Sheffield Wednesday will be starting their forthcoming Championship campaign with a twelve point deduction. The deduction results from charges stemming from a breach of spending rules in the 2017-18 season, where the sale of the iconic Hillborough Stadium to the clubs owners was reported in the clubs accounts, despite the sale actually happening in the following season. The charges were brought against Wednesday in November 2019, and after eight months of deliberation, the verdict from the disciplinary panel has led to much discussion as to whether the points deduction should apply to next season or have actually been imposed during the 2019-20 campaign, which would have seen the club finish bottom of the table.
Whilst there are legitimate arguments about which season the sanction should apply to that can be made by those on either side of the case, what is done is done. Wednesday are looking at appealing the decision, however at the time of writing, it's looking like they'll be starting the season on minus twelve points. This leads to the question as to whether the Owls can overcome this hurdle and preserve their Championship status this season and then hope to start the next one on an even footing, or whether the next time they start the season on 0 points will be in League One.
In the past season, Wednesday finished the season in 16th place, only eight points away from Charlton Athletic in the final relegation place. In the 2019/20 season, Charlton were relegated on 48 points - an incredibly high total for a relegated side. In the two seasons prior to the 2019/20 campaign the final relegation place has been occupied by Rotherham United on just 40 points, and Barnsley, on 41 points. Hull City finished this season bottom of the table on 45 points, which would have been enough to see them finish outside the bottom three in most other seasons.
This year, the three relegated clubs, Wigan, Charlton and Hull, were all clubs with sizeable and modern infrastructure with which to support Championship football, yet all three clubs were owned and run by people that their respective fan bases have very few nice things to say about. The stories of each of these clubs raises the issue about whether the footballing authorities criteria for "fit and proper persons" to run a football club is indeed "fit and proper", although that is another discussion for another time.
What makes the Championship arguably weaker at the bottom end this season, is the presence of smaller clubs who don't have the finances or infrastructure to support second tier football. The counter argument is that these small clubs are run very astutely and have every right to be in the Championship, however under normal circumstances, most would expect a club with the resources of Wednesday to comfortably finish at least twelve points clear of some of the second tiers smaller clubs.
Promoted from League One this year were perennial yo yo club, Rotherham United, who will be hoping that this will finally be the year that Championship football stays at the New York stadium into at least 2022. The Millers, however, will go into the season with one of the smallest budgets in the league, second perhaps only to fellow promoted side, Wycombe Wanderers.
If Wycombe are able to stay up this season then it'll be a minor miracle, but in boss Gareth Ainsworth the Adams Park club have a man who seems to be gaining a reputation as a miracle worker. If Ainsworth isn't able to conjure up something special in Buckinghamshire this season, the legendary strength possessed by talismanic forward Adebeyo Akinfenwa might come in handy to prop up the rest of the table.
Rounding out this years Championship newcomers are League One Champions, Coventry City. Whilst the Sky Blues sizeable fan base might view the second tier as a more natural level for a club with their history to be at, they will also be acutely aware of the problems facing the club this season. The most notable issue facing them will be the commute to St. Andrews for home games as the club continues it's exile from Coventry at the home of Birmingham City.
The promoted sides all face challenges of their own, which may give Wednesday some hope. Further cause for optimism for Owls supporters will be question marks over Luton Town, who occupied the relegation places for most of the season before pulling off their own version of the great escape, and Barnsley, who were spared relegation on the final day due to the points deduction handed down to Wigan Athletic in bizarre circumstances. Despite the good fortune both Luton and Barnsley had in avoiding relegation last time, most would predict them to be involved in a relegation dogfight again this term.
Giving cause for concern for Wednesday fans will be the departure of last seasons top scorer Steven Fletcher to Championship rivals Stoke City. Manager Gary Monk will have to move quickly to find a way of replacing Fletcher's goals as they cannot afford a slow start to the season. It has been reported that Wednesday are hoping Wigan striker Josh Windass, who finished last season on loan at Hillsborough, will follow defender Chey Dunkley to Hillsborough, but the Lancashire club are holding out for more money as the carcass of their Championship side is picked clean following their relegation.
After the departure of Fletcher, Wednesday have been dealt another blow by the loss of forward Atdhe Nuhiu. The Kosovan forward, whose wikipedia page describes him as "the most attractive man to grace the beautiful game" is attracting attention from across Europe. At the age of 31, his next contract could well be his last and he has chosen to explore his options after seven years in South Yorkshire.
With some significant departures already confirmed, it will be a relief to Monk that defender Dominic Iorfa, voted by Wednesday fans as this years player of the season, will be staying at Hillsborough for forthcoming season. The 25 year old centre back made 45 appearances in all competition for the club last term, and should provide Wednesday with a solid defensive foundation to build from this term.
Monk will have his work cut out for him if Wednesday are able to avoid the drop. It must be difficult to convince a player to join a club that will be starting the season twelve points worse off than the rest of the pack. Any player that signs for Wednesday on a two year deal will know that the second year of that deal might be spent playing in the third tier of English football, whilst players will be apprehensive about signing a one year deal with all of the uncertainty around the game at the moment. One player not put off by the situation facing the Owls this term is Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, a young midfielder who has joined the club from Manchester City.
Perhaps then, the loan market might offer Wednesday a "get out of jail free" card. With it looking likely the Owls will be involved in a relegation scrap all season, it might well suit both the player and the club to conduct short term business. After all, signing players on a multiple year deal on big money can prove to be a burden to clubs relegated down into League One. There's even a Netflix documentary about it.
Last season, Monk was able to acquire the likes of Connor Wickham and Josh Windass on loan, and this seems to be the most realistic avenue for Wednesday to bring a bit of quality in. Reports are circulating that a loan move for 19 year old Everton forward Korede Adedoyin could be on the cards as Monk looks to strengthen his striking options. One source of optimism may come from the news that wideman Jacob Murphy, who was a popular figure at the Hillsborough last season, has rejoined the Owls for the season on second loan spell from parent club Newcastle United.
Whilst it's going to be a long and difficult season for everyone connected to Sheffield Wednesday Football Club, survival is not impossible. Yes, a twelve point deduction has given the club a mountain to climb, but there are other clubs in the division that are going to find next season extremely difficult for their own reasons. The question is whether three of them are twelve points worse than Wednesday after the fourthy sixth, and final, game of the season
Looking at the Championship relegation battle ahead, it would seem logical that given the gulf in resources between the minnows at the bottom end of the league and the rest of the division, we're more likely to see a team stay up on 40 points than go down on the 48 scored by Charlton in the coming season. This will be encouraging to Wednesday, despite the loss of key players and the struggle to replace them. Either way, those associated with the club will be glad that they at least get the chance to overcome their points deduction this season, rather than being automatically relegated because of it last season.
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