Cup shock can help Owls turn the corner – Atherton

Tomorrow, for the first time in 11 years, however, the Owls are involved in the fifth round of the FA Cup – and against another of his former clubs, Birmingham City.

Atherton, who spent six years at Hillsborough before joining Bradford City, was club captain when the Owls waved farewell to the Premier League in 2000.

He also played in that last fifth round tie – when a side brimming with highly-paid internationals, suffered a shock 3-1 defeat away at third tier Gillingham.

Every statistic tells its own story and the Owls have been a club in decline for the majority of the time since that game.

Tomorrow’s trip to St Andrews offers the possibility of another Cup upset but, unfortunately for the Owls, the roles are now reversed and it is they who are playing ‘David’ to Birmingham’s ‘Goliath’.

Atherton, who retired from football two years ago, manages a health club in his native Wigan but still keeps a close eye on events at Hillsborough and believes things are about to improve under new owner Milan Mandaric and manager Gary Megson.

“There have been some tough times at Wednesday over the last few years and a club of that stature should not be down in League One,” he said. “But the signs are there now that they could be ready to bounce back.

“When we got relegated it was one of my biggest disappointments in football. I still remember the feeling as we drove home from a game at Arsenal which had been billed as ‘D-Day.’ It was awful. To be fair, I don’t think we always got the results we deserved but, once you get on a bad run, it can sometimes be hard to stop the slide, no matter what you do.

“The FA Cup game at Gillingham was another bad afternoon and, looking back, it was probably my last chance to get anywhere near the final. I joined the club in 1994 so wasn’t around for the two finals in 1993 and we lost in the quarter-finals against Wimbledon three years earlier. We still had a lot of top quality players but, on the day, we were just not good enough.”

England internationals Des Walker and Andy Hinchcliffe, Dutch midfielder Wim Jonk, and Belgian striker Gilles De Bilde, a £3m summer signing from PSV Eindhoven, were among the various big names in the Owls side.