Sheffield Wednesday’s season from hell ended in sunshine, song and something that had been missing from Hillsborough for far too long: hope.
In ordinary circumstances, finishing a season on zero points would be nothing to celebrate.
But nothing about Sheffield Wednesday’s 2025/26 campaign has been ordinary.
This was the year of administration, missed wages, protests, embargoes, fan anger, walkouts, relegation and uncertainty over the very future of the football club.
Arise Capital Partners completed their takeover ahead of kick-off, with David Storch, Michael Storch and Tom Costin walking out in front of the biggest Championship crowd of the season. Hillsborough roared. The Honolulu shirts were out. The old place felt alive again.
Then came the moment that turned relief into eruption.
The big screen showed the number Wednesday had been dreading: -15.
It counted down.
Past 12. Past 9. Past 6.
Then, finally, to 0.
The points deduction was gone. Chansiri was gone. His shadow would not follow Wednesday into next season.
Before a ball had even been kicked, this felt like the biggest win of the day.
Then Wednesday went and won the football match as well.
Chalobah and Palmer deliver a Hillsborough moment
On the pitch, Sheffield Wednesday beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 to end the Baggies’ 10-game unbeaten run and secure a first home win of the season.
Nathaniel Chalobah and Liam Palmer scored twice in four first-half minutes, both from set-piece situations, before Karlan Grant pulled one back late on for Albion.
For Wednesday, though, this was about far more than the scoreline.
Will Grainger was handed his first senior start. Jamal Lowe forced Max O’Leary into an early save. Pierce Charles dealt with what came his way. Wednesday defended with purpose, broke with energy, and played like a side determined not to let the day drift away.
The breakthrough came 11 minutes before half-time.
Jamal Lowe’s free-kick caused problems in the Albion box, and Chalobah got there at the near post to bundle the ball home against his former club.
If this does prove to be his final appearance in blue and white, it was some way to sign off.
Four minutes later, Hillsborough erupted again.
A corner from the left was not cleared, the ball pinballed around the area, and Liam Palmer reacted quickest. The captain wrong-footed O’Leary and found the net.
Of all the players to score on this day, Palmer felt perfect.
More than 500 appearances. A Wednesdayite. A player who has lived the chaos, carried responsibility, and so often been more than just a footballer for this club.
For him to score as a new era began felt poetic.
He is one of our own.
Honolulu Wednesday under the S6 sun
The noise after that was something else.
“Wednesday are massive” rolled around Hillsborough. “Honolulu Wednesday” echoed from the stands. The crowd bounced, the Kop bounced, and for once the final day did not feel like an ending but more of a new beginning.
West Brom made changes at half-time, with Daryl Dike, Karlan Grant and Tammer Bany introduced as James Morrison tried to change the flow of the game.
But Wednesday still carried threat.
Jamal Lowe clipped the outside of the post with a lovely effort, Dominic Iorfa came on for what may prove to be his final appearance in a Wednesday shirt, and Charlie McNeill replaced Grainger after the youngster picked up a knock.
Grant eventually pulled one back from close range with eight minutes remaining, turning home after Wednesday failed to clear a free-kick.
Given the season Wednesday have had, a few nerves were inevitable.
But this time, they held on.
Palmer left the pitch to a standing ovation. “One of our own” rang out from the stands. The final whistle brought relief, release and celebration.
A first home win of the season.
A first league win in 40 attempts.
A season ending on zero points.
And somehow, beautifully, that sounded perfect.
Pedersen proud as Wednesday refuse to fold
Henrik Pedersen spoke afterwards about pride, culture and the importance of seeing his players respond.
In the bigger picture, he admitted that reaching zero points means little. But to this group, after everything they have been through, it meant something because it showed they had not given up.
The Oxford defeat had tested Wednesday’s character. This was their final chance to respond, and they did.
Pedersen also revealed that David Storch told him in the tunnel before kick-off that the points deduction had been removed. The manager spoke warmly about already feeling “heart from the top” of the club, despite the new ownership being in place for barely a day.
That line may prove just as important as anything that happened on the pitch.
Wednesday now start next season fresh.
No deduction. No impossible mountain. No punishment hanging over the new era before a ball is kicked.
Just a chance to rebuild properly.
Wednesday get their club back
With David Hirst and Howard Wilkinson watching on, 33,750 inside Hillsborough saw more than a football match.
They saw an ending.
They saw a beginning.
They saw David Storch and his group welcomed into a club that has been starved of care, structure and basic respect for too long. They saw the old Owl promised a return. They heard talk of brighter days, of the club belonging to its supporters again, and even of hot water returning to the stands.
Small details, maybe. But after the last few years, even small signs of competence feel enormous.
There is a huge rebuild ahead. Nobody should pretend otherwise. Wednesday need a squad, a structure, a plan and a football club that functions properly again.
But Saturday was not the day for cynicism.
Saturday was for the supporters who kept going. For the families who came back. For the kids who finally got to see Hillsborough bouncing. For those who said they would not return until Chansiri had gone. For those who never left, even when it hurt.
The sun shone on Hillsborough.
And Sheffield Wednesday, finally, have earned some time in it.