Football
Exclusive: Pep Talk from Legend John Sheridan Fails to Prevent Sheffield Wednesday Derby Humiliation
Despite a motivating pep talk from club legend John Sheridan before the Sheffield derby, Sheffield Wednesday suffered a crushing defeat to Sheffield United. The loss highlighted the struggles of Wednesday, who are dealing with financial issues and a lack of depth in their squad.
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Not even a rousing pep talk from one of the club’s most legendary figures could inspire Sheffield Wednesday’s players to push arch-rivals Sheffield United to their limit during last weekend’s Steel City derby at Hillsborough, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
Sources have told SportsBoom that John Sheridan, a member of The Owls’ 1991 League One Cup winning side, was invited to speak to Henrik Pedersen’s squad ahead of Sunday’s clash.
Sheridan, a former Republic of Ireland international, drew on his experience during seven years in South Yorkshire to remind his successors of the fixture’s importance and what it means to supporters.
Pedersen, who took charge over the summer following Danny Rohl’s departure, hoped that meeting Sheridan would eke a battling performance out of a group which has been stripped of both nous and proven talent during the financial crisis that overshadowed the dying embers of Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership.
But Chris Wilder’s men, who like Wednesday are languishing in the Championship’s relegation zone, romped to a 3-0 victory thanks to two goals from Tyrese Campbell and Tommy Cannon’s late strike.
The match was one of the most one-sided clashes between two of English football’s fiercest enemies in living memory, with three sides of the ground left almost empty at the final whistle.
HISTORY BOOKS
Sheridan, who scored 31 times in nearly 250 appearances for The Owls before finishing his career with Bolton Wanderers, Doncaster Rovers and Oldham Athletic, wrote his name into their history books by scoring the winner during a famous triumph over Manchester United at Wembley.
Roland Nilsson, Nigel Pearson, David Hirst and John Harkes also featured for Ron Atkinson’s team in the capital, while Trevor Francis was among the substitutes.
Sheridan, like Pedersen, believed his memories of that day and tussles with The Blades could help Wednesday’s threadbare side produce the display of their lives. Instead, Pedersen, who through no fault of his own has a paucity of suitable options at his disposal, was forced to admit they had been beaten “by the better team” as Wilder’s charges controlled the action almost from start to finish.
Wednesday entered administration when the now-departed Chansiri’s footballing empire collapsed, being deducted points by the EFL and having heavy restrictions imposed upon their transfer dealings by the governing body.
SportsBoom sources revealed last month that Dave Richards was set to challenge Mike Ashley for Sheffield Wednesday, but talks of his takeover at Hillsborough have since gone cold.
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.