 2 in the fight for automatic promotion.

Full Time
Wednesday 2 Carlisle 1

Wednesday: Bywater, Buxton, Batth, Llera, Beevers, Antonio (Prutton 90), Semedo, Lines, J Johnson (Treacy 57), Madine, Ranger

Unused substitutes: Weaver, R Jones, Lowe

Carlisle: Collin, Simek, Livesey, Murphy (Robson 46), Madden (McGovern 74), Taiwo (Welsh 74), Zoko, Cook, Noble, Berrett, Michalik

Unused substitutes: Thirlwell, Beck

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Owls host play off hopefuls

The Owls host Carlisle tomorrow knowing that nothing less than a win is needed if they are to take the race for promotion down to the wire.

Owls News

Wednesday manager Dave Jones welcomes back Keith Treacy and Ryan Lowe to the squad, the pair missed out at Colchester with illness and a groin strain respectively and both were sorely missed as the Owls scrapped their way to a draw in deepest Essex.

The Owls remain without Julian Bennett and Reda Johnson which should mean that Mark Beevers retains his spot at left back, the Owls academy graduate has occupied that role for various points of the last three games.

A few players seemed leggy last weekend at Colchester but hopefully they will be fit and raring to go but I wouldn’t be shocked to see Dave Jones change things around with Keith Treacy the most likely to be included on the wing should Jones go that way.

Line Up

Team: (Possible 4-4-2) : Bywater; Buxton, Llera, Batth, Beevers; Antonio, Lines, Semedo, J Johnson; Ranger, Madine;

Subs from: R Jones, Lowe, M Jones, Treacy, Beevers, D Jones, Weaver, Sedgwick, Jameson, O’Grady, Bennett, Palmer.

Carlisle United

And what do we know about Carlisle United?

The club was founded in 1904 from the old Shaddongate United side that elected to change their name at the AGM to Carlisle United.

They play in Blue and White at home and Red and Blue is their kit change.

The club currently play at Brunton Park which has been their home for just over a century.

Carlisle were first elected into the Football League in 1928 where they joined the 3rd Division North and spent most of their first 40 years in the bottom division.

In the mid 60’s they won back to back promotions to get into the 2nd division and in 1973/74 they were promoted to the top flight.

They spent just a year in the top flight before dropping back to the third division by 1977, they had another spell in the 2nd tier before dropping back down in 1986.

Michael Knighton, a UFO lover and former prospective buyer of Manchester United was once owner and manager of Carlisle.

They spent a year in the Conference in 2004/05.

Former managers include Bill Shankly and Bob Stokoe.

They have reached the Football League Trophy final on 6 occasions and won it for the second time last season.

The Gaffer
Greg Abbott is in his first managerial role, the 46 year old succeeded John Ward in 2008 after proving a success in two spells as a care-taker manager.

He has guided the Cumbrians to 20th and 14th in his first two seasons and a respectable 12th last term, they have also reached the JPT final in both of the last two seasons, they beat Brentford in Aprils final, they currently sit just outside the play offs.

As a player he had a fairly low key career, with spells at Coventry, Bradford, Halifax and Hull.

The Squad

One player who will need no introduction is former Owls midfielder Jon-Paul McGovern who joined the Cumbrians on a free transfer from Swindon Town in the summer.

JP spent two years at Hillsborough and was a key contributor to the promotion from this league back in 2005, the likable Scot scored the Owls first goal in the play off final.

McGovern began his career with Celtic but didn’t make an appearance for the Hoops in his four year spell at Parkhead, he was loaned to Sheffield United early in the 2002/03 season where he made 18 appearances and he scored three times during his five month spell.

In July 2003 he signed for Livingston on a free transfer and he made 29 appearances and helped the club win the Scottish League Cup however the club became beset by financial struggles.

Chris Turner snapped McGovern up on a free transfer in the summer of 2004 and he made 53 appearances for Wednesday notching 8 goals including 2 in the play-offs he also created many goals during the season. Injuries got the better of McGovern the following season and he was restricted to just 8 appearances for Wednesday, on the back of that record he wasn’t offered a new deal and left in the summer of 2006.

MK Dons snapped up McGovern on a free transfer and he repaid the faith shown in him by making 57 appearances for the Dons and he netted 4 goals in just over 12 months with the club before being sold to Swindon on deadline day in August 2007.

JP spent four years with the Wiltshire club and made over 170 appearances for the club and helped them reach the play off final in the 2009/10 season but they lost out to Millwall in the final, he scored 12 goals for the Robins.

McGovern left the club in the summer following the Robins relegation, he moved to Cumbrians to be closer to his native Scotland and has repaid Gregg Abbotts faith scoring 5 in 47.

Striker-cum-winger Francois joined the club in the summer of 2010 after impressing on trial, he had recently left Belgian side KV Oostende.

28 year old Francois began his youth career with C.O. Savigny-sur-Orge before joining AS Nancy in 2000 and he would spend four seasons with the club, he scored 8 in 70 appearances for the French side before dropping to the French second division to join Stade Laval where he spent 2 years before moving over the border to join Belgian side R.A.E.C Mons who were playing in the top flight of Belgian Football.

Zoko spent two years in Belgium scoring 12 times in 55 games before moving to Turkish side Hacettepe, his spell in Ankara was short lived due to financial woes for the club and he moved back to Belgium with KV Oostende where he netted 4 in 11 before leaving in the summer.

In his first season with the club he netted 10 goals in 52 games and was the subject from interest further up the leagues and he continued his good form this term with 12 in 46.

Looking around the squad and you can see that Abbott has utilised the loan market to bring Liam Noble and Jordan Cook from Sunderland.

Several other players have local connections, Paul Thirwell had a spell at the Sty, Lubo Michalik was at L**ds whilst Frankie Simek spent five years at Hillsborough and is still highly thought of by many of the fanbase.

Squad

GK : Collin, Gillespie, Caig;

DEF : Simek, Robson, Livesey, Murphy, Michalik, Swinglehurst, O’Halloran;

MID : Welsh. McGovern, Taiwo, Thirlwell, Berrett, Noble, Todd, Cook, Kavanagh;

FOR : Loy, Madden. Zoko, Miller;

Previous Clashes

A solitary strike by Craig Curran was enough to secure the Cumbrians their first win at Hillsborough when the two sides met last season, the first half strike ended the Owls unbeaten home record in League One.

Prior to that you have go as far back as September 1983 for the last game at S6 when an own goal and a Gary Bannister strike secured a 2-0 for the hosts in front of 14,544, that season saw the Owls end up promoted back to the top flight.

The clubs had never met until the 1970/71 season which the Owls won 3-0 and the two sides would meet each other with regularity over the next decade, the most significant being the goalless draw at Hillsborough on the final day of the 79/80 season which saw over 32,000 inside Hillsborough to see the Owl s promotion party back to the second tier.

This will be the 11th Hillsborough clash between the sides, the Owls have won 5, Carlisle 1 and the other 4 have ended in stalemate.

Recent Form Guide

Wednesday
Last five : WWWWD
Last five home: 4-1, 3-0, 2-2, 2-0, 3-0

Carlisle
Last five : WDDLL
Last five away : 1-1, 1-1, 2-1, 1-1, 0-1

Stat Attack

* Nigel Pearson was the manager at Carlisle when on loan keeper Jimmy Glass netted a last minute winner against Plymouth to keep the club in the league.

* In ten previous meetings at HQ only 16 goals have been scored, 12-4 in Wednesday’s favour.

* Some names from Wednesdays past and present who also played for Carlisle include Ronnie Wallwork, Steve Harkness, Zigor Aranalde, Ben Marshall, Frankie Simek, Gary Madine, JP McGovern Steve McCall and Eric Nixon.

Final Thoughts?

Our penultimate home game of the season sees us facing a side desperate for points to bolster their own play off push, last season they came here and won 1-0 but we are a different animal and we know we need the points to keep pressure on the Blades, let’s hope the lethargy shown at Colchester has gone and we can gain a vital three points but don't discount Carlisle who beat us 3-2 at their place in October and who sit just outside the top six.

Up the Owls

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BBC Radio Commentary Exhibit to launch at The National Football Museum

Radio 5 live and BBC Local Radio are compiling an archive of hundreds of the most memorable BBC radio football commentary clips, for a permanent exhibit that will be on display at the National Football Museum in Manchester, when it opens in the city later this summer.

Radio football commentary at its best can capture all the passion of the beautiful game – it can make you laugh, cry, cheer or shout, and to make sure that no audio gem is missed, the BBC is asking for you to send in your suggestions via the BBC Sport website from Monday 16th April.

Which spectacular wins, Cup runs, promotions, super survivals, glorious goals or bumbling bloopers are etched on your memory? Which local or national commentator has provided a soundtrack to your club’s top moment?

The exhibit will include memorable commentary clips from every Premier and Football League team, along with highlights from the England national team.

Outstanding clips that might make it into the exhibition include the 1953 FA Cup Final, with Raymond Glendenning commentating on one of Blackpool’s and Sir Stanley Matthews’ finest moments; Peter Jones and Alan Clarke’s commentary as Manchester United became the first English team to win the European Cup in 1968; Derek Lacey, the 'voice of Carlisle,’ describes the famous last-minute goal by goalkeeper Jimmy Glass which saved Carlisle in 1999; and Abdul Osman's winning penalty as Northampton knocked Liverpool out of the League Cup at Anfield in 2010.

Commenting on commissioning the exhibition, Radio 5 live Deputy Controller, Jonathan Wall said: “This is a huge partnership between 5 live and BBC Local Radio with a chance for football supporters to help us select the favourite clips. Memories will be evoked along the way and it will result in a treasure trove of radio commentary for visitors to the museum to cherish.”

To celebrate the commentary collection, Radio 5 live and BBC Local Radio will host a live show presented by Colin Murray on 28th May at 8pm. The show will broadcast from the museum, with a special preview ahead of the official opening in July

National Football Museum Deputy Director David Pearson said: “We are delighted to be working with BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Local Radio to bring together such an astounding collection of clips, which are so integral to football supporters’ memories and experiences of football history.

“It’s such an impressive project to undertake and will feature some of the greatest names in football commentary. We would very much like to thank the BBC for their help and assistance in compiling this fascinating collection for our visitors.

“The museum will provide a world-class home for the greatest collection of football memorabilia ever assembled, and we’re confident that it is set to become one of the biggest visitor attractions in the UK.”

The BBC Radio Football Commentary Collection will be available for football fans to enjoy in its permanent home at the National Football Museum in Manchester, which opens to the public on 6th July.

To send in your radio football commentary suggestions visit the BBC Sport homepage (www.bbc.co.uk/sport), Radio 5 live homepage (www.bbc.co.uk/5live) or your BBC Local Radio sport homepage.

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The only way is Essex for S6 boys

The Owls head to Essex tomorrow looking to continue their fine run of form and keep the pressure on the top two, the Owls dropped back to third following Sheffield Uniteds 5-2 win on Tuesday

Owls News

Dave Jones will be without Reda Johnson for the trip to Colchester, the left back suffered a thigh strain at Huddersfield and looks set to be sidelined for at least a couple of weeks, Mark Beevers and Julian Bennett will battle it out to replace him with the latter favourite having started against Oldham on Monday.

Rob Jones is back in the squad after serving a two match suspension but the Owls skipper faces a real battle to fit straight back in with Miguel Llera performing admirably in his absence by scoring two goals and helping keep two clean sheets, he and Danny Batth formed a solid partnership at the heart of the Owls defence.

The front six positions for the Owls shouldn’t change barring any late injuries with Jermaine Johnson and former U’s loanee Michail Antonio offering width and pace on the wings leaving Chris Lines and Jose Semedo to try and win the midfield battle whilst Gary Madine and Nile Ranger will be hoping to make life hard for the U’s centre backs.

Ryan Lowe and Keith Treacy, who both contributed from the bench against Oldham, will be loking to pressure for their starting spots but look set to be on the bench once again, Treacy missed training yesterday through illness.

Line Up

Team: (Possible 4-4-2) : Bywater, Buxton, Batth, Llera, Bennett; Antonio, Lines, Semedo, J Johnson; Madine, Ranger;

Subs from: Sedgwick, Weaver, Jameson, Beevers, Palmer, Lowe, O’Grady, Treacy, M Jones, Prutton, R Jones;

Colchester United

So Colchester United, what is there to know?

The club were founded in 1937 and played at their old Layer Road ground until 2008, there was originally two clubs in Colchester but the Colchester Town side was wound up shortly after Uniteds’ inception.

They play in Blue and White stripes at home.

They are famous for their cup giant killing antics, in the late 40’s they reached the fifth round of the FA Cup as a non league side with Huddersfield, Wrexham and Bradford PA conquered along the way.

Colchester United were initially elected to the Football League in 1950 and since have had just two seasons out of the league. They predominately spent most of their time in the bottom two divisions but from 2006 to 2008 they were in the 2nd tier.

In 1971 the then 4th division Colchester United shocked the footballing world, they beat English footballs dirtiest club and the then current Division 1 leaders L**ds United 3-2 at Layer Road in the FA Cup on front of over 16,000 fans, this was as big a shock as the Hereford v Newcastle one a year later but receives less airtime

The Ground

The Colchester Community Stadium is still in it’s infancy, with the ground just two years old, the club left their home of 71 years back in the summer of 2008 to move to the 10,084 capacity all seater stadium situated at Cuckoo Farm.

Unlike many new builds the stadium is 4 separate stands without the corners filled in which tends to make it look better than the flat packs of say Donny or the like, and has a more nostalgic look to it.

Most Wednesdayites will find themselves in the North Stand which accommodates around 1,900, the North Stand is the closest to the A12 for any Owls travelling down by road but due to the demand from the away hoardes we have been allocated part of the East Stand.

The South Stand is where the vocal element of the home support sit whilst the East Stand is the designated family area, the largest stand in the ground will be to our right, the West Stand which hold all the clubs commercial activites.

Away fans are being advised that beer is on sale inside the stadium but anyone wishing to drink away from the ground will have to do so in the town centre, the Norfolk being recommended by the locals.

The Gaffer

John Ward is the man in charge of Colchester, the former Carlisle boss replaced Aidy Boothroyd in the summer of 2010 when Coventry came calling for the one time Watford boss, Ward became Uniteds third boss inside a year as Boothroyd himself replaced Paul Lambert who Norwich lured away after he guided the U’s to a 7-1 thrashing of the Canaries at Carrow Road in August 2009.

Ward was a regular scorer during his days at Lincoln scoring over 100 goals for his home town club before retiring after spells with Grimsby and Watford, he was appointed Graham Taylors assistant at Watford in 1982 (the pair are lifelong friends) and followed Taylor to Villa in 1987.

Ward took his first job with York before spells with both Bristol clubs, he had a successful spell with Cheltenham from 2003 to 2007 where he helped them to promotion before replacing Paul Simpson at Carlisle, in his first season with the Cumbrians he guided them to the play offs but a poor start to the 2008/09 season saw him sacked.

He guided Colchester to a tenth placed finish last season.

The Squad

Midfielder Anthony Wordsworth joined the U’s straight from school and was given a professional contract during the 2006/07 season.

London born Anthony progressed through the youth system with the U’s and was rewarded with his debut early in the 2007/08 season in a Carling cup defeat to Shrewsbury, he would go on to make 3 further appearances that season, including his full debut in a 3-1 defeat to Hull, as the club lost its Championship status.

Anthony’s breakthrough season was 2008/09 as he made 36 appearances for the club in all competitions and netted his first goals in a 4-3 defeat to Cheltenham and his goal scoring exploits came more to the fore the following campaign as he netted 11 in 44 for the club.

Last season was a quieter one in terms of goals as he netted just 5 times for the U’s in 41 appearances but he has scored 12 this season in 43 appearances and is joint top scorer, he was linked with a move to Wednesday during the last transfer window.

Striker Steven Gillespie joined the club in July 2008 for a reputed £400k from Cheltenham Town where he’d just netted 16 goals in 40 games.

Liverpool born Steven began his career with his hometown club but didn’t make a single appearance and in May 2004 moved onto Bristol City on a free transfer, he made just ten appearances for the Robins before joining Cheltenham on loan in January 2005, he netted 5 in 12 for the club before returning to Bristol for the final two games of the 2004/05 season.

In the 2005/06 season Steven made just 5 appearances for City, and netted his only goal for them, before being allowed to rejoin Cheltenham on loan, after scoring 5 in 11 he elected to make the move permanent and ended up scoring 7 in 19 for Cheltenham that season.

Sadly for Steven the following seasonwasn’t a great success as he netted just 5 in 24 games for Cheltenham but the 2007/08 campaign he fared better and netted 16 in 40, his best return to date which prompted Colchester to snap him up.

His time with the U’s has been dogged with injuries and a lack of real form, he netted 5 in 20 during the 2008/09 season and just 2 in 33 the following season but last season he scored 9 in 19 and has 12 in 33 this season.

Looking around the squad there a few players who have played for local clubs, John-Joe O’Toole had a spell on loan at the Sty, Matt Heath had a stint with L**ds, Kayode Odejayi was a Barnsley hero during their 2008 FA cup run. Other names I recognise are Ben Williams who had a spell at Man United, Kem Izzet, the younger brother of Muzzy and Brian Wilson who was Bristol City.

John Ward has used the loan market to bring in Freddy Sears from West Ham and Gavin Massey from Watford to bolster his firepower.

Squad

GK : Williams, Cousins, Pentney;

DEF : Aldred, Rose, Okuonghae, Wilson, Heath, White, Eastman;

MID : O’Toole, Izzet, Rowlands, Bond, Coker, Duguid, Wordsworth;

FOR : Odejayi, Gillespie, Henderson, Vincent, Sears, Massey.

Previous Clashes

Substitute Neil Mellor netted inside the final ten minutes to secure the Owls a point when the two clubs met last season, the Owls fell behind to a stunning strike from Andy Bond just five minutes after half time but Sheffield born Mellor rescued a point when he worked his way into the box before finishing from close range.

Back in March 2008 a Deon Burton header and a Wade Small goal was enough to see off the U’s at the last ever meeting between the clubs at Layer Road, both sides were struggling in the Championship, Kevin Lisbie had put the hosts 1-0 up after just four minutes.

That was sweet revenge for the Owls as the season previous a 4-0 hammering at Layer Road had cost Paul Sturrock his job, Chris Iwelumo, Jamie Cureton, Karl Duguid and Greg Halford were the scorers that night.

The first ever clash between the two sides came in December 1975 in the old 3rd division, the hosts won 2-1 with Eric Potts netting for Wednesday.

This is only the 10th clash between the clubs in Essex, that win in 2008 remains the only victory for the Owls, hosts have won 4 and the other 4 have been draws.

Recent Form Guide

Wednesday
Last five : DWWWW
Last five away: 0-1, 0-0, 2-1, 1-0, 2-0

Colchester
Last five : DDLDL
Last five home : 3-0, 1-1, 1-1, 1-1, 1-1

Stat Attack

* Players to have played for both include Danny Batth, Con Blatsis, David Prutton, Wayne Andrews, Guy Branston, Michail Antonio and Steve Whitton.

* The Owls have only won 6 of 19 against the U’s.

* In the 2003/04 season Colchester did the double over Wednesday.

* Former Owls striker Steve Whitton was once manager of Colchester in their Layer Road days.

Final Thoughts?

This is a big game for Wednesday, the U’s are unbeaten at home in six games and although they have little to play for they will present a tough test for Wednesday and one we have to win if we still want a top two finish, the Blades face Leyton Orient at home so should be a home banker, our record at Colchester is awful and we need to change that starting NOW.

Up the Owls

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Back into second for the high flying Owls.

Wednesday jumped back into second place in League One for 24 hours at least as they swept past Oldham Athletic this afternoon at Hillsborough to win their third game in a week and second in front of the sky cameras.

After a cagey opening to the game Gary Madine netted for the Wednesday before second half strikes from Miguel Llera and Ryan Lowe heaped the pressure back on the side from across the city as Wednesday won their eighth game in nine since the arrival of Dave Jones to the club.

The Owls manager made one change from the side which won at Huddersfield Town some 48 hours or so earlier with Reda Johnson missing the game through injury so there was a return for Julian Bennett at left back.

It was Wednesday who made the brightest start with Michail Antonio putting the Latic's defence under scrutiny but his centre was cleared by as the visitors passed the early test, and shortly after it was Oldham's turn to force the issue as they gained an early corner which was half cleared before falling to Dean Furman who fired goalwards on the volley just wide with Stephen Bywater looking beaten. With the visitors hopes raised they again pressed and were to miss the target again, this time Robbie Simpson was guilty as he headed a right wing cross over the bar. Much like the early stages of the win at Huddersfield, the Owls looked slightly susceptible to high balls into the box but more than comfortable with the balls low into the box as the game became a little scrappy, with Chris Taylor for the visitors trying to get involved in everything they did as he come in from the left flank.

Jermaine Johnson then tried his luck from outside the area after bursting forward and cutting inside but 'keeper Dean Bouzanis was right down the barrel of the shot. On twenty minutes though Wednesday had a glorious chance to break the deadlock as Antonio anticipated a cross field pass to burst past the defence and he bore down on goal but his effort was well blocked by Bouzanis, a real let off for the visitors.

The next ten minutes or so belonged to the visitors who had risen to the challenge of their hosts, although not spectacular they certainly played well in patches and began to frustrate the home side with tackles flying in. The game needed a goal as the home crowd were subdued and the visitors went very close to getting it as Bradley Diallo crossed for Simpson but his shot rolled wide of the mark and the miss was to be punished moments later.

MIguel Llera picked up the ball in the left back position before bombing forward unchallenged and he curled a perfect cross for Gary Madine who stepped away from his marker before diving heading past the Oldham 'keeper, the perfect way to end a frustrating first half.

Half Time
Wednesday 1 Oldham 0

Wednesday were forced into a change at the break as Lewis Buxton had taken a couple of heavy challenges in the first half, so on came Mark Beevers for the second successive game at left back with Bennett slipping across defence into the place of the departed Buxton.
The visitors made immediate moves to get back into the game straight from the restart with former Wednesday striker, Shefki Kuqi, breaking through but his shot was easily gathered with Bywater in the right place, Simpson then went close for the Latics who certainly came out of the blocks after a rocket from manager Paul Dickov at the break.

Wednesday began to grasp the initiative slowly but Dave Jones was forced into another change as Jermaine Johnson was replaced by Keith Treacy and just six minutes after the Irishman's introduction the second goal was to come, created by the boot of the substitute. After a crude challenge out wide on the right Treacy played the inswinging free kick to the near post where Llera was there to nod home in front of the Kop for his second goal in as many games.

The Owls pressed for the third as the visitors began to buckle under the immense pressure put on them, Antonio and Treacy linked up as the sub got a shot away which flashed wide. Oldham brought on Keanu Marsh-Brown who replaced Filipe Morais and Oumare Tounkara came on for Kuqi who received a good reception from the home crowd and he responded by applauding in kind. Dave Jones also took the opportunity to shuffle his pack with Ryan Lowe coming on for Nile Ranger and what a response from the former Bury man.

Wednesday broke forward and Treacy created a yard of space to cross and it was put on a plate for Lowe to net at the far post with his first touch after coming onto the field and seal the win for the home side and put them back into second place in League One. Next up is a long trip to Colchester United at the weekend as the high flying Owls aim for a fifth consecutive win and maybe a fifth consecutive clean sheet.

Full Time
Wednesday 3 Oldham 0

Owls: Bywater, Buxton (Beevers 46), Llera, Batth, Bennett, Antonio, Semedo, Lines, J Johnson (Treacy 61), Ranger (Lowe 79), Madine

Unused substitutes: Weaver, Prutton

Oldham: Bouzanis, Brown, Morais (Marsh-Brown 70), Furman, Simpson, Adeyemi, Diallo, Tarkowski (Belezika 87), Lee, Kuqi (Tounkara 79), Bunn

Unused substitutes: Gerrard, M'changama

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Three points gained in West Yorkshire.

Dave Jones' Wednesday side continued their excellent run of form with a superb performance and victory at the home of promotion rivals Huddersfield Town this weekend.

Second half goals from Miguel Llera and Nile Ranger were enough to see off the Terriers and all but see off their chances of gaining an automatic promotion spot ahead of the Owls and our neighbours from across the City.

Wednesday started the game with just one change from the one which defeated Preston North End as Rob Jones had to sit out the game through suspension, so Danny Batth had the job of coming in alongide Llera to try and tame the threat of Huddersfield striker Jordan Rhodes.

The visitors started on the front foot as they looked to stifle the home support early on and within the opening couple of minutes they were a lick of paint away from doing just that. A break down the right flank resulted in a throw in for Wednesday deep into the opposing half, it was hurled into the box by Michail Antonio and it was met by Gary Madine much like the striker's second goal last weekend it looked to be heading into the net however the combination of home 'keeper Alex Smithies and the crossbar managed to keep the scores level.

In recent weeks it has been Antonio that has caught the eye but Jermaine Johnson was determined not to be outdone, two surging runs from the winger threatened to breach the home defence but Callum Woods and Tom Clarke managed to do enough to deny him a shooting opportunity, moments later though the Jamaican did manage to fire an effort at goal but it sailed over the crossbar.

Just as Wednesday seemed to be building a little momentum they faced an attack from the home side but Miguel Llera was more than a match for Lee Novak's cross from the right, denying the awaiting Alan Lee and Jordan Rhodes the chance to swoop. Two corners were dealt with by Wednesday with minimum fuss but there was disappointment shortly after as Reda Johnson couldn't shake off an early knock which meant Mark Beevers slotting into replace him at left back. This seemed to disrupt the Owls a little and the home side tried to force the issue, Danny Ward got the better of Lewis Buxton down the flank but his cross came to nothing.

The atmosphere on and off the pitch was building as tackles began to fly in from both sides, Jermaine Johnson had already been hacked at before Terrier's skipper Peter Clarke brought down Gary Madine. Chris Lines appeared to be lining up the Free kick but up stepped Llera to curl a delightful effort over the bar but it swerved a little too much and flashed wide of the upright with Smithies scampering across his goal line.

It only served as motivation to the home side as Rhodes linked up well in the middle of the pitch with Ward who knocked the ball inside before firing across goal beating Bywater, thankfully it was off target but not by much. Huddersfield then had a pocket of possession inside the Owls half with the visitors not looking totally comfortable for a moment or two after Danny Batth appeared to push Lee of the ball which was spotted by the referee, a moment of naivety from the young defender who had been exemplary up to that point.

Danny Ward stepped up and curled his free kick over the wall but it only resulted in a goal kick for Wednesday as it flew just over the crossbar. In a relatively even first half the home side finished it slightly the better and arguably would have gone in the happier of the two sides.

Half Time
Huddersfield 0 Wednesday 0

The Terriers came out of the blocks the quicker with the first incident being a header just wide of the mark from former Barnsley player Anthony Kay heading wide, but it never really troubled Stephen Bywater.

Just seven minutes later though the scoring was to be opened and how. Sean Morrison was adjudged to have fouled his man some 25 yards or so from goal in a central position and up stepped Miguel Llera to curl in a majestic shot which was almost a carbon copy of his first half effort but this time it nestled in the back of the net giving Smithies no chance at all. Immediately this roused the Owls into life and within moments the lead was almost doubled, Llera finding Antonio down the right who broke past his man before getting into the box and shooting low but Smithies was equal to it, the rebound fell to Nile Ranger but again the Terrier's custodian was equal to the effort with a fine low stop.

Lee Novak then made sure the Owls knew they were still in the game with the home side's first test for Bywater, the striker collecting from Rhodes to fire low and hard at goal but Bywater was in the right place to stop a certain goal. Wednesday then broke free and were to be denied by the woodwork for a second time, Chris Lines picked up play around the half way line and played a fantastic ball for Ranger to pounce and the loanee sidefooted a half volley past Smithies but the ball smacked the crossbar, it fell back to the supporting Antonio inside the box who took a touch and with the Owls fans behind the goal anticipating the net rippling he fired... Wide.. The wideman held his head in his hands and was clearly distraught as his miss from such a good opportunity.

Wednesday were now really in the box seat with the home supporters volume level turned down, and when the next chance was to present itself there was no way it wasn't to be taken. Jermaine Johnson picked up the ball after a mistake by Tom Clarke before playing a lovely slide rule pass through for Ranger to run onto and he held off the attentions of Peter Clarke before calmly finishing to net his first goal for the club.

The home supporters began to leave the stadium now as they knew it was all over, however the Terriers did have a sniff of an opportunity Bywater failed to claim a corner from the right, the second ball back into the box was headed goalwards by Rhodes but the Owls 'keeper was in the right place to gather the soft header. Danny Cadamarteri was brought on by Simon Grayson in a last ditch attempt to salvage something and the striker managed one effort on target as he fired a low shot on the turn but Bywater got his angles spot on again claiming possession of the ball.

A massive three points where some may have thought the Owls would slip up, but the pressure continues on the side from Sheffield 2 with Wednesday hot on their heels ahead of the next round of games on Monday.

Full Time
Huddersfield 0 Wednesday 2

Huddersfield: Smithies, Woods, P Clarke, Morrison, T Clarke, Novak (Roberts 67), Kay, Arismendi (Arfield 67), Ward, Rhodes, Lee (Cadamarteri 85)

Substitutes: Bennett, McCombe

Wednesday: Bywater, Buxton, Batth, Llera, R Johnson (Beevers 16), Antonio (Sedgwick 90), Semedo, Lines, J Johnson (Treacy 85), Madine, Ranger

Substitutes: Weaver, Lowe

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Jones takes the award.

Wednesday manager Dave Jones has just been named as manager of the Month for March by the Football League.

Jones has seen the Owls make an unbeaten start to his tenure and keep up the pressure on the top two in the division since coming in to the club just over a month ago.

Five wins from the six games played in March wins the accolade for the Owls boss, who is preparing his side for a trip to Huddersfield Town this weekend and he spoke to the club's official website about winning his first award in charge at S6.

'It's a great achievement and it just goes to show the hard work that everyone has put in over the past month.' He said.

'It's an achievement for the football club and it's a nice reward to have.

'But we are all focused on gaining an even bigger prize come the end of the season.'

So, with the next game over in West Yorkshire this weekend being arguably a pivotal one we hope the curse of the manager of the month doesn't strike and Dave Jones and his men can continue their good form and keep the pressure on in the promotion run in.

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Town test for Jones's Wednesday

Wednesday take on Huddersfield at the Galpharm Stadium on Saturday and will be hoping to put a little daylight between the side immediately below them in the League table.

Owls News

Dave Jones will be forced into at least one change for the trip to West Yorkshire as skipper Rob Jones sits out a two match suspension for reaching 10 yellow cards, Danny Batth is set to replace him at the heart of the defence alongside Miguel Llera.

Barring any injuries the rest of the side will pretty much pick itself, with a the pace of Jermaine Johnson and Michail Antonio on the wings complementing Jose Semedo and Chris Lines in the centre of midfield.

Gary Madine and Nile Ranger look set to start together upfront, Madine has hit five in his last appearances for the Owls and will be aiming for the 20 goal mark before the season is out, he and ranger looked lively in the recent victory over Preston.

Line Up

Team: (Possible 4-4-2) : Bywater, Buxton, Batth, Llera, R Johnson; Antonio, Lines, Semedo, J Johnson; Madine, Ranger;

Subs from: Sedgwick, Weaver, Jameson, Beevers, Palmer, Lowe, O’Grady, Treacy, M Jones , Bennett, Prutton;

Huddersfield Town

So what is there to know about the Terriers?

They were formed in 1908.

They play in Blue and White stripes at home.

They began life playing at L**ds Road but moved to the McAlpine Stadium in 1994.

They entered the League in 1910 into the Second Division.

In 1919 they staved off an attempt to move the club to L**ds to replace L**ds City who had been kicked out of the league for financial irregularities.

Huddersfield under the guidance of Herbert Chapman and latterly Cecil Potter won three consecutive league titles from 1924 to 1926, a rare feat and one replicated just 4 times since.

They have played in 5 FA Cup finals but have only won once, back in 1922.

Post war saw Huddersfield struggle and they were relegated in 1952 and despite bouncing straight back the decline had began, barring 1 season in the early 1970’s Town have been outside the top flight for 43 of the last 44 seasons.

They are one of six clubs who have been league champions and slipped to the 4th divisions, the others are Portsmouth, Sheffield United, Preston North End, Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

During 2011 they created a new Football League record of 43 unbeaten games, surpassing Nottingham Forests effort of 42 from the 1970s.

The Ground

The Galpharm Stadium has been home to Town for the last 18 years and replaced L**ds Road which had been their home for 86 years.

The stadium has capacity for 24,499 and is all seater, the main stand is the Riverside Stand which runs down the side of the pitch it houses the executive boxes and is a two tiered stand, this has capacity for around 8,300.

Opposite the main stand is the Kilner Bank this is a single tiered stand and has capacity to hold around 7,300, this stand sits to the right of the away end.

The away stand is called the South Stand and sits behind the goal, this single tiered stand is built into a natural banking and has capacity for around 4,000 and the Owls have sold their entire allocation for this fixture, this stand didn’t open until December 1994, five months after the aforementioned two.

Opposite the away is the impressive Panasonic Stand, the two tiered stand holds around 4,900 and was opened in 1997, I sat in the upper tier in March 2005 when Town beat us 1-0.

The Gaffer

Simon Grayson took over at Town on February 20th this year following the surprise sacking of Lee Clark, nearly 3 weeks earlier Grayson himself had been dismissed as manager of L**ds United.

Graysons managerial career began back in the winter of 2005 when he was made caretaker manager of Blackpool, he led the Tangerines away from the League One drop zone and was made full time manager ahead of the of the 2006/07 season.

In his first full season with the Tangerines he helped them to a 3rd place finish and then guided them to promotion via the play offs as they beat Yeovil 2-0 in the Wembley final. Consolidation was the aim during the clubs first season in the 2nd tier for the first time since the 1977/78 season and he guided the club to 19th.

In December 2008 he was appointed manager of home town club L**ds United despite Blackpool refusing to allow him the opportunity to discuss the switch, L**ds were a division below Blackpool at the time.

Grayson guided L**ds into the play-offs in the 2008/09 season but they lost out to Millwall in the semi finals but the following they sealed automatic promotion back to the second tier. Last season he helped L**ds to finish 7th and they were well set for a play off tilt this campaign before he was dismissed.

As a player Grayson had a fairly unspectacular career which began with L**ds, including 6 years at Leicester City where he won promotion to the top flight twice and a League Cup win before he moved to Aston Villa, spells at Blackburn and Blackpool were split by loan spells at Wednesday, Stockport, Notts County and Bradford.

The Squad

Striker Jordan Rhodes is currently the country’s top marksman, the prolific marksman has 37 goals this season in English football and looks set to smash the 40 goal barrier.

Jordan began his career at Ipswich Town but made his debut during a loan spell at Oxford United in the winter of 2007, he made 4 appearances for the U’s but failed to score, he made his Ipswich debut as a substitute just before Christmas of 2007, he scored his first and only goal for the club in 1-1 draw with Cardiff.

In September 2008 Jordan joined Rochdale on loan and scored 2 goals in 5 games for Dale before picking up an injury. Brentford snapped him up on loan in January 2009 and he quickly settled into life at the Bees scoring 7 in 14 games to help the Bees to promotion.

Lee Clark snapped him for Huddersfield in the summer of 2009 for an undisclosed fee, he quickly became a firm favourite after netting six in six for the club and went on to plunder 23 for the club in 52 games.

Last season he was again towards the top end of the scoring charts with 22 in 48 games for the Terriers.

So far this term he has hit 37 in 38 this term for Town including four at Hillsborough and after netting a further six for Scotland under 21s in October he earned his first full cap the following.

Jordan’s goal scoring exploits have seen him linked with a raft of clubs including Newcastle and Celtic and he has scored 82 goals in just 138 games for Town.

Alex Smithies is a highly rated young keeper who came through the ranks at Town and has made over 100 appearances for the club at the age of just 22.

Alex first came to prominence during the 2007/08 season when he came on for Andy Booth as Town keeper Matt Glennon was sent off, he conceded 2 in a 4-1 defeat and 3 days later made his full debut in a 4-0 defeat to L**ds, that was his last appearance that season.

He replaced Matt Glennon on a regular basis in December 2008 just prior to Lee Clarkes arrival at the club and made 28 appearances in all competitions, he added 55 to his appearance total in the 2009/10 season before making 27 appearances last term until injury curtailed his season.

That injury plus the good form off veteran stopper Ian Bennett meant that Smithies went 11 months between first team starts, he returned to action in the 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United in February and has made a further 10 appearances to date, he has conceded 12 goals in that spell.

Alex has been linked with moves away from the club with several top flight clubs being linked with a move for the highly regarded young stopper.

Looking around the squad there are several players with local connections, Tommy Miller spent 2 years at the Owls before being released and Alex Bruce was on loan here during the promotion season of 2004/05. Gary Naysmith is tainted with pork, Alan Lee played for Don Valley Squatters and has a healthy goal record against the Owls. Both Antony Kay and Nick Colgan played for Barnsley.

They have a nice blend of experience and youth within the squad with the likes of Joey Gudjohnsson, Peter Clarke and Damien Johnson complementing the likes Oscar Gobern, Danny Ward and Jack Hunt.

Squad

GK : Smithies, Bennett, Colgan, Thomas;
DEF : Woods, P Clarke, McCombe, T Clarke, Naysmith, Hunt, Morrison;
MID : Gudjohnsson, Roberts, Kay, Gobern, Ward, Miller, Arismendi, Robinson, Arfield, Johnson;
FOR : Lee, Rhodes, Novak, Cadamarteri;

Previous Clashes

A solitary strike by Anthony Pilkington secured all three points for the hosts when the two sides met in January 2011, the Owls had a Clinton Morrison strike ruled out for offside and the hosts were fortunate not to be down to ten men after a foul on Neil Mellor by goalkeeper Alex Smithies.

Six years earlier the hosts won a fiercely contested derby by the same score thanks to an early Jon Worthington goal, the Owls also had future Huddersfield loanee Alex Bruce dismissed for a reckless challenge.

You have to go back 28 years for the last Wednesday win on Town soil, Nigel Worthington scored the game’s only goal, the victory came just days after a Mel Sterland penalty had sealed the Owls promotion back to the top flight ending a 14 year absence.

That result was only the 4th time Wednesday have won at Huddersfield with fixtures going back to 1926, the record is 15 Huddersfield wins, 4 Wednesday wins and 3 draws.

Recent Form Guide

Wednesday
Last five : WWDWW
Last five away: 1-2, 0-1, 0-0, 2-1, 1-0

Huddersfield
Last five : DWWLW
Last five home : 0-1, 2-0, 1-0, 2-2, 1-0

Stat Attack

* Herbert Chapman, a back to back League Championship winning manager with Town in the 20’s was the brother of Harry Chapman who made nearly 300 appearances for the Owls and won the League twice and the FA Cup during his spell at Hillsborough.

* Players to have played for both include Roy Shiner, Andy Booth, Craig Armstrong, Barry Horne, Sid Binks, David Graham, Don McEvoy, Kevin Gallacher, Mark Smith and Ron Staniforth.

* The two sides are Yorkshires most successful clubs of all time, with 7 Championships between them.

Final Thoughts?

This is a big game for both sides, a win for the hosts would see them leap frog the Owls and move just two points behind the Blades who face Bournemouth later in the day whilst a Wednesday win would rule Town out of the automatic promotion hunt you’d have to say, a draw would only do one team any favours, Sheffield United, our record at Huddersfield is awful and we need to change that starting NOW.

Up the Owls

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Another Owl makes team of the week.

A Wednesday player in the Football League's team of the week for Npower League One seems to be the norm these days.. So it's no surprise to see another one in there this week!

However, the biggest surprise is the non inclusion of Gary Madine in the team as he was kept out of the selected XI by the striker from across the city who scored only one from the spot.. And Scunthorpe's Wednesday fan forward, Jordan Robertson.

Anyway, back to the Owl who IS in the team.. Step forward Lewis Buxton.
The popular right back has been in consistent form this season and it's no surprise to see him picking up recognition from the selection panel at the Football League, some may argue Buxton has been the player of the year with his reliability and resolute defending a feature of the Wednesday defence which has only conceded six goals in their last ten games.

Well done to Lewis from all at Owlsonline.

You can see the full team of the week from the Football League Website HERE...

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Wednesday keep up the pressure.

Dave Jones' Owls keep up the pressure on their neighbours in the fight for an automatic promotion spot from NPower League One after two second half goals were enough to see off the stubborn Preston North End who are now being dragged nearer to the relegation places in the division.

Gary Madine netted a brace earning the three points and momentarily put Wednesday back into second place before the team from across the city picked up three points.

Nile Ranger came in to replace Chris O Grady in the starting line up and make his first start since moving to Hillsborough alongside Madine up front, and Miguel Llera retained his spot in the side after his performance at Leyton Orient persuaded Dave Jones to keep the Spaniard in the side despite Danny Batth's return to fitness.

In front of the Sky cameras Wednesday were keen to take the initiative and after an early Preston corner, Michail Antonio burst down the right flank before squaring the ball along the edge of the penalty area where Jermaine Johnson was waiting to curl a measured effort inches wide of the mark with North End's German 'keeper Thorsten Stuckmann well beaten. The difference in styles of play couldn't have been more different with Graham Westley's side playing just Aaron Brown up front on his own and they were looking to simply frustrate the home support and team with their brand of spoiler football.

However the next effort of note it was from very long distance, few would have said that Reda Johnson meant his looping effort which almost deceived Stuckmann but it dropped just over the bar from just inside the visitors half.

The combination of Ranger and Madine up front was causing problems for Preston and the Newcastle loanee turned well before cutting inside and squaring towards his strike partner but Chris Robertson was there in the right place to clear for a corner with Madine lurking just behind. Jermaine Johnson then went alone out on the left flank and he elected to shoot from distance but his effort struck the side netting.

Despite Wednesday pressing the game and looking to dominate it began to become even more frustrating as the referee made some very erratic decisions which incensed the supporters and players alike, Mr Eltringham's efforts to break up play was more effective than that of the visitors it seemed.

Preston's only effort of note was a long range effort from Paul Parry but the former Cardiff City winger hardly tested Stephen Bywater who was able to easily stop the shot with very little difficulty. But the final word of the half went to Jermaine Johnson as the winger smashed an effort at goal which Stuckmann was right behind to block and deflect to safety, such was the dismay at the officials when the whistle was blown they were accompanied from the field under a barrage of criticism from the home support. But the scores level at the break you could argue Westley's side and their over defensive outlook had done its job.

Half Time
Wednesday 0 Preston 0

The Owls came back out for the second half with more vigour and attacking intensity and it showed within just four minutes of the restart. Chris Lines picked up the ball in midfield before finding Gary Madine out wide on the Wednesday right, he dropped his shoulder and created a just enough space to get his shot away which fooled the Preston 'keeper who clearly didn't expect the striker to shoot and the ball rocketed into the net in front of the Kop.

Preston immediately looked deflated, their defensive bubble had burst and it showed as their fight seemed to have gone, Jermaine Johnson waltzed through a static looking backline to smash the ball goalwards and the flight of the ball almost deceived Stuckmann but the big German did just enough to block the shot.

Graham Westley shuffled his pack bringing on Iain Hume and Arsenal loanee Chuck Aneke as they looked to get a way back into the game which they hadn't really been in up to that point, but within minutes of the change the game was effectively over.

Wednesday forced a throw out on the right which was hurled in by Antonio and Madine rose in acres of space to nod into the goal.
From that moment on the visiting supporters had very little to cheer their side for, Madine twice went close as the game wore on first hitting an effort just over the bar before meeting an Antonio cross and beating the North End defence to the ball but again it went the wrong side of the crossbar.

There was a late introduction to the home crowd for ex Preston wideman Keith Treacy but he barely touched the ball as the game came to an end leaving the Owls with three points and leaving Wednesday just four points away from securing at the very least a playoff birth in League One this season.

Full Time
Wednesday 2 Preston 0

Owls: Bywater, Buxton, R Jones, Llera, R Johnson, Antonio, Semedo, Lines, J Johnson (Treacy 90), Madine (Lowe 87), Ranger

Substitutes: Weaver, Batth, O'Grady

Preston: Stuckmann, Robertson, Morgan, Coutts, Parry, Wright, Ehmer, Proctor (Holroyd 85), Cummins (Hume 62), Hunt, Brown (Aneke 62)

Substitutes: Arestidou, Gray

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North End up next for Owls

The Owls host Preston in the early kick off and will be looking to apply the pressure to 2nd placed Sheffield United who sit 2 points in front and travel to Hartlepool.

Owls News

Dave Jones made four changes last weekend bringing in Jermaine Johnson, Reda Johnson, Miguel Llera and Chris O’Grady to the starting line up, 3 of the changes were tactical and Danny Batth missed his first game of the season through injury.

Batth is in line to return which means that Miguel Llera is the man most likely to miss out, the Spaniard performed well down at Orient and offers something different to Rob Jones in terms of footballing ability but Jones has been a rock of late.

Jones could offer Keith Treacy a start, the Irish international made his debut as a second half substitute away at Orient but could play be used against his former club with Jermaine Johnson the man who would miss out.

Up front Gary Madine looks likely to start with Nile Ranger touted as his partner the on loan Newcastle forward has impressed the Owls gaffer in training and a full home debut is on the cards.

Line Up

Team: (Possible 4-4-2) : Bywater; Buxton, R Jones, Batth, R Johnson; Antonio, Lines, Semedo, J Johnson; Ranger, Madine;

Subs from: Llera, Lowe, M Jones, Treacy, Beevers, Prutton, Weaver, Sedgwick, Jameson, O’Grady, Bennett, Palmer.

Preston North End

So what do we know about Preston?

The club were actually founded in 1863 as a cricket club before turning their hand to football in 1878.

They are nicknamed the Lilywhites.

The club were founder members of the Football League which was formed in 1888.

They are the original invincibles going unbeaten in the League and FA Cup during the 1888/89 season.

They have been crowned Champions of England twice and twice FA Cup winners.

Their last domestic trophy came in 1938 when they lifted the FA Cup.

Preston last played top flight football in 1961 but have twice narrowly missed out on promotion back there via the play-offs (2001 and 2005).

The Gaffer

Graham Westley took over at Preston in January after leaving Stevenage, he replaced Phil Brown at Deepdale.

Westley’s managerial career began way back in 1996 when he was appointed Kingstonian manager, he was just 28 at the time and had been suffering a broken leg at the time, he only spent 5 months at the club but won 9 of his 25 games to help the club avoid the drop.

Next stop was Enfield, again his tenure was short lived as he spent 9 months in charge but won 19 from 41 games to help the club to 7th in the Isthmian Premier League before leaving the club.

In 1999 he bought a controlling interest in Farnborough Town and took over as manager, he guided the club to 12th in his first season and won the Isthmian Cup before winning promotion to the Conference the following season.

Westley decided overhaul his entire squad following promotion and he guided the club to 7th in the Conference, he also talked about merging with Kingstonian as their stadium was ‘Football League ready’ but the move happened, he spent a further 18 months at Farnborough before selling up and leaving to charge at Stevenage.

He took over initially at Stevenage in January 2003 and saved the club from relegation in his first half season there, gradually he turned the club guiding them to 8th in his first full season, the following year they reached the Conference play off final but were beaten by Carlisle. In the 2005/06 season Stevenage were at their inconsistent best, excellent at home poor away and finished in 12th which prompted Westley to leave the club.

After leaving Stevenage he had a brief spells at both Rushden & Diamonds and Kettering, the spell at Rusden lasted 13 games as he helped the club from 22nd to 12th in the Conference before being sacked and at Kettering he had a short 4 game deal to see them through to the end of the season.

In May 2008 after nearly a year out of the game he returned to Stevenage to “finish the job” he’d started, his first season saw Stevenage lift the FA Trophy but they missed out on promotion by losing in the playoff semi finals.

He guided Stevenage to the Conference title in his second full season back in charge before leading them to play off glory in League Two last term.

As a player Graham had a very strong non-league background, he had spells Barnet, Wycombe, Kingstonian, Wealdstone, Farnborough, Harlow, Enfield and Aylesbury amongst other clubs, he made 2 Football league appearances for Gillingham as well.

The Squad

Midfielder Paul Coutts joined North End on deadline day in the transfer window during January 2010, the 22 year old Scotsman was reunited with his former boss Darren Ferguson.

Aberdeen born Paul came through the ranks at his hometown club but his professional career began in the Highland League with Cove Rangers, he impressed for Rangers and in the summer of 2008 he was invited to have a trial with Peterborough United, he earned himself a three year deal with the club.

In his debut season with Posh he made 42 appearances in all competitions and helped the club to the League One title, he made a further 18 appearances the following season before being signed by Darren Ferguson who had taken over at Deepdale.

Coutts first goal for PNE came in March 2010, it was in a 2-2 draw with Wednesday, he had fired the hosts into a 2-0 lead before Wednesday rallied to level, he made 13 appearances for North End that season taking his tally to 31.

Paul made just 27 appearances last season of which just 17 were starts thanks to injury and the Lilywhites were relegated but so far this term he’s been involved a lot more and has made 39 appearances and he has scored twice.

Iain Hume is a striker that needs little introduction to Wednesday fans after his spell at Barnsley and his frequency of finding the net against the Owls.

The Canadian international joined the club in September 2010 from Barnsley on loan after just over two years at Oakwell.

Edinburgh born Iain came through the ranks at Tranmere and made his debut in the 1999/00 season as a Sixteen year old, he would stay with the Wirral club until August 2005, and during his six seasons as a professional he made 176 appearances and scored 37 times for the club.

In August 2005 he signed for Leicester for an initial £500k fee, he had been linked with a move to S6 around the same time, his Foxes debut came in a 2-0 win against the Owls, he scored 9 in 38 in his first season with the club.

In the 2006/07 season Iain scored 14 in 50 for the Foxes before adding 11 in 44 the following season but couldn’t keep the Foxes from slipping into the 3rd tier as the Owls stayed up at their expense, following relegation he was sold to Barnsley for £1.2m.

Iain scored within five minutes of his debut for Barnsley but the Tykes still lost 2-1 at QPR, he would score 4 in 16 games before being viciously assaulted by the elbow of Chris Morgan which caused Iain to suffer a fractured skull ruling him out of the rest of the season.

It took Iain 9 months to recovery physically from his injuries but mentally he seemed to be struggling and scored just 5 times in 37 for the Tykes in the 2009/10 season after just two further appearances for the club he was allowed to join Preston on loan.

Iain scored 4 in 14 for the Lilywhites during his loan spell and the deal was made permanent in the January 2011 transfer window, he ended scoring 11 in 31 during the season for the club but for the 3rd time in his career he was relegated.

So far this term he’s netted nine in 25 this season.

Looking around the squad there are a few recognisable names with former Owls loanee Neil Mellor currently top scorer at the club with 9 goals but he’s just recovering from injury and may be on the bench. Barry Nicholson was linked with a move to S6 from Aberdeen before moving to Preston whilst Dave Jones will remember Paul Parry from their time together at Cardiff.

The Squad

GK : Stuckmann, Arestidou, Comrie;

DEF : Gray, Robertson, Hunt, Morgan, McLean, Smith, Devine, Alexander, Leather, Wright, Brown;

MID : Coutts, Nicholson, Mayor, Barton, Parry, Daley, Ehmer, Miller, Middleton, Doyle;

FOR : Hume, Mellor, Cummins, Holroyd, Proctor, McLellan, Zibika;

Previous Clashes

The two clubs last met at Hillsborough in October 2009, the visitors took an early lead thanks to a Neil Mellor header but Michael Gray’s impressive free kick levelled matters before the break in front of the Kop but the visitors took all three points with a Jon Parkin strike on 55 minutes, the Owls missed a plethora of chances to level matters.

In the 2008/09 season saw the two sides share the points at S6 with Richard Chaplow’s late strike cancelling out Sean McAllisters first half finish in a game the Owls dominated for large periods.

The season before the two clubs met on New Years Day in a relegation six pointer, Karl Hawley capitalised on a mistake by Lee Bullen to put the visitors ahead at the break but a major gaffe by North End keeper Andy Lonergan when he ran out of his area to clear a long ball which bounced over him and left Akpo Sodje with an empty net saw the Owls draw level before Francis Jeffers slotted home from the spot in the 82nd minute to win 3 valuable points for the hosts.

The game in the 2006/07 season saw the visitors come from behind to net three times and secure all three points, Deon Burton fired Wednesday into a fourth minute lead but two minutes later Brett Ormerod levelled before a brace by David Nugent took the game away from the Owls.

The Owls first season back in the Championship Wednesday grabbed a much needed three points when they beat North End 2-0 in mid March, Deon Burton put the Owls ahead in the first period before a deft finish from Burton O’Brien sealed the win in the second half.

The clubs first met way back in 1888 when the visitors on their way to reaching the FA Cup final beat the Owls 3-1, they also followed this up with a 5-0 win in the Owls first season in the top flight in the 1892/93 season.

The record between the sides in Sheffield reads Owls 27, PNE 13 and 9 draws.

Recent Form Guide

Wednesday
Last five : WWWDW
Last five home: 0-1, 1-0, 4-1, 3-0, 2-2

North End
Last five : LWDDL
Last five away : 1-2, 0-3, 1-2, 2-1, 0-0

Stat Attack

* Alan Irvine and Harry Catterick are the only men to have managed both teams.

* Players to have played for both include Eddie Nolan, Brian Barry-Murphy, Marlon Broomes, Dean Barrick, Tony Coleman, David Lucas, Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu. Eric Potts and Franck Songo’o.

* 1935 FA cup winner Jack Palethorpe signed for the Owls from Preston in December 1934 for £3,100.

* Juhvel Tsoumou, Neil Mellor and Iain Turner are the current PNE players to have played for the Owls whilst Chris Sedgwick and Keith Treacy are former PNE players in the Wednesday squad.

Final Thoughts?

So at home on Sky against a side struggling, I have a very bad feeling about this and reckon the anti-football employed by Preston could have our fans getting agitated early in the game but we must practice patience and back the lads for the game, they need our full support.

Up the Owls

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Wednesday net capital gain.

Reda Johnson came back to haunt the Orient on Saturday as he scored the only goal of the game to give the Owls all three points, mirroring the O's visit to Hillsborough earlier in the season. The big defender made his return to the starting eleven after suffering with a hamstring injury to net the winner which saw Dave Jones' side move into the automatic promotion spots.

The Wednesday manager changed the starting eleven by bringing in Reda Johnson, Jermaine Johnson, Chris O Grady and Miguel Llera for the trip to the Matchroom Stadium with new loan signings Keith Treacy and Nile Ranger taking up spots on the substitutes bench.

Wednesday were in the ascendancy from the off with a very threatening looking side with the pace of Michail Antonio and Jermaine Johnson on opposing flanks, and it was the Jamaican who was to connect with a Chris Lines centre but his effort flashed just wide of the mark. The visitors were cutting through the hosts at will in the opening exchanges, Antonio nodded wide before smashing a fine effort goalwards but O's 'keeper Paul Rachubka was in the right place to gather after the Reading loanee had been superbly found by a pass from Miguel Llera.

As the game wore on the home side were defending admirably but offered nothing in return at the other end of the field as Rob Jones, Llera, Reda Johnson and Lewis Buxton were left unchallenged and it still seemed only a matter of time before the Wednesday were to make their mark on the game, but at the break the sides were level and the home side and management would have been relieved to get there without conceding a goal.

Half Time
Orient 0 Wednesday 0

With the words of Dave Jones ringing in the ears of the team in blue and white, it didn't take long for them to take heed of his advice as the deadlock was broken. Chris Lines clipped in a perfect free kick from wide on the left and it found the head of Reda Johnson whose initial effort was kept out by Rachubka but the ball fell straight to the feet of the Wednesday man who coolly slotted home into the unguarded net.

The goal only spurred Wednesday into wanting more as they sensed the home side had no answer to them and just 15 minutes or so later Gary Madine and Chris O Grady both went so close to doubling the Owls advantage but after Rachubka denied O Grady, Madine missed the rebound. Orient had to do something to stem the tide and after Antonio was fed by Madine only to see his shot go inches wide of the goal it forced Russell Slade into a tactical rethink as they looked to try and finally force themselves onto the visitors. However it was to be Wednesday who again could have scored, this time through sub Nile Ranger who picked up the ball after Jermaine Johnson's lung busting run had been halted but the young striker's effort missed the target.

Orient made a late push for an equaliser and they finally started making inroads to the Wednesday box but stout defending from the Owls backline kept chances to a premium for the home side, but they were so close to netting as the game went into injury time. After the ball was half cleared George Porter smashed a low effort which may have been deflected on its way through the box, but Stephen Bywater watched it go within a yard or so of the left hand upright.

But as the final whistle went it was met with rapturous applause from the 2,000 or so travelling Wednesday fans who saw their side gain the point needed to leap back into second place in League One above their neighbours.

Full Time
Orient 0 Wednesday 1

Leyton Orient: Rachubka, Chorley, Cuthbert, Forbes, Cox, Reed (Porter 67), Lisbie, McSweeney, Smith, Leacock (Laird 79), Campbell-Ryce (Andrew 87)

Unused substitutes:: Ben Youssef, Mooney

Wednesday: Bywater, Buxton, R Jones, Llera, R Johnson, Semedo, Lines, Antonio, J Johnson (Treacy 79), Madine (Lowe 87), O'Grady (Ranger 61)

Unused substitutes: Jameson, Beevers

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Brisbane Road test for Owls

The Owls head to Leyton Orient tomorrow and will be looking to make it 7 unbeaten but they know they need to win to keep pressure on 2nd placed Sheffield United.

Owls News

Danny Batth is a major concern for the Owls, the defender, who is an ever-present in the league this season, is suffering from a hamstring injury but Dave Jones will give the on-loan centre half time to show his fitness after his impressive displays under the new boss.

With Reda Johnson still niggled by an ankle injury it leaves Miguel Llera and Mark Beevers in competition for the slot alongside Rob Jones should Batth be ruled out, the Spaniard looks favourite to play should he be required.

New loanees Keith Treacy and Nile Ranger also come into contention Treacy looks set to offer competition on the wings to Mike Jones and Jermaine Johnson whilst Ranger replaces Clinton Morrison in the attacking options.

Ryan Lowe and Gary Madines personal battle to finish top scorer this continued against Walsall with both netting, Madines late equaliser made it 15 for the season and nudged him one ahead of his older strike partner, both will be keen to add to this on Saturday and continue their impressive partnership.

Line Up

Team: (Possible 4-4-2) : Bywater; Buxton, R Jones, Llera, Bennett; Antonio, Lines, Semedo, M Jones; Lowe, Madine;

Subs from: Batth, Ranger, R Johnson, J Johnson, Beevers, Weaver, Sedgwick, Jameson, O’Grady, Palmer.

Leyton Orient

And what do we know about Orient?

They were formed as part of the Glyn Cricket Club in 1881.

Over the years there have been several name changes, Eagles CC, Orient FC and Clapton Orient before a move to the Borough of Leyton in 1937 saw them pick their current moniker.

Brisbane Road has been their home since 1937.

The club entered the Football League in 1905 after a successful season in the Southern League.

They have spent just one year in the top division in the 1962/63 season.

Their best cup run saw them reach the FA Cup semi finals in the 70’s during their most sustained time in the 2nd tier of English football.

The Ground

Brisbane Road has been the home of Orient since 1937 and its current capacity is 9,271 all seater but in the past it has held over four times that amount.

The club moved has had several stadiums prior to moving to Brisbane Road in the late 30’s, they began at Glyn Road before several moves saw them end up at Lea Bridge Road in 1930 until taking over the stadium they currently use from amateur side Leyton FC.

The oldest stand in the ground is the East Stand and it is usually shared between home and away supporters, the current capacity for this stand is just over 3,600, the away allocation is around 1,500 but can be increased for larger travelling support as is the case on Saturday. The stand was purchased by the club from Mitcham Stadium in 1956; this stand runs down the side of the pitch.

Bang opposite is the West Stand which was built in 2005, the 2,872 seater stand holds the executive area of ground and the commercial hub with the superstore, ticket office and club offices implemented in the stand, the players changing rooms are also housed here.

To the left of the away end is the South Stand which was rebuilt in 1999, the more vocal element of the Orient support are housed here and the stand holds 1,336.

The newest stand is the North Stand which was completed in 2007 and holds 1,351, this stand has flats built onto the back of it and is used as the clubs family stand.

The Gaffer

Russell Slade is the current Orient gaffer, he took over in April of 2010 with securing the clubs safety paramount, he kept the club up by earning 10 points from their final six games of the season, the difference between survival and relegation came down to a single point.

Last season he guided the O’s to an impressive 7th place with only a point separating them from the play off positions. Although the O’s have had a poor start to the season they picked up to move clear of the drop zone but a poor start to 2012 has seen them drop to 17th in League One.

Slade begin his career as assistant manager at Notts County in 1994 before being dismissed in 1995 along with County manager Howard Kendall, the pair were put together again at Sheffield United and Slade twice had caretaker spells in charge of the Blades.
In 2001 he got his first managerial role taking charge at Scarborough whom he enjoyed FA cup success before joining Grimsby in 2004, he had two years with the Mariners and almost won promotion but lost out in the play-off final he was removed from his post three days after the final.

In 2006 he joined Yeovil Town where he spent nearly 3 years before leaving his role in February 2009 following a falling out with the chairman, he quickly found a new job at Brighton whom he saved from the drop but a poor start to last season saw him dismissed in November 2009 before Orient came calling.

The Squad

Midfielder Dean Cox joined the O’s in the summer of 2010 after finding himself surplus to requirements with Brighton, he came through the ranks at Albion and made his debut during their last season in the 2nd tier in 2005, he also spent time out on loan later at Eastbourne Borough.

His breakthrough season was the 2006/07 where he scored six goals for the Seagulls in 43 games and became popular with the fans, he would remain a mainstay of the side for the next 2 and half seasons until the arrival of Gus Poyet as manager, he failed to figure for the club after a defeat to Millwall and was told he wouldn’t be offered a new contract in the summer.

He played 179 for the Seagulls scoring 22 goals from either an attacking midfield spot or the wing, last season he made 56 appearances and scored 12 goals which helped propel the O’s to just outside the play-off positions.

So far this season he’s hit 8 in 34 and is second top scorer at the club.

Much travelled striker Kevin Lisbie made Orient his 10th club when he signed in the summer aftewr leaving Colchester United.

The 33 year old Londoner began his career with Charlton Athletic and made his debut for the Addicks way back in 1996, he spent nearly 11 years at the Valley but made just 68 starts for the club and a further 108 sub appearances, the majority of his time at the club was during their Premier League days, he scored 19 goals.

During his time at the Addicks he spent time out on loan at Gillingham, Reading, QPR, Norwich and Derby, in total he made 24 appearances on loan for the various clubs netting six times.

In August 2007 he signed for Colchester United on a free transfer and scored 17 times in 44 for the U’s, sadly the club were relegated from the Championship but his form alerted Ipswich Town and they spent £600k to bring him along the A12.

His first season with Ipswich he scored 7 in 45 which for the money paid was a poor return and he was loaned out to Colchester for the 09/10 season where he netted 13 in 43 for the club, last season he was loaned to Millwall where he scored 4 times in 22 games.

His first season at Brisbane Road has seen him net 9 in 28 for the club.

Looking around the squad there a few recongisble names with the likes of Dean Leacock, Terrell Forbes, Jimmy Smith, Matt Spring and David Mooney.

Russell Slade has relied heavily on the loan market to bolster his squad with 7 players in from others clubs these are Paul Rachubka (L**ds), Marek Stech (West Ham), Ryan Dickson (Southampton), Soloman Taiwo (Cardiff), Jamal Campbell-Ryce (Bristol C), Adam Reed (Sunderland) and Calvin Andrew (Crystal Palace).

Squad

GK : Jones, Butcher, Stech, Rachubka, Lovelock;
DEF : Ben Youseff, Dickson, Chorley, Cuthbert, Forbes, Cestor, Leacock;
MID : Cox, Reed, McSweeney, Porter, Spring, Jimmy Smith, Jamie Smith, Laird, Odubajo, Taiwo, Campbell-Ryce;
FOR : Lisbie, Mooney, Andrew;

Previous Clashes

Last season the Owls suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat at Brisbane Road, after a goalless first half the Owls were put to the sword in the second period, Ben Chorley fired Orient into the lead from the spot before Harry Kane netted a second, Alex Revell made it three before Scott McGleish rounded off the scoring.

Prior to that you have to go back to the 1991/92 season when League Cup holders Wednesday met Orient in the 2nd round of the competition trying to defend their trophy, the game ended goalless but the O’s were unlucky not to win as Ricky Otto rattled the cross bar.

The last league game prior to last season came in the old 2nd division way back in November 1981 when the O’s demolished Jack Charltons men 3-0 which was the O’s third straight home win over Wednesday.

Wednesday last tasted victory at Brisbane Road in the spring of 1974 when Tommy Craig netted the games only goal in front of a crowd of 9,392.

The first ever meeting between the sides came in the 1920/21 season as then Clapton Orient ran out 1-0 winners, the first Wednesday win came in an FA Cup tie in the 1960/61 season where Keith Ellis and John Fantham secured a 2-0 win in front of 31,000 at Brisbane Road.

This will be the 19th meeting between the sides at Brisbane Road with honours pretty even, Leyton Orient have won 7, the Owls 5 and 6 draws.

Recent Form Guide

Wednesday
Last five : DWWWD
Last five away: 1-1, 1-2, 0-1, 0-0, 2-1

Orient
Last five : DLLWL
Last five home : 1-1, 0-1, 1-3, 1-1, 2-0

Stat Attack

* This is only the 2nd league meeting at Brisbane Road between the clubs in 30 years.

* Chris Bart-Williams was just 17 when he was signed from Orient by the Owls after impressing during a League Cup tie.

* Chris Turner played and managed for both clubs whilst Peter Eustace is amongst both clubs former managers.

* Some “stars” of Wednesdays past who have turned out for Orient include Colin West, Dean disaster Smith, Jimmy Smith, Scott Oakes, Paul Heald, Ken Knighton, Darren Purse and Lloyd Sam.

Final Thoughts?

Wednesday need to get back to winning ways after Tuesdays disappointing draw and a win at Orient would mean the Owls moved back into second with the Blades not playing, it won’t be easy and last year at Orient we got our arses handed to us, we need to make sure we’re up for the battle and the war.

Up the Owls

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