Sheffield clubs lose their steel

Both Sheffield clubs look set to play in League One next season

Sheffield is a city revered around England for its football teams as much as its steel-making industry.

Yet its two famous clubs, United and Wednesday, look set to battle it out in the third tier next season.

Ask most football fans which clubs 'deserve' to be or 'belong' in the top flight and the names Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday are likely to crop up.

And so it is a footballing tragedy they have fallen so far that clubs like, no disrespect, Rochdale, Hartlepool and Leyton Orient have brighter futures than them.

They have shared a season together in the third tier before - in the 1979/80 season - but the sheer passion and loyalty of each set of supporters deserves so much more.

United have the eighth-highest average attendance in the Championship, just over 20,000, despite propping up the division. Wednesday meanwhile have attracted an average of more than 17,500, the second-highest in League One, yet languish in 16th place.

Both have terrific, old-fashioned stadiums in Bramall Lane and Hillsborough, which would not be out of place in the Premier League.

The Sheffield derby was missing from the calendar this season due to Wednesday's last-day relegation last term, but looks certain to be a League One fixture next season with United eight points from safety in the second tier. They face fellow relegation near-certainties Preston this weekend and must win to keep alive any faint hopes of survival.

Wednesday's season also failed to ignite, with recent wins only serving to calm relegation fears. They are just seven points clear of League One's relegation zone, with no prospects of promotion as they sit 14 points away from the play-offs.

Both clubs' plights show the precarious nature of English football.

Neil Warnock's Sheffield United played in the Premier League in 2006/07

United were in the Premier League as recently as 2007 under Neil Warnock, and lost the play-off final to go back to the top flight in 2009, yet financial difficulties and bad luck with managers has derailed the whole club.

Wednesday have not been in the Premier League since 2000, with no top-flight derbies between the sides since 1994, and have had even worse financial difficulties.

This is a familiar pattern.

In recent years, famous names like Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Southampton, Charlton Athletic and Leicester City have plummeted to League One. Some have bounced back, some are still trying, but finances have been at the centre of each clubs' problems.

Clubs need to learn how to spend within their means and build strong foundations before thinking big and spending what they don't have.

For big clubs, relegation to the third tier usually acts as a wake-up call and the club acts sensibly in an attempt to return to their former glories.

But the signs for Wednesday have so far not been good.

Alan Irvine was a decent manager for them and initially acclimatised the team well to League One. They looked well set for a promotion challenge but faded away and Irvine paid for it with his job.

Milan Mandaric had taken ownership of the club by this time and it is this which may offer a ray of light for the future.

Mandaric did a magnificent job at Portsmouth and helped guide Leicester to promotion from League One, and next season will offer a true reflection of his ambitions for Wednesday.

Gary Megson is a manager with Premier League experience

Gary Megson, as manager, understands the Owls fans as he grew up supporting the club, and his top-flight experience should stand Wednesday in good stead for next season.

But promotion will not be easy.

League One will be packed with ambitious teams next season, with whoever comes down, including Sheffield United, all having realistic promotion chances.

Those teams who miss out on promotion this season will all have the chance to re-evaluate themseleves and push again.

And even those who come up from League Two will have a chance, as proved by Bournemouth and Rochdale this season.

However, both Sheffield clubs, for their size alone, would have to be ranked among the favourites.

If and when United's relegation is confirmed, they should stick by manager Micky Adams.

Micky Adams supported Sheffield United as a child

Just like his Wednesday counterpart Megson, Adams supports the club he manages and this will be crucial when the club is at its lowest ebb.

He may have won just two matches out of 19 since taking over from Gary Speed in December but has a decent managerial record and presents a good chance of bouncing back at the first attempt.

Chairman Kevin McCabe is deeply unpopular among Blades fans and looking for new owners, but it will be extremely difficult to attract investors to a League One club.

Nevertheless, the size of Sheffield United should be enough to attract genuine football-lovers.

Sheffield United fans have stuck with their side this season despite likely relegation

They have fantastic fans and a good history, wth four FA Cup wins and one league triumph to their name.

Similarly, Wednesday have a proud history, with four league titles, three FA Cups and one League Cup.

But it seems like it will be a long time before either of these clubs will be competing at the business end of English football again.

For all the strength of their fanbases, both clubs are in a real mess and those whose financial mismanagements have destablised the clubs should hang their heads in shame.

Both have been and will remain shining lights of English football, but must now begin a road to redemption to gain some of their reputations back.

The examples of both Sheffield clubs should be looked at by all Championship and most Premier League clubs, as no-one is exempt from suffering a similar fate.

They are not the first and they certainly won't be the last to fall from grace so spectacularly, but lessons need to be learned to ensure more of the famous names of English football don't implode.

Sheffield Wednesday fans have continued to attend games despite not being in the Premier League since 2000

The way the clubs have been run, it could be said they deserve to play League One football next season.

But the fans certainly don't.

They will stick by their teams through thick and thin, and boy will their clubs need them next season.

Let's hope both the clubs are run properly in future because they have the potential to be top Premier League clubs and certainly don't belong in the third tier.

Two of the most famous names in English football should not be left to rot.