Sheffield Wednesday’s EPL Absence to Stretch Into 26th Season...

Sheffield Wednesday’s EPL Absence to Stretch Into 26th Season

With playoff hopes officially over, Sheffield Wednesday are set for a 26th straight season outside the EPL — the

longest absence of any major English club.

SHEFFIELD — Sheffield Wednesday’s chances of promotion are officially over, even though they defeated

Middlesbrough 2-1 on Monday. After a run of bad performances (including three losses and a draw in their previous

five games), the Owls are currently in 13th place with 56 points, 10 points below the playoff cutoff with two games

remaining.

Wednesday’s mathematical inability to make the playoffs validates what supporters have been fearing for weeks: that

their 25-year Premier League hiatus will continue into a 26th season.

The 1999–2000 season was Sheffield Wednesday’s penultimate Premier League campaign. No football team of

similar size has since experienced such a protracted banishment.

After 23 years, Nottingham Forest made a comeback. After sixteen, Leeds United returned. Ipswich and Sunderland

are also gaining ground. However, Wednesday has consistently failed to put up a significant promotion challenge,

even after multiple rebuilds and brief periods of recovery.

Owner Dejphon Chansiri, who has led the team since 2015, is the target of a lot of the anger from fans. Financial

blunders, a transfer ban, point deductions, and a rift with supporters have all occurred during his tenure.

On social media, the #ChansiriOut movement is still growing in popularity. Supporters contend that under his

direction, the team has stalled, pointing to bad hiring practices, a vague sporting vision, and choices that have

pushed the team backward rather than forward.

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