Wednesday's Class of 93 v the Class of 2016

In dark January days there are few better things to do than make lists. Especially when it comes to nerdily analysing footy. As such, for a bit of fun, I thought I'd measure up Sheffield Wednesday's current first team with the 11 who took the field in the initial 1993 FA Cup final. Here’s who I’d put in the team, do you agree? Comment below.

BETWEEN THE STICKS

Goalkeeper: Keiren Westwood - In comparing the Irish keeper – signed by us in July 2014 – with Chris Woods you realise how much the game has changed for the number 1. Both men are 6ft2in but Woods appeared a towering player commanding his area, holding on to the ball and thumping out goalkicks. Westwood, by contrast, is more agile, always scrambling up after plucking the ball from a crowd of legs and swiftly distributing it, even sweeping when he has to. In the final, Woods, a fine keeper, lost out to his England rival David Seaman and he would likely be beaten to the jersey by Ireland’s shotstopper in the modern game.

DEFENCE

Right-back: And number one, was Roland Nilsson, and number two, was Roland Nilsson…

Centre-back: Viv Anderson CBE - captained the side (Carlton Palmer took on those duties in the replay) and a redoubtable presence at the back.

Centre-back: Glenn Loovens - The fact the Owls snapped up the cultured Dutchman, once valued at £2.5m by Celtic, on a free after plying his trade in Zaragoza is remarkable. He’s been rock solid over the last two seasons playing a big part in last season’s string of shut outs and helping command a defence which has had several keepers behind it in recent weeks. He outmuscles one of the Blue and White Wizards' most remarkable players – defender turned attacker Paul Warhurst – for a spot in the dream team.

Left-back: Nigel Worthington - The Northern Irishman (who was joined by countryman Danny Wilson in the replay) was a gangly force of nature down the wing. His modern-day peers: the talented Daniel Pudil and Joe Bennett should dig out the tapes.

MIDFIELD

Right-wing: Chris Waddle - That. Free. Kick.

Midfield: Fernando Forestieri - "Oh, Forestieeeeeri!" The little playmaker (born in Rosario, Argentina to Italian parents) is one of the most naturally talented players to have graced the Hillsborough turf in the 23 years since that hazy May final. His 11 goals in 21 appearances have provided impetus to an attack which, while prolific, has few reliable goalscorers. His deft touches, work rate and clinical passing make him the player most likely to have slotted into Trevor Francis’ flowing football. He outmuscles the USA’s finest, John Harkes, for the spot.

Midfield: Barry Bannan - A close call with both Carlton Palmer, who he replaces, and the smooth style of Keiran Lee, Bannan’s ability to tackle effectively and pick out a pass mean he’s got to be in. A Premier League quality player whose new contract is the best piece of business the Owls have done in the January window so far.

Left-wing: John Sheridan - He’d already proved himself at Wembley before that FA match, and remains a much-talked about Owls legend.

UP FRONT

Striker: Mark Bright - Impossible not to like with that beaming smile and lethal boot. Although he was outjumped by Andy Linighan in the replay for the goal (despite doing his best to take him out with a sharp elbow) his header to get us there and consistent goalscoring between 1992 and 1996 make him hard to beat. Still has a soft spot for the Owls, as well as his beloved Palace. His reliability in front of goal puts the current crop – including João, Hooper and Nuhiu – deep in the shade.

Striker: David Hirst - His partnership with Bright was one to behold but the left foot of Hirsty couldn’t be overlooked. Arguably the best forward to ever pull on the blue and white it’s hard to see another striker ever reaching the level of adoration this Barnsley boy still commands in S6.

THE GAFFER

Manager: Carlos Carvalhal - For all Trevor Francis’ flair as a player and player-coach, Carlos Augusto Soares da Costa Faria Carvalhal feels a better manager. He’s had a chequered history with his staggering 14 previous clubs and was an unremarkable defender but has surprised in the way he’s quickly established a philosophy, rapport with the fans, a dominant persona on the touchline and handled setting a marker for a new era under new ownership with ease.

Full line-ups:

1993 - Chris Woods, Roland Nilsson, Viv Anderson, Paul Warhurst, Nigel Worthington, Chris Waddle, Carlton Palmer, John Sheridan, John Harkes, David Hirst, Mark Bright

2016 - Keiren Westwood, Vincent Sasso, Glenn Loovens, Jack Hunt, Daniel Pudil, Sam Hutchinson, Fernando Forestieri, Barry Bannan, Keiran Lee, Ross Wallace, Gary Hooper

Memorable Sheffield Wednesday and Arsenal meetings

My beloved Sheffield Wednesday are preparing to face Arsenal in the fourth round of the Capital One Cup at Hillsborough at the end of the month. The match provides a great excuse to look at some memorable meetings between the Owls and the Gunners. Here's a few of the best:

Wednesday 1 - 1 Arsenal, 6 January 1979  
The first of five games between the sides in this thriller of a third round FA Cup tie - four replays were needed for Arsenal to get through, eventually winning one of the all time great finals 3-2 against Manchester United. The match nearly didn't go ahead as an Arsenal team featuring David O'Leary and Pat Rice looked dubiously at the frozen pitch and flying snowballs. But when South Yorkshireman and cup final hero Alan Sunderland headed in past Chris Turner after nine minutes that must've dissipated. Jeff Johnson hit back with a second half header of its own and the Owls had chances to win it. The tie would eventually be settled (after another 1-1, a 2-2 and a 3-3) but while Arsenal won the trophy, Wednesday ended the year with the glorious Boxing Day Massacre against Sheffield United.  

Wednesday 1 - 1 Arsenal, 5 May 1993 
The 112th FA Cup final was one of three Wembley meetings between the sides that year and the only one Wednesday didn't lose. A Wednesday side crammed full of stars (Chris Waddle, David Hirst, Mark Bright) came back from behind to level and dominated the second half. With manager Trevor Francis looking on in dodgy sunglasses, the Owls held their own and Hirst's poke in from John Harkes' nod back was deserved. Sadly it wasn't to be when the sides met the following Thursday but this was a great day for the blue half of Sheffield after the glorious victory over the Blades in the semi final. 

Wednesday 6 - 0, 31 December 1907
I won't claim to have been alive at the time but Wednesday, then still known as The Wednesday Football Club notched up their best ever victory against Woolwich Arsenal on New Year's Eve at the start of the last century. Some 9,000 Yorkshiremen turned up to see the First Division rout against an experienced Arsenal side featuring prolific goalscorer Bert Freeman, who was kept at bay. 

Arsenal 3 - 3 Wednesday, May 9 2000
Although Wednesday were relegated from the top flight (so far, yet to return) after a dismal season, the team's fate was sealed with a thriller at Highbury. Goals from Gerald Sibon and Giles De Bilde put the Owls 3-1 up and dreaming of staying up before, cruelly, late goals from Silvio Silvinho and Thierry Henry, which typical finesse, sealed Peter Shreeves' Owls' fate. It was a far cry from just four years earlier when Wednesday legend David Hirst literally rattled Arsenal with the fastest shot in history - 114mph - which thumped against the crossbar. 

Wednesday 1 - 0 Arsenal, 26 September 1998

To flip the common memory of this game - i.e. Paulo Di Canio's hotheaded push of referee Paul Alcock after he received a red card, and subsequently an 11 game ban - let's look at the result. A fantastic game saw chances at both ends with Dennis Bergkamp and Nicolas Anelka coming close and big Brazilian defender Emerson Thome thwarted by Gunners keeper Alex Manninger. Midfielder Lee Briscoe had missed a far easier chance before his last minute lobbed winner over the Austrian deputy keeper (to England shot stopper David Seaman). One of the most memorable days at Hillsborough of the 1990s for various reasons with victory over the champions secured. (I do remember BBC Radio 5live crossing to this game and shouting "and Paulo Di Canio!" - 'yesss!" I shouted thinking it a goal - "…has pushed over the referee!". Oh.) 

What have I missed? Pop comments below.

How Sheffield FC are protecting football's founding roots

The world's first football club Sheffield FC celebrated the game's oldest derby last weekend as they took on Hallam FC at the Home of Football. Alex Lawson takes a look at how the club marked the occasion and how it is protecting the heritage of the beautiful game.

A mere 153 years after Sheffield FC persuaded a local cricket team to play this new fangled game named football, two of football's oldest teams united on the pitch once more. 

Sheffield FC v Hallam FC is football's oldest fixture

Sheffield FC, based in Dronfield, north Derbyshire, was created by solicitor Nathaniel Creswick and wine merchant William Prest who together drew up the laws of the game including throw-ins and corners, originally known as the 'Sheffield Rules'. After tempting Hallam into their first derby on Boxing Day 1860, the festive cheer between the two amateur teams has remained strong. Sheffield FC were formed in 1857 and are officially recognised by FIFA as the World's First Football Club. 

The club's determination for Creswick and Prest to be recognised as the founding fathers of the world's most popular sport has been clear and while Notts County's position as the world's oldest professional club, founded in 1862, is often quoted Sheffield FC's status is frequently referenced in the media. Its position was also noted by Pele, who attended a friendly match against Inter Milan at Bramall Lane in 2007 as the club marked its 150th anniversary.

Saturday's fixture did this esteemed legacy proud. The match was attended by locals as well as fans from Nuremberg and Munich in Germany and Genoa, Italy as well as local musicians and former professional footballers. On the pitch, a smart 4-2 victory for Sheffield FC kept their upstart 153-year-old rivals in place at the Home of Football, also perhaps less heroically dubbed the BT Local Business Stadium. Music from the likes of Sheffield band Reverend and the Makers and the Chris Waddle All Stars, fronted by the ex-England and Sheffield Wednesday winger, capped a traditional and fitting occasion in the nearby Coach and Horses pub. 

Former England star Chris Waddle attended the derby

The main event was preceded by a 'Pioneers Match' contested by two veterans sides representing Sheffield and Hallam, in which the former were victorious dressed in vintage-style get up in tribute to the teams' founders.

But while the weekend's event was a fitting and jovial celebration, Sheffield FC are deadly serious about their aims for the game which it invented. Among its stated aims are an improvement in grassroots cricket and protecting the sanctity of the values and identity of the game. "Football has started as a gentlemen’s game in 1857, a time when people came together on the pitch for the joy of playing - far offside the commercial world that football is dominated by today," chairman Richard Tims explains. "In this respect, our foundation wants to protect the roots and natural values of the game." 

Through its foundation, Sheffield FC has embarked on a number of projects including connecting with the local community to improve health as well as enjoyment of the game as well as its Boots for Africa initiative which has seen the club ship more than 25,000 pairs of boots to the continent since 2009. 

Sheffield FC is also attempting to map out the world's oldest clubs by using social media to discern which is the oldest club in every country before mapping them into a rather nifty timeline. "It will bring a light to the unknown and forgotten heroes of football's past and present times, helping to tell these beautiful and unique stories to the world, to capture and pass on the heritage of football that still lives on today, thanks to its inventors and pioneers," says Tims. 

Perhaps its most ambitious plan is to build a "place of pilgrimage for football fans from all over the world". The club wants to develop a museum and "holy ground" for football in the heart of Sheffield where it first played on Olive Grove. With a fanatical support for the game in the Steel City via the Owls and the Blades, there may be the local backing for this to be achieved. 

Sheffield FC are on a mission to preserve the elements of the game its founders crystallised and quickly enthralled the planet with. On the evidence of the passion and dedication with which its supported, the beautiful game is in safe hands.

Article originally appeared on FootyMatters.com