The 8 best nicknames given to Sheffield Wednesday players by fans | OneFootball

We looked at some of the best nicknames Sheffield Wednesday supporters have given their players over the years.

It is fair to say it has been a turbulent summer for Sheffield Wednesday amid a host of off-field issues.

After securing a respectable 12th-placed finish in the Championship last season, it has been a summer of chaos for Wednesday that has included late wage payments, multiple transfer embargoes, the imposition of a three-window transfer fee ban, ongoing managerial uncertainty and failed takeover attempts.

Under-fire Owls owner Dejphon Chansiri has had to sell some of the club's key players this summer in order to raise funds, such as Anthony Musaba and Djeidi Gassama, while popular figures including Josh Windass and Michael Smith have had their contracts terminated by mutual consent after handing in their notices.

While the current situation at Hillsborough is incredibly bleak, Wednesday have also enjoyed plenty of successful periods during their long history, and many players have earned fan favourite status during their time in South Yorkshire.

With that in mind, we looked back at eight of the best nicknames Owls players have been given by supporters over the years.

8 Chris Waddle - Magic Chris

Winger Chris Waddle joined Wednesday from French side Marseille in July 1992 for a fee of £1 million, and he went on to score 15 goals and provide 19 assists in 138 appearances for the club, while he also helped them reach the final of both the FA Cup and League Cup during his first season at Hillsborough.

Waddle's outstanding performances on the wing earned him the nickname "Magic Chris", and the Owls were far from the only club to witness his greatness, with the 64-year-old also spending time with the likes of Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Bradford City, Sunderland and Burnley during his career.

However, Waddle arguably formed the biggest connection with Wednesday supporters, and he still regularly comments on the club's fortunes to this day.

7 Di'Shon Bernard - Big Dish

Defender Di'Shon Bernard made the move to Wednesday on a free transfer in the summer of 2023 after his release by Manchester United, and he played an integral role as his side miraculously avoided relegation in the 2023-24 season.

Bernard became so popular with the Owls faithful that one supporter notoriously created a countdown on social media during the wait for him to sign a new contract last summer, which he duly did, but his season was cut short by a serious knee injury in February.

The 24-year-old is affectionately known as "Big Dish" by Wednesday fans, and he uses the name himself on both his X and Instagram accounts.

6 Barry Bannan - Wee Scottish Man

Midfielder Barry Bannan joined Wednesday on a free transfer from Crystal Palace in the summer of 2015, and he has established club legend status at Hillsborough after scoring 34 goals and registering 72 assists in 447 appearances over the past decade.

The 35-year-old has had plenty of opportunities to leave the Owls over the years, but his unwavering loyalty has further endeared him to the fan base, and despite the fact that he is yet to sign a new contract, he still reported back for pre-season training this summer amid the ongoing off-field turmoil.

Bannan is known as the "Wee Scottish Man" by Wednesday supporters, and in the song that includes his nickname, they humorously claim that he is better than former France and Real Madrid midfielder Zinedine Zidane.

Bannan may be a modern-day Wednesday legend, but supporters of a certain age may remember striker Rodger Wylde.

After coming through the club's academy, Wylde spent eight years with the Owls between 1972 and 1980 before departing for Oldham Athletic, and his best season at Hillsborough came in the 1976-77 campaign when he scored an impressive 25 goals.

Wylde's trademark goal celebration made him a firm favourite among Wednesday supporters, and interestingly, he was given the nickname "Oscar", though it is unclear exactly why that was chosen.

Like Wylde, defender Mel Sterland was another Sheffield-born player who was able to establish himself in the first-team of his local club.

Despite being a right-back, Sterland scored an incredible 49 goals in 347 appearances for the Owls, and he was part of the side that finished fifth in the First Division in the 1985-86 season, with his performances eventually earning him an £800,000 move to Scottish giants Rangers.

Such was Sterland's attacking brilliance and powerful ball-striking ability, he earned himself the nickname "Zico", which was a reference to the Brazil midfielder who scored 48 goals in 71 games for his country.

Forward Fernando Forestieri joined Wednesday from Watford in the summer of 2015 for a fee of £3 million, and he scored 15 goals and registered eight assists in 39 games during a stunning first season at Hillsborough as his side reached the Championship play-off final, where they were beaten by Hull City.

Forestieri's time in South Yorkshire was not without controversy, and he infamously refused to play in a game against Norwich City in August 2016 amid interest from Derby County and Newcastle United, but while he was never quite the same after that due to a loss of form and persistent injury problems, he is still regarded as one of the club's greatest players of the modern area.

The 35-year-old earned himself the nickname "Fessi", with many drawing comparisons between his playing style and that of Barcelona legend and current Inter Miami star Lionel Messi, and, incidentally, they were both born in the Argentinian city of Rosario.

Few Wednesday supporters had heard of striker Atdhe Nuhiu when he joined the club from Austrian side Rapid Wien in the summer of 2013, but he certainly made a big impact at Hillsborough as he scored 50 goals and provided 27 assists in 277 games prior to his release in 2020.

Although he divided opinion among the Owls fan base, Nuhiu achieved cult hero status in South Yorkshire, and his aerial ability and physical presence meant that he was a constant handful for opposition defences.

As many Wednesday supporters initially struggled to pronounce Nuhiu's name, he became known as "Big Dave", and it stuck with him throughout his time at the club, but it is believed that the 35-year-old was not a huge fan of the moniker.

1 Marvin Johnson - Neymarv

While the headlines have been dominated by the departures of Musaba, Gassama, Windass and Smith in recent weeks, Johnson is another popular Wednesday player who has left the club this summer, with the 34-year-old being released at the end of his contract back in May.

Johnson, who joined the Owls from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2021, was a crucial part of the squad that achieved promotion from League One via the play-offs in dramatic fashion in the 2022-23 season, and he helped the South Yorkshire outfit consolidate back in the Championship over the past two years.

Having scored 10 goals and registered 30 assists in 169 appearances for the club, Johnson will be fondly remembered at Hillsborough, and his "Neymarv" nickname is possibly one of the best Wednesday supporters have ever created.