Chelters

I’m a day early but thought I would get this done… Saturday 7th May 1994 FA Carling Premiership Manchester City (home) The 1993/94 season drew to a close with a home game against Manchester City. Wednesday went into the game in 7th place, 3 points ahead of Liverpool but with a vastly superior goal difference, and 2 points behind Wimbledon. The Dons were away to an Everton side needing a win to stay up, so the Owls could finish the season in 6th if they could win and the Toffees could pull off the great escape. City, under the rather dour stewardship of the somewhat unpopular Brian Horton, arrived at Hillsborough at the end of a disappointing season, only 3 points above Everton but with a sufficient goal difference cushion to alleviate any relegation concerns. One of the most significant events of the day actually happened before the match started as the legend that is Roland Nilsson was presented with a gift (the inevitable decanter) by Trevor Francis and Dave Richards. Nilsson had, of course, announced his desire to return to Sweden for his family, a decision that no Wednesdayite could begrudge him really, but was disappointing nevertheless. Francis was typically magnanimous in his programme notes, stating 'I can't help thinking that he's making a terrible mistake'. Lovely words from Trev. Having scored 16 goals in the previous 4 home games (all wins of course), the expectations were high for another goal-fest on a no-pressure final day in front of a bumper crowd. The game was entertaining enough, but it was to prove a frustrating afternoon as far as the goal tally was concerned. Wednesday started the game playing their usual brand of football and were on the front foot from the off. Chances were created, perhaps the best when Gordon Watson flew past two defenders but couldn't find a way past Andy Dibble in the CIty goal. Mark Bright had a header from a corner cleared off the line before City missed a good headed chance at the other end. The Owls continued to make chances and were rewarded with the opening goal after 25 minutes. John Sheridan swung a free kick into the box, which was flicked on for Watson to score at the far post with a neat volley. Unfortunately, Wednesday's inability to hold on to a lead was again in evidence 3 minutes into the second half when the defence (perhaps affected by Des Walker's half-time withdrawal) switched off and allowed Uwe Rosler to head home from a free-kick. There was no let-up though, particularly from Watson, who was buzzing around and causing all sorts of trouble, and once again was thwarted by Dibble after dancing his way into the box. Further chances came and went as Sheridan's powerful free-kick was parried by Dibble, Watson's looping header was just wide and Bright headed over from a driven Bart-Williams cross. The final chance went to Sheridan as he burst into the box and lifted his effort over Dibble only to see it go narrowly wide. So Wednesday were held to a draw and had to settle for 7th place on a day when they would have gone a place higher with a win, after Everton's unlikely comeback against Wimbledon that saw them safe. With Swindon and Oldham also down there was one place left going into the final few minutes of the season. Cue probably the best part of the day for the Hillsborough faithful as Chelsea's Mark Stein entered his name into that small band of players who are Wednesday legends without having played for the club (Carlos Tevez doing the same thing some years later) by scoring a late goal against the Blades to send them down. The Owls were left to reflect on a season that had promised much but delivered relatively little compared to the promotions, Wembley wins and European tours of previous seasons. Injuries to key players like Chris Waddle (already a doubt for the start of the following season), David Hirst, Sheridan, Nigel Pearson and Wothington had not helped but were perhaps a sign of an ageing squad. With Nilsson due to be joined on his way out of the club by other key players over the summer, it's fair to say that we've never had it as good since. We didn't know it at the time but this was the end of an era, with only one top half Premier League finish in the 30 years to follow. Final score : Wednesday 1-1 Man City Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Worthington, Pearce, Walker (Hyde 45), Palmer, Sheridan, Jones, Bart-Williams, Watson, Bright. Unused subs : Jemson, Woods. Man City : Dibble, Edghill, Phelan, Kernaghan, Vonk (Flitcroft 31), Rocastle (Lomas 83), McMahon, Brightwell, Beagrie, Walsh, Rosler. Unused sub : Coton. Attendance : 33,589 So that's it for the 1993/94 season folks. Hope you've enjoyed this dip back into nostalgia and that I've done Cheat, the original founder of this idea, justice in keeping it going. Thanks for reading and I'll be back in August for all the excitement of the 1994/95 season. Cheers for now Chelters

They’ll be moaning in two or three weeks time that we haven’t signed anyone. Heaven forbid any positivity should be allowed to build.

Oh dear look what the WTID podcast guys are selling. I’m not sure I can resist

Thank you Danny Rohl and all the team. And thank you Mr Chansiri for at least partially redeeming some of your previous mistakes. I still can’t quite believe we are definitely playing Championship football next season.

No he hasn’t, it is 4 (one each in the level games and two in the other), I think I should stick to nostalgia.

We would need Sunderland, Plymouth and Birmingham to all score to put us in trouble. If Plymouth or Brum concede they will need two more etc etc So basically at kick off we can relax (ish) as three things need to happen before we worry.

At kick off we will be 3 goals away from being relegated. If Hull or Birmingham concede it becomes 5. Makes it sound a bit less stressful.

Tuesday 3rd May 1994 FA Carling Premiership Leeds United (away) Wednesday made the short trip up the M1 to Leeds for the final away game of the season in a midweek fixture (that I assume must have been rearranged for some reason). With Leeds just a couple of places and 4 points ahead of the Owls, the bragging rights of top club in Yorkshire were at stake if nothing else. There was, of course, another team in Yorkshire in the Premiership but let's just say they weren't exactly in the running for that accolade (and never will be of course). Wednesday kept with the settled team that was finishing the season in such good form, except for an enforced change at right back as Simon Coleman replaced Roland Nilsson. There was a good atmosphere at Elland Road as both sets of fans wanted the win, and Howard Wilkinson was obviously keen to keep up his unbeaten run against the club he had left in 1988. Wednesday played some good, confident football in the first half and were rewarded with a goal in the 20th minute and a lovely goal it was too. Gordon Watson produced a brilliant back heel from the corner of the box into Mark Bright, he squared for Carlton Palmer who in turn had the presence of mind to lay in Chris Bart-WIlliams, who finished confidently past John Lukic. The Owls continued to make chances, mainly for Watson who put one chance over and saw another saved by Lukic. The home side for their part saw a Gary McAllister effort saved by Kevin Pressman but it was Wednesday who were in front at the break. Seven minutes into the second half the lead was extended as John Sheridan played a typically perfectly weighted through ball into Watson. The young striker did well to deal with a knee-high bobble before rounding Lukic and slamming into the net in front of the delighted Wednesdayites. Given the Owls' recent form, it looked like another fine win would be on the cards. Sadly though Wednesday's inability to hold onto leads came back to haunt them as they began to tire and the home side found some impetus. With 19 minutes to go Gordon Strachan's low cross was looped over to the far post by a deflection for the onrushing David White to finish from close range. Leeds were suddenly on the offensive as the home fans got giddy and were level within a few minutes, this time Brian Deane played a lovely flick (he was probably trying to control it) through to Rod Wallace, and the serial Owls tormentor finished despite Pressman getting a touch. The game had completely swung by this point and Wednesday did well to hold on to a point in the end as White, Wallace and McAllister all had further chances. And so the spoils were shared, meaning that, with just one game left, Leeds would take the position as top dogs in Yorkshire for this season. Final score : Leeds 2-2 Wednesday Leeds : Lukic, Kelly, Sharp (White 45), Wetherall, O'Leary, Strachan, Speed (Tinkler 43), Fairclough, McAllister, Wallace, Deane. Unused sub : Beeney Wednesday : Pressman, Coleman, Worthington, Pearce, Walker, Bart-Williams, Jones, Palmer, Sheridan (Hyde 82), Watson, Bright (Jemson 82). Unused sub : Woods Attendance : 33,806

Your first paragraph demonstrates to me that you genuinely don’t get it. Of course the group is not at fault for the actions of one individual and perhaps the word ‘empower’ was the wrong one. However, the group had done a decent job of getting publicity and engagement, and with that comes a level of responsibility and acceptance that what you say will influence others, particularly those that are suggestible and/or desperate for likes on social media. Basically what I’m saying is that you need to understand that the sort of behaviour exhibited by that dad and his lad is an extreme extension of what the group is doing. The group should condemn it if they haven’t already (and apologies if they have) to create a clear distinction and to broadcast to others that that’s not the way to go about it. Your analogy in your last paragraph is not really the right one, I know some have abused the reps of the group, that’s the better parallel. But it still doesn’t quite fit as there is no group getting in peoples faces on social media and at the ground saying ‘Chansiri in’.

Pol V. Objectively it makes no sense but I just can’t help it, in fact I think I might have a bit of a man crush developing.

You may not have had anything to do with it but your actions empower people like that, you must realise that surely.

If we stay up and Rohl gets decent backing in the summer, the protests simply have to stop, simple as that. It’s not a binary argument, as I’ve said before Chansiri is not the best owner in the world or the worst, he’s somewhere in between. Sadly the Chansiri out lot just can’t allow an objective debate to risk their stated position. Having to back down on social media would be the worst thing that could happen to them, even worse than relegation. Geoff if you’re still reading, you used to be a decent poster and yes you were instrumental to this place at one time. Just step back, calm down and look at things rationally, please.

Saturday 30 April 1994 FA Carling Premiership Oldham Athletic (away) Wednesday travelled to Boundary Park on a good run of form, but this had the look of a tricky game at a ground where the Owls tended to struggle and with Oldham desperate for points to avoid relegation. Whilst Wednesday still had some injury problems, they had settled somewhat, meaning it was a side unchanged from the comfortable 5-0 victory over Ipswich. The Latics lined up with SWFC arch nemesis Graeme Sharp up front alongside Sean McCarthy, who had been linked with a switch to Hillsborough earlier in the season. Oldham had been forced to rip up their ever unpopular plastic pitch in recent seasons, but the state of the pitch for this game was such that Wednesday would have probably preferred to have it relaid, as they were faced with an unusually hard and bobbly surface. With Oldham looking to make the game difficult, it was not set up for a vintage performance from the Owls. As expected, the hosts went at it from the off and Wednesday struggled to get any passing going. McCarthy blazed over in the 5th minute when he should have done better, and his strike partner was denied by a sharp stop (see what I did there) from Kevin Pressman, a save which drew high praise from Joe Royle after the game. A scrappy first half ended goalless. Wednesday did improve a bit in the second half and carved out a couple of chances, with Chris Bart-WIlliams forcing a save from home keeper Paul Gerrard, followed by Andy Pearce's header being clutched at the second attempt by the England Under-21 custodian. Midway through the second half Trevor Francis - in his own words - 'gave up' trying to play any football and replaced Bart-Williams and John Sheridan with Nigel Jemson and Graham Hyde. It didn't really make much difference as the remainder of the game was played out in a similarly turgid style, with Oldham almost getting a vital win when McCarthy's shot bounced back off the post. Craig Fleming blocked from Nigel Worthington late on but, in truth, neither side really deserved to take the three points and Wednesday were probably happy to end the game relatively unscathed. A point was not really good enough for the Latics, who were to find themselves relegated a week later and have not got anywhere near being back in the top flight since. For Wednesday it was a rather unenjoyable day on the pitch, but a slightly more entertaining one off it with some away day fancy dress and the showering of Gordon Watson with daffodils (if anyone knows why, please let me know). Final score : Oldham 0-0 Wednesday Oldham : Gerrard, Makin, Pointon, Fleming, Jobson, Bernard (Beckford 64), Holden, Henry, Milligan, McCarthy, Sharp. Unused subs : Redmond, Hallworth Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Worthington, Pearce, Walker, Bart-WIlliams (Jemson 68), Jones, Sheridan (Hyde 68), Palmer, Watson, Bright. Unused sub : Woods Attendance : 12,967

The notion that he wanted us to pay ‘his’ tax bill basically tells you all you need to know about these ignorant bastards. Not just stupid, but wilfully so and proud of it. No point trying to reason with them as they literally don’t have the mental capacity to take on an alternative point of view. I would try and point out the raging hypocrisy of complaining about him asking us to pitch in but then suggesting it’s our club not his. But they won’t get it, I’d have to explain what hypocrisy is, by the time I got round to explaining the word ‘of’ I’d have given up.

That’s all social media related too imo. People get used to acting like pricks online with no sanction so they think they can do it in the real world as well.

Imagine if we complete the great escape then Chansiri takes his ball home because of behaviour like this. We go into admin and start next season with a points deduction. Not saying it will happen but there are quite a few of our fans who would actually be happy with that I reckon.

The day phones got video capability was the day society went to shit. Cant imagine someone lugging a camcorder to the ground to insult Dave Richards then playing the video out of his front window for people to see.

Looking at our, Plymouth and Brum’s results next week, there are 27 permutations. Only 1 results in us going down.

Saturday 23 April 1994 FA Carling Premiership Ipswich Town (home) Despite the rather flat performance at Coventry in the previous game, Wednesday were still riding (relatively) high in 6th place but with any outside chance of Europe now pretty much extinguished. They welcomed to Hillsborough a struggling Ipswich side who were a few places above the relegation zone but still very much in trouble. Earlier in the season the Owls had recorded an impressive 4-1 win at Portman Road, kickstarting a run of form that lifted them from the relegation zone to the top half. It was a beautiful April afternoon at Hillsborough and, with no real pressure on the game for Wednesday but some impressive recent form (particularly at home) it was set up for an enjoyable game, and it certainly proved to the case, but only for Wednesdayites. The match was just 6 minutes old when the Owls took the lead. Nigel Worthington found space on the left and drifted a cross into the box, the ball eluded the Wednesday strikers but was then inexplicably headed into the top corner by David Linighan for an own goal. The Linighan family had a strange relationship with the Owls, with Andy of course scoring that FA Cup goal but also having scored an own goal himself at Hillsborough in his Norwich days, and younger brothers Brian and John in the Wednesday setup. Ipswich were clearly struggling and it took just 10 more minutes for Wednesday to make it two as a lovely ball behind the defence from Ryan Jones was slotted in first time by Gordon Watson. The game looked already done and Wednesday continued to pour forward, with only some missed chances and stubborn goalkeeping by Craig Forrest keeping the score down. Mark Bright could have had a first half hat-trick but didn't manage to convert any of the chances whilst Carlton Palmer was unlucky to not find an Owls shirt with his cutback after rounding the keeper. Ipswich had one chance when Kevin Pressman saved from Ian Marshall, but the Tractor Boys could consider themselves fortunate to be only two down at the break. Unlike the previous home game against QPR, there was no let up in the second half. In the 56th minute, John Sheridan's free kick was flicked on for Andy Pearce to head home in front of a delighted Kop. With 20 minutes to go Worthington was again the provider as his cross was headed home at the near post by Chris Bart-Williams for the fourth. All the goals were being celebrated by the home crowd in that laid-back, polite end of season way that a crowd has when their team is knocking it about nicely in a no-pressure game. There was still time for a fifth in injury time, Graham Hyde did all the hard work as his first effort was saved, his second looped onto the crossbar and Mark Bright hammered the ball in from close range. Then the house was almost brought down by a Des Walker goal but he just failed to connect from close range. It would have marked a great season for the ever-present England defender who had just been crowned the Supporters' Player of the Year. Ipswich were shellshocked and getting deeper in trouble, whilst Wednesday made it 16 goals in four home games and elevated them, for now at least, to the position of top home scorers in the Premiership. Final score : Wednesday 5-0 Ipswich Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Worthington, Pearce, Walker, Bart-Williams, Jones, Sheridan (Hyde 84), Palmer, Watson (Jemson 84), Bright. Unused sub : Woods Ipswich : Forrest, Stockwell, Johnson, Linighan, Wark, Palmer, Slater, Williams (Yallop 66), Milton (Guentchev 60), Kiwomya, Marshall. Unused sub : Barker Attendance : 23,475

RIP, always sad to lose a true Owl

Weird isn’t that when the big clubs complain about playing too many games they always blame the domestic programme rather than the European one. There must be some reason I’m sure, can’t quite put my finger on it…..

I saw an article in WSC at the time of the enquiry suggesting those who blamed Liverpool fans were akin to holocaust deniers, so I think we’re already there.

Long day….

Saturday 16 April 2024 FA Carling Premiership Coventry City (away) With an outside chance of Europe still on the cards, Wednesday's late season form - coupled with scoring more than a few goals as well - meant that the entertainment value was still high enough going into the last few games of the season. Unfortunately, up next were the distinctly un-entertaining Coventry City. Not only had they ground out a completely forgettable 0-0 at Hillsborough back in November, but they had also become Wednesday's bogey team, with just 1 win in the last 13 league fixtures. The Owls squad had been buoyed by deserved international recognition for the first time for Kevin Pressman and Chris Bart-Williams, both of whom had been called up to an England training camp, and Ryan Jones, called up into the Wales squad. With the injury situation easing (or at least not getting any worse) it was a pretty settled side that travelled to Highfield Road. But, with depressing predictability, the Owls fell completely flat in a first half that was one of their worst 45 minute spells of the season. Pressman was the busier of the two keepers (former Hillsborough scorer Steve Ogrizovic being the other) and it was no real surprise when the Sky Blues went in front on 26 minutes. However, there was more than an air of controversy about it as Roland Nilsson's offending tackle on Peter Ndlovu looked distinctly outside the area. The referee was convinced though, and Ndlovu confidently slotted the spot kick into the bottom corner. Just before half time Pressman made a magnificent save, tipping Sean Flynn's header onto the bar. And just after the interval, Flynn was again denied as Pressman saved at his feet. This gave the Owls the opportunity to grab an equaliser and it was an excellent goal. A free kick from 25 yards was teed up for Jones, and he curled the ball beautifully into the top corner. Unfortunately, it was hard for the watching public on Match of the Day to appreciate that evening as the goal was missed by the official cameraman going off for a piss...er, sorry, I mean 'technical issues'. What had been a pretty poor game improved towards the end with Pressman making a couple more good saves and John Sheridan going close with a shot that whistled just wide. In truth though, a point was probably the most Wednesday deserved in a bit of a disjointed performance. Once again the Owls had failed to down the frustrating Sky Blues - who for once were mid-table rather than struggling at the bottom - and that faint hope of Europe became that bit fainter. Final score : Coventry 1-1 Wednesday Coventry : Ogrizovic, Borrows, Morgan, Atherton, Babb, Darby, Jenkinson, Rennie, Boland, Flynn, Ndlovu. Unused subs : Pickering, Quinn, Gould Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson (Coleman 89), Worthington, Pearce, Walker, Palmer, Jones, Sheridan, Hyde, Bart-Williams (Watson 53), Bright. Unused sub : Woods Attendance : 13,013

It’s common to have memorials in the place where tragic events took place, and also in a place where those who lost their lives were from. But having a memorial in Nottingham, sorry I’m not having that. I’m sure some of their fans were affected in a way but that doesn’t mean you put a memorial up. Almost feels a bit voyeuristic actually. There were plenty of people from Sheffield there as neutrals who were worse affected and whose stories have never really been told (like a fairly distant family member of mine who was policing on the Lepp and never got over it).