Sheffield Wednesday Sack Henrik Pedersen After 15 Months and Two Straight Defeats

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Sheffield Wednesday have sacked head coach Henrik Pedersen after less than 15 months, following League One defeats at Notts County and Doncaster Rovers.
Fans chanted “We want Henrik out” at both games, and Pedersen said afterwards: “I’m hurting like they are hurt.”
Matt Hamshaw takes over on an interim basis for Tuesday’s home game against sixth-placed Cambridge United.

The Chants Had Already Settled the Argument

Henrik Pedersen heard the chants and said so. After Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Doncaster Rovers, the Sheffield Wednesday head coach told BBC Radio Sheffield: “I’m hurting like they are hurt.” Within 24 hours he was gone. The club confirmed on Sunday that it had sacked the 48-year-old after less than 15 months in charge.

Two League One defeats in five days ended his spell. Wednesday lost 2-0 at Notts County on Tuesday, then conceded twice inside the first 17 minutes at Doncaster in the South Yorkshire derby, with their own supporters calling for him to leave. The Owls have won one of their last six league games and failed to score in four of them. They sit eighth, two points outside the play-off places after 11 games.

“After zero points from two games, I’m not happy… nobody is happy,” Pedersen said after the Doncaster game. “I’m sure we can bounce back and have a strong season.” He did not get the chance.

The Tactical Gamble That Fell Apart in 20 Minutes

The station’s Rob Stanton wrote that the writing was on the wall once the fans turned at Notts County and Doncaster, where repeated chants of “We want Henrik out” rang around the stadium. Pedersen switched to a 3-5-2 formation on Saturday, and it was the personnel that raised eyebrows. Kieran Morrison, a talented attacking winger on the books at Liverpool, was asked to play as a left wing-back, a role Stanton described as “a totally unnatural fit”. Wednesday were 2-0 down after 20 minutes, and Pedersen had already gone back to a back four.

Stanton’s verdict on the performance was blunt: limp and lifeless in the first half, a pattern he said fans had seen against Doncaster, Notts County, Huddersfield and Stockport, and in the EFL Trophy against a Salford side that made eleven changes. The Owls showed in the second half on Saturday that they have the talent to create chances. The question Stanton asked was why they find it so hard to play well from the start.

A Club Still Rebuilding From the Worst Season in Its History

Pedersen took the job on a two-year contract after serving as assistant to Danny Rohl, who left by mutual consent 12 days before the start of last season. What followed was chaos. Wednesday were relegated from the Championship in record time, the earliest relegation in EFL history, in a season of financial problems, fan boycotts and protests against then owner Dejphon Chansiri. The club went into administration and took an 18-point penalty. They finished with two wins, 32 defeats and a goal difference of minus 60. A 2-1 home win over West Bromwich Albion on the final day was their first victory in all competitions for seven months.

Chansiri’s reign officially ended in May, when a US consortium, Arise Capital Partners, took over the club. Pedersen started well under the new owners. He won four of his first five league games this season, including a 7-2 home victory over Bromley, and was a nominee for League One Manager of the Month in August. The run faded and so did the support.

In a statement the club said Pedersen had provided “stability and leadership” in an “exceptional period in the club’s history”. Sporting director Simon Wilson said the club had expected a difficult start to the season, but wanted a recognisable style of play and greater consistency. “We haven’t seen enough progress in those areas,” Wilson said, adding that “making a change now gives us the best opportunity to establish those foundations”.

Matt Hamshaw takes charge on an interim basis. Rotherham United sacked him after less than a year in charge last season, and he joined Wednesday as a coach in August. His first game is the visit of Cambridge United on Tuesday. Stanton wrote that the new owners wanted to give Pedersen a chance and acted decisively when it did not work. Stanton wrote that the owners’ challenge now is to get their first appointment right.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.