As the political situation continued to unravel at Hillsborough, Strafford eventually resigned as Chairman and with the club facing winding-up petitions from HMRC amid rumours of the club going into administration or worse, Wednesdayite lent their voice to the growing protest movement amongst Wednesday fans, working closely with the Shareholders Association and Time To Go under the Save Our Owls banner.

Following the final collapse of the Sheard bid, significant changes took place at the club, with Lee Strafford firstly joining the club board and then quickly becoming Chairman. Strafford's plan to revitalise the Owls hinged on engaging with the fanbase, and as such Wednesdayite were welcomed into the club in ways that mere months ago had seemed unthinkable. Going into the 2009/10 season, Strafford stated to a Wednesdayite members' meeting that he would like to see all Wednesday fans be a member of Wednesdayite, and permitted Wednesdayite membership to be included as an option on season ticket forms.

On 1 July, Wednesdayite received a formal bid from Geoff Sheard, acting for a 'Swiss-based trust'. Wednesdayite immediately referred the correspondence to legal advisors in preparation of a ballot of members on whether to accept the offer for the shareholding. It was also announced that Dave Allen had agreed to sell his 10% stake in Sheffield Wednesday PLC to Sheard's group.

A Special General Meeting of Wednesdayite took place on 6 August. Members were sent detailed supporting information alongside the ballot forms, and the Wednesdayite board recommended members vote 'Yes' to both resolutions - to amend the Socierty rule preventing the shareholding being sold and to sell the shares to Geoff Sheard.

Both resolutions were passed with over 90% of votes from 78% of all members voting.

On 6 October, Wednesdayite withdrew their previous offer to sell shares to Geoff Sheard and his consortium, citing the length of time taken for the takeover to be completed and the lack of verifiable funds.

On 13 February, Wednesdayite Chairman Darryl Keys revealed that the group had been approached by different parties with regards to the processes involving the sale of their shareholding. One of those parties was later revealed to be Geoff Sheard, who was said to be fronting a 'Swiss-based trust' and was said to be at an "advanced stage" in steps to buy the club. Wednesdayite membership significantly increased during the period with all members promised that they would be able to take part in any future potential vote deciding whether to sell the shares.

Due to the length of time taken to complete a takeover of the club, speculation mounted amongst the Sheffield Wednesday fanbase as to the role of Wednesdayite's shares in a possible takeover, the identity of consortium members and whether the funds of the group could be legally verified under UK money laundering laws. Wednesdayite's openness in addressing the unfolding situation (whilst all other parties, including the club, remained silent on the subject) saw support for the group grow.

The Wednesdayite Weekly: We've got our tickets, have you?

For a final Friday flourish:

➤ Eddie has a positive mental attitude
➤ Joe wonders where it all went wrong
➤ Matt and his armchair win PFA Player Of The Season
➤ Membership for next season - preview

All this, and WE ARE STAYING UP. BELIEVE.