#SWFC Half-Time Report

With the Boxing Day fixtures now behind us we are half-way through the 2013/14 season and with Sheffield Wednesday still languishing in the relegation zone, the second half to the season needs to be a vast improvement on the first half. Ending 2013 two points adrift of safety and 21st placed Doncaster Rovers, manager-less, over reliant on loan signings and an owner reluctant to open the chequebook - it seems that Wednesday will be glad to see the back of the year and start afresh in the new year.

SkyBet Championship: Derby County

Pride Park, Derby County.

Ground: Pride Park, Derby
Attendance: 26,421

Sheffield Wednesday come to Derby on the back of a 5-2 thumping of Reading in their last outing whilst the hosts look to bounce back from a 2-1 loss to QPR. The Owls maintain the line-up that performed so well last time out with the loanee strike force of Connor Wickham and Matty Fryatt leading the line.

SkyBet Championship: Reading FC

Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield.

Ground: Hillsborough, Sheffield
Attendance: 20,368

With Reading sitting comfortably in an early season play-off spot Royals' fans come to Hillsborough in confident mood, Wednesday on the other hand were languishing bottom of the table and win-less all season. A resurgent Matty Fryatt leads the line after extending his loan deal from Hull City and is partnered by former loanee Connor Wickham, who this week surprisingly signed on loan from Sunderland and was quoted as saying had 'unfinished business' with the Owls.

SkyBet Championship: Barnsley FC

Oakwell Stadium, Barnsley.

Ground: Oakwell, Barnsley
Attendance: 13,268

This South Yorkshire derby comes at a time with both teams languishing in the early season relegation zone. Win-less Wednesday travel to their neighbours on the back of a 1-1 draw against Bolton Wanderers whilst The Tykes look for back-to-back wins following their impressive 3-2 win against Middlesbrough. With the suspension of Jose Semedo, Seyi Olofinjana steps in to make his debut after signing a short-term contract with the Owls.

SkyBet Championship: Bolton Wanderers

Reebok Stadium, Bolton.

Ground: Reebok Stadium, Bolton
Attendance: 17,177

Win-less so far this season and hoping to break that unwanted streak, Sheffield Wednesday were hit with the worry that stand out performer - Chris Kirkland could miss his first league match. Struck with illness in the build up to the game, The Owls signed Arsenal goalkeeper Damian Martinez on a short term loan. On the back of two draws and a win, Wanderers were expecting a win over lowly Wednesday to help propel them up the early season table.

SkyBet Championship: Ipswich Town

SWFC v ITFC

Ground: Hillsborough, Sheffield
Attendance: 19,519

A huge talking point in the build up to this match was the story of Sheffield Wednesday striker Gary Madine being sentenced to 18 months in prison for two counts of assault. The club are yet to release an official statement regarding the contract of the player (which has 3 years remaining) and is expected to do so after this match. After a morale boosting performance against Brighton, the Owls were hoping Ipswich would be the match they record their first win of the season. Sitting high in 10th position though, the Tractor Boys would be no easy opponents - even though they did throw away a 1-4 lead in their last outing.

SkyBet Championship: Brighton & Hove Albion

Amex Stadium, Brighton.

Ground: Amex, Brighton
Attendance: 25,725

A 1-0 home defeat to local rivals Doncaster Rovers after a good performance had Wednesday fans optimistic that their first win of the season was just around the corner. In their way was a Brighton side that lost their last outing - falling to a 2-0 reverse to Ipswich Town. With the return of top scorer Leonardo Ulloa and the Owls languishing at the relegation zone, home fans were expecting a 3 point return come full-time.

SkyBet Championship: Doncaster Rovers

Ground: Hillsborough, Sheffield
Attendance: 21,871

The previous match for Sheffield Wednesday was a hammering at the hands of a Manchester United loanee, Jesse Lingard for Birmingham City. This week saw another of the Premier League champions youngsters face the Owls, this time in the form of Federico Macheda - fresh from scoring 2 goals in Rovers last outing, a 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest. Win-less Wednesday recruited Matty Fryatt from Hull City in their bid to score goals but with a shortage of match fitness, he would start from the bench.

Return to Hillsborough

Ozzie Owl, SWFC mascot. 

This is a brief account of what happened the day I reached my target I set in the early days of my bout of depression, when I finally pushed through my problems and attended a match at Hillsborough, home of my beloved Sheffield Wednesday FC.

Against Modern Football?

Against Modern Football?

The 'Against Modern Football' movement has really come to prominence these last two seasons and has really gathered momentum. But why? I'm going to take a look at the 'selling points' of the AMF revolution and see whether we should agree or disagree with the ever-more present 'protest'. If you were to search the #AMF feed on twitter, you'd find a whole range of different gripes that are being listed under it. The whole 'blokish' attitude towards the game these days look back to what football was - a male dominated past-time becoming more and more present and now with the introduction of technology. Things such as burger prices and the 'half & half scarf' regularly fall under the AMF hashtag but is that what the movement is really about? Even the backbone of sport - the fans, are under scrutiny in this very vague topic. Whose to say somebody is a 'real' or 'proper' fan because somebody attends more matches than the other? The 'gloryhunter' and 'plastic' term is also thrown about at will and below I look further into it, giving my opinion on every subject of the AMF revolution. Feedback is always appreciated and can be left at the bottom of the post.

SkyBet Championship: Birmingham City

St. Andrews, Birmingham City.

Ground: St. Andrews, Birmingham
Attendance: 14,379

With the season in full flow now both of these teams would be expecting more points on the board than what they start today with. To call it a 'six-pointer' so early is unwarranted but with poor performances in their previous outings, both City and Wednesday will be desperate to start accumulating points and climb up the table sooner rather than later. Manager Lee Clarke signed Manchester United and England U21 sattacking midfielder Jesse Lingard in the build up to the game and he goes straight into the starting lineup to make his debut. The Owls also have added to the books with signings of Roger Johnson (on loan from Wolves) and Stephen McPhail (free agent).

The making of the 'SWFCarmchairfan'

Clarke Carlisle, PFA chairman and former player.

This is the reason I became a so-called 'armchair-fan'. Since I first posted this as a 'page' I have had an amazing response from people everywhere - making it my favourite article I have written. I'm now making it a 'post' so it is easily accessible too and easy to 'share'. Thanks for the feedback and look out for my 'Return to Hillsborough' piece coming very soon!

SkyBet Championship: Yeovil Town

Sheffield Wednesday captain, Reda Johnson.

Ground: Hillsborough, Sheffield
Attendance: 22,328

With previous form for Wednesday being LLDDD and promoted Yeovil Town having a previous form of WLLLL, both teams were looking at getting points on the board as soon as possible. A stuttering start to the season for the two teams and the majority of home fans were expecting a first win of the season at the expense of The Glovers. Gary Johnson has bolstered his defence with the recent loan acquisition of Bristol City defender Liam Fontaine after Swansea City loanee Alan Tate has been sent back to his parent club with an injury. The Owls themselves have made the loan signing of Roger Johnson from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the build up to this game after sending Martin Taylor to Brentford and seeing Gary Madine found guilty in his court case (awaiting sentencing).

SkyBet Championship: Middlesbrough FC

Middlesbrough FC v Sheffield Wednesday.

 Ground: The Riverside, Middlesbrough 
 Attendance: 15,964 (2,255 Owls)

As kick-off approached The Owls announced the emergency loan signing of Jordan Spence from Premiership side West Ham United - and the youngster goes straight into the side as the injured Lewis Buxton misses out. Another surprise for the away side was the lack of a striker in the starting line-up, instead Michail Antonio and Jermaine Johnson would be looking to speed past the Boro' defence from advanced positions in a line-up reminiscent of the successful one vs Hull City last season. The home side will look for their first win at home this season and look to build on their last two matches - both draws in what would be only their fourth league win at the Riverside in 2013. Wednesday haven't won here since 1991, could they change that?

SkyBet Championship: Millwall FC

Dave Jones welcomes Steve Lomas.

Ground: Hillsborough, Sheffield
Attendance: 20,009

The laughable talking point in the build up to this game was the Millwall kit-man forgetting his job role and not bringing the Lions' away kit to Hillsborough. Instead the players were to play for at least the first 45 minutes wearing their hosts away kit of last season. The serious talking point in the build up however was of the poor start the two teams have made to the season, with Wednesdays solitary point earned at Leeds their only on the board whilst Millwall themselves have zero points and more worryingly for the London club, zero goals. Both clubs would see this match as winnable and if the Owls can match what they did when Millwall last visited Hillsborough, the start to the season will have definitely improved.

SkyBet Championship: Leeds United

SWFC's keeper Chris Kirkland.

Ground: Elland Road, Leeds
Attendance: 23,766

An ideal 57th birthday for Wednesday manager Dave Jones would be for his team to pick up their first point/s of the season. That would be easier said than done however as rivals Leeds United, unbeaten so far this season, stand in their way. A fiery atmosphere would no doubt ensue as this Yorkshire derby has bad blood between the fans but a minutes applause was well observed for the deceased Leeds fans over the past 12 months before kick-off.

SkyBet Championship: Burnley FC

Sheffield Wednesday host Burnley.

Ground: Hillsborough, Sheffield.
Attendance: 22,282

Championship football returns to Hillsborough in the form of a visit from the 130 year old Clarets, Burnley. With Sean Dyche at the helm the Clarets earned a 1-1 draw (click link to see the report) in their opening league fixture, before thrashing York City 0-4 in the Capital One Cup in midweek. The departure of Charlie Austin to QPR dampened the positive vibes at Turf Moor and hopes turned to Sam Vokes to lead the line and step up to fill the void. Wednesday, still missing Reda Johnson and Lewis Buxton through injury, keep new signing Rafael Floro and academy graduate Liam Palmer in the full-back spots. A noticeable omission from the home team is Gary Madine, not even making the substitutes bench.

Capital One Cup: Rotherham United

Rotherham manager Steve Evans.

Ground: New York Stadium, Rotherham
Attendance: 11,433

The first round of the Capital One Cup serves up a Yorkshire derby at Rotherham Uniteds new stadium, the New York Stadium. The recently promoted Millers have strengthened in the summer with signings such as the 6 month loan of Matt Tubbs, Michael Tidser from Morton and former Fulham full-back Rob Milsom joining the League One side. Both teams were buoyed by the performance in their opening league fixtures with the Millers coming from 1-3 down to draw 3-3 with Crewe whilst Wednesday were somewhat unfortunate to lose 2-1 to QPR.

SkyBet Championship: Queens Park Rangers

QPR v Sheffield Wednesday, Nuhiu

Ground: Loftus Road, London
Attendance: 

With pre-season preperations now in the past, promotion favourites QPR start their Championship campaign against Sheffield Wednesday who finished last season in good form. Harry Redknapp has kept the nucleus of his squad together and the players at his disposal should see an immediate return to the Premier League. Dave Jones has added pace to his ranks in the form of 2 new permanent signings; Jacques Maghoma and Jeremy Helan - along with the reliable Kamil Zayatte in central defence. A new target man receives his international clearance along with Zayatte hours before the big kick off, Atdhe Nuhiu - the former Rapid Vienna player turning down Premiership clubs to sign and hoping to hit the ground running against a strong QPR side.

Pre-season 2013/2014

*End of Season Review 2012/13*

     If anybody had offered me an 18th position finish following the 2-2 draw with Derby County on the opening day of the season, I'd have gratefully accepted and started the celebrations right then! Over the course of the 46 game season there has undoubtedly been the high points: Fulham FC, Ipswich Town, Hull City, Brighton and of course the double over Barnsley - but more than enough low points including Bristol City, Peterborough Utd and Huddersfield Town - not to mention the imbecile Leeds United fan that attacked Chris Kirkland. A sore point with a lot of fans I've spoken to has been team selection, with a good chunk of the promotion achieving squad ignored for the majority of the season.

nPower Championship: Middlesbrough FC

It all comes down to this, the final day of the 2012/13 season. With the visitors already safe from relegation but with no play-off hopes to aim for, Sheffield Wednesday have a good chance of avoiding the drop but find themselves just a single point above the dreaded relegation zone at kick off time.

nPower Championship: Peterborough United

The season is coming to a close and 2 struggling teams were desperate for the points to avoid a drop to League One; Peterborough United having put up a stubborn fight to claw back a chance of survival and Sheffield Wednesday, who due to earlier results - know that one more point will secure Championship football for another season. London Road hosts its final home game for this season and in front of a packed attendance as well as the SkySports cameras.

nPower Championship: Ipswich Town FC

The games are falling off the fixture lists quickly now and the season is coming to a close but will both these clubs still be in the Championship on the final whistle of the season? Ipswich Town under the stewardship of Mick McCarthy have improved and moved up the table steadily but the closeness of English footballs second tier means they aren't safe yet. The Owls are also creeping to safety but are still mathematically in danger of relegation so all 3 points for either team would be a major boost.

nPower Championship: Blackpool FC

With the season closing quickly, both of the teams here want to accrue as many points as possible, as both Blackpool and Sheffield Wednesday look for the safety of mid-table mediocrity. With Blackpool looking for their fifth unbeaten match in a row, Wednesday would have to contend with the difficult Bloomfield Road aswel as a resilient opposition.

nPower Championship: Leeds United

This Yorkshire derby comes with both sides in need of points to avoid slipping down a compact league table into potential trouble. After the explosive earlier season encounter and the appointment of a new Leeds manager, tensions were high as bragging rights were up for grabs as well as the vital 3 points. As the early kick off approaches, a somewhat less than capacity Elland Road anticipates a massive 90 minutes for both the Yorkshire sides.

nPower Championship: Millwall FC

With a morale boosting victory over Blackburn Rovers in the rear view mirror, Sheffield Wednesday travel to the capital to face mid-table Millwall and former Owl, Mark Beevers. The Lions were looking to make it 5 games unbeaten in a row whilst the Owls were looking to put breathing space between themselves and the bottom 3.

nPower Championship: Blackburn Rovers

The one-club managerial merry-go-round that is Blackburn Rovers visit Hillsborough having won only one game in their previous 10 and accumulating a relegation form 6 points out of 30 available. The Owls meanwhile amassed 15 points in the same amount of games in their battle to beat the drop. Caretaker manager Gary Bowyer would be looking to £8m top scorer Jordan Rhodes to fire the struggling Rovers away from the bottom 3.

nPower Championship: Bristol City

April Fools day brings a bottom of the table clash between Bristol City and Sheffield Wednesday at Ashton Gate. With both teams fighting to stay in this league, it's no joke to say tensions were high as the very real threat of League One football awaits possibly both the Robins and Owls.

nPower Championship: Barnsley FC

The South Yorkshire Derby between Sheffield Wednesday and local rivals Barnsley FC comes with both teams in desperate need of all 3 points. To pull away from the dreaded relegation zone with so few games left would be additional bragging rights between these two struggling teams. With a week of press-talk coming to an end, it comes down to this, the Owls hosting the Tykes at Hillsborough in front of over 29,000 fans.

nPower Championship: Cardiff City

If there was ever a bad time to play the leagues runaway leaders, it was now. Embroiled in a relegation battle and in desperate need of points, Sheffield Wednesday host Cardiff City as the Bluebirds look to increase the likelihood of joining rivals Swansea City in the Premier League. Buoyed by the 0-1 victory over promotion hopefuls Leicester, the Owls were hoping that Cardiff's stuttering form continued (DDLWL - previous 5) and they could ease away from the dreaded relegation zone.

nPower Championship: Leicester City

Following back-to-back defeats, Sheffield Wednesday visit the King Power Stadium knowing that the game against a promotion chasing Leicester City side could push them closer to the bottom 3 by full time. The hosts though find themselves in a slump of their own and by picking up only 5 points out of the last 18, they find themselves with the threat of slipping away from the promotion pack.

nPower Championship: Watford FC

Unbeaten at Vicarage Road since January 1st, high-flying Watford play host to a Sheffield Wednesday side that find themselves slipping back towards League One. Much has been said about the Hornets loan policy with 10 foreign loanees playing in the famous yellow jersey, but in my opinion - they've found a loophole in the rules which is perfectly legal ... for now. Owls loanee Connor Wickham will be looking at getting his stint up am running having been named in a lone striker role with Michail Antonio behind for support.

nPower Championship: Nottingham Forest

The days earlier results saw the home side drop closer to the dreaded relegation zone but with a win over a resurgent Nottingham Forest, Wednesday could climb to mid-table ahead of a tough set of games to follow. Since Billy Davies return to Forest they have remained unbeaten and it seems the Al-Hasawi family have finally found the man to steer their club in the right direction.

nPower Championship: Crystal Palace

Promotion chasing Crystal Palace visit Hillsborough knowing that 3 points against a team battling hard against relegation, would make huge strides towards a return to the Premier League. The Owls have started looking over their shoulder as the trapdoor to League One creaks open and a resurgent Barnsley embarking an upturn of fortunes keep Wednesday firmly in the mix. A point here for The Owls would be a positive result.

nPower Championship: Birmingham City

 With the battle to beat the drop hotting up, every passing week more teams are being dragged into the danger zone and this would be a huge 3 points for either side as Sheffield Wednesday visit Birmingham City. The last time the Owls were away they produced a 1-2 win over Charlton Athletic whilst the last time Birmingham played at St. Andrews, they collapsed to a 0-4 loss to Watford.

nPower Championship: Derby County

Rewind back to the opening day of the current campaign and Sheffield Wednesday, fresh from promotion, claw back a 2-0 deficit at Pride Park to claim a point. Since then County have been pushing for a play-off position whilst Wednesday battle against relegation back to League One. Mid-week coup Connor Wickham starts on the Owls bench as the home side look to continue the recent run of form that saw Brighton humbled 3-1 last time out, whilst the Rams were hoping to build on the 3-0 mauling of Huddersfield Town.

nPower Championship: Brighton & Hove Albion FC

The most talked about stat amongst the 2 sets of fans was that Brighton had never beaten Wednesday at Hillsborough, a fact that had a real chance of being scrapped this time round as The Seagulls come to Sheffield with ambitions of a playoff place. The Owls have seemingly turned a corner since their 2-3 home loss against strugglers Bristol City at the start of December - and go into the match in a rich vein of form.

nPower Championship: Charlton Athletic

With postponements up and down the country playing havoc with the football fixtures, Charlton enlisted the help of their supporters to clear the ice and snow from The Valley to ensure the match with Sheffield Wednesday would go ahead. Last seasons nPower League One champions and runners-up face off with the hosts taking to life in the higher division easier than the visitors - sitting comfortably in mid table whilst Wednesday languish just outside the relegation zone.

nPower Championship: Wolverhampton Wanderers

Returning to league football after a brief FA Cup appearance, Sheffield Wednesday face Wolverhampton Wanderers at Hillsborough, hoping to build on their last Championship game - an away victory at Hull. Wolves come to a snowy Sheffield having only picked up 4pts out of an available 15 in their last 5 games whilst the Owls are on an upturn of form, having earned 10pts in the same amount of fixtures. Both clubs crashed out of the FA Cup (to MK Dons & Luton Town) and will look to this match as a platform to move up the league.

FA Cup: MK Dons (Third Round Replay)

After a stalemate at Hillsborough, MK Dons and Sheffield Wednesday face off on a bitterly cold evening in the 22,000 capacity Stadium:MK. Earlier in the day Dons manager Karl Robinson had been approached by nPower Championship side Blackpool to become their new manager, a testament to the work he has done in League One where his team currently occupy 6th place. The Owls field a much changed side to their winning team against Hull as rotation is key in their battle against relegation. The groundsmen at Stadium:MK have used the undersoil heating for the first time to get this match underway as the nation is under a blanket of frost and snow.

nPower Championship: Hull City

This Yorkshire derby comes at a time when the games hosts are riding high in the table with the very real possibility of promotion back to the Premier League, whilst their opponents are fighting just to stay in the league - a relegation battle. At kick off, Hull are on an 8 league game unbeaten run whilst Wednesday have amassed 10 points out of an available 15 in a recent resurgence. In a surprising tactical decision, Wednesday don't field a striker in the opening formation which looks like a 4-4-1-1 with Michail Antonio leading the line with Jermaine Johnson - the two pacey wingers are known for their ability to beat a man but not for their finishing.

FA Cup: MK Dons (Third Round)

Karl Robinson's MK Dons side visit Hillsborough having earned a 2nd round victory over rivals AFC Wimbledon (2-1), hoping to be in the next round at the expense of a struggling Championship side and with the possibility of testing themselves against a Premiership team (and the payday that brings). The Dons came to Sheffield in indifferent League One form but in their last outing defeated Notts County whilst their hosts hope to bounce back from defeat against Burnley.

nPower Championship: Burnley FC

The first game of 2013 sees the Owls face Burnley at Hillsborough and with a good run of form coming into the game, Sheffield Wednesday were confident of a win against the mid-table Clarets. Having kept 4 clean sheets in succession, Wednesdays confidence is high and with free scoring Charlie Austin missing for Burnley, this made for a lively game.