ANZOWLS - Season review 1997/98

Season review 1997/98

Disaster start
The opening month couldn't have started any worse for the Owls with some disastrous results leaving Wednesday languishing at the foot of the table. The season started with a tricky journey to St James Park to play Newcastle. A superb overhead kick by Benny Carbone was the highlight of the game for Wednesday as they slumped to a 2-1 defeat with 2 goals coming from Asprilla.

Benny scores in spectacular fashion - one of the goals to remember for Owls fans

Owls fans were confident of a win over Leeds in the first home game of the season but 30,000 fans were to leave extremely dissapointed with a 3-1 loss with Hyde scoring a consolation goal for Wednesday. It was at Selhurst park where the Owls picked up their first point of the season with a deflected Paolo Di Canio goal. Incidentally Paolo got in trouble with the FA after scoring that goal for 'baring his buttocks'.

This was to follow one of the most embarrasing results Wednesday fans have had to endure since we were beaten 6-1 on live TV in the 1991/92 season. This game was also on live TV - a 7-2 defeat at the hands of Blackburn. The goals just flew in for Blackburn, once again Owls fan's only consolation were 2 fantastic strikes by Italian wizard Benny Carbone. He was later to be sent off for a so called head-butt (bollocks!).

The last game in a dismal opening month of the season saw the Owls record their first win of the season with a 1-0 win over Leicester, that man Carbone again on the score sheet - this time converting a penalty after being thrown to the ground.

September was even worse for the Owls with not even one win. After an expected loss at Anfield, Wayne Collins scoring his first of the season but not enough to stop Wednesday going down 2-1, Wednesday slumped to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Division 1 outfit Grimsby Town in the 2nd Round 1st Leg of the Coca-Cola Cup. At this point there were already calls for David Pleat to be sacked. After a 0-0 draw with Coventry the Owls were thrashed (again) at home to Derby 5-2. A Carbone penalty and a great finish by Di Canio were Wednesday's only contributions to a game which saw Hillsborough hero David Hirst and Benny Carbone have a confrontation.

Obviously things weren't going smoothly not only on the field but off it. French defender Patrick Blondeau (Blon-DOH!) was sent packing after only 5 games in a Wednesday shirt after failing to settle in and then slagging Sheffield off. Good riddance to bad rubbish. A few weeks later Hirst would be sold to Southampton for Ł2m - a reasonable amount for a striker who's career has been plagued with injury. A striker who *could've* been on the same scale as Alan Shearer. Hirst will never be forgotten though.

Paolo slots in from a tight angle in the 5-2 loss to Derby

The end of September saw a spirited 2-2 draw away to Aston Villa with goals coming from the unlikely scorers of Wayne Collins and Guy Whittingham. Wednesday could and should've taken all 3 points though when somehow Collins headed wide after some good work from Di Canio on the right. 9 league games gone and just 1 win and 5 points to show for it. The Owls were bottom of the table and things weren't looking good.

Grimsby Town were the next visitors to Hillsborough in the 2nd Round 2nd Leg Coca-Cola Cup match. Although the Owls won the game 3-2 (2 from Di Canio and an own goal) Grimsby went through 4-3 on agg. A shocking result for Wednesday and so it was back to the league where the Owls chalked up a much needed win at home to Everton with a 3-1 win. It was a day for the Italians with Carbone getting 2 and Di Canio adding a third.

Wednesday fans must've thought a turnaround was on the cards with that win but it wasn't to be. The poor results just kept coming with a 3-2 defeat at White Hart Lane against Tottenham. The Owls were 3-0 down at half-time and to their credit pulled it back to 3-2 with second half goals from Collins and Di Canio. This was followed by a poor 3-1 loss at home to Palace.

Big Ron returns...

David Pleat is sacked... ...'Big Ron' Atkinson returns

It seemed hopeless for Owls fans - Wednesday seemed doomed for relegation and many felt it was only a matter of time until Pleat was sacked. They were right. A 6-1 demolition by Man.Utd was the final straw for Wednesday and they sacked Pleat. The new man? Who else but Big Ron Atkinson! Big Ron ofcourse was Wednesday manager between 1989-1991 before walking out on the club when he promised to stay. Owls fans had mixed emotions about his return. Many forgave him but some still labeled him 'Judas'.

Wednesday did however have to go a game with Assistant manager Peter Shreeves in charge. The dismassal of Pleat gave the squad a bit of a boost in a way and the team thrashed Bolton at home 5-0! Andy Booth got a hat-trick, Guy Whittingham scored with a diving header and Di Canio scored one of the best individual efforts of the season.

Booth slots the ball between Seaman's legs to send Wednesday on their way

Big Ron's first game back in charge was at home to Arsenal. Not an easy task but Wednesday played out of their skins and came away with a 2-0 win much to Ron's delight. Andy Booth (see left) opened the scoring and right at the end Benny (with his new shaved head) setup Whittingham to tap in. A memorable win for the Owls and at last this season looked like it was turning around.

The winning streak continued with a closely fought match at The Dell where despite 2 Wednesday old boys (Hirst & Palmer) scoring for the Saints, Wednesday still won the game 3-2. Another bit of magic from Paolo as he rounded the keeper twice before he slotted it home to seal the win. Big Ron's arrival had given the team a much needed spark. Ron then went out and made his first signing when he got Swede midfielder Niclas Alexandersson for a measly Ł750,000, that would turn out to be a bargain. It was 4 wins out of 4 when the Owls beat Barnsley in a local derby match at Hillsborough - that man Di Canio leaving it until the last minute before taking it round the keeper and tapping it into an empty net.

The winning run came to a halt with a 1-0 defeat in London to West Ham and this followed with a poor peformance at Hillsborough in which the Owls went down 4-1. A Mark Pembridge volley from 30 yards was the only talking point for the Owls. 1997 ended with 2 draws and 2 more points for Wednesday against Blackburn and Leicester.

Indifferent start to 1998
1998 started with mixed emotions for Owls fans - there was a struggle to beat Watford in the FA Cup 3rd round. After a 1-1 draw away (Alexandersson scoring his first for Wednesday) there was a 0-0 replay where Paolo Di Canio was sent off for swearing at the ref. The game went to penalties and Hyde, Oakes, Pembridge, Rudi and then the winner from Pressman of all people was enough to send Wednesday through to face Blackburn in the 4th round. The league form was still good though with 2-1 wins over Leeds and Newcastle. The Road to Wembley came to a crashing halt when Wednesday were beaten 3-0 at home to Blackburn. The mixed month ended with the points shared between the Owls and the Dons - a clearance that deflected off Pembridge and into the net was Wednesday's only goal. January was also the month when Ron slashed out Ł2.75m on England full-back Andy Hinchcliffe signed from Everton.

February was another mixed bag of results but did include a 6 goal thriller with Liverpool. After a forgetable 1-0 loss to Coventry, the Owls bounced back to draw 3-3 at home to Liverpool. With the scoreline reading Owls 3-1 Liverpool (goals from Carbone, Di Canio and a first for Andy Hinchcliffe) it seemed like another 3 points were sealed before wonderboy Michael Owen scored 2 more to get his hat-trick and salvage a point for the Merseysiders. With the Owls out of both cups, Wednesday were pinning their hopes on a high finish into Europe for some glory but the inconsistency was the real problem. This was the case when the last 2 games of the month finished with a 1-0 win at home to Spurs and then a 3-0 defeat away to Derby.
Quote of the month: "...I knew he was good, I didn't know he was THAT good!..." Ron Atkinson, after Michael Owen's hat-trick

Paolo celebrates after scoring the winner against the champions

This season will be best remembered for the fact that Wednesday were the only team to beat both Arsenal and Manchester United. After beating Arsenal 2-0 earlier in the season, the Owls did it again - this time beating the champions Man.Utd 2-0 infront of the seasons biggest attendance of 39,427. Owls skipper Peter Atherton headed Wednesday infront and in the very last minute Di Canio's overhead kick was almost scraped with an attempted clearance on the line but the ball clearly crossed the line and the win was there!

Not much to shout about from here on in...
Wednesday were next scheduled to play teams from the top of the table and from the opposite end when Wednesday lost 3-2 to Bolton, a bit of revenge for their thrashing earlier in the season. Another team to get revenge were Arsenal, when they beat Wednesday 1-0 at Highbury.

The home form contiuned to impress in April - the away form continued to frustrate. Wednesday beat Southampton and drew with West Ham in their home fixutres and lost away to Chelsea and Barnsley. This was followed by a 3-1 away win to Everton to end the terrible run of results away from home in a game which will be remembered for 2 things: The new fluorescent yellow ball tested by FIFA and Paolo Di Canio's superb individual effort going round 3 defenders and then the keeper.
Quote of the month: "...No consistency hasn't been a problem - we've been good at home and rubbish away - you don't get more consistent than that..." Ron Atkinson, questioned about Wednesday's consistency

Although the final league table showed Wednesday right at the bottom, if the away form had've been better it really would've been a different story. The final month of the season ended poorly for Wednesday who really had nothing to play for. The final home match of the season saw the Owls go down 3-1 to Aston Villa. The highpoint of the game? The introduction of new Italian teenagers Francesco Sanetti who scored a fabulous goal on his debut and when the final whistle blew he broke down in tears of emotion. The final game of the season was lost in the very last minute of the 1997/98 season when Crystal Palace, already heading for Division 1, salvaged some pride and scored to win the game.