Sheffield Wednesday’s relegation has been confirmed in record-breaking fashion, with 13 matches still to play in the Championship season.
The Steel City derby defeat at Bramall Lane has not only sealed their fate, it has placed the club on the brink of several unwanted entries in the history books.
Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to their arch rivals confirmed the earliest relegation in English league history, with 13 fixtures remaining in the 2025/26 Championship campaign. The result at Bramall Lane leaves Wednesday marooned at the foot of the table and facing a statistical battle simply to avoid rewriting the record books for all the wrong reasons.
The Owls have managed just one win in 33 league matches this season, a 2-0 victory away at Portsmouth back in September. That solitary success leaves them in danger of registering the fewest wins in a 46-match campaign, a record currently held by Rochdale, who won just twice during the 1973/74 Division Three season.
Unwanted records looming
Home form has been particularly alarming. Having failed to win any of their 17 matches at Hillsborough so far, Wednesday now have six remaining home fixtures to avoid becoming the first club in league history to complete a season without a home victory. Upcoming visitors include Southampton, Watford, Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Charlton Athletic and West Bromwich Albion.
Points deductions have compounded matters. After entering administration, Wednesday were initially docked 12 points, followed by a further six-point penalty for failing to pay players and staff. As a result, they currently sit on minus seven points and must collect at least eight points from their final 13 games to avoid becoming the first club in league history to finish a season without a positive points total.
Even if they achieve that, the lowest overall points tally remains under threat. Historical records show both Loughborough in 1899/1900 and Doncaster Rovers in 1904/05 ended their Division Two campaigns with just eight points under the old two-points-for-a-win system. To surpass that mark in modern terms, Wednesday would need a dramatic late surge.
A run of 10 consecutive defeats since the turn of the year has already equalled the Championship record, previously set by Rotherham United in 2016/17. Defeat at Norwich City next time out would see them stand alone with 11 straight losses.
Goals have also been scarce. With just 20 scored in 33 matches, Wednesday must find at least 10 more to avoid breaking the record for the fewest goals in a Championship season, set when Bolton Wanderers netted 29 in 2018/19. At Hillsborough, they have scored only eight times, placing them in danger of recording the lowest home goals average in league history.
The derby itself was emblematic of their season. A goal inside 90 seconds from Patrick Bamford, wearing number 45 for Sheffield United, set the tone for a day that confirmed relegation and underlined the gulf between the two sides.
For Sheffield Wednesday, the final 13 games are no longer about survival. They are about salvage, pride and preventing a miserable campaign from descending into a statistical collapse that could linger in the record books for generations.