Owls Are League's Under-Achievers

Wednesday are officially the biggest under-achievers in England since the Premier League was formed in 1992 according to new research released today.

The report, carried out by The New Football Pools, put Wednesday in at the bottom of the survey for achievements since the top football league in the world formed over 16 years ago.

It ties in with Wednesday achieving a third-placed finish in the 'old' Division 1 when Leeds United were champions, a year before the formation of the Premier League, and overlooks a steady slide down to the third tier in England, with a recent climb back to the Championship not being enough to steer Wednesday off bottom spot.

The New Football Pools examined thousands of results, league tables, club records and financial data to compare the size of each club - based on stadium capacity, average attendances, club investment, player transfers and the achievements on the pitch.

Wednesday just pipped Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest to the gong, while Wednesday's South Yorkshire Championship rivals Doncaster Rovers were named England's biggest over-achievers following their remarkable rise from non-league football.

Jon Sheehy, marketing director at The New Football Pools, said: 'We've created a level playing field going back 16 years to take into account a series of factors which we believe achievement could be judged against.

'As fans we all talk about so-called 'big' clubs and perceived inequalities, but that doesn't carry much weight when your team is not living up to its billing on the pitch.'

To see the full report, visit www.footballpools.com/achievers

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.