The1999–2000 season was Sheffield Wednesday's 133rd season in existence. They competed in the twenty-teamFA Premier League, the top tier ofEnglish football. The club finished nineteenth and were relegated from the Premier League for the first time. To date, this is the last season the club have participated in the top-flight.
Barring the opening-day 2–1 home defeat toLiverpool, Sheffield Wednesday were in the bottom three all season long. A very poor start to the season saw the club fail to win any of their first nine league games (gaining just one solitary point away toFA Premier League newcomersBradford City) and an 8–0 hammering at the hands ofNewcastle United in September[1] saw most people tip the club as favourites for relegation, and this opinion was further strengthened by their failure to make a substantial improvement as the season went on as they won just once in their first 17 games (twice in their first 20). The cups offered little respite, with the Owls getting to the fourth round of the League Cup before losing to Division One sideBolton Wanderers, while in the FA Cup they needed a replay to beatWolverhampton Wanderers (albeit the first leg only ended in a draw thanks to a Wolves goal that replays showed had been awarded incorrectly), before suffering a humiliating exit to Division Two sideGillingham.
Despite this, chairmanDave Richards steadfastly refused to sack managerDanny Wilson, and his patience was rewarded with an improved run of form after Christmas, which saw just one defeat in five games. However, the team's form slumped once again after that, and Richards departed to become chairman of the Premier League early in 2000. The remaining directors decided that enough was enough and on 21 March, Wilson's managerial contract was terminated,[2] three days after an appalling 1–0 defeat away to a strugglingWatford side who had previously won only once in their previous 20 league games.
Peter Shreeves, who had previously been assistant to Wilson's predecessor,Ron Atkinson, took temporary charge, and kept the Owls in contention for survival right up to the penultimate day of the season. A failure to beatArsenal confirmed their relegation after nine successive seasons of top division football, but they did manage a 3–3 draw atHighbury.[3]Bradford City managerPaul Jewell was then given the uphill task of restoring Premier League football to the club, though the club's mounting debts triggered fears that further struggles would lie ahead.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
^Sonner was born inWigan,England, but also qualified to representNorthern Ireland internationally and represented them atB level before making his international debut forNorthern Ireland in September 1997.
Dickinson, Jason; Brodie, John (2005).The Wednesday Boys: A Definitive Who's Who of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club 1880–2005. Sheffield: Pickard Communication. pp. 347,350–351.ISBN978-0-9547264-9-2.
Drake, A."1999–2000 Players".The Owl Football Historian. Archived fromthe original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved7 August 2008.
Drake, A."1999–2000 Matches".The Owl Football Historian. Archived fromthe original on 4 September 2008. Retrieved7 August 2008.