The club were formed in 1867 as The Wednesday after the day they were created,and were originally cricketers back in 1820 until they became a football club and moved to Olive Grove.
The club became a key member in creating the Football League in 1889 and they reached the 1890 FA Cup Final losing 6-1 to Blackburn Rovers.They won the competition in 1896.
The club moved to current home Hillsborough in 1900 in Owlerton(hence the nickname The Owls).The club won the FA Cup in 1907 and the league title in 1928.Another FA Cup success was in 1935.
The club were in the top flight for the 1950s and won both the FA Cup and league in 1961.They suffered releagation in 1969/70 in painful circumstances and dropped to Division Three in 1974.Howard Wilkinson steered them back to the top flight in 1984 after Jack Charlton had failed elsewhere.
The 1989 Hillsborough Disaster saw a tragic event in football and the club's history,claiming 96 lives of Liverpool and Nottingham Forest fans in a FA Cup game.1993 was painful as The Owls lost in the FA Cup and the League Cup Final to Arsenal.David Pleat took over in 1995 but failed and was replaced by Danny Wilson in 1998.
The club sacked Wilson in 2000 following relegation to the second tier.The club flirted with relegation in the old Division One,and Chris Turner(ex-Wednesday player and hometown hero) was named manager in 2002.He couldn't save them and it was back to the third tier.
After a poor finish in Division Two and a bad start to the 2004/05 season,Paul Sturrock replaced Turner.He gained promotion with Wednesday to the Championship but was sacked in 2006 to be replaced by Brian Laws.
Laws left Wednesday in December 2009 due to financial strains and a poor start.Alan Irvine replaced him an despite an upturn,he couldn't save Wednesday from going down and they were back in League One in 2010.That same year,Milan Mandarić saved the club from administration by buying them.
Irvine was sacked in March 2011 due to a slump and Gary Megson was hired.He kept the club up and the 2011/12 season saw Wednesday third in the league.But,despite the position,he was fired and former Cardiff boss Dave Jones was asked to manage Wednesday.
He guided the Owls to automatic promotion and was unbeaten in League One,then kept the club in the second tier in 2013.It couldn't last-he was fired in December 2013 and coach Stuart Gray became caretaker.After a superb run,he was promoted to manager.
This season has been bumpy but the form is improving.Striker COALON LAVERY is nineteen but scored twice on his professional debut against Leeds and looks a good future talent.ADTHE NUHIU has played well and scored,the reward being a call up for Albania.The current top scorer is Scottish forward CHRIS MAGUIRE who has come back from a loan spell at Coventry.
THE GAFFER-STUART GRAY
53-year-old former left back Gray had a good playing career.He began at Nottingham Forest and then played for Barnsley,Aston Villa and Southampton in what was a thirteen year period as a player.
His first coaching role was at Wolves but he didn't settle,so joined Dave Jones at Southampton as a youth development manager in October 1997.He was made youth coach in 1998 and worked for Glenn Hoddle in 2000.
Gray was named Saints boss in 2001 but was sacked three months into his tenure.He then coached at Aston Villa and briefly as a scout at Crystal Palace.He was named assistant to Dave Jones at Wolves in 2003,but was sacked in November 2004 with him.
In 2007,he became Northampton Town manager.He spent two years at the club before he was sacked in 2009 due to poor form in League Two.He then coached at Burnley for Brian Laws and then Portsmouth with Guy Whittingham.
He was appointed coach at Sheffield Wednesday with Dave Jones again and after he was sacked by the board,Gray was named the new manager after an unbeaten run of eleven games.
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