During the 2011–12 season, Sheffield Wednesday F.C. competed in League One, the FA Cup, the League Cup, and the Football League Trophy. It was their second consecutive season in the third tier of English football, and their 110th season in the Football League. At the end of the season they completed their aim of automatic promotion to the Football League Championship, after a remarkable season with many twists and turns.
League table
Review
Pre-season Pre-season for Sheffield Wednesday saw the introduction of many new players, as well as many leaving the club. With this being the first opportunity for manager Gary Megson to change the squad, having only joined Wednesday at the beginning of February and the club in the bottom half of the table, he felt that it was time to vastly change the squad, into a promotion contending team. His intentions were clear even before the pre-season started as the Owls confirmed new signings of David Prutton from recently relegated Swindon Town, and Rob Jones, who had played on loan at the later stages of the previous season. As well as arrivals, there were also many departures, including Richard Hinds whom had been released, striker Paul Heffernan on a free transfer to Kilmarnock, academy product Tommy Spurr on an undisclosed fee to Doncaster Rovers, and midfielder Darren Potter to Milton Keynes Dons. The first day of the new pre-season saw another departure with midfielder Gary Teale leaving on 1 July by mutual consent. Three days later the club signed defender Julian Bennett from Football League Championship side Nottingham Forest on a two-year deal. Sheffield Wednesday's pre-season matches kicked off with a tour in Austria. Before their first match, the club featured more introductions and departures of players. Firstly, Jose Semedo joined the club on a free transfer from Charlton Athletic, in which he had won Charlton Athletic's player of the year the previous season. Defender Michael Morrison then departed the club for Charlton Athletic having only joined the Owls six months previously, this was for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be for around £1.5million. Also, midfielder Tommy Miller moved across to the West of Yorkshire to Huddersfield Town on a free transfer. The first game the Owls played in their pre-season was against recently promoted Russian Premier League side FC Volga Nizhny Novgorod, the game ended in a goalless draw.
On 14 July 2011, Sheffield Wednesday confirmed 'a groundbreaking sponsorship deal', where both Sheffield clubs (Sheffield Wednesday and rivals Sheffield United) announced at a joint press conference that they would share the same club sponsors, in a collaborative 'twin sponsorship'. This deal was the first of its kinds in the history of British football, whereby two rival clubs shared the same sponsor. The sponsorship deal was with Westfield Health and Volkswagen, with Sheffield Wednesday wearing the Volkswagen logo on their home shirts, and Sheffield United on their away, and Westfield Health on the away shirts of the Owls, and the home of the Blades.
Having arrived back home from the tour in Austria, Sheffield Wednesday faced their first opponents back in England on 16 July, a day before this game, manager Gary Megson announced the club's new captain Rob Jones, who had only joined permanently weeks earlier. The Owls then played Worksop Town away in the first set of pre-season games back in England, in which they won 0–3, thanks to goals from Lewis Buxton on the eleventh minute, Gary Madine ten minutes later and defender Mark Beevers on the sixty-seventh minute. Wednesday's next friendly took place across Sheffield at Don Valley Stadium, where they won Rotherham United 1–2. The Owls took a two-goal lead after goals from Lewis Buxton and Gary Madine, before Adam Le Fondre pulled one back for Rotherham United, which was one of his last goals for Rotherham United as he later went on to sign for Reading. As well as the Wednesday first team taking part in friendlies, a Sheffield Wednesday XI – mainly made up of the Sheffield Wednesday Academy – also took part in several friendlies. The first of these games took place against Stocksbridge Park Steels, in which the result was a 2–0 loss, after an own goal from Ayo Obileye and a goal from Mark Ward. Sheffield Wednesday then went on to play their first home game of the pre-season. The game against Leeds United and finished in a 1–1 draw, with goals from ex-Leeds United player David Prutton finishing after a dribble into the box on the eighth minute, and an eighty-fourth-minute goal from the penalty spot by Max Gradel. Max Gradel's goal was also the last he scored for his club, as he then went on to move to France by joining Marseille. One day later Sheffield Wednesday's XI were in action again, they played the oldest club in the world – local side Sheffield FC. The game ended in a 3–0 loss for the Owls XI, after goals from James Gregory, Danny Kirkland and Connor Higginson. On 26 July the Owls signed central defender Danny Batth on loan for six months from Wolverhampton Wanderers, with the deal due to end in January. Later that same evening, the Owls were in action away to Barnsley. With goals from David Perkins on the seventh minute, and James O'Brien on the eightieth, it ended in a 2–0 loss. Again, a day later on 27 July, the Owls XI played a match, this against local side Hallam FC, whom are six leagues below the first team of Sheffield Wednesday. At half time the game was level at 1–1, with the Wednesday XI scoring their first goal of the pre-season campaign, after they conceded in the third minute from a goal by Matthew Thompson, then Brad Tomlinson equalising in the thirty-second. Thompson scored his second goal of the game to put Hallam FC back in front, and then thirteen minutes later Hallam FC finished off the game with a goal from David Heaver. Although the Owls XI did score a second with six minutes to go thanks to a goal from Mitcham Husbands, the game did finish in a 3–2 loss. The final friendly for the Sheffield Wednesday first team was at home to Premier League side Stoke City on 30 July. Playing their toughest opposition of the pre-season, The Owls managed to end the game in a goalless draw. The final game for the Sheffield Wednesday XI was against Alfreton Town. With Alfreton Town only two leagues below the first team, it was by far their toughest opponents of the pre-season. However, although the game was going to be tough, the outcome turned out to be an embarrassing loss for the Wednesday youngsters – losing by an abysmal 14–0. The game started with an own goal by goalkeeper Sean Cuff, and then thirteen more goals followed, including hat-tricks from Nathan Arnold, Nathan Jarman, and Paul Clayton.
August