 Thursday, 4th Aug 2011 09:31 by Col Saturday is the big season opener, and we continue our build up to the game with our Bluffer's Guide to Sheffield Wednesday. Sheffield Wednesday FC in a nutshell..... A "once proud club that has fallen on hard times" is the line that is often trotted out when anyone talks about Sheffield Wednesday. There's no doubting that they have had a number of glory years, and they can count four top flight titles in their trophy cabinet. That said, their drop to the third tier of English football isn't their first spell down here by any stretch of the imagination, and they've spent most of the past forty years outside of the top division. However, they remain one of the biggest clubs at this level, and the relegation of rivals Sheffield United should help reinforce this. Who's the gaffer..... Gary Megson has picked up something of a bad reputation in the game in the past few years, most notably coming from his time at Bolton. It's perhaps something that is rather unfair, as whilst he's no doubt made mistakes during his time (playing reserves in the last 16 of UEFA Cup), Megson was mostly guilty of having a face that didn't fit at the Reebok, and the fans never took to him from day one. His overall record is one to rival any manager at this level with promotions to the Premiership achieved with West Brom on two separate occasions, and he came very close to doing the same with Conference side Stockport County. Whatever people make think to him, he has hardly been out of work for longer than a few months at a time since he started his managerial career back in the mid 90's which tells its own story. His heritage of being a former Wednesday captain will help to ensure that his face continues to fit at Hillsborough though as with any Owls manager, the pressure will be on if his Wednesday side are not fighting it out at the top end of the table. The current lot..... Ordinarily, there'd be nothing to be overly optimistic about this forthcoming season if you were a fan of Sheffield Wednesday. Having finished in 15th place in League One last season, and forced to the indignity of being unseeded in this year's Carling Cup, it's hardly the place to launch a promotion bid from. But with this being the first full season since Milan Mandaric took over, and knowing that their squad underachieved last time out, hopes are high that Megson can sort it out. He's worked on getting the spine right over the Summer and the signings of Rob Jones (who had been on loan at SWFC) and David Prutton look outstanding, and will go a long way to providing some steel that was absent from a City famed for it, and whilst their search for a striker continues, it's safe to assume that money will be spent before the end of the month. The signing of Charlton's Player of the Season on a free transfer was something of a coup, and it would appear that Megson has made all the necessary changes to take Wednesday up this coming season. Played for both Dale and Sheff Weds...... There's a good number of players to have played for both teams, and how about this for a joint Dale / Wednesday XI: Martin Hodge, Jack Martin, Dave Grant, Rory McArdle, Simon Coleman, Brian Barry-Murphy, David Mossman, John Ryan (ETNAJR), Jon Shaw, Grant Holt. Gary Madine. Subs: David Lucas, David Redfearn, Mickael Antoine-Curier, Lance Key, Danny Reet, Tony Collins, Dull but true..... Sheffield Wednesday hold the record for the fastest ever sending off in British football when Kevin Pressman received his marching orders 13 seconds into a game back in 1990 for handling the ball outside of the penalty area. Youtube Golden Moment.... Of course, the entire media and any right thinking human being naturally criticised his actions, but deep, deep down, there was a tiny little bit of us which loved every moment of it. Well done Paulo class="storytext">He was a bit good..... Despite reportedly announcing that he wouldn't sign for Sheffield Wednesday even if they offered him a "golden pig", David Hirst is something of a folklore figure at Hillsborough. Of course, there were injury problems, but over ten seasons with the Owls saw him score over a hundred goals at a ratio of around one goal in every three games. His quality was unquestionable and his three England caps could have been so many more. He had a little bit of everything, and it was no surprise that Alex Ferguson tried repeatedly to bring him to Old Trafford. I'd imagine that when history judges great English strikers of his time, he'll be left out when the likes of Shearer, Wright, Ferdinand, Fowler, Smith and Lineker get mentioned, when at his peak, he was every bit as dangerous as any of them. Try not to mention..... Several years ago, it was decided that everything about English football was completely wrong, and everything about continental football was spot on, and possibly after Euro 96, a decision was taken to for a group of Sheffield Wednesday fans to ape their colourful Dutch counterparts and start up a brass band. Imagine a drum, but a million times worse as games involving Sheffield Wednesday became like a Sunday School fete/ Of course, the media lapped it all up and gave them every bit of attention they craved, and it wasn't long before they got involved with England games as well. As you can imagine, opinion was always divided, and it wasn't just opposition supporters who hated them with a passion. Many amongst the Wednesday faithful shared this feeling of contempt as they found they could not sing at their games unless it was accompanied by "oom pah pah". Sheffields' famous five:
Last ten years.....
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