How Sheffield Wednesday recovered from their lowest ebb

Another grim anniversary has sailed by for Sheffield Wednesday: 20 years since relegation from the Premier League.

It is by some stretch now the longest period outside the top flight for what was once a footballing powerhouse of the north. It is 90 years since they were last crowned champions of England and 29 have passed since their last major trophy.

The good thing about the bad times is that they provoke fascination. There is debate and opinion and there are stories to be told. The good thing about the current mess at Hillsborough is that there was a time when it was worse.

For Wednesday there was no darker era than three seasons in the mid-70s when everything they did seemed to go wrong.…