For a long time, Sheffield Wednesday had nothing to do with the top half of the English second division. Danny Röhl changed that.
Boney M. can be heard regularly at Sheffield Wednesday games these weeks. Instead of “Daddy, Daddy Cool,” the fans of the “Owls,” as the English second division team is also called, sing “Danny, Danny Röhl.” Only the melody is the same. The German coach’s name repeatedly echoes through England’s stadiums when Sheffield Wednesday scores points.
And because the surname Röhl sounds like Roll in English, it has also been nicknamed “Sausage”. The “Sausage Roll”, a sausage wrapped in puff pastry, is a British specialty and is very popular in the stadiums on the island – similar to Röhl at Sheffield Wednesday.
German coaches have been extremely popular in the Championship, as the English second division is called, for several years. David Wagner (Huddersfield Town) and Daniel Farke (Norwich City) achieved promotion with their clubs, and Jan Siewert (Huddersfield Town), for example, also got a chance.
Sheffield Wednesday decided to sign Röhl in October 2023. With three points from eleven games, the club from the north of England was bottom of the table and was threatened with direct relegation. Röhl, who had never been a professional head coach before, got the chance. In Sheffield they relied on the fact that he had learned a lot from his many years as an assistant to great coaches. In Leipzig he worked as an analyst for Ralf Rangnick and was later assistant coach to Ralph Hasenhüttl, Niko Kovač and Hansi Flick.
And the fact is, Röhl managed to turn the trend around. But it took some patience. Five of the first six competitive games were lost. From the beginning of December, however, the shape curve showed a steep upward trend. Little by little, Sheffield climbed up until the “Owls” were saved after 46 match days – yes, that’s actually how long a season in the Championship lasts. Röhl had done it.
And the success story continues in the new season. Sheffield Wednesday has one of the weakest squads in the league. The transfermarkt.de portal puts the “Owls” squad value in fourth-to-last place. Only the squads of the three promoted teams are worth less. Nevertheless, Röhl and his team have nothing to do with the relegation battle.
After 21 games, Sheffield Wednesday has 29 points, is in solid midfield and greets you from the top half of the table. Even the places for promotion relegation are currently realistically achievable.
The “Owls” are benefiting from their current away strength. Röhl’s team won five of the last six league games away from home. Sheffield also prevailed in the League Cup against first division club Brentford. The most recent success: a 3-1 win at Oxford United last Saturday.
Röhl himself warned fans and players not to be too impressed by this series of successes. “We should be confident but stay grounded,” he told the BBC after the Oxford game. “We shouldn’t think it’s normal that we as Sheffield Wednesday have so many away wins.”
In fact, it is the first time since 2006 that Sheffield Wednesday have won so many away games in a calendar year. “We will try to expand on this,” Röhl made clear. The Zwickau-born coach and his team still have two chances. On December 26th we travel to Middlesbrough and three days later to Preston North End.