A madness, a near-wonder: Sheffield Wednesday's rock stars have taken themselves close to the unimaginable

Because there is always so much to wonder about at the football club, isn’t there? And especially now. Danny Röhl himself has described the would-be achievement of Championship survival this season as ‘a wonder’. The job is far from done and though in a position of strength, the Owls will be looking to avoid the danger of black cat bad luck before next weekend’s final day trip to Sunderland.

Perhaps those straining into the unacceptably biting April afternoon were wondering how on earth they’d got here; how from the depths of Autumn misery any football team could have risen as they have. One more point. One more point will keep Wednesday in a division in which for a little while made them look like competition winners welcomed to make up the numbers. It’s hard to adequately describe just how far off it Sheffield Wednesday were in a Xisco oil spill brought about by the iceberg that was last summer.

A handsome 3-0 win over play-off battlers West Bromwich Albion pushed the accelerator once more on their survival mission at just the most perfect time. The job is not done, but there’s another body beneath them and only a point is needed on the last day to complete mission impossible. There’s a madness to this place. Why be dull?

Again, stressing the job is not yet done - this division has had a habit of delivering the barmy, after all - the job done by Danny Röhl has been so mightily impressive. So too the players, Röhl’s staff and those who perform duties unseen. To paraphrase a predecessor of the German, “They’ve got one more.” To paraphrase the German himself, save the flowers for when the great escape is complete.

But let’s indulge in this lot a touch. They’re football rock stars. They’re The Sex Pistols, all snarl and volatility and full of moments unexpected, telling Bill Grundy he’s a rotter on live television because they’re absolutely chuffing box office. They’re the Gallaghers at Knebworth, fluffing the odd note along the way but rising to the occasion when it matters. They’re Kraftwerk. Because something about Germany.

Twas the touch of a Dutchman that broke things open. Young flyer Anthony Musaba poked home after 22 minutes to awaken Hillsborough from the vice grip of nervousness. Belief grew and grew and though the visiting Baggies had the better of the final moments of the first half, Wednesday deserved their lead. When adopted Canadian Ike Ugbo belted a second into the roof of the net on the other side of the break, Hillsborough shook off those nerves and grew. By the time Josh Windass had finished celebrating their third, the South Stand was shaking. Quite literally.

Wednesday’s resurgence has shaken the league. There’s something about the place that make weird things somehow probable. Perhaps it’s the guiding hand of recent history, perhaps it’s the weight of a fanbase who when it tune with those in football boots provide a whole new life force. Perhaps, this time, it’s a genius German and his band of brainiacs.

West Brom melted in the heat of the occasion where the Owls grew. The goal scorers were excellent on the day - Musaba in particular shone - but to a man they were rock stars and as afternoon turned to evening swaggered round Hillsborough like the stage it was. Clean-sheeted James Beadle produced a number of excellent saves, Di’Shon Bernard stepped back in with the calm that belied his years. Through the spine and on the flanks, a performance to remember.

The results elsewhere? Near-perfect for our money. The gap on both Huddersfield and Birmingham was stretched by two points after they drew in West Yorkshire. Wednesday leapfrogged Plymouth Argyle courtesy of a Millwall win. A point at Sunderland next week will cap the mission.

To watch Danny Röhl race from his technical area with a rabid fury in injury time, admonishing his players for not stepping out from a set pieces as early as he would have preferred, was to provide cause for confidence that this outfit will not be allowed to ease off this week.

“I'm not sure, maybe never before has a team had so many points behind and stayed in the league,” Röhl told reporters last month. “It will be a wonder. I believe in our wonder. We will do this.”

Not many truly believed him. And as the terrace chants flipped over from wondering warbles to a chest-out, defiant rendition of ‘The Great Escape’, a look out onto a sold-out S6 provided a picture so very, very far removed from the misery of season’s start.

How on earth have they got to this point? You’ve got us wondering, Wednesday.