10 facts you (probably) didn’t know about Sheffield Wednesday

Did you know? Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest clubs in the world.

Established in 1867, the Owls celebrated their 149-year anniversary in September and owner Dejphon Chansiri is aiming high as he lives in hope that Sheffield Wednesday can reach the Premier League come the end of May in its 150th year.

Having come so close last term, is there any reason why the Owls cannot go one step further this season?

Recent investment on all levels have seen the S6 club break the bank for so called better players as they continue to build and pursue the dream of playing in the top-flight of English football once again.

This week, Shoot!‘s Sheffield Wednesday representative Louis Shackshaft looks at ten potentially unknown facts about the club and its players throughout its 149-year history.

The following ten facts may, or may not, be common knowledge to all Wednesdayites or football fans as a whole…

Fletcher folklore

Scottish forward Steven Fletcher scored Sheffield Wednesday’s 8,000 competitive goal in the history of the club when he netted against Blackburn Rovers this season at Ewood Park on the September 27, 2016.

The Owls are currently sat on 8,005 goals since the club’s establishment back in 1867 after Gary Hooper scored against Ipswich Town two weeks ago.

Steel City stalemate

Sheffield Wednesday have faced rivals Sheffield United on 140 occasions (including cup competitions) throughout the history of both football clubs.

Sheffield Wednesday Wins: 48

Sheffield United Wins: 48

Draws: 44

Yes, that’s right; both clubs have won the Steel City derby 48 times.

The first-ever fixture between the two clubs was a 2-1 win for Wednesday on April 23, 1891, in front of 3,250 fans, almost 125 years ago.

Of course we all remember the most recent fixture between the two clubs, February 26, 2012.

Sheffield Wednesday won the Yorkshire derby 1-0 courtesy of a Chris O’Grady headed goal in the 73rd minute in front of 36,000 plus spectators.

Fifth oldest outfit

Sheffield Wednesday are the fifth oldest football club in England.

Founded on September 4th, 1867, members of the ‘Wednesday’ cricket club officially established the second football team within Sheffield.

Semedo’s star statistic

Iconic Wednesday defender/midfielder Jose Semedo has the highest pass accuracy in the Owls squad this season with 96.3%.

This statistic however is recognised by the fact Semedo has only played 47 minutes of league football this season.

Portuguese influence

Sheffield Wednesday boss Carlos Carvalhal is the first non-British manager to take charge of the club in its 149-year history.

Carvalhal was born on December 4, 1965, in Braga, Portugal.

Carlos was a centre-back in his playing days and was capped nine times by the Portuguese Under-21 side between 1985 and 1987.

Record attendance

Astonishingly, Sheffield Wednesday highest ever attendance was 72,841.

This however was over 80 years ago on February 17, 1934, against Manchester City in a FA Cup fifth round tie.

An attendance of that calibre is hard to imagine, even though back in the day, spectators did not rely on seating and standing up on the wayward terraces was their only option.

Hillsborough currently has an official capacity of 39,812.

Ladies’ League Cup legacy

Coincidentally, the Sheffield Wednesday Ladies lifted the League Cup in 1991 also.

The year 1991 sits proudly in the history of both the Sheffield Wednesday men’s and women’s clubs.

Why Wednesday?

Why Sheffield ‘Wednesday’?

Founding members of the Wednesday cricket club found time off away from their day jobs in the middle of the week on a Wednesday.

Subsequently, as the football team was founded, the club was known as ‘The Wednesday’ until 1929, then the football club changed its name officially to Sheffield Wednesday, and the rest, they say, is history.

Goalscoring Gary

Gary Hooper has now scored 18 league goals in 44 appearances for Sheffield Wednesday since his arrival, initially on loan back in October 2015 before signing permanently in the following January for an undisclosed fee thought to be around £3m.

Hooper also scored 18 league goals for Norwich City before his departure to the Owls, however, this was over a total of 64 appearances.

Sheffield Wednesday statistics

In Sheffield Wednesday’s 149-year history, their all-time statistics are as follows:

Won: 2,080 competitive games

Lost: 1,895 competitive games

Drawn: 1,309 competitive games

Scored: 8,005 competitive goals

Conceded: 7,492 competitive goals

Average of 1.51 goals scored per game

Average of 1.42 goals conceded per game