Chelters

Wednesday 9 February 1994 FA Cup Fourth Round Replay Chelsea (home) After a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge in the original tie, Wednesday would have been fancying their chances in the replay at Hillsborough 11 days later. The visitors were not exactly pulling up any trees in the Premiership, being as near to the bottom as in-form Wednesday were to the top. There was certainly a distinct feeling that the hard work had already been done and – coupled with the fact that they had reached both cup-finals the previous season and were still progressing well in the League Cup - a place in the Fifth Round seemed somewhat of a formality. The Owls were without the injured Ryan Jones, but were able to welcome back Andy Sinton to compensate. There was some even better news on the bench where Chris Waddle returned after a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Other than that, it was an unchanged side from the team that had won at White Hart Lane at the weekend. The start of the game did not exactly go to plan however. After just 7 minutes Gavin Peacock cleverly controlled a high ball and then bicycle kicked an assist to John Spencer to sweep the ball home. Thankfully, this spurred Wednesday into some sort of action after a sluggish start. Firstly Andy Pearce was somewhat surprisingly chosen to take a free kick on the edge of the area, but was closer than anyone would have expected with a fierce drive that flew just over. Further chances were created for Gordon Watson and Mark Bright with no reward but it was the latter who was to get the Owls level before half time. A corner from Sinton caused chaos in the visitors’ defence and, after Chris Bart-Williams had beaten Chelsea keeper Dimitri Kharine to the ball, Bright was on hand to shoot low left-footed through the crowd of bodes and into the net. Wednesdayites would now have felt confident that their side could go on and win the tie with ease, but the second half proved to be a lot of huff and puff with not much to show for it. There were a couple of penalty shouts but the game got to 90 minutes with the scores still level. Extra time proved to be a massive disappointment as Chelsea’s energetic side picked Wednesday off with surprising ease. The Owls’ tormentor on the night was Peacock, who was on hand to calmly slot home from a Mark Stein knock-down. And, with 5 minutes to go, Peacock was again the provider as Wednesday were caught on the break, his run and pass being finished by Craig Burley, who celebrated in front of the away fans with David Hopkin, the two of them looking like they had been smashed in the mouth by the same scaffolding pole. Thus ended a surprisingly disappointing night as Wednesday lost a Cup game away from Wembley for the first time in two years. It wasn’t exactly time to concentrate on the League though as next up were the two legs of the League Cup semi final against a certain Manchester United. Final score : Wednesday 1-3 Chelsea Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Coleman, Pearce, Walker, Bart-Williams, Sinton, Hyde, Palmer, Watson (Waddle 74), Bright. Unused subs : Poric, Woods Chelsea : Kharine, Clarke, Myers (Hopkin 97), Johnsen, Sinclair, Burley, Barnard, Newton, Peacock, Spencer (Kjeldbjerg 113), Stein. Unused sub : Hitchcock Attendance : 26,114

As with all good times, it seemed like it would last forever. But the first signs of decline were arguably already creeping in with players like Hirsr, Waddle, Worthington, Pearson and Sheridan all struggling with injuries.

Re: the ref, 7 fouls against us in the first half, 1 against them. Despite even possession. Statistically would suggest a somewhat biased approach.

Feels like we need this after yesterday so posting a day early…… Saturday 5 February 1994 FA Carling Premiership Tottenham Hotspur (away) For the fifth time in just over a month, Wednesday travelled down to the capital, this time to take on a struggling Tottenham side that was on a poor run and had sunk to 16th in the table. The return fixture had been played only a month earlier, with the Owls edging it 1-0 in tricky conditions but Spurs showing a willingness to play attacking football. Could we complete the double? It was a gruelling schedule for Wednesday, this being their ninth game of 1994 already, and with injuries still restricting Trevor Francis’s options, there was not much scope for shuffling the pack – not that that was really the done thing back in the 90s anyway. There was some positive news on the injury front though as top scorer Mark Bright returned to the side from his celebratory groin injury. Nigel Jemson was the player to drop out as Gordon Watson kept his place up front and, with David Hirst on the bench for the second game running, Jemmo missed out entirely. There was also a new name on the bench in youngster Lee Briscoe. The hosts had brought in a couple of players to try and improve their declining form : Israeli striker Ronny Rosenthal arrived from Liverpool and experienced defender Kevin Scott made the move south after over 200 games for Newcastle. Unfortunately for Scott, he was to come up against one of the division’s in-form strikers…. Wednesday took the lead after just 17 minutes. Chris Bart-Williams swung in a free kick from the left, and the ball was flicked on to Simon Coleman who crashed in a close range volley for his first (and, as it turned out, only) goal for the club. After a relatively quiet first period, the game burst into life in the second half. 9 minutes after the restart the Owls doubled their lead from a controversial moment. Graham Hyde was given plenty of time to float a ball into the box towards Bright and, as he challenged for the ball, Ian Walker came to catch it and collided with Dean Austin. The future England keeper spilled the ball as a result and Bright prodded into the empty net. The home players and fans were not happy but, in truth, it seemed that Walker’s ambitious attempt to get the ball had caused the problem as Austin lied injured in the area and the away fans celebrated. Eight minutes later and another goal arrived. Tottenham gave the ball away with a slack pass which allowed Carlton Palmer to burst into the box but his shot was blocked. Vinny Samways then carelessly gave it away in his own area to Bart-Williams, he burst through and squared low for Bright to tap in from close range (his 17th of the season already). It was a farcical goal from a Spurs perspective and led to Samways being booed by his own fans. He fully deserved it as well after crocking Ryan Jones with an awful tackle that led to Briscoe coming on for his debut. Jones, who had been in great form, sadly never really recovered and joined the list of ‘what might have been’ Wednesday players whilst Samways joined the likes of Gary Bennett and Steve Bould in the list of villains. Anyway, back to the game, and at 3-0 down Spurs suddenly decided to wake up. Whether this was a reaction to their owns fans getting on their back, or a bit of freedom when the game seemed lost was up for debate but they got a goal back within five minutes. Kevin Pressman had already made a smart save from the debutant Rosenthal but was powerless to stop his firm header into the top corner from Darren Anderton’s corner. Anderton started causing Wednesday no end of problems as more chances arrived for the home side. Pressman made another great save from Rosenthal, this time a close range header, then made possibly the save of the season as he turned Steve Sedgley’s powerful close range effort over the bar. There was also time for another cracking save from Nick Barmby’s header before Des Walker cleared off the line from Anderton. It was a hectic period for the Owls to survive but they rode it out and held on for a decent win, even it wasn’t a vintage performance. It was a win that lifted the Owls to 6th in the table, pretty impressive considering they were struggling in the bottom three just three months earlier. It was now time to focus attention on the Cup competitions next, with an FA Cup replay against Chelsea to be followed by the two-legged League Cup semi-final against Manchester United. Final score : Tottenham 1-3 Wednesday Tottenham : Walker, Austin, Edinburgh, Nethercott, Scott, Anderton, Caskey (Gray 60), Sedgley, Samways, Barmby, Rosenthal. Unused subs : Campbell, Day Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Coleman, Pearce, Walker, Bart-Williams, Jones (Briscoe 46), Hyde, Palmer, Watson (Hirst 58), Bright. Unused sub : Woods Attendance : 23,078

Interesting comment from DR about us not being ‘fresh enough’. Did we need to rearrange the Watford game for last week? No other Championship games were played on Wednesday. Easy to say in hindsight but maybe, knowing how big a game yesterday was going to be, it wasn’t the ideal preparation.

Rohl is a young coach and still learning his trade. He’s a damn site better than what we had before but that doesn’t mean he’s immune to making mistakes. We seem to have slipped back to a common failing of the last two decades in lacking physicality in midfield. We all thought Momo was the answer but maybe not. As others have said Vaulks has to come back in.

The fact he got taken out by a Hudds player when trying to recover didn’t help.

That’s a hammer blow today. Starting to lose games to nil again is worrying. Just got to take it on the chin and move on but unfortunately it gives a big dose of ammo to the protestors.

Just noticed Huddersfield have Pearson and Worthington in charge today, made me do a bit of a double take.

Welcome all you newbies. If you need an antidote to all the nonsense I suggest you relax with a cuppa and acquaint yourselves with the 30 years ago thread…..

The other thing that bugs me is that they make out that we are some sort of crisis club like Reading or Wigan. I totally understand, and in some respects agree, with the criticism levelled at DC but in the grand scheme of things we are not in the worst position. Certainly nowhere near what Reading are suffering. If we started laying people off, fire selling players etc then it would be time for action. But, as I’ve said before, it feels a bit like my kids getting pissed off with me and trying to force me out of the house. Good luck with that.

“I want you to sell at a loss to a new owner who will spend millions to make sure I can enjoy my Saturday afternoons more” Thats basically what this amounts to when you think about it.

Pedersen is in the Pudil mould. Strong, experienced and a nasty bastard when needed. He’ll do for me.

Well if I’m still doing this in 2070 I’ll have had a pretty good innings. I’ll barely be able to see the laptop by then, let alone prepare a legible post.

Nicholas Mickelson, right back from Odense. Apparently Att has followed him on Insta, might be bollocks.

According to a Rovers fan I know he’s been a bit lazy this season, blowing hot and cold.

Saturday 29 January 1994 FA Cup Fourth Round Chelsea (away) Having successfully navigated a tricky Third Round tie against Nottingham Forest, the Owls found themselves facing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. FA Cup Fourth Round day was still an exciting time, with the vast majority of games kicking off at 3pm on a Saturday and the Fifth Round a very enticing prospect. Wednesday had already visited this particular part of West London earlier in the season, picking up their first goal of the campaign in a 1-1 draw (the pull of the FA Cup saw an increase in attendance of nearly 10,000 on that game). In fact, Stamford Bridge had been a decent place to visit in recent times, with three consecutive wins prior to that early September outing. This was not a vintage Chelsea side, as they were struggling towards the wrong end of the table under the managership of Glenn Hoddle. These were the days, of course, before the, ahem, questionably sourced Russian money had found its way in and the stadium itself was not exactly the modern football tourist trap that it is today. With Wednesday in form and progressing well on all fronts, an away win seemed a distinctly possible outcome – despite a disappointing defeat at Wimbledon last time the Owls had visited the capital. Wednesday, lining up once again in the white and black third strip for no particular reason, made a couple of changes to the team that had stuffed the Blades last time out. With Andy Sinton and Mark Bright missing through injury – the latter having injured his groin whilst celebrating his goal against United with Gordon Watson (I kid you not) – Chris Bart-Williams and Nigel Jemson returned to the starting line-up. There was a big surprise on the bench as David Hirst returned from his extended layoff with a heel injury, and Julian Watts also appeared for the first time this season. For their part Chelsea started with future Owls legend Mark Stein up front, partnering a young Neil Shipperley. However, it was the now Scotland manager Steve Clarke who inspired his side to the opening goal after just 14 minutes, rampaging down the right before playing in Gavin Peacock to finish past Kevin Pressman. Wednesday were not really at their best, and could have fallen further behind when Pressman had to be sharp to save from Shipperley. But they did manage to get into the game a bit before half time with a couple of chances for Gordon Watson. In fact, the closest the Owls came to scoring in the half occurred when Dimitri Kharine had to head an Andy Myers back-pass off his own line. Into the second half, Wednesday were starting to see more of the ball but just didn’t look like making a breakthrough. Trevor Francis decided on the hour mark it was time to reintroduce Hirsty to the action, but it was Ryan Jones who went off rather than Watson or Jemson, meaning a front three was the order of the day. It took just three minutes after the substitution for the equaliser to arrive, and it arrived from the shin of Graham Hyde. Again a right back was the provider as Roland Nilsson sent in a low cross which Hyde met as Nigel Spackman closed in, not the greatest connection but the ball ended up in the back of the net. At this point there looked to be only one winner, and Hirst almost scored with a typical turn and shot that was blocked by Kharine. There was to be no further change in the scoreline though, so it was another 1-1 draw as Wednesday took the Londoners back to Hillsborough for the replay, and were probably the happier of the two sides with the result. Final score : Chelsea 1-1 Wednesday Chelsea : Kharine, Clarke, Myers, Johnsen, Sinclair, Burley, Hopkin, Peacock, Spackman, Stein, Shipperley (Spencer 65). Unused subs : Donaghy, Hitchcock Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Coleman, Pearce, Walker, Bart-Williams, Jones (Hirst 60), Hyde, Palmer, Jemson, Watson. Unused subs : Watts, Woods Attendance : 26,094

I hate to say it but the sanctimony of Cov fans given their recent issue is making my piss boil. Definitely getting the impression that some of them are using the vile behaviour of a couple of our fans to deflect from the vile behaviour of a couple of theirs.

No one should be criticised because of their skin colour. No one should be immune from criticism because of their skin colour. That’s it really.

You’d be forgiven for thinking he’s died.

Except he was somehow right quite a lot wasn’t he?

In the old days we listened to experts and were well informed. Now everyone listens to the person with the most followers, and surprise surprise crap information just spreads and spreads. It’s like getting the weather forecast from a bloke waving a stick in the air.

Saturday 22 January 1994 FA Carling Premiership Sheffield United (home) We all know what happened with this one, right? Do you really want me to talk you through it? Oh, go on then..... Wednesday arrived at the big game with the Blades on the back of a busy schedule and a frustrating injury list. The form had been good, with just 2 defeats in 23 games in all competitions, including recent advancements in both the FA and League Cups. Our visitors were not in the greatest of form and were struggling at the wrong end of the table. Their style of football under Dave Bassett was, er, pragmatic, but had had the better of recent League encounters, with the Owls failing to register a win in 5 meetings since being promoted back to the top flight in 1991. In all those games Wednesday had struggled to make their clear footballing superiority count and let United make it a scrap. Thankfully, of course, in the big game at Wembley in 1993 the quality had shone through, and a repeat of this was definitely needed if the Owls wanted to continue their push up the table. There was good news on the teamsheet as Roland Nilsson returned at right back, replacing Brian Linighan. Simon Coleman came back in at left back, allowing Andy Sinton to play further forward as Chris Bart-Williams dropped to the bench. A bumper crowd of nearly 35,000 included Wednesdayites in the Lower Lepp, and it was they who would need to suck the ball in the net in the second half as the Owls were ‘turned’ at kick-off, playing towards the Kop in the first half. The opening interval was typical harum-scarum stuff with both sides having half chances but a goal not forthcoming. Wednesday’s best effort was probably a low drive from Graham Hyde that bounced awkwardly in front of Alan Kelly but was palmed away. United’s closest effort arose when Andy Scott latched onto a short back pass and lobbed Kevin Pressman, but Andy Pearce was there to clear away. With no goals in the first half, Wednesday were hoping it was not going to be another inspired display from Kelly, but the second half was to prove a different story. Just before the hour mark the deadlock was finally broken. Carlton Palmer chased down a loose ball into the right hand corner. His low cross was controlled by Gordon Watson with his back to goal. He laid it back to Nilsson whose left foot shot was parried by Kelly, but only straight to Mark Bright who had the simple task of tapping into the empty net as the Blades defenders appealed in vain for offside. The goal finally opened the floodgates, and a 12 minute spell followed to live long in the hearts and minds of Wednesdayites. First Sinton’s deep corner was headed emphatically in by goal-machine Pearce for his third in three games. A few minutes later, Pressman’s long ball forward caught out the Blades defence as Watson chased it down, knocked the ball over Kelly and headed into the empty net before the ball could bounce out. He just managed to stop himself from going over the hoardings and was treated to a firm handshake from a fan in reward. The home fans were now getting the rare chance to actually enjoy a derby game and were understandably hoping for at least a repeat of the Boxing Day massacre as the Owls threatened to run riot. Watson had the best chance to make it four as but Kelly saved one-on-one. Annoyingly it was the Blades who were to get the final goal of the game as Dane Whitehouse smashed home a penalty after Scott was fouled in the box. Even more annoyingly this means that Whitehouse still holds the honour of being the last player to score in a top flight Sheffield derby. No one really cared on the day though, as Wednesday lifted themselves to seventh in the table and, having once again shown their quality with a scoreline to match, there could be no doubt as to which team held the bragging rights – and for several years to come too as we all know what happened to the Blades at the end of the season. Final score : Wednesday 3-1 United Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Coleman, Pearce, Walker, Sinton (Bart-Williams 84), Jones, Hyde, Palmer, Watson, Bright. Unused subs : Jemson, Woods United : Kelly, Bradshaw, Beesley, Tuttle, Hoyland (Nilsen 85), Ward, Whitehouse, Hodges, Kamara, Scott, Flo. Unused subs : Cork, Bibbo (yep, our current goalkeeping coach) Attendance : 34,959

Wasn’t expecting any points from these two games to be honest. On form we have played possibly the two best teams in the league. We need to step it up again after the FA Cup game for sure.

Every player has a price. And I would suggest £1m is more than the price in this case.