Address:

Hillsborough

Sheffield

Telephone:

0114 - 2212121

Wednesday Babes

The Owls Archive

Hillsborough is situated 3 miles north of the city centre, but visitors are advised to avoid this route and approach the ground from the north instead. Parking is possible in the area just north of Hillsborough.

By Car:
From The North/South/East:
Exit the M1 at junction 36 and follow the A61 towards Sheffield. Continue along the road for approximately 4 miles until the 2nd roundabout. Take the 3rd exit (Leppings Lane) - the ground is situated on the left-hand side.
From The South/East (non matchdays only) - Leave the M1 at junction 33 and turn left towards Sheffield City Centre on the "Sheffield Parkway" dual carriageway. Continue until the end of the Parkway, when you will come to Park Square roundabout. Turn right and continue to follow signs for the A61 towards Barnsley. Signs for Hillsborough are also prominent. The stadium is situated 3 miles from the city centre and is on your left-hand side after Hillsborough Park.

From the West:
Take the A57 for Sheffield. As you approach the city the road splits in two - take the left fork onto the Rivelin Valley Road (A6101). Continue for approximately 3.75 miles, turn left (onto one way system) and follow the road round to the right onto Holme Lane. This road then becomes Bradfield Road. At the junction with the A61 Penistone Road, turn left towards Barnsley. Hillsborough Stadium is on the left-hand side after Hillsborough Park.

By Train:
Sheffield Railway Station (Contact Midland Mainline on 0845 712 5678) is situated in the town centre, 3 miles from the ground. 

By Supertram:
Take the South Yorkshire Supertram (signposted from the Railway Station) towards Middlewood Road (yellow route). Exit at the Leppings Lane stop, which is a short walk from the ground.

By Bus:
From the Railway Station, Flat Street Bus Terminus is a one-minute walk - cross over at the pedestrian crossing, and follow the signs. Bus numbers 53, 77 and 80 all run from Flat Street to Hillsborough.
From Angel Street, buses 74 and 74a run to Hillsborough.
From Snig Hill, buses 85 and 86 run to Leppings Lane.
From the Sheffield Transport Interchange, bus 57 runs past the ground towards Stocksbridge.
On matchdays, bus frequency should be roughly every 15 minutes.

Parking:
The best place to park is in the Owlerton greyhound stadium. This is about a ten minute walk to Hillsborough, but usually gets full quite early.

Some local schools often open for parking, such as the Chaucer School (located on the A61).  There are side streets around Hillsborough but these tend to be full on matchdays.

SHEFFIELD is a big city and there are therefore lots of things that you might enjoy doing when you visit Hillsborough to watch the Hatters.

The Sheffield Round Walk can be very interesting for those of you that enjoy walking and sightseeing.

The Beauchief Abbey is also worth a visit.  Surrounded by ancient woodland, the remains of a monastery built around 1180AD feature a remarkably intact main tower, quaint Chapel and an interesting graveyard.

You might also like to visit Sheffield's Lose Castle, while for those of you who prefer the more 'exciting' lifestyle there is the Danger Zone Paintball Centre and Laserzone.

Those of you that enjoy sports might also be pleased to know that Sheffield has a Ski Village as well as Beauchief's Golf Course, while those of you that enjoy the Arts would enjoy visiting the several art galleries that the city has to offer.

The two main pubs frequented by away fans on the A61 are the Norfolk Arms & The Red Lion in Grenoside. Both are some distance from the ground, but welcome away fans, and due to their location there is rarely any trouble.

Other good pubs for away fans are the Horse and Jockey on Wadsley Lane (leads uphill from the Leppings Lane end) which does hot pies and a good pint.  Just off Halifax Road (A61) before the railway bridge is The Pheasant (Trafalgar Road) while just past the railway bridge on Halifax Road is the New Bridge Inn.

On the A61 nearer to Hillsborough are pubs such as The Park, The Gate and The Travellers which are no-go areas for away fans.  They have a strict ‘Home Fans Only’ door policy and any away fan who enters may get a less than welcome reception from home supporters who drink in these pubs.

If you’re a real ale enthusiast check out The New Barrack Tavern on Penistone Road (A61) going towards town from the ground just past McDonalds.  This is a CAMRA pub with great ales and a clientele who are very knowledgeable about football.

You can search and book hotels located right near to Sheffield Wednesday's Hillsborough stadium by clicking HERE.

Midfielder Paul McLaren.

A tough tackling, combative midfielder who always gave 100% and never let anybody down, Paul McLaren has represented both Luton Town and Sheffield Wednesday. Although he never scored as many goals as he perhaps should, his commitment could never be questioned and he he worked well in the middle of the park with some of the younger players, such as Matthew Spring. He was still a schoolboy when Luton realised he had enough talent and strength to play regularly in their youth team. A YTS offer was a formality, and he was offered professional forms for the club in 1994 at the age of 17 under manager David Pleat. His game has matured as he has got older. Previously a central defender, McLaren was a regular member of both the youth and reserve teams as a teenager before making the transition into a central midfielder.

He made his debut in the first-team in the last game of the 1993-94 season along with goalkeeper Kelvin Davis, away at Stoke City. Coming on as a substitute, he gave a solid performance as the Hatters came away with a creditable 2-2 draw, and manager David Pleat described him as having a "Big future in the game." McLaren wasn't given any further opportunities in the first-team during the 1994-95 season, but returned to the first-team in the 1995-96 campaign.

He made his full debut for the first-team at Tranmere Rovers under new manager Terry Westley in October 1995 and scored his first goal for the club, the winner, in a 3-2 thriller against the same team in the home fixture in December. He wasn't an established regular, but was still used on 17 occasions in all competitions, including 9 League starts. This put him in good stead for the 1996-97 season as the Hatters faced life in the Second Division.

McLaren established himself as a regular squad member under new manager Lennie Lawrence in the 1996-97 season and played in almost half of all the first-team games. Unfortunately for McLaren, he was usually kept out of the side by the excellent form of Ceri Hughes and Gary Waddock and the side mounted a promotion challenge. However, he still started in 13 League matches and was used as a substitute on a further 11 occasions. With the Hatters failing to gain promotion back to the First Division, and the sale of Ceri Hughes to Wimbledon at the end of the season, it presented McLaren with a good chance of more regular first-team football in the 1997-98 season.

He added some aggression to his game and established himself as a regular fixture in the Luton midfield in the 1997-98 season. He seemed to have improved every aspect of his game, except for his shooting. Although he possesses a powerful shot, and used it frequently, he failed to net once during the season, despite going close on several occasions. However, his surging runs, his ability to win the ball, and his excellent crosses, marked him out as one of the few successes in a mostly poor Hatters side. He played in a total of 50 matches during the season, including 43 League appearances as the team endured a poor campaign.

McLaren was again a regular in the 1998-99 season, playing in 29 matches in all competitions. He would have played a lot more had he not been injured during the campaign. However, his goal scoring ability hadn't improved, as he struck only once during the season in a 3-1 win at Oxford United in the League Cup. He was also booked six times and sent off once in the 1-1 home draw with Reading. However, this may be expected from a ball winning midfielder. He still contributed greatly to the cause and showed he had the ability to be a consistent performer for the club.

McLaren began the 1999-00 season playing as a central midfielder with Matthew Spring, and appeared in the first 7 League matches of the campaign. He was then injured for a couple of game, and in his absence manager Lennie Lawrence signed Adam Locke on a free transfer from Bristol City. Deputising for McLaren, Locke was excellent and it looked as though McLaren would have a struggle to win back his place. However, Lawrence showed his faith in McLaren by changing the formation to accommodate him, playing with three in midfield. He played in the following 13 games before picking up another injury. This time, however, McLaren struggled to win back his place as Lawrence decided to keep a two-man midfield. He was then a substitute most of the time before Lawrence reverted to a three-man midfield again and McLaren started in the final 8 matches of the campaign. McLaren also scored during the campaign when netting a fine last-minute volley to earn a 2-2 home draw with Cambridge United after coming on as a 66th minute substitute for Matthew Spring. He played in a total of 34 matches in all competitions.

McLaren had a tremendous 2000-01 season, despite Luton's eventual relegation to Division Three. He played in a total of 43 matches in all competitions, making 35 League appearances and scoring 3 goals - in a 3-1 win at Stoke City, the second in a 2-0 FA Cup Second Round victory over Darlington and the second in a 2-2 draw at Brentford. He also captained the side for the majority of the season, whilst also operating in two positions during the season - sometimes as a central defender and also in central midfield. He improved dramatically from previous seasons and easily looked an above average Second Division player. Out-of-contract at the end of the season, he joined then First Division Sheffield Wednesday on a Bosman free transfer ending an eight-year professional association with the Hatters. He made 201 competitive appearances for the Hatters in all competitions, scoring six goals.

Of his move, McLaren said, "I chose to come to Sheffield Wednesday because it is an enormous club. My first task will be to get into the first-team, and from there I will be aiming to help take the Club back towards the Premier League."

On signing McLaren, then Sheffield Wednesday manager Peter Shreeves said, "Paul will be a very useful addition to our squad. We have done our homework on him, and he is six-foot tall, strong and very competitive. He is certainly going to strengthen our midfield."

Luton manager Joe Kinnear had repeatedly tried to persuade McLaren to sign a new deal with the Hatters but the offer of First Division football was too good an offer for McLaren to turn down and he snubbed Second Division Cardiff City and the Hatters to make the move to Hillsborough.

However, despite becoming a regular in the Owls' midfield, McLaren couldn't prevent the club from being relegated to Division Two in his first season with the club, and he eventually moved on to fellow Yorkshire side Rotherham United.   After 71 appearances and 4 goals in his two years at Millmoor, he moved on to join Tranmere Rovers on a Bosman free transfer prior to the start of the 2006-07 campaign.