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English Coca Cola Championship
England
The English Coca Cola Championship is the 2nd league in England behind the big EPL. Ofcourse it's interesting to watch the teams that might be promoted to the Premier League.
Sheffield Wednesday vs Newcastle United
Match scheduled:
Date: 26-12-2009
Time:12:45 until 14:45
Week 23 :: English Championship 2009/2010 :: Bet365/Betfair don't have the tv rights for the UK, Ireland, China and Middle East
Sheffield Wednesday spent the majority of the 1980s and 1990s in the top tier of English football. 1990–91 was the only season out of sixteen in a row that Wednesday spent in a lower division, but the season is best remembered by fans for Wednesday's swift return to the top flight under the management of Ron Atkinson and their League Cup victory over Manchester United to win their first major trophy for over 50 years. This League Cup triumph was the last domestic cup to be won by a club competing outside the top level of English football. The 1992–93 season established Sheffield Wednesday as a top club as they visited Wembley four times during the season – a League Cup final and an FA Cup semi-final, final and replay. In the FA Cup semi-finals they recorded a historic win over the city rivals Sheffield United, 2–1. However Wednesday failed to win any silverware, losing to Arsenal in both League and FA Cup finals, the latter after Andy Linighan's late extra-time winner in the replay to give The Gunners the victory.
Wednesday's fortunes took a turn for the worse when a succession of managers failed to maintain this form, first David Pleat and later Danny Wilson spent small fortunes building squads that were ultimately ineffective, and the club's debts got out of control as a result.[10] Danny Wilson was sacked in March 2000 and his assistant Peter Shreeves took temporary charge but was unable to stave off relegation. The club's flirtation with relegation continued in Division One and after yet more managerial changes Chris Turner was hired as boss and made a strong effort to rejuvenate the side. However, a failure to beat Brighton & Hove Albion in the penultimate game of the 2002–03 season condemned them to another relegation.
After narrowly avoiding yet another relegation in 2003–04 and a poor start to the 2004–05 Coca-Cola League One campaign, Turner was replaced by former Southampton manager Paul Sturrock. Sturrock revitalised Sheffield Wednesday's fortunes and they finished fifth in League One at the end of the 2004–05 season, qualifying for the promotion playoffs. Over 52,000 Owls fans travelled to Cardiff to watch Wednesday beat Hartlepool United 4–2 after extra time in the playoff final, and return to the Championship.[11] Sturrock guided Sheffield Wednesday to Championship survival in 2005–06 but was sacked after a poor start to the 2006–07 season and replaced by Brian Laws.[12]
In the football season 2007–08 Wednesday endured their worst start to a season in its history losing six league games in a row, after a hyped pre-season where Wednesday were considered to be promotion contenders it was the exact opposite. Wednesday's season picked up and victories came under manager Brian Laws. Wednesday soon lost their chairman when Dave Allen resigned on 23 November 2007.[13] On 4 May 2008 Wednesday secured their position in the Championship for 2008–09 with a 4–1 home win against Norwich City on the last day of the season.[14]
The new 2008–09 season started brightly for Wednesday, who sat at 11th in the Championship table at the time of the January transfer window. Wednesday finished the 2008–09 season in a very credible 12th place with the best home defensive record in the division.
Sheffield Wednesday’s 2009-10 season got off to a solid start and they stayed in the top half of the table for the first 10 games. However, the inconsistency, which has always been a factor in recent seasons, came back and they dropped points including a memorable 3-2 loss to Steel City rivals Sheffield Utd. Richard Wood, a homegrown SWFC player since he was 11 years old, moved to Coventry City on loan after an ongoing wage dispute in which manager Brian Laws would not give in, and a fee of £500,000 was agreed which will proceed in January. Akpo Sodje moved to League 1 side Charlton Athletic on loan with a probable permanent signing in the January transfer window. Finding investment continues to be a number one priority for the club with hope of an investment coming in the new year.
Wednesday have enjoyed good support despite their recent decline in fortunes. They had the highest average attendance during both seasons in Division Two/League One[22][23] and continued the trend when returning to the Championship with the highest attendances in that division.[24] At the 2005 playoff final Wednesday took over 42,000 fans to the Millennium Stadium.[25], which remains the highest number of supporters any football team has taken to the Millenium Stadium.
One of their most famous fans is Paul Gregory. Known to many as "Tango" or "Tango Man" due to his similarity to a character appearing in advertisements for the eponymous soft drink in the 1990s, he takes his shirt off for every away match.[26] He achieved national fame during the 1990s appearing on The Big Breakfast and The Sunday Show. Another famous Wednesday institution was the Wednesday Band, a brass band that played during matches. Although unpopular amongst many rival fans (and some home fans),[27] they have released several records and have been invited to regularly attend England matches.[28] They were often banned from away grounds and suffered the same fate at home until March 22 2009, when the band returned to Hillsborough. The future of the band is unknown, their return was a success and now decisions have to made at boardroom level to see if their position back on the Kop is long-term.
Supporters' groups include Wednesdayite, an independent football supporters' organisation which owns over 10% of Sheffield Wednesday Football Club and The London Owls, an active supporters' club for Wednesday fans living in London and South East England.
Sheffield Wednesday have had a large variety of fanzines over the years; examples include Just Another Wednesday, Out of the Blue, Spitting Feathers, Boddle, A View From The East Bank, Cheat! and War of the Monster Trucks, which acquired its name from the programme that Yorkshire Television elected to show instead of the celebrations after the 1991 League Cup victory over Manchester United.[29]
Since their move to Owlerton, the owl has become a theme that has run throughout the club. The original club crest was introduced in 1956[31] and consisted of a shield showing a traditionally drawn owl perched on a branch. The White Rose of York[32] was depicted below the branch alluding to the home county of Yorkshire and the sheaves of Sheffield (Sheaf field) were shown at either side of the owl's head. The club's Latin motto, Consilio et Animis, was displayed beneath the shield.[31] This translates into English as "By Wisdom and Courage".[33]
The crest was changed in 1970 to a minimalist version that shows a stylised owl with a large round head and eyes perched on the letters S.W.F.C. Various different colours were used on this badge, regularly changing with the kit design. The predominant colours however were black and yellow. This version remained in use throughout the 1970s and 1980s before being replaced in 1995.[34]
The new crest reverted to a similar design to the original crest. It again featured a traditionally drawn owl perched on a branch although the design of both had changed. The sheaves were replaced by a stylised SWFC logo that had been in use on club merchandise for several years prior to the introduction of the new crest. The Yorkshire Rose was moved to above the owl's head to make way for the words Sheffield Wednesday. The word Hillsborough was also curved around the top of the design. The club motto was absent on the new design. The crest was encased in a new shape of shield. This crest remained in use for only a few years, during which several versions were used with different colouration including a white crest with blue stripes down either side and the colouring of the detail inverted. Most recently the shield shape has remained but the detailed owl logo has been replaced, yet again, by the minimalist version, echoing the badge's course of history in the 1970s. The most recent change was the addition of a copyright symbol in 2002.[31]
Over the years Sheffield Wednesday have had several Owl themed matchday mascots. Originally it was Ozzie The Owl and later two further Owls, Baz & Ollie were added. All three were replaced in 2006 by Barney Owl, a similar looking owl but with more defined eyes to make it look cuter. Ozzie Owl was reintroduced as Wednesday's main mascot during the home game with Charlton Athletic on the 17th of January 2009.
Newcastle's home stadium is St James' Park which has been their home since the merger of East End and West End in 1891, though football was first played there in 1880. At the turn of the 20th century the ground could hold 30,000, but this was soon expanded to 60,000.[61] However, the ground was altered little in the next 70 years, and by the 1980s was looking dated.
The Bradford fire in 1985 prompted renovation, but progress was slow due to financial difficulties. The takeover of the club by Sir John Hall in 1992 resolved these difficulties, and the stadium was redeveloped to comply with the Taylor Report. In the mid-1990s, the club wished to build a new ground in the nearby Leazes Park, however these plans were quashed. In response to this, the club expanded St. James' Park further. Following the completion of the construction in 2000, St James' Park became the club ground with the second highest capacity in England with 52,387 seats,[62] behind Manchester United's Old Trafford. It later became the third highest capacity after the completion of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. Following Newcastle's relegation to the Championship in May 2009 it became the largest home stadium of a club playing outside the top flight of English football.
Two stands, the Sir John Hall stand and the Milburn stand, have two tiers and are of cantilever construction, whereas the East Stand and the Gallowgate End are roughly half as high, and each have a single tier. This can make the stadium look quite lopsided. The Gallowgate End is traditionally home to Newcastle's most vociferous supporters, as it was once the stand with no roof covering. In recent years, a fan based group named Toon Ultras to assemble in Level 7 of the Sir John Hall Stand to attempt to "Bring Back The Noise" which supporters feel was lost when the club expanded the stadium and split fans to cater for executive boxes.
It was announced on 2 April 2007 that the club intend to submit plans for a new £300 million development that would increase the stadium's capacity to at least 60,000.[63] These plans were abandoned after the takeover of the club by Mike Ashley.
After a second failed attempt to sell the club, Ashley announced that the club would look to lease the naming rights to St James' Park in the hope of increasing revenue.[54] After protests, the club clarified that this would not involve the loss of the name St James Park altogether.[64] Pending the announcement of an official sponsor, the stadium was temporarily renamed sportsdirect.com @ St James' Park Stadium until the end of the 2009-10 season, to showcase the potential rights package.[65]
Supporters of Newcastle United are often referred to as the Toon Army, the Magpies, or the Geordies. The name Toon originates from the Geordie pronunciation of town.[66] Magpies refers to the black and white colours of the club, similar to the Magpie bird. Geordie is a regional nickname for people from Newcastle upon Tyne, of debated origin, which is often applied in the media to supporters of NUFC in general. In a 2007 Virgin Money survey of football supporters who held season tickets or otherwise paid to attend games, it was found that Newcastle fans were the most loyal in terms of making sacrifices in order to attend the game,[67] In a 2004 survey by Co-operative Financial Services, it was found that Newcastle topped the league table for the cost incurred and distance travelled by Newcastle based fans wishing to travel to every Premier League away game[68]. The cost was highest whether travelling by car, train or coach. The total distance travelled was found to be equivalent to a round-the-world trip.
The club's supporters publish fanzines such as True Faith, The Mag and TOTT Fanzine. In addition to the usual English football chants, Newcastle's supporters sing the traditional Tyneside song Blaydon Races.[69]
Following on from demonstrations against the board and Mike Ashley following the resignation of manager Kevin Keegan, on 16 September 2008 a new independent supporters group, the Newcastle United Supporters Trust (originally styled the Newcastle United Supporters Club), was set up by fanzines True Faith and The Mag and the fan site NUFC.com, aiming to "represent the broad church of Newcastle United's support"[70]. Another group, the Newcastle United Independent Supporters Association, had existed since 2002 and was still commenting on NUFC up to the 2008 Keegan resignation.
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