What next season could hold for Sheffield Wednesday, promoted or not

Saturday's win over Cardiff, securing our play-off place, felt like a real landmark in Wednesday's recent history. Attempting to predict the outcome of the play-offs, incessantly dubbed 'a lottery', is basically pointless, save to say a couple of excellent performances over Derby and Cardiff have put us in a strong position. So what can we expect next season, whether it's off the back of a Wembley victory or not?

The Premier League
If the dream comes true and we make it back after a 16-year absence, you can be sure that the pain of the near two decade absence will be enough to spur on a fight to stay up. I've lost count of the number of times well-meaning neutrals have told me the Owls 'should' be in the top tier or are a 'sleeping giant' since the Millennium. Owner and tuna king Dejphon Chansiri and manager Carlos Carvalhal have talked a great game - i.e. promotion this season would be a bonus, the target was always next year. But, Leicester City excepted, long-term goals from football club owners ("we'll be in Europe in four years!") are rarely worth anything. Not least as managers aren't given more than 12 games if results start to turn sour. 

So expect instant spending on deepening the squad, improvements to the ground (how long does it feel since the Great Scoreboard Investment debate?), in a year in which the Hillsborough disaster is again under the microscope, and more commercial deals. Will Chansiri attempt to further boost Wednesday's profile in Asia using his own business links? Moreover, after the bad blood at the start of the season over ticket prices, can we expect matchday admission prices to shoot up? The chance to offer top dollar for the visits of the Manchester clubs, Arsenal and even the Foxes will surely be too much to resist. 
Unlike Southampton and Coventry, we hadn't spent years beating the drop by the skin of our teeth. Just two years prior to relegation, a Carbone and Di Canio inspired side ended 7th in the league. If the Owls return to the big time, it will not be with the Big Gun status with which we left it. That said, a team containing Bannan, Lee and Forestieri are unlikely to start hoofing it and could play some attractive top-flight football. Emulating Bournemouth, Swansea and Watford is the goal. 

The Championship 
And so to the less appealing. Conventional wisdom would assume that, with Carlos' new contract signed and talk of promotion really being the target next season, we will build on this season, and potentially target automatic promotion. The top six finish and the feel good factor around the club should be enough to hang on to our most talented assets - Forestieri, Hooper, Westwood, Bannan - even if a lower-end Premier League team came calling, you'd hope. In recent years a cluster of sides including Watford, Derby and Middlesborough have bounced back from playoffs defeats to put in strong follow-up seasons. 

In the unlikely event of an implosion, or even a distinctly average season, Chansiri's next move will be fascinating. New to football ownership, how important is it that the memorabilia-wearing businessman's South Yorkshire asset shows instant progress? On the plus side, potential matches with Aston Villa, Sunderland and Newcastle United (and perhaps even locals Bradford or Barnsley) could provide some blockbuster crowds in S6 while the Blades continue to languish, failing to provide Steel City derbies. 

The squad 
The implications for every squad member of the next, potentially, three matches of their career are too multitudinous to go into. But there are some intriguing prospects. Given a full season, especially if we remain in the Championship, Marco Matias' latent attacking talent, especially combining with a maturing Lucas Joao, would be great to see. Meanwhile, a run in a Premier League team for the injury-prone and oft-suspended Sam Hutchinson would be great to see. His classy passing and assured style could be a real benefit if we're to do more than just scrap it out. 

The club 
For the club and community as a whole, promotion would be massive. The spiralling debts and ill feeling of the post relegation years were symptomatic of a team which didn't expect demotion. 

Unlike Southampton and Coventry, we hadn't spent years beating the drop by the skin of our teeth. Just two years prior to relegation, a Carbone and Di Canio inspired side ended 7th in the league. If the Owls return to the big time, it will not be with the Big Gun status with which we left it. That said, a team containing Bannan, Lee and Forestieri are unlikely to start hoofing it and could play some attractive top-flight football. Emulating Bournemouth, Swansea and Watford is the goal.