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Losing 5-1 to a team like Exeter City is one of the most humiliating and embarrassing scorelines in recent Wednesday history; that is not to say that Owls fans expect to simply turn up and walk away with the 3 points without breaking sweat, Exeter City played very well, and fully deserved the win, but given the relative histories of the clubs, this result will have raised eyebrows nationwide.

What was most disappointing about the result, above even the final score, was the lack of defensive competence or conviction. Wednesday have now conceded 14 goals in the last 5 league and cup games, a notable departure in form for a team that based a lot of its early success on keeping clean sheets, and defensive solidity.

Another major contributing factor to the anger that Owls fans feel at this game is the fact that this was the only match to go ahead in the bottom two leagues in England this weekend. This means that:

-          Wednesday had the chance to go top with a win. Instead, they are now 3 points off the lead, having played two games more than most teams in the top half of the table

-          The eyes of the footballing nation were on St. James’ Park. With little other football on, this game became elevated above its usual prominence. A humiliating Owls defeat was apparent to the country.

-          The fans had to travel through some atrocious conditions to get to the game. Such a long, arduous journey was rewarded with such scant reward.

These fans deserve special mention. Circa 1000 fans made the trip from South Yorkshire, compelling the official Exeter City website to dub the support “heroic” and “hugely impressive”.

So, Owls fans, where do you place the blame for this defeat? Who, in your eyes, played well, and who failed to perform? And what changes, if any, would you make for the next game, away at Tranmere on Boxing Day?

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The famously topsy-turvy history of Wednesday is exemplified by the “yo-yo years” of the 1950’s, a decade in which the fans celebrated three promotions and consoled themselves over four relegations, and which set the tone for the next half century; many highs and many lows, with perhaps, especially for the younger fan, more disappointment than cause for cheer. With the imminent conclusion of a takeover by ex-Leicester and Portsmouth owner Milan Mandaric, the proverbial footballing rollercoaster looks set to take another turn.

“Stability” has long been a buzzword around S6, a utopia that the club must strive to achieve, both in the boardroom, and especially with regard to managers. The arrival of noted P45 merchant Mandaric, then, would not seem cause for celebration, and yet the Serbian-American tycoon has been met with almost universal approval by the Wednesday faithful, who are convinced that the man can lead the club back up the league pyramid.

The cause of the optimism is two-fold.

There is a sense among Owls fans that the club is finally shedding itself of the decay that has dragged an established Premiership, as it was, mainstay into the third tier of English football, not once, but on two occasions. The departure of the Sheffield Wednesday board, men who have overseen the decline of the club and not acted, men who included in their ranks an individual who decided to go on holiday as the club lurched from one court date to another, is one of the most significant events in recent Wednesday history.

The similar removal of the club’s financial burden, a £30Mn millstone, run up by the previous board’s sanctioning of expensive transfers and excessive contracts, a debt that has been manfully carried since relegation at the turn of the century, and not shirked by administration, will prove to be an occasion that will live long in the memory.

However, the installation of Milan Mandaric himself has been met with massive endorsement by Wednesdayites, above and beyond recognition that he has caused the above two leaps forward.

Cynics might point to his “revolving door” reputation as a Chairman, hiring and firing occupants of the hot-seat from his padded heated seat, the fact that he has no previous association with the club, the city, the county or even the north, or even the obvious motive for his purchase; the opportunity to make a lot of money in a short space of time

The simple facts are, though, that Sheffield Wednesday FC were heading into oblivion before his intervention. The club had run-up tax bills it could not find the money to pay, and HMRC were sniffing blood. Mandaric was the only credible person to have stepped forward when the club was at its darkest hour. Fans will be eternally grateful that he saved the name of Sheffield Wednesday being blackened by administration, or even erased by liquidation. He will also crucially unite the shareholding, so that future sales of the club are much, much easier.

This leads onto the point about Mandaric simply using the club as a vehicle to line his own pockets; to sell the club on he needs to make it an attractive proposition. To an extent, he has already done that, by removing the debt and the deadwood, but to clinch a vast profit on his outlay, Mandaric knows that he needs to return the club to the Premier League, or at least get it in a position to do so fairly swiftly. This means that Wednesday will have to start winning games consistently, at both League One and Championship level

While they were well-placed in the league, the style of football had been functional at best, for the most part, despite a squad that in theory should be making light work of the majority of teams in the league.

Now with the financial future of the club secure, the manager Alan Irvine knows that to simply grind out results to secure a play-off berth will not satisfy Mandaric, who, at over 70 years old, is looking for as quick a return on his investment as possible. Irvine must now instruct the players to do what the fans have longed for, and called for him to do all season; go out on to the field and attack teams.

Perhaps the first sign of that came on Saturday, with the 6-2 victory over Bristol Rovers; chances at both ends, but the Owls’ more experienced and superior players proving the difference. Perhaps it was a function of a positive attitude around the stadium, a feeling of “optimism”, the new buzzword. Perhaps it was simply that the team found itself playing a poor Rovers team who allowed Wednesday to play, unlike most that come to Hillsborough and try to keep it tight. Perhaps it is a bit of all three. But as everyone who came away from the ground on Saturday evening are now certain, there’s life in the old girl yet.