30 years ago

[Chelters]

It wasn’t exactly a full on Glaswegian kiss but more than a push. Watching the highlights back Des had been a bit wound up with the ref and a couple of incidents before that - but still very out of character. 

[Tank_Owl2,0]

There are long-ish highlights of the game on YouTube 

Just watching it again reminds me how far off PL quality Nolan was.

[Chelters]

Saturday 22 October 1994

FA Carling Premiership

Newcastle United (away)

 

After consecutive league wins for the first time in the season, the Owls travelled to St James's Park with a bit of renewed confidence. But this was a very good Newcastle side, who had started the season unbeaten and, despite it only being their second season after promotion, were starting to look like genuine title challengers under Kevin Keegan. Although this was before the signings of Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand, the Magpies nevertheless had a fearsome striker in the form of a pre-Andrew Andy Cole.

 

Wednesday made two changes to the team that had beaten Manchester United and Ipswich. Ian Taylor deservedly got a spot after an impressive substitute display at Ipswich and Andy Sinton also returned. Chris Bart-Williams and Lee Briscoe were the two players to drop out. The home team included striker Paul Kitson - recently signed from Derby - up front with Cole for his full home debut.

 

The first half was relatively quiet with Wednesday holding their own. Midway through the half Kevin Pressman took a novel approach to taking an opponent out of the game by slamming a clearance straight into the face of Kitson, who had to be substituted. Say what you like about Kev, but when he wellied a ball it stayed welled and you certainly wouldn't want one of his piledrivers in the mush. Unfortunately, the Owls had their own injury issue a few minutes afterwards as David Hirst left the field with a knee injury to be replaced by Bart-Willams.

 

Wednesday's good first half was unfortunately undone in a nightmare spell ten minutes before the break. Firstly, Steve Watson put the home side ahead as his powerful shot from the area deflected off Philippe Albert and flew past Pressman (Watson was credited with the goal). Then, just two minutes later, Pressman unwisely chased a ball wide of the area, his sliding challenge wasn't too effective, allowing Scott Sellars to float over a long cross that Cole volleyed in to the unguarded net as the Wednesday defenders collectively watched it sail over them.

 

It was harsh on the Owls for their first half display but a lesson in how a bit of good fortune can be ruthlessly taken advantage of by a good team. However, Wednesday kept at it and, rather than letting the game run away from them, went for it in the second half.

 

Ten minutes into the half, Graham Hyde got a cross in that was headed towards goal by Mark Bright. Pavel Srnicek (RIP) in the Newcastle goal could only parry it - when he probably should have done better - and Taylor reacted quickly to poke it into the net. From there on in it was the away side who looked more likely to score and made several chances. The best arrived at the feet of substitute Dan Petrescu but, when put through on goal by John Sheridan, he decided to try a chip which floated harmlessly into the arms of Srnicek.

 

After the game, the Newcastle manager and players were complimentary about Wednesday's efforts (easy to be generous when you've won of course). So although the winning run was over perhaps it was one of those games to still try and take the positives from. 

 

Final score : Newcastle 2-1 Wednesday

 

Newcastle : Srnicek, Hottiger, Beresford, Peacock, Albert, Fox, Watson, Beardsley, Sellars, Kitson (Clark 22), Cole. Unused subs : Mathie, Hooper

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton (Petrescu 65), Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Taylor, Hyde, Sheridan, Sinton, Hirst (Bart-Williams 29), Bright. Unused sub : Key

 

Attendance : 34,408

[mkowl]

It is perhaps the continuing evidence of Wednesday being past peak, a combination of how the replacement players were not to the same level, but other sides like Newcastle were overtaking us. 

Suspect the Wednesday board were more focused on the South Stand and stadium upgrade than that on the pitch. 

 

[HoylandOwl]

On 16/10/2024 at 21:37, Tank_Owl2,0 said:

There are long-ish highlights of the game on YouTube 

Just watching it again reminds me how far off PL quality Nolan was.

IIRC… Reesh loved Ian Nolan….

(puts tin hat on)…

[Beaconowl]

12 hours ago, Chelters said:

Saturday 22 October 1994

FA Carling Premiership

Newcastle United (away)

 

After consecutive league wins for the first time in the season, the Owls travelled to St James's Park with a bit of renewed confidence. But this was a very good Newcastle side, who had started the season unbeaten and, despite it only being their second season after promotion, were starting to look like genuine title challengers under Kevin Keegan. Although this was before the signings of Alan Shearer and Les Ferdinand, the Magpies nevertheless had a fearsome striker in the form of a pre-Andrew Andy Cole.

 

Wednesday made two changes to the team that had beaten Manchester United and Ipswich. Ian Taylor deservedly got a spot after an impressive substitute display at Ipswich and Andy Sinton also returned. Chris Bart-Williams and Lee Briscoe were the two players to drop out. The home team included striker Paul Kitson - recently signed from Derby - up front with Cole for his full home debut.

 

The first half was relatively quiet with Wednesday holding their own. Midway through the half Kevin Pressman took a novel approach to taking an opponent out of the game by slamming a clearance straight into the face of Kitson, who had to be substituted. Say what you like about Kev, but when he wellied a ball it stayed welled and you certainly wouldn't want one of his piledrivers in the mush. Unfortunately, the Owls had their own injury issue a few minutes afterwards as David Hirst left the field with a knee injury to be replaced by Bart-Willams.

 

Wednesday's good first half was unfortunately undone in a nightmare spell ten minutes before the break. Firstly, Steve Watson put the home side ahead as his powerful shot from the area deflected off Philippe Albert and flew past Pressman (Watson was credited with the goal). Then, just two minutes later, Pressman unwisely chased a ball wide of the area, his sliding challenge wasn't too effective, allowing Scott Sellars to float over a long cross that Cole volleyed in to the unguarded net as the Wednesday defenders collectively watched it sail over them.

 

It was harsh on the Owls for their first half display but a lesson in how a bit of good fortune can be ruthlessly taken advantage of by a good team. However, Wednesday kept at it and, rather than letting the game run away from them, went for it in the second half.

 

Ten minutes into the half, Graham Hyde got a cross in that was headed towards goal by Mark Bright. Pavel Srnicek (RIP) in the Newcastle goal could only parry it - when he probably should have done better - and Taylor reacted quickly to poke it into the net. From there on in it was the away side who looked more likely to score and made several chances. The best arrived at the feet of substitute Dan Petrescu but, when put through on goal by John Sheridan, he decided to try a chip which floated harmlessly into the arms of Srnicek.

 

After the game, the Newcastle manager and players were complimentary about Wednesday's efforts (easy to be generous when you've won of course). So although the winning run was over perhaps it was one of those games to still try and take the positives from. 

 

Final score : Newcastle 2-1 Wednesday

 

Newcastle : Srnicek, Hottiger, Beresford, Peacock, Albert, Fox, Watson, Beardsley, Sellars, Kitson (Clark 22), Cole. Unused subs : Mathie, Hooper

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton (Petrescu 65), Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Taylor, Hyde, Sheridan, Sinton, Hirst (Bart-Williams 29), Bright. Unused sub : Key

 

Attendance : 34,408

I dont remember the unused sub for us

[HoylandOwl]

57 minutes ago, Beaconowl said:

I dont remember the unused sub for us

Lance Key? Keeper. 

[Beaconowl]

1 minute ago, HoylandOwl said:

Lance Key? Keeper. 

No recollection of him, Tee 

[Chelters]

Yep Lance Key. I can’t recall at this point why he was on the bench ahead of Woods. 

[Andyben]

On 22/10/2024 at 21:38, Chelters said:

Yep Lance Key. I can’t recall at this point why he was on the bench ahead of Woods. 

Oh I can...😂 

[HoylandOwl]

On 22/10/2024 at 20:44, Beaconowl said:

No recollection of him, Tee 

He hardly played mate. Looked like we’d ordered Chris Woods from Temu, IIRC. I mean looks wise not keeping ability. 
 

[Chelters]

Wednesday 26 October 1994

Coca-Cola Cup 3rd Round

Southampton (home)

 

After coming through a tricky second round tie over two legs against Bradford, the Owls were rewarded with a somewhat less than glamorous home tie against Southampton. To be honest, this is one of those games that I think everyone has completely forgotten about, but I'll try to keep you vaguely interested.....

 

Wednesday were forced to make one change from the decent performance, albeit in defeat, at Newcastle, with Chris Bart-Williams replacing the injured David Hirst up front. There was a bit of a surprise on the bench, with youngster Matthew Hardwick appearing in the squad for the first time, although he wasn't to get on the pitch. The Saints had some familiar names in their lineup, not least goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar, sporting a colourful mask in order to disguise himself from the authorities (actually he might have had a facial injury, who knows). 

 

The first half was apparently completely devoid of any event so we can just talk about the second half. Just five minutes in Wednesday took the lead. John Sheridan, as always, played a lovely pass to set Andy Sinton through, but he was a little slow and allowed Francis Benali to get in a tackle. Thankfully the ball broke kindly for Bart-Williams, who made no mistake in sweeping the ball into the Kop net.

 

Much of the rest of the game was spent seeing the Owls create and waste several good opportunities. The closest to a goal was a magnificent solo effort from Andy Pearce (yes, you did read that right) who waltzed past two defenders before hitting a low shot that beat Grobbelaar but came back off the post. Bart-Williams, SInton and Mark Bright all missed good chances to seal the game but finished poorly. Thankfully at the other end Southampton were just as bad when they did manage to create a couple of chances, both of which were spurned by Matt Le Tissier.

 

Wednesday were by far the better side and should have won by more but did enough to get through, and as the programme neatly put it 'the Saints go marching out'.

 

Final score : Wednesday 1-0 Southampton

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Taylor, Hyde, Sheridan, Sinton, Bart-Williams, Bright. Unused subs : Petrescu, Hardwick, Key

 

Southampton : Grobbelaar, Kenna, Benali (Charlton 76), Hall, Monkou, Magilton, Maddison, Allen, Le Tissier, Ekelund (Heaney 76), Dowie. Unused sub : Beasant

 

[Chelters]

Saturday 29 October 1994

FA Carling Premiership

Chelsea (home)

 

After some improved showings in recent games, which had not necessarily turned themselves into many goals, the Owls welcomed Chelsea to Hillsborough. It was actually the Blues' third visit in 1994, having won 3-1 to dump Wednesday out of the FA Cup but then lost by the same score in the Premiership. The visitors were missing quite a few players through injury , but had started the season reasonably well and were sitting in seventh place.

 

Wednesday were without David Hirst after he had left the field at Newcastle with a knee injury, and unfortunately it had turned out that he needed surgery so would probably be out for a while. Chris Bart-Williams therefore continued up front, meaning the Owls were unchanged from the team that had beaten Southampton in the League Cup in the week.

 

Chelsea were sporting a notoriously crap away kit that is quite hard to describe. The main colour of the shirt was grey with a sort of pebble dash effect, then light grey and dark grey stripes above the Coors logo, and bright orange bands over each shoulder, then bright orange shorts and socks. Even in the '90s when away kits in particular were often a bit weird, it was especially strange but I believe has become sought after in a retro kind of way in more recent years.

 

Anyway, back to the game and it was a familiar tale in many ways. The first half was relatively quiet, but with Wednesday generally being on top. However, 5 minutes before the break the visitors took the lead against the run of play. David Hopkin got to the byeline down the right and hit a cross towards the penalty spot. It was behind Dennis Wise but the diminutive winger executed a perfect overhead kick to send the ball past a helpless Kevin Pressman and into the Kop net.

 

It was a shock but Wednesday had the perfect chance to equalise 4 minutes into the second half. Ian Taylor got the ball in the box and was needlessly shoved two-handed by Eddie Newton. Although Taylor stayed on his feet, it was a clear penalty and Mike Reed pointed to the spot. John Sheridan stepped up and put his spot kick low to Dimitri Kharine's left but unfortunately the Chelsea keeper guessed the right way and palmed it away. In his defence, Shez had picked up a knock in the first half that was eventually to force him off.

 

The Owls kept pressing and made several chances, just as they had done in previous games. Shortly after the missed penalty Ian Nolan got the ball to Andy Sinton, whose shot from a tight angle smashed against the post. But, midway through the half, a goal did arrive and Sinton - having one of his better games in an Owls shirt - was the architect as he beat Gareth Hall all ends up down the left and hung up a beautiful cross that was clinically headed home by Mark Bright. 

 

After that,  there looked to be only one winner. The best chance to win it saw Taylor play substitute Gordon Watson through on goal but Flash - maybe expecting an offside flag - slightly delayed and allowed Kharine to rush out and block. Despite incessant pressure, Wednesday just couldn't get that vital goal and the points were shared. There was no doubt that performances had improved in recent weeks but the inability to take chances was really undermining the chances of the Owls climbing the table, sitting in an underwhelming 15th place.

 

Final score : Wednesday 1-1 Chelsea

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Taylor, Hyde, Sheridan (Watson 60), Sinton, Bart-Williams (Petrescu 80), Bright. Unused sub : Key

 

Chelsea : Kharine, Hall, Barness, Kjeldbjerg, Johnsen, Rocastle (Myers), Newton, Spackman, Wise, Hopkin, Shipperley. . Unused subs : Lee, Hitchcock

 

Attendance : 25,450

[Chelters]

 

Wednesday 2 November 1994

FA Carling Premiership 

Blackburn Rovers (home)

 

With just a single home Premiership win so far in the season, Wednesday faced visitors from across the Pennines in a midweek game. This was, of course, a Blackburn team that were one of the top sides in the country, boasting players such as Tim Sherwood, Kevin Gallacher and David Batty (a poor man's Carlton Palmer I always thought). But it was their strike force that struck the most fear, with this being the era of the famous SAS pairing of Chris Sutton (a recent big money signing from Norwich) and Alan Shearer. 

 

Whilst those two were going to take some stopping, the Owls at least had the ability to call upon a defence that seemed to have got over its early season wobbles, with just 5 goals conceded in the previous 6 games. Unfortunately only 7 goals had been scored in those games, despite numerous chances being created, and there was no doubt Wednesday needed to become a lot more clinical in front of goal if they were to climb the table (they started this game in 15^th place). Nevertheless, the front pairing of Chris Bart-Williams and Mark Bright continued as the team remained unchanged for the third game running.

 

Unfortunately the game was to play out in the all-too familiar tale of failing to convert relative dominance into goals. Wednesday had the better of the first half and created a couple of good chances. Firstly Andy Sinton hit a dipping shot that was well saved by Tim Flowers, then the Blackburn stopper made a smart double save from John Sheridan and Ian Taylor. 

 

The visitors started the second half well, and Kevin Pressman had already made a couple of brilliant saves - one from a Shearer free-kick and the other from a Paul Warhurst effort - before they took the lead in the 53rd minute. Rovers broke quickly after a Wednesday attack petered out, with the ball worked to Jason Wilcox on the left. He had time to pick out Shearer who hit a smart swerving volley just inside the post. 

 

Rather than letting this deflate them, the Owls went for it with renewed purpose and laid siege to the Blackburn goal for pretty much the rest of the game. Bart-Williams came the closest as he produced a brilliant turn after receiving a Peter Atherton cross, then crashed a shot against the bar. In the closing stages there was a moment of controversy as Sheridan hit a powerful drive towards goal after a corner was half-cleared, and the ball flew into the Kop net via a deflection. Sadly the flag had already been raised - to the understanding of precisely nobody - and the goal was ruled out.

 

There were also two decent penalty claims as Graeme Le Saux got away with a handball shout, and later substitute Gordon Watson was brough down by Sherwood. Neither was given (of course) but these two shouts, as well as the disallowed goal, all going against the Owls left Wednesdayites feeling more than a bit miffed and suspecting that Jack Walker's millions may not just be being spent on players....

 

It was another frustrating evening where chances had not been converted into goals, and there was a definite feeling that Wednesday needed a bit more going forward. 

 

Final score : Wednesday 0-1 Blackburn

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton (Petrescu 71), Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Taylor, Hyde, Sheridan, Sinton, Bart-Williams (Watson 85), Bright. Unused sub : Key

 

Blackburn : Flowers, Berg, Le Saux, Hendry, Gale, Ripley, Sherwood, Warhurst, Wilcox, Sutton, Shearer. Unused subs : Newell, Atkins, Mimms

 

Attendance : 24,207

[mkowl]

I think that was the game I was so annoyed after I established a never beaten record of 40 minutes back to Hull

[Owling_Wolf]

2 hours ago, mkowl said:

I think that was the game I was so annoyed after I established a never beaten record of 40 minutes back to Hull

That's some annoyance, especially bearing in mind where you were going!   

[mkowl]

2 hours ago, Owling_Wolf said:

That's some annoyance, especially bearing in mind where you were going!   

Exactly it was usually that speed heading west from there

[Chelters]

Sunday 6 November 1994

FA Carling Premiership

Arsenal (away)

 

After the midweek defeat to Blackburn knocked them down to 17th place, Wednesday seemed to be stuck in a groundhog day of playing reasonably well but not taking chances, and maybe missing out on a bit of luck - including with refereeing decisions - along the way. In fact, writing these reports at this particular stage of SWFC history is getting increasingly tough to make interesting, as it just seems to be one of those periods when nothing much was happening, it was a all a bit 'meh'.

 

So, what could possibly be better for getting back on track with a win than a trip to Highbury? Er, well, pretty much anything actually. The Owls had not won there since 1962 (and never would again) and were, of course, a recent victim of the Gunners more times than was healthy. There was one major cause for optimism though as Wednesday arch-nemesis Ian Wright was missing. The game took place on a Sunday for reasons that I haven't been able to easily discern, so if anyone knows why please feel free to comment (assuming you haven't all lost interest in this rather dull season). 

 

So what happened in this one then? Well, it's rinse and repeat I'm afraid. Half decent display? Check. Couldn't convert chances? Check. No luck with the referee? Check. Oh, and chuck in a couple of injuries in as well.

 

The first of the injuries saw Andy Sinton limp off after just 14 minutes, no doubt to the delight of a certain trainee accountant. Later in the game though, rather more concerningly, Des Walker was forced off as well. Chris Bart-Williams moved to the left and played well, with Gordon Watson coming on up front. Bartman had the best effort of the first half but David Seaman was equal to his 25-yard effort.

 

The main talking point from the first half was a debatable challenge from Stefan Schwarz on John Sheridan inside the area that, of course, was not deemed a foul. Sheridan had been subject to the usual George Graham treatment that we were all familiar with from the 1993 finals, with the main aim to kick him out of the game rather than trying to actually play football.

 

If that moment was controversial, there was an even bigger shout later in the game when Mark Bright headed down a cross to Watson in the area. As Flash went to apply the finishing touch he was taken out from behind by Steve Bould (I know, who would have thought) but again no penalty was given, Sigh.

 

Arsenal had a couple of chances from set pieces, with Kevin Campbell going closest with a header from a corner but, in truth, without Wright the home side never looked too much of a threat.

 

Given the Owls' recent record at Highbury a point was probably a decent result but, once again, there was more than an element of frustration as the rather deflating season sauntered on.

 

Final score : Arsenal 0-0 Wednesday

 

Arsenal : Seaman, Keown, Winterburn, Adams, Bould, Parlour, Selley, Schwarz, McGoldrick, Dickov, Smith (Campbell 16). Unused subs : Morrow, Bartram

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker (Petrescu 80), Taylor, Hyde, Sheridan, Sinton (Watson 14), Bart-Williams, Bright. Unused sub : Key

 

Attendance : 33,705

[mkowl]

9 hours ago, Chelters said:

Sunday 6 November 1994

FA Carling Premiership

Arsenal (away)

 

After the midweek defeat to Blackburn knocked them down to 17th place, Wednesday seemed to be stuck in a groundhog day of playing reasonably well but not taking chances, and maybe missing out on a bit of luck - including with refereeing decisions - along the way. In fact, writing these reports at this particular stage of SWFC history is getting increasingly tough to make interesting, as it just seems to be one of those periods when nothing much was happening, it was a all a bit 'meh'.

 

So, what could possibly be better for getting back on track with a win than a trip to Highbury? Er, well, pretty much anything actually. The Owls had not won there since 1962 (and never would again) and were, of course, a recent victim of the Gunners more times than was healthy. There was one major cause for optimism though as Wednesday arch-nemesis Ian Wright was missing. The game took place on a Sunday for reasons that I haven't been able to easily discern, so if anyone knows why please feel free to comment (assuming you haven't all lost interest in this rather dull season). 

 

So what happened in this one then? Well, it's rinse and repeat I'm afraid. Half decent display? Check. Couldn't convert chances? Check. No luck with the referee? Check. Oh, and chuck in a couple of injuries in as well.

 

The first of the injuries saw Andy Sinton limp off after just 14 minutes, no doubt to the delight of a certain trainee accountant. Later in the game though, rather more concerningly, Des Walker was forced off as well. Chris Bart-Williams moved to the left and played well, with Gordon Watson coming on up front. Bartman had the best effort of the first half but David Seaman was equal to his 25-yard effort.

 

The main talking point from the first half was a debatable challenge from Stefan Schwarz on John Sheridan inside the area that, of course, was not deemed a foul. Sheridan had been subject to the usual George Graham treatment that we were all familiar with from the 1993 finals, with the main aim to kick him out of the game rather than trying to actually play football.

 

If that moment was controversial, there was an even bigger shout later in the game when Mark Bright headed down a cross to Watson in the area. As Flash went to apply the finishing touch he was taken out from behind by Steve Bould (I know, who would have thought) but again no penalty was given, Sigh.

 

Arsenal had a couple of chances from set pieces, with Kevin Campbell going closest with a header from a corner but, in truth, without Wright the home side never looked too much of a threat.

 

Given the Owls' recent record at Highbury a point was probably a decent result but, once again, there was more than an element of frustration as the rather deflating season sauntered on.

 

Final score : Arsenal 0-0 Wednesday

 

Arsenal : Seaman, Keown, Winterburn, Adams, Bould, Parlour, Selley, Schwarz, McGoldrick, Dickov, Smith (Campbell 16). Unused subs : Morrow, Bartram

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker (Petrescu 80), Taylor, Hyde, Sheridan, Sinton (Watson 14), Bart-Williams, Bright. Unused sub : Key

 

Attendance : 33,705

Correction 

I was a fully qualified accountant at that point

No correction needed that I hated Sinton

 

[mkowl]

PS No idea why it was played on a Sunday 

[Chelters]

Apparently the Sunday kick off was due to Arsenal’s European commitments.

And who knew mk was even older than I thought he was. 

[Reesh]

6 minutes ago, Chelters said:

Apparently the Sunday kick off was due to Arsenal’s European commitments.

And who knew mk was even older than I thought he was. 

He was a pot washer at the last supper pal....

[Chelters]

30 years ago takes a little rest now as there was an international break. So join me in a couple of weeks time for more tales of tedium, missed chances and poor refereeing decisions when the Owls take on West Ham on the 19th.

[Andyben]

11 hours ago, Reesh said:

He was a pot washer at the last supper pal....

Telling Jesus where he did the whole loaves & fishes miracle thing wrong as it doesn't make sense from an accounting  perspective.

[mkowl]

1 hour ago, Andyben said:

Telling Jesus where he did the whole loaves & fishes miracle thing wrong as it doesn't make sense from an accounting  perspective.

If you have revenues for each of the 5000 but have costs of one loaf and a fish I suspect I would be duty bound the do an AML report these days 

[Chelters]

Saturday 19 November 1994

FA Carling Premiership

West Ham United (home)

 

After a couple of weeks off for the international break, the Owls returned to action with a visit from Harry Redknapp's happy Hammers. Neither side had particularly set the league on fire at this stage, with Wednesday still struggling at sixth from bottom, and West Ham three places and three points ahead. 

 

Reading down the list of the visitors' squad in the programme it seems that this was a team full of nutcases : Julian Dicks, Martin Allen and John Moncur in particular were all not just a few sandwiches, but also a family size pork pie, tube of Pringles and cheeseboard short of a picnic. Add to that the not-exactly-best-of-pals (for reasons that I will not go into here but I think we all know) Ian Bishop and Trevor Morley, eccentric goalkeeper Ludek Miklosko, the also a bit dodgy Don Hutchison and a certain Lee Chapman and it was quite the colourful squad.

 

The Owls made one change to the team that had achieved a creditable draw at Highbury but were desperately short of goals, with Dan Petrescu coming back into right midfield for Ian Taylor. 

 

It was the visitors who started the better as Wednesday seemed a bit sluggish after the recent break. They got a few corners in the opening minutes and then missed a golden chance through Tony Cottee as the diminutive striker hooked over from a Matthew Rush cross when he should have done better.

 

From this point, Wednesday were able to exert some control on the match and started to improve. Miklosko made a brilliant save from a Chris Bart-Williams effort in the 11th minute but just before the half hour the Owls got themselves in front. Mark Bright got a flick on from an aerial ball which dropped to Bart-Williams, who showed composure to drive across the area and slip a lovely ball into the box for Petrescu. The Romanian cleverly let the ball run before producing a lovely little left-foot chipped finish over Miklosko for his second Wednesday goal. It was almost two straight away as from the next attack the lively Bart-Williams headed against the crossbar.

 

Into the second half, there was a scare for the home side early on when Kevin Pressman smothered at the feet of Rush. After this though, the half settled into the now very familiar pattern of Wednesday creating and missing chances. Substitute Gordon Watson probably had the best couple of chances, one of which saw another good save from the Hammers' goalkeeper.

 

Thankfully there was no punishment for the Owls failing to get a second as they saw out a 1-0 win, and a much needed one at that. It wasn't quite as joyous as the previous season's 5-0 romp but a win's a win. Having said that, there was still work to do and the continuing lack of goals was making it more than a little tedious for Wednesdayites.

 

Final score : Wednesday 1-0 West Ham

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Petrescu (Taylor 60), Hyde, Sheridan, Sinton, Bart-Williams (Watson 66), Bright. Unused sub : Key

 

West Ham : Miklosko, Brown, Dicks, Potts, Martin, Rush, Moncur, Allen (Marsh 37), Bishop, Morley, Cottee. Unused subs : Rowland, Feuer

 

Attendance : 25,350

[HoylandOwl]

I love this bit....

Quote

were all not just a few sandwiches, but also a family size pork pie, tube of Pringles and cheeseboard short of a picnic.

Genuinely made me laugh 🙂 

[Andyben]

7 minutes ago, HoylandOwl said:

I love this bit....

Genuinely made me hungry  🙂 

👀

[HoylandOwl]

18 minutes ago, Andyben said:

👀

Nah, I had some food about 90 mins ago.... Thanks though. 🙂 

[JBO]

Also the day of the first National Lottery draw.

I didn't win

[Chelters]

Sunday 27 November 1994

FA Carling Premiership

Aston Villa (away)

 

The Owls were back in front of the Sky TV cameras on a wet and miserable day at Villa Park hoping to ignite their season and finally convert some chances into goals. Villa had a new manager after the appointment of Brian Little, this was following a certain Ron Atkinson becoming a victim of deadly Doug Ellis a couple of weeks earlier. To be fair Big Ron's sacking was not that much of a surprise with Villa, despite a decent looking squad, struggling at the wrong end of the table. 

 

Wednesday's recent record at Villa Park wasn't great, the only win being the 1-0 victory in 1991-92 when a Nigel Jemson header was judged to be over the line, a decision that, not for the first time against Wednesday, induced a Hulk-like rage in the volatile Les Sealey. It was therefore somewhat frustrating that, in true Wednesday style, the visit was timed for the honeymoon of the new boss, rather than under the failing relationship of the old boss.

 

The Owls were without Mark Bright, meaning Gordon Watson returned up front with Chris Bart-Williams as the options up front started to look very limited indeed - other than this the lineup was unchanged from the victory over West Ham as the side was starting to become very settled despite the tedious run of results. Villa had the dangerous looking pairing of Dean Saunders and Dalian Atkison in attack - both of whom were not shy of a goal against Wednesday. There was another familiar face at left back as Wiltshire's finest Phil King lined up against his old club.

 

Totally as expected, the home side came out firing for the new regime and took the lead as early as the 15th minute. Paul McGrath did well to win a header from a deep corner, Saunders headed towards goal and, after Kevin Pressman acrobatically turned the ball away, Atkinson was there to smash the ball home on the volley. The home side certainly had a spring in their step and Pressman was increasingly busy with a double stop from Saunders and then a brilliant tip onto the post from Graham Fenton's volley on the turn. It had not been completely one-way traffic though as Wednesday played their part in the first half and had plenty of the ball, but as usual failed to create or take any meaningful chances.

 

12 minutes into the second half it all changed with a goal from an unlikely source. King played a rather ill-judged back pass that Mark Bosnich had to clear left footed to avoid giving away a corner. The ball fell towards Peter Atherton who chested the ball down and hit a dipping shot from 25 yards that flew over the Aussie stopper and in off the bar. It was a fantastic finish and only Atnerton's second goal of his entire career (the first coming at Wigan). The same player then had another effort that Bosnich held onto as the Owls suddenly sniffed blood.

 

The home side were deflated and the lack of confidence started to show as Wednesday created chances. Watson was being a pest up front and the best chance was caused when he challenged Bosnich, with the ball falling to Dan Petrescu who casually lifted the ball over the top when he should have done better (although it may have been disallowed anyway).  The best chance for the home side was a Guy Whittingham header that was comfortably saved by Pressman.

 

And so, for the umpteenth time in the season, the Owls left with less than their overall play deserved, but no more than their ability to take chances allowed them. In fact, it was now a run of just one game in the last 14 where they had managed to score more than a single goal, 2 in 17 if you included cup games. With David Hirst out injured long term, Mark Bright not firing as he was the previous season, Chris Bart-Williams not really a true striker and Gordon Watson being more of an impact sub, it wasn't difficult to see where the problem was, doing something about it was another matter although the two substitutes used in this game were going to give a clue as to where the solution eventually lay.....

 

Final score : Aston Villa 1-1 Wednesday

 

Villa : Bosnich, Barrett, King, McGrath, Ehiogu, Parker, Fenton, Richardson, Houghton, Saunders, Atkinson (Whittingham 69). Unused subs : Boden, Spink

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Petrescu, Hyde, Sheridan, Sinton, Bart-Williams, Watson (Taylor 73). Unused subs : Poric, Key

 

Attendance : 25,082

[mkowl]

Getting full value for my Sky subscription even back then. 

[HoylandOwl]

I still can’t fathom how Mr sideways and backward Atherton scored that goal

[Chelters]

Wednesday 30 November 1994

Coca Cola Cup 4th Round

Arsenal (away)

 

For the second time in the month the Owls travelled to Highbury, this time in the League Cup. A creditable 0-0 draw had been achieved in the league game a few weeks earlier, although the home side had been without arch-nemesis Ian Wright on that occasion, but he was back in the lineup for this one. Arsenal were not on a great run of form and had some injuries, so this seemed a great chance to gain a bit of revenge for those defeats in the 1993 cup finals.

 

Wednesday's cause was not helped by the loss of captain Des Walker through injury, meaning Ian Taylor returned to the side, Dan Petrescu reverted to right back and Peter Atherton went into the centre to join Andy Pearce. Other than that the Owls were unchanged, but it was good to see Ryan Jones return on the bench, where Julian Watts also appeared in the squad for the first time this season.

 

After every single recent game seemed to follow the pattern of Wednesday failing to take several chances, surely this would finally be different. Er, well no actually, I know this is getting a bit boring now but it was exactly the same story once again. 

 

Most of the chances were missed in the first 20 minutes, with Chris Bart-Williams being the main culprit. After just five minutes, the young makeshift striker was played through by John Sheridan after a neat move. Bartman rounded the keeper but, with the goal gaping, scuffed his effort into the side netting. Next up was a great move which saw a brilliant sliderule pass from Andy Sinton set Ian Nolan down the left, his low cross was met firmly by Taylor, but somehow David Seaman kept it out as the ball went under his body but hit his elbow and diverted the ball across goal. Bart-Williams then missed another good chance, firing over after Sheridan found him in the area.

 

Then, just before the half hour mark, the inevitable happened as the Owls were made to pay for all the missed chances. It was another familiar face who got the goal, as Steve 'is he injured or has he been dropped' Morrow ran through the centre unchallenged - even being allowed to do a complete 360 degree at one point, before curling a shot past Kevin Pressman. It was only Morrow's second goal of his career, the other of course also coming against Wednesday.

 

The Owls should have equalised almost immediately as Bart-Williams did really well to bring down a high ball into the box and set up Sinton, but the winger dragged his shot wide when it looked easier to score. Within 5 minutes Wednesday were again made to pay and no surprise in who scored. Atherton's attempted header was more up than out and Wright was allowed all the time in the world to let the ball drop and slam a left foot volley into the net. 

 

Into the second and the Owls were given a glimmer of hope as Seaman was forced off through injury and rookie keeper Vince Bartram came on for his debut. He was called into action a couple of times, firstly a low Petrescu effort then a firm header by Taylor, but was equal to the efforts on both occasions. The home side created one or two chances, the best probably being a Wright header well held by Pressman. As the clock ran down the visitors created another great move that ended in Graham Hyde's far post header being cleared off the line by Lee Dixon, another 'how the hell did we not score' moment.

 

So the Gunners went through with a barely deserved victory as the Owls were once again made to rue missed chances, although on this occasion there as a sizeable dose of bad luck mixed into the lack of finshing ability. Time to concentrate on the league then with a winnable looking game at home to Crystal Palace coming up and the return of a much missed hero......

 

FInal score : Arsenal 2-0 Wednesday

 

Arsenal : Seaman (Bartram 45), Dixon, Winterburn, Adams, Bould, McGoldrick (Dickov 69), Morrow (Keown 72), Schwarz, Campbell, Wright, Smith.

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Petrescu, Nolan, Atherton, Pearce, Taylor., Hyde, Sheridan, Sinton, Bart-Williams, Watson (Jones 61). Unused subs : Watts, Key 

[Chelters]

Saturday 3 December 1994

FA Carling Premiership

Crystal Palace (home)

 

Still sitting in the bottom half of the table in 15th place and showing no major signs of the surge in form that had followed a slow start to the season in previous years, the Owls entertained Crystal Palace at Hillsborough in what felt like a bit of a must-win game, Palace were a bit of a yo-yo team at this point in time, having secured promotion back to the Premiership at the first attempt after relegation in 1993. They had acquitted themselves reasonably well on their return, though, and actually sat a couple of places above Wednesday going into this game.

 

There was some positive news on the injury front as Mark Bright returned up front, with Gordon Watson dropping out. But, more excitingly, on the bench and in the squad for the first time this season was a certain Christopher Roland Waddle. It had been a long wait for the Waddler to return to fitness after a pre-season injury, and a recent reserve game in which he made his initial comeback had attracted a massive crowd. Hopefully this could be the sort of boost that the Owls needed to kickstart the season?

 

As mentioned previously, the real problem was scoring goals, with the team failing to score more than a single goal in a game in the last 8 fixtures, and only once in the last 13, despite creating numerous chances. Was this the sort of game where that could change?

 

The first half was quite an even affair, with the visitors giving as good as they got. The first chance of the game fell to the Eagles as quickfire front duo Chris Armstrong and John Salako created a chance for Andy Preece, who sent a curling effort just wide. The next chance fell to Wednesday with Bright shooting over the bar, but the breakthrough came just before the 20 minute mark. John Sheridan played a short free kick to Chris Bart-Williams that caught the otherwise stubborn Palace defence off-guard, Bartman took steps towards goal before hitting a low 20-yarder into the bottom corner past Nigel Martyn. 

 

Graham Hyde had a decent chance that he scooped over later in the half but the Owls were happy to go in at the break a goal up.

 

The second half saw lots of possession from Wednesday but Palace looking very dangerous on the break. In the middle of the half the visitors looked particularly threatening and were twice denied by sharp saves from Kevin Pressman, one from an Armstrong header and the other from a Dean Gordon free-kick. 

 

With 15 minutes to go the home crowd got what they wanted as Waddle emerged from the bench to replace Ian Taylor. In fact, he had emerged a bit earlier but couldn't get on the pitch due to the small matter of not actually having a shirt on. Despite looking a bit rusty, Waddle's quality helped the Owls exert a bit more control back on the game and see it out. There were a couple of chances for Hyde and Bright but in the end another clean sheet meant that the missed chances didn't matter for once. 

 

Despite the continuing lack of goals, the win meant it was 8 points from 4 games as a little unbeaten league run had started to develop. With key players returning from injury, was this the start of the lift-off? I guess we'll find out......

 

Final score : Wednesday 1-0 Palace

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Petrescu, Nolan, Atherton, Pearce, Taylor (Waddle 76), Hyde, Sheridan, Sinton, Bart-Williams, Bright. Unused subs : Watts, Key

 

Palace : Martyn, Humphrey, Gordon, Coleman, Shaw, Bowry (Ndah 67), Southgate, Newman, Salako, Preece, Armstrong. Unused subs : Wilmot, Pitcher

 

Attendance : 21,930

 

[KrolMong]

1 hour ago, Chelters said:

Saturday 3 December 1994

FA Carling Premiership

Crystal Palace (home)

 

Still sitting in the bottom half of the table in 15th place and showing no major signs of the surge in form that had followed a slow start to the season in previous years, the Owls entertained Crystal Palace at Hillsborough in what felt like a bit of a must-win game, Palace were a bit of a yo-yo team at this point in time, having secured promotion back to the Premiership at the first attempt after relegation in 1993. They had acquitted themselves reasonably well on their return, though, and actually sat a couple of places above Wednesday going into this game.

 

There was some positive news on the injury front as Mark Bright returned up front, with Gordon Watson dropping out. But, more excitingly, on the bench and in the squad for the first time this season was a certain Christopher Roland Waddle. It had been a long wait for the Waddler to return to fitness after a pre-season injury, and a recent reserve game in which he made his initial comeback had attracted a massive crowd. Hopefully this could be the sort of boost that the Owls needed to kickstart the season?

 

As mentioned previously, the real problem was scoring goals, with the team failing to score more than a single goal in a game in the last 8 fixtures, and only once in the last 13, despite creating numerous chances. Was this the sort of game where that could change?

 

The first half was quite an even affair, with the visitors giving as good as they got. The first chance of the game fell to the Eagles as quickfire front duo Chris Armstrong and John Salako created a chance for Andy Preece, who sent a curling effort just wide. The next chance fell to Wednesday with Bright shooting over the bar, but the breakthrough came just before the 20 minute mark. John Sheridan played a short free kick to Chris Bart-Williams that caught the otherwise stubborn Palace defence off-guard, Bartman took steps towards goal before hitting a low 20-yarder into the bottom corner past Nigel Martyn. 

 

Graham Hyde had a decent chance that he scooped over later in the half but the Owls were happy to go in at the break a goal up.

 

The second half saw lots of possession from Wednesday but Palace looking very dangerous on the break. In the middle of the half the visitors looked particularly threatening and were twice denied by sharp saves from Kevin Pressman, one from an Armstrong header and the other from a Dean Gordon free-kick. 

 

With 15 minutes to go the home crowd got what they wanted as Waddle emerged from the bench to replace Ian Taylor. In fact, he had emerged a bit earlier but couldn't get on the pitch due to the small matter of not actually having a shirt on. Despite looking a bit rusty, Waddle's quality helped the Owls exert a bit more control back on the game and see it out. There were a couple of chances for Hyde and Bright but in the end another clean sheet meant that the missed chances didn't matter for once. 

 

Despite the continuing lack of goals, the win meant it was 8 points from 4 games as a little unbeaten league run had started to develop. With key players returning from injury, was this the start of the lift-off? I guess we'll find out......

 

Final score : Wednesday 1-0 Palace

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Petrescu, Nolan, Atherton, Pearce, Taylor (Waddle 76), Hyde, Sheridan, Sinton, Bart-Williams, Bright. Unused subs : Watts, Key

 

Palace : Martyn, Humphrey, Gordon, Coleman, Shaw, Bowry (Ndah 67), Southgate, Newman, Salako, Preece, Armstrong. Unused subs : Wilmot, Pitcher

 

Attendance : 21,930

 

Waddle was playing against Dean Gordon when he came on. Gordon was on the edge of the England squad.

In the 15 minutes, Waddle put two exquisite crosses in, one with the outside of his left, and the other with his right. Gordon stood off him for both. Gordon then decided to get tight which meant that Waddle could shimmy down the touchline sideways, wait for the overlap, and come inside.

Gordon was given a 15 minute masterclass.

[holmesfield_owl]

On 24/10/2024 at 10:17, HoylandOwl said:

He hardly played mate. Looked like we’d ordered Chris Woods from Temu, IIRC. I mean looks wise not keeping ability. 
 

He played once as a sub away at Gillingham in a cup match. Actually went to the pigs in 1997 but never played for them. After a non league career in net he finished up manager at Histon for seven years, was sacked  in 2023.

[EastCraigsOwl]

1 hour ago, holmesfield_owl said:

He played once as a sub away at Gillingham in a cup match. Actually went to the pigs in 1997 but never played for them. After a non league career in net he finished up manager at Histon for seven years, was sacked  in 2023.

Non-league career? He played 3 games for Dundee United in Scotland's top flight!

...awaits the open goal tap-ins 😉

[holmesfield_owl]

1 hour ago, EastCraigsOwl said:

Non-league career? He played 3 games for Dundee United in Scotland's top flight!

...awaits the open goal tap-ins 😉

I'm saying nothing about playing below non league level 😁

[Chelters]

Saturday 10 December 1994

FA Carling Premiership

Tottenham Hotspur (away)

 

The opening day of the season had, of course, seen one of the games that went down in Premier League history as Jurgen Klinsmann scored his debut goal and Spurs ran out 4-3 winners at Hillsborough. On that day, Tottenham had adopted a very attacking strategy under the management of Ossie Ardiles, but that had eventually come unstuck and by this point he had been replaced by the rather more balanced Gerry Francis.

 

Spurs had actually started the season under a cloud after the FA had imposed a severe punishment relating to financial shenanigans in the 1980s (something to do with players being given 'loans' rather than signing-on fees) with a fine, a ban from the FA Cup and a 12 point deduction (to be imposed at the end of the season). As you might imagine, owner Alan Sugar was not best pleased and launched an appeal which initially saw the fine increased but the points deduction reduced to six. Sugar, in typically belligerent fashion, continued to appeal and eventually succeeded in getting both the points deduction and the Cup ban completely overturned on 9 December. And which team had to travel to White Hart Lane to take on a no doubt revitalised home side? Sheffield Wednesday of course.

 

The Owls had a very good recent record at Tottenham, having won by a two goal margin on their last three visits, and arrived at this one having had a little uptick in form, albeit whilst still struggling to convert chances into goals. Add to that the return to the starting lineup of Chris Waddle after his cameo against Palace - his first start for almost a year - and there were certainly reasons for optimism. Des Walker was still missing though, and with Dan Petrescu also unavailable, Ian Nolan shifted over to right back with Lee Briscoe coming in for a rare start at left back.

 

The first chance of the game fell to Klinsmann, who had not had a great time in front of goal in recent games and he really should have done better when heading against the bar with virtually an open goal to aim at. After this early scare, the Owls took control and increasingly caused problems for a somewhat uncertain Spurs defence. Chris Bart-Williams blazed wide when he should have done better but Wednesday were to take the lead 7 minutes before the break when a low cross from Andy Sinton saw Nolan arrive unmarked in the box to slot home for his second goal of the season.

 

This seemed to knock the stuffing out of the home side and Wednesday continued to play well early in the second half. It could have been two when Mark Bright saw his looping header bounce back off the bar as the inability to score a second goal either through luck or bad finishing occurred again. In the 62nd minute Tottenham were back in it as Klinsmann flicked on a long ball and Nick Barmby managed to get to the ball before Kevin Pressman, forcing it past him and then sliding it in from close range.

 

The Owls were very much still in it at this stage and Bart-Williams saw a powerful drive saved by Ian Walker at the second attempt. But the game really turned 18 minutes from time and it was - predictably - that German striker that did the damage. Andy Pearce got caught underneath a through ball and Klinsmann nipped in to get a touch before hitting a rising shot past Pressman from 20 yards. The home crowd went giddy and Wednesday never got back in it. With 10 minutes to go a bit of pinball at a corner ended with Colin Calderwood slamming the ball home from close range and the game was up. Spurs almost scored a fourth when Darren Anderton tried an outrageous effort from his own half that would have dipped under the bar but Pressman was alert to get back and save any embarrassment.

 

Yet again then, it was a story of Wednesday playing well and not converting chances. On this occasion though, they had failed to keep the ball out at the other end and the little unbeaten run was over. Back to the drawing board then for a home game against QPR that would hopefully provide a bit of Christmas cheer.....

 

Final score : Tottenham 3-1 Wednesday

 

Tottenham : Walker, Austin, Campbell, Calderwood, Mabbutt, Anderton, Howells, Barmby, Rosenthal, Sheringham, Klinsmann, Unused subs : Edinburgh, Caskey, Day

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Nolan, Briscoe, Atherton, Pearce, Waddle, Hyde, Sheridan, Sinton, Bart-Williams, Bright. Unused subs : Taylor, Watts, Key

 

Attendance : 25,912

[Chelters]

Saturday 17 December 1994

FA Carling Premiership

Queens Park Rangers (home)

 

After the mini-revival had been ended by the defeat at White Hart Lane a week before, Wednesday welcomed Queens Park Rangers to Hillsborough for the last game before Christmas. This is usually a game where the fans come along in festive spirit hoping for a good performance from the home team before leaving to go and enjoy a well earned Christmas break. A year before the equivalent fixture had seen 'the Waddle game' where West Ham had been swept aside in a 5-0 win that really launched the festive period in fine style. Sadly, this game was to be somewhat different.

 

QPR, like Wednesday, were having a disappointing season after a few years of riding high amongst the top teams in the division. Manager Gerry Francis had recently defected to Tottenham, with Ray Wilkins taking over but having a tough start to his tenure. The Rs therefore arrived two places and two points below the Owls in the table.

 

There was a boost for Wednesday with the return of Des Walker after injury, meaning Lee Briscoe dropped out, Peter Atherton went back to right back and Ian Nolan reverted to left back. There was also a change in midfield with Andy Sinton unavailable, and Ryan Jones came in for his first start of the season. Klas Ingesson, who had barely been seen since signing back in September, returned to the bench and was to come on in the second half.

 

This is one of those games that will not live long in the memory for Wednesdayites. Whereas in a succession of previous games, the Owls had created plenty of chances but failed to take them, in this game everything was just flat, there were very few chances created and there was barely anything to get excited about.

 

The closest Wednesday came to scoring was a trademark free kick from Chris Waddle that crashed off the bar. Perhaps if that had gone in the outcome would have been different but, against an obdurate but average QPR side, things just never really got going.

 

It was the visitors who opened the scoring on the hour mark, after Wednesday initially cleared a corner. Trevor Sinclair swung the ball back in, Kevin Gallen flicked on and Danny Maddix headed home at the far post. The Owls almost responded straight away but John Sheridan scuffed a shot that ended up bobbling wide of the post.

 

Wednesday tried to press for an equaliser as the game went on but left themselves open to the counter and in the 85th minute the game was up. Simon Barker played a pass forward and Les Ferdinand raced clear before finishing in the bottom corner past Kevin Pressman. 

 

It was a thoroughly depressing afternoon and saw the visitors leapfrog Wednesday, who dropped into the bottom five. Having played 19 games, it was sinking in that this season there was probably not going to be an amazing run that put us into the upper echelons of the table and mediocrity, if not worse, was going to be the order of the day. Trevor Francis cryptically mentioned afterwards that he might need to sell a player to buy a striker, maybe this could offer a glimmer of hope? 

 

When I was writing this for much of last season it was a welcome diversion from the current day struggles. At the moment, it feels the other way round so Merry Christmas everyone!

 

Final score : Wednesday 0-2 QPR

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton (Petrescu 69), Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Waddle, Hyde, Sheridan, Jones, Bart-Williams, Bright (Ingesson 58). Unused sub : Key

 

QPR : Dykstra, Bardsley, Wilson, Maddix, McDonald, Sinclair (Holloway 80), Barker, Hodge, Impey, Gallen, Ferdinand. Unused sub : Yates

 

Attendance : 22,766

 

[Chelters]

Monday 26 December 1994

FA Carling Premiership

Everton (away)

 

After two straight defeats before Christmas, including a thoroughly depressing home loss to QPR in the previous game, the Owls travelled to Goodison Park in the hope of some Boxing Day cheer. Wednesday had a good recent record away to the Toffees, but this one looked potentially a bit more difficult as, despite still being down towards the bottom of the table, the hosts were in decent form, unbeaten in 8 games and having not conceded in any of those either.

 

For their part, it was 12 games since the Owls had managed to score more than a single goal in a game, with something desperately needing to change on the attacking front. Well, change was in the air as a new striker arrived at Hillsborough in the shape of Guy Whittingham, well known from his goalscoring exploits for Portsmouth (and the Army) a few seasons earlier, but having not quite hit the mark at Aston Villa. Trevor Francis had previously intimated that he may need to sell a player to buy a striker. In the end it was even simpler than that as a swap deal was undertaken with Ian Taylor departing to Villa Park to join his boyhood club. It was a shame to see Taylor leave after less than half a season at the club but he had never managed to get into his preferred central midfield slot due to the form of Graham Hyde and, well, needs must.

 

Whittingham unsurprisingly came straight into the side, meaning Chris Bart-Williams could drop back into midfield. With Chris Waddle still struggling for match fitness, Klas Ingesson came in on the right after recovering from a stomach problem that had plagued him since joining back in September.

 

With a bumper home crowd in expectant mood, the home side sought to get an early advantage but were kept at bay for the first half hour. But with 36 minutes gone they took the lead as David Burrows - who had finally stopped seeing double after his trip to Hillsborough in West Ham colours a year before - sent over an inviting cross and Duncan Ferguson confidently headed home. It was Ferguson's first goal since joining permanently after a loan spell from Rangers and he was, of course, to go on to become a bit of a legend at Goodison Park, not just for his goals but his complete lack of sanity.

 

The writing looked to be on the wall for Wednesday after their recent form but, amazingly, by half time there was a complete turnaround. Firstly, John Sheridan revived the old 'play a free kick down the line instead of swinging it in' routine and, despite Peter Atherton being the recipient of the pass rather than Nilsson or Worthington, the outcome was the same as the resulting low cross was swept in at the near post by Mark Bright. It was a welcome goal for the striker who had not scored in two months.

 

Three minutes after that, Des Walker hit a Hail Mary pass over the top which future Owls legend David Unsworth completely misjudged, allowing that man Whittingham to sprint clear, confidently round Neville Southall and sweep into the empty net.

 

The hosts came out for the second half with purpose but were stunned a few minutes in as Wednesday inexplicably managed to score three goals in a game. Bart-Williams did well down the left and swung over a deep cross that eluded everyone expect Ingesson barrelling in at the far post to squeeze a header in from a tight angle, followed by a hop over the advertising hoardings and celebratory run past the home fans.

 

Neither set of fans could quite believe what they were seeing and it got even better for Wednesdayites as a fourth goal arrived 11 minutes from time. Bright beat the offside trap to get space in the left channel and crossed low for the onrushing Whittingham to sweep into the net for his second of a dream debut. Goodison Park was soon emptied quicker than an unlocked car in a Liverpool housing estate whilst the Wednesdayites enjoyed a bit of Jingle Bells.

 

After what had been a pretty miserable start to the season this was a real Boxing Day treat as those turkey sandwiches tasted just a bit more appealing, with the hope that our new striker would prove to be the answer to the goalscoring woes. There wasn't long to find out, with the next game just two days away as bogey team Coventry visited Hillsborough.

 

Final score : Everton 1-4 Wednesday

 

Everton : Southall, Jackson, Burrows (Stuart 53), Watson, Unsworth, Limpar, Horne, Ebbrell, Hinchcliffe, Ferguson, Rideout. Unused subs : Barlow, Kearton

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Ingesson, Hyde, Sheridan (Poric 85), Bart-Williams, Bright, Whittingham. Unused subs : Waddle, Key

 

Attendance : 37,080

[HoylandOwl]

That Ingesson celebration running behind the goal after He scored always made me smile. Still does now… 

It’s nothing out of the ordinary, but it just always made me chuckle..

[Andyben]

2 hours ago, Chelters said:

Klas Ingesson came in on the right after recovering from a stomach problem that had plagued him since joining back in September.

👀

[mkowl]

19 minutes ago, Andyben said:

👀

I know you always enjoy my personal recalls - but I reckon this was the day I wrote my resignation letter from working at PWC and escaping Hull 

Don't think I went to Everton though 

[Chelters]

Wednesday 28 December 1994

FA Carling Premiership

Coventry City (home)

 

Just two days after the trip to Goodison Park on Boxing Day, Wednesday were back in action as they welcomed Coventry for a Wednesday nightgame. Yes this was the 1990s, there was no suggestion of there being 'too many games' over the Christmas period, the paying public were treated to what they wanted and the players just got on with it. There was also no talk of 'rotation', partly of course because teams didn't have such massive squads back in the day but the old mantra of 'why change a winning team?' still ruled.

 

This was certainly the case for Trevor Francis who, after the surprise victory at Everton, was more than happy to name the same line-up just two days later, meaning new signing Guy Whittingham could continue his promising partnership with Mark Bright up front. It also meant Chris Waddle remained on the bench, where Gordon Watson also appeared for the first time in a few games.

 

The visitors were having a typically Coventryesque season, plodding along in the bottom half whilst exciting precisely nobody. Their crushingly dull mediocrity at this time was summed up by their choice of manager, Graham Taylor's erstwhile England assistant Phil Neal, a man with a persona so dour your mind drifted off almost as soon as he started speaking. Nevertheless, any game against the Sky Blues always seemed to present a bit of a challenge, with Wednesday wins and goals for either side at a real premium over recent seasons. This, however, was to prove a surprisingly entertaining affair.

 

The first incident of any note was a Wednesday goal in the 15th minute. Playing 'the wrong way' in the first half, John Sheridan's corner in front of the Kop was flapped at by Steve Ogrizovic - the epitome of a 'big lunk' if ever there was one - the ball dropped at the feet of Bright who swivelled and smashed the ball into the net. The visiting defenders were not happy, as there did appear to be a bit of backing in by Bright on the visitors' keeper, but the goal stood.

 

However, referee Kelvin Morton obviously had the sinking feeling that he had made a mistake and made a classic 'levelling up' decision a couple of minutes later. A long ball over the top caught the Owls defence flat footed and Sean Flynn ran through. As he took a touch past Kevin Pressman, he threw himself to the ground a la Greg Louganis, allowing Morton the perfect opportunity to point to the spot and book a rather bemused Pressman, who had barely made a challenge. The home fans voiced their displeasure at such an obviously crap decision, but it didn't stop Peter Ndlovu confidently stroking home the penalty.

 

With 33 minutes gone the real game-changing event occurred as the unfortunate Klas Ingesson departed through injury - no offence to the big Swede but this allowed Waddle to enter the fray and put in a typically mesmeric performance. Within five minutes it was the Waddler himself who put the Owls back in front as Sheridan sent over a cross and the winger squeezed a brave header in at the far post, before executing a Klinsmann celebration in front of the South Stand.

 

Just before half time came a third to give that important two goal buffer going into the break. A nice move down the left channel ended with Graham Hyde slipping the ball across for Bright to guide the ball home for his third in two games.

 

With Waddle pulling the strings Wednesday continued to torment the away defence early in the second half. On 57 minutes Gary Gillespie brought the ball out of defence before suddenly remembering that he might have left the oven on, Whittingham took advantage of the dawdle, nipped in and swapped passes with Waddle before firing confidently into the bottom corner. It was the kind of instinctive finish that had been noticeably lacking all season. 

 

Seven minutes later Whittingham grabbed his second and Wednesday's fifth. Hyde did the hard work before slipping the ball to Waddle, his shot was parried by Ogrizovic (who perhaps should have done better) and the ex-Army striker nipped in to chip the ball over the keeper and nod into the empty net - another confident finish. 

 

There seemed to be plenty of time for more and there could well have been, at both ends. Chris Bart-WIlliams hit the woodwork and Waddle had a volley saved, before Mr. Morton decided to intervene once more. As the uber Sunday league striker Micky Quinn seemingly got away with a foul on Andy Pearce, Des Walker then brought him down in the area for another penalty and another booking. With Ndlovu having been substituted Paul Cook stepped up but saw his penalty saved by Pressman. The ball fell nicely to Quinn on the rebound who, obviously seeing the injustice in the original decision, promptly cleared it out for a goal kick. 

 

So, six points and nine goals from two festive fixtures was an excellent, and totally unexpected, return as the Owls finally found their feet in front of goal. With a trip to Filbert Street on New Year's Eve and Southampton visiting Hillsborough after New Year, there seemed plenty of opportunity to get more points on the board and finally start climbing the table.

 

Final score : Wednesday 5-1 Coventry

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Ingesson (Waddle 33), Hyde, Sheridan, Bart-Williams, Whittingham, Bright (Watson 89). Unused sub : Key

 

Coventry : Ogrizovic, Borrows (Pickering 45), Morgan, Gillespie, Pressley, Jones, Darby, Flynn, Cook, Ndlovu (Quinn 45), Wegerle. Unused sub : Gould

 

Attendance : 26,0562024-12-27_114403.pdf2024-12-27_114610.pdf

[Chelters]

Trying something a bit different with the programme images, hopefully better quality but you need to tap the link to see them if you’re bothered.

Can revert back to photos or alternatively someone might know a better way of scanning and attaching!

[HoylandOwl]

Hahaha loved that report Chelts.

’Gary Gillespie forgot he’d left the oven on’ 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Chelters]

Saturday 31 December 1994

FA Carling Premiership

Leicester City (away)

 

As 1994 drew to a close, with New Year's Eve falling on a Saturday, games took place on that day and the following Bank Holiday Monday rather than New Year's Day. It continued a rather hectic - but not unusual - festive period that would involve 4 games in 8 days. So far it had been an absolute dream for Wednesday with six points and nine goals on the board, including four for new signing Guy Whittingham.

 

The Owls travelled down to Filbert Street to face a struggling Leicester side in their first season in the Premier League. Promoted via the play-offs, their squad had a distinctly First Division look to it. Manager Brian Little had departed for Aston Villa in November, and new boss Mark McGhee had not really enjoyed the new manager bounce, although a more than creditable point at Old Trafford in their previous game hinted at signs of improvement.

 

Wednesday made just the one change from the side that had started those two handsome wins over Everton and Coventry, with Chris Waddle replacing the injured Klas Ingesson. The Foxes' side showed few household names, their star player being Mark Draper which tells you something.

 

With the home side perhaps unsurprisingly adopting a tough and direct approach this was not one for the purists, and any thoughts of another 4 or 5 goal runout for the Owls were to prove unfounded as Whittingham was kept quiet. After a tight and scrappy opening period the contest was lit up with a fantastic goal in the 40th minute. Graham Hyde received the ball in the Leicester half, eluded two challenges and then hit a cracking effort from 25 yards that flew into the top corner past Kevin Poole. It was probably the best goal Hyde would ever score and a reminder of the quality that he did have. Having won his place in midfield early in the season he had become an automatic choice, and picked up the baton of the Carlton Palmer role that Ian Taylor was meant to fill. Was this a sign of Hyde's quality or more of an indicator of the decline that had started to set in? I'll let you decide that one.....

 

The second half had a bit more going on as the home side pushed for an equaliser. Kevin Pressman was not massively tested, with a couple of headers from Iwan Roberts and a shot from Simon Grayson his main bits of action. But with 11 minutes to go the infamous Mike Reed gave the Owls defence the runaround when he awarded a very soft looking penalty against Ian Nolan. Cue a rather unusual occurrence as Steve Thompson saw his spot kick hit the post before he slotted in the rebound, promptly realising that, as no other player had touched the ball, it was a 'double touch' and Reed correctly disallowed the effort, awarding Wednesday a free kick. The home fans showed their ignorance by making a fuss about it but, to be Frank, there was nothing to argue about. A Pat on the back for Mr Reed there.

 

By this stage Wednesday were soaking up pressure but happy to play on the break, with Poole required to make good saves to deny substitutes Gordon Watson and Dan Petrescu. But it turned out that no further goals were needed as the Owls saw the game out to record a full complement of 9 points so far from the Christmas fixture list. Having scraped along in the bottom six for much of the season, as can often happen at this time of the year three good results saw Wednesday shoot up the table into 9th place and, going into 1995, things were suddenly starting to look a lot better.

 

Final score : Leicester 0-1 Wednesday

 

Leicester : Poole, Grayson, Whitlow, Willis, Hill, Agnew (Blake 67), Philpott, Draper, Thompson, Oldfield (Lowe 53), Roberts. Unused sub : Ward

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Waddle (Petrescu 67), Hyde, Sheridan, Bart-Williams, Whittingham (Watson 82), Bright. Unused sub : Key

 

Attendance : 20,624

[Owling_Wolf]

On 28/12/2024 at 09:05, Chelters said:

Wednesday 28 December 1994

FA Carling Premiership

Coventry City (home)

 

Just two days after the trip to Goodison Park on Boxing Day, Wednesday were back in action as they welcomed Coventry for a Wednesday nightgame. Yes this was the 1990s, there was no suggestion of there being 'too many games' over the Christmas period, the paying public were treated to what they wanted and the players just got on with it. There was also no talk of 'rotation', partly of course because teams didn't have such massive squads back in the day but the old mantra of 'why change a winning team?' still ruled.

 

This was certainly the case for Trevor Francis who, after the surprise victory at Everton, was more than happy to name the same line-up just two days later, meaning new signing Guy Whittingham could continue his promising partnership with Mark Bright up front. It also meant Chris Waddle remained on the bench, where Gordon Watson also appeared for the first time in a few games.

 

The visitors were having a typically Coventryesque season, plodding along in the bottom half whilst exciting precisely nobody. Their crushingly dull mediocrity at this time was summed up by their choice of manager, Graham Taylor's erstwhile England assistant Phil Neal, a man with a persona so dour your mind drifted off almost as soon as he started speaking. Nevertheless, any game against the Sky Blues always seemed to present a bit of a challenge, with Wednesday wins and goals for either side at a real premium over recent seasons. This, however, was to prove a surprisingly entertaining affair.

 

The first incident of any note was a Wednesday goal in the 15th minute. Playing 'the wrong way' in the first half, John Sheridan's corner in front of the Kop was flapped at by Steve Ogrizovic - the epitome of a 'big lunk' if ever there was one - the ball dropped at the feet of Bright who swivelled and smashed the ball into the net. The visiting defenders were not happy, as there did appear to be a bit of backing in by Bright on the visitors' keeper, but the goal stood.

 

However, referee Kelvin Morton obviously had the sinking feeling that he had made a mistake and made a classic 'levelling up' decision a couple of minutes later. A long ball over the top caught the Owls defence flat footed and Sean Flynn ran through. As he took a touch past Kevin Pressman, he threw himself to the ground a la Greg Louganis, allowing Morton the perfect opportunity to point to the spot and book a rather bemused Pressman, who had barely made a challenge. The home fans voiced their displeasure at such an obviously crap decision, but it didn't stop Peter Ndlovu confidently stroking home the penalty.

 

With 33 minutes gone the real game-changing event occurred as the unfortunate Klas Ingesson departed through injury - no offence to the big Swede but this allowed Waddle to enter the fray and put in a typically mesmeric performance. Within five minutes it was the Waddler himself who put the Owls back in front as Sheridan sent over a cross and the winger squeezed a brave header in at the far post, before executing a Klinsmann celebration in front of the South Stand.

 

Just before half time came a third to give that important two goal buffer going into the break. A nice move down the left channel ended with Graham Hyde slipping the ball across for Bright to guide the ball home for his third in two games.

 

With Waddle pulling the strings Wednesday continued to torment the away defence early in the second half. On 57 minutes Gary Gillespie brought the ball out of defence before suddenly remembering that he might have left the oven on, Whittingham took advantage of the dawdle, nipped in and swapped passes with Waddle before firing confidently into the bottom corner. It was the kind of instinctive finish that had been noticeably lacking all season. 

 

Seven minutes later Whittingham grabbed his second and Wednesday's fifth. Hyde did the hard work before slipping the ball to Waddle, his shot was parried by Ogrizovic (who perhaps should have done better) and the ex-Army striker nipped in to chip the ball over the keeper and nod into the empty net - another confident finish. 

 

There seemed to be plenty of time for more and there could well have been, at both ends. Chris Bart-WIlliams hit the woodwork and Waddle had a volley saved, before Mr. Morton decided to intervene once more. As the uber Sunday league striker Micky Quinn seemingly got away with a foul on Andy Pearce, Des Walker then brought him down in the area for another penalty and another booking. With Ndlovu having been substituted Paul Cook stepped up but saw his penalty saved by Pressman. The ball fell nicely to Quinn on the rebound who, obviously seeing the injustice in the original decision, promptly cleared it out for a goal kick. 

 

So, six points and nine goals from two festive fixtures was an excellent, and totally unexpected, return as the Owls finally found their feet in front of goal. With a trip to Filbert Street on New Year's Eve and Southampton visiting Hillsborough after New Year, there seemed plenty of opportunity to get more points on the board and finally start climbing the table.

 

Final score : Wednesday 5-1 Coventry

 

Wednesday : Pressman, Atherton, Nolan, Pearce, Walker, Ingesson (Waddle 33), Hyde, Sheridan, Bart-Williams, Whittingham, Bright (Watson 89). Unused sub : Key

 

Coventry : Ogrizovic, Borrows (Pickering 45), Morgan, Gillespie, Pressley, Jones, Darby, Flynn, Cook, Ndlovu (Quinn 45), Wegerle. Unused sub : Gould

 

Attendance : 26,0562024-12-27_114403.pdf2024-12-27_114610.pdf

Is that Cov player listed on the programme Paul Cook the Scouse Chezzie Manager, anyone?