sheffield wednesday update: promotion edition
sheffield wednesday have ended their life in tier three football after two years, thanks to a crazy final day of the season. needing a win and some help from the opponents of rivals, sheffield united, exeter city. the owls beat wycombe wanderers 2 – 0, while the blades were held by city 2 – 2. that extended the gap between wednesday and untied to four points, enough to see the owls rise. charlton athletic won the division easily, with wednesday coming second. sheffield united still have a chance to go up through the playoffs but i hope they don’t get through. suck it… go owls!
ottawa senators update
after a season that everyone else had written off before it even started, the ottawa senators finished their season eclipsing expectations, making the playoffs and taking the number one seeded, new york rangers to seven games in their first round series. even then, they only lost the last game 2-1, which totally indicated how close the series was.
all we are left with now are questions for the offseason:
- is this daniel alfredsson‘s last season? he’s playing the world championships, but will he come back for one last roll of the stanley cup die?
- can erik karlsson win the norris trophy as best defenceman? 76 points in 82 games is sensational, considering the next best point-getter was 25 behind.
- can karlsson also be re-signed by the sens? he’s a restricted free agent. so other teams can make offers but ottawa has a right to match it.
- what about jason spezza? he also had a fantastic year; both points wise and being injury-free.
the playoffs are not over, but my interest has waned. go sens!
sports photo of the week
the day a different sport comes up with better photos, i’ll post something other than ice hockey
sheffield wednesday update
sheffield wednesday have made a charge up the table with a couple of wins of late; a 3-0 demolition of exeter city, and, overnight, a 1-0 win over hartlepool.
both wins have seen the owls climb to fourth on the table, leap-frogging hartlepool with last night’s win. with last week’s victory over yeovil town, wednesday’s unbeaten ride goes to three games.
at least we’re ahead of sheffield united.
sports photo of the week
is there anything better than seeing the 50million pound-man weeping as he misses a shot even i could have made? no, there is not
sheffield wednesday 2 – 0 rochdale
sheffield wednesday opened their 2011-12 season at home with a win against rochdale overnight. rob jones opened wednesday’s account with a flying header from a julian bennett long throw after 16 minutes.
rochdale did create a few chances but the owls’ defense proved to be solid, at least for today.
on 71 minutes, david prutton rounded out the game with a smashed volley from a poor corner clearance. rochdale lost their fight but managed to keep sheffield scoreless for the remainder of the game.
much like last year, sheffield wednesday are off to a flying start. after one game, they sit sixth, level with city rivals, sheffield united, who also won 2 -0.
the real highlight of the match came from gary megson, with his interview with bbc radio, constantly disagreeing with the reporter. absolutely hilarious. examples:
reporter: you must be completely satisfied with the performance today.
megson: i’d say satisfied, but completely’s not the right word for it.
reporter: playing on a narrow pitch like this, having (bennett’s) long throw is better than a corner
megson: it’s not better than a corner because we have good delivery from sedge (chris sedgwick). and when you say it’s a narrow pitch, it’s not because it’s the same size hillsborough has always been.
classic. listen to the interview here.
sports photo of the week
uruguay goalkeeper, fernando muslera can’t watch as his teammate, jose martin caceres, scores the winning penalty shootout goal against hosts, argentina, in their copa america quarter-final showdown.
sheffield wednesday 1 – 1 walsall
sheffield wednesday eased their relegation troubles while sinking walsall’s hope of survival with a draw overnight. neil mellor cancelled out jonathon macken’s early effort to see both sides share the spoils.
macken opened the scoring after just ten minutes as macken blasted home from close range after some sloppy defending by the owls.
mellor leveled just before the half hour when he tucked home a rebound when walsall’s keeper could only parry a fierce lewis buxton shot across the goal, straight to his feet. despite a high tempo game, neither side could find the net again.
the draw sees the owls move to 54 points, ten away from the drop zone. with three games to play, a win will secure wednesday’s spot in league one for another season. a game on monday versus, basically relegated, swindon at hillsborough provides a good opportunity to do that.
sheffield wednesday 2 – 0 hartlepool
<div class=\"postavatar\">
</div>
sheffield wednesday eased their relegation fears for another week with victory over hartlepool at hillsborough this morning. golas from tommy miller and gary madine ensured the owls moved further away from the drop zone.
jermaine johnson was at his tantalising best. his play was the catalyst for many of the owls’ attacks. wednesday were the more productive of the two sides, showing a willingness to attack and create chances.
the break came in first half stoppage time. neil mellor was fouled in the box. miller dispatched the spot kick efficiently to give the owls a one goal lead going into the break.
madine doubled the advantage just after the hour mark. johnson was the instigator, cleaving his way through two defenders before setting up the striker for a hard shot into the corner.
hartlepool lost their fight after that and wednesday hung on for a valuable three points. the win keeps the owls in 15th, but the three points takes them to 53 for the season, 10 clear of the relegation battle. with four games to go, wednesday would need at least another victory to seal their safety. but this win goes along way towards that.
sports photo of the week
major league baseball started this week in america. which can only mean one thing: hockey season is almost over…. dang it
senators clear house
<div class=\"postavatar\">
</div>
the struggling ottawa senators, last in the overall league-wide standings, moved into rebuilding mode this week by trading players for draft picks (read: potential flops, with ottawa’s history of drafting). here’s the hit list so far:
mike fisher, centre – to nashville predators for a 1st round pick and a conditional 2nd/3rd pick for the 2011 draft
chris kelly, centre – to boston bruins for a 2nd rd pick (2011)
jarkko ruutu, left wing – to anaheim ducks for a 6th rd pick (2011)
brian elliott, goalkeeper - to colorado avalanche for chris anderson, goalkeeper
i don’t think this will be the end of it either.
sheffield wednesday 0 – 3 birmingham city
<div class=\"postavatar\"></div>
sheffield wednesday were unceremoniously dumped out of the fa cup fourth round by premier league strugglers, birmingham city. the owls, 46 places below brum in the league, just didn’t have the fire power to really challenge. goals from jean beausejour and obafemi martins in the first 20 minutes really killed of the game as a contest.
a david murphy goal in the 53rd minute finished the owls off. birmingham move on their second successive quarter finals.
bit of a week for the owls
<div class=\"postavatar\"></div>
things are happening in owlstown. first alan irvine leaves the club and gary megson is appointed manager. two other assistant coaches leave hillsborough. to finish the week, the owls lose to rochdale 2 -1 and look pathetic doing it.
sheffield wednesday now sit in 14th and are looking at league 2 action next season if they keep this up.
sheffield wednesday 3 – 0 bristol city: fa cup rd 3
<div class=\"postavatar\"></div>
sheffield wednesday moved onto the next round of the fa cup after easily disposing of npower championship division strugglers, bristol city. goals from gary teale, neil mellor and clinton morrison finished off the robins as their miserable season continued. it will be interesting to see who they draw in the next round.
aussies hosting in 2015
<div class=\"postavatar\">
</div>
yeah, i have the world cup logo up but it’s related, sort of. australia has been given the hosting rights to the 2015 asian cup. asia’s premier football event is coming down under in four years time. this year’s cup will be held in qatar, with the aussies a decent chance to get further than the quarter-finals like they did four years ago. i for one, cannot wait. i’m hoping that brisbane will host some aussie games. barring that, i’d like to see south korea come and play at suncorp stadium. that’d be sweet…
owls latest results (read.. losses)
<div class=\"postavatar\"></div>
sheffield wednesday ended 2010 and started 2011 as only they know how, with losses. after demolishing bristol rovers 6 – 2 halfway through december, everything looked like it was on the up and up. exeter city decided to have something to say about that. with a 5 – 1 thumping of the owls, wednesday’s new year’s celebrations were put on hold. and they still are as they went down to huddersfield 1- 0 last weekend.
wednesday have an fa cup tie against rovers this weekend. hopefully they can relive that earlier walloping and get the promotion aspirations back on track.
tudgay on his way… out
<div class=\"postavatar\"></div>
sheffield wednesday fan favourite, marcus tudgay, sealed his permanent move to championship side, nottingham forest, overnight. he had been there since the start of the season on loan, but will now stay for an undisclosed fee. his 52 goals in 210 senior appearances ranks among the best in quite a time for the owls. he, and his goals, will be missed.
espn soccernet’s (questionable) moment of the year
<div class=\"postavatar\"></div>
espn soccernet had their journalists discuss their moments of the year. dale johnson discussed his thus:
“For the last decade Sheffield Wednesday have dug themselves deeper and deeper into a financial pit, with another relegation to League One following the failed chairmanship of Lee Strafford sending the club to its knees. With administration just hours away, Milan Mandaric came in to buy the club for just £1 and secure a deal which removed all residual debt. For the first time Wednesday can now look forward without the fear of financial implosion. Restraints on transfer activities and the footballing budget are no more and the constant cloud hanging over Hillsborough is gone. There’s still a long way to go with the club languishing in the third tier of the English game, but at least there is now hope of an eventual return to the Premier League.”
while it’s admirable that he mentions the owls and their newest saviour, i’m not sure even i would call this the moment of the year. i appreciate the owls sentiment, and no doubt johnson is an owls fan, but even i am not sure that sheffield wednesday’s situation would be worth a moment of the year. a world cup year, no less.
