Sheffield Wednesday sit on -7 points after having 18 points deduction(Image credit: Getty Images)Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterFour Four TwoGet the FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.You are now subscribedYour newsletter sign-up was successfulWant to add more newsletters?Five times a weekFourFourTwo DailyFantastic football content straight to your inbox! From the latest transfer news, quizzes, videos, features and interviews with the biggest names in the game, plus lots more.Signup +Once a week...And its LIVE!Sign up to our FREE live football newsletter, tracking all of the biggest games available to watch on the device of your choice. Never miss a kick-off!Signup +Join the clubGet full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in.Subscribe to our newsletterSheffield Wednesday have been resigned to relegation all season after Dejphon Chansiri's tumultuous era came to an end with a terrible start to the season, a makeshift squad, administration, and points deductions.Even without their 18-point deduction, Wednesday would be rock bottom of the Championship and a long way adrift of safety after claiming just one win and eight draws from their 30 games so far this season.That has long made it just a matter of time before the Owls' relegation was finally mathematically confirmed - but just how soon might it happen?You may likeLeicester City hit with major points deduction after �200m loss and financial rule breach: reportFormer Newcastle owner Mike Ashley one of three bidders still in the running to buy Sheffield WednesdayWest Ham United suffer blow to hopes of signing English champion defenderWhen is the earliest Sheffield Wednesday could be relegated from the Championship?The earliest that Sheffield Wednesday could possibly be confirmed for relegation is Saturday, February 14, when they would still have another 14 games to play.It is not possible for Wednesday to go down this weekend even if they lose to Swansea on Sunday lunchtime, as the largest possible gap to safety at the end of the weekend is 42 points with 15 games still to play.Oxford take on Norwich on Tuesday evening, but that makes no different to Wednesday's plight on its own.However, another defeat for Wednesday against promotion-chasing Millwall would spell curtains if the team in 21st at the end of Valentine's Day have at least 36 points. If Norwich beat Blackburn on Saturday lunchtime, though, then Wednesday definitely can't go down in the next two games. With second-from bottom Oxford irrelevant for these purposes, that would happen if at least five of the following six things to occur on top of Wednesday losing both of the next two.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Charlton get 2+ point(s) against QPR and StokeNorwich fail to beat Blackburn but then beat OxfordPortsmouth get 3+ points against Preston and Sheffield UnitedLeicester get 4+ points against Birmingham and SouthamptonBlackburn get 4+ points against Norwich and QPRWest Brom get 4+ points against Stoke and BirminghamWhen are Sheffield Wednesday most likely to be relegated?It's difficult to say with absolute precision, but it would seem reasonable to extrapolate out everyone's points per game (ignoring Wednesday and Leicester's deductions) and see when Wednesday cross the threshold.Doing that actually doesn't give Wednesday much more time at all, since they have taken just 0.37 points per game while all their rivals except Oxford have taken at least 1.07 points per game so far.If we keep multiplying out by points per game and round down the result for each team, we're effectively giving everyone else in the relegation mix three more points from their next three games (except Charlton, who get four, and Oxford, who get two) while Wednesday take just one point from their next three games.You may likeLeicester City hit with major points deduction after �200m loss and financial rule breach: reportFormer Newcastle owner Mike Ashley one of three bidders still in the running to buy Sheffield WednesdayWest Ham United suffer blow to hopes of signing English champion defenderThat would mean Wednesday would be confirmed to be down on Sunday, February 22. And wouldn't you just know it...they happen to be away to their cross-city rivals Sheffield United in a midday kick-off that day.Unless Wednesday have an unexpected upturn in form, the nightmare scenario of relegation at Bramall Lane is likely to happen, because if Wednesday lose all of their next three, the team in 21st only needs to have 33 points to send the Owls down.Just one more point for all of Leicester, Blackburn and West Brom over their respective next three games would achieve that.Has a team ever been relegated with negative points before?Not in the English league system, no - and Sheffield Wednesday are currently on course to become the first.At their current points per game, they would finish the season with -1 point, and that's if we're generous with our rounding (since it would be -1.13 points without rounding).There are very, very few examples of that ever happening before in world football: even the Luton side that was hit with a 30 point deduction in League Two in 2008/09 finished the season with 26 points to their name.To the best of our research, the most recent time a club has finished a season anywhere in the world with minus points was Welsh side Airbus UK Broughton in the 2022/23 Cymru Premier season. The Flintshire-based side ended that campaign with no wins, two draws, 30 defeats, and a six-point deduction for fielding ineligible players in two of their league games, for a grand total of -4 points.Would Wednesday have a chance of staying up if by some miracle they won every single game for the rest of the season?Not really, no. They'd still end up on just 41 points, which should be more than enough to send them down because while there are exceptions in both directions, something in the region of 50 points is usually required to stay up in the Championship.What's the longest Sheffield Wednesday can technically hang on in there without making it a mathematical certainty, then?If we again extrapolate everyone else's seasons out on the same points per game basis while giving three points to Wednesday in every single game, they still would go down after their 40th game of the season.That would be away to Stoke on April 3.TOPICSSheffield WednesdaySteven ChickenSocial Links NavigationSteven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication,WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.
