A 'new generation' and a long road back: Five years on from Sheffield Wednesday's Arsenal win

As Sam Hutchinson claimed Sheffield Wednesday’s third unanswered goal to signal the flickering of phone lights at Hillsborough and put Premier League giants Arsenal out of the League Cup, it was felt this was the evening to change it all. The first domino tipped on the Owls’ grand return.

Alas. Five years to the day from that memorable night, the dominos seem to be stacked against them once again.

“I am very happy about the players and for the club, it is an important victory for the club,” an emotional then-Owls boss Carlos Carvalhal told the media in the moments afterwards.

“It was a full stadium, with a new generation of fans.”

Fast forward to the modern day and the Owls are fighting for their lives on minus points with a huge couple of games ahead of them.

The circumstances at the club have changed in almost every way in those five years, but the themes of slow and steady progress, patience and project building have re-emerged. The quick fix efforts associated with the club have been consigned to history. For now at least.

Carvalhal said: “When you play against a club that beats Bayern Munich, they have a squad full of internationals, they are near the top of English football, there is a big gap.

“There is still a big gap. We know they are nine times better than us as a minimum.

“We will take it step-by-step. At this moment we belong to the Championship. We are not a Premier League club so we are the outsider but we will try to do our best game-by-game.”

Game-by-game has been a common thread of Garry Monk’s Sheffield Wednesday, of whom only Barry Bannan, Tom Lees and unused substitute Liam Palmer survive from the Arsenal clash.

Concern has rarely been more acute after a lacklustre 1-0 defeat to Luton saw question marks over their Hillsborough form loom larger than ever. The perfect tonic, for now at least, would be to record back-to-back momentum-building wins at Rotherham and Wycombe.

The goalposts have shifted a long way and Sheffield Wednesday have a long road ahead of them to bring back the glory nights. But they’ve been in worse places. Game-by-game, it can be done.

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