Ranking Sheffield Wednesday's top 7 best managers based on PPG - Carlos Carvalhal = 4th | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday secured Championship survival on the final day of the season after a turbulent first year back in the division.

The Owls looked certain to make an immediate return to League One after a disastrous start to the season under Xisco Munoz, but they achieved safety after a remarkable turnaround under Danny Rohl.

Rohl has done an outstanding job at Hillsborough, and there were fears that the Owls could lose the German this summer, but it now looks likely he will be remaining at the club.

After an eventful few years that have seen relegation to League One, a dramatic promotion and one of the greatest escapes in Championship history, Wednesday supporters will be hoping for steady progress under Rohl next season.

Owls supporters will be delighted to see Rohl remain in South Yorkshire, and he is certainly one of the club's most popular managers, but we looked back and ranked Wednesday's top seven best ever managers according to their points per game.

All figures are according to Transfermarkt, and this list only includes managers who have taken charge of at least 25 games.

7 Alan Irvine - 1.47 PPG

Some Wednesday supporters may be surprised to see Irvine's name on this list, and despite his decent points per game ratio, his time in charge will not be fondly remembered.

Irvine's reign got off to a positive start after his arrival at Hillsborough in January 2010, but the Owls' form soon declined, and they were relegated to League One on the final day of the season after a 2-2 draw at home to Crystal Palace, who stayed up at Wednesday's expense.

The 65-year-old was allowed to remain in charge following relegation, but that proved to be a mistake, and he was sacked in February 2011 with the club sitting 11th in the third tier.

Irvine won 24, drew 13 and lost 22 of his 59 games in charge of the Owls, and his only other permanent managerial role after his Wednesday exit was a brief spell in charge of West Bromwich Albion.

6 Trevor Francis - 1.49 PPG

Francis became Britain's first £1 million player when he made the move from Birmingham City to Nottingham Forest in 1979, and he ended his playing career with Wednesday.

While still registered as a player, he was appointed as Ron Atkinson's replacement at Hillsborough in June 1991, and he led the club to a third-placed finish in the First Division in his first year in charge.

The Owls secured two consecutive seventh-placed finishes in the newly-created Premier League under Francis' guidance over the following two seasons, but he was dismissed after finishing 13th in the 1994-95 campaign.

Francis sadly passed away at the age of 69 in July 2023, but he will be remembered for his contributions both as a player and a manager at Hillsborough.

5 Gary Megson - 1.55 PPG

Megson spent four years with Wednesday during his playing career between 1985 and 1989, and he returned to the club as manager in February 2011.

The Owls were sitting mid-table in League One at the time of Megson's arrival, and he struggled to improve their fortunes initially.

However, after a summer rebuild, Wednesday emerged as promotion contenders in the 2011-12 season, and they were sitting in third place when Megson was surprisingly sacked in February 2012, just days after a 1-0 home win over local rivals Sheffield United.

Megson departed after winning 28, drawing 12 and losing 22 of his 62 games in charge, and while the decision to dismiss him was controversial, it proved to be a good move as his replacement, Dave Jones, led the club to automatic promotion.

4 Carlos Carvalhal - 1.56 PPG

Carvalhal was a relative unknown when he arrived at Hillsborough in June 2015, but he quickly won over those Wednesday supporters who were unconvinced by his appointment.

The 58-year-old introduced an attractive, attacking brand of football, and he nearly led the Owls to the Premier League in his first season in charge, but they lost 1-0 to Hull City in the play-off final at Wembley.

Carvalhal suffered more play-off heartbreak the following season as his side were beaten by Huddersfield Town in the semi-finals, and amid an injury crisis, Wednesday struggled to find their form in the 2017-18 season.

With the Owls sitting in the bottom half of the table, Carvalhal left the club by mutual consent in December 2017, departing after winning 56, drawing 38 and losing 37 of his 131 games in charge.

Carvalhal may not have been able to achieve his ambition of guiding Wednesday to the top flight, but his work at the club was certainly appreciated, and many Owls supporters would be keen to see him return for a second spell one day.

3 Vic Buckingham - 1.62 PPG

Buckingham spent his entire playing career with Tottenham Hotspur, but his managerial career was much more varied, including spells in charge of the likes of West Brom, Ajax, Fulham, Barcelona and Olympiacos.

Following the departure of Harry Catterick, Buckingham took over at Hillsborough in June 1961, and he led the club to three consecutive sixth-placed finishes in the third division before being sacked in April 1964.

Buckingham won 63, drew 47 and lost 24 of his 134 games in charge of the Owls.

2 Darren Moore - 1.78 PPG

Moore was appointed Wednesday manager in March 2021 with the club sitting in the Championship relegation zone, and he was unable to prevent their relegation to League One.

The 50-year-old rebuilt the squad following relegation, and the Owls finished fourth in the third tier in the 2021-22 season, losing to Sunderland in the play-off semi-finals.

Wednesday somehow missed out on automatic promotion the following year despite accumulating a total of 96 points, and it looked as though their promotion hopes were over after they suffered a 4-0 defeat at Peterborough United in their play-off semi-final first leg.

However, the Owls produced a remarkable comeback in the second leg as they won 5-1 after extra time before progressing to the final on penalties, and they secured their place in the Championship with a 1-0 win over Barnsley at Wembley, with Josh Windass scoring a 123rd-minute winner.

Just weeks after achieving promotion, Moore surprisingly departed Hillsborough following a disagreement with owner Dejphon Chansiri, departing after winning 66, drawing 34 and losing 29 of his 129 games in charge.

1 Harry Catterick - 1.84 PPG

Catterick did not have a high-profile playing career, but he certainly made a name for himself as a manager.

After spells in charge of Crewe Alexandra and Rochdale, Catterick was appointed Wednesday manager in 1958, and he led the club to the Division Two title during his first season in charge.

The following year, the Owls were FA Cup runners-up, and they finished second in the First Division in the 1960-61 season.

That would prove to be Catterick's final season at Hillsborough as he departed for Everton in April 1961, but after winning 77, drawing 31 and losing 30 of his 138 games in charge of the Owls, he has the best points per game rate in the club's history.