The nightmare was realized at Bramall Lane, and in the cruelest way possible. Sheffield Wednesday has officially dropped to League One – the third tier of English football – after losing in the derby against rival Sheffield United, in a conclusion laden with bitter irony. The Owls needed to win to keep a faint hope alive, but ended up losing 2-1, confirming a rather negative record: the earliest relegation in the history of England. The shock came early: Patrick Bamford put United ahead just a minute and a half in, silencing any visiting illusions. At 19 minutes, Harrison Burrows doubled the lead, leaving Wednesday on the brink of the abyss. There was a glimmer of hope when Kalvin Phillips was sent off at the start of the second half (49') and Charlie Mc Neill reduced the deficit (52'), but the response proved insufficient. Gabriel Otegbayo also saw red in the final minutes, and the final whistle sealed the drop to the third tier. The relegation had been looming for weeks, the result of a season marked by financial chaos and heavy sanctions. The club initially lost 12 points in October after entering insolvency, and had another six points deducted in December due to wage delays. Plummeting in the table with negative points for many months – they are currently at -7 points – Wednesday was mathematically condemned even before the end of February — something unprecedented in English professional football. Even dramatic cases from recent history, such as Luton in 2008/09 or Derby during the record low in the Premier League, did not face such an early sentence. The fall of the Owls enters history as the fastest ever in the EFL, an unwanted record that will forever be associated with this season. The context exacerbates the humiliation. Under the contested leadership of Dejphon Chansiri, the club has plunged into a spiral of instability, with overdue salaries and an atmosphere of constant uncertainty. And it was precisely at the hands of the city's great rival that the fate was sealed, in a derby that served as the final chapter of a season to forget.
Bramall Lane Sheffield Wednesday remains central to this story.
Bramall Lane Sheffield Wednesday remains central to this story.
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