Sheffield Wednesday have made unwanted English Football League history on Sunday afternoon, becoming the first club ever to be relegated in February.
The Owls travelled across the city to face bitter rivals Sheffield United at Bramall Lane, where they suffered a dramatic 2-1 defeat, with two players being shown red.
Only three points would have prevented their fate from being sealed this weekend.
Wednesday currently sit on minus seven points following two separate deductions totalling 18 points after entering administration.
The club’s downfall stems from the turbulent final months of Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership, culminating in multiple wage payment failures last summer.
This chaos prompted a significant exodus, with much of the senior playing squad departing, including manager Danny Rohl, before the season began.
Administration followed in October, triggering the devastating points penalties that have left Wednesday in an impossible position.
Although a preferred buyer was identified in December, the takeover remains incomplete and the club continues operating under severe financial constraints.
These restrictions have left Pedersen with a skeleton squad simply incapable of competing at the Championship level.
The club has managed just a single victory since August, that coming away at Portsmouth in September.
Sheffield Wednesday have made unwanted English Football League history on Sunday afternoon
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Their loss today is their 10th successive league match defeat, matching a Championship-era record set by Rotherham in the 2016-17 season.
It also worsens a damning record against their local rivals.
The Owls did, however, break a run of six games without finding the net against Sheffield United, a run that stretches back several seasons.
Wednesday’s sanctions are the third-largest points deduction ever imposed during a single Football League campaign.
Only two clubs have faced harsher penalties in English football history.
Derby County received a 21-point sanction during the 2021-22 season, yet managed to sustain their Championship survival battle until April, and Luton Town endured an even more severe 30-point reduction in 2008-09 but still accumulated a respectable 26 points despite dropping out of League Two.
Referee Josh Smith shows a red card to Sheffield United’s Kalvin Phillips during the Sky Bet Championship match at Bramall Lane
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The Owls now face the prospect of rewriting the record books for all the wrong reasons.
With 13 fixtures still to play, Wednesday risk becoming the first club in Football League history to conclude a campaign with a negative points total.
The South Yorkshire side have accumulated just 11 points from their opening 32 matches this term, meaning to avoid finishing below zero, they must secure at least seven points from their final 13 games.
The lowest points haul in a 46-game season belongs to Doncaster Rovers, who managed only 20 during their 1997-98 campaign.
Going further back, Loughborough collected a mere nine points in 1899-1900, whilst Derby County’s Premier League relegation in 2007-08 yielded just 11.
The club have already lost 23 of their 32 league fixtures, leaving them perilously close to another unwanted defeat record milestone.
Sheffield Wednesday fans have been furious with the club’s ownership
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Doncaster Rovers hold the record for the most losses in a 46-game campaign, having suffered 34 defeats during the 1997-98 season.
Should Wednesday lose 12 of their remaining 13 matches, they would surpass that mark.
Wednesday’s solitary victory this season came on the road, placing them just six home fixtures away from an unprecedented achievement in English football as no team has ever completed a Football League season without winning a single match at their own ground.
The Owls currently sit 41 points adrift of West Bromwich Albion in 21st place, the final position above the relegation zone.
That gap already exceeds the previous record for finishing furthest from safety, set by Stoke City in 1984-85 when they ended the top-flight season 33 points behind.