It has been a while since Sheffield Wednesday were anywhere near the Premier League, with play-off heartbreak in 2017 their most recent dalliance with a promotion push.
This season, the key for Sheffield Wednesday is to avoid being sucked into a relegation battle as they look to consolidate their status as a Championship side.
The Owls pulled off a miracle to survive last season, and had spent two years in League One before that after dropping out of the second tier in 2021.
You have to go back to 2017 to find the last Wednesday team that genuinely were a force to be reckoned with in the Championship, with Carlos Carvalhal leading the S6 side to back-to-back play-off charges.
Sheffield Wednesday missed a golden chance for promotion
Since losing to Hull City on penalties in the 2015/16 Championship play-off final, and then losing to Huddersfield in the semi-finals of 2017, again on penalties, Wednesday lost their momentum and any hopes of returning to the top flight swiftly faded away from there on out.
The Owls had finished fourth in the 2016/17 campaign, with 81 points. A 0-0 draw away at Huddersfield in the semi-final first leg was followed by a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough, taking the tie to extra-time and penalties.
Sam Hutchinson missed Sheffield Wednesday’s first spot-kick, while Fernando Forestieri missed the crucial final kick to seal Huddersfield’s win. But, what are the starting XI from that disappointing night at Hillsborough up to now?
Kieren Westwood
The former Wednesday goalkeeper was released by the Owls in 2021, and would later join up with QPR before being released a year later. He spent almost two years looking for a new club, before he signed with Crewe Alexandra in February of this year for a brief spell as backup to Tom Booth, but he was released again in the summer.
He’s not called time on his playing career just yet, but at 40-years-old, one would imagine that can’t be far away now. Westwood has a goalkeeping academy where he passes on his knowledge to the next generation.
Jack Hunt
Interestingly, Jack Hunt left Wednesday to join Bristol City in 2018, but returned to the Owls on a free transfer in 2021. He played 26 times in the 2022/23 season as Sheffield Wednesday secured promotion back to the Championship but was released that summer and joined Bristol Rovers. He is still playing regularly for the League One.
Glenn Loovens
The Sheffield Wednesday captain at the time of this play-off defeat, Glenn Loovens stuck around for another season before reaching the end of his contract and being released. He joined Sunderland on a two-year deal, but only fulfilled one of those before deciding to hang up his boots, and has seemingly been enjoying a quieter life now.
Tom Lees
Lees scored the own goal that took the play-off semi-final to extra-time back in 2017, but he got over that disappointment and stayed with Sheffield Wednesday right through to 2021, at which point he joined none other than Huddersfield, after his Owls contract came to an end.
He is still playing regularly for the Terriers now as they look to gain promotion from League One this season.
Danny Pudil
The former Czechia international returned to his homeland after leaving Wednesday in 2019, turning out for Mlada Boleslav and Viktoria Zizkov. He took a career break in the summer of 2021, but obviously loved Sheffield so much that he came back to the city to join non-league outfit Hallam FC in the summer of 2022.
Barry Bannan
This is an easy one — Barry Bannan is still playing for Sheffield Wednesday and is Danny Rohl’s captain. The midfielder has been an integral figure for the club over the last nine years, and led them to promotion in the 2022/23 campaign. His contract ends next summer, and it remains to be seen whether the 34-year-old will be handed a new deal.
Kieran Lee
Kieran Lee was released by Sheffield Wednesday in the summer of 2020, and had to wait until January the following year to be picked up by Bolton Wanderers. He spent just over two years there before deciding to retire at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.
Ross Wallace
The Scottish right-midfielder made over 120 appearances for the Owls during a three-year stay in S6, and scored some truly memorable goals. He was released in the summer of 2018, but was soon picked up by Fleetwood Town. Ross Wallace spent a year there before heading back to his native Scotland, where he retired with St. Mirren in 2020.
Since hanging up his boots, Wallace took up a coaching role with Burnley’s youth team in 2021, before taking on a job as first-team coach at Fleetwood in 2023, working alongside Charlie Adam.
Adam Reach
Adam Reach is now 31-years-old but is currently without a club after being released by West Bromwich Albion at the end of the 2023/24 campaign. The winger spent five years with Wednesday, and will largely be remembered for his incredible long-range goals. He was released by the Owls in 2021, before joining the Baggies on a free transfer.
Steven Fletcher
He may be 37-years-old, but Steven Fletcher is still mixing it up in League One, and is currently employed by none other than Ryan Reynolds at Wrexham. The journeyman has also played for Stoke City and Dundee United since being released by Wednesday in 2020.
The big striker scored eight goals last season as Wrexham won promotion from League Two, and is still playing fairly regularly for Phil Parkinson’s side this term.
Fernando Forestieri
While he was mostly beloved during his time at Wednesday, the striker did refuse to play for the Owls at one point after being linked with Derby County and Newcastle United. Since leaving S6 in 2020, Forestieri joined Udinese, but failed to make an impact in Italy.
He joined Malaysian outfit, Johor Darul Ta’zim, in 2022, and has been in great form out there, scoring 50 goals in 72 games for his current club. He is 34-years-old now, but shows no signs of slowing down, clearly.
Carlos Carvalhal has been busy since leaving Sheffield Wednesday
The manager at the time, Carlos Carvalhal, has had plenty of jobs since leaving Wednesday in December 2017. He took on the Swansea City job at the time, and has since coached Rio Ave and Braga in his native Portugal, Al-Wahada in the UAE, Celta Vigo in Spain, and Olympiacos in Greece.
Carvalhal won the Portuguese Super Cup in 2021, and has now returned to Braga, taking over at the club again in the summer.