2005/06
The aftermath of the Owls' 2004-05 play-off success left a race against time to prepare for the return to the second tier. Other Championship rivals had spent three weeks planning for the campaign ahead by the time Wednesday clinched promotion at Cardiff, meaning that Paul Sturrock had to act quickly to beef up his resources for the task in store.

The Scot turned to a familiar face in the form of his former Plymouth skipper Graham Coughlan while fellow defenders John Hills and Drissa Diallo were recruited from Gillingham and Ipswich respectively.

Also incoming were former Livingston midfielder Burton O'Brien and Liverpool winger Richie Partridge while American right-back Frank Simek signed after impressing on trial after being released by Arsenal.

Sturrock had also performed the tough task of releasing Matthew Hamshaw, Lewis McMahon, Zigor Aranalde and Paul Smith just two days after the Millennium Stadium triumph, while James Quinn departed after turning down a contract offer.

Wednesday were rocked less than a week before they began the term at Stoke when Steven MacLean broke his tibia in a freak incident during the final pre-season friendly against Manchester City.

Fellow Cardiff heroes Jon-Paul McGovern and Drew Talbot were also suffering with back injuries, so it was a new-look side including loan recruits Chris Eagles and Leon Best that featured in a goalless opening at the Britannia Stadium.

More injury woe followed as Best broke a foot after scoring eight minutes into his home debut and he returned to Southampton - though he was to feature again for the Owls later in the term.

Manchester United wideman Eagles faired better when his goal earned a maiden league win over Yorkshire rivals Leeds at the seventh attempt. That was the only win from the first 11 Championship fixtures, after which Wednesday were bottom of the division.

The onset of autumn brought an upturn in results as the Owls enjoyed an unbeaten October with wins over Norwich and Coventry and they also beat Derby on Bonfire Night, with boyhood Owl Nicky Weaver debuting in goal after his loan move from Manchester City.

However a stretch of nine winless dates followed, during which the side failed to hit the net in seven successive matches, before Wednesday turned the formbook on its head to register three back-to-back successes over Burnley, Crewe and Leicester during the New Year period and hoist themselves out of the bottom three.

That point of the term provided Sturrock's chance to reshuffle his troops for the crucial second segment of the season, based on showings so far.

Strikers Deon Burton and Marcus Tudgay came in from Rotherham and Derby, Peter Gilbert made his loan move from Leicester permanent and Best returned for a second temporary stint along with Southampton colleague Yoann Folly.

Leaving were play-off heroes Paul Heckingbottom (Barnsley) and Lee Peacock (Swindon) while Graeme Lee crossed the county to Doncaster.

David Graham - an August signing from Wigan - was loaned to Huddersfield while temporary switches became permanent for Maurice Ross, who joined Wolves three months after moving south from Rangers, and Ipswich-bound Adam Proudlock.

The most bizarre - and perhaps most pivotal - date of the campaign was at fellow strugglers Millwall in early February where the scoreline of 1-0 to Wednesday revealed little of the afternoon's drama.

Centre-back Lee Bullen replaced the injured David Lucas in goal before half-time and the makeshift shot-stopper was key in the Owls' astonishing winner, as Simek finished a rapid SWFC breakaway by bundling in a precious winner with several Lions players off the field celebrating a 'goal' which was ruled out for a foul on Bullen.

Four defeats in six games followed but a home victory over Preston eased Wednesday nerves with Brighton, Crewe and Millwall struggling to escape the danger zone.

A fine 3-1 win at Wolves gave the Owls the platform to secure safety, with on loan Liverpool keeper Scott Carson producing arguably the best display of his excellent loan stint.

The mission was completed over the Easter weekend as a single-goal triumph over Norwich and a 2-0 success at Brighton cemented Championship status with two games to spare.

The usual chopping and changing of personnel preceded the 2006-07 term, with McGovern, Diallo, Lucas, Partridge, Craig Rocastle and Patrick Collins all exiting.

In came Madjid Bougherra, a centre-back from French club FC Gueugnon who had impressed on loan at Crewe - from whom Wednesday also signed midfielder Kenny Lunt. Folly joined permanently and MK Dons winger Wade Small was also recruited.

Wednesday had to wait until their fourth game to record victory after opening with two draws and a defeat - a second-half comeback downing Sturrock's old club Plymouth 2-1 on their own patch.

That early spell saw a number of youngsters blooded into a side beset with injuries, a problem that came to a head when 13 players were unavailable for the Carling Cup loss by League Two Wrexham.

A habit of decent performances which failed to yield the desired results left the Owls with just one win after their first ten league dates. A last-gasp Chris Brunt winner defeated local rivals Barnsley but the 4-0 lost that followed by Colchester prompted the SWFC board to part company with Sturrock with the team hovering just above the drop zone.

Academy manager Sean McAuley collected an impressive ten points from 12 while in temporary charge before former Nottingham Forest defender Brian Laws was appointed into the top job in early November.

Laws moved into the hot seat after almost ten years in charge at Scunthorpe, who were heading for the League One title after promotion from the basement division in 2005.

The Owls' ninth manager in 11 years had a winning start at Ipswich and a subsequent spell of five wins in seven games soon got the team looking upwards to the top end of the table.

An excellent 4-1 success at Leicester in that period was particularly notable for three stunning strikes from Brunt, Tudgay and Glenn Whelan while on loan Fulham keeper Mark Crossley hit the headlines after venturing up front to head an injury-time equaliser against Southampton just before Christmas.

A comfortable 3-0 victory at Oakwell left Wednesday in good shape heading into 2007. But Happy New Year was not a phrase that was in vogue for the Owls as they endured a run of nine winless matches, seven of which were lost, though SWFC banked £2.5m when Bougherra's impressive form prompted a swoop from Charlton.

Cardiff hero Drew Talbot joined Luton while Laws recruited Wolves frontman Leon Clarke and Bradford winger Jermaine Johnson.

MacLean's last-minute penalty in a 3-2 win over Southend ended the rot and Brunt claimed the goal of the season with a stunning 45-year lob as Wednesday triumphed by the same scoreline a week later at Leeds.

Everton's Iain Turner had now become the third loanee to feature between the sticks and the Owls were unbeaten in his 11 games, during which they made a late play-off bid.

Nine of the last 13 games were won as the team clicked into gear, cementing league doubles over Crystal Palace, Ipswich, Norwich and WBA along the way after accomplishing the same achievement over Barnsley and Leicester earlier in the campaign.

The run left Wednesday two points off the top six heading into their penultimate match at Birmingham before defeat at St Andrews halted the play-off dream. Nonetheless, the last day win over Norwich sealed a final finish of ninth - SWFC's best showing since their relegation from the Premiership seven years previously.

2007/08

In contrast to the way in which Wednesday ended the previous season, the start to the 2007/08 campaign could hardly have been more disastrous.

Indeed, the club's record for most successive defeats was broken during the early throes as the Owls slumped to an unprecedented six reverses on the bounce.

Consequently, SWFC took the unwanted tag of early-season favourites for the drop and a long, hard battle against the drop lay ahead.

Wednesdayites had to wait until late September to taste success when a 1-0 home win over Hull finally lifted the gloom over S6. Boss Brian Laws had dipped into the loan market to introduce much-needed experience to his young squad and the move paid dividends as temporary signings Graham Kavanagh and Michael Johnson helped inspire the team to victory.

Form began to pick up as the Owls' first win out of base - at Norwich - soon followed. Stoke were then thumped on their own patch but that Potteries clash saw summer signing Francis Jeffers struck down by a horrendous challenge from behind from City loanee Ryan Shawcross - and so began a nightmare run of injury that would decimate Laws' squad through the seven-month remainder of the season.

On the plus side, however, the SWFC chief collected the Championship Manager of the Month award for November following a storming run when Plymouth, West Brom, Southampton, QPR and Barnsley each failed to topple the Owls from their perch. The Saints encounter at Hillsborough, in fact, saw the hosts play arguably their best football of the whole campaign as they racked up a 5-0 thumping that made a mockery of their lowly league position.

Alas, the age-old curse of the Manager of the Month held sway as December began with a shock home defeat to basement boys Colchester and worse was to follow just three days later down on the south coast against Southampton.

Although Saints failed to avenge their S6 thrashing of just three weeks earlier, the trip to St Mary's still proved costly for SWFC as new striker Akpo Sodje - having entered his best form of the season - suffered a serious ankle injury that ultimately destroyed his campaign.

The bustling hitman did make a brief comeback to merit inclusion in January's Steel City derby - Wednesday triumphed 2-0 over United to send the home fans into raptures - but he turned the same ankle next time out at Wolves and Sodje's season was over.

The loss of the talismanic forward hit the Owls hard, as was evidenced by results. Losses to Ipswich and Bristol City plunged the team into the thick of the relegation dogfight, although fears of the drop were eased as Cardiff were narrowly overcome at Hillsborough towards the end of February.

The first day of March saw Wednesday earn a deserved share of the spoils at a windswept Oakwell against local rivals Barnsley. The point was welcome and Owls fans would go on to see their side store a string of successive draws - seven in total - that saw another club record dismantled. The run of resistance was ended by relegation rivals Blackpool at Bloomfield Road in mid-April, a defeat that left Wednesday fighting for their second tier lives.

As a result, Laws' men headed to Leicester for an archetype six-pointer as the curtain began to fall on a tortuous campaign. The visitors got off to the worst possible start too, conceding inside the first ten minutes and going on to miss a first half penalty to boot.

But just as the trapdoor to League One was beckoning, the visitors were handed a lifeline right on half time. Loan recruit Bartosz Slusarski buried low past Paul Henderson and that tonic was served at the optimum moment - Wednesday dictated the pattern of play after the break and went on to post a vital 3-1 win that ultimately sent the Foxes down.

The final programme of fixtures was met with a string of sides still in the relegation mix. The Owls board responded by slashing entrance prices for the S6 showdown with Norwich that, one way or the other, would seal the hosts' fate.

The move paid dividends. A sell-out crowd of 36,208 - the highest Championship attendance of the season - saw Wednesday storm to safety with a 4-1 win that not only secured survival but put to bed one of the most traumatic seasons in the club's 141-year history.