# 2020–21 Sheffield Wednesday F.C. season

The 2020–21 season is Sheffield Wednesday's ninth consecutive season in the Championship. The season covers the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.

## Season overview
### July

On 31 July, Wednesday received a 12-point penalty for breaching the League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules for the three season reporting period ending in 2017–18, with the penalty taking effect for the 2020–21 season.

### August

On 12 August, the club restructured their coaching setup with James Beattie coming in as assistant manager, Darryl Flahavan as the goalkeeper coach and Andrew Hughes as first team coach.
On 14 August, Lee Bullen and Nicky Weaver left the first team to work with the academy.
On 17 August, Wednesday announced they would be appealing the 12 point penalty, with a verdict not expected until later in the year.

### October

On 7 October, it was revealed that owner Dejphon Chansiri was securing debt against the clubs Hillsborough Stadium.

### November

On 4 November, their 12-point penalty was reduced to 6 points following discussions with the League Arbitration Panel.
On 9 November, Garry Monk and his staff had their contracts terminated after 3 wins from their opening 11 games
On 13 November, experienced manager Tony Pulis would be appointed the new manager,
On 18 November, Pulis would bring in Craig Gardner as his first team coach.
On 20 November, Pulis would bring in Mike Trusson as his assistant manager

### December

On 17 December, it was announced that the players were not paid in full for the month of November, the second time this has happened in 2020.
On 28 December, Tony Pulis would be relieved of his duties after 10 games in charge, picking up 7 points from a possible 30 and just one win. The chairman would also say "there are also other issues which have had a bearing on this decision." First team coach Neil Thompson would be placed in charge in a caretaker role.

### January

On 7 January, while Neil Thompson was in caretaker charge, himself with assistants Lee Bullen and Steve Haslam would be affected with COVID-19, meaning they would miss their FA Cup third round clash with Exeter City. Academy coach Andy Holdsworth, assisted by Daral Pugh, Nicky Weaver and Tony Strudwick would take charge of the game.
On 13 January, the clubs next two league games against Coventry City and Wycombe Wanderers were suspended following other positive COVID-19 tests.
On 31 January, it was announce that the players were not paid again for the month of January, with news that salaries were capped at £7,000 per month.

### February

On 8 February, it was leaked that Spanish entrepreneur and former advisor to the club, Erik Alonso had an offer to buy the club rejected by Dejphon Chansiri. The offer was rumoured to be between £25m - £30m and backed by a wealthy Indonesian consortium.

### March

On 1 March, Darren Moore was appointed the first team manager and the third permanent manager of the season, leaving his position at Doncaster Rovers. He would be joined by Jamie Smith as his assistant manager and Paul Williams as his first team coach.
On 9 March, the club published the club's annual accounts for the year ending 31 July 2019.

### April

On 2 April, prior to the game against Watford it was announced manager Darren Moore wouldn't be in the dugout due to a positive COVID-19 test.
On 15 April, after Darren Moore's return to the dugout, he would suffer a setback in his recovery, developing pneumonia as a result of COVID-19.
On 26 April, Owls youngster Will Trueman would win the prestigious LFE Championship Apprentice of the Year award.

### May

On 8 May, Darren Moore would return to the dugout for the crucial end of season game against Derby County. The game would see Wednesday, after 9 years in the Championship, relegated back to League One following a 3–3 draw in the must win game. After the match, Chansiri confirmed that manager Darren Moore would remain manager for the following season.
On 20 May, it was announced that Liam Dooley would be the new Chief Operating Officer for the club.
On 31 May, it was revealed again that players had still not been paid in full for some months and that there were some players considering walking away over ongoing wages issues.

### June

On 25 June, Wednesday announced a new long-term partnership with Italian sportswear provider Macron, commencing from 1 July 2021.
Also on 25 June, Adriano Basso was appointed the new first team goalkeeper coach.
On 28 June, their 2021/22 pre-season officially began with a 10-day training camp in Wales.

## Pre-season

As of 21 August, Wednesday announced one pre-season friendly against Leicester City.

## Competitions
### Championship
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 19 | Bristol City | 46 | 15 | 6 | 25 | 46 | 68 | −22 | 51 | |
| 20 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 50 | 71 | −21 | 49 | |
| 21 | Derby County | 46 | 11 | 11 | 24 | 36 | 58 | −22 | 44 | |
| 22 | Wycombe Wanderers (R) | 46 | 11 | 10 | 25 | 39 | 69 | −30 | 43 | Relegation to EFL League One |
| 23 | Rotherham United (R) | 46 | 11 | 9 | 26 | 44 | 60 | −16 | 42 | Relegation to EFL League One |
| 24 | Sheffield Wednesday (R) | 46 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 40 | 61 | −21 | 41 | Relegation to EFL League One |
* ↑ Sheffield Wednesday received a 12 point deduction for breaching the League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules. This was later reduced to 6 points by an Independent League Arbitration panel.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 8 May 2021. Source:

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 |
| Ground | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | W | D | L | D | W | L | L | L | L | W | D | L | D | D | D | L | L | L | L | W | D | W | W | L | W | W | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | L | L | D | W | L | W | L | L | D | W | L | D | D |
| Position | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 24 |

#### Matches

On Friday, 21 August 2020, the EFL Championship fixtures were revealed.

### FA Cup

The third round draw was made on 30 November, with Premier League and EFL Championship clubs all entering the competition. The draw for the fourth and fifth round were made on 11 January, conducted by Peter Crouch.

### EFL Cup

The first round draw was made on 18 August, live on Sky Sports, by Paul Merson. The draw for both the second and third round were confirmed on September 6, live on Sky Sports by Phil Babb.

## Transfers and contracts
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 28 July 2020 | CM | Fisayo Dele-Bashiru | Manchester City | Undisclosed |
| 13 August 2020 | CB | Chey Dunkley | Wigan Athletic | Free transfer |
| 2 September 2020 | CF | Elias Kachunga | Huddersfield Town | Free transfer |
| 2 September 2020 | AM | Josh Windass | Wigan Athletic | Undisclosed |
| 12 September 2020 | RW | Korede Adedoyin | Everton | Free transfer |
| 30 September 2020 | FW | Callum Paterson | Cardiff City | Undisclosed |
| 14 January 2021 | RW | Andre Green | Aston Villa | Free transfer |
| 18 January 2021 | LW | Calum Huxley | Wrexham | Free transfer |
| 25 January 2021 | CM | Sam Hutchinson | Pafos | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2020 | FW | L'Varn Brandy | Allenton United F.C. | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | FW | Preslav Borukov | Etar | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | FW | Omar Damba | FC Santboià | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | LB | Michael Ellery | Witton Albion | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | FW | Steven Fletcher | Stoke City | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | FW | Fernando Forestieri | Udinese | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | LB | Morgan Fox | Stoke City | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CM | Sam Hutchinson | Pafos | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | DM | Toby Kenyon | Stocksbridge Park Steels | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | CM | Connor Kirby | Harrogate Town | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | DF | Jack Lee | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | FW | Jordan O’Brien | Corby Town | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | DF | Sam Oliver | Irlam | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | FW | Fraser Preston | Boston United | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | RM | Jack Stobbs | Grantham Town | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | FW | Elliott Vasalo | Winterton Rangers | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | DF | Joe West | Farsley Celtic | Released |
| 1 July 2020 | FW | Sam Winnall | Oxford United | Released |
| 1 August 2020 | GK | Paul Jones | King's Lynn Town | Released |
| 1 August 2020 | CM | Kieran Lee | Bolton Wanderers | Released |
| 1 August 2020 | FW | Atdhe Nuhiu | APOEL | Released |
| 9 December 2020 | RW | Manuel Hidalgo | Sri Pahang | Released |
| 1 February 2021 | CM | Conor Grant | Rochdale | Undisclosed |

### Loans in

| Date | Position | Name | From | End date |
| 20 August 2020 | AM | Izzy Brown | Chelsea | 30 June 2021 |
| 16 October 2020 | FW | Jack Marriott | Derby County | 30 June 2021 |
| 16 October 2020 | CB | Aden Flint | Cardiff City | 4 January 2021 |

### New contracts

| Date from | Position | Name | Length | Expiry |
| 18 February 2021 | MF | Barry Bannan | 2 years | June 2023 |
| 12 May 2021 | DF | Ryan Galvin | 1 year | June 2022 |
| 12 May 2021 | MF | Lewis Farmer | 1 year | June 2022 |
| 12 May 2021 | GK | Luke Jackson | 1 year | June 2022 |
| 12 May 2021 | DF | Declan Thompson | 1 year | June 2022 |
| 12 May 2021 | MF | Liam Waldock | 1 year | June 2022 |
| 20 May 2021 | DF | Ciaran Brennan | 1 year | June 2022 |
| 20 May 2021 | MF | Alex Hunt | 1 year | June 2022 |
| 20 May 2021 | MF | Sam Hutchinson | 1 year | June 2022 |
| 26 June 2021 | FW | Paulo Aguas | — | — |
| 26 June 2021 | FW | Alex Bonnington | — | — |
| 26 June 2021 | DF | Josh Dawodu | — | — |
| 26 June 2021 | MF | Jay Glover | — | — |
| 26 June 2021 | FW | Charles Hagan | — | — |
| 26 June 2021 | GK | Josh Render | — | — |
| 26 June 2021 | MF | Will Trueman | — | — |
| 26 June 2021 | FW | Basile Zottos | — | — |

## Squad statistics
### Appearances

    As of 8 May 2021
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | League | League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals4 |
| 1 | GK | IRL | Keiren Westwood | 20 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Liam Palmer | 41 | 1 | 31+8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | NED | Joost van Aken | 17 | 0 | 16+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | FW | SCO | Callum Paterson | 45 | 9 | 34+9 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | ENG | Sam Hutchinson | 22 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Kadeem Harris | 41 | 0 | 30+8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | NED | Joey Pelupessy | 43 | 0 | 24+15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Jack Marriott | 13 | 0 | 4+8 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | SCO | Barry Bannan | 49 | 2 | 46 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | Adam Reach | 49 | 6 | 38+6 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | GER | Julian Börner | 30 | 3 | 25+1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | ENG | Matt Penney | 15 | 0 | 10+2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Tom Lees | 39 | 1 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Andre Green | 12 | 0 | 3+8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Fisayo Dele-Bashiru | 13 | 0 | 2+6 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Josh Windass | 44 | 10 | 35+6 | 9 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 1 |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Osaze Urhoghide | 17 | 0 | 12+4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | SCO | Jordan Rhodes | 39 | 7 | 16+21 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | AUS | Massimo Luongo | 13 | 0 | 10+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | ENG | Moses Odubajo | 22 | 0 | 15+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Chey Dunkley | 12 | 0 | 10+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | ENG | Izzy Brown | 21 | 0 | 4+15 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | ENG | Cameron Dawson | 9 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Liam Shaw | 22 | 1 | 13+6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | ENG | Dominic Iorfa | 12 | 0 | 9+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 28 | GK | ENG | Joe Wildsmith | 23 | 0 | 18+1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | ENG | Alex Hunt | 5 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | IRL | Ciaran Brennan | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 37 | DF | ENG | Ryan Galvin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | DF | ENG | Declan Eratt-Thompson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | DF | ENG | Isaac Rice | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | FW | ENG | Charles Hagan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 42 | MF | ENG | Liam Waldock | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 45 | FW | COD | Elias Kachunga | 29 | 1 | 9+18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Players that left the club mid-season: ||||||||||||
| 6 | DF | ENG | Aden Flint | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | MF | IRL | Conor Grant | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

    As of 8 May 2021
Includes all competitive matches.
| Rank | Pos. | Nat. | No. | Player | Championship | FA Cup | League Cup | Total |
| 1 | FW | | 18 | Josh Windass | 9 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | FW | | 5 | Callum Paterson | 8 | 1 | 0 | 9 |
| 3 | FW | | 20 | Jordan Rhodes | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 | MF | | 11 | Adam Reach | 5 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| 5 | DF | | 13 | Julian Börner | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 | MF | | 10 | Barry Bannan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 7 | DF | | 2 | Liam Palmer | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | DF | | 6 | Sam Hutchinson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | DF | | 15 | Tom Lees | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | | 26 | Liam Shaw | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 7 | FW | | 45 | Elias Kachunga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 40 | 2 | 2 | 44 |

### Disciplinary record

    As of 8 May 2021
| No. | Pos. | Name | Championship | Championship | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total |
| 26 | MF | Liam Shaw | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 7 | MF | Kadeem Harris | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 13 | DF | Julian Börner | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | Joost van Aken | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 15 | DF | Tom Lees | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 18 | FW | Josh Windass | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | Barry Bannan | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Moses Odubajo | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Liam Palmer | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 5 | FW | Callum Paterson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Massimo Luongo | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Sam Hutchinson | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Joey Pelupessy | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | Osaze Urhoghide | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Adam Reach | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 23 | DF | Chey Dunkley | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 28 | GK | Joe Wildsmith | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 45 | FW | Elias Kachunga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Matt Penney | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | Izzy Brown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | Alex Hunt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

### Clean sheets

    As of 8 May 2021
| No. | Player | Matches played | Clean sheet % | League | FA Cup | League Cup | TOTAL |
| 1 | Keiren Westwood | 20 | 30% | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 25 | Cameron Dawson | 9 | 44.44% | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 28 | Joe Wildsmith | 23 | 30.43% | 5 | 1 | 1 | 7 |

## Awards
### Player of the Month

Player of the Month awards for the 2020–21 season.
| Month | First | Second | Third | Ref. |
| September | Josh Windass | Massimo Luongo | Not awarded | |
| October | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded | Not awarded |
| November | Julian Börner | Barry Bannan & Joe Wildsmith | Not awarded | |
| December | Chey Dunkley | Liam Shaw | Tom Lees | |
| January | Callum Paterson | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| February | Osaze Urhoghide | Not awarded | Not awarded | |
| March | Jordan Rhodes | Osaze Urhoghide | Joey Pelupessy | |

### Player of the Year

Player of the Year award for the 2020–21 season.
| Winner | Ref |
| Barry Bannan | |