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It’s been a summer to forget for Sheffield Wednesday fans, but this pre-season prediction from a supercomputer might just give Owls supporters a glimmer of hope.
Where do we even begin with Sheffield Wednesday? To put it simply, Dejphon Chansiri has failed to pay players and staff on time month after month, leading to players terminating their contracts, cut-price sales, and Danny Rohl leaving the club.
On top of that, the North Stand is now closed amid safety concerns, Chansiri is holding out on agreeing to a takeover, and the Owls are under a three-window transfer ban.
Suffice it to say, hopes are not very high ahead of the new season. However, maybe we shouldn’t write Wednesday off just yet.
Sheffield Wednesday tipped for midtable safety
New manager Henrik Pedersen has one hell of a job on his hands, given the size and quality of the squad he has now inherited.
The Owls are even backed to break the Championship record for the lowest points tally of all time by the guys on the Second Tier podcast.
But, according to Opta’s supercomputer, all hope is not lost. In fact, the final predicted league table, which is based on 10,000 simulations of the Championship fixtures, has Sheffield Wednesday finishing 14th come May.
In fact, Wednesday are just as likely to finish in the top eight as they are to finish in the bottom three, with a 4.7% chance of either outcome.
It’s safe to say any Owls fan would snap your hand off for survival right now. But, we shouldn’t read too much into this predicted table just yet.
The thing is, Opta’s supercomputer can only run data based on what it knows about each team on the pitch, with any off-field issues not factoring into its algorithm.
The folks at Opta wrote: “We should mention Sheffield Wednesday, who are going through some stuff right now to say the least. The club have struggled to pay their players, some of whom have voided their contracts to go elsewhere, while manager Danny Rohl left last week to be replaced by former assistant Henrik Pedersen.
“Things don’t look great at Hillsborough as we approach the new season, but the supercomputer obviously can’t factor any of that into its data-led projections, so take their predicted finish of 14th with a pinch of salt.”
- READ MORE: Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust release protest details as Leicester City offer helping hand
Survival would be a miracle for Sheffield Wednesday right now
With everything that’s going on at Sheffield Wednesday right now, and potentially a load more punishments to come for the Owls, most fans would agree that relegation is already inevitable.
With 16 first-team players left, Pedersen’s starting XI for this Sunday’s game against Leicester City almost selects itself, and will no doubt include some Sheffield Wednesday youngsters.
That’ll likely be the story for the rest of the season, too. It’s really hard to imagine a world where they don’t drop down to League One now. But, all that fans really care about now is Chansiri leaving the club, and if relegation delivers that outcome, then so be it.