Middlesbrough fans might have unique Sheffield Wednesday experience - here is why | OneFootball

Boro fans could find themselves in a very odd situation when they travel to Hillsborough next week.

Middlesbrough supporters could find themselves in a very odd situation when they travel to Hillsborough to take on Sheffield Wednesday on their name day next week.

Sheffield Wednesday's iconic sporting amphitheatre hasn't been a happy hunting ground for Middlesbrough over the years.

Indeed, Boro have not won at Hillsborough in any of their last three visits, with the Teessiders last tasting victory there back in July 2020 thanks to a 90th minute winner from Britt Assombalonga.

However, given the current climate surrounding the Owls at the moment, and with the Smoggies among the early-season pacesetters, confidence will understandably be high among the travelling Teesside faithful that this time will be different when they set off for their clash with Henrik Pedersen's side next Wednesday.

It won't be a pushover for Middlesbrough though, as despite their situation, the Owls have been putting up an admirable fight on the pitch as well as off it.

They were able to do what Boro couldn't and win away at Portsmouth this season, and have also taken points off Birmingham City, QPR and Wrexham respectively this term too, as well as knocking Leeds United out of the League Cup.

Middlesbrough fans set for unique Hillsborough experience as Sheffield Wednesday boycott planned

It's not uncommon for Middlesbrough to turn up in enemy territory with an army of travelling fans: in fact, that's fairly routine for the North East club.

What is rarely seen, however, is an away end comprising of more visiting supporters than home ones, but that looks like it very much could be the case at Hillsborough when Boro take on Sheffield Wednesday next week.

In typical Middlesbrough fashion, it was revealed that the Smoggies have sold out their allocation of 3,699 tickets for the 8pm clash on 22 October, as they look to cheer Rob Edwards' reds to another three points.

However, they may not have much, if any, competition for support and noise levels inside of Hillsborough, as the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters' Trust has called for Owls fans to boycott the Boro game amid the well-documented and ongoing issues surrounding Dejphon Chansiri's ownership of the club.

Part of their statement published to their social media platforms via The Star read: "The Middlesbrough game is a prime opportunity to communicate to Chansiri via national media that we will not continue to fund our own decline.

"Your empty seat will speak louder than a thousand words. Instead, we ask supporters to watch the Middlesbrough game at your local pub in Sheffield, ensuring your hard-earned money stays in our community.

“Meanwhile, our defunding campaign has been a success, but the single biggest financial lifeline available to the Chansiri regime remains season ticket revenue. That cash flowing into the club could keep Chansiri around for months. It must be denied to him.

"Every pound spent in the ground helps to extend his campaign of destruction. Every penny saved to spend under a new owner brings our brighter future one small step closer.”

Middlesbrough supporters will sympathise with Sheffield Wednesday fans - they know what it's like to see their club in ruins

The football community is standing firmly behind Sheffield Wednesday supporters, players, and club staff at this moment in time, as they attempt to do everything in their power to save their football club.

Middlesbrough fans are no different, and they can sympathise with Owls supporters in a way that not every fan of every other club can, as they once had to witness the death, and subsequent revival of their club.

During the summer of 1986, the gates to Middlesbrough's old Ayresome Park stadium were padlocked, after the club was served with a winding up order and the liquidators called in, as the club found themselves in vast amounts of debt.

Non-playing staff lost their jobs, the team had to train in a local park, and the death of the football club was even announced on local Tyne-Tees television.

It was only thanks to young local businessman Steve Gibson and the consortium he formed that they were able to step in at the very last minute, and save the club from extinction, which is one of the many reasons why the Boro chairman is such a beloved figure on Teesside.

As such, many Middlesbrough fans who were around in that watershed summer of 1986 will always remember having to come to terms with the realisation their club was going to be no more, before witnessing the stay of execution they received.

That feeling and those memories have been passed down to the new generations of Middlesbrough supporters, who have listened to the stories that often start with, 'I remember back in '86 when...' from those who supported the club through that time, and the subsequent years of struggle and climbing back up the pyramid that followed.

Therefore, Middlesbrough fans know what Sheffield Wednesday supporters are going through in that sense, and will no doubt stand, as the Coventry City supporters did before the October international break, firmly behind the actions of Owls fans next week.