The 2002 – 2003 campaign proved to be a debacle for Sheffield Wednesday in what was their third year of playing football in the first division; they finished of the campaign off in a very disappointing 22nd position, in turn resulting in relegation for the club. It was the first time they would be entering the third tier of English football since the year 1980. To cap off a poor season, Wednesday suffered a 4-1 thrashing in the third round of the FA cup against Gillingham to see them eliminated from the cup competition.
After a very disappointing 2003 – 2004 campaign in which the Owls finished off in a very poor 16th position, they gained promotion back in to the championship at the end of the 2004 – 2005 campaign via the play offs. They did suffer elimination out of the FA cup in the first round for the first time since 1977 as they lost against Swindon Town.
The 2005 – 2006 campaign saw the Owls struggle in the first division narrowly escaping relegation back down at the end of the season.
Wednesday saw the emergence of many fine players during this time period including, Burton O’Brien, Chris Brunt, Glenn Whelan and Lee Bullen.